Daily Archives: November 19, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Assurance of Salvation

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1 John 5:10-13

Many of the people who call In Touch have questions about their salvation. They’re frustrated to feel uncertainty about such an important issue. Today’s devotion is a three-part salvation assessment. If you answer yes to every question, you can be sure that you are in God’s family and destined for an eternity in His presence. If you answer no, you’ll know exactly which issue(s) to talk over with your pastor or spiritual mentor.

  1. Do I trust Scripture? Salvation is a one-step process: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Either we trust that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world (including ours), or we don’t (John 3:16).
  2. Do I accept the witness of the Holy Spirit? Anyone who believes in Jesus has the Spirit dwelling within his or her being. That is, the Holy Spirit testifies with regard to our identity as God’s children (Rom. 8:16). It’s not about whether we feel saved; God’s Spirit offers an abiding conviction that we are.
  3. Do I walk like a follower of Jesus? Those who are in Christ are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). If we have been transformed, then there are going to be changes in our life. Simply put, true believers are creatures who seek the things of God—they desire to read and understand His Word, they want to gather with His people, etc.

Confirmed Christ-followers still sin. Some even backslide for a time. No matter how meandering our walk of faith may be, the Holy Spirit continues to convict. He won’t allow us to be satisfied with wrongdoing. That tug of guilt over sin is yet another assurance that you’ve placed yourself in God’s grip.

Bible in One Year: Acts 23-24

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Seeing Masterpieces

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Read: Psalm 139:11–18

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 11–13; James 1

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.—Psalm 139:13

My father creates custom quivers designed for archers to carry their arrows. He carves elaborate wildlife pictures into pieces of genuine leather, before stitching the material together.

During a visit, I watched him construct one of his works of art. His careful hands applied just the right pressure as he pressed a sharp blade into the supple leather, creating various textures. Then he dipped a rag into crimson dye and covered the leather with even strokes, magnifying the beauty of his creation.

As I admired my dad’s confident craftsmanship, I realized how often I fail to acknowledge and appreciate my heavenly Father’s creativity manifested in others and even in myself. Reflecting on the Lord’s magnificent workmanship, I recalled King David’s affirmation that God creates our “inmost being” and that we’re “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:13–14).

We can praise our Creator in confidence because we know His “works are wonderful” (v. 14). And we can be encouraged to respect ourselves and others more, especially when we remember that the Maker of the Universe knew us inside and out and planned our days “before one of them came to be” (vv. 15–16).

Like the pliable leather carved by my father’s skilled hands, we are each beautiful and valuable simply because we are God’s one-of-a-kind creations. Each one of us, intentionally designed to be unique and purposed as God’s beloved masterpieces, contributes to reflect God’s magnificence. —Xochitl Dixon

Lord, thank You for creating us in Your perfect love. Please help us to see ourselves, and others, as Your unique masterpieces.

God masterfully creates each person with uniqueness and purpose.

INSIGHT: Like a potter, God shaped man from clay (Isa. 64:8) and breathed into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7; Job 33:4). Humans are the only creatures privileged to have the breath of God, setting us apart from other creatures, for only humans are created “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27). Each person is a unique individual, possessing the mental, emotional, and spiritual consciousness of our Creator and the capacity to have a personal relationship with Him. The Old Testament patriarch Job may be the first person to acknowledge that “[God’s] hands shaped me and made me. . . . [You clothed] me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews” (Job 10:8, 11-12). The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that God had preordained his destiny and life even before he was formed in his mother’s womb! (Jer. 1:5). David, celebrating himself as one of God’s masterpieces, says that he has been “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God (Ps. 139:13-16).

Do you see yourself as God’s masterpiece? Reflect on how God has uniquely created you. Sim Kay Tee

 

http://www.odb.org

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – GOD WAITS BECAUSE HE WANTS ALL TO COME

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2 Peter 3:8–14

David Nasmith had a heart to bring the gospel to the poor in Glasgow, Scotland. On January 1, 1826, he opened the first city mission known in the Protestant world. This organization ministered to spiritual and physical needs, including preaching, worship services, literature distribution, health care and medical services, schools, visiting prisoners, and legal advocacy. His model inspired many other city missions around the world.

Nasmith shared God’s heart for all to be saved. It should encourage us that waiting is not only a human experience. In some mysterious way, it is a divine experience as well. God waits patiently because He wants “everyone to come to repentance” (v. 9). He “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Though lengths of time mean nothing to Him (v. 8), He still chooses to “wait” as part of His plan. To us, this may feel “slow,” but it just means that God is patient in His promise-keeping. Patience is the virtue or attribute that empowers waiting.

God desires for His gift of salvation to be received by as many as possible. As the apostle Paul described it, He desires “the full number of the Gentiles [to] come in” (Rom. 11:25). He takes no pleasure in sending people to hell. Without this patience and love, there would be no reason for time to continue. The Day of the Lord might as well arrive immediately. When it does arrive, it will do so suddenly and disastrously, “like a thief” (v. 10).

How should we live while God waits (vv. 11–14)? We should live “holy and godly lives.” We should joyfully anticipate the Day of the Lord, for the old will be destroyed and “a new heaven and a new earth” will be born.

APPLY THE WORD

If God wants “everyone to come to repentance,” how can we want any less? Sharing the good news with others is an excellent way to learn and reflect the heart of God. Consider unbelievers He’s put in your life, such as family, friends, neighbors, or work colleagues. Pray for opportunities to witness through words and actions.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Can’t Out-Give God

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Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.— Luke 6:38

Some put money or the world’s system of commerce before God. But the Bible states in Revelation 18, that if we put our trust in money it’s going to fail. I’ve found that the way to deal with money, instead of struggling with it, is to try and out-give God…because we can’t.

The more we give away…the more we obey Him with our finances, the more He blesses us. As we do more for other people, we will find we are happier and more fulfilled than we were before.

Society tells us to invest everything in the world’s system and work all the time to make more money. But if we do, we’ll never really have anything that matters, especially joy. And we won’t be able to enjoy the money we have because we won’t be using it God’s way.

It may not make sense according to the world’s system, but God doesn’t want you to simply make money and hoard it away. God says that by giving it away, you will have more in the end. I challenge you to increase your generosity today. Trust me—you can’t out-give God.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Like a Sweet Perfume

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“But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, He has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

We can certainly learn a lesson from the apostle Paul. He frequently begins a chapter or a verse with a note of praise. To say that he had a thankful spirit would be understating the case. That perhaps is the key to victory in every area of our lives, to begin with thanksgiving.

It is God who leads us to triumph over principalities and powers. And in leading us to triumph, He is then able to use us to tell others of His love and forgiveness through the Lord Jesus. As we rest in His victory and in His command, with its promise of “Lo, I am with you always,” we spread the gospel like a sweet perfume.

In your own home and in your own neighborhood, perhaps, are those who need the sweet perfume of the gospel, that heavenly aroma that comes first from God, then through us as His servants, and finally in the message itself: the good news of sins forgiven and a heavenly home assured.

Around the world, literally, I personally have seen multitudes of men and women, old and young, become new creatures in Christ. The aroma indeed is one of sweet perfume, for tangled lives have become untangled to the glory of God, and joy abounds in hearts and lives where only sadness and despair had been known.

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: “Dear Lord, help me to bear a heavenly aroma as I share the sweet perfume of the gospel with others.”

 

http://www.cru.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A Disciple’s Prayer

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Read: Nehemiah 1:1-11

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. (v. 4 NIV)

  1. M. Bounds once said, “The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” There are plenty of how-to guides out there on prayer, but in the Bible God gives us his servant Nehemiah whose life and prayers challenge us to be people who pray.

When should we pray? When Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem is in ruins, the first thing he does is sit down and weep. Then for several days he mourns and fasts and prays. He doesn’t try to “fix” things. Instead, he gets alone with God. True disciples of Jesus do more than pray, but they don’t do anything until they pray.

Why should we pray? Nehemiah has a huge weight on his heart because of this news. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he goes straight to the Lord. This shows Nehemiah’s dependence on God while allowing God to lighten Nehemiah’s load. His prayer of faith permits God’s power to be released.

How should we pray? If we look at today’s passage, we see that Nehemiah adores God’s character (v. 5). He focuses on God’s position, power, and promises to his people. Furthermore, instead of passing the blame, he admits to God that the Israelites, including himself and his father’s family, have sinned and need God’s forgiveness. And lastly, he claims God’s promises to the people of Israel. This reminds him of God’s faithfulness. —Bob Bouwer

Prayer: Father, thank you for godly examples of people who pray.

 

https://woh.org/

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – No Stress

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2 Corinthians 1:8–9

Today we call pressure stress. You hear many people talking about stress. Stress can be bad if all we do is worry. It can be good if it pushes us toward the only One who has answers for our stress—God our Father.

Once a stressful situation has passed, you come out of it with the ability to help other people. Think about the last time you had to study for a hard test. You probably felt pressure until you finished the test. But now when a friend talks about being stressed out about an exam, you know exactly how he or she feels.

Or do you remember a time when your mom got really sick or your dad traveled away for several weeks? Was it stressful for the rest of your family? But when the sickness or travel was over, you were relieved. Now, you can be understanding when others face a similar situation.

The most important thing to remember is that any time you face pressure, turn to God first. If you learn to rely on him, you will experience his peace and the stress won’t be as overwhelming. Then you will have a truly helpful answer to offer others—God’s strength.

Dear Lord, Everybody talks about being “stressed out.” I’m so glad you are the answer to all stressful situations. Amen.