Monthly Archives: June 2016

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