Daily Archives: March 15, 2015

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Discerning the Source of Our Trials

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What was the last painful or stressful trial you experienced? Was it a struggle for you physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

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What was the last painful or stressful trial you experienced? Was it a struggle for you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? No one has ever lived a life completely free from pain, uncertainty, stress, and trials. The Bible makes this point abundantly clear. Jesus, Moses, Job, Peter, Paul, and all of the heroes of Scripture are portrayed as men and women who, at one time or another, underwent trying times of hardship and heartache. Now, thousands of years later, God’s servants are still undergoing hard times. Therefore, it is important that you learn how to cope with these harsh patches in life.

James 1:2 is a rather short verse, but it contains tremendous insight into the issue of life’s trials. The phrase “when you encounter various trials” includes three key words that demonstrate the universality of man’s hardships. First, it is significant that James uses the word “when.” This defines the issue; undergoing trials is not a matter of if but rather when. Second, when he says that you will “encounter” misfortune, he is stating that difficulties will arise unexpectedly; there may be no time to prepare for these dilemmas. Third, he uses the adjective “various” to denote the ever-changing, often-surprising forms in which trials appear.

There are lessons that can only be learned through hardship. Therefore, God will allow difficulties to enter into our lives for His purposes.

As you begin to examine the issue of life’s persistent difficulties, a reasonable question to ask is, “Where do these hard times come from?” There are, in fact, some specific sources of trials. The primary cause is simply making wrong decisions ourselves. Our God-given free will allows us the opportunity and responsibility of making our own choices. Unfortunately, though, even the most committed Christian will make mistakes when making decisions, and the result will be a period of hardship.

Another cause of trials is persecution by other people. This is certainly an impediment with which the early church was familiar. Writing to the suffering Christians scattered throughout the ancient world, Peter says, “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled” (1 Peter 3:14). Whether it is on account of your faith or for some other reason altogether, a sad fact of life is that the world is full of people who have the ability and desire to hurt you. This is certainly a challenge for Christians seeking to respond to their oppressors in a Christ-like manner.

A third source of trials is the fallen world in which we live. Sin has so permeated the earth that God’s original concept of paradise seems impossible. Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, sickness, war, bloodshed, and crime are all the results of sin’s impact upon the world. Clearly, there is no way to escape the trials that seem to appear out of nowhere.

Not surprisingly, many trials often come straight from the Devil. After all, Satan is interested in ways in which he can torment us, and each attempt he makes has but one purpose—to draw us further away from God.

A final source of trials is the Lord. Many people resist this idea, believing that God desires only happiness for them. However, the truth is that God is more concerned with our maturity and development than He is our general happiness. That is difficult for some to accept, but our relationships with Him are far more important than our temporary well-being here on earth.

Often, there are lessons that can only be learned through hardship. Therefore, God will allow difficulties to enter into our lives for His purposes. Finding God’s reasoning for our suffering can be a daunting task, but when we view our hardships from our Father’s eternal perspective, we can begin to understand them more clearly. Therefore, the best starting point for understanding the rationale behind our trials is to prayerfully consider their source. The better we understand where these problems come from, the better we will be able to work through them.

Adapted from “The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible,” 2008

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – God Is Listening

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Read: Psalm 5
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 26-27; Mark 14:27-53

 

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up. —Psalm 5:3

The day before Billy Graham’s interview in 1982 on The Today Show, his director of public relations, Larry Ross, requested a private room for Graham to pray in before the interview. But when Mr. Graham arrived at the studio, his assistant informed Ross that Mr. Graham didn’t need the room. He said, “Mr. Graham started praying when he got up this morning, he prayed while eating breakfast, he prayed on the way over in the car, and he’ll probably be praying all the way through the interview.” Ross later said, “That was a great lesson for me to learn as a young man.”

Prayerfulness is not an event; it is a way of being in relationship with God. This kind of intimate relationship is developed when God’s people view prayerfulness as a way of life. The Psalms encourage us to begin each day by lifting our voice to the Lord (Ps. 5:3); to fill our day with conversations with God (55:17); and in the face of accusations and slander, to give ourselves totally to prayer (109:4). We develop prayer as a way of life because we desire to be with God (42:1-4; 84:1-2; 130:5-6).

Prayer is our way of connecting with God in all life’s circumstances. God is always listening. We can talk to Him any time throughout the day. —Marvin Williams

Thinking It Over
What is one major obstacle to developing your prayer life? What changes do you sense God wants to make in your heart so that you see prayer as a way of life?

In prayer, God hears more than your words— He listens to your heart.

INSIGHT: We are not told about the events that precipitated the writing of this psalm. Some scholars speculate that the enemies David speaks of may have been Doeg the Edomite (1 Sam. 22) or Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15–17). David brought his concerns to God because he knew God would deal with his enemies and care for him.
Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Be Strengthened by His Grace

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Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1

 Christ has grace without measure in Himself, but He has not retained it for Himself. As the reservoir empties itself into the pipes, so Christ has emptied out His grace for His people. “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”1 He seems only to have all this in order to dispense to us. He stands like the fountain, always flowing, but only running in order to supply the empty pitchers and the thirsty lips that draw near to it. Like a tree, He bears sweet fruit, not to hang on branches, but to be gathered by those who need it.

Grace, whether its work be to pardon, to cleanse, to preserve, to strengthen, to enlighten, to quicken, or to restore, is ever to be had from Him freely and without price; nor is there one form of the work of grace that He has not bestowed upon His people. As the blood of the body, though flowing from the heart, belongs equally to every member, so the influences of grace are the inheritance of every saint united to the Lamb; and herein there is a sweet communion between Christ and His church, inasmuch as they both receive the same grace.

Christ is the head upon which the oil is first poured; but the same oil runs to the very skirts of the garments, so that the meanest saint has an unction of the same costly moisture as that which fell upon the head. This is true communion when the sap of grace flows from the stem to the branch, and when it is perceived that the stem itself is sustained by the very nourishment that feeds the branch. As we day by day receive grace from Jesus, and more constantly recognize it as coming from Him, we shall behold Him in communion with us and enjoy the joy of communion with Him.

Let us make daily use of our riches and constantly come to Him as our own covenant Lord, taking from Him the supply of all we need with as much boldness as men take money from their own wallet.

1) John 1:16

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for March 15, 2015
* Exodus 26
* John 5

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Christ about his Father’s business

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“Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Luke 2:49

Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 4:32-5: 10

You never find Christ doing a thing which you may not imitate. You would scarcely think it necessary that he should be baptised; but lo, he goes to Jordan’s stream and dives beneath the wave, that he may be buried in baptism unto death, and may rise again—though he needed not to rise—into newness of life. You see him healing the sick to teach us benevolence; rebuking hypocrisy to teach us boldness; enduring temptation to teach us hardness, wherewith, as good soldiers of Christ, we ought to war a good warfare. You see him forgiving his enemies to teach us the grace of meekness and of forbearance; you behold him giving up his very life to teach us how we should surrender ourselves to God, and give up ourselves for the good of others. Put Christ at the wedding; you may imitate him. Yes, sirs, and you might imitate him, if you could, in turning water into wine, without a sin. Put Christ at a funeral; you may imitate him—“Jesus wept.” Put him on the mountain top; he shall be there in prayer alone, and you may imitate him. Put him in the crowd; he shall speak so, that if you could speak like him you should speak well. Put him with enemies; he shall so confound them, that he shall be a model for you to copy. Put him with friends, and he shall be a “friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” worthy of your imitation. Exalt him, cry hosanna, and you shall see him riding upon a “colt, the foal of an ass,” meek and lowly. Despise and spit upon him; you shall see him bearing disgrace and contempt with the same evenness of spirit which characterised him when he was exalted in the eye of the world. Everywhere you may imitate Christ.

For meditation: The imitation of Christ is an impossible way to obtain salvation, but it is an excellent way of follow-up after conversion (John 13:15; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Peter 2:21).

Sermon no. 122
15 March (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Putting God First

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“Hallowed be Thy name” (Matt. 6:9).

Prayer should always exalt God.

The Disciples’ Prayer illustrates the priority that God should hold in our prayers. Jesus began by exalting the Father: “Hallowed be Thy name” (v. 9), then requested that the Father’s kingdom come and His will be done (v. 10). He concluded with an anthem of praise: “For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (v. 13). His prayer literally begins and ends with God.

“Hallowed be Thy name” exalts the name of the Lord and sets a tone of worship and submission that is sustained throughout the prayer. Where God’s name is hallowed, He will be loved and revered, His kingdom eagerly anticipated, and His will obeyed.

“Thy name” speaks of more than a title such as “God,” “Lord,” or “Jehovah.” It speaks of God Himself and is the composite of all His attributes. The Hebrews considered God’s name so sacred they wouldn’t even speak it, but they missed the point. While meticulously guarding the letters of His name, they slandered His character and disobeyed His Word. Because of them the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles (Rom. 2:24).

Psalm 102:15 says, “The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory.” It’s not the letters of God’s name that the nations fear; it’s the embodiment of all He is. As Jesus prayed, “I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me” (John 17:6). He did that by revealing who God is. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus told Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is the manifestation of all who God is.

Manifesting the priority of God in your prayers involves acknowledging who He is and approaching Him with a reverent, humble spirit that is yielded to His will. As you do that, He will hallow His name through you.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Praise God for His holiness.
  • Ask Him to use you today to demonstrate His holiness to others.

For Further Study

Read Numbers 20. How did Moses show irreverence for God’s

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Thoughts Will Lead You

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All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].
– Proverbs 15:15

I like to say, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.” In other words, positive thoughts are precursors to a positive life. On the other hand, anxious thoughts and negative expectations set us up for miserable lives.

Many people think they cannot control their thoughts, but they can. Like anything else, it takes practice. What you think is up to you. You can choose your own thoughts and should do so carefully, since thoughts have a lot of creative power in your life. If you don’t reject bad thoughts, you will ultimately turn those thoughts into bad words and actions that are not pleasing to God.

When our lives don’t go well, we tend to blame our problems. But most of the time, it’s not the problems causing the trouble; it’s the way we think about the problems. One person, when faced with difficulty, might think, This is terrible! I will never get through this! My life is ruined! Another person, faced with exactly the same hardship, might choose to think, This is a challenge, but God promises to fight for me, and He will win this battle. Which of the two people do you think would come through the difficulty in better shape?

Learning how to think correctly is mandatory for every aspect of health. I urge you to make a priority of learning to think upbeat, healthy thoughts that agree with God’s Word. Don’t let negative thoughts lead you into an unhappy life; choose positive thoughts that will strengthen and encourage you, and lead to a life of joy, peace, and victory.

Love Yourself Today: In what ways do you need to change your thoughts about yourself and your life?

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Praying for Me

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“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, KJV).

George had tried to live a Christian life for many years, but finally gave up.

“It’s no use,” he said. “I have tried and tried and failed and failed. I have dedicated, rededicated, consecrated and reconsecrated my life to Christ, and nothing happens. I am a total failure.”

Whereupon I read him this and several other key verses of Scripture, emphasizing the role that Christ plays in our behalf at the right hand of the Father.

“Did it ever occur to you,” I asked, “that Jesus right now is aware of your every need and is interceding for you?”

That very thought overwhelmed him, and he fell to his knees with tears of gratitude.

“Oh,” he said, “I knew that Jesus died for me and shed His blood for my sins. But somehow I had never made the connection between the cross and His present role of interceding for me.”

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room,” declared the famous Christian statesman, Robert Murray McCheyne, “I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. ‘He ever liveth to make intercession.'”

When Satan tempts me with discouragement and frustration, often I can visualize a scene that brings instant victory over the enemy. At the right hand of God is a room – a prayer room, if you please – and kneeling there is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, praying specifically for me and my needs. He is interceding for me!

Bible Reading: Romans 8:31-34

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will allow no burden or problem or need or frustration or discouragement to defeat me any longer. Instead, I will visualize Christ Himself praying for me, and since all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him, I will expect victory over Satan and all the unseen forces of evil in order that I may live a supernatural life according to my spiritual heritage. I will also seek to share this exciting truth with someone else today. Oh, what good news to share!

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; – P.G. – Contagious Choice

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Storyteller, humorist, and radio personality Garrison Keillor said in a presentation at Goshen College, “Some people think it’s difficult to be a Christian and to laugh, but I think it’s the other way around. God writes a lot of comedy; it’s just that he has so many bad actors.” Too often when Christians gather together, many of them appear to have spent the morning sucking on lemons. Haven’t they been redeemed by the free grace of a loving God? Where is their joy? Why doesn’t it show?

A glad heart makes a cheerful face.

Proverbs 15:13

Without doubt, the tribulations and toils of the day are burdensome and difficult for many. That’s when a shift in focus is called for. Like the early church in Ephesus, they’ve forgotten the joy of their salvation – their first love. Gladness of heart, if it is there, hasn’t translated to their faces.

Know that cheerfulness is a choice. A smile takes fewer muscles to produce than a frown, and it even brings light to the eyes. Vow to be a smiling, if not downright cheerful, Christian. It could be contagious. As you ask the Lord to help you, intercede for the Christians on Capitol Hill to be enthusiastic for their faith and a light to those around them.

Recommended Reading: Revelation 2:1-7

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert – We Win!

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Mark 1:12

It happens to everyone—being tempted. It even happened to Jesus. No sooner had Jesus been baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River than God’s Spirit led him into the desert. There the Devil came to him and tormented him, tempting him to use his power for his own glory instead of good. It was so bad that when it was over, angels had to come and take care of him.

If Jesus was tempted, you can be sure that you will be too. But here’s the good news. God made a promise about how he will help us. Here it is: “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, The Message).

There’s more good news. Being tempted is not sin. As long as we don’t give in to the temptation we have not sinned. And one more piece of good news is that if we “submit [ourselves], then, to God [and] resist the devil … he will flee from [us]” (James 4:7). We will always win because God is with us.

Dear Lord, Thank you for making a way for us to escape sin when we are tempted. Help me when I am tempted to remember that Jesus was tempted too and he came through it without sinning. I know Jesus can help me when I am tempted. Amen.

Discovering God’s Design

Discovering God’s Design – Spread the Joy Around

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Malachi 4:2

Have you ever actually watched a cavorting calf? You’d probably think you were witnessing the worst possible case of bovine ADD. Human children act similarly. Position yourself outside an elementary school just before the day’s final bell. Whether a child has to traverse ten feet to queue up for a bus or ten blocks to burst into her door, you can’t fail to miss a common behavior: They run.

When was the last time you leaped? Don’t count the day you were in range of an automatic sprinkler system just chugging into action. When did you dance like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof or like King David upon the return of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (see 2Sa 6:14–15)?

In Psalm 28:7 David asserts: “My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise [God].” That inner jubilation works well for some of us, but we can’t all see ourselves physically leaping. Our hearts, though, alive in Christ and inspired by joy, can bound and jump.

Preacher and writer Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) knew the joy of being right with God:

No language can express the ineffable blessedness of the supreme reward that awaits the soul that has taken its supreme climb, proved its supreme love, and entered on its supreme reward. What an imperturbable certainty there is about the man who is in contact with the real God! Thank God, the life of the Father of the Faithful is but a specimen of the life of every humble believer who obediently follows the discipline of the life of faith. What a depth of transparent rightness there must be about the man who walks before God, and the meaning of the Atonement is to place us there in perfect adjustment to God. “[Walk before me and be blameless (see Ge 17:1)],” not faultless, but blameless, undeserving of censure in the eyes of God.

Chambers concedes that no language can adequately describe such euphoria, but he doesn’t suggest that we hold back in expressing ourselves in whatever way is appropriate. Are you the “let it all hang out” type, immune to easy embarrassment? Do you gravitate like a moth toward the limelight, or are you continuously aware in a public setting of the impression you’re making—or not making, if your goal is anonymity?

The fact is that it doesn’t matter. As Christians, we revere God’s name. And we’ve been healed and forgiven. When God looks at each of us, washed in the cleansing blood of Christ, he sees something incredible—absolute perfection! We’ve been “released.” How can any of us consider keeping such news to ourselves?

Think About It

  • When you think about what God has done for you, what is the first emotion you feel?
  • How does your rightness before God allow you to experience joy?
  • Who needs to hear about this joy of yours?

Act on It

Someone out there needs the kind of joy that you as a Christian experience. Share that joy with someone.