Daily Archives: May 29, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Stages of Our Christian Life

Leave a comment

 

Philippians 1:5-7

Each Christian’s journey is unique. Yet certain stages of growth should be common to all of God’s children. For example:

  • The Lord wants to teach new followers basic principles as a foundation on which to build. He expresses these truths through other believers, His Word, and life circumstances.
  • God allows us to serve Him. We were created to do good works, and this becomes evident as Christians glorify Jesus (Eph. 2:10).
  • The Lord lets us experience “frustrated inadequacy.” Pride and self-confidence are threats to spiritual growth. Therefore, our Father brings us to the place where we realize we can achieve nothing of value without divine guidance and power.
  • To make freedom a reality, the Father brings His children face to face with whatever holds them captive. We often carry hurts, fears, or other baggage and on our own have no idea how to gain victory. God allows us to struggle through such issues with His help. As we surrender to Him and seek His perspective, He works to liberate us.
  • The Lord teaches us how to live the “exchanged life” (Gal. 2:20). Our sinful nature has been crucified with Christ, and the Savior’s life is expressed through us as we surrender to the Holy Spirit’s influence.

Do you recognize these stages as you look back over your walk with Christ? Perhaps you can identify an area where God still needs to work in your life. Is there anything standing in the way of allowing Him to live fully through you? Surrender to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to help you become more like Jesus.

Bible in One Year: Nehemiah 11-13

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Let Honor Meet Honor

Leave a comment

Read: Matthew 6:1–6

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 7–9; John 11:1–29

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.—Matthew 6:1

I’ve always been impressed by the solemn, magnificent simplicity of the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The carefully choreographed event is a moving tribute to soldiers whose names—and sacrifice—are “known but to God.” Equally moving are the private moments of steady pacing when the crowds are gone: back and forth, hour after hour, day by day, in even the worst weather.

In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel was bearing down on Washington, DC, and the guards were told they could seek shelter during the worst of the storm. Surprising almost no one, the guards refused! They unselfishly stood their post to honor their fallen comrades even in the face of a hurricane.

Underlying Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 6:1-6, I believe, is His desire for us to live with an unrelenting, selfless devotion to Him. The Bible calls us to good deeds and holy living, but these are to be acts of worship and obedience (vv. 4-6), not orchestrated acts for self-glorification (v. 2). The apostle Paul endorses this whole-life faithfulness when he pleads with us to make our bodies “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

May our private and public moments speak of our devotion and wholehearted commitment to You, Lord. —Randy Kilgore

Grant me the strength this day, O Lord, to persevere, to return honor to Your name where I am serving. My desire is to give myself in selfless devotion because of Your love for me.

The more we serve Christ, the less we will serve self.

INSIGHT: In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus issues a warning about showcased religiosity and hypocrisy (6:1-8). After His strong caution against it, He gives us the proper motivation. Our reason to share with open hands, to raise our hands in prayer, and to fold them before an empty plate is both stated and implied. When we do these things, we do them out of love for the Father, the source of all good things, knowing He will bless our efforts. The approval of the Father is better than any praise we may receive from friends and neighbors. It is the reward from Him that we should truly and deeply desire.   J.R. Hudberg

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – What Is Remembered

Leave a comment

In the days of Mordecai and Queen Esther the people of Israel set themselves to remember an eventful time in their history. Mordecai sent letters throughout the provinces calling for the memorializing of the month that was turned “from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday.”(1) Near and far, the call was sent to annually remember the day the tables were turned and the Jews received relief from their enemies. And so it was determined: “These days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.” These days were weighted with enough hope to press upon them the need to remember forever. Moreover, and most significantly, they saw the certain possibility that they might forget.

There are moments in our lives when we realize that we are beholding the carving of a day into the great tree of history. On the night before my wedding I scribbled anxiously in my journal, “It will never be this day again, but the seventeenth of every August will never be the same either.” I knew from that day forward it would be difficult (and detrimental) to forget that day on the calendar—it would carry the force of forgetting so much more than one day.

Israel’s history is wrought with such commands to remember. God told the Israelites that they would remember the night of Passover before the night had even happened. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever.”(2) Moses and Aaron were told to instruct the whole community of Israel to choose a lamb without defect and slaughter it at twilight. They were then to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts of their houses. “The blood will be a sign,” the LORD declared. “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike the firstborns of Egypt.”

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – What Is Remembered →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Come as a Little Child

Leave a comment

And He called a little child to Himself and put himself in the midst of them, and said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven…—Matthew 18:2-3

One thing children are not is complicated. Children have no trouble letting you know what they want, running into your arms when they are afraid, or giving you a big generous kiss, sometimes for no apparent reason. They are not sophisticated enough to hide their hearts or feelings very well, and as a result, communicating with them can be easy and refreshing.

That’s the way God wants us to be when we talk to Him. We need to approach God with childlike simplicity and faith. Just as children are naturally inclined to trust their parents completely, we also need to be guileless, pure, and free from doubt as we trust God. Then we can experience God’s miracle-working power and see things change.

We do not want to be childish in our relationships with God; we want to be childlike. The Lord is not looking for complicated relationships. He is looking for sincere hearts and childlike faith. He wants us to approach Him as little children approach people they love. He wants us to let Him know what we want (see Philippians 4:6) and to run to Him when we feel threatened or afraid (Psalm 91:1-7). He wants us to show our affection for Him, sometimes for no apparent reason (see Psalm 34:1) and to share our hearts openly with Him (see Psalm 62:8).

Love God Today: “Lord, help me to have a pure, simple, childlike faith and love for You.”

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Our Treasuries Filled

Leave a comment

“My paths are those of justice and right. Those who love and follow Me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:20,21).

“How does it feel to be a millionaire?” someone once asked the maker of Pullman cars, George M. Pullman.

“I have never thought of that before,” replied Pullman, “but now that you mention it, I believe I am no better off – certainly not happier, than when I did not have a dollar to my name and had to work from daylight to dark.

“I wore a good suit of clothes then, and I only wear one suit at a time now. I relished three meals a day then a good deal more than I do three meals a day now. I had fewer cares, I slept better and may add that I believe I was generally far happier in those days than I have been many times since I became a millionaire.”

As Pullman learned, true wealth is not found in earthly riches. The heart can never be fully satisfied with anything of the world; beside, the world passes away. True wealth is found in the knowledge of Christ and of His great salvation, and in the possession of the abiding riches which He bestows on all who believe in Him.

True wealth has to do with spiritual health – inner peace, clear conscience and sins forgiven. That man, woman or young person with abiding faith in Christ, who is yielded to the control of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, has true wealth – the supernatural life.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I’ll begin to look more to the “Bank of Heaven” for my true wealth.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Cloak of Love

Leave a comment

 

Do you know anyone who is wounded and afraid? Do you know anyone who is guilty and embarrassed? Do you know anyone who needs a cloak of love? “Love covers a multitude of sins,” the scripture says in 1 Peter 4:8. Love doesn’t expose. It doesn’t gossip. If love says anything, love speaks words of defense. Words of kindness. Words of protection.

Do you know anyone who could use some protection? Of course you do. Then give some. Pay a gas bill for a struggling elderly couple. Promise your kids that, God being your helper, they’ll never know a hungry day or a homeless night. Tell your husband that you’d do it all over again and invite him on a honeymoon. Make sure your divorced friends are invited to your parties. Do you know anyone who needs a cloak of love? Then, give it.

From A Love Worth Giving

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Home

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – What Israel taught me about Memorial Day

Leave a comment

Today, thousands of men and women carrying the names of fallen soldiers will conclude a thirty-one-day relay across a total of 6,200 miles. Organized by the nonprofit “Carry The Load,” the two routes began in Seattle, Washington and West Point, New York. They will meet in Dallas today for a Memorial Day March.

Last year, their event raised more than $2 million to build homes for veterans, provide adaptive training for injured soldiers, and support mental health programs. Their goal this year is to raise $2.5 million.

Their commitment is what Memorial Day in America should be all about.

Known as “America’s most solemn occasion,” this day has been set aside to remember the 1.3 million men and women who died in the service of our nation. This is the very least we can do for those who died for us and for those who grieve their loss. I am frankly concerned that in recent years Memorial Day seems to have become less about our fallen heroes and more about a three-day weekend to start the summer.

Contrast our holiday with the way Israel commemorates Yom HaZikaron, its Memorial Day, each year on April 30. Candles are lit in homes, schools, and synagogues. A siren is heard all over the country. When they hear it, Israelis stop everything. Those driving on roads and highways stop, get out of their cars, and stand in silence as they remember those who have died for their country.

Continue reading Denison Forum – What Israel taught me about Memorial Day →