Daily Archives: June 4, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Things That Cannot Be Shaken

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Hebrews 12:25-29

The Lord is always moving toward the climactic moment when this world will be replaced by a new heaven and earth. Toward that end, He strips away whatever is counterfeit and ungodly from nations and individuals. According to the Bible, this process will accelerate as the last days near. God will remove everything unstable so what remains will be the things that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27).

Believers have an unshakeable dwelling place. When we first chose to trust in the Savior, we were born into God’s kingdom and given a new safe position referred to as being “in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11). Outside forces can disrupt neither the kingdom nor the relationship. Even though life will at times entail suffering and tribulation, the followers of the Lord are secure.

For what power can stand against our sovereign Lord Jesus Christ? Everything that exists must submit to Him. Even as wars rage, injustice spreads, and governments fail, He remains in absolute control. People are allowed to exercise wickedness so that the content of their hearts will be revealed, as will their great need for a Savior. Even the most despicable tyrant has the opportunity to repent. But those who refuse grace will be destroyed along with everything else that violates God’s perfect order.

We live in unsettling times. The more conditions worsen, the easier it is to see why Scripture refers to God as a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). He is burning up all that displeases Him. And He will continue until the only ones who remain are the righteous who stand under the lordship of Christ and await His kingdom here on earth.

Bible in a Year: Job 13-16

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – You Have Purpose

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You Have Purpose

Read: 1 Peter 4:7–11 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14

If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:11

On a hot day in western Texas, my niece Vania saw a woman standing by a stoplight and holding up a sign. As she drove closer, she tried to read what the sign said, assuming it was a request for food or money. Instead, she was surprised to see these three words:

We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” to bring glory to our Creator (Psalm 139:14).

God has created each of us for a specific purpose. Primarily that purpose is to bring honor to Him, and one way we do that is by meeting the needs of others (1 Peter 4:10–11).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread – You Have Purpose →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Triumphs over Personal Loss

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“Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abed-nego” (Daniel 1:6-7).

You can’t always prevent personal loss, but you can respond to it in ways that glorify God.

It was a quiet January morning in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California until suddenly and without warning the earth shook with such a violent force that many department stores, apartment houses, homes, and freeway overpasses crumbled under the strain. Within minutes the 1994 Northridge earthquake left scars upon lives and land that in some cases may never heal. Such catastrophic events remind us of just how difficult dealing with personal loss can be.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah understood personal loss. Perhaps in our day only those who have suffered as prisoners of war or as refugees from war’s ravages can fully appreciate the deep sense of loss those men must have felt after being cut off from family, friends, and homeland.

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Triumphs over Personal Loss →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Foolish Denial 

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The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.    Psalm 14:1

Denial can be death to God-awareness, and it is death to self-awareness. Denial can seem like a friend, but its friendship is short-lived and self-serving. It is deceptive with its promises of strange and unrealistic expectations. Denial causes you to believe lies about yourself and God. You may think you are good in a certain role when, in reality, you are average, at best. You may want to continue where you are, but for you to grow and for the organization to flourish, you need to transition into another area of responsibility. You may have a passion to pitch in the major leagues, but if you can’t throw a baseball at least 80 miles an hour, you never will. Denial is cruel in positioning you for certain expectations and then failing to deliver.

Denial of God’s existence is the worst kind of denial. It’s like refusing to accept a sincere gift from an unconditional lover. Just because you deny the lover’s existence does not negate their gift. God is not too good to be true. He is good because He is true. When you accept the existence of God, you accept the reality of His influence over you and His influence over the world. Denial of Deity is like saying the sun is not brilliant in its illumination by day and the moon by its illumination at night.

Moreover, it is foolish to deny a grand designer behind the human body. Common sense craves for acceptance of God as creator. A fool has to work very hard to deny God’s existence. However, denial’s greatest driver may be the desire to behave badly. A fool denies God because he is morally challenged. The thought of God or anyone else telling him how to act is foreign to his foolish heart. Yet, every day, we all have to follow the instruction of some authority. A fool can attempt to remove all authority from his life with denial but he will fail.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Foolish Denial  →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Follow the Son This Summer: Holding Possessions Lightly

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And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Matthew 8:20

It is easy to pass over some things Jesus said because their meaning is not obvious. Or perhaps the meaning is clear but demanding. Would Jesus really ask us to do that?

Recommended Reading: Matthew 19:16-22

When a man declared his desire to follow Jesus, Jesus warned the man that it was not a comfortable life—Jesus had nowhere to sleep at night. And when another young man asked what it would take to inherit eternal life besides keeping God’s laws, Jesus told him to sell his many possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. In both cases, Jesus was illustrating the temporal nature of life on this earth. Homes, goods, wealth—all these are possessions which can confuse us about the nature of our true home. We all must be careful about putting down permanent roots on earth and losing sight of the new earth to come.

Following Christ means having the same detached relationship to the things of this earth that He did. As you follow Christ this summer, hold lightly that which you will one day leave behind.

There is nothing the Christian life suffers more from than the subtle and indescribable worldliness that comes from the cares or the possessions of this life.

Andrew Murray

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Job 35 – 42

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Wandering, Wondering Mind

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Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:13 KJV

In the days when Peter wrote these words, men wore long, flowing robes that hindered fast progress or strenuous action. They wore broad belts (or girdles) about their waists, and when they wanted to move into action, they “girded up their loins”—that is, they shortened their robes by pulling them up inside their belts. That term is similar to what we mean when we say, “Roll up your sleeves.” Peter’s words here are a serious call to action—a reminder that when we lose our focus, it is time for us to do some serious thinking.

I’ve already talked about how staying too busy can result in an abnormal mind as opposed to a normal mind. Now I want to point out that another way the devil attacks your normal mind is by causing your thoughts to wander. It’s a mental attack. If you do not discipline your mind to remain focused on what is important, the devil will cause it to wander aimlessly to other things.

When this inability to concentrate goes on for a while, you may begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your mind. What you often fail to realize is that when you’ve allowed your mind to wander for so long, you’re hardly aware that it’s taking place.

In some cases, there may be physical causes for not being able to concentrate, such as anemia or certain B-vitamin deficiencies. You may not be eating properly. Or you may have become excessively fatigued. It’s a good idea to consider all the potential causes as you search for a solution. I’ve learned that when I’m excessively tired, Satan tries to attack my mind because he knows it’s more difficult for me to resist him during those times.

Sometimes a lack of concentration creates a lack of comprehension. Perhaps as you are reading the Bible, you find yourself hurrying to get through so you can do something else. Out of a sense of duty, you are determined to finish reading a chapter—and you do. But when you are finished, you can’t recall anything you have read. Your eyes scanned the pages, but your mind was engaged somewhere else.

Continue reading Joyce Meyer – A Wandering, Wondering Mind →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Praise Brings Results

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“And at the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves, and they destroyed each other!” (2 Chronicles 20:22).

The armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir had declared war on King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. So Jehoshaphat called the people together and prayed, “Oh, our God. Won’t you stop them. We have no way to protect ourselves against this mighty army. We don’t know what to do but we are looking to You.”

Then the Lord instructed the people, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army for the battle is not yours, but God’s! Tomorrow, go down and attack them!…But you will not need to fight. Take your places; stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you” (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

After consultation with the leaders of the people, Jehoshaphat determined that there should be a choir, clothed in sanctified garments and singing the song, “His Loving kindness Is Forever,” leading the march. As they walked along praising and thanking the Lord, He released His mighty power in their behalf.

One of the greatest lessons I have ever learned about the Christian life is the importance of praise and thanksgiving. The greater the problem, the more difficult the circumstances, the greater the crisis, the more important it is to praise God at all times, to worship Him for who He is; for His attributes of sovereignty, love, grace, power, wisdom and might; for the certainty that He will fight for us, that He will demonstrate His supernatural resources in our behalf.

Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Praise Brings Results →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Prayer to the Father

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Read: Luke 11:2-4

He said to them, When you pray, say: Father… Luke 11:2a

The Lord’s Prayer begins with a word of relationship, Father. May I point out that it is Father, not Daddy-o! There is a reverence about the word father that is absent in some modern expressions of fatherhood. It is essential to know to whom we are praying. We are not, when we come to prayer, talking about God. We are not engaging in a theological dialogue. We are talking with God. We are going to converse with him directly and so it is very essential that we understand to whom we are speaking. Our Lord gathers it all up in this marvelously expressive word and says true prayer must begin with a concept of God as Father.

Immediately that eliminates a number of other concepts. It shows us that prayer, real prayer, is never to be addressed to the Chairman of the Committee for Welfare and Relief. Sometimes our prayers take on that aspect. We come expecting a handout. We want something to be poured into our laps, something that we think we need, and in making an appeal we are but filling out the properly prescribed forms.

Nor is prayer addressed to the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation. It is never to be merely a confession of our wrong-doings, with the hope that we may cast ourselves upon the mercy of the court. Nor is it an appeal to the Secretary of the Treasury, some sort of genial international banker whom we hope to interest in financing our projects. Prayer is to be to a Father with a father’s heart, a father’s love, and a father’s strength, and the first and truest note of prayer must be our recognition that we come to this kind of father. We must hear him and come to him as a child, in trust and simplicity and with all the frankness of a child, otherwise it is not prayer.

Someone has pointed out that this word father answers all the philosophical questions about the nature of God. A father is a person, therefore God is not a blind force behind the inscrutable machinery of the universe. A father is able to hear, and God is not simply an impersonal being, aloof from all our troubles and our problems. Above all, a father is predisposed by his love and relationship to give a careful, attentive ear to what his child says. From a father, a child can surely expect a reply.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Prayer to the Father →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A Wise Heart

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Read: Psalm 90

Teach us to number our days. (v. 12)

The psalmist depicts a stark contrast between the everlasting nature of God’s presence and the swift passage of human life. If anything sends us the message, “your days are numbered,” it is the realization that life can change in an instant, that the end of our lives or of those we love can come upon us in startling ways. Like the psalmist, we may entreat God to prosper the work of our hands, hoping that what we have accomplished in our lifetimes will be a legacy for those who come after us. For those who live with chronic or terminal illness, each day may bring new challenges and new insights into what it means to live out our days in grace and trust.

Gaining a wise heart can often come at great cost. But knowing that our lifetimes are in God’s hands can offer us new freedom instead of fear, no matter our age or state of health. A mind-set in which we number our days leads us to regard our days as gifts, rather than taking them for granted. Entrusting our lifetimes to God allows us to see the abundance of what our lives contain, even in moments where the remainder of our time on earth may seem scarce. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring, but we can measure today in the light of God’s mysterious gift of life, seeking the wisdom that equips us to face with courage whatever tomorrow brings.

Prayer:Grant us wisdom to live out our days with hope and purpose.

Author: Jessica Bratt Carle

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – If You Want to Be Happy, Live Holy!

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“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.”—Psalm 119:1–2

Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Center, and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being “very happy” than the least religiously committed people.

So, happy people are spiritual people. But let me take it further: truly happy people are godly people. The Bible says, “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15 NKJV).

According to the Bible, if we seek to know God and discover His plan for our life, we will as a result, find the happiness that has eluded us for so long—not from seeking it but from seeking Him! As Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV).

C.S. Lewis said, “God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about faith. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

According to the Scriptures, happiness is never something that should be sought directly. It is always something that results from seeking something else.

If we seek holiness, we’ll find happiness.

And what is holiness? The word holiness has gotten a bad rap. If you hear that a person is “holier than thou,” it is not a good thing. But true holiness is not a fake, condescending, or mystical thing. Holiness can be understood better if we spell it another way: whollyness.

It was said of Caleb, “He wholly followed the Lord God” (Joshua 14:14 NKJV). When you wholly follow God, you will be a holy person—and a happy one too!

We find what we are looking for in life by seeking God, not seeking “it.” Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The strength and the happiness of a man consists in finding out the way in which God is going, and going in that way too.”

So, if you want to be happy, be holy. In other words, live a life that’s wholly committed to Him.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – Jesus Never Changes

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“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Julie was sad. Sarah, her sister, had always been her best friend, but now Sarah was too busy to play. Every fall Julie and Sarah made big piles of leaves and jumped in them with their dog, Taffy. But this year every time Julie asked Sarah to play in the leaves she had to study or to go to basketball practice or call one of her friends.

Now all the leaves were gone, and Julie wondered whether Sarah would be too busy to play in the snow this year, too. When Julie asked her mother why Sarah didn’t play with her anymore, Mother said that Sarah was growing up and changing. Mother said that everyone changes and that Julie would change one day, too. “The only person who never changes is Jesus,” Mother said. Julie was glad that Jesus never changed.

Have you ever been sad because someone changed? Maybe you have a brother or a sister who is growing up, or a grandpa or grandma who is getting older. Nobody can keep people from changing, but the Bible tells us that Jesus will never change. Jesus will always be reliable. He promises never to leave you, and He listens to everything you want to say to Him all the time. Isn’t it good to know that He will always be the same!

Although other people change, Jesus will never change.

My Response:

» Do I trust Jesus all the time, knowing that He never changes?

» Do I thank Jesus for never changing?

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The War’s Over

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 15:33

“May the God of peace be with you.”

Paul said, “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1, NIV). This is an objective peace. The war is over. The alienation and divine displeasure toward us because of our sin have been removed. We’re no longer objects of wrath. We have peace with God whether we realize it or not. However, to the extent that we understand and believe the truth regarding justification, we’ll experience a subjective peace within our souls. We’ll know that we’ve been brought from a state of condemnation and the prospect of eternal judgment into a state of forgiveness and favor with God.

I well remember the night I trusted Christ as an eighteen-year-old. Outwardly I was a model teenager but not a Christian, though I knew the Gospel message. One night alone in my bed I asked Christ to be my savior. Immediately I had peace in my soul, brought to me by the Holy Spirit. But that experiential peace was possible only because Christ had made peace with God for me through his death on the cross.

There’s nothing you will ever do that makes you acceptable to God. You must be accepted for Christ’s sake, not only when you believe but for all of your life.

Take some time to prayerfully ask yourself some questions: do I have a right relationship with God based on the imputed righteousness of Christ? Am I trusting in Christ alone for my salvation, or am I to some degree relying on my own morality and religious duties? If I know I’m justified through faith in Christ, do I enjoy the reality of it in my daily experience, or do I look to my own performance for acceptance with God? (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Entrusted with the Gospel

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 10:1-33

To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?” Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? – Hebrews 1:13-14

Before I trusted in Christ, all I knew about heavenly angels was that they were the ornament on top of a Christmas tree! As I study the Scriptures now, I see angels much differently. They can do supernatural things–like scare off entire armies or appear miraculously in bright light. But did you know there is one thing angels aren’t allowed to do that only you and I can do? Angels may not communicate the message of the gospel of Christ. That has been reserved for us alone. Paul said that we–you and I–have been entrusted with the gospel.

You may recall the story of Cornelius, a centurion described as a devout man–one who feared God, gave alms, and prayed. One day an angel of God came to him and assured him his prayers had been heard. Now, here was a man who was ready to repent and believe the gospel. Yet the angel didn’t tell him how to trust Christ! The only thing the angel was allowed to do was tell the man how to get in touch with the apostle Peter, who could then tell him what he must do to be saved.

Think of it! The heavenly messengers of God–those beings whose only desire is to do God’s will–are not able to call men and women to follow Christ and turn to Him in repentance and faith. That task has been given to you and me.

Friend, I urge you to share Christ where you live, work, and play, by setting a Christlike example and being willing to talk to others about Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Lord, what a privilege to share in Your plan of redemption for the world! Help me to boldly proclaim the way of salvation. Amen.

To Ponder

Are you carrying out the work God has assigned you?

https://www.navigators.org/Home

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – Read Genesis 4:1-17

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SONS OF ADAM

Popular websites such as Ancestry.com have helped millions of people trace their family tree. Some who have been adopted hope to learn something about their family of origin. Many people are hoping to discover that they are related to some notable or interesting historical figure. But the results are not always happy. We may discover that our ancestor was a thief or a murderer rather than a laudable hero.

That is certainly true when we trace our human genealogy back to the first family. Instead of success we find failure on an epic scale.

In these first few studies we have been focused on God, who is the perfect Father. As we shift our attention to earthly fathers, we see a different picture. Today’s passage helps us to understand why. All earthly families are affected by the curse of sin. The relational consequences show up early in human history in the form of shifting blame (see Gen. 3:11–13). Tragically, these consequences were passed on to the descendants of Adam and Eve. In today’s passage we learn how Adam’s firstborn son Cain murdered his brother Abel. The motive was spiritual jealousy. God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. Subsequent chapters show how this tragic cycle of sin continues in all of Adam’s descendants.

This sad fact is important to know and helps us to understand the stories we will study in the days ahead. It also explains much about our own family experience. The stark reality of sin combined with the mystery of God’s grace helps to explain why good parents can sometimes have bad children and why children from bad homes can turn out better than expected. It explains the root cause of abuse within families. The intrusion of sin into human experience means no perfect families populate this world. We are all dysfunctional in some way.

APPLY THE WORD

Are you disheartened by your family tree? Are you discouraged by a wayward child or an unresponsive parent? Take heart: “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Rom. 5:20). God’s grace extends to broken families. He can redeem and transform hurt and pain, forgive generational sin, and restore relationships.

http://www.todayintheword.org