Monthly Archives: September 2016

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Softness

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Read: Psalm 65:1-13

You water its furrows . . . softening it with showers. (v. 10)

Halfway through our poem we come to five one-word definitions of prayer. The first is perhaps the oddest: “softness” can have such a negative ring to it—think of phrases like soft in the head, a soft defense, soft in the middle—and the “soft clothing” that characterizes the kind of people among whom (Jesus suggests) his coarsely clad preacher cousin John is unlikely to be welcomed (Luke 7:25). Is softness really to be one of our main objects in praying?

But then consider the opposite: not things that are already soft, but hard things that need “softening.” Here prayer comes into its own. It can deal with hard hearts. It can unravel hard problems. It can break up hard ground. It can answer hard questions. It can put a smile on hard faces. It can nerve the Lord’s people to face hard, indeed impossible, challenges.

We find this “softness” metaphor in the last part of Psalm 65. It belongs to the way the Lord manages the agricultural year for the benefit of those who farm his land. In the middle part of the psalm we have already been shown the worldwide scope of his operations, a vast management scheme of which Israel is only the local expression. And amazingly, the One who carries out all this “softening” is (as the opening verses have already told us) the God who has placed the center of his worldwide operations right here among us, in Zion.

Here is the poem in its entirety:

Continue reading Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Softness →

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Shine God’s Light on It

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But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.—Ephesians 5:13

When you lose something, you turn on the light. I am always losing things in my car. When my keys or wallet (or maybe a burrito!) drops between the seats, sometimes I have to get a flashlight out and search under the seats until I find it. Light exposes things.

I heard a story of a drunk man who was down on his hands and knees under a streetlight looking for something. A stranger came up to him and asked what he was doing. He said, “I lost my wallet.”

“And you lost your wallet right here?” the stranger asked.

“No,” the drunken man said, “I lost it two blocks over, but there is no light there.”

Looking for something in the wrong place is not a good idea, is it? You need to look in the right place—and the right place to look when your marriage is facing problems is the Scriptures.

Sometimes when a marriage is having troubles, the couple goes for counseling. I am for that—as long as it is biblical counseling. Counsel that originates from human thought and reasoning is not going to help. You must get counsel from the Word of God, for He is the One who created marriage.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. Just because a person says they are a Christian counselor doesn’t necessarily mean they are giving biblical counsel. I have often heard advice from “Christian counselors” that is contradictory to what the Bible says. The true counsel of God comes from His written Word, the Bible.

“But what if you don’t agree with what the Bible says?” you ask. Simple answer: Change your opinion because the Bible is right and, if you don’t agree with it, you are wrong.

If you want a successful marriage, shine the light of God’s Word on it.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – Christ Suffered To Bring Us to God

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“For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:17-18)

Have you ever “suffered”? Some children have. You, or someone you know, may be fighting a battle against a painful disease. Some children have suffered under physical or emotional abuse. Maybe that has happened to you. Or maybe you have lost a friend or a loved one to death. You may have heard of families who have been persecuted for worshipping the God of the Bible.

But most children have not seen heavy, hard suffering – at least, not yet. Suffering is intense pain that we feel, either on the inside or outside. You might look and feel fine externally (on the outside), but you might be suffering on the inside, in your heart.

Very few people like suffering! Think about it. Let’s say you are sitting in a lawn chair, sipping pink lemonade under the hot sun, when – all of the sudden – you hear a strange, yet familiar buzzing sound near your right arm. What!? It’s a bee! A very large bee with a very sharp-looking stinger on his backside! What is your first reaction? Do you calmly say, “Mr. Big Scary Bee, sir, please do not poke me today with that painful stinger of yours! I’m right in the middle of my lemonade!”? No! You would probably jump out of your lawn chair really fast, screaming and swatting and running around in circles until you were sure Mr. Big Scary Bee, sir, had gone bye-bye!

Why is that your response? Because you hate pain. You dread it. You would never seek after it. You would be crazy if you did. Humanly speaking, suffering is always a bad thing! We never enjoy pain, and we always try to get out of it if we can!

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – Christ Suffered To Bring Us to God →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Word of His Grace

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 20:32

“I commend you . . . to the word of his grace.”

We need to get beyond the “how-to’s” of Scripture—how to raise children, manage finances, witness to unbelievers—and all other such utilitarian approaches to Scripture. Such practical instruction is indeed valuable, but we need to go beyond that. Our practical age has come to disparage a firm doctrinal understanding of Scripture as being of no practical value. But there’s nothing more practical for our daily lives than knowing God. Only in Scripture has God revealed to us the truths about his person and his character.

But the Bible is more than merely objective truth; it’s actually life-giving and life-sustaining. “It is no empty word for you, but your very life” (Deuteronomy 32:47). Growth in the grace of God requires growth in our assimilation of the Word of God. In the biological realm, assimilation is the process by which nourishment is changed into living tissue. In the spiritual realm, it’s the process by which the written Word of God is absorbed into our hearts and becomes, figuratively speaking, living spiritual tissue.

How do we know God’s grace is sufficient for our particular “thorns”? How do we rightly understand what it means to live “by the grace of God”? How do we learn about the “throne of grace” where we receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need? Where do we discover that God is the gracious landowner who gives us far, far more than we deserve? The answer to all these questions is the Scriptures. That’s why Scripture is called the Word of his grace. God uses Scripture to mediate his grace to us. R. C. H. Lenski said, “God and the Word of his grace always go together; God lets his grace flow out through that Word.” (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Word of His Grace

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 20:32

“I commend you . . . to the word of his grace.”

We need to get beyond the “how-to’s” of Scripture—how to raise children, manage finances, witness to unbelievers—and all other such utilitarian approaches to Scripture. Such practical instruction is indeed valuable, but we need to go beyond that. Our practical age has come to disparage a firm doctrinal understanding of Scripture as being of no practical value. But there’s nothing more practical for our daily lives than knowing God. Only in Scripture has God revealed to us the truths about his person and his character.

But the Bible is more than merely objective truth; it’s actually life-giving and life-sustaining. “It is no empty word for you, but your very life” (Deuteronomy 32:47). Growth in the grace of God requires growth in our assimilation of the Word of God. In the biological realm, assimilation is the process by which nourishment is changed into living tissue. In the spiritual realm, it’s the process by which the written Word of God is absorbed into our hearts and becomes, figuratively speaking, living spiritual tissue.

How do we know God’s grace is sufficient for our particular “thorns”? How do we rightly understand what it means to live “by the grace of God”? How do we learn about the “throne of grace” where we receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need? Where do we discover that God is the gracious landowner who gives us far, far more than we deserve? The answer to all these questions is the Scriptures. That’s why Scripture is called the Word of his grace. God uses Scripture to mediate his grace to us. R. C. H. Lenski said, “God and the Word of his grace always go together; God lets his grace flow out through that Word.” (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Muslims, Mosques, and Religious Freedom: Christians Must Take a Stand

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On the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an arsonist set fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce in Florida. The Islamic Center was the mosque attended by Omar Mateen, who massacred 50 people at the Pulse night club in Orlando three months ago.

One state over in Georgia, officials in Newton County, which has a “places of worship” exception to zoning regulations designed to “make things easy for anyone who wanted to build a church,” cancelled a meeting in which they expected to approve the building of a mosque.

The reason for the cancellation was that a “self-described militia group from a nearby county posted a video on Facebook threatening to demonstrate outside the meeting with guns drawn.”

Now, no one remotely acquainted with BreakPoint or the Colson Center can reasonably accuse us of being indifferent to the threat posed by militant Islamists. We’ve talked here about it often, including the persecution of Christians around the world, the global struggle with Islamic terrorism, and the worldview of those seeking to kill so many.

Having said that, let me be clear: Christians should oppose and condemn those recent actions in both Florida and Georgia for several reasons. These reasons fall into two basic categories: principled and pragmatic.

The principled reason was articulated clearly, just recently, by Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention. As Moore reminded us “religious liberty is not a government ‘benefit,’ but a natural and inalienable right granted by God. At issue is whether or not the civil state has the power to zone mosques or Islamic cemeteries or synagogues or houses of worship of whatever kind out of existence because of what those groups believe.”

“When Christians say,” Moore continued, “that freedom of religion applies to all people, whether Christian or not, we are not suggesting that there are many paths to God, or that truth claims are relative.”

On the contrary, “We are saying that religion should be free from state control because we believe that every person must give an account before the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Muslims, Mosques, and Religious Freedom: Christians Must Take a Stand →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Motivating One Another

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 8-10

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. – Romans 1:11

From time to time I’m asked what I’ve found to be the most important principles of Christian living. Of course, the answer could be approached from many angles, but when it comes to our daily walk of discipleship, I usually talk about three principles of living from Hebrews 10 that begin with the two words, “Let us.”

First, there is Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” This has to do with our fellowship with God. We can call it quiet time, personal devotions, or whatever. The important thing is to set aside time each day to draw near to the Lord.

Verse 23 gives the second “Let us”: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.” This deals with our outreach to the lost through personal witness. We are to hold the confession of our faith high like a banner, never growing silent, and never denying the Lord who has bought us for Himself.

Verse 24 gives the third principle: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” We are to encourage and motivate each other in the Christian life. And, of course, one of the best ways to do that is to meet together regularly to worship God and get instruction from His Word.

The Christian life is personal, but it is not private. We are an interdependent body. And this call to be a spiritual motivator is given to all of us, not just the church leadership or full-time Christian worker.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the encouragement You give me through my brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

To Ponder

Let us draw near to God; let us hold up our witness; let us encourage one another.

 

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Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – APPROACHING THE THRONE

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Read ESTHER 5:1–8

In September 2016, a group of middle- school students in St. Augustine, Fla., were chosen to meet with royalty. Their artwork was presented as a gift to the king and queen of Spain, who included the historic American city on their royal tour. The children wore their nicest clothes and were visibly awestruck by the experience. Said Caitlyn, one of the student artists, “I was really excited, and I didn’t know what to think or expect.”

An invitation to meet royalty is not to be taken lightly. Even though she was queen, Esther waited three days before approaching the king (v. 1). She adorned her royal robes but did not approach the king directly. Instead, she stood nearby where he would be able to see her (v. 2). The tension builds in the text: we know that Xerxes thought highly of Esther, but we still breathe a sigh of relief when he extended his scepter, a sign that she was welcome to approach the throne.

We learn a few things about Esther from this passage. First, we see that she was respectful. She took care in approaching his throne, wearing appropriate outfits and waiting until he addressed her first. Second, she was patient. She did not rush to give the king her request, even though the urgency was weighing on her mind. Instead, she asked that Haman and the king join her for a banquet (v. 4).

At the banquet, the king once again extended a generous offer, “up to half the kingdom” (v. 6). Instead of bursting forth with a plea, Esther exhibited grace and patience. She asked the king and Haman to attend yet another banquet the following day. Esther was beautiful and smart, and also gracious, respectful, and patient. She proceeded thoughtfully, knowing many lives depended on her success.

APPLY THE WORD

How wonderful that we can approach the throne of grace without intimidation or fear. We should never take it for granted that we have been invited to talk one-on-one with God, the all-powerful King of the universe, at any time. We have an all-access pass to the throne room of the King. Thank Him today and bring Him your concerns.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – US RELIGION WORTH $1.2 TRILLION

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It’s not often that an academic report changes the conversation about religion in America, but one just did. Georgetown University professors Brian Grim and Melissa Grim of the Newseum Institute have unveiled their groundbreaking study: “The Socio-economic Contributions of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” Here’s the summary:

  • Religion in the US contributes $1.2 trillion each year to our economy and society.
  • Despite declining religious affiliation in the American population, religious organizations have tripled the amount of money spent on social programs in the last fifteen years—to $9 billion.
  • Religion’s $1.2 trillion impact is more than the annual revenues of Apple, Amazon, and Google combined.

The study notes that congregations and religiously affiliated charity groups are responsible for:

  • 130,000 alcohol and drug abuse recovery programs.
  • 94,000 programs to support veterans and their families.
  • 26,000 programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and to support those living with the disease.
  • 121,000 programs to provide support or skills training for unemployed adults.

While religion contributes $1.2 trillion each year, religious tax-exemptions cost the US $71 billion. In other words, religion contributes seventeen times more to America than it costs.

This good news comes as we are facing unprecedented attacks on religious liberty and increasing skepticism regarding our contribution to the common good. For instance, 63 percent of atheists and agnostics believe that religious institutions contribute not much or nothing at all to solving social problems.

Continue reading Denison Forum – US RELIGION WORTH $1.2 TRILLION →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Advantages of Accountability

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Hebrews 10:24

Far too often, people fall into a trap by ignoring wise boundaries of personal freedom. Then good situations can turn into bondage. But a godly accountability partner can help you enjoy privilege without abusing it. The benefits are plentiful:

Clearer direction. Honesty about faults and failures will open you to receive right counsel and encouragement. This process will increase your potential to do and become all that God has in mind for you.

Increased integrity. If you have to give an account to somebody, you’re more likely to live transparently.

Better stewardship. Accounting for the way you use your money, time, or talent makes you careful not to waste those resources.

Protection against excess. As believers, we’re free in Christ, but an accountability partner helps us to stay balanced and refrain from taking liberties.

Healthy self-examination. Another person can often point out what we cannot see in ourselves. When we allow someone to be an accurate mirror of our faults, we’re in a better position to make improvements.

Safeguard against unwise relationships. If you have to give an account of where you go and which people you spend time with, you’ll be more likely to avoid problematic places and relationships.

Unbridled freedom may seem like a great blessing, but it can be a recipe for disaster. Do you give account to anybody for the way you handle money, time, and relationships? If not, consider inviting a trustworthy Christian to fill that role. Taking this step reveals a heart that longs to please God.

Bible in One Year: Daniel 7-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Helping Each Other

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Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

[God] comforts us . . . so that we can comfort those in any trouble.—2 Corinthians 1:4

“The body of Christ” is a mysterious phrase used more than 30 times in the New Testament. The apostle Paul especially settled on that phrase as an image of the church. After Jesus ascended to heaven, He turned over His mission to flawed and bumbling men and women. He assumed the role of head of the church, leaving the tasks of arms, legs, ears, eyes, and voice to the erratic disciples—and to you and me.

Jesus’s decision to operate as the invisible head of a large body with many parts means that He often relies on us to help one another cope during times of suffering. The apostle Paul must have had something like that in mind when he wrote these words: “[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ” (2 Cor. 1:4-5). And all through his ministry Paul put that principle into practice, taking up collections for famine victims, dispatching assistants to go to troubled areas, acknowledging believers’ gifts as gifts from God Himself.

The phrase “the body of Christ” expresses well what we are called to do: to represent in flesh what Christ is like, especially to those in need. —Philip Yancey

Dear Lord, thank You for always being faithful to comfort me when I’m hurting. Show me who needs my encouragement today.

God’s presence brings us comfort; our presence brings others comfort.

INSIGHT: We receive God’s comfort for our sake but also to extend God’s comfort to those around us. The word paraklesis, translated as comfort, appears twenty-nine times in the New Testament. The word has a range of meaning that encompasses comfort, consolation, and earnest request and is most often translated encouragement. And of the eight times paraklesis is translated comfort, seven appear in this passage. Paul paints a picture of the God who is concerned: The God who, out of His compassion, is acting to provide consolation for His people. The text says not simply that God is a dispenser of comfort but that He is the source of all comfort.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Last Enemy

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In spite of the proverbial certainty of death and taxes, the human psyche has always dreamed of discovering loopholes in whatever mechanisms fix the limits. Yet though it might be possible to cheat on one’s taxes, “cheating death” remains a phrase of wishful-thinking applied to incidences of short-lived victories against our own mortality. Eventually, death honors its ignominious appointment with all of us, calling the bluff of the temptation to believe that we are the masters of our own destiny. But despite the universal, empirical verification of its indiscriminate efficiency, we continue to be constantly surprised whenever death strikes. Only a painfully troubled life can be so thoroughly desensitized against its ugliness as to not experience the throbbing agony of the void it creates within us whenever the earthly journey of a loved one comes to an end.

Such a peculiar reaction to an otherwise commonplace occurrence points strongly to the fact that this world is not our home. As Ecclesiastes 3:11 explains, God has put eternity in our hearts, and therefore the mysterious notion that we are not meant to die is no mere pipe dream: it sounds a clarion call to the eternal destiny of our souls. If the biblical record is accurate, there is no shame or arrogance in pitching our hopes for the future as high as our imaginations will allow. Actually, the danger is that our expectations may be too low, for “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Far from being the accidental byproducts of a mindless collocation of atoms, we are indestructible beings whose spiritual radars, amidst much static noise, are attuned to our hearts’ true home.

Trouble begins, however, when we try to squeeze that eternal existence into our earthly lives in a manner that altogether denies our finite natures. We do so whenever we desensitize ourselves against the finality of death through repeated exposure to stage-managed destruction of human life through the media. Or we zealously seek ultimate fulfillment in such traitorous idols as pleasure, material wealth, professional success, power, and other means, without taking into account the fleeting nature of human existence. Or we broach the subject of death only when we have to, and even then we feel the need to couch it in palatable euphemisms. With some of our leading intellectuals assuring us that we have pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps and we therefore have no need for God, the only thing missing from our lives seems to be the tune of “Forever Young” playing in the cosmic background. A visitor from outer space would probably conclude that only the very unlucky ones die, while the rest of us are guaranteed endless thrill-rides through space aboard this green planet.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Last Enemy →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Bearing Burdens

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“Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Those who walk by the Spirit will lovingly bear one another’s burdens.

The Lord Jesus presents love for God and love for our neighbor as the great summary of the entire Law (Matt. 22:37-40).

It only makes sense, then, that love will characterize the life of any Christian who is walking by the Spirit. Love will also be an integral part of any Spirit-assisted ministry to others. Paul tells us in today’s verse that when we help other believers hold up their particular burdens, we are obeying “the law of Christ” or the law of love, which James calls “the royal law” (James 2:8).

But what exactly does Galatians 6:2 mean when it commands us to “bear one another’s burdens”? Commentator William Hendriksen gives us this general but helpful observation: “This does not merely mean ‘Tolerate each other,’ or ‘Put up with each other.’ It means: ‘Jointly shoulder each member’s burdens.’”

The actual word burden calls to mind a variety of possible sins, difficulties, and responsibilities; but Paul was using the Greek term that refers to an extremely heavy and unbearable load. It’s a load that one person alone can’t carry, which underscores again that Christians need each other. The Holy Spirit wants each member of the church involved in a ministry of mutual support.

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Bearing Burdens →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Well-Balanced Faith 

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You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart…O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:6, 15

Have you ever noticed how we are tempted towards extremes in life? We so often say “either/or” rather than “both/and.” We do this with food, entertainment, and social interactions, often struggling to find that elusive balance of discipline and indulgence, activity and pleasure, personal time and interaction with others. In our spiritual lives, the same temptation exists.

One of the greatest imbalances I see in the Christian life is the inability to maintain a vibrant personal faith and an intentional life of active praise and service. These are both faithful expressions of our Christian faith and are never meant to be an “either/or” choice. In fact, they are closely linked!

When we submit our lives, our wills, and our desires to the Lord, we open ourselves up to the Spirit’s internal renovation. He teaches us the way of wisdom within our innermost being, making us capable of knowing and loving him. This is why it is so important to find a regular rhythm of prayer and personal devotion. In these moments we encounter God’s love, forgiveness, and healing grace.

However, as we encounter God in the secret place, this renewal and renovation is only a part of the story. Our personal faith always has a public expression. As the psalmist says, the Lord opens our lips and renews our hearts so that we can declare his praises! This is the “both/and” of our faith. God wants to heal and renew your heart, but he also wants you to actively share his love and tell others of his goodness and faithfulness.

Personal faith without public praise is self-fulfilling, inverted, and anemic. Public praise without the renewing work of the Spirit is a form of moral striving and will always lead to exhaustion and burn out.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Well-Balanced Faith  →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Make Wise Choices

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I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.- Deuteronomy 30:19

Today’s Goal: Choose Wisely

All of our choices are important and they either have a positive or a negative impact on our life. Are we putting our time into what will help us be the person we truly want to be? Or will we end up someday disappointed and bitter because “life” didn’t turn out the way we hoped it would?

Life doesn’t just turn out to be one way or another without any input from us. Although we certainly cannot control all of our circumstances and the things that happen to us, we can control a lot of them by making a commitment to know God’s will for us and then make decisions accordingly.

The world is filled with people who are resentful and angry because their life isn’t what they want it to be, but if we could closely examine the choices they have made during the course of their life, we would usually find that their poor choices are behind their dissatisfaction. The problem is that unless they realize that, take responsibility for it and make positive changes, they are stuck in a situation that will not change.

I wasted several years of my life being angry, resentful, discouraged and depressed, but thankfully I finally decided to do something good with the time I had left. If you want to start today using the time you have left on this earth, then it begins with a decision to seize the day every day and be an individual who lives life “on-purpose, for a purpose.”

God has given us free choice and His wisdom is available to help us make choices that will produce a life we can be proud of and enjoy.

Pray: Lord, I ask for Your grace and wisdom to make good choices for my life and be an “on-purpose” person. Help me not to focus on the mistakes of the past, but take responsibility and concentrate on the great future You have in store for me. Amen.

From the book Seize the Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Which One Are You?

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Today’s Truth

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:24

Friend to Friend

The words of Jesus pack a punch. His is a powerful and vibrant dialog that brings both tradition and the Law into a new and living light.

On a hillside, long ago, Jesus engaged individuals toward choosing God’s best on a heart level, not just a do-this-to-make-God-happy, knowledge and rules level. Recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus gave the crowd, and us, some incredible insights to the way His followers should live. We call this the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5-7)

Remember that collection of Jesus teachings? Here’s a rapid review:

He taught the “beatitudes” (Matthew 5:2-12), and told His followers to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16).

He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them,” and warned the people that unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees, they/we would never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

He taught on anger, lust, divorce, and oaths… very prickly subjects! And on retaliation, loving our enemies, and giving to the needy. (Check please!) (Matthew 5:27-6:4)

Jesus taught us how to pray (Matthew 6:5-15), gave instructions on fasting, and told us that we are to love and serve God above all earthly treasures. (Matthew 6:16-24)

He told us not to worry, (wait, what!?) and directed us to seek God and His righteousness first in everything because He KNOWS OUR NEEDS and takes care of His own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Which One Are You? →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A New Quality of Life

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“When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, He shall guide you into all truth, for He will not be presenting His own ideas, but will be passing on to you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He shall praise Me and bring Me great honor by showing you My glory. All the Father’s glory is Mine: this is what I mean when I say that He will show you My glory” (John 16:13-15).

Steve asked me the question, “What is my number 1 priority as a Christian? I want to be a man of God, so I need counsel as to what I am to do first.” This is a good question for every Christian to ask.

The answer is simply: to glorify God. Jesus tells us how we can best do this in John 15:8, “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (NASB). Or, as the Living Bible states it, “My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to My Father.”

The Holy Spirit has come to be a witness to our Lord Jesus. When the Spirit controls our lives, we too will be witnesses for Him.

Witnessing for Christ with our lips is not only a natural result of being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, but also is a necessary act of obedience if we are to continue to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

That which is most on our hearts is most on our lips, so if we truly love Christ, we will want to share Him with others. But God does not want or need the witness of individuals whose carnal lives fail to give credibility to their testimonies.

The greatest experience that has ever happened to any believer is to know Jesus Christ personally as Savior and Lord, to be forgiven of his sins and to have assurance of eternal life.

Therefore, the most important thing we can do to help another person is to introduce him to Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can empower us to live holy lives and be fruitful witnesses for Christ.

Bible Reading: John 14:16-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will ask the Holy Spirit to glorify God through the quality of my life and the witness of my words, as a demonstration of the supernatural life that I have received from God.

 

http://www.cru.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A Kind of Tune

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Read: 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played. (v. 23)

There are two puzzling words in this next line of Herbert’s poem. Why does he describe prayer as “a kind of tune”? And in what sense is it a tune “which all things hear and fear”?

Music comes to the fore again today, as yesterday (though here too we can readily apply his words to ourselves even if we have no particular musical gifts). George Herbert loved music, could play two or three instruments, and often walked in to Salisbury to hear sung services in the cathedral. As to the effects music can have, he may well have known the song in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (a stage hit in Herbert’s young days) that describes Orpheus, the lute player of classical legend, moving even the trees and hills and waves to attend to his music, which had the power to make “killing care and grief of heart / Fall asleep, or hearing, die.”

The Bible’s counterpart is the musicianship of the young David, who first came to public notice when his playing was able to soothe the tormented King Saul. What “heard and feared” David’s music, and was overcome by it, was the evil spirit that was causing Saul’s suffering. Prayer is the equivalent gift that God gives to us, to bring the same divine power to bear on our own fraught situations, “a kind of tune” that sends the enemy packing.

 

Here is the poem in its entirety:

Continue reading Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A Kind of Tune →

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Business of Heaven

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And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. —Revelation 22:3

What are we going to be doing in heaven?

For starters, we will be worshipping. In Revelation 5, we are given a glimpse of heaven and we see that it’s a place of worship. Our pain will be gone, our tears will be dried, our questions will be answered, and as a result, we will offer unbridled worship to the Lord.

Some might say, “I don’t know. It sounds like heaven is going to be a really long church service. I like church services, but is that all we are going to do?” Believe me, this worship is going to be different than any you have ever experienced on earth—but no, worship is not the only business of heaven. We also are going to be serving the Lord. Revelation 22:3 says, “His servants shall serve Him.”

I am glad of that because I can only rest for so long. Some people’s dream is just to retire and disconnect and play golf for the rest of their life. Or eat and sleep. Or fish, or surf, or whatever it is they like to do. That is all fine for a while. I don’t play golf, I surf just a little bit, and I eat a lot. (By the way, we eat in heaven, and that is good news.) Rest and recreation are great things. But it’s good to know that we will be able to serve the Lord as well.

Think about what the word recreation means. Recreation is to re-create. When I take a little time off, I get recharged. Then I want to get back to what I am passionate about: getting closer to God and bringing other people to Him.

I think the rest and recreation we experience in heaven will motivate us to worship and serve the Lord all the more.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Love

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“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

Have you seen people wearing T-shirts with the logos and mascots of their favorite sports teams? We say they are “showing spirit” for their team, but what does that kind of “spirit” mean? It means they are enthusiastic about that team – they really, really like that team. That’s how we show other people what we love – we “wear signs,” in a way. You might see coffee-lovers walking around with travel mugs full of coffee. You might see horse-lovers walking around with cowboy hats. You might see a soccer-lover with a soccerball at all times, practicing his dribbling whenever he gets a free moment. The things we carry or wear, say or do, are signs that show people what things are important to us.

A T-shirt or a cowboy hat can be a mark of enthusiasm for a certain team or lifestyle. A coffee mug can be a clue that the person carrying it loves to have coffee along at all times. You can tell a man and woman are married to each other because they wear wedding rings as a sign of their love and loyalty to one another. A ring “marks” someone as married. A ring is a mark of love for a husband or for a wife.

Do you know what God is marked by? One thing God is marked by is His love. He is known for it. Everything He does and says shows His love. God IS love!

Did you know that love should be a mark of anyone who believes in God? That’s true. 1 John 4:7-8 shows us truth about God, and the truth is that love comes from God, and that love should be a sign of someone who knows God. If you love God and know God, then your love for others should be a sign to people that you love God and know God.

Do you ever see someone walking around “wearing” or “carrying” love for God and other people? If so, God is the Source of that kind of love. Think of all the things God has done to show His love for you. Hatefulness and lying and gossip and arguing and pride are not from God, and He is not marked by those things. He is marked by His love. He IS love! And we should be marked by love, too, if we truly know Him. Our love for God and others should be a sign to people that we love Him and know Him.

God is love, and those who know Him should be marked by love.

My Response:

» What loving things has God done for me and in my life?

» When people watch me, can they guess some of the things that are important to me?

» What needs to change in my heart so I can be marked as someone who knows and loves God?

 

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