Monthly Archives: November 2016

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Blessing the Nations

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Read: Genesis 12:1-3

In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (v. 12)

There’s a little poem that goes

How odd of God

To choose the Jews.

We could say the same of God’s choice of Abraham. What made Abraham so special? As far as we know, he was just a guy living in Mesopotamia, like any other guy living anywhere else in the world. But then God revealed himself to Abraham and invited him to step out by faith on a journey to an undisclosed location. So why did God choose him?

Perhaps because he had to start somewhere, and Abraham was as good a place as any. God was on a mission to redeem his broken world and reclaim his wandering children. He began with a single family, but from the beginning it wouldn’t be about just that family, or even about their physical descendants. Right from the start God had the endgame in view. He will use Abraham and his family to bless all the families of the earth by producing from them a Messiah who will do what is needed to offer salvation to the whole world.

God made two promises to Abraham: offspring and a land (v. 7). Both were fulfilled literally, in the land of Canaan and people of Israel. But the ultimate fulfillment of both promises is spiritual. Abraham’s true homeland was heaven (Heb. 11:13 16), and we are his true descendants (Rom. 4:11 16)–all those who are justified by faith like Abraham.

—David Bast

PRAYER:

Father, bless me to be a blessing to others.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Son of Encouragement

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When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!—Acts 9:26

When Saul left Damascus, he returned to Jerusalem, where he had presided over the martyrdom of Stephen. Did he receive a hero’s welcome from his fellow believers? Did they hear he had become a believer and say, “The notorious Christian-killer, Saul, is one of us now. Let’s welcome him”?

No. They didn’t even believe he had been converted.

I wonder how many this is true of today. They come to Christ and attend church for the first time, and no one welcomes them. Maybe they get a cold shoulder from someone. Maybe they get a mean look. Maybe they wore the wrong T-shirt with the wrong slogan that day.

Come on. Can we be patient with people? Can we recognize that when someone is a new believer, they will be a little rough around the edges? What are we are expecting? I wonder if we have people like Saul who come into our churches and never make that transition.

In Saul’s life, that is where Barnabas came in. (By the way, the name Barnabas means “son of encouragement”). “Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus” (Acts 9:27).

Apparently Barnabas had some credibility with the apostles, because they seemed to accept what he had to say. He put it all on the line and backed Saul’s story because it was true.

We need more people like Barnabas today—people who know how to lift someone up, people who know how to comfort a person and motivate a person. That is what Barnabas did for Saul. And that is what we need to do as well.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Fair

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“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.” (Psalm 116:5)

When God flooded the whole wide world, He was being fair.

When God told Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac, He was being fair.

When God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross, He was being fair.

In the Hebrew language, another word for “fair” is righteous – a word used often to describe God. Psalm 11:7 begins, “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness.”

Truth is, God is fair. God is always fair.

When your life is good, God is fair. When you feel sad, God is fair. When you make your parents happy, God is fair. When you fail a test, God is still fair. He knows about your problems even before you pray. God allows you to face your hard times, as well as your good times – not because God is unfair or unloving – but because He is righteous. Everything God does is right, because it is God Who does it.

Eight years ago, a man named Steve was killed in a car accident. The accident happened on Steve’s first wedding anniversary. Steve had a wife. He had parents. He had a little sister. When he was killed so unexpectedly, Steve left behind many family and friends who were very sad and wondering if God was really being fair!

Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why does it often seem like God Himself causes tragic things to happen? Isn’t God a loving God? Isn’t God an all-powerful God? Couldn’t He make it so only happy things happen? Couldn’t He take away all the bad things? Maybe you have asked that same question about something hard in your life.

The answer is simple, even if it is not simple to understand or simple to get used to. The answer is this: God allows bad things to happen for the same reason He allows good things to happen to us – for His great glory and for our greatest good. We do not deserve good and wonderful lives, but God in His lovingkindness can look ahead and see what is ultimately best for us, and He works those things out, for His own glory and for our own good. He never makes mistakes, because He is God. God wants what is best for our lives – and that is fair.

God cannot be unfair because God cannot be wrong.

My Response:

» Am I having a hard time accepting something that God is doing in my life right now?

» How can I change my heart responses and my words and actions to show that I am trusting a perfect God Who never makes mistakes?

 

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – At the King’s Table

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Samuel 9:7

“You shall eat at my table always.”

There’s a beautiful story in the life of King David illustrating God’s grace to us through Christ. Mephibosheth was the son of David’s bosom friend, Jonathan, son of Saul. He’d been crippled in both feet at age five. After David was established as king over all Israel, he desired to show kindness to anyone remaining of Saul’s family, “for Jonathan’s sake.” So Mephibosheth—crippled and destitute, unable to care for himself and living in someone else’s house—was brought into David’s house and “ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons” (2 Samuel 9:11, NIV).

Why was Mephibosheth treated this way? It was for Jonathan’s sake. We might say Jonathan’s loyal friendship with David “earned” Mephibosheth’s seat at David’s table. Mephibosheth, in his crippled and destitute condition, unable to improve his lot and wholly dependent on the benevolence of others, is an illustration of you and me, crippled by sin and unable to help ourselves. David, in his graciousness, illustrates God the Father, and Jonathan illustrates Christ.

Just as Mephibosheth was elevated to a place at the king’s table for Jonathan’s sake, so you and I are elevated to the status of God’s children for Christ’s sake. And just as being seated at the king’s table involved not only daily food but other privileges as well, so God’s salvation for Christ’s sake carries with it all the provisions we need, not only for eternity but for this life as well.

This account both begins and ends with the statement that Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet (verses 3,13). Mephibosheth never got over his crippled condition. He never got to the place where he could leave the king’s table and make it on his own. And neither do we. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Just Like You

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Kings 17-19

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly… – James 5:17

If a person is going to accomplish anything in life, he’s going to have to take action. And that’s what I see in the life of Elijah the prophet, as we meet him in 1 Kings 17-19. At that time, Israel’s sin was right out in the open, parading itself in the streets in defiance of the Word of God. And into this mess the Lord sent Elijah.

The book of James tells us Elijah was a man just like us, a man subject to like passions as we are. So often we think the people God uses are somehow different. They must have some special ability to resist temptation and stand up for what’s right. But Elijah was a person with all the same emotions and struggles we have. He was also a man of action; he had a fiery spirit. He wasn’t content to sit in his chamber and write memos to King Ahab. Elijah was right out there on the firing line, confronting the worst aspects of his world with the Word and the power of God.

Perhaps most important, Elijah was a man of prayer. His communion with God kept rain from the land for three-and-a-half years, then brought it back. His prayer called the fire of God down from heaven in a confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He wasn’t just a loud, angry voice condemning the sins of the nation. He was a humble servant of God, on his knees, pleading with the Lord to work miracles so that his people might come to repentance.

That’s exactly the kind of person God is looking for today–an ordinary person facing the same problems as everyone else, but a person of action and prayer.

Prayer

Lord, make my life count for You in the things I say and do. Amen.

To Ponder

God’s power is perfected in our weakness.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Men Not at Work: The Church and Combating Joblessness

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We’ve all seen the signs on highways and other construction sites around the country: “Men at Work.” Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, those signs are increasingly out of date—and not because they’re politically incorrect. The fact is, more and more men not only aren’t at work, they’re not even trying to find a job.

Princeton economist Alan Krueger counts 7 million men in America between the prime working ages of 25 and 54 completely out of the workforce, supported by someone else. That’s 11.4 percent of men in that demographic, about triple the share of men out of the workforce in the 1950s.

Besides the loss of a paycheck, these 7 million men report all kinds of problems: 40 percent say they experience pain that keeps them from working. A third say they cannot climb stairs or have some other disability. And get this—44 percent say they take daily painkillers—and two-thirds of those say they’re on prescription meds. Further, Krueger says, that they “experience notably low levels of emotional well-being throughout their days and … they derive relatively little meaning from their daily activities.”

Demographer Nicholas Eberstadt says in his new book “Men Without Work,” “We might say those many millions of men without work constitute a sort of invisible army, ghost soldiers lost in an overlooked, modern-day depression.”

How should we respond? Well, for those who are able and for whatever reason choose not to work, a biblical worldview teaches us that work is good. God gave men and women work to do in the Garden before the Fall. Work allows us to take care of God’s creation and bring glory to Him as His stewards. Work is not optional for those able to do work, and that’s most of us. There are to be no shirkers in the Lord’s kingdom. As Paul said, “If a man will not work, neither let him eat.”

Continue reading BreakPoint – Men Not at Work: The Church and Combating Joblessness →

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Chicago Cubs end 108-year drought

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When the Chicago Cubs last won a World Series, Theodore Roosevelt was president. What has happened since?

  • Radio and television were invented.
  • Women won the right to vote.
  • The National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Football League were created.
  • Major League Baseball added fourteen teams.
  • The New York Yankees won seventeen world championships.
  • The Soviet Union came and went.
  • Sixteen US presidents were elected.
  • Eleven amendments were added to the US Constitution.
  • The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, and was discovered.
  • The price of gasoline rose 1,400 percent.
  • Chicago’s Wrigley Field was born and became the oldest park in the National League.
  • The computer, cell phone, digital photography, microwave ovens, remote controls, polio vaccine, laser beam, super glue, Velcro, satellites, video games, cordless tools, GPS, ATM, the MRI, the MP3, the VCR, the DVD, and the Internet were invented.
  • Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were admitted to the Union.

Across 108 years, the Cubs have been famous for never winning the “big one.” When they went down three games to one in this year’s World Series, their fans had to be wondering if they would ever win a championship. When they blew a three-run lead late in last night’s Game 7, their fans had to be even more discouraged. Their team’s victory in the tenth inning was indeed one for the ages.

This year’s terrific World Series has been a welcome respite from the vitriol of the presidential campaign and the general negativity of our day. But I think there’s something more to the Cubs’ victory: they are a team of good players who play great baseball together. Their team unity is their greatest strength.

It’s not surprising that we are drawn to their story. We are a nation of immigrants committed to the belief that all people are created equal, a classless society that offers opportunity to those willing to pay the price to succeed. We have much further to go in making such opportunity a reality for people of every race and socioeconomic background. But we have never stopped trying to live up to our credo of equality for all, a fact that proves the enduring value of our founding promise.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Chicago Cubs end 108-year drought →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Two Kinds of Promises

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Joshua 23:14

The Bible records two kinds of promises from the Lord—unconditional and conditional. An unconditional pledge is one whose fulfillment rests solely with God; His commitment is independent of people and situations. An example would be His covenant never to send another flood to destroy the entire earth (Gen. 9:11). No matter how the world behaves, He will not take this action again.

The second type of divine promise is conditional. In other words, the Lord is willing to act under certain circumstances. It’s often written as an “if-then” statement and involves our cooperation. Let’s look at three conditional promises involving salvation, forgiveness, and wisdom.

  • Romans 10:9 tells us that salvation is promised to those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord. We are saved when we genuinely trust in the Savior.
  • If we come to the Lord with sincere confession of sin, we have the assurance of divine forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). The Lord’s fulfillment of this vow depends upon our obedient action.
  • James 1:5-6 instructs us to ask God for wisdom without doubting that we will receive it. If we approach the Lord with faith, then He will give us understanding.

God will do exactly what He’s promised. But He requires our obedient cooperation before fulfilling His conditional pledges. To receive the blessing, we must satisfy the conditions He has set. If you are waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promise, check to be sure you are carrying out your part.

Bible in One Year: John 6-7

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Watchful and Alert

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Read: Genesis 3:1–7

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 27–29; Titus 3

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith.—1 Corinthians 16:13

My desk sits close to a window that opens into our neighborhood. From that vantage point I’m privileged to watch birds perch on the trees nearby. Some come to the window to eat insects trapped in the screen.

The birds check their immediate surroundings for any danger, listening attentively as they look about them. Only when they are satisfied that there is no danger do they settle down to feed. Even then, they pause every few seconds to scan the area.

The vigilance these birds demonstrate reminds me that the Bible teaches us to practice vigilance as Christians. Our world is full of temptations, and we need to remain constantly alert and not forget about the dangers. Like Adam and Eve, we easily get entangled in attractions that make the things of this world seem “good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Gen. 3:6).

“Be on your guard,” Paul admonished, “stand firm in the faith” (1 Cor. 16:13). And Peter cautioned, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

As we work for our own daily bread, are we alert to what could start consuming us? Are we watching for any hint of self-confidence or willfulness that could leave us wishing we had trusted our God? —Lawrence Darmani

Lord, keep us from the secret sins and selfish reactions we’re so naturally inclined toward. By Your grace, turn our temptations into moments of growth in Christlikeness.

The best way to escape temptation is to run to God.

INSIGHT: In Genesis 3, the serpent twists what God has said to Adam and Eve about the fruit in the garden. Rather than directly challenge what God has said, the serpent exaggerates the claim by asking if God commanded no eating from any tree (v. 1). This distortion on the part of the serpent elicits a similar response from Eve. Instead of responding with God’s own words (see the example of Jesus’s confrontation with Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4), Eve adds to His words. After rightly correcting that it is only from the tree in the middle of the garden that they may not eat, she adds the prohibition that they may not “touch” the tree (Gen. 3:3). J.R. Hudberg

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Name Not Hidden

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I frequently find the offbeat segments of the news a refreshing change of pace amidst the stories we call newsworthy each night. An amusing story about a recent college graduate caught my attention some months ago.

His name is Scott, a university student who had to wear a nametag for a seminar and decided on a whim to leave his nametag on for the remainder of the day. That night he calculated that he had met nearly twenty new people, had participated in many more conversations, and generally found that people, including himself, acted friendlier. So Scott decided to wear the nametag everyday. For more than nine hundred days now, he has silently announced to everyone near him: “Hello! My Name is Scott.” He is now convinced that wearing a nametag serves as a hospitable icebreaker, inviting people to open a door, indiscriminately encouraging an exchange among strangers, and generally reminding the wearer to be a more approachable person. Commenting on the use of nametags, author Anne Bernays notes, “It’s sort of like an invitation. People recognize that names are profound. It’s not just a nametag. It’s a signal they want to be friends.”(1)

Names are indeed profound. As the old hymn declares triumphantly, “Arise, my soul, arise! Shake off thy guilty fears. The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears: Before the throne my Surety stands; my name is written on His hands, my name is written on His hands.” In this one magnificent verse, Wesley has impressed the truth of more than a few sermons. Our names are written on the hands of Christ. King David writes of this profound intimacy between God and his children in Psalm 139: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Name Not Hidden →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Proving You Are Wise

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“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom” (James 3:13).

Divine wisdom produces a changed life.

The one who possesses godly wisdom will show it in his life. That’s why James says, “Let him show by his good behavior his deeds” (3:13, emphasis added). The phrase “let him show” is a command to demonstrate one’s wisdom and understanding. That is the thrust of James 2:14-26, summarized in verse 26: “Faith without works is dead.” A person’s claim to have faith will be validated by his works. Similarly, James is saying that if you claim to be wise, you need to demonstrate it. From God’s perspective, wisdom is made manifest by the way a person conducts his life.

How will a person show he has true wisdom? By his “good behavior” (3:13). The Greek word translated “good” means “lovely,” “beautiful,” “attractive,” “noble,” or “excellent.” The term translated “behavior” speaks of one’s lifestyle or activity. If a person truly has divine wisdom and living faith, he will show it by his good conduct and excellent lifestyle.

James becomes specific when he says, “Let him show by his good behavior his deeds” (v. 13, emphasis added). He is focusing on the details. The wisdom of God alters not only your general conduct, but also what you do specifically. Every act within a person’s life is consistent with how he conducts his entire life. If it’s a life based on the wisdom of God, each aspect of his life will reveal that. The general pattern of his life and the specific things he does will reflect the work, the way, and the will of God. Take time to examine your life and see whether your conduct proves that you possess the true wisdom of God.

Suggestions for Prayer

A wise person will manifest good behavior. Read Psalm 119:33-40, making the prayer of the psalmist your own.

For Further Study

Your conduct will reveal whether you’re living wisely. What do the following verses say about how you should live: Philippians 1:27; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 2:12; and 2 Peter 3:11?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Persistence Invites Persecution 

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A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45, NLT

When stress begins to drizzle down and dampen my soul, or anger bubbles up in my heart—I am almost certain to be in a mode where I am focused on a person or circumstance that is out of my control. Why would I try to harness another person’s heart and seek to change them, anymore than I could attempt to guide the weather into conditions pleasing to my desires? It’s my heart that I’m expected to monitor and make better under the influence of God’s grace and love. If I let go of controlling the uncontrollable—I can work on the stubbornness of my own wandering heart.

Jesus describes our heart as a treasury of good and evil, a repository of abundance for good or bad. For example, a healthy government treasury is full of resources necessary to invest in opportunities and to step in during times of crisis and calamity. So it is with a healthy heart. Instead of being jealous of another’s success or angered by pride—we can store up in our hearts: humility, forgiveness, acceptance and love. In collaboration with Christ, we daily invest into His righteous treasures and over time the compounding interest of gracious words flow from our heart.

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63).

Has not getting your way caused you to lose your way? What started out as feeling slighted has grown into a combative posture of full blown rejection. Maybe at work you have run into a rough spot and there needs to be clarity around your expectations and your supervisor’s expectations. Because of the warp speed pace of your work, your boss may have assumed they clearly communicated their changes to you—but they didn’t. Big decisions require all involved to slow down and understand each other. Respectful, candid conversations invite the team’s influence.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Persistence Invites Persecution  →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Embrace Your Trials

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Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Hebrews 5:8

Recommended Reading

Hebrews 12:1-11

Young people are often surprised when they hear an elderly person say, “I learn something new every day.” Even more surprising is when young Christians discover Hebrews 5:8—that Jesus Christ had to learn obedience. We have the impression that because Jesus was God He didn’t need to learn anything. We forget that as Man, He identified with us in learning to trust God in times of difficulty. His learning could be thought of as “perfecting,” as Hebrews 5:9 suggests. In His suffering, Christ didn’t learn something new. Rather, He proved (perfected) His obedience to God the Father.

The same path Christ took has been laid out for all who follow Him. James 1:2 doesn’t say to be joyful “if” we encounter trials but “when.” The apostle Paul wrote that difficulties are part of the road we take to being conformed to the image of Christ, our ultimate glorification in Him (Romans 8:28-30). If Christ had to prove His commitment to the Father by obedience and trust, and if we are on the same path, we must surely do the same.

Don’t resist the trials in your life. Embrace them as opportunities to prove your faithfulness to God in all things.

The Christian is more formed from his trials than from his enjoyments.

William Jay

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 3 – 4

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Let the Holy Spirit Guide You

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For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide [even] until death. —Psalm 48:14

Often when my husband, Dave, and I travel, we hire a guide to show us the best and most important sites to see. Once, however, we decided to explore by ourselves; that way we could do what we wanted to, when we wanted to.

We quickly found that our independent trips were nearly wasted. We often spent a large part of the day getting lost and then trying to find our way again. We have found it to be the best use of our time to follow a guide rather than wandering aimlessly to find places ourselves.

I believe this example relates to how we are in life. We want to go our own way so we can do what we want to do, when we want to do it, but we end up getting lost and wasting our lives. We need the Holy Spirit guiding us through every day of our time on this earth. God is committed to guide us even until we leave this life, so it seems important to learn how to hear what He is telling us.

The Holy Spirit knows both the mind of God and God’s individual plan for you. His road map for you is not necessarily like anybody else’s, so it doesn’t work to try to pattern your life after someone else or what he or she has heard from God. God has a unique plan for you, and the Holy Spirit knows what it is and will reveal it to you.

Perhaps you are like I was and have wasted many years walking your own way without seeking God’s guidance. The good news is that it’s not too late to turn and go in a new direction—toward God’s plan and purpose for your life. It is not too late to learn how to hear from God. If you are sincerely willing to obey God, He will guide you on an exciting journey of learning to hear from Him every day of your life.

Trust in Him: Following a guide requires trusting someone or something other than yourself to lead the way. God will never fail you, so you can trust Him to be your Guide in life.

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – From a Nobody to a Somebody

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Today’s Truth

When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, ‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.’

Luke 13:12

Friend to Friend

Have you ever wondered if God even knows your name? Have you doubted His concern about what you are going through? Have you felt totally alone and worthless? I have. I can really relate to the woman described in Luke 13. Oh, our problems may not be exactly the same, but the feelings and emotions are – and so is the answer.

Jesus knew this woman. He knew she had been sick for 18 long years and that she had tried everything to be healed. He knew – but He looked past her pain and saw who she really was. He could have called her by name, but instead He said, “Woman.” Jesus included her whole identity in that name – her past, present and future. He knew every detail of her life, and He loved her. And just as He loved this broken woman, He loves you.

This woman had been assigned an identity by the relentless illness that plagued her body. Anyone who knew her identified her by that illness. I imagine she felt unwanted and unloved – like a nobody. But when Jesus saw her, He looked at her through different eyes and called her to Himself. With one word from Him, everything changed. All of a sudden, she was somebody.

There she stood, sick and in pain to the point that she was completely doubled over. Imagine what she felt when she realized that Jesus was talking to her. He was calling her – an outcast. And when she heard His voice, she heard the voice of love.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – From a Nobody to a Somebody →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Judging the World

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“For He has set a day for justly judging the world by the man He has appointed, and has pointed Him out by bringing Him back to life again” (Acts 17:31).

Why does God command men and women to repent? And why does He expect you and me to relay His message to them?

The answer is simple: because “He has set a day for justly judging the world.” And if people refuse to be penitent and thus become pardoned, they must be condemned.

“Justly,” of course, can be interpreted: “according to the rules of strict justice.” And who will do the judging? The man God has appointed – His only Son, Jesus Christ; the one He has pointed out to us clearly by bringing Him back to life again.

Jesus, you will remember, declared that He would judge the nations (John 5:25,26 and Matthew 25). God confirmed the truth of those declarations by raising Him from the dead – giving His sanction to what the Lord Jesus has said, for surely God would not work a miracle on behalf of an imposter.

What comfort and help can you and I receive from these truths today? Surely, this is a reminder that God is still on the throne; He is in control; nothing is going on in the world without His knowledge and consent.

Further, we are reminded of God’s justice, which assures us that He will always do right in behalf of His children. That falls right in line with Romans 8:28, of course, which concerns all things working together for our good.

Bible Reading: Psalm 9:7-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: World turmoil will not upset me, for I know the God who sits on the throne – and who rules over all

 

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Let God Be God

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Read: Romans 9:14-21

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. Romans 9:14-18

I do not know how you react to that, but it is clear what it says. It does not say that salvation is based on human effort choice — it is God who chooses. The ultimate reason for God’s choice of anyone is that he chooses whom he wants. This is the truth about God which people dislike the most. We must face the fact that God is a sovereign being. He is not answerable to anyone. We don’t like that, because to us sovereignty is always connected with tyranny. To trust anyone with that kind of power is to put ourselves into the hands of someone who might destroy us. We fight that in our national life, we fight it in our family life and we fight it in our individual relationships. We do not trust anyone with absolute power over us. It is no wonder that when we are confronted by a God with absolute power, we are troubled by this. But if God had to give an answer to anyone, that person to whom God had to account would really be God. The very core of God’s nature is that he does what he pleases. What we must do is get rid of the idea that his sovereignty will be destructive to us. As we will see, his sovereignty is our only hope!

God declares his own sovereignty. God says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion (Exodus 33:19). Moses was an example of God’s choice to bless someone. Who was Moses that God should choose him? He was nobody; a murderer and a fugitive from justice, who for forty years lived in the desert. But God chose him and made him his messenger and gave him a name that was known throughout history. Why? God chose to do so.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Let God Be God →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Where Are You?

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Read: Genesis 3:8-15

But the LORD God called to the man . . . “Where are you?” (v. 9)

As God came looking for them, Adam and Eve turned and ran the other way! “And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (v. 8).

How do you picture this? I think of a toddler holding his hands up in front of his face and saying, “You can’t see me!” Did Adam and Eve really think they could hide from God, that trees and shrubs could shield them from the searching gaze of omniscience? Did they really believe they could escape from the presence of the One who is always present everywhere?

The first time God speaks after the fall is to ask a question of his hiding children: “Where are you?” I suggest that this is not a request for information. God is not trying to locate Adam and Eve because somehow he has lost sight of them in the bushes.

God questions Adam and Eve not in order to gain a fix on their location but to offer an invitation. God is opening a conversation with them. In other words, he wants to communicate with them. “Communicate” comes from the same root word as “communion.” What God is really saying is, “What have you done? Where have you gone? Tell me. Confess to me. Return to me.”

In reaching out to a lost world, God always has the first word.

PRAYER:

Here I am, Lord. Speak to me.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Forgotten Hero

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So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”—Acts 9:17

A discovery every Christian eventually makes is who their real friends are. That is a discovery Saul of Tarsus made when he first became a follower of Christ. He had no real friends, but what he did have was a brother in Christ named Ananias. And in time, he would discover a whole new family.

Charles Swindoll, in his excellent book, Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit, writes, “Ananias has been called one of the forgotten heroes of the faith. Indeed he is. There are countless numbers of them serving Christ behind the scenes the world over.”

You see, with such men as Ananias doing their part, Saul could now do his. Acts 9:20–21 tells us, “And immediately [Saul] began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is indeed the Son of God!’ All who heard him were amazed. . . .”

They couldn’t believe that Saul of Tarsus was not only a believer, but now a preacher. And Saul quickly found out who his true friends and enemies were: “After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him” (verse 23).

God had been preparing Saul. Saul was ready for this job assignment. He was raised in a Roman city. He understood the thinking of the Roman mind. He was steeped in Greek culture, yet he was raised in a strict Jewish home. He was a powerful thinker and communicator. And now he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was a force to be reckoned with.

Ananias had never preached any sermons that we know of. We don’t know of any miracles that were performed through his hands. He never wrote an epistle. But he reached a man who did all of those things and much more. And if we had more Ananiases, we would have more Pauls.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Listening

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“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” (Isaiah 59:1)

Imagine spending an entire day with a tape recorder strapped to your back so everything you said could be recorded. If you argued with your mom, it would be on the tape. If you lied, your lie would be recorded on there, too. If you complained, those words would also become part of the tape.

If there really were a tape recorder with you all day, would you think twice before speaking?

Well, guess what! You are heard by something (Someone!) far more powerful than any tape recorder. God hears everything you say – which can be a good thing, or a scary thing.

When you are upset or frightened, and you call out for help, God hears you. Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” You can be sure that God will always hear you and take care of you. Even above the noise of a crowd, or even when you are alone, or even when you “call out” silently, your voice can be heard by God.

You can also be sure that God hears you when you sin. Every lie, every mean thing, every insult you say is heard by the God of Heaven. God is omniscient – which means that God knows everything. That is how great our God is! Nothing is hidden from Him.

What would it be like to spend a day with a tape recorder on your back? You may never know. (Let’s hope you never know!) But you can know for sure that you do have a God who is listening – so be careful what you say!

God hears more than just our prayers – He hears everything.

My Response:

» Do I think carefully before I speak?

» How can I show with my words that I believe God is omniscient (knows everything) and that He also hears everything?

 

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