Daily Archives: September 17, 2015

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Blessing of Loyalty

Leave a comment

 

Ruth 4:13-22

I believe Ruth’s remarkable loyalty is what earned her a place in both the Bible and the lineage of Jesus Christ. Our culture idealizes “looking out for number one,” but Scripture teaches us to protect loved ones and those in need (1 Cor. 13:7; Ps. 82:3-4). Ruth is a shining example of faithfulness—she willingly adjusted her own schedule and expectations to meet Naomi’s needs.

With no family left to care for her and no neighbors who shared her faith in God, Naomi found herself in a foreign land, far from the comfort of a familiar and like-minded community. During those dark hours, Ruth—her son’s pagan widow—sacrificed everything to stay at Naomi’s side. Then, to care for her aging mother-in-law, Ruth set aside hope of remarriage as well as the prospect of a child. She packed her bags for a foreign country and swore to follow a strange religion: the worship of Naomi’s God.

Ruth undoubtedly was aware of the risks involved in casting her lot with another woman in a male-dominated society, but she did so without hesitation. And the young woman’s commitment did not end when they arrived in Israel. It was Ruth, following Naomi’s directions, who kept the two women fed. And it was Ruth, again under Naomi’s tutelage, who made a strategic alliance with Boaz that secured their future.

Ruth sacrificed mightily for her mother-in-law, and as a result, God gave her the very things she thought she’d forfeited—a God who loved her, a home, a husband, and a son. Moreover, Ruth is counted among the ancestors of the Messiah, Jesus. What a testimony of the reward for loyalty.

Bible in One Year: Hosea 1-5

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Doesn’t God Care?

Leave a comment

 

Read: Habakkuk 1:1-11

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 27-29; 2 Corinthians 10

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. —Isaiah 55:8

Why does the intoxicated driver escape an accident unharmed while his sober victim is seriously injured? Why do bad people prosper while good people suffer? How often have you been so confused by things going on in your life that you have cried out, “Doesn’t God care?”

Habakkuk struggled with this same question as he saw the distressing situation in Judah where wickedness and injustice were running rampant (Hab. 1:1-4). His confusion drove him to ask God when He would act to fix the situation. God’s reply was nothing short of perplexing.

God said that He would use the Chaldeans as the means of Judah’s correction. The Chaldeans were notorious for their cruelty (v. 7). They were bent on violence (v. 9) and worshiped nothing but their military prowess and false gods (vv. 10-11).

In moments when we don’t understand God’s ways, we need to trust His unchanging character. That’s exactly what Habakkuk did. He believed that God is a God of justice, mercy, and truth (Ps. 89:14). In the process, he learned to look at his circumstances from the framework of God’s character instead of looking at God’s character from the context of his own circumstances. He concluded, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights” (Hab. 3:19). —Poh Fang Chia

Lord, it is easy to let my circumstances change how I understand You. Help me to remember that You are good and faithful, even though I can’t see everything and may not understand how You are working.

Our situation may look very different from God’s point of view.

INSIGHT: The book of Habakkuk is a dialogue between the prophet Habakkuk and God. Ministering to the rebellious kingdom of Judah 120 years after Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, Habakkuk was perplexed as to why God had not punished Judah for her sin (1:2-4). God responded that He would use the Babylonians to punish Judah (vv. 5-11). Habakkuk was even more perplexed that a holy God would use an evil pagan nation to discipline His own people (1:12-2:1). He then learned that God would punish Babylon too (2:2-20). Habakkuk, praising God’s faithfulness (3:1-15), affirms his trust in God to do what is right (vv. 16-19). Sim Kay Tee

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Don’t All Religions Lead to God?

Leave a comment

 

We live in a context of spiritual longing. Many people are searching for that which will satisfy an inner craving for meaning and significance. As artist Damian Hirst says, “Why do I feel so important when I’m not? Nothing is important and everything is important. I do not know why I am here but I am glad that I am. I’d rather be here than not. I am going to die and I want to live forever, I can’t escape that fact, and I can’t let go of that desire.”

But longing does not always translate into finding any sort of spiritual meaning and significance. There is a dizzying array of options when it comes to religion, and the culture around us says that they are all equally valid. It seems absolutely bizarre to people that someone would say, “This one way is the truth and the only truth.” The poet Steve Turner describes brilliantly what many think when it comes to religion: “Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves. We believe he was a good teacher of morals but we believe that his good morals are really bad. We believe that all religions are basically the same, at least the one we read was. They all believe in love and goodness, they only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.”

In my experience, there are usually two motivations for dismissing the idea that Christ is the only way to God, and we need to examine them both. The first objection is that it is arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way. How could Christians possibly be so arrogant as to say that all the other religions are wrong and Jesus is the only path to God? Often the parable of the elephant is used to illustrate the sheer arrogance of Christianity. It goes something like this: Three blind scribes are touching different parts of an elephant. The one who is holding the tail says, “This is a rope.” Another holding the elephant’s leg says, “This is not a rope; you are wrong. It is a tree.” Still another who is holding the trunk of the elephant says, “You are both wrong. It is a snake!” The moral of the story is that all religions are like these men. They each touch a different part of ultimate reality and therefore any one of them is arrogant to say they have the whole truth.

But take a step back and think about what is being said here. Do you see the breathtaking claim that is being made? Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, and Muhammad are all blind, but in fact, I can see! These leaders all had a small perspective, but I am the one who sees the full picture. Now who is being arrogant? It is just as arrogant to say that Buddha, Muhammad, and Jesus were all wrong in their exclusive claims as it is to say that Jesus is the only way. The issue is not about who is arrogant, but what is actually true and real.

The second motivation in dismissing Christ is often a question of exclusion. How can you exclude all of these religions? Jesus may have said he was the way to the Father, but how can I follow him and become an intolerant person who excludes others? Again, we need to think carefully about this view because the reality is that whatever position we hold will exclude something. Even the person who believes that all ways lead to God excludes the view that only some ways lead to God or that only one way leads to God. Every view excludes something. Again, the issue is not about who is excluding people, but what is actually true and real.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). There are a number of possibilities here for why he might have said this, and exploring these possibilities is crucial. First, perhaps he was genuinely a good person but he was deluded. He was sincere, but he was wrong; he believed that he was the Son of God, but he wasn’t. In other words, he was mentally imbalanced. Or second, perhaps Jesus knew he wasn’t God but went around telling people that he was the only way to God regardless. In other words, he was a sinister character purposely telling lies. Or finally, perhaps Jesus was who he said he was. Perhaps he made these radical statements because they were true and real. In other words, he is indeed the way to God.

Amy Orr-Ewing is EMEA Director for RZIM, and Director of Programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Bring Your Children

Leave a comment

 

“Bring him to me.” Mark 9:19

Despairingly the poor disappointed father turned away from the disciples to their Master. His son was in the worst possible condition, and all means had failed, but the miserable child was soon delivered from the evil one when the parent in faith obeyed the Lord Jesus’ word, “Bring him to me.”

Children are a precious gift from God, but much anxiety comes along with them. They may be a great joy or a great bitterness to their parents; they may be filled with the Spirit of God or possessed with the spirit of evil. In all cases, the Word of God gives us one prescription for the cure of all their ills: “Bring him to me.”

We need to engage in agonizing prayer on their behalf while they are still babies! Sin is there; so let our prayers begin to attack it. Our cries for our offspring should precede those cries that herald their arrival into a world of sin. In the days of their youth we will see sad evidences of that dumb and deaf spirit that will neither pray properly, nor hear the voice of God in the soul, but Jesus still commands, “Bring him to me.” When they are grown up, they may wallow in sin and foam with enmity against God; then when our hearts are breaking we should remember the Great Physician’s words, “Bring him to me.” We must never cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless while Jesus lives.

The Lord sometimes allows His people to be driven into a corner that they may learn how necessary He is to them. Ungodly children, when they show us our own powerlessness against the depravity of their hearts, drive us to the strong for strength, and this is a great blessing to us. Whatever our morning’s need may be, may it like a strong current carry us to the ocean of divine love. Jesus can soon remove our sorrow; He delights to comfort us. Let us hurry to Him while He waits to meet us.

The Family Bible Reading Plan

  • 2 Samuel 13
  • 2 Corinthians 6

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A single eye and simple faith

Leave a comment

 

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” Matthew 6:22,23

Suggested Further Reading: Philippians 3:17-21

God will say to thee, “Take no thought for the morrow, be careful for nothing;” Mammon will say to thee, “Look ahead, be careful for everything;” and when God says to thee, “Give of thy substance to the poor;” Mammon will say, “Hold it tight, it is that giving that spoils everything;” and when God will say unto thee, “Set not thy affections on the things of earth;” Mammon will say, “Get money, get money, get it anyhow;” and when God saith, “Be upright;” Mammon will say, “Cheat thy own father if thou canst win by it.” Mammon and God are at such extreme ends of the earth and so desperately opposed, that I trust, Christian, thou art not such a fool, as to attempt to serve them both. If thou dost thou hast the worldling’s eye, and thou art a worldling thyself. Remember, too, if thou triest to do this we may suspect thee of having the hypocrite’s eye. As Matthew Henry says, “The hypocrite is like the waterman; he pulls this way, but he looks that. He pretends to look to heaven, but he pulls towards his own interest. He says, ‘he looks to Christ,’ but he is always pulling towards his own private advantage. The true Christian, however, is like a traveller; he looks to the goal and then he walks straight on to it; he goes the way he is looking.” Be then not like the hypocrite, who hath this double eye, looking one way and going the other. An old Puritan said, “A hypocrite is like the hawk; the hawk flies upward, but he always keeps his eye down on the prey; let him get up as high as he will, he is always looking on the ground. Whereas, the Christian is like the lark, he turns his eye up to heaven, and as he mounts and sings he looks upward and he mounts upward.”

For meditation: Not looking where you ought to be going can have disastrous consequences (Luke 6:39-42).

Sermon no. 335

17 September (Preached 16 September 1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Selecting the Proper Shoes

Leave a comment

 

“Stand firm . . . having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:14-15).

Standing firm while in the conflict requires the right kind of spiritual footwear.

I’ll never forget a game that took place at the Rose Bowl during my college football days. Being winter time and late in the football season, the field was in bad shape from several days of rain and an entire season of wear and tear. However, the grounds crew painted the field green, so it looked much better than it actually was. I had two pairs of football shoes: one with long spikes for bad turf and one with short spikes for good turf. Thinking the field looked pretty good, I opted to wear the short spikes.

On the opening kick-off I caught the ball on the four- yard line, took two steps, and immediately landed on my backside. That’s not unusual after a tackle, but in this case there wasn’t an opponent in sight! I slipped in the mud—my shoes betrayed me.

Since proper shoes are important in athletics, how much more so are they when fighting for your life. Roman soldiers took great care in selecting just the right shoe. Typically they wore a thick-soled semi-boot with straps securing it to the leg. On the bottom of the soles were hobnails that protruded like the cleats of a track or baseball shoe. The thick soles protected the feet from injury; the hobnails provided traction when maneuvering on the soil.

The Christian’s spiritual footwear is the “gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). Romans 5:1 says, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” God has reconciled you to Himself through the death of His Son (v. 10). Once you were His enemy; now you are His child. Once He opposed you; now He is on your side.

No matter how difficult your circumstances may be or how many opponents come against you, realize that the invincible God of the universe is on your side. He makes war against His enemies (Rev. 2:16), and against Him no one can stand. So stand firm in that confidence. Focus on your Great Ally rather than your feeble enemies.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His peace, presence, and protection in your life.

For Further Study

Read Judges 7. How did Gideon demonstrate his confidence that God was on his side?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Carried in His Arms

Leave a comment

 

I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! – Psalm 91:2

At various points in our lives, all of us feel we’re getting “out of our depth” or “in over our heads.” There are problems all around: A job is lost, someone dies, there is strife in the family, or a bad report comes from the doctor. When these things happen, our temptation is to panic because we feel we’ve lost control.

But think about it: The truth is that we’ve never been in control when it comes to life’s most crucial elements. The only thing that holds us up—and the thing we can be most grateful for—is the grace of God, our Father, and that won’t change. God is never out of His depth, and therefore, we’re safe when we’re in life’s “deep end” because we can trust that He will always carry us in His arms.

Prayer of Thanks

Thank You, Father, that You are a refuge for me. I know that because You are with me, I can feel safe and secure. Thank You that no matter how difficult life may seem, I can be at peace because You will never let me go.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Church Will Prevail

Leave a comment

 

“You are Peter, a stone; and upon this rock I will build my church: and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

You and I can truly rejoice: no matter how weak and ineffective our church may seem to be at times, the fact remains that “all powers of hell shall not prevail against it.” Remarkably fulfilled to this date, this promise has the Word of God Himself to back it up.

Sometimes, we see the human frailties of one another in the church – which will always be there – and we forget for the moment the great strengths that are present: the Word of God; fellow believers who are fully committed to the Lord; genuine worship of our heavenly Father.

Primarily, we have the promise that the church is God’s instrument for worship and instruction of His children. It is a rallying place for believers; a powerhouse of prayer; a training school for sharing our faith.

A parallel to this promise has to do with the Word of God. Men have tried to destroy it down through the ages, but it remains the all-time best seller and so shall it ever be. Men have tried to count the church down and out many times, never with any degree of success whatsoever. And so shall that ever be, as well.

Rejoice: all the plots, stratagems and machinations of the enemy of the church shall never be able to overcome it. You and I, meanwhile, can do our part to help make the church all that God intends for it to be.

Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:21-24

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will praise God for His protecting hand over the church and do all in my power, the Holy Spirit enabling, to keep it strong and triumphant – the center of spiritual revolution.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Old Barefoot

Leave a comment

 

Was it a test to see how many of them they could keep, or was it to be a standard by which they were to live? Though they may have been both, the Ten Commandments certainly revealed man’s true condition. His “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” (Jeremiah 17:9) The laws were not Israel’s savior; they condemned the people. There needed to be something or someone else.

Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance.”

Ruth 4:6

The story of Ruth tells of a man called “redeemer,” but he didn’t measure up to the name. In fact, Bible teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee thought he should be called “Old Barefoot,” for he made a deal with Boaz to give up land and a marriage to Ruth, sealing the deal by giving up a sandal (Ruth 4:8). Boaz acted on Ruth’s behalf to be her kinsman-redeemer so she could have a blessed life.

It is the same for you, dear one. Jesus came on your behalf, bearing your sin on the cross so that, in believing, you can look forward to life eternal in Heaven. Pray today for all people still needing a redeemer – especially those in political leadership – that their hearts will be changed and that they will be saved and blessed.

Recommended Reading: Ruth 4:7-13, 16-17

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – In the Potter’s Hands

Leave a comment

 

Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”—Jeremiah 18:5–6

The prophet Jeremiah describes a trip he took to the potter’s house, where God spoke to him:

The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 18:1–6)

We are like clay in the Potter’s hands. There are things God is doing in our lives, and we have a choice: We can respond to His working, or we can resist His working. We can yield to what He wants us to do, or we can disobey when He tells us to do something.

As we continue reading the story of Jeremiah and his visit to the potter’s house, we find a description of a field with cracked pots, vases, and wreckage. These were things that didn’t work out, so the potter took them and threw them into the field.

Life is like that. There are people who flex and move and go the way that God wants them to, and they turn into what God wants them to be. Then there are people who resist and say no to God. They self-destruct, and their lives end up in ruins, like broken pottery in a field.

God has a plan for your life. The question is this: Will you work with God’s plan, or will you resist it?

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Key to Spiritual Growth

Leave a comment

 

The key to spiritual growth isn’t increased church attendance or involvement in spiritual activities. People don’t grow in Christ because they’re busy at church. They grow in Christ when they read and trust their Bibles.

Desire some “Glory Days?” Engage with the Bible. Think and re-think God’s Word. Let it be your guide. Set your sights on the unchanging principles of God. Let God’s Word be the authoritative word in your world.

To begin, join me in our  Scripture Memory Challenge. It’s an adventure to hide God’s Word deep in our hearts. This week let’s memorize Joshua 1:9, God’s promise of power. “Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!”

Take the challenge at GloryDaysToday.com!

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples –The House That Trust Built

Leave a comment

 

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” Proverbs 3:3

We’ve been talking this week about building trust—one of the essential components of a successful marriage. It’s a bit like constructing a small house out of dominos. As you carefully lay them in place, each succeeding level depends on the previous one. The placement of each domino matters. If one is placed at an angle, the entire project will eventually come crashing down.

So it is with trust. Every aspect of marriage is connected. As we seek and follow God’s will for our lives, we behave in ways that earn trust from our husband or wife. As that trust grows, our mate becomes more open and vulnerable to us. As we share more of ourselves with each other, we achieve greater intimacy, which makes us more accountable to our partners and provides a better setting for encouraging each other in our spiritual lives.

One night in college I decided to tell Jim about my painful past— that my father was an abusive alcoholic. We had gone together for about a year before I revealed this secret. I didn’t know how Jim would react or if I could trust him with it. Actually, I was afraid the revelation might end our relationship. But as I talked, Jim put his arms around me and listened for a long time. When I was through, he told me that he had a new appreciation for me and for the strength I needed to live through such trying circumstances. Instead of driving us apart, my openness brought us closer together.

Clearly, you have to be very careful when choosing to share your intimate secrets. Some people will reject or hurt you or betray your confidence with others. However, one of the wonderful characteristics of love is that in a mature relationship, sharing leads to even greater trust. I hope that our conversations this week have already led you to a deeper experience of trust and confidence in each other.

– Shirley M Dobson

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson