Daily Archives: January 22, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Pathway to Success

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Joshua 1:7

Too often, Christians shy away from the whole idea of success, thinking, I’ll just be grateful for whatever the Lord gives me. Such misguided believers have confused success with greed and discontent. How can this be?

It is because of the overwhelming obsession with the world’s definition of the term. To most people, the word is equivalent to “wealth” or “power.” If you stopped the average person on the street and asked whether he is successful, there’s a good chance he would start talking about his career or investments. He might even make a passing reference to his “15 minutes of fame.” Most people simply have no other frame of reference for the concept. But these parameters have nothing to do with spiritual success.

The heavenly Father calls His children to live triumphantly. If the pursuit of success were sinful, how could the Lord have made the promise found in Joshua 1:7? Was He promising money? No. Was He promising fame? No. The Lord was promising success.

For Joshua, this would mean military victory, steadfast faith, and the fulfillment of God’s promise to Moses. Joshua was not concerned with money or fame; rather, he was intensely focused on accomplishing God’s plan for him. Armed with the power of the Word, Joshua marched boldly ahead and received the Lord’s blessings. And for that, God called him a “success.”

Do not be confused—the trappings of the world have nothing to do with succeeding spiritually. Your family, relationships, integrity, faithfulness—these are the things that work together as a godly way of measuring success.

Bible in One Year: Exodus 19-21

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – God’s Face

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Read: 2 Corinthians 4:4–15

Bible in a Year: Exodus 4–6; Matthew 14:22–36

For God . . . made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:6

Much of my career as a writer has revolved around the problem of pain. I return again and again to the same questions, as if fingering an old wound that never quite heals. I hear from readers of my books, and their anguished stories give human faces to my doubts. I remember a youth pastor calling me after he had learned that his wife and baby daughter were dying of AIDS because of a tainted blood transfusion. “How can I talk to my youth group about a loving God?” he asked.

I have learned to not even attempt an answer to these “why” questions. Why did the youth pastor’s wife happen to get the one tainted bottle of blood? Why does a tornado hit one town and skip over another? Why do prayers for physical healing go unanswered?

One question, however, no longer gnaws at me as it once did: “Does God care?” I know of only one way to answer that question, and the answer is Jesus. In Jesus, God gave us a face. If you wonder how God feels about the suffering on this groaning planet, look at that face.

“Does God care?” His Son’s death on our behalf, which will ultimately destroy all pain, sorrow, suffering, and death for eternity, answers that question. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). —Philip Yancey

God’s love for us is as expansive as the open arms of Christ on the cross.

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be a Blessing

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So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God’s family with you, the believers].—Galatians 6:10

Our daughter Sandra shared that she was dreading seeing a certain individual because in the past that person had not been very pleasant to her. As she struggled with negative thoughts about the upcoming encounter, God spoke to her heart and said, You don’t need to be concerned about how others treat you; your concern should be how you treat them. This message had a strong impact on Sandra’s life as well as on mine. How true it is.

We are so concerned about how we are being treated that we have little or no concern for how we treat others. We are afraid of being taken advantage of, especially if our experience with someone has been painful in the past. The fear and dread we feel probably makes us supersensitive to everything that is said or done. We may even misinterpret things and see them in a negative way because of our expectations.

What we fear does come upon us, according to God’s Word (see Job 3:25). I agree that it is difficult not to be concerned that others will treat us badly if they have done so in the past. That is why it is so important not to think about it at all.

We are to deposit ourselves with God and trust Him to take care of us (see 1 Peter 4:19). He is our vindicator (see Job 19:25), and as long as we behave properly toward others, including our enemies, God will bring a reward into our lives. The Bible says we are to be “mindful” to be a blessing (see Galatians 6:10). That means that we are to have our minds full of ways we can help others. When our minds are filled with ways to be a blessing, we have no time to dwell on our personal problems. It gives God an opportunity to work on them for us.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Sets Us Free

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“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to – what I hate…When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway….It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong…So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free” (Romans 7:15,19,21,24,25).

Harry gave every indication of being a happy, joyful, fruitful Christian. He was active in every major event of the church and many large citywide Christian efforts. He always had a high visibility, and because of his extrovertive, outgoing personality he seemed to be a model Christian.

Then one day I saw the real Harry. He just blurted it out.

“I’m a hypocrite – miserable, defeated, frustrated. I’ve lived a lie and worn a mask all my life, never wanting to reveal my true self. But I need help. I’m seriously thinking of committing suicide. I just can’t live the Christian life, no matter how hard I try.”

As I began reading Romans 7:15-25, he said, “That is my biography, the story of my life. I’ve done everything I know to find victory – to live the Christian life as I know I’m supposed to live it. But everything fails for me no matter how hard I try.”

I encouraged him to read on. Paul asks the question in the 25th verse, “Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature?” Then he answers that question by saying “Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.”

If you are living a carnal life, as described in Romans 7, you can be liberated to experience a full and abundant, victorious and fruitful life, as you by faith claim the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit day by day, moment by moment.

Bible Reading: Romans 7:18-23

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: By faith, I will claim the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me to live the abundant, supernatural life that Jesus promised, so that I can bring glory to God by bearing much fruit.

 

http://www.cru.org

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – New Year’s Resolutions – Resolve to Complain Less

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Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2

John Killinger told of a baseball manager who grew disgusted with his center fielder, threw him out of the game, and took the position himself. The first time a ball came toward him, it took a hop and hit him in the mouth. The second ball hit him in the head, and the third flew between his hands and struck his eye. Throwing down his glove, the manager stormed to the dugout and shouted to the center fielder, “You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!”1

Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:12-18

How easy to blame our problems on others. That’s essentially what we’re doing whenever we grumble and complain. The Israelites murmured from the time they left Egypt until they arrived in the Promised Land—and they often blamed Moses for their problems.

This year, resolve to practice patience and complain less. Patience comes from trusting God with the things about which we want to complain. A good new year’s resolution comes from Philippians 2:14-15: “Do all things without complaining and disputing…children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”

A person who has a negative attitude toward himself will also be quite critical of others.

Paul Meier

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Exodus 17 – 23

“Let’s Illustrate,” Leadership Journal, Fall, 1989, 51.

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Pay Attention to the Little Things

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Read: Luke 8:40-56

Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” (v. 46)

Jesus had a habit of paying attention to the little things. He knew that the little things are the big things. Even though he was walking through a crowd he felt a tiny, hesitant tug on his cloak. Most people would have thought nothing of it.

Jesus, however, stopped and asked who touched him. Not only did Jesus feel her touch, but he saw a woman whom no one else would have seen. She had been ceremonially unclean for 12 years due to her medical condition. Being unclean, she would not have been allowed in the temple. No one would have touched her, or she would have made them unclean, too. She would not have been seen in public for 12 years . . . until she touched Jesus’ cloak.

That little touch transformed her life. She was healed, and would be welcomed back into her community after 12 long years of solitude. This was no little thing!

How often do we rush through our days, striving to accomplish the “big” things? Do we ignore or miss the little things? Jesus knew that true transformation happened within the small things; the interruptions in life, not necessarily in the “important” things we spend hours trying to accomplish. What little things—the little interruptions—can you pay attention to in your life and through them allow God to transform you?  —Susan Hetrick

Prayer: Lord, help me pay attention to the little things, for I know that they really are the big things

 

https://woh.org/

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Fiery Heart 

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But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” Jeremiah 20:9

The word of God flows through the human heart like orange-hot lava out of an erupting volcano. Nothing can hold back the effects of God’s word. It penetrates the hardest of hearts and disturbs its apathy. It ignites a tender and teachable heart with confidence and gratitude. The heart cannot contain the Word of God any more than a mother can hold back her joy after the birth of her baby. There is an engagement with endurance and excitement that happens when Scripture seeps into your soul. It cuts into your being (Hebrews 4:12). You cannot remain unchanged by the living Word of God. It arrests your thinking. Scripture engages you with eternity; its eternal truths demand a response.

Any open-minded person who seeks to understand the Scripture will benefit now and for eternity, if he embraces its claims. You cannot silence a person who has been spoken to by the Lord via His Word. The Bible is a conduit for knowing Christ. It facilitates faith like nothing else. As a follower of Jesus, you engage with eternal purposes when you hide God’s Word in your heart. You hide it within, but it explodes without. Truth in is truth out. Moreover, Jesus was a man of the Word (Matthew 7:29). The Scripture was fire in His bones. He spoke like no one else because His authority was not in His words but in the words of His heavenly Father.

You can stand confident in Christ when your decisions and rationale are based on the Bible. The Word of God perseveres. It is your teacher. The Bible defines your belief system.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Fiery Heart  →