Daily Archives: November 16, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Rewards of Patience

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Luke 11:9-10

Photography has taught me a great deal about patience. My team and I once spent four days waiting to photograph the Matterhorn in Switzerland—inclement weather kept the peak totally hidden. On the last night of my stay, I went to sleep praying. Very early the next morning, I opened my eyes to see that huge white mountain glistening against the pitch-black sky. I was amazed to discover the modest hotel we’d selected had a view of the mountain!

Rather than wait until we reach heaven, the Lord sends many blessings to us now. However, we must not get ahead of Him if we hope to receive His gifts. Several things happen when we choose to be patient.

  1. We see God at work. His way is the best way, and we become more aware of this when we observe Him working out His plan in our life.
  2. We can achieve our objectives. The Lord knows the right moment to provide what we want or need. If we give up too soon or try to manipulate circumstances, we miss out on the fullness of what He wants to bestow.
  3. We have God’s favor. When we are patiently waiting for His will, then He can freely bless us. The heavenly Father certainly wants to pour out His love on our life.

We are blessed when we abide patiently in God’s will. Unfortunately, we will all face circumstances in which we are tempted to be impatient. What determines whether or not we express patience is the value we place on whoever else is involved—another believer, a friend, a coworker, or God. Do you value the Lord enough to be patient with His timing?

Bible in One Year: Acts 16-17

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — In His Presence

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Read: Psalm 89:1–17

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 3–4; Hebrews 11:20–40

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.—Psalm 89:15

The seventeenth-century monk Brother Lawrence, before a day’s work as cook in his community, would pray, “O my God . . . grant me your grace to stay in your presence. Help me in my labors. Possess all my affections.” As he worked, he kept talking to God, listening for His leading and dedicating his work to Him. Even when he was busiest, he would use intervals of relative calm to ask for His grace. No matter what was happening, he sought for and found a sense of his Maker’s love.

As Psalm 89 confesses, the fitting response to the Creator of all who rules the oceans and is worshiped by hosts of angels is to lift up our lives—our whole lives to Him. When we understand the beauty of who God is we “hear the joyful call to worship”—whenever and wherever we are, “all day long” (vv. 15-16 NLT).

Whether it’s standing in store or airport lines, or waiting on hold minute after minute, our lives are full of moments like these, times when we could get annoyed. Or these can be times when we catch our breath and see each of these pauses as an opportunity to learn to “walk in the light of [God’s] presence” (v. 15).

The “wasted” moments of our lives, when we wait or lay ill or wonder what to do next, are all possible pauses to consider our lives in the light of His presence. GUEST WRITER —Harold Myra

Every moment can be lived in God’s presence.

INSIGHT: This Messianic psalm reflects on the eternal covenant that will ultimately be realized through King David’s descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ. It develops themes of God’s love and protection for His covenant people, laying the foundation for worshiping God wherever we are.

What opportunities can you take today to praise God? Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Other Forces at Work

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My husband and I had the relatively rare occurrence of a long weekend in which we had made no plans—except to stay at home and relax. We decided to revisit The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by watching one film each night of the weekend. As we watched, we were reminded of the powerful themes of good and evil, power and corruption, military conquest and its ecological impact and how hope is found in unexpected or unseen places. I continue to be amazed by the relevance and impact of these fantasy novels, adapted for film and written over sixty years ago.

In one of the climactic scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring, the young hobbit Frodo laments the world he sees around him with all of its tragedy and darkness. Looking at the difficulty in continuing on the path laid out before him, Frodo mourns, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” His ever-wise counselor and friend, Gandalf the Grey, consoles him with these words: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”(1)

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. Watching this scene and hearing these words echoes within me as I look out onto the world. There are always crises of one sort or another that might make even the strongest among us pine for different times, crises that make us wish our journey would be a different and far more pleasant trip. The recent shootings in Las Vegas and Texas, the terrorist rampage in New York City, and the almost daily bombings all around the world give us all-too-familiar examples. The seeming randomness of violence upends any sense of security in a world that is far beyond our control. We long for peace and stability. But often such is not the time that is given to us.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Other Forces at Work →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Living Free from Debt    

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Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one’s fellowmen, meeting all its requirements].— Romans 13:8

It’s important for us to understand that the battle for our finances is really a spiritual battle. The enemy tempts us to spend more than we are able to pay off so he can keep us under pressure and distracted from our walk with God.

But we need to have a goal to enjoy the life that Jesus died to give us—a life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can’t do that if we are under pressure and frustrated by financial debt.

It’s possible to live debt free by using biblical principles for managing money. My husband, Dave, says that if we learn to live within our borders, or our income, then God will bless us, our borders will be stretched, and we’ll have more. Luke 19:17 tells us that God is pleased when we are faithful and trustworthy in little things. When we are, it says He will give us authority over bigger things.

So don’t fall into the trap of trying to live “bigger” than what God’s entrusted you with. Stay out of debt by living within your boundaries…then watch God expand them.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Gives the Victory

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“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57, KJV).

In our busy lives, yours and mine, there are days when victory seems an impossibility. Heartaches, trials, burdens, or just the ordinary cares of the day, all seem foreign to the idea of being victorious.

And yet the fact remains that we are “more than conquerors” even when we do not feel like it. God graciously allows His children to be human and to express our doubts and fears when suffering and pain and testing and trial seem to overwhelm us.

“I have to be very honest,” confessed Joyce Landorf, well-known Christian author and speaker, during a long period of illness. “One of the things I have learned from severe pain is that I have felt totally abandoned by God. I didn’t think he’d let that happen to me, but He has.

“And maybe the feeling of abandonment when pain is at its writhing best..maybe that’s what makes it so sweet after the pain goes and the Lord says, ‘I was here all the time. I haven’t left you. I will never forsake you.’ Now those words get sweeter to me because I know what it has felt like to not feel His presence.”

We do not have all the answers, but we know one who does. And that is where our victory begins – acknowledging (1) that God is a God of love, one who never makes a mistake, and (2) he will never leave us or forsake us.

Bible Reading: Romans 7:18-25

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will consider myself a victor, whatever may transpire, because I serve the victorious one

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Accepting God as Your Father

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I can’t assure you your family will ever give you the blessing you seek, but God will! Let God give you what your family doesn’t. How do you do that? You do it by emotionally accepting God as your Father.  It’s one thing to accept Him as Lord, another to recognize Him as Savior, but another matter entirely to accept Him as Father.

To recognize God as Lord is to acknowledge that he is sovereign in the universe. To accept Him as Savior is to accept His gift of salvation offered on the cross. To regard God as Father is to go a step further. Ideally, a father is the one in your life who provides and protects. That’s exactly what God has done! God has proven Himself as a faithful father. Now let God fill the void others have left. You are His child and He’ll give you the blessing He promised!

Read more Lucado Inspirational Reader

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum – Could this newly discovered planet support life?

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Astronomers have announced the discovery of a nearby planet. Named Ross 128 b, the planet is only eleven light-years away from Earth. It is about the same size as our planet and could have a similar surface temperature.

Could it support life? Scientists believe that water could pool on its surface and radiation from its star would not threaten its environment.

The new find joins a long list of planets discovered in recent years. Humans have always been fascinated with life on other worlds. Perhaps the quest for extraterrestrial life is appealing in part because life on this fallen planet can be so difficult.

It seems we have two options. We can focus on this fallen world as an end in itself, which is reason for great discouragement. Or we can focus on the world to come, using this life as merely a means to an end.

Recently I have been contemplating a third option, one which values both the present world and the world to come.

A different view of life

Consider this statement by C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce: “Earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, a region of Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.”

Is he right?

John 3:16 famously states that whoever believes in Jesus “should not perish but have eternal life.” Our Lord did not say that the believer “will have” eternal life but that he has such life now. Then, the moment his body dies, he is with his Lord in paradise (Luke 23:43).

By the same token, the lost are destined for separation from God (Matthew 7:23). At death, they move immediately from earth to hell (Luke 16:22–23). Both heaven and hell are permanent (Luke 16:26; Revelation 20:10, 15).

In other words, eternity has already begun for each of us.

Why eternity matters today Continue reading Denison Forum – Could this newly discovered planet support life? →