Monthly Archives: August 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Patience of God

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2 Peter 3:8-9

God’s seemingly slow reaction to sin is often puzzling to believers. Why doesn’t He immediately punish those who violate His principles? The answer is found in today’s passage—the Lord is patient so that all people have an opportunity to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).

In our humanness, we at times want people to suffer for wrongdoing. Jonah ran away from his duty to preach in Nineveh, because he expected that if the inhabitants repented, his gracious, compassionate God would relent about destroying the city. And that is precisely what came to pass. Instead of rejoicing in the Lord’s success, the prophet complained about His treating the Ninevites with patience and mercy (Jonah 4:2).

Jonah was angry at God despite the fact that he himself had received divine mercy. (Unpleasant though it was, there are worse forms of discipline than being swallowed and regurgitated by a fish.)

More often than not, believers have ample reason to be thankful that the Lord, unlike human beings, is slow to anger. When we are stubborn and unrepentant, He waits patiently for us to respond to conviction. Discipline is painful to both the recipient and the one carrying it out. God prefers that we see the error of our choices, stop thinking that we’re getting away with sin, and turn back to His righteous path.

The Lord places a high value on repentance and maintaining fellowship. However, His justice demands a penalty. Do not wait for discipline. Instead, do what’s right, and turn your heart toward God.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 41-45

 

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Let Us

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Read: Hebrews 10:19–25 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 107–109; 1 Corinthians 4

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

While standing in line for a popular attraction at Disneyland, I noticed that most people were talking and smiling instead of complaining about the long wait. It made me ponder what made waiting in that line an enjoyable experience. The key seemed to be that very few people were there by themselves. Instead, friends, families, groups, and couples were sharing the experience, which was far different than standing in line alone.

The Christian life is meant to be lived in company with others, not alone. Hebrews 10:19–25 urges us to live in community with other followers of Jesus. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings . . . . Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together” (vv. 22–25). In community we reassure and reinforce each other, “encouraging one another” (v. 25).

The Christian life is meant to be lived in company with others, not alone.

Even our most difficult days can become a meaningful part of our journey of faith when others share them with us. Don’t face life alone. Let us travel together.

Lord, may we fulfill Your calling today by walking the road of faith and encouragement with others.

Life in Christ is meant to be a shared experience.

INSIGHT:

The Jewish temple represented God’s presence among His people. It was the center of religious life for the Jews. It was a place of corporate worship, the place where sacrifices were made, and the central structure around which yearly festivals and daily prayers took place. The temple construction and sacrificial system clearly meant to illustrate the separation sin had caused between the Creator and creation, but according to the writer of the book of Hebrews this temple and system were merely shadows (Heb. 10:1) of the reality that has come in Christ. Because of Christ the barriers no longer apply. God the Son has come near, and by His blood all believers regardless of gender, station, or nationality can come into the presence of almighty God.

 

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – A Little Piece of Bread

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“Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for [the Lord] Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).

God promises to provide for all your needs.

In World War II the death of many adults left many orphans. At the close of the war, the Allies provided some camps to feed the orphans and to try and find a place to relocate them. The children began to develop and grow, receiving the finest food and care. But in one of the camps, the officials became perplexed because the children couldn’t sleep. They would eat three good meals, but at night they would lie awake. The camp authorities brought in some doctors to do a study of these orphans to find out why they couldn’t sleep.

The doctors came up with a solution. Every night when the little children were put to bed, someone would come down the row of beds and place in each little hand a piece of bread. So the last thing the children experienced at night was grasping a piece of bread. In a matter of days they were all sleeping through the night. Why? Even though they were fed to the full during the day, experience had taught them that there was no hope for tomorrow. When they had that bread tucked in their hands, they knew that at least they would have breakfast the next day.

Similarly, God has given you a piece of bread for your hand. That bread is this promise: “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). If you have that piece of bread in your hand, you can sleep.

You don’t need to stockpile for the future. God is the owner of everything in the world, and He controls all the assets to provide for you because you are His child. Life for the Christian consists not in the abundance of things he possesses (Luke 12:15), but in being content with the things that he has (Heb. 13:5).

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His promise to provide for all your needs.

For Further Study

In Psalm 37:25, what was David’s testimony about the Lord?

 

http://www.gty.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Best Relationship You Can Have

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Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.- Revelation 3:20

We have the great privilege of developing a relationship with God and inviting Him to be a vital part of everything we do, every day. That starts with simple prayer—just talking to Him and sharing your life with Him as you go about the things you have to do. Be thankful that His presence is with you, and include Him in your thoughts, in your conversations, and in all your everyday activities.

When you let God out of the Sunday-morning box that many people keep Him in, letting Him invade your Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and all day Sunday as well, you’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make. Don’t try to keep God in a religious compartment; He wants to have free access to every area of your life. He wants to be involved in every part of your life. He desires an intimate relationship with you.

Prayer of Thanks: I thank You, God, that You love me enough to want to be in relationship with me. I want to share every part of my life with You. Help me to remember that You are with me every minute of the day.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Ways Will Satisfy 

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“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you” (Romans 12:2).

“The trouble with living sacrifices,” someone has well said, “is that they keep crawling off the altar.” That may be true. We “crawl off the altar” when we sin, and the only way to put ourselves back on the altar is to breathe spiritually – confess our known sins in accordance with the promise of 1 John 1:9 and appropriate the fullness of the Holy Spirit as we are commanded to do by faith (Ephesians 5:18).

When we do this, we will be living supernaturally and our lives will produce the fruit of the Spirit in great abundance.

Only by being filled with the Spirit, and thus realizing the fruit of the Spirit, can spiritual gifts be effectively utilized in witnessing and building up the Body of Christ.

We begin by totally yielding ourselves by faith to Christ in a full irrevocable surrender to His lordship.

“He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now He lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. So look upon your old sin-nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God – every part of you -for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for His good purposes” (Romans 6:10-13).

Bible Reading: Romans 12:3-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Knowing that God’s ways will really satisfy me, I will seek first His kingdom, resist the devil at his every appearance and watch with joy as he flees.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Pain that has no Cure

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Read: Jeremiah 30:1-24

Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you. Jeremiah 30:15

God takes the full responsibility for what happens to Israel. He says, I have done these things to you. It is as though he stands with his hands on his hips and says to them, Look, I’m responsible. Any questions? He says that it is because of their sins, their flagrant sins.

We do not want to read this as though it is something remote from us. If you are inclined to say only, Oh, it’s such a pity what’s going to happen to Israel, remember that this is your story, too. This is the way God works. He deals with Israel this way because this is the way he deals with everybody. There is a scriptural principle reflected here which all too often we forget. Just because judgment does not fall immediately upon people, they think they have gotten by. But Paul says, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction… (Galatians 6:7-8a). That is inevitable. God does not cancel that out by the forgiveness of sin. That is part of what we call the natural consequences of evil, the temporal judgment of God. It is never canceled out, any more than the rest of what Paul says is canceled out: …whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8b) This is God’s promise for now — not just in heaven some day but now. The joy and glory of life will come to us if we walk in the Spirit, and that is inevitable. But so is the judgment for our sin, the inevitable consequences of our own selfish choices.

This means, of course, that ultimately a recompense comes to us in life now for the evil in which we have indulged our flesh — whether it is blatant, open, sensual evil, or whether it is inward — spiritual pride, bitterness, and all the other sins of the spirit. It makes no difference. Evil brings its own results. As someone has well said, You can pull out the nail driven into the wall, but you can’t pull out the nail hole.

God reminds us here that there will be pain and heartache and trouble because of the evil of our past. The sins of our youth will catch up to us — usually in middle age! And there is no escape. As Kipling has said, The sins that they did two by two, they pay for one by one. God says this is inevitable. It is inevitable for his people Israel; it is inevitable for us as well. Yet even in that trial, God is present in His mercy and grace.

Thank you, Lord, for the lesson I learn as I sometimes must walk through the consequences of my own poor choices. But thank you that your grace is still sufficient even for these things.

Life Application

Are we surprised by the inevitable consequences of our sins? Are we also surprised by joy when the Spirit produces good fruit through our walk with Christ? Do we recognize both as aspects of God’s sovereign initiative?

 

 

http://www.raystedman.org/

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Palm and the Cedar of Lebanon

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Read: Psalm 92

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (v. 12)

When was the last time you ate a date? What do you recall about the taste, smell, and texture? Do you know where that delicacy came from?

The palm tree mentioned in this psalm is the date palm, one of the most important trees in ancient Israel, for its fruit was high in sugar and very nutritious, its leaves were used for roofing, and its trunk supplied timber. The date palm is 40 to 60 feet tall, with a thick, unbranched trunk and pinnate or feather-like leaves 4 to 6 feet long clustered at the top. It looks similar to the kind of palm trees you may have seen in Florida or Southern California.

The cedar of Lebanon, described two readings ago, was tall, wide, and old. This giant had mythic status for the Israelites as the Tree of trees.

The righteous, says the psalmist, flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. In old age those who embody what is good and right and just still produce fruit and are always green and full of sap. In short, those who walk in the way of the Lord are full of life and are life-giving. Those who embody steadfast love and faithfulness (v. 2) live well. Trees are powerful metaphors for living a godly life.

Prayer:

God of steadfast love and faithfulness, the Righteous One, strengthen us that we may flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.

Author: Steven Bouma-Prediger

 

https://woh.org/

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Plans Cannot Be Thwarted

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“Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.” (Job 42:1-2)

When Job said to God, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee,” he was not trying to say that God knows everyone’s thoughts. Of course, God does know every thought we could possibly think, but this verse is teaching us something else about God. It is teaching us about God’s sovereignty, His absolute rule and total control over everything. Anything that God thinks up is His idea, and He can do whatever He pleases. None of us are able to hold God back if He has made up His mind to do something. That is what Job meant when he said, “No thought can be withholden from thee.”

None of God’s purposes can be thwarted. Do you know what thwarted means? It means to be twisted or wrenched around or messed up or squashed. God’s plans cannot fail, and nobody can stop Him from accomplishing His will.

Have you ever been watching a football game and heard someone shout “Interference!”? If the quarterback is throwing the football to the receiver, and somebody from the other team grabs onto the receiver or knocks him over before he can catch the ball, that is called “interference.” The catch is never completed like it was supposed to be because the receiver was “interfered with.” Human beings interfere in each others’ lives all the time, and everyday circumstances can thwart our plans, too. Our plans get changed all the time. Our picnics get rained out. Our favorite sports teams do not make it to the playoffs. Your parents’ car might break down during your vacation. Maybe your best friend’s family has to move 800 miles away.

As human beings, we have to get used to interference and thwarted plans. We aren’t able to make everything go the way we plan. We are not all-powerful and all-knowing. But we can be glad that God is. We can rejoice that God is sovereign and that He does whatever He pleases. He is in control of what happens in our lives – and not only that, but He cares about what happens in our lives. There are many promises in the Bible that speak of how God intends to do things for His glory and for our good. He knows the plans that He has, and we can know for sure that no one and nothing can hold Him back from carrying them out.

God’s purposes can never be messed up, and we can trust Him to do whatever He sets out to do.

My Response:

» Since I know that God can do everything and none of His plans can be messed up, how should that change my attitude when my own plans get messed up?

» Is there ever any cause for me to worry, fear, or get angry if I really believe God is sovereign?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Enlarging Our Horizons

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Today’s Scripture: Daniel 4:35

“He does according to his will . . . among the inhabitants of the earth.”

Most Christians tend to think of the sovereignty of God only in terms of its immediate effect upon us, or our families or friends. We’re not too interested in the sovereignty of God over the nations and over history unless we’re consciously and personally affected by that history.

But we must remember that God promised to Abraham and to his seed that all nations will be blessed through Christ (see Genesis 12:3; 22:18; Galatians 3:8). Someday that promise will be fulfilled for, as recorded in Revelation 7:9, John saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb” (NIV). God has a plan to redeem people from all nations and to bless all nations through Christ.

As we look around the world today, we see over half of the world’s population living in countries whose governments are hostile to the Gospel, where missionaries are not allowed, and where national Christians are hindered from proclaiming Christ. How do we trust God for the fulfillment of his promises when the current events and conditions of the day seem so directly contrary to their fulfillment?

We must also look at the sovereignty of God and at his promises. He has promised to redeem people from every nation, and he has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. We must trust God by praying. We must learn to trust God for the spread of the Gospel, even in those areas where it is severely restricted.

God is sovereign over the nations. He is sovereign even where every attempt is made to stamp out true Christianity. In all of these areas, we can and must trust God. (Excerpt taken from Trusting God)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Incarnation

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Today’s Scripture: John 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. – 1 Timothy 3:16

One holiday season my wife and I were in Tokyo, Japan. We had been in that city quite a few times over the years, but traffic was never like this! Always bad, but not this bad! So I finally asked the cab driver why there was such a horrendous traffic jam. He smiled and said, “It’s the Christmas rush. Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays in our country.”

Later I thought about what he’d said. Had the Asians begun to honor and worship Jesus Christ? No, Christ had very little to do with it. This was simply a nice time to give gifts to people you like. It was good for business and made a happy, festive occasion.

If that’s why Jesus Christ came, He could have done it much more easily without going to the cross. You and I both know He didn’t come just to create a happy holiday. The only begotten Son of God was given by His loving Father to a world lost in sin and spiritual darkness, that we might have everlasting life in Him.

The Asian culture hadn’t caught it, and friend, our culture has almost lost it. Although America grew out of deep, religious roots, there’s no question that today the majority of our population knows little or nothing about the Bible or Christianity. In some areas, Christians have even had to defend the use of manger scenes and sacred carols in the celebration of Christ’s birthday.

Why not resolve that this year someone in your family, someone in your neighborhood, someone where you work will hear the truth of why Jesus came…from your mouth. The message is simple: God gives eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let’s tell it.

Prayer

Lord, until You return, help us in our homes and in our churches to proclaim and teach why You came. Amen.

To Ponder

How can you be a light in this dark world?

 

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE TRINITY AND THE SENDING OF THE 72

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Read LUKE 10:1–24

In recent years, Middle Eastern Chris- tians have suffered intense persecution. The Week reported that in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, believers “are murdered in mob violence or by militant groups. Their churches are bombed, their shops destroyed, and their homes looted. Laws are passed making them second-class citizens, and the majority of them eventually leave.”

Christ told His followers to expect persecution (see John 15:20). Suffering is part of being entrusted with the gospel. In today’s reading, Jesus sent out seventy-two of His followers with the good news of the kingdom. Since the table of nations in Genesis 10 lists seventy-two entries, some scholars think this number might symbolize the global scope of God’s plan. Jesus warned these followers that they were going out as sheep among wolves, and some people would greet them with hostility (vv. 3–12).

Despite any opposition they had faced, the seventy-two had returned with a successful ministry report. In the name and with the power of Jesus, they had cast out demons and done other miracles (vv. 17–19). They were not to take pride in this, because it was all the work of God, but rather to rejoice with eyes of faith (vv. 23–24).

The Son set the example for them by praising the Father in the joy of the Spirit (v. 21). The message had gone out and God had been glorified! Eternal life (having one’s name written in heaven) cannot be gained through human wisdom or power but only through the Son and His perfect revelation of His sovereign Father. As two Persons but one in essence, the Father and the Son have perfect knowledge of one another and the perfect plan to show God’s love to the nations (v. 22).

APPLY THE WORD

Faced with the power of God, Satan is helpless. In this spirit—in the Spirit—pray for the persecuted church around the world. Ask that these believers would be given “authority to trample on snakes and scorpions” (figures of speech for demons and evil spirits) and opportunities to continue to spread the good news of the kingdom.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Building Muscles of Faith

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1 Kings 18:22-23

“I wish I had great faith.” These are words that almost every Christian has said at one time or another. But faith is like a muscle, which must be exercised in order to become strong; just wishing cannot make it happen.

As Christians, we are to believe God, not only for salvation but for everything in our lives. Rather than a spiritual plateau, faith is actually a process that involves increasing degrees of trust throughout life. Weak faith hopes that God will do what He says, but strong faith knows He is faithful to accomplish all He says He will do.

Elijah was a man of great faith. He saw increased challenges as opportunities for God to do His work—and the prophet believed Him for the supernatural. So can you. The Lord may not do every miraculous thing you ask of Him, but He does some extraordinary work in and through each person who is obedient and willing to trust in Him.

You may be thinking, I am not good enough for the Father to use me. The Scriptures are filled with examples of flawed people whom the Lord used to achieve His purposes. What He’s looking for isn’t perfection but, rather, individuals willing to believe in Him. He doesn’t simply work through people of faith; He transforms them.

Start by reading God’s Word to learn what He wants you to do. Each day’s situations and needs are opportunities to trust Him. Ask the Lord to bring to mind verses that apply to your circumstances. Trust Him and do what He says—your faith muscles will grow, and He will be glorified.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 37-40

 

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Lord Who Provides

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“Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the Lord it will be provided’” (Genesis 22:13-14).

When God provides for a believer, He’s being true to His name.

The Old Testament gives God many names, but one of the most lovely is Jehovah-Jireh, translated in verse 14 of today’s passage as “The Lord Will Provide.” It is so much a characteristic of God that it’s His name. We would never question that God is love and great and mighty and holy and just and good. But some question whether God provides. They doubt and are afraid that God isn’t going to meet their needs. That is exactly what the Lord speaks to in Matthew 6:25-34 when He says, in summary, “Don’t worry about what to eat, drink, or wear.” The Lord is still Jehovah-Jireh. That is His name, and it is synonymous with one of His attributes.

God is a God who provides, and that is why David said, “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread” (Ps. 37:25). The world digs and scratches and claws to make sure it has enough. Unlike the world, your Father knows your needs, and He will always give you what you need.

You don’t have to own everything, and you don’t have to control everything to meet your needs. You can receive what God gives you to invest in His eternal kingdom and put away all anxiety about your needs. Worship God with your life, and rest assured in His promise to provide for you.

Suggestions for Prayer

First Timothy 6:8 says, “If [you] have food and covering, with these [you] shall be content.” Does contentment characterize your life? If not, confess that to the Lord, and thank Him for the many ways He so faithfully provides for you every day.

For Further Study

Read the following passages, which show God’s faithfulness to provide: Deuteronomy 2:7; 1 Kings 17:1-16; 2 Kings 4:1-7. In what different ways does He give that provision?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Stubborn Pride 

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I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.    Leviticus 26:19

Stubborn pride creates hardened hearts. It is shortsighted and insecure in its aggressive attempts to control. Stubborn pride acts as if it has everything together and doesn’t need the help of anyone, even God. Its stiff attitude is frustrating when attempting to work out conflicting issues. The demands of stubborn pride are unreasonable and its perspective is skewed toward itself. Stubborn pride resists change and misses out on improvement for the sake of the project, the team, or its family. Everyone has to be careful of stubborn pride sneaking into his or her beliefs and behaviors.

Stubborn pride rejects relational engagement that requires confession and forgiveness. There is an aversion to authenticity because this means admission of mistakes and failures. Stubborn pride will dig itself into a deeper hole of distant living before it takes the risk of being found out. However, in reality, discerning people already understand the charade and the manipulation of a man or a woman who is unable to admit faults. Humility can help someone sucked into the seduction of stubborn pride; that stubborn pride melts under the heat of humility.

God has a way of wresting control away from stubborn pride. He will not stand by and allow stubborn pride to suffocate His servants. His passion is to break the spell of stubborn pride and bring it into relational reality. Humility means you fight fair together. You truly listen to the perspective of your spouse or coworker, without reacting defensively or judging too quickly. You are willing to change for the greater good and for the sake of pleasing your Savior.

The Lord loves us too much to stand by while we struggle under the influence of stubborn pride. Like wild stallions with lots of will power and energy, we need brokenness and training. Almighty God is our Master and trainer. He uses whatever means necessary to get our attention. His Holy Spirit is assigned to break our will and align our spirit with His. God is the one trying to get our attention. We may be mad at others, but our case is against Christ.

The Spirit’s conviction is what causes us to cringe and shrink back from stubborn pride’s relational poison. Christ’s brokenness leads us to let go of control and trust Him. He breaks us from the power of ourselves. He breaks us to be bold for Him. He breaks us and molds us into reasonable people who honor the views of others. Do not negotiate with stubborn pride, but break it under the hammer of humility, replacing it with love, respect, and forgiveness. God’s brokenness brings down pride.

“The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11).

Today’s reading is taken from Boyd’s most popular book: Seeking Daily the Heart of God, a 365 day devotional.

 

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Together, Forever, on the Streets of Gold: Heaven on Earth

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Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Revelation 21:1

Christians often ask, Where is heaven? Heaven is mentioned more than 500 times in Scripture, but the only location suggested is “up.” The apostles of Jesus stood “gazing up into heaven” as Jesus ascended (Acts 1:11). The apostle Paul was “caught up” into a “third heaven”—but he doesn’t say any more than “up” about location (2 Corinthians 12:2).

Recommended Reading: 2 Peter 3:10-13

Given the lack of specificity about heaven’s location, Christians by default think it is somewhere overhead, somewhere in the “heavens.” But Scripture seems to suggest that heaven will be on earth, not in the sky. When the apostle John saw the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven,” it came to the earth (Revelation 21:2). And Peter described the present heavens and earth being “burned up” and “dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10-11), replaced by “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (verse 13). So it seems that God will renovate and restore His original creation by creating heaven on earth.

You may love where you live now, but you will love your heaven-on-earth home that is coming much more!

Heaven will chiefly consist in the enjoyment of God.

William S. Plummer

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Jeremiah 50 – 52

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Reminders

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That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you. . . . For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. – 2 Timothy 1:6-7

It doesn’t matter what kind of problem we have in our lives, we need self-control and discipline to gain and maintain the victory. I believe this is especially true with regard to our thought life and the battle for our mind. What begins in the mind eventually comes out of the mouth, and before we know it, we’re telling anyone who will listen how we feel. We have to discipline our mind, our mouth, our feelings, and our actions so that they are all in agreement with what the Word of God says.

Every quality of God that is in you and me, God Himself planted in us in the form of a seed the day we accepted Christ (see Colossians 2:10). Over time and through life’s experiences, the seeds of Christ’s character begin to grow and produce the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). I have found that it is virtually impossible to operate in any of the other eight fruit of the Spirit unless we are exercising self-control. How can you and I remain patient, for example, in the midst of an upsetting situation unless we exercise restraint? Or how can we walk in love and believe the best of someone after they have repeatedly hurt us unless we use the fruit of self-control?

As Christians, we have the fruit of the Spirit in us, but we must purposely choose to exercise them. Not choosing to exercise the fruit of the Spirit is what produces carnal Christians—¬those who are under the control of ordinary im¬pulses and walk after the desires of the flesh (see 1 Corinthians 3:3). Whatever we exercise the most becomes the strongest.

Our thoughts and words are two areas in which the Holy Spirit is constantly prompting us to exercise self-control. The Bible says that . . . as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he, and out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks (Proverbs 23:7; Luke 6:45b). The devil is ¬constantly trying to get us to accept wrong thoughts about everything from God’s love for us (or the lack of it) to what terrible thing is going to happen to us next. Why? Because he knows that once we start accepting and believing his lies, it is just a matter of time until we begin to speak them out of our mouths. And when we speak wrong things, we open the door for wrong things to come into our lives (see Proverbs 18:20-21).

Continue reading Joyce Meyer – Reminders →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A New Creature 

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“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12, KJV).

At the conclusion of one of my messages at a pastor’s conference, a pastor stood to take issue with me concerning a statement that I had made. I had said that there is a great hunger for God throughout the world, and that more people are now hearing the gospel and receiving Christ than at any time since the Great Commission was given almost 2,000 years ago.

“How can you say that,” he objected, “when the Scripture clearly teaches that no man seeketh after God?”

“That is exactly what the Bible teaches,” I responded, “and I agree with the Word of God 100 percent, but do not forget that – though in his natural inclination man does not have a hunger for God – the Holy Spirit sends conviction and creates within the human heart a desire for the Savior.”

As Jesus put it, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me, draws him” (John 6:44, NAS). There are three things that we can learn about the human race from this passage. First, no one is righteous. Second, no one understands the things of God; and third, no one seeks God. What a contrast between what man is like in his natural state and what man becomes at spiritual birth when he is liberated from the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and ushered into the light of God’s glorious kingdom through Jesus Christ. That man becomes a new creature. Old things are passed away and behold all things become new.

What a contrast between the natural and the supernatural. The natural man must depend upon his own resources, his own wisdom, to find meaning and purpose in his life, inevitably resulting in a life of conflict, discord and frustration. But the one who trusts in God has the privilege of drawing upon the supernatural resources of God daily; resources of joy, peace, love; resources that provide meaning and purpose, assurance of eternal life.

Most people live lives of quiet desperation in self- imposed poverty because those of us who know the truth of the supernatural are strangely silent. God forgive us.

Bible Reading: Romans 3:13-20

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With God’s help I refuse to remain silent any longer, but will seek to proclaim “the most joyful news ever announced” (Luke 2:10-11), to all who will listen in order that others may join me in living the supernatural life.

 

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Who Knows?

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Read: Jeremiah 29:1-32

For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies — which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:23

The closing words of the chapter are specific prophecies against certain false prophets among the exiles in Babylon. This was a time of terrible uncertainty. People were torn — What shall I believe? There were many conflicting voices, many rival factions. The supreme need of the hour was that someone might know the facts and declare them, and thus give the people an indication of what to do. God says, I am the one who knows. I know what is going on in the inner lives of these people, and I will make it known, I will bring it out. That is the voice you can trust.

God makes known his way and his will and the truth in three ways in the Scriptures. First, in past history. I would commend to you the reading of history. History records all the errors that we see around us today. The solutions are also recorded. No new error is introduced into the world which has not already been answered.

Second, in current events. He is always bringing truth to life. That is why we as a nation go through difficulties. We have seen many times how everything that the most powerful men of our nation think they can keep hidden is forced into the light. That is the way God works in the affairs of men.

And third, God makes the truth known through the direct revelation of his word, the truth as it is in Jesus, coming to the man of God who speaks it out before the people.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Who Knows? →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Trees Planted by Streams of Water

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Read: Psalm 1

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. (v. 3)

I have never forgotten this tree. Many years ago, while hiking in the mountains of Sequoia National Park, at the end of a long day I stopped near the tree line, above which no trees are able to survive because of the high altitude. I spied a group of four or five stunted trees I couldn’t recall ever seeing before. The trees were about 10 feet high, with reddish brown bark, cones three to five inches long, and short needles in bundles. The trees were contorted, misshapen by the ever-present, unrelenting wind. I looked the tree up in my tree book. It was a foxtail pine, so named because its short bushy branches resemble the tail of a fox.

The ground was rocky, with little soil, but there was a small stream of water gurgling along through the stony soil. These high-altitude trees were alive only because of this humble flow of water.

Those who delight in the law of the Lord, the psalmist tells us, are like trees planted by streams of water. In this opening psalm, which introduces the entire psalter, the author uses a tree to teach a lesson. Those who meditate on God’s Word and ways are like trees that give fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither. In everything they do, they prosper. May it be so with us.

Prayer:

Help us, O Lord, to delight in your law, to be like trees planted by streams of water.

Author: Steven Bouma-Prediger

 

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Get to Work

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“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” —Galatians 6:9

Some say they are “burned out” in ministry and can’t go on.

In 40 years of ministry, I have never been tired of service but I have been tired in it. What better thing to be tired from? Time spent serving God is never wasted.

Nowhere in the Bible are we told to “take it easy.” Jesus told the story of the foolish man who said that very thing: “I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!'” (Luke 12:19 NLT). And that is exactly what people say to us today: “Take it easy, man!”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'”

We are told to “press on” and “not be weary in well-doing” and “run the race.” Our greatest recreation and rest will come later in heaven and on the new earth. Oswald Sanders said, “The world is run by tired men.” We will never do great things for God until we have learned to minister when we are tired. In the sports world, you learn how to press on even when injured. God uses people who are willing to work hard and apply themselves.

The apostle Paul understood this, and wrote, “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you” (1 Thessalonians 2:9 NIV).

  • By the way, you will find whenever God called people, they were busy doing something! Elisha was ploughing a field when Elijah called him.
  • Moses and David were tending sheep when they were called, one to save a nation and the other to lead one.
  • Gideon was threshing wheat when he was called by an angel to lead the armies of Israel.
  • James and John were fishing for fish when they were called by Jesus to start fishing for men.

There is certainly a time to refresh and rest and recharge, but let’s be busy about the work that God has set before us!

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie