Daily Archives: April 18, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Sent to Serve

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John 17:18

Too often, people fall into a wrong belief that they have no real purpose in life. They get up, go to work, come home, and zone out in front of the TV. Then it’s time to go to sleep and start all over. Where in this routine are they making time to fulfill their true purpose?

This isn’t the model Jesus set for us. When we look at the life of Christ, we can clearly see that His coming was no accident and His time was not wasted. He lived His life on target. Scripture shows without a doubt that Jesus came to accomplish a goal.

Many times in the Gospels, Jesus refers to having been sent by the Father. That word implies focus and intent. Our Savior didn’t stumble upon the earthly scene. His coming was not an accident or a happy coincidence. The idea is not that Jesus just appeared; He was sent into the world for a clear purpose.

And what was that purpose? Matthew 20:28 reveals that Jesus came not to conquer, but to serve. His life reveals a clear mission, and everything He does in the Gospels points back to His purpose: to reveal the Father, die for sin, save the lost, and provide abundant life.

No matter where He was, who He was with, or what He was doing, the Lord was always mindful of the reason for His coming. What’s more, just as Jesus was sent by the Father, so we are sent by Christ—to carry His message of hope throughout the world. Is this purpose evident in your daily routine? Pray for clarity and focus as you serve the Lord today.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 13-14

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Enjoy the View

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Read: Psalm 148:1–6

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 3–5; Luke 14:25–35

Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.—Psalm 148:3

Sunsets. People tend to stop what they are doing to watch them . . . snap pictures of them . . . enjoy the beautiful view.

My wife and I watched the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico recently. A crowd of people surrounded us, mostly strangers who had gathered at the beach to watch this nightly phenomenon. At the moment the sun fully slipped below the horizon, the crowd broke out with applause.

Why do people respond like that? The book of Psalms offers a clue. The psalmist wrote of God ordering the sun to praise its Creator (Ps. 148:3). And wherever the rays of the sun shine across the earth, people are moved to praise along with them.

The beauty that comes to us through nature speaks to our souls like few things do. It not only has the capacity to stop us in our tracks and captivate our attention, it also has the power to turn our focus to the Maker of beauty itself.

The wonder of God’s vast creation can cause us to pause and remember what’s truly important. Ultimately, it reminds us that there is a Creator behind the stunning entrance and exit of the day, One who so loved the world He made that He entered it in order to redeem and restore it. —Jeff Olson

I enjoy the world You have created with its variety and color. You and what You have made are awesome, Lord!

Join God in taking delight in all that He has made.

INSIGHT: The heavens and the skies testify to the existence, power, greatness, and wisdom of our Creator. Nature praises and proclaims the majesty of God. If creation is so delightful, our Creator must be even more captivating, truly deserving our adoration and worship. The apostle Paul too affirmed that God has revealed Himself through His creation: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Rom. 1:20). Even as we enjoy the beauty of creation, let’s worship its Creator.This week, why not take time to visit a garden or a park—to see the beauty of creation, to smell the flowers, and to see the God who created all things beautiful. Sim Kay Tee

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Absent for Easter

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A long-time friend of my husband’s paid us a visit over the Easter weekend. Growing up together, life had taken them both in very different directions. I enjoyed listening to their reminiscing about childhood events they had shared together. When the conversation turned to Easter Sunday festivities, a solo-hiking trip was planned even as his family would be elsewhere. How strange, it seemed to me for him to be absent from them on Easter. But as he talked I realized that Easter Sunday was like any other Sunday. There was no recognition of the day or of its significance for Christians around the world.

The conversation left me feeling sad that such a significant day is for most a day of chocolates and eggs, if it is even that at all. There have been Easter Sundays that have come and gone without much notice in my own life as well. Even though I am present in body and mind, my heart is often disengaged from the significance of this day. Thankfully, the Christian celebration of the season of Eastertide invites all to inquire—whether present or absent on Easter Sunday— into how the continuing presence of the risen Lord manifests himself in our day-to-day reality.

The disciple Thomas also missed Easter Sunday, in a way. Remembered in Christian tradition as “doubting Thomas,” he was not physically present when Jesus first appeared to his disciples after his resurrection. Locked up in a room because of their fear of the Jewish authorities, the ten remaining disciples may have been huddled together puzzling over Mary Magdalene’s pronouncement that she had seen Jesus, alive and well, after her visit to his tomb. John’s Gospel does not tell his readers why Thomas is not present with the other disciples; he simply records that on “the first day of the week… Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you….’ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.” (1)

When Thomas did show up, the other disciples proclaimed their good news to him. They too, like Mary before them, had seen the risen Jesus. He was alive and he had come to them. Thomas is not convinced and tells them so. “Unless I see in his hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Thomas could have made this declaration out of a place of despair rather than disbelief. Unfortunately, for him, the history of biblical interpretation and teaching has sided with the latter. Thomas is “doubting Thomas” who refused to believe; all because he wasn’t there on that first Easter appearance of Jesus.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Absent for Easter →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Break Free from Other People’s Expectations

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Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages).—Hebrews 13:8

Studies show that 10 percent of people will never like you. This means we won’t have a perfect record with everyone and we should celebrate who we are. A person who knows how to do this does not allow the moods of other people to alter theirs.

A story is told of a Quaker man who knew how to live independently as the valued person God had created Him to be. One night as he was walking down the street with a friend he stopped at a newsstand to purchase an evening paper. The storekeeper was very sour, rude, and unfriendly. The Quaker man treated him with respect and was quite kind in his dealing with him. He paid for his paper, and he and his friend continued to walk down the street. The friend said to the Quaker, “How could you be so cordial to him with the terrible way he was treating you?” The Quaker man replied, “Oh, he is always that way; why should I let him determine how I am going to act?”

This is one of the amazing traits we see in Jesus. He was the same all the time. He changed people; they did not change Him.

When an unhappy person is unsuccessful in making you unhappy, they begin to respect and admire you. They see your Christianity is something real, and they may be interested in hearing what you have to say.

Even people who seek to control you will disrespect you if you allow them to do it. I encourage you to be your own person. Do what God expects you to do and don’t live under the tyranny of other people’s expectations.

Trust in Him: Don’t let others determine who you are or what you do. Don’t put your trust in the opinions of people. Stay confident in who God’s called you to be!

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 – Source of Joy 

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“So you became our followers and the Lord’s; for you received our message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the trials and sorrows it brought you” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

Mary was so radiant it was as though she had swallowed a light bulb. Wherever she went, there was the radiance of the Lord’s presence about her. She literally bubbled over with joy, and whenever she talked about the Lord her words came so quickly they practically tumbled over each other. She was an exciting, contagious person to be around, and many nonbelievers inquired of her, “Why are you so happy? What makes you so different?”

To which, of course, she would always respond by telling them about our wonderful Lord and how He had filled her heart with His joy.

The verse for today clearly indicates that joy comes from the Holy Spirit, who came into this world to glorify Christ. We are told in Galatians also that the fruit of the Spirit is joy, among other things.

When we are filled with the Spirit and thus growing in the fruit of the Spirit – which includes joy – then we will express that joy by singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. A happy heart inevitably will be reflected in a joyful countenance.

“I presume everybody has known someone whose life was just radiant,” R. A. Torrey said. “Joy beamed out of their eyes; joy bubbled over their lips; joy seemed to fairly run from their fingertips. The gladdest thing on earth is to have a realGod.”

In the words of an unknown poet:

“If you live close to God and His infinite grace,
You don’t have to tell; it shows on your face.”

Bible Reading: Nehemiah 8:9-12

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will not expect to find joy in things, or even in other people primarily, but rather in the source of all joy – God’s Holy Spirit. With His help, I will share His supernatural joy wherever I go.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – More Than Conquerors

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God spoke. Joshua listened and Israel’s Glory Days began. The Jordan River opened up and Jericho’s walls fell down. Evil was booted, and hope was rebooted. Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it. The Lord gave them rest all around…not a man of all their enemies stood against them!”

Perhaps you need a new season. You don’t need to cross the Jordan River, but you need to get through the week. You aren’t facing Jericho, but you are facing rejection or heartache. The story of Joshua dares us to believe God has a Promised Land for us to take! It’s not real estate, but a real state of the heart and mind! A Promised Land…a promised land life!

From Glory Days

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Husband and wife discover they are twins

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Did you hear about the husband and wife who went to a fertility clinic, gave DNA samples, and discovered that they are fraternal twins?

Websites around the world covered their remarkable story. Their biological parents were killed in a car crash when they were infants, and they were eventually adopted out to separate families. Due to a filing error, neither family was told that their adopted child had a twin. The couple met during college and eventually married. Now they are considering the future of their relationship.

Here’s the real news: everything you just read is fake.

A news outlet calling itself the Mississippi Herald told the story. It turns out to be part of a network of fake local news sites that recently began generating hoaxes. At a time when media are supposed to be on the lookout for fake news, this completely false story still ended up on major news websites.

I’ve been reading through Proverbs lately and discovered the only prayer in this amazing book. A man named “Agur son of Jakeh,” otherwise unknown to Scripture or history, was the author of Proverbs 30. In verse 5 he testified that “every word of God proves true.” In response to this fact, he offered his prayer two verses later: “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?'” (vv. 7–9).

Agur recognized that both poverty and riches can tempt us into materialism and away from dependence on God, an insight that is obviously relevant in our consumer culture. But the part of his prayer that most impresses me today is his plea for God to “remove far from me falsehood and lying.” “Falsehood” translates an extremely negative Hebrew term that describes deceit, fraudulence, wickedness, and destruction. “Lying” refers to the verbal means by which “falsehood” is conveyed.

I see two important lessons here for us.

One: We cannot determine falsehood without God’s help.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Husband and wife discover they are twins →