Daily Archives: February 28, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Cross: Symbol of Forgiveness

Leave a comment

Read | Matthew 20:27-28

Have you ever wondered why God didn’t decide to save us without having His only Son die the gruesome death of crucifixion? Surely, you think, the Lord could do anything, right? Yes, He can do anything, but He cannot violate His own character.

God is holy. We know that all people have disobeyed His law and fellowship with Him has been broken. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” From the beginning of time, He has required a penalty for disobedience to His commands. In fact, our sin actually deserves payment of our own life. (See Gen. 2:17; Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23.)

Continue reading Charles Stanley – The Cross: Symbol of Forgiveness →

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Growing Up

Leave a comment

Read: Ephesians 4:1-16

Bible in a Year: Numbers 20-22; Mark 7:1-13

From him the whole body . . . grows and builds itself up in love. —Ephesians 4:16

Watching my young grandson and his friends play T-Ball is entertaining. In this version of baseball, young players often run to the wrong base or don’t know what to do with the ball if they happen to catch it.  If we were watching a professional baseball game, these mistakes would not be so funny.

It’s all a matter of maturity.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Growing Up →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God’s Glory in Christ

Leave a comment

“And 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” (John 1:14).

Christ displayed God’s glory on earth and will again when He comes back. After seeing His glory in Scripture, we should respond in worship and righteousness.

From eternity past Christ had the glory of God. He “is the radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3), and He prayed, “And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with Thee before the world was” (John 17:5).

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God’s Glory in Christ →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Risk and Reward

Leave a comment

And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.       Judges 1:12-13

Risk often precedes reward, and reward may follow risk. War is risky because you endanger life and limb. The stakes are high. However, the rewards of war are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The victor enjoys the spoils of war, while those humiliated in defeat suffer loss. Marriage is risky because it entails the co-mingling of money, time, trust, and loyalty. What’s yours becomes hers and what’s hers becomes yours. You become one flesh, for it is a relationship of oneness (Genesis 2:24). But the rewards of marriage are love, joy, peace, companionship, sex, children, and spiritual/emotional maturity to name but a few. The many risks of marriage are overshadowed by the mammoth rewards it hands out to the husband and to the wife.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Risk and Reward →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Patient

Leave a comment

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. —James 1:4

James teaches us that we can rejoice when we find ourselves involved in difficult situations, knowing that God is trying our faith to bring out patience. I have found that trials did eventually bring out patience in me, but first they brought a lot of other junk to the surface—such as pride, anger, rebellion, self-pity, complaining, and many other things. It seems that these ungodly traits, with God’s help, need to be faced and dealt with because they hinder patience as well as other good fruit like kindness, love, humility, and other things.

The Bible talks about purification, sanctification, and sacrifice. These are not popular words; nevertheless, these are things we go through in order to become like Jesus in our character. God’s desire is to make us perfect, lacking in nothing. He wants us to ultimately be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which usually requires us to go through some difficulties that, although are unpleasant, do eventually help us mature.

Continue reading Joyce Meyer – Be Patient →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – I Am With You Always

Leave a comment

“And then teach new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this — that I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20).

When David Livingstone sailed for Africa the first time, a group of his friends accompanied him to the pier to wish him bon voyage.

Concerned for the safety of the missionary, some of his well-wishers reminded him of the dangers which would confront him in the dark land to which he was journeying. One of the men tried to convince him he should remain in England.

Opening his Bible, Livingstone read the six decisive words that had sealed the matter for him long before: “Lo, I am with you always.”

Then turning to the man who was especially concerned about his safety, Livingstone smiled before he gave a calm reply.

Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – I Am With You Always →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – A Love Story

Leave a comment

Read: Isaiah 53:10-12

…because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

When I first came to Peninsula Bible Church as a pastor, we had an unusual opportunity to have in our home a Japanese man who had become a Christian evangelist. His name was Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, the commander of the squadron that bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He told us in his broken English of that event and how he felt at the time he gave the command to drop the bombs. After the war he became a hero in Japan, yet he felt his life was empty. Then he heard the amazing story of one of the American fliers, Jacob DeShazer, one of Doolittle’s bombers, who had been captured and put in prison in Japan. At first he was a very intractable prisoner, but someone gave him a New Testament and, reading it, his whole life was changed.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – A Love Story →

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Thinks About His Own

Leave a comment

“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” (Psalm 139:17-18)

When Heather was little, her family would go camping at the beach. They stayed in tents and cooked over an open fire. Every day, Heather and her twin brother Mitch would go swimming in the ocean! They had so much fun playing in the water, walking along the beach, and, of course, playing in the sand. Mitch and Heather built too many sand castles to count, and one time they even built a car made of sand! Sometimes, Heather wondered if it was possible to count all the grains of sand on that beach. She tried once to count just a bucket full of sand, but as you can imagine, she gave that up quickly! Why? Even in a single bucket, there was way too much sand to count!

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Thinks About His Own →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional –Patience with Others’ Shortcomings

Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Galatians 6:2

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

In the Scriptures, forbearance, or tolerance, is associated with love, the unity of the believers, and the forgiveness of Christ. In Ephesians 4:2-3, Paul said that we’re to live “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Peter told us that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8); love for the other person causes us to overlook or tolerate his shortcomings.

Continue reading The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional –Patience with Others’ Shortcomings →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Life-Changing Word

Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 2 Kings 22-25

The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. – Psalm 119:72

Several years ago, a fifteenth-century Gutenberg Bible was sold at Christie’s Auction house in New York for $5.4 million, more than double the previous record for a printed book. Now that’s a dramatic response to the Bible, but not nearly as dramatic as what we see in today’s passage.

King Josiah had arranged to have the temple repaired, and as the workmen went about their tasks, they found a book. But it wasn’t just any old book; they found The Book! For some reason, it had been lost or mislaid or tossed in a corner by those who didn’t know the value of it. Or perhaps it had been hidden by some idolatrous priest who hoped it would never again see the light of day.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Life-Changing Word →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – PETER’S SURPRISING REST

Leave a comment

Read Acts 12:1-11

We last saw Peter sleeping in the garden. In today’s reading, he is asleep again—but this time the circumstances are vastly different. Peter had been arrested by Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. The apostle James, the brother of John, had already been put to death. Peter was arrested when Herod saw that the execution of James increased his political popularity.

Peter was not executed immediately, probably because of the approaching Passover holiday. The fate of James and the situation’s similarity to the event surrounding Jesus’ death could not have been lost on Peter. Death must have seemed virtually certain. The church thought so, and they called for an urgent prayer meeting at the home of John Mark’s mother.

Scripture includes a note of humor in this account. Peter was sleeping so soundly that the angel had to poke him in the side to wake him. Even then, Peter thought he was having a vision of some kind. The angel had to talk him through putting on his sandals and his cloak step by step.

Once Peter realized the angel had set him free, he went to where the church was earnestly praying—only to be left standing at the door! The believers refused to believe Rhoda, the servant who reported that Peter had returned. While he continued to knock, they debated about what she might have seen. Finally they opened the door and rejoiced to see Peter himself standing there, living proof that their prayers were answered.

Peter’s sleep in prison was used by God to highlight His miraculous power in rescuing His servant. Peter did nothing to instigate his own escape; it was entirely the work of God. His deep sleep also revealed his peace in the face of death. Such a rest is ultimately a gift from God.

APPLY THE WORD

Are you facing an impossible situation today? Faith in God can enable you to be at rest even in the most unlikely circumstances. The same God who sent His angel to rescue Peter is aware of your situation. He still works miracles, He still provides peace that passes understanding, and He still keeps His promises. Commit your situation to Him today.

http://www.todayintheword.org