Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – The Majestic

The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty.

Psalm 93:1

Recommended Reading

Psalm 93

Visitors to New York’s Central Park often pause to admire the twin-towered Majestic skyscraper at 115 Central Park West. It’s been home to such notables as Milton Berle, Walter Winchell, Marc Jacobs, and Conan O’Brien. Mob boss Lucky Luciano also lived there, as did mobster Frank Costello, who was shot in the lobby by a gunman shouting, “This is for you, Frank.”

Continue reading Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – The Majestic

Joyce Meyer – Crave God’s Presence

My soul yearns for You [O Lord] in the night, yes, my spirit within me seeks You earnestly; for [only] when Your judgments are in the earth will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God).—Isaiah 26:9

If we are hungry enough, we will get something to eat. And if we can’t eat before we leave home, we will go to a drive-thru at a fast-food restaurant. Or we will call a place that delivers food to bring us something to eat.

If we are hungry enough for God, we will find a way into His presence. We should be so hungry for the presence of God that we absolutely will not go out of our house or tackle any kind of project until we have spent some time with Him.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God – Please Make the Pain Go Away

Today’s Truth

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Friend to Friend

As the basketball game heated up and the man-to-man coverage got up close and personal, he took an elbow to the ear. Seconds later his world went silent on the trauma side. Stunned, he continued to play and pointed to his ear as he ran down the court telling his coach about the situation.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Please Make the Pain Go Away

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Be Strong in Character

“Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete” (James 1:2-4).

A friend of mine had been very successful in business, but after he became a Christian everything seemed to go wrong. Problem after problem seemed to plague him. Yet he never seemed to be discouraged or defeated.

As we counseled together, he assured me that there was no unconfessed sin in his life. So I rejoiced with him that God was preparing him for a very important responsibility in His kingdom. That is exactly what happened. He is now the director of a very fruitful ministry for our Lord. The problems and testing served to help equip him to be a better ambassador for Christ.

Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Be Strong in Character

Ray Stedman – Faith’s Action

Read: John 5:1-17

Then Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your mat and walk. At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John 5:8b-9a)

Notice that the first thing Jesus says to do is what the man could not do, what he had tried for 38 years to do. On what basis does Jesus say these words to him? Somehow this man senses what that basis was. Perhaps he was thinking, If this man tells me to rise (and I cannot rise), it must mean that he intends to do something to make it possible. Thus his faith is transferred from his own efforts to Jesus: He must do it. I can’t. The man must also have reasoned somewhat along these lines, If this man is going to help me then I have got to decide to do what he tells me to do.

That is a critical clue many miss when they are looking for help from God. There is always something God tells them to believe, and do, and act on. This is a word of action. Jesus does not say, Try to build up faith in your mind. Try to fasten your thoughts on this or that. He tells them to do something: Rise! Stand up! Obviously it was Jesus’ will that this man should do what he told him to do, and the moment the man’s will agreed with the Lord’s will the power was there. I don’t know whether he felt anything or not. All I know is that strength came into his bones and into his muscles and he could stand.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Faith’s Action

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – In Orbit

Read: Philippians 3:4-11

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (v. 8 NIV)

We conclude our reflections on the possibilities of knowing Christ by returning to Paul’s passionate words in Philippians 3. Knowing Christ was more important than anything in his life. His words reminded me of a little book by Joe Stowell, titled Simply Jesus and You.

Stowell points out that many of us have a mixture of Jesus and something else in our lives. Yes, we believe in Jesus, but we also believe that we need money or friends or a marriage partner or a good self-image.

Continue reading Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – In Orbit

Presidential Prayer Team; – Verbal Fitness

This year, what if you put the same amount of energy into the fitness of your tongue as you might into the fitness of your body? According to the Bible, your words will reflect the health of your soul like your waistline reflects the health of your heart. The book of Matthew states that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks; the good person out of his good treasure and the evil person out of his evil treasure.

Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 12:18

Continue reading Presidential Prayer Team; – Verbal Fitness

Greg Laurie – The Power of a Godly Life

At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.—2 Kings 5:2

In 2 Kings 5 we read of a young Israelite girl, whose name we don’t even know, that had been kidnapped and carried away to Syria. How easily she could have been bitter against God for allowing this to happen. And certainly she could have been angry with the people she was working for as a slave.

So when her master Naaman was stricken with leprosy, she could have thought, He deserves it. But that isn’t the way she felt at all. She was concerned for him. Her heart went out to him. And she saw the opportunity to tell Naaman about a prophet in Israel named Elisha who could pray for him. Elisha was Elijah’s successor. God was working through him and had used him to raise someone from the dead. Like Elijah, he had miracle-working power.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – The Power of a Godly Life

Kids 4 Truth International – God Knows His Creation

“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4)

Molly loved to visit her grandma on her farm in Missouri. Because Grandma lived so far away from all the city lights, Molly could see many more stars there than she could at her house in the city. She would lie in the grass on a summer night, just staring into the sky. It seemed like the longer she looked, the more stars there were. Millions and billions and trillions of stars.

The Scripture says that God, the Creator, knows the number of the stars. And not only that, but He also knows all of their millions and billions and trillions of names! His knowledge of His creation is infinite.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Knows His Creation

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Everything for Us

Today’s Scripture: 1 John 3:16

“He laid down his life for us.”

The law of God set forth in Scripture is a transcript of God’s own moral nature. It’s the law that was fully imprinted on Adam’s heart as part of his being created in God’s image. It’s the same law that the apostle Paul said is still written on people’s hearts regardless of how obscured it may now be (Romans 2:12-16). It’s a universal law applicable to all people of all times.

The apostle Paul was referring to this universal moral will of God when he wrote that Christ was “born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus was born under the law because he came to perfectly obey it in our place. He came to do what we, because of our sinful nature, could not do.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Everything for Us

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Money Hungry

Today’s Scripture: Judges 17-21

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. – 1 Timothy 6:10

In Judges 18, a son steals money from his mother, but returns it for fear of a curse she pronounced on the thief. The silver in question is soon forged into the image of a pagan god, but in fact, this money had become a god in the lives of these two long before it took the form of an idol.

In chapter 19, we find the same theme, a Levite who cannot resist an offer of wages, clothing, and food. Clearly, these material concerns have crowded out his desire to serve the Lord. When a more attractive financial offer is made, he accepts it without seeking spiritual counsel or the will of God. If it would give him more money, that was all that mattered.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Money Hungry

BreakPoint – A Possible Breakup: The Anglican Church Disagrees over Same-Sex Marriage

According to Wikipedia, the Anglican Communion, which consists of the Church of England and those churches in other countries that are in full communion with it, has 80 million members.

Statistically-speaking, the name “Anglican,” as in “England,” is a misnomer. It should be more properly named the “African Communion.” As historian Philip Jenkins has noted, the typical Anglican is not a middle-to-upper-class Englishman, but instead, a poor African woman.

Demographic diversity poses no threat to the Anglican Communion. On the contrary, it has revitalized Anglicanism even as membership and participation has declined precipitously in England and North America. What poses a major threat, however, is theological diversity, a.k.a., apostasy and heresy, courtesy of the American Episcopal Church.

A recent story in Britain’s Daily Mail told readers that Church leaders from Africa and Asia, led by Bishops from Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, “are threatening to walk out of a crucial meeting chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury unless American bishops drop their support for gay marriage.”

Continue reading BreakPoint – A Possible Breakup: The Anglican Church Disagrees over Same-Sex Marriage

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – PETER: SHAME IN FAILURE

Failure has become a taboo word in our society. Teachers tell us to believe in ourselves. Motivational speakers pump us with slogans like “Where there is a will there is a way!” and “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”

The apostle Peter is one of the most memorable characters in Scripture. He was enthusiastic, impetuous, and brave. His determination and strength distinguished him as someone who could be relied on to push through obstacles. These qualities fit the name Jesus had given him—the rock (see Matt. 16:18).

But the rock crumbled when placed under pressure. Peter had been so sure that, of all people, he would be strong enough to stand up for Jesus in any situation. At dinner when Jesus predicted that someone would betray Him, it hadn’t crossed Peter’s mind that it could be him (see John 13:21–24). He had protested against Jesus’ specific prophecy about himself; only hours later, he would fulfill that prophecy by vehemently denying that he knew Jesus. The rock turned out to behave like shifting sand.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – PETER: SHAME IN FAILURE

Denison Forum – ALABAMA WINS AGAIN: HOW TO LEAVE A LEGACY

Last night’s college football championship game made history. Alabama had already won more titles than any other team. By beating Clemson, which was ranked number one in the country, the Crimson Tide added another trophy to their remarkable collection. (For more on the game, see Mark Cook’s 3 Aphorisms that Explain the Clemson Alabama Game.)

We want to leave a legacy. We want to build something that outlives us to show the world that we were here and our lives mattered. The builders of Babel are in the Bible because their story is our story: “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).

God dispersed them, not because he opposes our leaving a legacy, but because he wants to build it. In the next chapter we find his promise to Abram: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. . . . in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2, 3). The people of Babel wanted to build a city—God wanted to build a nation.

And not just any nation, but a people through whom he could bring the Messiah who would bless “all the families of the earth.” If you’re a Christian, you’re part of “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29).

Continue reading Denison Forum – ALABAMA WINS AGAIN: HOW TO LEAVE A LEGACY

Charles Stanley – A Lesson in Pruning

John 15:1-4

Years ago I lived in Fruitland, North Carolina. It was apple country, and several of my parishioners were growers. I remember the time I stopped by to pay one of them a visit, and his wife told me he was in the orchard. I found him out there, mercilessly cutting branches. Without thinking, I said, “You’re going to kill that tree!” He turned around and said, “You stick to preaching, and leave the pruning to me.”

Continue reading Charles Stanley – A Lesson in Pruning

Our Daily Bread — You Have Value

Read: Romans 5:6-11

Bible in a Year: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-33

You were bought at a price. —1 Corinthians 6:20

After my mother-in-law died, my wife and I discovered a cache of US Indian Head pennies in a dresser drawer in her apartment. She wasn’t a coin collector, as such, but she lived in the era when these pennies were in circulation and she had accumulated a few.

Some of these coins are in excellent condition; others are not. They are so worn and tarnished you can hardly see the imprint. All bear the stamp “One Cent” on the opposite side. Although a penny these days has little value and many consider them useless, this one-cent coin would have bought a newspaper in its day. And collectors still find value in them, even those that have been battered and abused.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — You Have Value

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Mathoms and Myrrh

The ethics of regifting is always a hot discussion at Christmastime and the weeks that follow our various office parties and family exchanges. Apparently, there are those who insist that regifting is a tawdry practice, and there are those who have practiced it for years and see no harm. For those who might not be familiar with the concept, Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary offers a helpful definition: To regift is “to give an unwanted gift to someone else” or “to give as a gift something one previously received as a gift.” In any case, two out of three people say they have either regifted or are considering regifting. And while there are no doubt many successful regifters among us, there are also unfortunate stories to show for the less successful, which make the discussion entertaining. Imagine opening the very gift you had given your mother-in-law a year earlier.

The concept of regifting is similar to a word coined by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit. “Anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a mathom,” writes Tolkien. “Their dwellings were apt to become rather crowded with mathoms, and many of the presents that passed from hand to hand were of that sort.” Whether Hobbit or human, regifting is evidently nothing new.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Mathoms and Myrrh

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Having Love for One Another

“Let love of the brethren continue” (Hebrews 13:1).

Christianity’s primary moral standard is love, especially for fellow believers.

Love of other believers is a natural outflow of the Christian life and should be a normal part of fellowship within the church. You can no doubt remember how after you were first saved it became very natural and exciting to love other Christians and to want to be around them. However, such an attitude is extremely difficult to maintain. This love, which is a gift from God’s Spirit, must be nurtured or it will not grow—it may actually shrivel. That’s why the apostle Peter urges us, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:22-23).

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Having Love for One Another

Wisdom Hunters – Inclusive and Exclusive

You [Cornelius] know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all… All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:36, 43

I met my wife Rita in 7th grade when we couple skated on her birthday. We remained friends until we began to date exclusively at the Valentine’s dance our senior year of high school. A year later we were engaged to marry—an exclusive life long commitment to each other based on our shared beliefs and behaviors. Our love was inclusive of family, friends and acquaintances, but our marriage covenant before God was based on our exclusive relationship with one another.

The good news of peace through Jesus Christ is an inclusive invitation to all human beings. God’s love is inclusive for all who live on planet Earth. However, forgiveness and a personal relationship with our heavenly Father comes from an exclusive belief in Christ’s death as payment for our sins and His resurrection from death to give us life. Cornelius was instructed to take the inclusive gospel to the Gentiles, so they could believe in Jesus and have an exclusive relationship with Him. God’s inclusive love invites an exclusive relationship through Christ.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Inclusive and Exclusive

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Holy, Holy, Holy!

Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!

Isaiah 6:3

Recommended Reading

Isaiah 6:1-8

Reginald Heber was pastor of an Anglican Church in the village of Hodnet, in a church once led by his father. Between 1811 and 1821, Reginald wrote 57 hymns, which he longed to see published; but the Anglicans hadn’t yet adopted the singing of hymns in worship. Heber packed away his hymns and sailed as a missionary to India, where he labored with intensity for a few short years before passing away at age 42. His hymns were published after his death, and one is famous to this day: “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.”

Continue reading Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Holy, Holy, Holy!