Daily Archives: November 24, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Is God in Everything?

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Genesis 50:15-21

The Old Testament story of Joseph is one of the best-known examples of the Lord blessing someone’s life through harsh experiences. In today’s passage, the slave-turned-prisoner-turned-national leader stands before his brothers who sold him into servitude. He speaks kindly to them, saying, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen. 50:19-20).

One individual’s sin or failure oftentimes affects another person’s life—something we tend to deem unfair. But our ways are different than God’s ways (Isa. 55:8-9). From Scripture, we can glean that Joseph desired to serve the Lord (Gen. 39:9; Gen. 40:8; Gen. 41:16). Yet his brothers were permitted to sell him as a slave. And Potiphar’s wife wasn’t prevented from making false accusations, which landed the young man in prison. The Bible promises, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them” (Psalm 34:7). In other words, hardship and trial could touch Joseph—or any of the faithful—only because God purposefully allowed it.

No one can say for sure why bad things happen. But we can draw comfort from the fact that God knows: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). Our part is to learn from the example of men like Joseph, who trusted the Lord and followed His commands.

Bible in One Year: Romans 7-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Heart’s True Home

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Read: Ecclesiastes 3:10–11

Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 22–23; 1 Peter 1

[God] has . . . set eternity in the human heart.—Ecclesiastes 3:11

We had a West Highland Terrier for a number of years. “Westies” are tough little dogs, bred to tunnel into badger holes and engage the “enemy” in its lair. Our Westie was many generations removed from her origins, but she still retained that instinct, put into her through years of breeding. On one occasion she became obsessed by some “critter” under a rock in our backyard. Nothing could dissuade her. She dug and dug until she tunneled several feet under the rock.

Now consider this question: Why do we as humans pursue, pursue, pursue? Why must we climb unclimbed mountains, ski near-vertical slopes? Run the most difficult and dangerous rapids, challenge the forces of nature? Part of it is a desire for adventure and enjoyment, but it’s much more. It’s an instinct for God that has been implanted in us. We cannot not want to find God.

We don’t know that, of course. We only know that we long for something. “You don’t know what it is you want,” Mark Twain said, “but you want it so much you could almost die.”

God is our heart’s true home. As church father Augustine said in that most famous quotation: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

And what is the heart? A deep void within us that only God can fill. —David H. Roper

Help me, Lord, to recognize my deep longing for You. Then fill me with the knowledge of You. Draw me near.

Beneath all our longings is a deep desire for God.

INSIGHT: Ecclesiastes was written by one who calls himself “the Teacher” and identifies himself as the “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1). In this book, Solomon shows that a life not centered on God is without meaning and purpose (1:14; 2:11). He also shows how and why God must be a part of our lives. In chapter 3, he paints a picture of a life trapped between birth and death, experiencing the mundane repetition of life’s recurring seasons and cyclical activities (vv. 1-8). Such a life is both frustrating and burdensome (v. 10). But Solomon hints that life is not supposed to be like this. We were made for far grander things—God created us for Himself “in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). And God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Eccl. 3:11). We were created for fellowship with the eternal God. C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, put it this way: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Without God, life will be purposeless and meaningless.

What are some ways that our culture offers false fulfillment? Sim Kay Tee

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – God and Pain

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The difficult question of pain forms a thorny question on which volumes have been written. Why do the innocent suffer? Why do we face all these diseases? Why the suffering of millions because of natural disasters or the tyranny of demagogues? I do not pretend to have the answers, but one thing I know: pain is a universal fact of life. Likewise, there are moral dimensions in the way we phrase our questions concerning pain, and every religion explicitly or implicitly attempts to explain pain.

But why do we even ask these questions about suffering within the context of morality? Why have we blended the fact of physical pain with the demand for a moral explanation? Who decided that pain is immoral? Indeed, almost every atheist or skeptic you read names this as the main reason for his or her denial of God’s existence.

In the Judeo-Christian framework, pain is connected to the reality of evil and to the choices made by humanity at the beginning of time. The problem of pain and the problem of evil are inextricably bound. So when we assume evil, we assume good. When we assume good, we assume a moral law. And when we assume a moral law, we assume a moral law-giver.

You may ask, Why does assuming a moral law necessitate a moral lawgiver? One reason is that because every time the question of evil is raised, it is either by a person or about a person—and that implicitly assumes that the question is a worthy one. But it is a worthy question only if people have intrinsic worth, and the only reason people have intrinsic worth is that they are the creations of One who is of ultimate worth. That person is God. So the question self-destructs for the naturalist or the pantheist. The question of the morality of evil or pain is valid only for a theist.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Can Come Over Anytime

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In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).— Ephesians 3:12

God has given us permission to fearlessly, confidently, and boldly draw near to His throne of grace. In fact, we are encouraged in Ephesians 3:12 to approach Him freely.

Through our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit is always with us, in our spirit. But this scripture is telling us that because we are the righteousness of God in Christ, we can be confident that God loves and accepts us all the time, and when we need His help and forgiveness, He offers them freely. We can approach Him for anything and everything we need, whenever we need to do it.

We can go to Him 200 times a day if we want to, with an “in and out” type of privilege. God doesn’t even tell us we have to knock on the door or wait for someone to say, “Come in.”

Suppose you have a friend who says, “You know what? You can come over anytime you want to come. You don’t even have to knock because you are welcome anytime, day or night. Just come on in!”

Now just think…God is saying that to you, unreservedly, which means you don’t have to be careful or hesitate or wonder if you’ve worn-out your welcome. It means even if you make some mistakes or do things you shouldn’t do, you can repent of your sins, be cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and go boldly into His presence.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Everything Belongs to Us

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“Now we are no longer slaves, but God’s own sons. And since we are His sons, everything He has belongs to us, for that is the way God planned” (Galatians 4:7).

In the sense of being under the servitude of sin, you and I are no longer servants or slaves. We are sons, children of God, adopted into His family, and are to be treated as sons.

What a glorious privilege is ours in Christ!

In our exalted position as sons, of course we are to be treated as sons. We are to share God’s favors, His blessings. And as sons, it follows that we have responsibilities – not only to our heavenly Father, but also to other sons (and daughters) in Christ.

All that God has, Paul is saying, belongs to us as well for we are His sons. But there is another side to our exalted position – obedience to the Lord. And His calling is sure: “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”

If we are following our Lord, we are becoming fishers of men – soul-winners. We are regularly and naturally, as a part of our daily routine, sharing the good news of the gospel with those whose lives we touch.

That does not necessarily mean buttonholing people and making a nuisance of ourselves; it does mean being available for God’s Holy Spirit to speak through us in every conversation as He chooses. It also means being “prayed up,” with no unconfessed sin in our lives.

Bible Reading: Revelation 8

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With the Power of the Holy Spirit available to me by faith, I will behave like a child of the King – a son of the Most High. I will live a supernatural life for the Glory of God

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – If Only…

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Maybe your past isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you’ve seen evil and you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or do you remain controlled by the past and make excuses?

Many choose the convalescent homes of the heart. Healthy bodies, sharp minds, but retired dreams. Lean closely and you’ll hear…If only. The white flag of the heart, if only. . . Maybe you’ve used those words. Maybe you have every right to use them. Perhaps you were hearing the ten count before you even got into the ring.

Let me show you where to turn. Go to John’s gospel and read Jesus’ words in John 3:6. “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from one Spirit.” Your parents have given you genes, but God gives you grace. God is willing to give you what your family didn’t.

From Lucado Inspirational Reader

 

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – ‘Fixer Upper’ changes Waco and beyond

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Note: Our office is closed today, but I hope this reflection will help you celebrate Thanksgiving every day.

The last season of Fixer Upper started Tuesday. But Chip and Joanna Gaines’s lifestyle empire will continue long after they leave their incredibly successful television show.

Remarkably, their Magnolia Market at the Silos is even more popular than the Alamo.

When they bought the property that is now the heart of their amazing business, few would have imagined that it would become what it is. But they engaged in “reframing,” a psychological technique by which we choose to view circumstances in a different light. Chip and Joanna do this with each house they transform, turning what it is into what it could be.

Reframing is essential for every dimension of life in this fallen world. Consider the biblical injunction to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). How can we be grateful in all circumstances, both challenging and joyful?

Note that the text does not call us to give thanks for all circumstances. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus; he sweat blood in Gethsemane; he cried out in lonely agony on the cross.

Rather, it calls us to give thanks in all circumstances. We can reframe any challenge, no matter how difficult, to find a reason for gratitude.

Consider three examples.

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