Daily Archives: June 9, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Living Out Our Faith

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1 Peter 1:6-9

True faith is based upon Scripture and embraces its eternal principles. Genuine belief trusts that God is who He says He is and that He’ll do everything He has promised.

Such faith is worth sharing with others, and this can be done in several ways. For one thing, we can verbally explain our beliefs. But we can also model a godly lifestyle, which is frequently an even more effective method of influencing people for Christ.

Once during high school, I went to see my grandfather and visited with him for a week. We spent a lot of time talking—he listened carefully to me and then spoke about the ways God had worked in various situations over the years. At the end of that week, I went home thinking, God, if You will do that with my grandfather, what will You do in my own life? My faith grew stronger because of those days with him.

I was also profoundly influenced by the many times I heard my mother pray. When circumstances were hard, she would kneel by the bed with me and speak to our heavenly Father. In those quiet moments, I learned that we can trust God when things look hard or even impossible. I also discovered that God is faithful.

Consistency and perseverance are two other important facets of the faith we pass down. Children look to see if we mean what we say and if we will still rely on God when trouble comes. We can use our trials to demonstrate how a godly person responds. As we live out our faith in a visible way, we will be handing down something far more valuable than gold or silver.

Bible in One Year: Job 35-38

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Reason to Sing

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Read: 2 Chronicles 20:14–22

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 32–33; John 18:19–40

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.—Psalm 47:6

Singing changes the brain! Some studies show that when we sing, our bodies release hormones that relieve anxiety and stress. Other research indicates that when a group of people sings together, their heartbeats actually synchronize with each other.

The apostle Paul’s writing encourages the church to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). And the Bible repeats, “Sing praise” more than fifty times.

In 2 Chronicles 20, we read a story of God’s people demonstrating their trust in God by singing as they marched into battle. Enemies were heading toward the people of Judah. Alarmed, King Jehoshaphat called everyone together. He led the community in intense prayer. They didn’t eat or drink, but only prayed, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (v. 12). The next day, they set out. They weren’t led by their fiercest warriors, but by their choir. They believed God’s promise that they would be delivered without having to fight at all (v. 17).

While they sang and walked toward the conflict, their enemies fought each other! By the time God’s people reached the battlefield, the fighting had ended. God saved His people as they marched by faith toward the unknown, singing His praises.

God encourages us to praise Him for good reasons. Whether or not we are marching into battle, praising God has power to change our thoughts, our hearts, and our lives. —Amy Peterson

God, we praise Your everlasting love and faithfulness! You protect and guide us, and we trust You with our lives.

Hearts in tune with God sing His praises.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Wisdom for a Complex Age

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The value of wisdom and a wisdom-guided life is a keynote of ancient and Jewish thought, and yet, it is a much neglected theme in life today. When we think of wisdom, we tend to mean someone who is intellectually smart or who is somewhat of a sage, but as it often seems, this “wisdom thing” is a bit impractical to us. We are more focused on data, goals, and outcomes. We attend to very daily real-world concerns. We are the “Flash Boys” or the “Fast and Furious”: we seek to live life to the max and suck the marrow out of existence. We love speed, variety, choice, options, fun, and abundance.

Nonetheless, the Book of Proverbs commends the ways of wisdom to us. Proverbs 3 is a very insightful text, enjoining its hearers,

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her … and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.[1]

This ancient book presents wisdom as the ultimate lifelong pursuit and the key to lasting joy and true wealth. And yet, we live in an age in which the abundance of things, the increase in opportunities, and the growing amount of options in almost all areas of life fill our minds and hearts rather than the hunger for wisdom. There is so much to do, to try, to taste, to experience. Will we ever have time?

Thomas Friedman, in his book Thank You for Being Late, speaks of the age of accelerations—of the dizzying tectonic shifts we are experiencing, whether through technology or globalization. We know and feel the time crunch. It is not just time but our space that is increasingly occupied, filled with demand or under siege, so it seems. Years earlier Kenneth Gergen described this condition as “The Saturated Self,” which was also the title of his seminal book. It is a new phenomenon whereby the sheer influx of data, images, and demand overwhelms us so that we begin to experience what he calls “multiphrenia”—a life in perpetual flux.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Wisdom for a Complex Age →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Joy in the Waiting

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Key Scripture: Proverbs 16:9

“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.”

We think and plan in temporal terms, and God thinks and plans in eternal terms. What this means is that we are very interested in right now, and God is much more interested in eternity. We want what “feels good” right now, what produces immediate results, but God is willing to invest time. In fact, God is an investor; He will invest a lot of time in us because He has an eternal purpose planned for our lives.

God sees and understands what we don’t see and understand. He asks us to trust Him, not to live in constant reasoning and be frustrated because things don’t always go according to our plan.

Without abundant trust in God, we will never experience joy and enjoyment. We have ideas about how and when things should happen. Not only does God have a clearly defined plan for our lives, He also has the perfect timing for each phase. Psalm 31:15 assures us that our times are in His hands. Fighting and resisting the timing of God is equivalent to fighting His will.

Often, we fail to realize that being out of God’s timing is the same thing as being out of His will. We may know what God wants us to do, but not when He wants us to do it.

Final Thoughts and Action Items

Once God speaks to us or shows us something, we are filled up with it. It’s as though we are “pregnant” with what God has said. It is very much like the birth of a child. First, the seed is planted in the womb, then come the nine months of waiting, and finally, a baby is born. During those nine months, there is a great deal happening—but everything on the inside is hidden from view.

And just like parents are “expectant”, they aren’t just standing still—a lot of preparation is happening—they are very active! Clothes are being bought, nurseries are being painted, even routes to the hospital are being carefully planned. Essentially, this time of “waiting” is filled with joy because of what’s to come. I think this is what God is looking for out of His kids. That although the promises haven’t quite been born yet, we are in the active state of preparation, eagerly anticipating what’s to come. That we rely on His timing to fulfill the thing He’s promised for our lives.

Action Items

What are some of the things God has promised to you and how are you in the active state of waiting?

Are you not just waiting on those things, waiting on God’s timing, but are choosing to live in a state of joy?

What other ways can you decide to enjoy the life Christ died to give you? Look up scriptures regarding what it means to live in God’s will and how you can be a successful Christian.

For more on this topic, check out Joyce’s book Enjoy Your Journey.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – You Cannot Outgive God

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“For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give – large or small – will be used to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38).

R.G. Le Tourneau was one of God’s great businessmen. He wrote a book, entitled God Runs My Business. Though he had little formal training, he became one of America’s leading industrialists, developing and securing patents for many major improvements in earth-moving equipment. He gave away millions of dollars, and he founded a wonderful Christian college which bears his name. I had known and admired him for many years, but one of my most memorable experiences with him was at his plant in Longview, Texas. As we chatted, I was captivated by this exuberant, joyful layman who was overflowing with the love of God, still creative in his later years, and always proclaiming the truth that you cannot out give God – the more you give away the more you receive. He had discovered a law of the universe.

The giving of the tithe (ten percent of our increase) is an Old Testament principle. The New Testament principle of giving is expressed in this passage: “The more you give, the more you will receive.” I personally do not believe that that involves indiscriminate giving, but rather that we should prayerfully evaluate all the various opportunities that are available to further the cause of Christ and His kingdom.

New Testament concept makes clear that everything belongs to God. We are custodians, stewards, of that which is entrusted to us for only a brief moment of time. Three-score and ten years (or possibly a little more), and then all that we possess will pass on to another. We are not to hoard, nor are we to pass on large estates to our heirs. That which is entrusted to God’s children is given to them to be used while they are still alive. We are to care for our own, and make provision for their needs, but all that is entrusted to us beyond that amount should be spent while we are still alive, while we can guarantee proper stewardship.

Bible Reading: II Corinthians 8:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Mindful of this spiritual principle, that everything belongs to God and He has entrusted me with the privilege and responsibility of being a good steward, I will seek every opportunity to invest all the time, talent and treasure available to me while I am still alive, for the enhancement of the kingdom of God.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – His First Choice

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You are God’s child. He saw you, picked you, and placed you! Jesus said, “You did not choose me, I chose you!” You are God’s child! Replacement or fill-in? Hardly. You are His first choice. The choice wasn’t obligatory, required, compulsory, forced, or compelled. He selected you because He wanted to. You are His open, willful, voluntary choice. He walked onto the auction block where you stood, and He proclaimed, “This child is mine.”

1 Peter 1:19 says, He bought you “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” You are His child forever. Your struggles will not last forever—but you will. The promise is in 2 Timothy 2:12. “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” Believe it…clutch it…tattoo it on the interior of your heart! You are God’s child!

From You’ll Get Through This

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Two responses to James Comey and the UK election

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Former FBI Director James Comey testified for nearly three hours yesterday before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. My wife and I listened to the entire session. Meanwhile, British citizens were casting votes in an election to determine their leader as they begin the process of exiting the European Union (the so-called “Brexit”).

In light of these historic events, consider two biblical principles.

One: The future is impossible to predict.

On this day a year ago, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump by six points in nationwide polling. At the same point, Brexit polls showed that those who wanted to stay in the EU led those who wanted to leave by two points; just prior to the June 23 vote, “stay” led by six points.

Of course, the surprising American election put Mr. Trump in office. And the shocking UK election led to Brexit, Prime Minister David Cameron’s resignation, and Theresa May’s ascension.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Two responses to James Comey and the UK election →