Daily Archives: November 28, 2015

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Blessings of God

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2 Peter 1:1-4

When we place our trust in God, we can be assured that He provides for all of our needs. Here are a few of our blessings we receive from the Lord:

Forgiveness. When you place your trust in Jesus Christ, your sin is washed away. This refers not only to all previous sin but also to the sin you have not yet committed (Eph. 1:7).

Freedom.Christianity is the only religion in the world that offers freedom from a works-based righteousness. This means that we do not have to earn the Lord’s favor. He loves us perfectly and has made provision for our complete salvation through His Son. All we have to do is accept this loving gift of grace (John 8:36).

Union with God. We don’t worship a distant deity; we praise a loving Father who knows every detail of our lives. Ephesians 1:13 reveals that we are “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit.” This means we are forever joined to the Father. Read Ephesians 1:1-14 closely and count all the times that the apostle Paul uses the phrase “in Him”—you will see the great emphasis he placed on his relationship with Christ.

Eternal Life. If you have been sealed in God, then you are forever bound with Him. He has you in His grip, and nothing can pull you away (John 10:28-29).

Money is fleeting, yet it is the god to which many people bow. The Lord has riches of greater worth for you. Whether you are wealthy or not, do not let your material possessions keep you from accepting your riches in Christ. There is surely more value in what God has to offer.

Bible in One Year: 1 Corinthians 4-6

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Seeing Ourselves

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Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 33-34; 1 Peter 5

Everyone ought to examine themselves. —1 Corinthians 11:28

Long ago, before the invention of mirrors or polished surfaces, people rarely saw themselves. Puddles of water, streams, and rivers were one of the few ways they could see their own reflection. But mirrors changed that. And the invention of cameras took fascination with our looks to a whole new level. We now have lasting images of ourselves from any given time throughout our entire life. This is good for making scrapbooks and keeping family histories, but it can be detrimental to our spiritual well-being. The fun of seeing ourselves on camera can keep us focused on outward appearance and leave us with little interest in examining our inner selves.

Self-examination is crucial for a healthy spiritual life. God wants us to see ourselves so that we can be spared the consequences of sinful choices. This is so important that Scripture says we are not to participate in the Lord’s Supper without first examining ourselves (1 Cor. 11:28). The point of this self-examination is not only to make things right with God but also to make sure we are right with one another. The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of Christ’s body, and we can’t celebrate it properly if we’re not living in harmony with other believers.

Seeing and confessing our sin promotes unity with others and a healthy relationship with God. —Julie Ackerman Link

Dear Lord, help me to be more concerned with the reflection of my heart than with my physical reflection. Change me through the power of Your Spirit.

When we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see ourselves more clearly.

INSIGHT: Jesus ate the Jewish Passover meal—a celebration to remember God’s rescue of His people from slavery in Egypt—with His disciples the night before He went to the cross. Christ used the elements of this meal to institute the memorial celebration of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion (1 Cor. 11:20), to help us remember how He has rescued us from our sins.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Walk in the Truth

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For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 3 John 3

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him, the first would have been a mere pretense. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value.

Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which provides no nourishment to the body; but doctrine accepted by the heart is like food digested, which by assimilation sustains and builds up the body.

In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the warp and woof of our being. If it is in us, we cannot then part with it.

A man may lose his clothes or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth.

Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the center of the lantern through the glass: When, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon shines in the outward life and conversation.

It is said that the food of certain worms colors the cocoons of silk that they spin: And in the same way the nutriment upon which a man’s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed proceeding from him.

To walk in the truth conveys a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity-the natural product of those principles of truth that the Gospel teaches and that the Spirit of God enables us to receive.

We may judge the secrets of the soul by their appearance in the man’s behavior. Today, O gracious Spirit, let it be ours to be ruled and governed by Your divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, in case it should extend its malignant influence to our everyday lives in the community.

The Family Bible Reading Plan

  • 1 Chronicles 24, 25
  • 1 Peter 5

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Satan’s banquet

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“The governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” John 2:9-10

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 55:12-23

The governor of the feast said more than he intended to say, or rather, there is more truth in what he said than he himself imagined. This is the established rule all the world over: “the good wine first, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse.” It is the rule with men; and have not hundreds of disappointed hearts bewailed it? Friendship first—the oily tongue, the words softer than butter, and afterwards the drawn sword. Ahitophel first presents the lordly dish of love and kindness to David, then afterwards that which is worse, for he forsakes his master, and becomes the counsellor of his rebel son. Judas presents first of all the dish of fair speech and of kindness; the Saviour partook thereof, he walked to the house of God in company with him, and took sweet counsel with him; but afterwards there came the dregs of the wine—“He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.” Judas the thief betrayed his Master, bringing forth afterwards “that which is worse.” You have found it so with many whom you thought your friends. In the heyday of prosperity, when the sun was shining, and the birds were singing, and all was fair and cheerful with you, they brought forth the good wine; but there came a chilling frost, and nipped your flowers, and the leaves fell from the trees, and your streams were frosted with ice, and then they brought forth that which is worse, they forsook you and fled; they left you in your hour of peril, and taught you that great truth, that “Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.”

For meditation: Has someone you trusted let you down badly, albeit unintentionally? Christ’s first miracle reminds us that man’s ways are not God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8); the Christian has a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24) and is assured that the best is still to come (Hebrews 10:34).

Sermon no. 225

28 November (1858)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Accepting God’s Provisions

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“By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Heb. 11:28-29).

The man or woman of faith gratefully accepts all God’s provisions, no matter how pointless some of them may seem.

When the time came for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, everything on the human level said it couldn’t be done. Pharaoh wasn’t about to let two to three million slaves just pack up and leave. His formidable army was ready to insure that no such exodus occurred.

But when God devises a plan, He always makes the necessary provisions for carrying it out. On this occasion, His provision came in the form of ten terrifying plagues designed to change Pharaoh’s mind.

The tenth and worst plague was the death of all the first- born (Ex. 11:5). To protect themselves from this plague, the Israelites sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. When the angel of death saw the blood, he passed over that house. Thus the Passover was instituted.

The blood from those first Passover lambs had no intrinsic power to stave off the death angel, but its presence demonstrated faith and obedience, thus symbolizing the future sacrifice of Christ (cf. John 1:29).

Pharaoh got the message and allowed the Israelites to leave. But soon afterward he changed his mind and commanded his army to pursue them. Again God intervened by parting the Red Sea, allowing His people to walk across on dry land. He then drowned the entire Egyptian army when it followed the Israelites into the sea.

That was a graphic demonstration of a lesson every believer must learn: God’s provisions are always best. They may sometimes seem foolish to the human intellect—just as “the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18)—but the man or woman of faith trusts God and receives His provisions gratefully.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for the wise and gracious provisions He has made for your salvation and ongoing Christian walk.

For Further Study

Read the account of the Passover and the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 11-14.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Forget God

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For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.—Jeremiah 2:13

The first and biggest mistake anyone can make is to forsake or ignore God, or act as though He doesn’t exist. This is what the people Jeremiah wrote about in today’s verse had done. Later in the same chapter that contains this verse, God says, My people have forgotten Me, days without number (Jeremiah 2:32). What a tragedy; it sounds as though God is sad or perhaps even lonely.

I sure wouldn’t like it if my children forgot about me. I never go many days without talking to each of them. I have one son who travels extensively with the ministry. Even when he is overseas, he calls me every few days. I remember a time when Dave and I had dinner with one of our sons two evenings in a row. Yet the next day he called just to see what we were doing and to ask if we wanted to do something together the following evening. He also called to simply say that he and his wife really appreciate all the things we do to help them. These are the kinds of things that help build and maintain good relationships.

Sometimes the little things mean the most. My children’s actions let me know that they love me. Even though I know with my mind that they love me, it sure is good to also feel their love.

That is the way God is with us, His beloved children. He may know we love Him, but He also likes to experience our love for Him through our actions, especially our remembering Him and our desire to spend time with Him.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Does the Work

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“And I am sure the God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns” (Philippians 1:6).

Howard was adamant in his conviction. “I would never lead anyone to Christ that I could not personally follow up to be sure he matures and grows and becomes all that God wants him to be.”

“Since when did you assume the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?” I asked.

Obviously, we are to do everything we can to help a new believer grow to maturity in Christ – by teaching him to trust God, study His word, pray, live a holy life, and share his faith with others. But no matter how much we do, it is the Holy Spirit who helps the new believer come to Christ, and who illumines his heart with the Word. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray and empowers us to witness. In fact, there would be no supernatural life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Paradoxically, you and I can be confident, yet humble, when we think of all that we are, and all that we have in Christ, and realize that we are not responsible for any of it, but it is something which God has given us according to His grace. My only boast is in God, His Son Jesus Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit. How can I boast of my abilities and achievements, when it is the Giver alone who is worthy of all honor and praise? The apostle Paul had the strong conviction that the work God had begun in the believer would be permanent. All events that transpire in our lives, all influences, heartaches, testings and sorrows, as well as all of the blessings, are designed to conform us to the image of Christ.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: God, who saved me, continues to work in my life, conforming me to the image of Christ. Therefore, I will continue to trust and obey Him, as I draw upon His supernatural resources

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Yes, Lord!

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A “yes-man,” according to Merriam-Webster, is “a person who agrees with everything that someone says: a person who supports the opinions or ideas of someone else in order to earn that person’s approval.” Politically speaking, this term is used to describe someone seeking to raise his or her own standings, and the support they show is actually insincere.

Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?

Galatians 1:10

In today’s passage, Paul cautions against seeking the approval of man. He continues, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10) People are wavering, and their opinions are prone to change, so trying to please them often results in wasted efforts. God, however, is steadfast and unchanging. Your efforts to please Him will never go unnoticed.

Instead of being a “yes-man,” work on being a “Yes, Lord!” person. Let that be your response when God calls. Thank Him today for Christian leaders who answer Him with a “Yes, Lord.” Then pray for more to recognize His sovereignty and be ready when He calls.

Recommended Reading: Galatians 1:11-24

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Just in Time

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“But we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”—Romans 5:3–4

Perhaps the hardships of today are preparing you for great opportunities tomorrow.

Warren Wiersbe quotes a professor of history who said, “If Columbus had turned back, nobody would have blamed him, but nobody would have remembered him either.” Wiersbe concludes, “If you want to be memorable, sometimes you have to be miserable.”

We all know the story of Job. I don’t know of many people who suffered more than him, with the loss of his possessions, health and, worst of all, his children. Yet his faith remained intact and even grew stronger.

You might say, “I could never handle the things Job faced! In fact, I can’t handle suffering at all.” Don’t worry; God will give you what you need when you need it.

Not before. Never after. When you need it.

Corrie Ten Boom used to tell a story:

“When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, ‘Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.'”

“Tell me,” said Father, “When we take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?”

“No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.”

“That is right,” my father said, “and so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need—just in time. . .”

We may not be called to be martyrs, but we will all suffer in life. God will give us what we need when we need it. Not before. Never after.

Just in time.

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples –Taking the Plunge

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“A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:10–11

Divorce often looks like a “quick fix” for an unpleasant situation, but it is usually far more painful than advertised. Contemplating those on the verge of taking this drastic step brings to mind a documentary film made during the early days of motion pictures. It shows a self‐styled inventor near the top of the Eiffel Tower with a pair of homemade wings strapped to his arms. He paces back and forth, trying to work up the courage to jump. If the wings work, he’ll be famous. If they fail, he’ll fall to his death. Finally the “flier” climbs on the rail, wobbles for a moment, then jumps—and drops like a rock.

Depressed and hurting spouses who choose divorce are like that hapless man on the Eiffel Tower. They feel that they can’t go back, and they’re enticed forward by the lure of freedom—of soaring away, leaving the pain and disappointment behind. So they jump… only to find themselves tumbling headlong into custody battles, loneliness, bitterness, and even poverty. In time, the long‐term cost of their decision becomes clear. Some again see their mate’s good qualities, but by then it’s too late. They’ve already taken the plunge.

Just between us…

  • When have you jumped into a situation that you later regretted?
  • Has Scripture ever helped you avoid such a mistake? When?
  • What is the attraction, and danger, of “quick fix” solutions in marriage?
  • Why do you think God commands us to avoid divorce?

Lord of married lovers, You have called us to commitment. When forsaking our covenant seems easier than staying, grant us courage. Help us to recognize the deceitfulness of the divorce “solution.” Protect our marriage from every harm, including our own short-sightedness. Amen.

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

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Daily – Today’s Reading

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TO FATHER PETER MILWARD, sj: On the evil of Christian disunity; and on prayer and cooperation in works of charity as the means of reunion.

6 May 1963

Dear Padre,

You ask me in effect why I am not a Roman Catholic. If it comes to that, why am I not—and why are you not—a Presbyterian, a Quaker, a Mohammedan, a Hindu, or a Confucianist? After how prolonged and sympathetic study and on what grounds have we rejected these religions? I think those who press a man to desert the religion in which he has been bred and in which he believes he has found the means of Grace ought to produce positive reasons for the change—not demand from him reasons against all other religions. It would have to be all, wouldn’t it?

Our Lord prayed that we all might be one ‘as He and His Father are one’ [John 17:21]. But He and His Father are not one in virtue of both accepting a (third) monarchical sovereign.

That unity of rule, or even of credenda [things to be believed], does not necessarily produce unity of charity is apparent from the history of every Church, every religious order, and every parish.

Schism is a very great evil. But if reunion is ever to come, it will in my opinion come from increasing charity. And this, under pressure from the increasing strength and hostility of unbelief, is perhaps beginning: we no longer, thank God, speak of one another as we did over 100 years ago. A single act of even such limited co-operation as is now possible does more towards ultimate reunion than any amount of discussion.

The historical causes of the ‘Reformation’ that actually occurred were (1.) The cruelties and commercialism of the Papacy (2.) The lust and greed of Henry VIII. (3.) The exploitation of both by politicians. (4.) The fatal insouciance of the mere rabble on both sides. The spiritual drive behind the Reformation that ought to have occurred was a deep re-experience of the Pauline experience.

Memo: a great many of my closest friends are your co- religionists, some of them priests. If I am to embark on a disputation—which could not be a short one, I would much sooner do it with them than by correspondence.

We can do much more to heal the schism by our prayers than by a controversy. It is a daily subject of mine.

From The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III

Compiled in Yours, Jack

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – In God’s Time

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Genesis 21:2

Did you ever notice that God doesn’t seem to be in a hurry? Often it seems as if he waits until the last moment to answer our prayers. God had promised Abraham that he would make a great nation out of him, but Abraham had no children. How was he to become a great nation if he had no son? It was thirty years from the time God first promised Abraham a son until he held his little boy, Isaac. Later, Isaac’s son Jacob had twelve sons, and the children started multiplying. After many years they formed a nation—the nation of Israel.

What is your family praying about? Is there something you’ve waited and waited for? Don’t give up. Keep praying, and God will answer in his time, which is always perfect.

When Isaac was finally born, there was much happiness in Abraham and Sarah’s house. God’s promise was worth the wait. And it will be for you too. When Jesus finally answers your prayer, you’ll be smiling.

Dear Lord, I’m looking forward to that happy day when you answer my prayer. Amen.