Monthly Archives: January 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Why We Fall

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Judges 16

Unless weaknesses are addressed, they have potential to cause destruction. Vulnerabilities can either drive us closer to God or blind us to His love, as two Old Testament stories demonstrate. Joseph and Samson faced similar temptations but responded very differently. Day after day, Potiphar’s wife tried to entice Joseph, yet he rejected her advances (Gen. 39:7-9). Samson, on the other hand, willingly gave in to Delilah (Judg. 16:15-17).

Samson had been consecrated to God, and the Holy Spirit was moving in his life (Judg. 13:24-25). Nevertheless, he chose the path of self-indulgence. Too proud to admit weakness, he lived in denial, which led to a lack of discipline and left the door open for Satan. Because Samson rationalized his weakness, it soon began to dominate his life. Listening to the lies of the devil and wicked people, he exchanged God’s blessing and supernatural strength for irresponsible sexual involvement. And in the end, what did he have? Absolutely nothing.

Given the slightest chance, sin will infiltrate your life and affect every aspect, including your faith, job, and relationships. Nothing is off limits. If you’re thinking, I don’t have any weaknesses with the potential to destroy my life, then Satan has already blinded you to a spiritual reality in your midst.

You have the choice to face temptation as Joseph did—or as Samson did. In times of weakness, do you depend on God, obey Him, and seek strength to overcome? Or do you make excuses and turn from His leading? How different Samson’s life would have been if he’d chosen a better response.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 36-38

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Work Together

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Read: Romans 8:28–30

Bible in a Year: Genesis 27–28; Matthew 8:18–34

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28

My wife makes an amazing pot roast dinner. She takes raw meat, along with raw sliced white and sweet potatoes, celery, mushrooms, carrots, and onions and throws them into the slow cooker. Six or seven hours later the aroma fills the house, and the first taste is a delight. It is always to my advantage to wait until the ingredients in the slow cooker work together to achieve something they could not achieve individually.

When Paul used the phrase “work together” in the context of suffering, he used the word from which we get our word synergy. He wrote, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). He wanted the Romans to know that God, who didn’t cause their suffering, would cause all their circumstances to cooperate with His divine plan—for their ultimate good. The good to which Paul referred was not the temporal blessings of health, wealth, admiration, or success, but being “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son” (v. 29).

May we wait patiently and confidently because our heavenly Father is taking all the suffering, all the distress, all the evil, and causing them to work together for His glory and our spiritual good. He wants to make us like Jesus. —Marvin Williams

Read 2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 1:6, and 1 Peter 5:10. What encouragement did you find for tough times?

The growth we gain from waiting on God is often greater than the answer or result we desire.

INSIGHT: “All things” (Rom. 8:28) is a phrase that treats the seemingly good and bad events of life as a whole. The idea is that there is a dynamic interaction between the good and bad to bring a desired outcome, though this positive outcome may not yet be visible. If we consider a young man nailed to a cross dying in agony, we might wonder if anything good could be found there. But if we understand that this is Jesus Christ atoning for the sins of those who love Him, we can see how even this terrible event worked together for good. God works for “the good” of those who are true believers in Jesus Christ. They demonstrate the authenticity of their faith because they respond back with love to the One who first loved them (1 John 4:19). Dennis Fisher

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Truth or Love: What’s Your Choice?

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We live in a post-truth society—that’s what The Economist claimed two months ago. Two weeks ago, Oxford English Dictionary chose “post-truth” as its Word of the Year. Go back a bit further, and having 11 percent of America believe that you are “honest and trustworthy” was good enough to have a 9 percent lead in the race to be the next President of the United States. But of course even the polls were post-true.

We are very confused about the truth: There’s the truth, and then there’s the naked truth. There’s the truth, and then there’s the gospel truth (though the Gospel is taken to be obviously false). There’s the honest truth, and then there’s the God’s honest truth (but that has nothing to do with God).

We stretch the truth and bend the truth and twist the truth. We bury the truth because the truth hurts. When we want some¬thing to be false, we knock on wood. When we want something to be true, we cross our fingers. Which wooden cross are we trusting in?

Why do we have such a confused relationship with the truth? Fear. We are afraid of truth. Truth has so often been abused that experience has taught us the trajectory of truth—the trajectory of believing you are right and others are wrong—is from truth to disagreement to devaluing to intolerance to extremism to violence to terrorism.

And if that is the trajectory, then those committed to truth are in fact terrorists in the making. If that is the trajectory, then truth is an act of war, and an act of war leaves you with only two options: fight or flee.

Most of Western society is fleeing. Everything around us is structured to avoid disagreement about the truth: We spend most of our time on Facebook and Twitter where we can “like” and “retweet” but there is no option to “dislike.” Sports no longer teach us how to disagree. In professional sports, we replay every call to avoid disagreement. In youth sports, we don’t keep score and everyone gets a trophy.

When it comes to dating, we use online sites that “match” us with someone so similar in beliefs, background, and personality that as much disagreement as possible is avoided. We no longer meet people different from us at coffee shops because we go to drive-thru Starbucks. We no longer meet people while shopping because everything we could ever need or want is delivered to our door. Culturally, everything around us is set up to avoid disagreement.

The alternative to fleeing is fighting. I was walking around Oxford University a few months ago, and two guys walking just ahead of me were having a spirited conversation about how crazy they found certain Christian positions on ethical issues. One of them wondered out loud whether the only solution would be to shame Christians out of their positions.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Truth or Love: What’s Your Choice? →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Which Way Will You Choose?

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Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.—Matthew 7:13-14

Here in this passage, Jesus speaks of two different ways: the broad way that leads to destruction and the narrow way that leads to life. As I was meditating on this passage, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, Joyce, on the broad way there is room for all kinds of fleshly things like bitterness and unforgiveness and resentment and vindictiveness. But on the narrow way, there is only room for the Spirit.

In the flesh it is easy to take the broad path, but the end result is destruction. Emotions move us to take the easy way, to do what feels good for the moment. Wisdom moves us to take the hard way that leads to life. The question is: Which will we choose?

No matter what has happened to you in your lifetime, even if you have been abandoned by your spouse or abused by your parents or hurt by your children or others, if you’ll stay on that narrow path and leave all your excess baggage behind, sooner or later you will find the peace, joy, and fulfillment you seek.

Jesus is the Way, and He has shown us the way in which we are to walk. The Lord has sent upon us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the way we are to go, the narrow way that leads to life and not the broad way that leads to destruction. We must keep walking in the ways of the Lord: And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (Galatians 6:9)

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Love Without Limit

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“I have given them the glory You gave Me – the glorious unity of being one, as We are – I in them and You in Me, all being perfected into one – so that the world will know You sent Me and will understand that You love them as much as You love Me” (John 17:22,23).

One day, as I was reading this prayer of Jesus to God the Father, I leaped from my chair in excitement when I realized that God loves me as much as He loves His only begotten Son!

What is more, He loves us unconditionally. That means He loves us not because we are good, or worthy of His love, but simply because of who He is.

Of course, the miracle of it all is that when Jesus, who is the incarnation of God’s love, comes to live within us, that same supernatural love becomes operative within us, enabling us to love others supernaturally as well.

Agape (sacrificial, supernatural and unconditional love) is best described in the well-known and oft-quoted 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians:

“Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”

Bible Reading: John 17:15-21

Today’s Action Point: When things go wrong today – or any day – I will choose to remember that God loves me just as much as He loves His only begotten Son! And I will tell everyone who will listen about God’s supernatural love for them.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Build Your House on the Rock

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Obedience leads to blessing. Disobedience leads to trouble!

Remember Jesus’ parable about the two builders who each built a house? One built on cheap, easy-to-access-sand. The other built on costly, difficult-to-reach rock. The second construction project demanded more time and expense, but when the spring rains turned the creek into a gulley washer. . .guess which builder enjoyed a blessing and which experienced trouble?

According to Jesus, the wise builder is “whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them” (Matthew 7:24). The difference between the two was not knowledge and ignorance but obedience and disobedience. Security comes when we put God’s precepts into practice. We’re only as strong as our obedience.

From God is With You Every Day

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Responding to President Obama’s farewell address

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President Obama gave his farewell address to the nation last night. He spoke from McCormick Place convention center in Chicago, less than four miles from Grant Park, where he gave his 2008 victory speech.

Watching his address, I was struck by two contrasting themes.

One: Mr. Obama clearly wanted to claim success for his last eight years in office. Every president leaving office wants to do the same. It’s a natural way to consolidate gains and celebrate progress. At the end of his speech, he repeated the familiar “Yes we can!” from his 2008 presidential campaign, followed by “Yes we did!”

Two: The president wanted to cast his vision forward, clearly setting the stage for confrontations with the Trump administration and its competing agenda. He cited a laundry list of contentious issues, from climate change to discrimination to health care, and made it clear that he is not going to fade from view. His party has no clear leader and could face even more congressional losses in 2018. It seemed to me that Mr. Obama was not only framing his administration now ending, but also making a campaign speech for his future now beginning.

In coming days, I plan to share my thoughts regarding Mr. Obama’s worldview and its consequences for our culture. For today, let’s think about his farewell speech and more specifically, the right spirit in which to respond.

Consider a lesson from the recent election. In the current edition of Newsweek, Michael Wolff notes that the establishment media was so surprised by Trump’s success because they were so out of touch with Trump’s America. Their alignment with liberal values and cultural elites made it difficult for them to see other worldviews coherently or objectively.

Those of us who embrace biblical values must be careful not to do the same.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Responding to President Obama’s farewell address →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Uncontrolled Weakness

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Judges 14

The book of Judges tells of Samson, a man so strong he could kill a lion with his bare hands (Judg. 14:5-6). He possessed physical strength unequaled by any human being. But this could not compensate for his inner weakness.

All of us have areas of weakness. God wants these character flaws to teach us how totally dependent we are upon Him. When we handle them properly, they drive us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord. But uncontrolled weakness wreaks havoc in a person’s life.

Samson’s Achilles’ heel was uncontrolled lust. Although he was raised in a godly home and had a clear calling in life, he gave in to his desires and deliberately violated the truth he knew so well. Despite Nazirite laws forbidding involvement with foreigners, Samson pursued a Philistine woman (Judg. 14:2). Later, he met the enticing Delilah, and even though her motives were blatantly treacherous, he gave himself over—heart, mind, and spirit—to sexual indulgence. He was in such bondage to the sin that he ultimately allowed it to dictate his actions, even at the cost of his life.

Before he died, Samson lost everything: his strength, eyesight, and honor. The man who once led his country mightily became a slave to his enemies (Judg. 16:18-25).

What are your weaknesses? Personality flaws can be a powerful motivation for good or ill, depending on your response. A proclivity for sin can ruin your life—as it did Samson’s—or drive you to utter dependence on God. The outcome is up to you.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 32-35

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Random Acts of Kindness

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Read: Ruth 2:8–13

Bible in a Year: Genesis 25–26; Matthew 8:1–17

“Why have I found such favor [grace] in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”—Ruth 2:10

Some say that the American writer Anne Herbert scribbled the phrase “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” on a placemat at a restaurant in 1982. The sentiment has since been popularized through film and literature and has become a part of our vocabulary.

The question is “Why?” Why should we show kindness? For those who follow Jesus, the answer is clear: To show the tender mercy and kindness of God.

There’s an Old Testament example of that principle in the story of Ruth, the emigrant from Moab. She was a foreigner, living in a strange land whose language and culture she did not understand. Furthermore, she was desperately poor, utterly dependent on the charity of a people who took little notice of her.

There was one Israelite, however, who showed Ruth grace and spoke to her heart (Ruth 2:13). He allowed her to glean in his fields, but more than simple charity, he showed her by his compassion the tender mercy of God, the One under whose wings she could take refuge. She became Boaz’s bride, part of the family of God, and one in a line of ancestors that led to Jesus, who brought salvation to the world (see Matt. 1:1-16).

We never know what one act of kindness, done in Jesus’s name, will do. —David Roper

Lord, what do You want me to do for another today? Lead me. And may that person see a glimmer of You.

Share your ideas of how you can show kindness in the name of Jesus today at Facebook.com/ourdailybread.

It’s never too soon to be kind.

INSIGHT: The command to be kind to others is embedded in the Law that God gave to the Jews fresh out of Egypt. God told them, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:18). Today, Christ-followers are to “be kind and compassionate to one another” (Eph. 4:32). And the reasons we are to show kindness have not changed: It is because of who God is and what He has done for us. We are to “follow God’s example, . . . and walk in the way of love” (5:1-2). Sim Kay Tee

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Philosophy of the Good

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“What is the good life?” is a question as old as philosophy itself. In fact, it is the question that birthed philosophy as we know it.(1)Posed by ancient Greek thinkers and incorporated into the thought of Socrates through Plato, and then Aristotle, this question gets at the heart of human meaning and purpose. Why are we here, and since we are here, what are we to be doing? What is our meaning and purpose?

Out of the early Greek quest for the answer emerged two schools of thought. From Plato emerged rationalism: the good life consists of ascertaining unchanging ideals—justice, truth, goodness, beauty—those “forms” found in the ideal world. From Aristotle emerged empiricism: the good life consists of ascertaining knowledge through experience—what we can perceive of this world through our senses.(2)

For both Aristotle and Plato, rational thought used in contemplation of ideas is the substance of the good life. Despite the obvious emphasis by both on goodness emerging from the contemplative life of the mind (even though they disagreed on the source of rationality) both philosophers saw the good life as impacting and benefiting society. For Plato, society must emulate justice, truth, goodness, and beauty; so he constructs an ideal society. For Aristotle, virtue lived out in society is the substance of the good life, and well-being arises from well-doing.

Not long ago, I conducted an internet search on the tag “What is the good life?” and I was amazed at what came up as the top results of my search. Most of the entries involved shopping or consumption of one variety or another. Some entries were on locations to live, and still others involved books or other media aimed at helping one construct a good life. Others were the names of stores selling goods to promote “the good life.” There were no immediate entries on Plato, Aristotle, or the philosophical question they raised. There were no results on wisdom or the quest for knowledge lived out in a virtuous life. Instead, most of the entries involved material pursuits and gains. Sadly, this reflects our modern definition of what is good.

Perhaps during tumultuous economic times, it is difficult not to equate material items with the good life, more money, more security, or more opportunity. While it has always been said of every generation that these are times of great crisis and upheaval, we feel this search for meaning anew and afresh today, and perhaps wonder at the practicality or wisdom of looking to the past for insight or understanding into the good life.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Philosophy of the Good →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Looking Nice Is Not a Sin

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Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes; but let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which…is very precious in the sight of God.—1 Peter 3:3-4

Many Christians misunderstand the challenge to value inner beauty over outer appearance, as stated in the above passage. They take the concept to an extreme, believing that any effort to look nice is a sin. What Peter is encouraging us to do, however, is to resist the temptation to confuse outer beauty for what is most important, which is a gentle and peaceful spirit. In other words, don’t be vain or put all your confidence in how you look, because God focuses on what is inside.

But Peter doesn’t say the only way to be virtuous is to wear a brown sack, stop bathing, and give away all your possessions! True, a few people have found God by renouncing all material possessions, but I think in general it is much harder to find anything if you suffer from the constant distractions of discomfort, or if you go out of your way to be as unattractive as possible and get mistreated by others because they think you are a religious fanatic. God cares most that you go forth clothed in righteousness. But righteousness plus a nice outfit never hurt anyone! If people see that you respect yourself, they’ll respect you, too.

Like everything else in life, it is a question of balance. Keep the big picture in mind. Ask yourself, What is the work that God has put me on earth to do? Then decide what amount of attention you should pay to how you look and feel to get the maximum energy, health, and charisma you need to do that work as successfully as possible.

Trust in Him: Do you spend an appropriate amount of time taking care of the body and spirit God has given you? He wants you to look your best, inside and out. Do your part to be a good steward of what He gave you, and trust Him to let you know if you are out of balance.

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Nothing You Cannot Do

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“I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13, KJV).

What would you give for the power to live a truly holy, fruitful life? Strangely enough, it is yours for the asking. If your problem is timidity in witnessing, God promises to help you share your faith with others: “For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them” (2 Timothy 1:7).

If it is victory over temptation, He reminds us that temptation is not a sin; it is only in the yielding that it becomes sin.

If you need victory in your thought-life, He promises to allow no tempting or testing above that you are able to bear – and that certainly includes your thought-life (1 Corinthians 10:13). You are invited to “cast all your anxiety upon the Lord, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

If it is forgiveness you seek, He offers it freely. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, KJV).

In short, you have no burden, no problem, no need that is too big for our Lord to handle. “Ye receive not, because ye ask not,” He reminds us.

If your need is for physical healing, know that He is able to heal you if it is His will. If His answer to your prayer is no, thank Him for the sure knowledge that His grace is sufficient in the midst of pain and suffering. Acknowledge His sovereign right to be God in your life, whatever the cost may be. “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it and He will” (Psalm 37:5).

Bible Reading: Philippians 4:6-12

Today’s Action Point: I will begin this day – and every day – by committing everything I do to the Lord and expecting Him to help me. I will remember that I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ, who gives me the strength and power (Philippians 4:13).

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Risk Believing

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When forced to stand at the crossroads of belief and unbelief, God’s people choose belief! God’s people risk believing!

Nowhere is this better exemplified than in Joshua’s story. You could argue that the central message of the book of Joshua is this headline: “God keeps his promises. Trust him.” The three verses of Joshua 21: 43-45 are the heart of the book.

Three times Joshua declares: God did what he said he would do.

  • “The LORD gave all He had sworn to give.” (verse 43)
  • “The LORD gave rest according to all that He had sworn to their fathers.” (verse 44)
  • “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken. All came to pass.” (verse 45)

Learn from Joshua. Take a risk. Believe in God. He will do what he has said he will do.

From God is With You Every Day

 

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – What impressed me even more than Clemson’s win

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In what’s being called “the best title game in college football history,” the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide last night on a touchdown with one second left in the game. It was one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen and Clemson’s first victory over Alabama since 1905.

For years to come, Clemson fans will be discussing the feats of quarterback Deshaun Watson and diminutive wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, who caught the game-winner. Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts nearly won the game for Alabama before Clemson’s last-minute heroics.

As great as the players were, the coaches impressed me even more.

Clemson’s head coach was born William Christopher Swinney. His older brother Tripp started calling him “That Boy,” which became “Dabo,” the name by which he has been known his entire life.

His childhood was more than challenging—his father became an alcoholic; his oldest brother was severely injured in a car accident and has battled alcoholism for much of his life. His parents eventually divorced, and he lived with his mother in a series of motels, apartments, and friends’ homes. Swinney was nonetheless an honor roll student and football star in high school.

He enrolled in Alabama in 1988 and eventually won a scholarship on the football team. His mother, who had recovered from debilitating polio (including an iron lung and fourteen months in a knee-to-neck cast), shared an apartment room with him while he was in college. He earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA at Alabama and eventually made his way to Clemson, where he has been head coach since 2008.

Swinney became a Christian at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. He is so public about his faith in Christ that the Freedom From Religion Foundation threatened to sue him and Clemson, but they could not find a player willing to file a complaint against the coach.

Alabama’s legendary coach Nick Saban is also a strong Christian. He attends Mass before football games and is a regular at his parish church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He and his wife are founders of the foundation Nick’s Kids, which has raised more than $6 million to help children in need. Last year, they built their sixteenth Habitat for Humanity house to honor Alabama’s sixteenth national title in the school’s history.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –How to Walk With God

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Genesis 5:21-24

Enoch had such a close walk with the Lord that Scripture says, “and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24). This means that Enoch did not die, but was taken directly into the presence of the Lord. What a wonderful testimony!

As we seek to follow God with passion like Enoch’s, let’s learn some specific steps that will help us grow in our walk with the Lord.

Reconciliation. This term essentially means “God moving toward us.” The joy of this step is that we bear no responsibility; it’s all up to Him. Through the cross of Jesus Christ, God has already made His move in our direction. (See 2 Cor. 5:18.) When we place faith in the Savior, we immediately take part in that reconciliation.

Trusting God. Our heavenly Father wants us to know He is concerned with our spiritual growth. He also wants us to trust that He has, through Christ, provided the means by which we can walk intimately with Him.

Agreement. To appreciate the closeness God wants to have with us, we must agree with what His Word teaches about His Son, the church, and our problem with sin.

Fellowship. Just as our human relationships fall apart without regular contact, our intimacy with the Father weakens when we do not spend time with Him.

Walking with God is not an impossible mission, but it does require careful attention to the details of our Christian life. When we set our course for God, He will always be there to direct our path (Prov. 16:9).

Bible in One Year: Genesis 29-31

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Old Yet New

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Read: Revelation 21:1–5

Bible in a Year: Genesis 23–24; Matthew 7

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new.”—Revelation 21:5

In 2014, a sinkhole opened up under the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky, swallowing eight vintage, irreplaceable Chevrolet Corvette sports cars. The automobiles were severely damaged—some beyond repair.

One car in particular received a lot of attention. The one-millionth Corvette, which rolled off the assembly line in 1992, was the most valuable in the collection. What happened to that gem after it was pulled from the sinkhole is fascinating. Experts restored the car to mint condition, mainly by using and repairing its original parts. Although this little beauty was in horrible shape, it now looks as good as it did the day it was built.

The old and damaged was made new.

This is a great reminder of what God has in store for believers in Jesus. In Revelation 21:1, John spoke of seeing “a new heaven and a new earth.” Many biblical scholars see this “new” earth as a renovated earth, for their study of the word new here reveals that it means “fresh” or “restored” after the decay of the old has been wiped away. God will renovate what is corrupt on this earth and provide a fresh, yet familiar place where believers will live with Him.

What an amazing truth to contemplate: a new, refreshed, familiar, and beautiful earth. Imagine the majesty of God’s handiwork! —Dave Branon

Lord, we thank You for this beautiful world we live in—but at the same time we anticipate greatly the new world You have in store for us. We praise You for Your love for us, revealed in Your amazing plans for our future.

Our Creator God makes everything new.

INSIGHT: Those who have undergone a rebirth individually through believing in Christ (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:5) will participate in the future universal makeover of this planet (Matt. 19:28; Acts 3:21). Revelation 21:1-5 refers to three new items—“a new heaven and a new earth,” plus “the new Jerusalem” (v. 2). Christians can be part of that new world as “a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). A significant part of Revelation 21:1-5 involves an interlacing of previously announced truths and texts from the Old Testament. Isaiah 48:6 forecasted “new things,” which Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22 expand to “new heavens and a new earth.” What are you especially looking forward to being made new? Jim Townsend

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – What If I Am Father?

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Comedian W.C. Fields was reading the Bible one afternoon when a friend asked him what he was doing. The actor responded wryly, “Looking for loopholes.”

Somewhere within the intended humor of this statement probably lies a revealing glimpse of our often-ironic approach to God. That is, if God is real, there is something irrational about thinking in terms of an entity that can be manipulated; if there is such a thing as truth, there is something ridiculous about defining it to suit ourselves. But we do this regularly.

Author A.J. Jacobs always assumed that religion “would just wither away and we’d live in a neo-Enlightenment world.”(1) When this did not happen, he figured he should examine whether he was missing something essential to being a human or whether half the human population was simply deluded by the existence of God. So he decided to follow literally every command in the Bible for a year—including not trimming his beard and making tassels on the corners of his garments. In his book A Year of Living Biblically, he describes his experiment, which he admits held a bit of irreverence. In the end, nonetheless, he draws the conclusion, “I now believe that whether or not there’s a God, there is such a thing as sacredness.”(2)

Many, including Jacobs, point out the irony of his experiment—namely, deciding to follow the Bible literally is hardly the same thing as deciding to follow God. Yet the popular approach to theological inquiry is not much different and is often equally suited to our own interests, the difference perhaps being that we rarely point out our own incongruous thinking. Truth is comfortably understood in terms of preference, and God is readily comprehended as one who must prepare a defense for our own thunderous line of questioning, even as we question this God’s very existence. Somehow we have arrived at a state of mind where we can live in anger with God for existing, where we can each choose our own brand of reasoning and be frustrated with life for being unreasonable—and see none of the contradictions in our words. Or else we simply choose to overlook them—along with the desperate love of the one crouched at our feet.

The prophet Malachi screamed of crisis during a time when people were asleep to their own incongruous thoughts. Malachi’s message came at the end of a thousand year period of God’s revelation to the people of Israel. The next voice to be heard centuries later was that of John the Baptist preparing the way for the Messiah. Yet historically, the people of Malachi’s day were standing in a period of almost eerie stillness. There was no looming threat to be addressed, no extraordinary prospering to be consumed by, no real reason to be moved by much of anything. Whether for lack of excitement or for excess of ease, the hearts of the people had grown cold and weary. Their worship was tired. Their complaints had no end. It was Malachi who pointedly voiced the irrationality of their half-hearted approach to God, the sheer irony of finding the almighty God wearisome.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – What If I Am Father? →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Touch of God

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I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God]. —Ezekiel 11:19

God has made us sensitive to His touch and wants to lead us to do things that are good for us, like spending time with Him, but He doesn’t want us to turn our devotional time into a law—like believing we have to pray for fifteen minutes, read the Word for twenty minutes, and confess the Word for ten minutes each day in order to please Him.

As soon as we view things as laws and rules, the joy is drained out of them and they are turned into works of the flesh. Let God lead you in your time spent with Him, and you will never get bored. The Holy Spirit is creative, and He will help you keep your time with God fresh and exciting.

Before we accepted Christ, we were too hard-hearted to be led by the Spirit, but God has given us new hearts, and we can follow His guidance.

Power Thought: I am obedient to the touch of God that is guiding and directing my life.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Seeking God’s Face

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“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV).

“Humility is perfect quietness of heart,” Andrew Murray once wrote. “It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”

For years, I have claimed God’s promise recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:14. My emphasis has been on the humbling of ourselves and turning from sin. But recently a minister friend made a passing reference to the phrase, “seeking God’s face,” and it triggered in my mind some new thoughts about this great promise from God.

In a sense, the humbling of ourselves and turning from sin are the by-products, or end results, of coming to know God as He is, by meditating upon His character and attributes. To “seek God’s face” is to meditate upon His sovereignty, His holiness, His power, His wisdom, His love – getting to know Him as He is.

The disciples of the first-century church were mightily used of God because of their exalted view of Him. There was nothing too great for Him. God could do anything. The church today can once again experience that same dynamic that characterized those first believers if we, too, become totally absorbed in the character and attributes of our great God.

It is then that we will truly begin to believe God for supernatural, impossible things and make a great impact for good on the world.

Bible Reading: Psalm 145:5-12

Today’s Action Point: I will deliberately choose to seek God’s face today by meditating on His attributes, found in Psalm 145, and by looking for Him in every circumstance of my life this day.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Who Are You?

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You are so much more than a few days between the womb and the tomb.

Paul the Apostle says, “It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone” (Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG).

Above and around us God directs a grander saga, written by his hand, orchestrated by his will, and unveiled according to his calendar. Your life emerges from the greatest mind, the kindest heart in the history of the universe! The mind and heart of God.

You are God’s idea. And remember…God doesn’t have any bad ideas.

From God is With You Every Day

 

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