Monthly Archives: June 2016

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Any Room for Grace?

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

As we practice the disciplines necessary to develop Bible-based convictions—diligent but dependent Bible study, Scripture memorization, continual meditation, and applying Scripture to real-life situations—is there any room for grace? What happens if I stumble in Scripture memorization, for example?

First of all, God does not love us any less. His love for us is based solely on the fact that we’re in union with his Son. Christ’s righteousness has become our righteousness. Our sins were laid upon him, and the penalty for them was fully paid by him on the cross. Daily his blood cleanses us from all sin. God’s grace, his unmerited favor, is never conditioned on our performance but always on the unchanging merit of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our progress in the pursuit of holiness, however, is conditioned on our practice of the disciplines God has given us. It’s true that we’re transformed increasingly into the likeness of Christ by the Spirit. It’s also true that one of the chief means—in fact, probably the chief means—he uses is the renewing of our minds. And Paul was quite emphatic in Romans 12:2 about submitting ourselves to the transforming influence of God’s Word by which our minds are renewed.

Therefore, we may say that our acceptance by God the Father is based solely on his grace to us through Christ. His favor is never earned by what we do nor forfeited by what we don’t do. But we may say with equal emphasis that our progress in pursuing holiness is significantly conditioned on our use of God-appointed disciplines. And they have been appointed by God and initiated by God.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Ministry of Angels

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 1-2

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” – Exodus 23:20

I know a young man who lives in the city of Monrovia in Liberia, West Africa. A few years ago, he was involved in a terrible accident. He fell off a truck going at high speed down a crowded road. When he hit the ground, he was struck in the head by another vehicle, and his scalp was peeled back by the force of the blow.

The emergency team at the hospital was convinced he would die in a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, they sewed his scalp back, cleaned him up as best they could, and placed him in a bed in a crowded room.

In the middle of the night, the young man regained consciousness. His relatives were sitting near his bed asleep. And in the corner stood two men in white. They glowed with a shining white brightness. They came over to his bed, and without waking his family, told him they were angels who had been given charge over him to guard him and to minister to his needs. They then left, but not before assuring him they would always be near–that he could count on their help.

To the astonishment of the hospital staff, the young man made a complete recovery and regained his full strength. Today he suffers no effects from the accident, and of course his faith in God has been greatly strengthened.

Before you conclude this young man was hallucinating, look up the word angel in a Bible concordance and do a short study on these beings. You might start with Hebrews 1:14: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” By the way, have you considered that angels are watching over you right now?

Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your Word that says the angels protect us and minister to our needs. Amen.

To Ponder

Do you believe angels really exist?

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Why Christianity is Not Dead

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In his classic tale, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” Mark Twain tells of Tom and Huckleberry Finn’s brief career as pirates. When the boys get bored with life on the Mississippi and hang up their hooks and return home, they find the whole town has gathered for a funeral—their funeral. Concealed at the back of the church, Tom and Huck are so moved by the minister’s eulogy they join in weeping. That is, until someone catches sight of the drowned boys, miraculously back from the dead.

Well, that feeling of attending your own funeral is one that Christians are getting pretty familiar with these days. But to borrow a phrase from Twain himself, “Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated.” And that’s not only true of Christianity, but of religion in general, which prognosticators from the secular press and academics continually warn have one foot in the grave.

But they are late to the party. Experts have been prophesying the demise of religion for at least 150 years. Karl Marx, way back in the 1860’s, predicted that religion would vanish once the working class no longer needed the “opiate” of the life to come. Sigmund Freud wrote in 1927, “in the future science will go beyond religion, and reason will replace faith in God.”

In the 21st century, the predictions of religion’s extinction continue, despite the stubborn existence of believers. In 2013, biopsychologist Nigel Barber wrote a book predicting that within thirty years, religion would effectively disappear in 137 countries. And an article last month in the U.K.’s Independent reported on yet another team of scientists who expect faith to die out worldwide.

Dr. Nicholas Baumard, who works in the infamously imaginative field of evolutionary psychology, recently co-authored a study claiming to explain the origins of religion, and why we can expect it to vanish as the world develops economically.

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Why Christianity is Not Dead →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – TWO SONS AND ONE PROMISE

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Read Genesis 21:8-21

Abraham’s family life seems strange to most modern readers. In part, this strangeness is due to cultural differences and different customs— few of us are nomadic or live in vast, extended family tribes. But in addition, the strangeness of Abraham’s family is that God was using them as a kind of living parable, providing lessons in following God for future generations.

Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham—but he was not the son God had promised. Perhaps he felt insecure as the son of Sarah’s servant, or he may have discerned that Abraham felt differently toward Isaac than he did toward Ishmael. Ishmael was likely aware that Isaac had a special place in God’s plan. For whatever reason— perhaps even just plain brotherly teasing—he mocked Isaac, and Sarah saw it and demanded that Abraham banish both Ishmael and Hagar from the household.

Despite Abraham’s reluctance to cast out his son, God confirmed Sarah’s harsh sentence but also promised Abraham that He would care for Ishmael. God dealt compassionately with Hagar and Ishmael by providing for their needs and making Ishmael into a great nation. But it was Isaac who was the child of promise.

In Galatians 4:28–30 Paul reveals the spiritual lesson in these events. The only way to become a child of God is by way of promise, not through human effort. We cannot become God’s children by trying to obey His commands or solve the problem of sin on our own terms. Righteousness only comes to us as a gift through faith. Like Abraham and Sarah, God must do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Those who try to obtain righteousness by keeping the law are slaves to the law and to sin. The law cannot free us from sin.

APPLY THE WORD

This story of Abraham and Ishmael is not a manual for how to treat your children! It is a story to teach us something about grace. Many religious systems teach that we must work our way into God’s favor. But the way of law and the way of grace are incompatible with one another. We must accept righteousness as a gift or we will not have it at all.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – WHY OUTCRY OVER STANFORD ASSAULT CASE CONTINUES

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Last Thursday, a former Stanford student was sentenced to six months in prison for sexual assault. A week later, the public is still outraged.

It’s not just the facts of the case. (For more, see Nick Pitts’s The Need for and Loss of Sacredness.) Brock Turner was found guilty on three felony counts, but this story is, tragically, not unique on America’s campuses. Nearly 100 colleges and universities had at least ten reports of rape on their main campuses in 2014; at Stanford alone, there were twenty-six reports of rape that year.

The case is generating headlines for a number of reasons.

In part, it’s because the crime was so horrific, a fact made clear by the victim’s extremely moving letter, which she read aloud to her attacker at his sentencing. Her letter describes what happened in graphic detail, giving voice to her horrible trauma and ongoing suffering.

In part, it’s because the perpetrator was a member of the Stanford swimming team and has been viewed as a child of privilege. His father’s claim that his son should not have to go to prison for “twenty minutes of action” was especially reprehensible to many.

But I think the continuing outrage over this crime has to do especially with the sentence imposed. Judge Aaron Persky of the Santa Clara County Superior Court sentenced Turner to six months in jail and three years probation. Turner should have received between eight and twenty years in prison for his crime, according to recommendations from the United States Sentencing Commission. The judge cited mitigating factors and determined that a longer jail sentence would not suit Turner’s rehabilitation as a sex offender.

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHY OUTCRY OVER STANFORD ASSAULT CASE CONTINUES →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Heavenly Rewards

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Luke 14:12-14

Some Christians think it’s wrong to want rewards, but our Creator knows people are motivated by incentives. In fact, He made us that way, which is why His Word makes exciting promises for those who walk in His way.

Some of these benefits are available here on earth—like fulfillment, joy, and good favor—whereas other blessings will be bestowed once we are in heaven. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need never fear judgment (Rom. 8:1), for we are clothed in righteousness through His blood and will not face divine wrath.

To help us understand this, the Bible describes several crowns. First, the crown of life is granted to believers who stand firm and endure trials without giving up or losing heart (James 1:12). The second crown, called imperishable, is given to those whose great desire is to walk obediently before God (1 Cor. 9:24-27). Through struggles and even failures, they continue to die to their flesh and follow the Spirit. Next, the crown of righteousness is bestowed upon those who long for Christ’s appearing and live righteously through Him (2 Tim. 4:6-8). Lastly, God will give the crown of glory to those who share His Word with others (1 Pet. 5:2-4). As Scripture tells us, we will be awed by Jesus’ magnificence and honored just to lay our crowns at His feet.

The supreme reward is for us to manifest God’s glory throughout eternity. We will experience joy in His presence forever, but we don’t have to wait: We can invest today by serving Him obediently and humbly. Done with the right motive, service blesses us now and in the future.

Bible in a Year: Job 31-34

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Better By Far

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Read: Philippians 1:12–26 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 30–31; John 18:1–18

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. Philippians 1:23

A siren wailed outside a little boy’s house. Unfamiliar with the sound, he asked his mother what it was. She explained that it was meant to alert people of a dangerous storm. She said that if people did not take cover, they might die as a result of the tornado. The boy replied, “Mommy, why is that a bad thing? If we die, don’t we meet Jesus?”

Little children don’t always understand what it means to die. But Paul, who had a lifetime of experience, wrote something similar: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil. 1:23). The apostle was under house arrest at the time, but his statement wasn’t fueled by despair. He was rejoicing because his suffering was causing the gospel to spread (vv. 12–14).

Belief in Jesus’s death and resurrection brings the assurance of life with Him forever.

So why would Paul be torn between a desire for life and death? Because to go on living would mean “fruitful labor.” But if he died he knew he would enjoy a special kind of closeness with Christ. To be absent from our bodies is to be home with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6–8).

People who believe in the saving power of Jesus’s death and resurrection will be with Him forever. It’s been said, “All’s well that ends in heaven.” Whether we live or die, we win. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

Dear Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on You, whether I face difficulty in life or death. Let me find security and peace in You.

Belief in Jesus’s death and resurrection brings the assurance of life with Him forever.

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – When God Is Near

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On a routine trip through well-worn streets, I found myself pulled out of the fragmented consciousness of a mind captive to the day’s worries with the jarring lyrics of a song. Up until that point, the song itself was much like the familiar patterns of scenery, an external factor impervious to the siege of my own fears; I was seeing but not seeing, hearing but not really hearing. But then I suddenly took in the artist’s abrupt words: Hoping to God on high is like clinging to straws while drowning.(1)

The stark image of clinging to straw while desperately trying to stay afloat cleared everything else from my mind. It also set me thinking about the descriptive words of a friend hours earlier. Encouraging me in the midst of a difficult place, a friend simply reminded me that I was not alone. She was intending to assure me of her friendship and support, but I also knew she was assuring me that I was not aimlessly floundering on my own, with God no where to be found. “The LORD is near to all who call on him,” declares the psalmist; and I needed to hear it.

Christians take comfort in the thought that God is among us, comforting our fears, quieting our cries of distress, standing near those who call, moving in lives and history that we might discover the God who is there. As a follower of Jesus, knowing that he is with me as a fellow human in struggle and darkness is one of the only reasons I don’t completely surrender to my fears and stop moving forward. Knowing that there is a God of grace, beauty, truth, and mystery, which the Spirit is constantly at work lifting me toward, is the hope I remember when I fear death, my console when I fear uncertainty, the picture that somehow makes sense of a strand of DNA and quiets my fear of being uncared for and alone. I can relate to the resolution of the psalmist in a world of many and distant gods: “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge” (73:28).

But what good is it if there is indeed a throne but it is empty, a kingdom without a king, a god who may be close but is like straw? Who is it who is near us? If god is an impersonal force, or a tyrant, or a distant, semi-interested being, then neither God nor God’s kingdom is any sort of refuge. If the hope we cling to is like straw that cannot actually save us from drowning then we have good reason to live in fear, “huddled,” as the musician later describes, “afraid if we dance we might die.”

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – When God Is Near →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Passes the Test

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“So [the king’s overseer] listened to [Daniel and his friends] in this matter and tested them for ten days. And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables” (Daniel 1:14-16).

All spiritual commitment will be tested.

When God wants to prove the quality of one’s commitment, He tests it. The test may come directly from Him, as with Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22:1-2), or it may come through difficult circumstances, as with the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings (Deut. 8:16), or it may even come from Satan himself, as God permitted with Job (Job 1:12; 2:6). Regardless of its source, every test is designed by God to produce greater spiritual fruit in His children (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s tests came at the hands of their Babylonian captors. Separation from family, friends, and homeland must have been an extremely difficult test for them, but through it all their commitment to the Lord remained unshakable. Now they faced a test to determine whether or not they could remain undefiled. For ten days they would eat only vegetables and drink only water, while their fellow captives ate the king’s special diet.

Normally such a brief period of time would make no noticeable change in one’s physiology, but God must have intervened because at the conclusion of just ten days, these four young men were clearly healthier and more vigorous than their peers. The results were so convincing that their overseer allowed them to remain on a vegetarian diet throughout their entire three-year training period. God honored their uncompromising spirit.

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Passes the Test →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Unexpressed Gratitude is Ingratitude

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One of them [a man with leprosy], when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:15-19

My heart can feel thankful, but until I take the time to express my gratitude with a grateful prayer to God, a spoken word of blessing, a note of thanksgiving or a phone call of appreciation—I only conceal what I feel. Verbalized gratitude bends heaven’s ear toward earth while blessing those who hear its heart. A friend recently took the time to write me a note (legible!) of appreciation for helping him with his men’s retreat. The sincerity of his words and his description of how I blessed him really blessed my heart. The note rests next to my coffee pot for daily enjoyment!

Leprosy is a debilitating, snarly and a painful disease from a slow growing bacteria causing a loss of feeling in the arms and legs, along with muscle weakness. In Jesus’ day not only was this condition hideous to the eyes—an inflicted person was ostracized from the community. At the very moment the sick individual needed care and support—they were isolated. So, healing by Jesus was an extraordinary relief for the ten lepers—an event that pricked a scared society’s soul. A hug from a healthy person felt awkward—aches were replaced by joy! Remarkably, the twice shunned foreigner took time to thank Jesus. Love enjoys the gift, but also thanks the gift giver!

“She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins” (Luke 7:47-48, MSG).

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Unexpressed Gratitude is Ingratitude →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Staying Focused

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You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Recommended Reading

Matthew 6:7-12

In the world of physics, it is asserted that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Likewise—though less able to be proven—the mind cannot focus on two thoughts at the same time. We can change our thoughts so rapidly that we have the impression of being able to have multiple thoughts simultaneously. But we also have the freedom to choose which thoughts we stay focused on.

Take two opposite thoughts like faith and fear. While we may vacillate rapidly between the two, as long as we remain focused on faith, fear has little access. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul illustrated the principle of “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” In his letter he referred to lies being spread about his apostleship—taking those lies captive to the truth. But the principle applies in all realms of life. And what is the purest way to remain focused on faith instead of fear? Prayer. Committing our concerns to God in prayer leaves no room for anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7).

Choose today to occupy your thoughts with matters of faith and leave no room for the worries of this world (Matthew 6:33).

Anxiety and prayer are more opposed to each other than fire and water.

  1. A. Bengel

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Psalms 18 – 21

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Careful What You Think

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But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper I and come to maturity]. Psalm 1:2-3

Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You…I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways [the paths of life marked out by Your law]. Psalm 119:11, 15

In the early days of computers, they used to say, “Garbage in, garbage out.” That was a way of explaining that the computer only worked with the data put into the machine. If we wanted different results, we needed to put in different information.

When it comes to computers, most people have no trouble grasping that concept, but when it comes to their minds, they don’t seem to get it. Or perhaps they don’t want to get it. So many things demand their attention and beg for their focus. They’re not just sinful things. The apostle Paul said that although everything was lawful for him, not everything was helpful (see l Corinthians 6:12).

If you are going to win the battle of the mind and defeat your enemy, where you focus your attention is crucial. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the stronger you’ll become and the more easily you’ll win the victories.

Too many Christians don’t realize the difference between meditating on the Bible and reading the Bible. They like to think that whenever they read God’s Word, they’re absorbing the deep things of God. Too often people will read a chapter of the Bible, and when they get to the last verse, they have little idea of what they’ve read. Those who meditate on Gods Word are those who think and think seriously about what they’re reading.

Continue reading Joyce Meyer – Be Careful What You Think →

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Can I Get a Witness?

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For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 6:38

Friend to Friend

Growing up we played silly games. Fun games that connected strands of strangers and tethered them to a specific time and place with a memory. One of those was the cookie jar game.

It’s probably more of a chanty thing. You remember.

Crowd: “Amy stole the cookie from the cookie jar!”

Amy: “Who me?”

Crowd: “Yeah, you!”

Amy: “Couldn’t be!”

Crowd: “Then who?”

Amy: “Elise!”

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Can I Get a Witness? →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – In the World to Come

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“And Jesus replied, ‘Let me assure you that no one has ever given up anything – home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or property – for love of Me and to tell others the Good News, who won’t be given back, a hundred times over, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – with persecutions! All these will be his here on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life'” (Mark 10:29,30).

What a wonderful promise. God will return to you and me a hundred times over what we invest for Him and His kingdom.

I believe that millions of Christians like ourselves are awakening to the fact that we must be about our Father’s business. As I observe God’s working in the lives of people around the world through many movements, I am persuaded that the greatest spiritual awakening since Pentecost has already begun.

Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples in all nations.” In order to make disciples, we must be disciples ourselves. Like begets like. We produce after our own kind.

The man who is committed to Christ, who understands how to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, is going to influence others and help to produce the same kind of Christians. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

For some, such a call to discipleship may sound too hard. However, in these verses Jesus tells us that we must be willing to give up everything. That this promise has been fulfilled in the lives of all who seek first Christ and His kingdom has been attested to times without number – not always in material things, of course, but in rewards far more meaningful and enriching.

Bible Reading: Luke 9:23-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that God has promised manifold gifts, persecutions, eternal life in exchange for faithfulness and commitment to Him, I vow to make that surrender real and meaningful in my life every day.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Forgiven and Forgiving

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Read: Luke 11:2-4

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Luke 11:4a

Here is the need for a cleansed conscience, for a sense of peace, of rest with God and man. This is the arena where the emotional clutter of our life takes a very deadly toll. Who of us has not experienced troublesome mental symptoms, morbid depressions and unreasoning fears and insecurity? Both Scripture and modern psychology, in its groping after truth, agree that underneath these symptoms lurk two frightening monsters: Fear and Guilt. If we can find a way to slay these fiery dragons, the whole emotional atmosphere of our life will pass into peace.

When we pray, Forgive us our sins, we are asking for the reality that God promises to every believer in Jesus Christ, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, (Romans 8:1a KJV). I do not know anything that troubles Christians more than a sense of guilt. But in this simple prayer is a fully adequate answer, for if we have laid hold of the forgiveness of God, we know there is nothing any longer between us and the Lord. Our hearts there are absolutely free before him and the result is a pervading sense of peace.

But notice, now, Jesus immediately adds a limitation to this. We cannot say to God, Forgive us our sins, unless we are willing and have said to others that they are forgiven for their sins against us. Jesus is not referring here to that divine forgiveness that accompanies conversion. The Lord’s Prayer is meant for Christians — for only Christians can really pray it intelligently. No non-Christian ever receives forgiveness from God on the basis claiming to forgive everyone else. It is impossible for him to forgive until he himself has first received the forgiveness of God, and that forgiveness is offered because of the death of Jesus. We Christians come thanking him for what the death on the cross has already done in taking away the awful burden of our sin.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Forgiven and Forgiving →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A New Start

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Read: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Behold, the new has come. (v. 17)

What do you picture when you hear the claim that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation? Perhaps a baptism of a new believer, or an occasion where reclaimed faith seems to bring a bright new beginning? “New creation” doesn’t usually conjure up images of those who are nearing the end of their lives, and yet there is often abundant newness in life’s final chapters. In the face of physical decline and a sense that time is running out, there can yet be remarkable growth in our spiritual lives and in our relationships.

Sometimes a long-awaited reconciliation may finally occur when death is at hand. For others, a new level of awareness of God’s provision and promises might suddenly feel more real than ever. And for both the dying and their survivors, the opportunity to forgive past wrongs can lift the burdensome weight of the past, restoring even a fragile reconnection before it’s too late. As American abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe remarked, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” Sometimes the words or deeds of those who passed away without reconciling difficult relationships are left to us as we seek to make sense and somehow move on. In those situations too, new creation is possible. The Lord of life is at work, sometimes mysteriously, turning our mourning toward a stunning newness of life.

Prayer: Re-create us according to your life abundant, gracious God.

Jessica Bratt Carle

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Powerful Testimony to a Watching World

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But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.—Acts 16:25

I think the worst thing that ever happened in history, the greatest travesty, the greatest injustice, was when Jesus Christ Himself was crucified. What could have been worse than that? What could have been worse than for God the Father to look down from Heaven and see His Son who He loved with all His heart suffering and dying for the sins of the world? How could God allow that? It was so awful.

Yet the Bible says, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him” (Isaiah 53:10). Does this mean God was pleased in watching His Son suffer? Absolutely not. But God the Father was pleased in knowing this suffering would produce something wonderful called salvation for you and for me. As awful as it was, it accomplished God’s purpose. Out of the greatest bad came the greatest good. That is how God showed His love for us. As John tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In the same way, when hardship comes and you are still praising the Lord, that blows the mind of the nonbeliever. Remember the story of Paul and Silas when they were thrown into prison for preaching the gospel? We read in Acts that “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (16:25).

Maybe you are going through a hard time right now. Maybe you’re asking, “Why, God?”

God has a purpose. He has allowed it. God has either done it or He has allowed it. Deal with it the best that you can and seek to bring Him glory. That is a powerful testimony to a world that doesn’t know God.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Plan Is Perfect

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“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

My mom loves to work with her hands. All around our house hang pictures she made by cross-stitch. Before she starts any cross-stitching project, she always makes sure that she has all of the different colored threads she needs. In order for the picture to turn out right, she has to use black thread when the pattern calls for black thread, and red thread when the pattern calls for red thread.

You can think of your life like one of the cross-stitch projects my mom makes. If you were watching my mom cross-stitch with beautiful red thread – and you hadn’t seen the pattern – you might wonder why sometimes she stops using red and starts using black thread instead. In the same way, you might wonder why God takes away the “good things” in your life and lets “bad things” happen instead. Why is your sister sick? Why did your father lose his job? Why did your family have to move to a different city?

In Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us that His thoughts and ways are much higher than yours. Sometimes, you don’t understand God’s plans. But whether God is using a red thread or a black thread in your life, you can be confident that He knows what He is doing! Romans 8:28 promises that you don’t have to worry about whether or not your situation will work out right; you don’t have to worry, because you can know that it will work out for your good! My mom has to use many different colors of thread, but in the end the picture turns out right. God knows the picture He wants to make with your life, and He uses many different things – some you may like, and some you may not like – in order for the picture to turn out just the way He planned.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Plan Is Perfect →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Great Exchange

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 10:4

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Like his fellow Jews, Paul sought to establish his own righteousness through keeping the law (Romans 10:3-4). But there came a time, possibly during his three days of blindness and fasting in Damascus (Acts 9:7-9), when he realized his efforts to become righteous through law-keeping were going nowhere. They kept him from the only means of salvation God has provided. As he realized more clearly the perfect righteousness God has provided through his Son, Jesus Christ, he saw his own efforts to be righteous as no more than garbage to be dumped overboard.

Paul made what I call his “great exchange”—his own righteousness for the perfect righteousness of Christ. He not only threw his own righteousness overboard, but he regarded it as mere garbage compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ as his savior and being credited with his righteousness. He exchanged the garbage of his goodness for the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Of course, Paul could make his great exchange only because God had already made the great exchange described in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him [that is, through union with Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.” God laid our sin upon Christ that he might lay Christ’s righteousness upon us.

Note the subtle wording. Paul exchanged his righteousness through keeping the law for Christ’s righteousness that comes by faith. Yet in 2 Corinthians 5:21, God exchanges our sin for Christ’s righteousness. Our own efforts at righteousness are, at bottom, only sin because they fail to measure up to the perfect righteousness required by God’s law. They’re only scraps to be thrown out as garbage. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Baptism and the Fullness of the Holy Spirit

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Today’s Scripture: Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 5:18

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. – Acts 5:32

I was walking in downtown Colorado Springs when I saw a car going the wrong way on a one-way street. People on the sidewalk were waving and shouting; people in cars were honking their horns. But the most interesting sight of all was the look of wild panic and confusion on the driver’s face.

Many aspects of our walk as disciples can be confusing, especially if we’re heading the wrong way! For instance, there are two words relating to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. One is baptism, and the other is fullness. Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit the same as the fullness of the Holy Spirit? In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul writes, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.” And to the Galatians, he wrote, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (3:26-27). The teaching is clear. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a once-for-all event and occurs when a person invites Christ into his or her heart and becomes part of the body of Christ.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is another matter entirely. Paul says in Ephesians 5:18, “Do not get drunk on wine… Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” When a person is drunk with wine, he is under the control of that wine. Paul says to be filled with the Spirit, so we can be controlled by the Spirit. As we walk in obedience to the Word of God–submitting ourselves to the Spirit’s control and yielding our will to Him day by day–we are walking by the Spirit’s power.

Prayer

Lord, I want to honor You by walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To Ponder

Today, are you walking under your own steam or by the power of the Holy Spirit?

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