Daily Archives: October 18, 2014

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Your Body: God’s Temple

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Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The world’s primary interest in the body is how it looks on the outside: How can it be shaped differently? How can it become more attractive or gain more attention? Regrettably, by worldly standards, success is often dependent on the condition of our bodies.

In contrast, how do you think God views the human body? Do you believe that He is interested only in the soul and spirit, or would you expect Him to also be concerned about our physical bodies?

Despite many popular misconceptions, the Lord is deeply concerned about our human bodies. In today’s passage, Paul confirms this truth when he writes, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” Again, in 2 Corinthians 6:16, the apostle describes the human body as the temple of God. The context of this passage reveals many of the same errors in thinking that are common today. The Corinthian people had a low view of the body. They believed that it was unimportant and even described it as a tomb in which the soul is incarcerated.

Paul’s response is dynamic. He essentially cries out, “No! The body is not a tomb—it is a temple!” It merits our respect and esteem in the same way that the most holy place of worship deserves upkeep.

The viewpoint of Scripture is crystal clear: Your body is the temple of the living God. This should say something to you about its value and the way you ought to treat it. Furthermore, you should take God’s words as a warning against abusing, misusing, or ignoring your own body.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Genuine Friend

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Our Daily Bread

1 Samuel 20:32-42

Two are better than one. —Ecclesiastes 4:9

In the novel Shane, a friendship forms between Joe Starrett, a farmer on the American frontier, and Shane, a mysterious man who stops to rest at the Starrett home. The men first bond as they work together to remove a giant tree stump from Joe’s land. The relationship deepens as Joe rescues Shane from a fight and Shane helps Joe improve and guard his farmland. The men share a sense of mutual respect and loyalty that reflects what Scripture says: “Two are better than one . . . . If they fall, one will lift up his companion” (Eccl. 4:9-10).

Jonathan and David modeled this principle as well. Circumstances tested their friendship when David suspected that King Saul wanted him dead. Jonathan doubted this, but David believed it to be true (1 Sam. 20:2-3). Eventually, they decided David would hide in a field while Jonathan questioned his father about the matter. When Saul’s deadly intent became clear, the friends wept together and Jonathan blessed David as he fled (v.42).

You have a genuine friend in Jesus if you have accepted His offer of salvation—a friend who is always loyal; one who lifts you when you stumble. He has shown you the greatest love one friend can have for another—love that led Him to sacrifice His life for you (John 15:13). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer! —Scriven

Jesus is your most trusted Friend.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

Insight

Jonathan’s friendship with David was marked by brotherly affection, but it also displayed Jonathan’s self-sacrifice. The throne that would have been his destiny as the son of King Saul had already been given to David (1 Sam. 16:10-13).

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Resist Deceit

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Alistair Begg

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.  1 Samuel 15:22

Saul had been commanded to completely wipe out all the Amalekites and their cattle. Instead of doing so, he preserved the king and allowed his people to take the best of the oxen and of the sheep. When called to account for this, he declared that he did it with a view to offering sacrifice to God; but Samuel met him at once with the assurance that sacrifices were no excuse for an act of direct rebellion.

The sentence before us is worthy to be printed in letters of gold and to be displayed before the eyes of the present idolatrous generation, who are very fond of making a show of obedience but who utterly neglect the laws of God. Never forget that to keep strictly to the path of your Savior’s command is better than any outward form of religion; and to pay attention to His precept is better than to bring animals or other precious things to lay upon His altar.

If you are failing to keep the least of Christ’s commands to His disciples, I urge you to be disobedient no longer. All the pretensions you make of attachment to your Master and all the devout actions that you may perform are no substitute for disobedience. “To obey,” even in the slightest and smallest thing, “is better than sacrifice,” however pompous. Forget the Gregorian chants, sumptuous robes, incense, and banners; the first thing that God requires of His child is obedience; and even if you gave your body to be burned and all your goods to feed the poor, if you did not listen to the Lord’s commands, all your formalities would profit you nothing.

It is a blessed thing to be teachable as a little child, but it is a much more blessed thing, when one has been taught the lesson, to carry it out to the letter. How many adorn their temples and decorate their priests, but refuse to obey the word of the Lord! My soul, do not share in their deceit.

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The family reading plan for October 18, 2014 * Daniel 3 * Psalm 107

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The true Christian’s blessedness

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CharlesSpurgeon

“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Suggested Further Reading: Philemon 4-20

All things work together for the Christian’s eternal and spiritual good. And yet I must say here, that sometimes all things work together for the Christian’s temporal good. You know the story of old Jacob. “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me,” said the old patriarch. But if he could have read God’s secrets, he might have found that Simeon was not lost, for he was retained as a hostage—that Joseph was not lost, but gone before to smooth the passage of his grey hairs into the grave, and that even Benjamin was to be taken away by Joseph in love to his brother. So that what seemed to be against him, even in temporal matters, was for him. You may have heard also the story of that eminent martyr who was wont always to say, “All things work together for good.” When he was seized by the officers of Queen Mary, to be taken to the stake to be burned, he was treated so roughly on the road that he broke his leg; and they jeeringly said, “All things work together for good, do they? How will your broken leg work for your good?” “I don’t know,” he said, “but for my good I know it will work, and you shall see it so.” Strange to say, it proved true that it was for his good; for being delayed a day or so on the road through his lameness, he just arrived in London in time enough to hear that Elizabeth was proclaimed queen, and so he escaped the stake by his broken leg. He turned round upon the men who carried him, as they thought, to his death, and said to them, “Now will you believe that all things work together for good?”

For meditation: We are called upon to rejoice in our sufferings, not for their own sake, but because of the outcome (Romans 5:3,4; James 1:2-4). If we, like God, knew the end from the beginning, we would laugh in the midst of our trials, as we shall later (Luke 6:21).

Sermon no. 159

18 October (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – God’s Transforming Word

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John MacArthur

“The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul” (Ps. 19:7).

God can transform you through His Word into the person He wants you to be.

Many today doubt the power of Scripture in dealing with the deeper aspects of the human heart and mind. The Bible may be helpful for certain superficial or “spiritual” problems, they say, but it’s too simplistic and inadequate for the more complex psychological issues of modern man. The truth is, however, the best psychology can do is modify external behavior. It cannot redeem and transform the soul. Only God can do that through the power of His Word.

That’s the truth behind Psalm 19:7, which calls Scripture “the law of the Lord,” thus emphasizing its didactic nature. It is the sum of God’s instruction to man, whether for creed (what we believe), character (what we are), or conduct (what we do).

The law of the Lord is “perfect.” That represents a common Hebrew word that speaks of wholeness, completeness, or sufficiency. Commentator Albert Barnes wrote that Scripture “lacks nothing [for] its completeness; nothing in order that it might be what it should be. It is complete as a revelation of Divine truth; it is complete as a rule of conduct. . . . It is absolutely true; it is adapted with consummate wisdom to the [needs] of man; it is an unerring guide of conduct. There is nothing there which would lead men into error or sin; there is nothing essential for man to know which may not be found there” (Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms, Vol. 1 [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974], p. 171).

Man’s reasoning is imperfect, but God’s Word is perfect, containing everything necessary for your spiritual life. It is so comprehensive that it can restore your soul. That is, convert, revive, refresh, and transform every aspect of your being to make you precisely the person God wants you to be.

Don’t look to impotent human alternatives when God’s Word stands ready to minister to your every need. Spiritual warfare is fought with spiritual weapons, not fleshly techniques, theories, or therapies (2 Cor. 10:4).

Suggestions for Prayer; Ask God to keep you focused on His counsel regarding every situation you face today.

For Further Study; Memorize 2 Corinthians 9:8 as a reminder of God’s super- abounding grace to you.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Imitate God’s Goodness

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Joyce meyer

For You make him to be blessed and a blessing forever. — Psalm 21:6

God made a covenant with Abraham, that He would bless him, and cause him to be a blessing to others (see Genesis 12:2). You too are an heir to the true riches of God (see James 1:9). As you mature spiritually and are able to handle your inheritance, God wants you to have an abundance to bless others in His name.

Before you get involved with your daily routine today, seek God and feed your soul with His truth for your life. Experiencing God will cause you to imitate His goodness, and prosper in His abundance.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Life in Us

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“Jesus said, ‘I will only reveal Myself to those who love Me and obey Me. The Father will love them too, and We will come to them and live with them. Anyone who doesn’t obey Me doesn’t love Me” (John 14:23,24).

Millions of Christians throughout the world profess their love for Christ each week by attending church services, singing songs, studying their Bibles, attending prayer meetings, etc. Yet, all the talk in the world will never convince anyone that you or I truly love the Lord unless we obey His commandments.

How can we know His commandments unless we study His word? When we study His Word, how can we comprehend what He is saying unless the Holy Spirit illumines our minds and teaches us? It is God the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing for His holy Word through holy men. He alone can help us understand the true meaning of the Scripture and enable us to obey His commands.

Thus, the reality of Christ abiding in us is made possible through a supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit who came to glorify Christ and through whose indwelling presence the Lord Jesus will reveal Himself to us.

Is Jesus Christ a reality in your life? If not, it is quite likely that you are not demonstrating your love for Him by studying His Word and obeying His commandments.

Bible Reading: John 14:15-22

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With the help of the Holy Spirit who enable me to live the supernatural life, I will endeavor to demonstrate my love for Christ by studying His word and obeying His commandments.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Instant Obscurity

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President Edmund Muskie? It doesn’t ring a bell, because it never was…though it might have been. Muskie was a 1972 presidential candidate who cried uncontrollably in an interview. When word got out of his emotional breakdown, he was finished as a candidate.

But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place.

Ezra 9:8

The pages of American history are replete with “might have beens,” men who seemed destined for the White House until some scandal or weakness was exposed. Once voters turn against politicians, there is seldom any way back. Men accustomed to having every word parsed and praised find themselves immediately forgotten and toiling away in some obscure job or slipping quietly into retirement.

The Book of Ezra records a time when a once-proud people had been abandoned and seemingly forgotten—not by voters, but by God. But His rejection was not irreversible. There was a “brief moment” in which his favor could be rekindled, if the people would change their ways. Could this be such a moment for America? It will be if the nation and her leaders seek the “secure hold” of God and His Word. Pray today that it will be so!

Recommended Reading: Acts 3:17-26

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Expect God to Act    

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greglaurie

All your waves and billows have gone over me, and floods of sorrow pour upon me like a thundering cataract. Yet day by day the Lord also pours out his steadfast love upon me, and through the night I sing his songs and pray to God who gives me life. —Psalm 42:7–8

In our lives here on earth, we will experience pain, grief, sickness, and the death of loved ones. I know we don’t like to think about that reality, but since it’s true, we might just as well come to grips with it and stop running from it.

When you’re younger, you don’t necessarily understand this. As you get older, however, you usually experience the death of your grandparents first. And then as time passes, your parents will die. As you continue to age, you know that day eventually will come for you, too, and your children will bury you.

Hard as those realities may be to deal with, there are situations that are even more difficult still. And those are the unexpected deaths that we encounter in the course of our lives. It might be the death of a sibling, a spouse, or a child.

No one ever wants to bury their children. And suddenly we are made aware of our own mortality. Our world seems to come crashing down around our ears, and we cry aloud to God.

How does God feel about that? When we read the Psalms, we learn there were many times when David and the other psalmists told Him exactly what was going on in their hearts. They cried out to Him and emptied the contents of their souls in His presence.

In Psalm 42, the writer says, “O God my Rock . . . why have you forsaken me? Why must I suffer these attacks from my enemies? Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound; again and again they scoff, ‘Where is that God of yours?’ ” (verses 9-10, TLB).

So the psalmist is saying, “Lord, from where I sit right now, it sure seems to me like You’ve forsaken me . . . like You’re not even paying attention to me.” And then he corrects himself and says in verse 11 of the same psalm, “But O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reasons to praise Him for all that He will do. He is my help! He is my God!”

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013