Monthly Archives: August 2016

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – A Plan for Anger Management Part 1

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Today’s Truth

“In your anger, do not sin.”

Ephesians 4:26

Friend to Friend

We live in a very angry world. Road rage … suicide bombings … random shootings … bullies terrorize their victims online and in schools … acts of violence fill the news every day. The reality is that everyone has to deal with anger. The challenge is to deal with anger in the right way. Anger is powerful – an emotional warning that something is wrong. We have been hurt or rejected. Something has changed, and we don’t like it!

Anger itself is not sin. We just have to learn to express anger in the right way. Mishandled anger is destructive, but anger that is handled correctly can become a tool for good. God’s Word is filled with tips for learning to handle anger in a healthy and godly way.

Be still.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”

If we are busy, it is much easier to ignore or refuse to face and deal with the real source of anger. Anger that is not dealt with in the right way accumulates over time, allowing bitterness to take root and rage to simmer just below the surface of everything we do, say, think or feel. In order to manage anger, we need to incorporate frequent and regular “stops” into our schedules; time set aside to simply be still and hear the voice of God.

Be quiet.

James 1:19-20 “Everyone should be slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – A Plan for Anger Management Part 1 →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Shine Like the Sun 

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“And those who are wise – the people of God – shall shine as brightly as the sun’s brilliance, and those who turn many to righteousness will glitter like stars forever” (Daniel 12:3).

Did it ever occur to you that as a child of God you are to radiate in your countenance the beauty and glory of God? Have you ever considered the inconsistency of having a glum expression while professing that the Son of God, the light of the world, dwells within you?

Proverbs 15:13 reminds us that a happy face means a glad heart; a sad face means a breaking heart.

When missionary Adoniram Judson was home on furlough many years ago, he passed through the city of Stonington, Connecticut. A young boy, playing about the wharves at the time of Judson’s arrival, was struck by the missionary’s appearance. He had never before seen such a light on a man’s face.

Curious, he ran up the street to a ministers’s home to ask if he knew who the stranger was. Following the boy back, the minister became so engaged in conversation with Judson that he forgot all about the lad standing nearby.

Many years later that boy – unable to get away from the influence of what he had seen on the man’s face – became the famous preacher, Henry Clay Trumbull. One chapter in his book of memoirs is entitled, “What a Boy Saw in the Face of Adoniram Judson.”

A shining face – radiant with the love and joy of Jesus Christ – had changed a life. Just as flowers thrive when they bend toward the light of the sun, so shining, radiant faces are the result of those who concentrate their gaze upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

May we never underestimate the power of a glowing face that stems from time spent with God. Even as Moses’ countenance shone, may your face and mine reveal time spent alone with God and in His Word.

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:13-16

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will spend sufficient time with the Lord each day to insure a radiant countenance for the glory of God and as a witness to those with whom I have contact each day.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Break the Jar

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Read: Jeremiah 19:1-15

Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. Jeremiah 19:10-11

Jeremiah was told, in the striking figure God employed for the benefit of these people, to take the potter’s vessel he had bought and dash it to pieces on a rock. As they watched it fly into smithereens, so that it was impossible to bring it back together, these people were taught that they were dealing with a God whose love is so intense that he will never alter his purpose — even if he has to destroy and crush and break them down again.

You see, that is the way the world sees God right now. They see the hell which is coming into our world. And soon it will be worse, according to the prophetic Scriptures. There will be worse signs taking place, worse affairs among men. They will cry out against God as being harsh and ruthless and vindictive, filled with vengeance and anger and hatred. That is all the world sees.

But the people of God are taught further truth. Jeremiah had been to the potter’s house. He had seen the potter making a vessel, and he knew that it was love behind this Potter’s pressures, and that when the vessel was marred, this Potter was also capable of crushing it down again, bringing it to nothing but a lump, and then molding it, shaping it again, perhaps doing this repeatedly, until at last it fulfilled what God wanted. That is the great lesson Jeremiah learned at the potter’s house, and that we can learn at the potter’s house, as well.

One of the great lessons we can learn from the New Testament’s use of the figure of the potter is in the book of Acts — the incident when Judas brought back the thirty pieces of silver and flung them down at the feet of the priests, after having betrayed his Lord. The priests gathered the money, took counsel together and bought with the money a potter’s field. It was known thereafter as the field of blood, (Matthew 27:6-10). This again is God’s wonderful reminder of the heart of our Potter. For if you watch this Potter very carefully, at work in your life, you will find that his hands and his feet bear nail prints, and that it is through blood, the blood of the Potter himself, that the vessel is being shaped into what he wants it to be.

When we are in the Potter’s hands, feeling his pressures, feeling the molding of his fingers, we can relax and trust him, for we know that this Potter has suffered with us and knows how we feel, but is determined to make us into a vessel useful to the Master (2 Timothy 2:21). What a tremendous lesson Jeremiah learned at the potter’s house — one which can guide and guard us under the pressures of life.

Lord, you have used the trials and pressures in my life to teach me to surrender to you. I invite you to use the means to continue to mold and shape me into the person you want me to be.

Life Application

Are we learning to recognize that God’s disciplines are evidence of his unquenchable Love? How do we respond to this love that persists in making us whole?

 

http://www.raystedman.org/

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – God Is Calling You

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Read: James 2:14-26

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (v. 17)

James makes it clear that while we are not saved by our works, we need to examine whether we truly know Jesus Christ if we aren’t obeying his commandments and serving in God’s kingdom. We might be big fans of Jesus, but God isn’t looking for fans. God is looking for people willing to speak his Word, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and hug the hurting.
You may have been involved in different ways serving Christ in the past. Perhaps you feel like you’ve paid your dues and it is someone else’s turn to step up. Maybe you feel inadequate and ill-equipped to serve God. You might feel too busy to serve right now.

Whatever your reason, remember that God gave you this day for a purpose. It is a gift to you from him. How will you use this gift? He expects you to use it to follow him wherever he may call. In doing so you will experience God’s blessing. Ignore the call and you will miss part of God’s plan for your life. I encourage you to accept this calling, whether it is going on mission to build houses for the homeless or whether it is simply to encourage a neighbor with the good news of Christ. Answer the call!

Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes to your calling for my life and give me the courage and the strength to follow this calling, whatever it may be.
Author: Rob Donoho

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Then Why?

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Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. —John 11:5–6

The Bible tells the story of a tight-knit family from the town of Bethany that was devastated by an unexpected tragedy. This family, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, was very close to Jesus—literally. He would sit at their dinner table and spend hours with them.

But tragedy knocked on their door one day. Lazarus was very ill. So they immediately sent word to Jesus: “Lord, behold, he whom Your love is sick” (John 11:3).

Now, I would have expected the next verse to say, “So He transported Himself from where He was to where they were.” Or, “He spoke the word, and Lazarus was immediately healed.” That would make sense to me.

But here’s what actually happened: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was” (verses 5–6). This could almost seem like a contradiction. If Jesus really loved Lazarus, then why didn’t He immediately go and heal him?

When hardship and tragedy strikes our lives, we might ask a similar question: If Jesus really loves me, then why did He let this happen?

Here is the problem: It’s hard to see through eyes filled with tears. We lose perspective. We don’t understand why this is happening to us. We need to remind ourselves that God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. Just because He doesn’t do something as quickly as we want Him to, it doesn’t mean that He never will do it. It simply means that God has His timing just as surely as God has His will.

Even though we cannot see how the situation will end or why it has come upon us, it flows from the love of God, and it is controlled by Him.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Gives and Takes Away

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“The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21b)

Job was a man who had been blessed by God. He had everything a man could want – a large family, many friends, a good reputation, lots of property, animals, health, and wealth. Most importantly, Job enjoyed close fellowship with his Creator. He knew that his blessings were direct gifts from God’s hand, and he was careful to give God the credit for all He had done for him.

Have you ever looked around and counted all your gifts from God? Maybe you have at Thanksgiving time, but hopefully you do it more often than just once a year! A grateful heart is usually a natural response to God’s rich blessings, and we are right to thank Him. We also ought to let God’s gifts teach us to trust Him as the great and good God that He is.

But what happens when God keeps back from you something that you really wanted? What if you have been praying for something important, and God seems to be saying “no”? What if God takes something away from you?

Job’s blessings were all taken away from him, and there did not seem to be any good reason why. Job had not bragged about deserving his gifts or earning God’s favor, but God decided to let Satan strike Job with disease and heavy losses. Job had not rebelled against God, but all his children were taken away from him. Job had not complained against God, but all his property was destroyed or stolen by robbers. Job had not failed to thank God for His gifts to him, and yet God gave Satan permission to take everything away from him – all his health, all his wealth, and most of his loved ones. Humanly speaking, it did not make sense for God to take everything back.

It is easy to trust a good and great God Who blesses us. But it can be hard to keep glorifying and praising God when He does something that hurts or surprises or confuses us. Has God ever taken something away from you or your family? A loved one? Your health? The money to go back to your Christian school?

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Gives and Takes Away →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Serving by Grace

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

We’re so accustomed to thinking of spiritual gifts as ministry abilities that we lose sight of the ordinary meaning of the word. A gift is something given to us; something we don’t earn. But even that fails to adequately convey the biblical sense. We tend to give gifts to people who in some sense deserve them because of their relationship to us or because they’ve done us a favor of some kind. But God gives spiritual gifts to people who don’t deserve them. None of us deserves to be in God’s service, whether teaching a children’s Sunday school class or serving on some faraway mission field.

It’s an awesome thing to attempt to speak on behalf of God. Yet that’s exactly what we do when we teach or preach or write. It matters not whether our audience is one person or fifty thousand, whether they are kindergarten pupils or graduate theological students. Any time we say or write something that we hold out to be biblical truth, we’re putting ourselves in the position of being God’s spokesman.

Peter said, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11, NIV). When we teach the Scriptures, do we appreciate the awesomeness of our responsibility, to be speaking on God’s behalf? Do we consider the accountability that comes with being entrusted with the divine message?

Paul himself was keenly conscious of his immense responsibility: “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:17). He knew God not only sent him, but observed him. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Our Heart’s Desire

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 9-11

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. – Psalm 126:5-6

Years ago, Lorne Sanny, then president of The Navigators, was teaching a seminar on prayer. He told us, “Prayer is not preparation for doing the work of God; prayer is the work of God.” I wrote it down at the time and have given it a good deal of thought since. I believe he was right.

The apostle Paul prayed, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1). Paul’s heart desire led him to pray.

Perhaps you know someone you would like to see come to salvation in Christ. One of the first steps you can take in bringing that desire to reality is to pray. However, there’s more to prayer than walking into God’s office and dropping a memo into His in-basket. The context of Paul’s prayer is that it grew out of a deep inner longing. In Romans 9:2, Paul said of his desire for his people’s salvation: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.”

Most of us don’t have much trouble coming to God with a heart full of deep personal concerns–work, finances, relationships. But are we just as burdened for others? Does their salvation weigh as heavily on our minds and hearts as the material things we think we need?

How can we get the same kind of heart as the apostle Paul? The only way I know is to spend time with Jesus Christ, who was moved with compassion toward people. When Jesus looked at the city of Jerusalem, He wept. The closer we walk with Christ in our life of daily discipleship, the deeper our desires will grow in prayer for others.

Prayer

Lord, as I spend time with You in prayer, give me a heart like Yours for the lost. Amen.

To Ponder

Prayer is sharing our hearts with God, not just reciting a list of people and things for Him to bless.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Unbroken in China: The Growing Chinese Church

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You’ve probably heard a lot about China in the news lately: How it’s threatening peace in the Pacific by building military bases on artificial islands. You’ve heard presidential candidates warn that China may soon overtake the U. S. as the leading global economic power. But what you probably didn’t realize is that China is ready to overtake the U. S. in another area: the size of its Christian population.

You see, despite years of often savage oppression, the church in China is growing by leaps and bounds.

Yu Jie, a writer and dissident from China, tells the story powerfully in the August issue of First Things magazine. Yu reports that since 1949, when the communists took over and Christian missionaries were expelled, the number of Christians in China has multiplied from half a million to more than 60 million today. If current growth rates continue, “by 2030, Christians in China will exceed 200 million . . . making China the country with the largest Christian population in the world.”

And Yu, who became disillusioned with communism after the Tiananmen Square massacre, might very well be a little bit cautious in his estimates. The respected Operation World prayer guide counts not 60 million but 105 million Christians of all kinds in the country, far outstripping the 70 million or so members of the Communist Party!

Either way, it’s easy to see that the Chinese Church has been unbroken by decades of communist opposition. These days few Chinese outside the Party believe in communism, and the Church has begun to fill the resulting spiritual and worldview vacuums.

“Groups of young, well-educated, active professionals have gathered in urban churches,” Yu says, “smashing the stereotype in many Chinese people’s minds of Christians as elderly, infirm, sick, or disabled. These churches … are a first step toward Christians assuming leadership in the development of a Chinese civil society independent of government control.”

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Unbroken in China: The Growing Chinese Church →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE SON IS THE WAY TO THE FATHER

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Read JOHN 14:1–14

Many people today say they are spiritual but not religious. The positive side of this is that they recognize that people are more than just material or physical beings. The negative side is that they tend to focus on their personal feelings or emotions, either rejecting the idea of absolute truth or reserving for themselves the right to pick and choose what those truths might be. Such people essentially put themselves in the place of God.

By contrast, Jesus proclaimed a truth that grates on the ears of modern spirituality: He and He alone is the way to the Father. John 14, where we’ll spend three days, is part of the Upper Room discourse, Jesus’ teaching following the Passover or Last Supper prior to His crucifixion. In today’s reading, He comforted His disciples with a promise. He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them (vv. 2–3).

How close is the relationship between the Father and the Son? “No one comes to the Father except through me” (v. 6). To believe in the Son is to believe in the Father (vv. 1, 11). To know the Son is to know the Father (vv. 7, 9). The words and work of the Son are the words and work of the Father. They are “in” one another— utterly unified as Persons of the Godhead (v. 10). The Father’s power—the gift of the Holy Spirit is implied here and explicitly revealed in the verses following—will also be available to the followers of the Son (v. 12).

The Father sent the Son and the Son reveals the Father. The incarnate Son is the one and only way the Father has made for us to come to Him. Faith in Christ alone is the way to salvation!

APPLY THE WORD

This passage provides us with some practical encouragement for our prayers. We are to pray to the Father in the name of the Son, for His glory, and we have direct access to God’s power through the indwelling of the Spirit (vv. 13–14). Praying for God’s will to be done is a prayer that is always answered “yes” (see Matt. 6:10).

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – RYAN LOCHTE, 3 OTHER SWIMMERS ROBBED IN RIO

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Ryan Lochte and three other US Olympic swimmers were robbed at gunpoint yesterday morning. The criminals posed as police officers, pulled them over in their taxi, pointed their guns at them, and stole their wallets, cell phones, and Olympic credentials.

Meanwhile, a man in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is charged with stabbing his father during Sunday worship services. We don’t yet know the father’s status or why he was attacked.

But we know this: misused freedom is a daily reality on this fallen planet. From Adam and Eve to today’s headlines, humans abuse the freedom God intends us to use to love him and each other (Matthew 22:37–39). And innocent people usually pay the price.

The good news is that when innocent Christians suffer faithfully, God uses our witness in ways we cannot imagine this side of glory. For instance, as Stephen was being stoned to death, “the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:58). This “young man” was Saul of Tarsus, better known as Paul the Apostle.

Why did Luke, the writer of Acts, insert Paul into the narrative? Luke was Paul’s personal physician. It seems likely that he knew Paul had participated in Stephen’s martyrdom because Paul told him. And it seems likely that Luke included this fact in the story because of the impression it made on Paul.

For the young Pharisee to watch Stephen die so courageously and graciously, praying that God would forgive the very people who were murdering him (v. 60), must have been dramatically powerful. Stephen’s witness was so impactful that it’s been said, “No Stephen, no Paul.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – RYAN LOCHTE, 3 OTHER SWIMMERS ROBBED IN RIO →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Hunger for God

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Psalms 63:1-5

The Lord has given us a variety of appetites, which are essential for our physical survival. But He has also created within our hearts a hunger that is spiritual. David was a man who recognized and felt this yearning for the heavenly Father. Throughout the Psalms, we find him meditating, offering praise, or crying out to God. His greatest joy was to be with his heavenly Father in intimate communion.

Hungering for the Lord is a desire to know and draw closer to Him. Sadly, this yearning lies dormant in many believers’ lives. They’re saved but have very little desire for more. One of the problems is that our society is filled with all sorts of things that grab and hold our interest and affections. These pleasures and pursuits compete with God for our attention, claiming our time and effort.

The good news is that a longing for God can be awakened if we are willing to change our priorities and pursuits. Although cultivating a desire for the Lord takes time, the joy we’ll experience is lasting—and the rewards are eternal. We’ll always get more out of a relationship with God than we put in. What’s more, as our hunger for Him comes to life, He will open our heart and mind to understand and desire Him even more.

When we yearn for the Lord, He will satisfy us with contentment and a sense of completeness, while awakening an even deeper longing in our souls. Unlike physical hunger, a craving for Him is filled but paradoxically leaves us hungry. The more we are satisfied in Christ, the more we want of Him.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 18-21

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Your Father Knows

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Read: Matthew 6:25–34 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 89–90; Romans 14

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8

I was only four years old as I lay by my father on a floor mat on a hot summer night. (My mother, with a baby, had her own room at the time.) This was in northern Ghana where the climate is mostly dry. Sweat covered my body, and the heat parched my throat. I felt so thirsty I shook my father awake. In the middle of that dry night, he rose up and poured water from a jar for me to quench my thirst. Throughout my life, as he did that night, he exemplified the image of a caring father. He provided what I needed.

Some people may not have a good father figure in their lives. But we all have a Father who is strong and ever-present and who does not disappoint us. Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). He told us that when our daily needs confront us—food, clothing, shelter, protection (v. 31)—“your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (v. 8).

Your loving heavenly Father never takes His eyes off you.

We have a Father who is always there. Night or day, whenever the going gets tough, we can trust that He will never abandon us. He has promised to care for us, and He knows better than we do what we need.

Thank You, Lord, for the privilege of coming to You as my Father. You know my needs before I even ask. Thank You that You will never turn me away.

Your loving heavenly Father never takes His eyes off you.

INSIGHT:

Among the topics Christ so eloquently addresses is the subject of worry. It appears that He was attuned to the fretting the human heart experiences in daily life. He encourages us to seek God’s kingdom as the top priority and then we are assured our Father God will provide for us (Matt. 6:33). He suggests we manage stress by faith: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 34).

 

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Being Devoted to God

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“‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’” (Matthew 6:21).

The believer is to have a single-minded devotion to God.

British pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones told the story of a farmer who one day went happily to his wife and family to report that their best cow had given birth to twin calves, one brown and one white. The farmer said, “I suddenly had an impulse that we must dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will sell one and keep the proceeds; the other we will also sell, but give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.” His wife asked him which one he was going to dedicate to the Lord. He replied, “There is no need to bother about that now. We will treat them both the same way, and when the time comes, we will do as I say.” And off he went. A few months later the farmer entered his kitchen looking unhappy. When his wife asked him what was troubling him, he answered, “I have bad news to give you. The Lord’s calf is dead.”

We laugh at the story because we all tend to lay up treasure on earth. We want to be rich toward self but poor toward God. Jesus speaks directly to that wrong thinking by saying “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). Your heart and your treasure go together—they both need to be in Heaven. Our Lord is speaking of a single-minded devotion to God and His cause that is undistracted by the world.

Jesus is not saying that if you put your treasure in the right place, your heart will then be in the right place, but that the location of your treasure indicates where your heart already is. Spiritual problems are always heart problems. God’s principle for His people has always been, “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9-10). What about you? Is that the principle by which you live?

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask the Lord to help you have a single-minded devotion to His kingdom.

For Further Study

Read Luke 6:38 and 2 Corinthians 9:6. What is the common principle in both verses?

 

http://www.gty.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Wisdom is Calling

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Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets.- Proverbs 1:20

God wants us to use wisdom, and according to today’s scripture, wis¬dom is not difficult to obtain; the Holy Spirit wants to reveal it to us; we simply need to pay attention. For example, have you ever needed to make a decision and had your “head” (your intellectual abilities) try to lead you one way while your heart is leading you another? Have you ever had a situation in which your natural thoughts and feelings seemed to be guiding you in one direction, but something inside of you kept nagging you to go another direction?

Chances are, wisdom is crying out to you. One way to love yourself is to listen to it and obey. Many times, it cries out in your heart that you should or should not do a certain thing—you should eat healthily, you should be kind to other people, you should not spend money you do not have. These are all practical examples of using wisdom in everyday life. When you sense such leadings, the Holy Spirit, who speaks to your heart, is trying to help you make a wise decision, even though it may not be the choice you want to make or it may not seem to make sense in your present circumstances.

The Spirit wars against our flesh, and vice versa (see Gal. 5:17). When we know the wise choice and don’t make it, the reason is often that we are allowing our flesh to lead us and to see if we can get away with unwise decisions—which are also known as “foolishness.” The flesh leads us to foolishness, but God wants us to walk in wisdom and make choices now that we will be happy with later.

Love Yourself Today What is wisdom saying to you today? Are you willing to follow it?

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Whatsoever You Desire 

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“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:23,24, KJV).

How big is your God? If the Holy Spirit were to withdraw from your life and from the fellowship of your local church, would he be missed? In other words, is there anything supernatural about your life or the local church where you have fellowship with other believers?

A skeptic, contrasting the actor and Christian worker, gave this evaluation: The actor presents fiction as though it were true. The Christian worker all too often presents truth as though it were fiction.

A militant atheist attacked Christians with this accusation: “You say that your God is omnipotent, that He created the heavens and the earth. You say that He is a loving God who sent His only Son to die on the cross for the sins of man and on the third day was raised from the dead. You say that through faith in Him one could have a whole new quality of life, of peace, love and joy; a purpose and meaning plus the assurance of eternal life. I say to you that is a lie and you know it, because if you really believe what you say you believe, you would pay whatever price it took to tell everyone who would listen. What you claim is without question the greatest news the world has ever heard, but it couldn’t be true or you would be more enthusiastic about it. If I believed what you believe, I would sell everything I have and use every resource at my command to reach the largest possible number of people with this good news.”

Unfortunately, the critics and the skeptics have good reason to find fault with us. It is true that, if we really believed what we say we believe, we would be constrained, as the apostle Paul, to tell everyone who would listen about Christ, mindful that there is nothing more important in all the world that we could do. At the same time we would claim our rights as children of God, drawing upon the supernatural resources of God.

Bible Reading: Mark 11:20-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will seek to know God better by studying His Word and meditating upon his attributes so that His supernatural qualities will become more and more a part of my life for the glory and praise of His name.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Potter and the Clay

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Read: Jeremiah 18:1-23

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message. So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jeremiah 18:1-4

We have commented in previous messages about the many things God uses to teach his people, these remarkable visual aids which appear from time to time in this book whereby God imparts lessons to this prophet. Jeremiah was sent down to the potter’s house, and there he saw three simple things, conveying to him a fantastic lesson. You may have observed the same things that Jeremiah did, for the art of making a pot has not changed through the centuries. The wheel is now turned by an electric motor, but that is about the only difference. Even this is still controlled by the foot of the potter. The clay is the same as it has always been. The potter is the same, with his capable hands, working to mold and shape the clay into the vessel he has in mind.

What did Jeremiah see in this lesson? First there was the clay. Jeremiah knew, as he watched the potter shaping and molding the clay, that he was looking at a picture of himself, and of every man, and of every nation. We are the clay. Both Isaiah and Zechariah, in the Old Testament, join with Jeremiah in presenting this picture of the potter and the clay. In the New Testament we have the voice of Paul in that great passage in Romans 9, reminding us that God is the Potter and we are the clay. So Jeremiah saw the clay being shaped and molded into a vessel. Then some imperfection in the clay spoiled it in the potter’s hand, and the potter crumbled it up, and began anew the process of shaping it into a vessel that pleased him.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Potter and the Clay →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – God’s Call Includes a Place Prepared for Us

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Read: John 14:1-7

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (v. 2)

The houses we constructed in Mexico were very simple. Built on 18-by-20-foot concrete pads, they have two small bedrooms and one common room. There is no plumbing. Despite their simplicity, these houses feel like a mansion to families that previously slept in lean-to tents, in overcrowded homes, or on the street.

In addition to the standard bedding provided by the local mission agency, we brought extra items to make the house feel more homey. This included tables and chairs, plates and silverware, curtains to provide some privacy for each room, and window treatments.

Once everything was prepared, we dedicated the home. We gathered in a circle outside and each volunteer said a few words of blessing to the family and then we presented them with the key. Once inside, we again prayed for God to bless them and their new home. Tears flowed freely from everyone, men and women, on our team.

As great as this experience was, it is only a glimpse of what joy those who have confessed with their mouth and believed in their heart will experience in heaven (Rom. 10:9-10, 13). Jesus is preparing a place for us now. A place we can call our eternal home with all the trimmings.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for preparing a place in heaven for me. May I help others to also find a room.

Author: Rob Donoho

 

https://woh.org/

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Patient

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“And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him [Elijah], and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.” (1 Kings 19:7)

Do you ever feel tired and grumpy? Maybe you have heard your mom or dad make excuses for your little brother’s or sister’s bad behavior (or maybe even your own!) with phrases like these: “He’s just tired. It’s way past his bedtime.” Sometimes our bodies are so worn out that it becomes hard to keep from acting in grumpy and sinful ways.

The prophet Elijah understood the feelings of tiredness, hunger, and depression. In 1 Kings 19, he was so down in the dumps that he wanted to die – and he told God just that. There he was, sitting in the middle of a dry, rugged wilderness, his only shelter one lone juniper tree. He had no food for his next meal, and he could not go back to civilization to find any, because wicked Queen Jezebel had her soldiers out waiting to snatch him up and deliver him dead on her doorstep. Elijah felt sorry for himself and complained to the Lord. Maybe he was thinking to himself phrases like these: I can’t take it anymore! Just take my life. I’ve got nothing to look forward to, so I might as well lie in a grave next to my ancestors.

It is not hard to feel sorry for Elijah. He was not just tired or hungry; someone was even trying to murder him! But this is the same prophet Elijah who in just the previous chapter had boldly asked God, in front of thousands of people, to send down fire from heaven and had seen God answer his request. This is the same Elijah who had pleaded with God to send rain on a famine-stricken land, and God had answered! And now what does Elijah do? Does he confidently ask God to protect him from Queen Jezebel? Does he boldly ask God to provide him with just a little something to eat? No! Elijah forgets all about God’s past deliverance and instead, complains.

Because God is holy, He never condones sinful behavior. But the way God responded to Elijah teaches us a lot about His patient character. God could have easily struck Elijah down with an immediate and painful death for the way he sinned by faithlessly complaining. But instead, verse 5 tells us that God treated Elijah gently, waiting, allowing Elijah to sleep, in the meantime sending an angel to give Elijah freshly baked bread and a jar of cool water.

Then God showed his might to Elijah through a strong hurricane-like wind, and then an earthquake, and then a huge fire. But when God finally did speak to Elijah, he didn’t yell angrily, or even lecture him sternly. Instead, 1 Kings 19:12 tells us that God’s answer to Elijah came in “a still, small voice.” God had patiently waited for Elijah to regain some physical strength. And when He finally did correct Elijah for his “pity party,” He simply gave Elijah his next assignment with hardly a rebuke at all.

God is often patient with people, even when they deserve a sharp rebuke.

My Response:

» Have I thanked God for being patient with me today?

» Am I being patient with others, even if I think they are reacting wrongly to their circumstances?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – From Repentance to Blessing

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 4:7

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

David’s experience is very helpful to us in the relationship of repentance and grace: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:1-5).

Here David first stated his conclusion, as he spoke of the blessedness of being forgiven. Then he explained that blessedness by acknowledging his own guilt and his miserable condition before he repented. But with genuine repentance came the deep assurance that he was forgiven. In sequence of time, the blessedness actually came after his repentance and assurance of forgiveness. But just as we often do, David gave the “bottom line” before explaining how he got there.

We must do as David did if we want to experience God’s grace in our failures at mortifying sin. It’s not that repentance earns God’s forgiveness. Only the blood of Christ does that. God, however, does deal with us as a loving but firm father deals with his children. He accepts us unconditionally because we are his sons and daughters in Christ, but he disciplines us for our good. And in the administering of his discipline he withholds the assurance of his forgiveness until we, through repentance, are ready to receive it.

 

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