Daily Archives: April 2, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Heart for God

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Acts 13:16-22

God’s assessment of David’s heart is one of the highest praises that anyone has ever received from the Lord. And this commendation is not reserved exclusively for Israel’s beloved king; in fact, our Father longs for every one of His children to have a heart for Him.

In Acts 13:22, the Lord called David “a man after My heart, who will do all My will.” In other words, the chief characteristic of a heart for God is a passion to obey Him. Not every act of King David’s life was as the Lord would have desired, but his pattern was to follow after God. And David also knew what to do when he sinned. His prayer was that the Lord would search out any wicked way in him, clean it up, and help him to get back on track to become the kind of person his heavenly Father wanted him to be (Psalm 139:23-24).

David’s highest priority was his relationship with the Lord. He delighted in both reading God’s Word and having intimate conversations with the Father, many of which are recorded for us in the book of Psalms. In addition, the Scriptures reveal many examples of how David trusted the Lord in all the challenges of his life. This humble servant recognized that any greatness he achieved as king was actually due to God alone.

Becoming a man or woman with a heart for the Lord is a valuable goal. Our aim is not perfection but a consistent, growing relationship with Him. In the process, we will discover that our desires and interests increasingly align with God’s, and obeying Him will be our great delight.

Bible in One Year: 1 Samuel 27-29

 

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Behind the Scenes

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Read: Daniel 10:1–14

Bible in a Year: Judges 16–18; Luke 7:1–30

Your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.—Daniel 10:12

My daughter sent a text message to a friend, in hopes of having a question answered quickly. Her phone’s messaging service showed that the recipient had read the message, so she waited anxiously for a reply. Mere moments passed, yet she grew frustrated, groaning her annoyance at the delay. Irritation eroded into worry; she wondered whether the lack of response meant there was a problem between them. Eventually a reply came and my daughter was relieved to see their relationship was fine. Her friend had simply been sorting out the details needed to answer the question.

The Old Testament prophet Daniel also anxiously awaited a reply. After receiving a frightening vision of great war, Daniel fasted and sought God through humble prayer (10:3, 12). For three weeks, he received no reply (vv. 2, 13). Finally, an angel arrived and assured Daniel his prayers had been heard “since the first day.” In the meantime, the angel had been battling on behalf of those prayers. Though Daniel didn’t know it at first, God was at work during each of the twenty-one days that elapsed between his first prayer and the angel’s coming.

The confidence that God hears our prayers can cause us to become anxious when His reply doesn’t come when we want it to. We are prone to wonder whether He cares. Yet Daniel’s experience reminds us that God is at work on behalf of those He loves even when it isn’t obvious to us. —Kirsten Holmberg

Lord, help me to trust Your care for me even when I can’t see it.

God is always at work on behalf of His people.

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Seek the Truth

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The sower sows the Word. The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them.—Mark 4:14-15

If you hear or study the Word, the devil will immediately attempt to steal it from you. He does not want the Word to take root in your heart and begin to produce good fruit in your life. When you learn the truth, deception is uncovered and you are set free. Satan hates and fears the Word. He will do anything possible to prevent you from learning God’s Word.

The reason Satan works so hard to keep you from the Word is simple: He knows the Word of God is a powerful weapon against him. It assures his defeat! That is why it is imperative that you learn to wield the spiritual sword. Reading, hearing, believing, meditating on, and confessing the Word cancels Satan’s evil plan. Tonight, determine to make the Word of God a priority in your life.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Clothed in Christ

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“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ” (Galatians 3:27, NAS).

You may be surprised, as I was, at the result of our personal surveys having to do with church members and salvation.

Such surveys indicate that somewhere between 50 and 90% of all church members are not sure of their salvation. Like Martin Luther, John Wesley and many others who became mighty ambassadors for Christ, some spend many years “serving God” before they experience the assurance and reality of their salvation.

The pastor of a large fashionable church of 1,500 members once reacted negatively when I shared these statistics, doubting that such large percentages of church members lacked assurance of their salvation.

He decided personally to survey his own congregation at the church where he had served as senior pastor for 15 years. To his amazement and shock, more than 75% of the membership indicated they were not sure of their salvation.

The following Sunday, the pastor arranged for the Four Spiritual Laws booklet, which contains the distilled essence of the gospel, to be distributed to each member of the congregation.

For his sermon he read the contents of the booklet aloud, as the congregation followed him, reading from their own copies of the Four Laws. Then he invited all who wished to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord to read aloud with him the prayer contained in the booklet. Almost the entire congregation joined in the prayer audibly. As a result the church was changed, because changed individuals in sufficient numbers equal a changed church, a changed community and a changed nation.

Have you clothed yourself in Christ?

Bible Reading: Galatians 4:4-7

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will not take for granted that I have found faith in Christ simply because I belong to a church, nor will I assume that all church members have assurance of their salvation. I shall encourage all who are not sure to receive Christ and be clothed in His righteousness.

 

http://www.cru.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Follow Him 

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And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27

You follow Jesus because of His invitation and His worthiness. You follow Jesus because His way is the best way and because you are His disciples. You follow Jesus because there is none other who offers an abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. You follow the Lord because He leads you toward His will. He is worth following because He can be trusted; He will never lead you astray. The Lord’s leadership is perfect, potent, and practical. Therefore, pursue Him as a faithful follower. Do not hold back one ounce of obedience and loyalty to your leader, Jesus Christ. Where He leads you, follow. Where He sends you, go. His path will be painful at times, but it is in your pain that He purifies. Follow Him and you will be forever grateful, for He does not disappoint.

Follow Him through your difficult days. Do not give in to the temptation to quit. Where else is there to go? This is the insightful question Peter posed out of frustration (John 6:68). It is in your adversity that you desire the Almighty. He is not occupied with a celestial distraction somewhere far away. He is still leading you through this valley of despair. Do not give up on Him, for He has not given up on you. He still lovingly leads even though your soul feels resistance.

He will pull you through this present predicament. Use this time of challenge to strengthen your faith in Him. Stay behind Jesus, and depend on His wisdom and care. If He can handle the forces of hell, He can handle whatever circumstance is crushing your confidence. Follow Him through the fog of fear. He is just ahead and can be trusted without reservation.  Follow Him in your success.

These good days may be for a season, so shower all the glory of God over your accomplishments. Progress and positive results are cause for celebration and praise to the Lord. Make sure everyone knows that you answer to a higher authority in Almighty God. He is the reason for your financial rewards and your accolades from impressed onlookers. Success is meant to inspire us to follow Him with even more abandon and humility.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Follow Him  →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – WE TALK TO GOD

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Read Hebrews 10:1

When she was a teenager, Rifqa Bary came to Christ out of Islam. In hertestimony, Hiding in the Light, she recounts how she was first attracted to Christianity when she witnessed a prayer meeting at a friend’s house. Coming from the cold and regimented prayers of her Muslim home, she was astonished by how intimately these Christians prayed, as if they were simply talking to God.

This is the great delight of Christian prayer: calling on God our Father as an expression of our relationship. But as we see in today’s passage, the problem of our sin must be addressed before we can approach a holy God (v. 1). To demonstrate the immense burden of sin, the writer of Hebrews describes the great cost and effort required for the

Old Testament sacrifices. The blood of animals, which was offered by human priests, was designed to point God’s people toward the better sacrifice that was to come (vv. 9–11).

Jesus is both the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate priest. His once-forall sacrifice is better than the ongoing presentation of the blood of animals. His perfect obedience, death, and resurrection makes us holy and secures our relationship with the Father. His sacrifice is so complete that the writer tells us “he sat down” (v. 12), not needing to do anything more in order to bring us to God.

Through the blood of Jesus, our prayers can be confident, sincere, full of faith, free from guilt, unswervingly hopeful, and encouraging to those around us (vv. 19–25). If we trust in Christ, we are free to call out to God in prayer with all the eagerness of children calling to a parent, fully assured that we will be heard with love.

APPLY THE WORD

Prayer is not like a birthday wish or a magic abracadabra. It is our confident communication with God in the context of a mutually loving relationship. Our Savior Jesus Christ died so that we can pray to the Father with “a sincere heart” and “full assurance” (v. 22). Pray with this assurance today!

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

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Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Never Too Busy

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“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.” (John 9:1)

Have you ever wanted to talk to people, and found they were just too busy? Megan experienced that this past Christmas. The whole family was planning to meet at Grandma’s house for the holiday. This was the one time of the year where every uncle, aunt, and cousin got together. Megan was especially excited about it, because her older cousin Audrey was going to be there.

Megan had always looked up to Audrey. Audrey was the oldest cousin, the coolest cousin, and also the first cousin to go to college. Even though Megan was only in 6th grade, she still could hardly wait to hear all about college life.

The day finally came when Megan’s family loaded up the car and headed to Grandma’s house. Megan’s family was the first to arrive. One by one, the other families came, until finally Audrey’s family came. Megan ran out the door and into the snow without even bothering to put on her coat. As she ran up, she saw someone in the car that she did not recognize. Audrey climbed out of the car and gave Megan a big hug. “Hey, Megan! How are you doing?” Audrey said. “I want you to meet a friend of mine; his name is Derrick.”

It turned out that Derrick was Audrey’s boyfriend. Since he was new to the family reunion, the whole family wanted to talk with him and Audrey. Every time Megan tried to talk to Audrey, someone else would want to be introduced to Derrick. Even when Megan tried to get Audrey to go snow-tubing, she was too busy! Megan finally gave up and went tubing all by herself.

When the time came for everyone to cram back into their cars and head to their own homes, Audrey found Megan. “Megan, I know we didn’t get to spend much time together this year. I am very sorry.” Megan said that it was all right, but deep down she was really disappointed.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Never Too Busy →