Daily Archives: December 17, 2017

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Defense Against Temptation

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1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Experiencing temptation is universal and unavoidable. One cannot hide since there is no environment on earth that is free from its pull. You can never completely eliminate enticement because wherever you run, your flesh goes with you. However, giving in is optional.

The Lord has promised to either provide a way of escape or limit the intensity of the temptation so you can endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). Sometimes that means a literal removal of the enticement as you wisely flee the situation. At other times, the circumstance remains, but God will provide everything you need to bear it without yielding. He is not the source of temptation, but He does allow it for the purpose of maturing and strengthening His children.

Every believer must learn to resist when tempted and to build a defense system for such situations. The way to begin is with self-examination:

What are your areas of weakness? The devil doesn’t use the same approach on everyone. He tailors his traps to fit each individual’s area of vulnerability.

When are you weakest? Satan never plays fair—he attacks when you are down. Just think of the acronym HALT, and be on guard whenever you’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.

The greatest defense against temptation is the Word of God. Jesus quoted Scripture to silence Satan’s lies (Matt. 4:1-11). Start each day on your knees: Ask the Lord to build His truth into your life and provide the scriptural ammunition that will allow you to live in victory.

Bible in One Year: Hebrews 1-3

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Gentleness

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Read: Ephesians 4:1–6

Bible in a Year: Amos 7–9; Revelation 8

Be completely humble and gentle.—Ephesians 4:2

The troubles of life can make us cranky and out of sorts, but we should never excuse these bouts of bad behavior, for they can wither the hearts of those we love and spread misery all around us. We have not fulfilled our duty to others until we have learned to be pleasant.

The New Testament has a word for the virtue that corrects our unpleasantness—gentleness, a term that suggests a kind and gracious soul. Ephesians 4:2 reminds us, “Be completely humble and gentle.”

Gentleness is a willingness to accept limitations and ailments without taking out our aggravation on others. It shows gratitude for the smallest service rendered and tolerance for those who do not serve us well. It puts up with bothersome people—especially noisy, boisterous little people; for kindness to children is a crowning mark of a good and gentle person. It speaks softly in the face of provocation. It can be silent; for calm, unruffled silence is often the most eloquent response to unkind words.

Jesus is “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). If we ask Him, He will, in time, recreate us in His image. Scottish author George MacDonald says, “[God] would not hear from [us] a tone to jar the heart of another, a word to make it ache . . . . From such, as from all other sins, Jesus was born to deliver us.” —David H. Roper

Dear Lord, I want to be a gentle person. Please help me to be kind and gracious to others today.

Humility toward God will make us gentle toward others.

INSIGHT: The apostle Paul had a lot to say about gentleness. Paul was the founding pastor of the church at Corinth and taught there for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-11). Yet, soon after he left the city, the believers rejected him as a true apostle. Paul had every reason and every right to come down hard on these believers, but he didn’t. Instead, he appealed to them “by the humility and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1). In his letter to another church, Paul urged two feuding sisters to reconcile. Paul asked that their “gentleness be evident to all” (Phil. 4:5). In dealing with people who are not sympathetic to the Christian faith and are antagonistic towards us, Peter urged us to be ready “to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have.” But we are to do so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

The Scriptures show us how we should relate to everyone—we are to be kind, gracious, respectful, and gentle.

Why is it so important to demonstrate gentleness in our interaction with others if we claim to be a follower of Christ? Sim Kay Tee

 

http://www.odb.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – AN INTERNAL FIX

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Ezekiel 36:22–28; Jeremiah 31:31–34

Imagine a major automobile accident that not only shatters the windshield and dents the hood but also damages the motor and transmission. Taking the car to an auto-body repair shop would make no difference if the engine remains damaged. Having a shiny, dent-free car with no working engine does the owner no good! Only by repairing the vehicle inside and out will it be properly restored to working condition.

The same is required of God’s restoration of humanity. We have already seen God’s intentions to return the people to the land, forgive their sins, and dwell with them again. Those messages are echoed afresh in Ezekiel. God would “gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land,” and “cleanse you from all your impurities” (Ezek. 36:24–25). We might describe these actions as God’s auto-body repair shop; by His mercy,

God’s people are clean again and restored to their home.

But more is needed than just a return to the land and forgiveness of sins. An internal fix is also required, a repair of the heart itself. As Ezekiel says, “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees” (Ezek. 36:26–27). Likewise, Jeremiah describes the “new covenant” in the same terms: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jer. 31:33).

The barriers to our relationship with God include more than the need to deal with our external sinful actions. Our entire inward being is inclined toward sin and rebellion against God. Only by addressing matters of the heart can we be restored to full relationship with God.

APPLY THE WORD

The promises of the new covenant are fulfilled in Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus called the cup “the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). And in Christ, a love of God “has been poured out into our hearts” (Rom. 5:5). As you look forward to Christmas, give thanks that Jesus transforms our hearts and makes possible a relationship with God.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Life of Discipline Will Bring God’s Peace

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For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].— Hebrews 12:11

Too many things compete for our limited resources of attention, energy and time.

I used to complain to God about my schedule being overwhelming. I’d cry, “God, how could anyone be expected to do all that I have to do?”

Then it hit me: I was the one who made my schedule, and nobody could change it but me! I could no longer spend time wishing things were different because wishing wouldn’t change anything.

God showed me that I had to discipline myself in order to simplify my life.

You’ll have to do that too if you want life to slow down. Ask the Holy Spirit for help. He can guide you, showing you what commitments to make and which ones to turn down.

It may be tough at first, especially if you haven’t been disciplined in the past, but the rewards of discipline and self-control are worth the effort. The Bible says that discipline brings peaceable fruit. Begin disciplining yourself today, and you can begin to enjoy the peaceful life that God has waiting for you.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Rewards All Who Look for Him

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“You can never please God without faith, without depending on Him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely look for Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

A friend of mine, one of the most dedicated men I have ever known, lived by a little black book. In this book he kept a careful record of all his activities, past, present and future.

In it he recorded the time he was to get up every morning, how long to have his devotions, how many verses of Scripture he should memorize that day, and to how many people he should witness. I was impressed; I wanted to be like him.

One day he had a mental breakdown, however. After he was released from the hospital, he said to me, “I was unable to live the Christian life. I tried to be a man of God by imposing upon myself certain rigid spiritual disciplines.

“Before they took me to the hospital, my last conscious act was to throw that little black book, which had become my god, into the corner. I never wanted to see it again.”

This man had to discover what I discovered with great relief some years ago: I will never be able to live the Christian life through my own self-efforts.

My only hope for victory, power and fruitfulness is to trust Christ to live His resurrection life in and through me. He and He alone can enable me to live the Christian life. It is faith, not effort, that pleases Him, though we should never forget that faith without works is dead. Genuine faith always produces action – good works that please and glorify Him.

Bible Reading: Hebrews 7:17-22

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today by faith I will claim Christ’s resurrection life, and since He alone is holy I will claim His power to live a supernatural life. Since He came to seek and to save the lost, I will claim by faith His ability to seek and to save the lost.

 

http://www.cru.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Positioned for a Blessing to be a Blessing 

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He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.      Psalm 1:3

Blessing looks for those who are in a position of dependency on Almighty God. This is wise positioning for a Jesus-follower. We are blessed when the roots of our faith draw from the waters of God’s Word. When we take the time to plant our faith by the banks of God’s living water, we come alive. This is where the fruits of humility, honesty, and humor grow. The water of God nurtures us like liquid vitamins.

The cheap soda of self-dependence will only slow down our faith walk. It’s the water of God that hydrates our souls, not man’s generic substitutes. We may attempt to plant our lives next to a stream of self-sufficiency, only to find ourselves thirsting. It is the water of God’s Word that we are to drink day and night because it creates abundant life. The effects of God’s Word are not always immediately evident. It takes time for it to make its way into the root system of our beliefs.

But eventually, an eternal perspective begins to take shape as we become saturated in the Word of God. Plant your life close to an understanding and an application of Scripture. The Bible is your baseline for belief and behavior. When God sees someone who is immersed in the principles of His Word, He has found someone He can trust with His blessings. He extends His best to those who are planted next to the truth of His Word. He trusts those who trust Him. He bears fruit through those who depend on Him.

The fruit of a faithful life flourishes over time. Your influence compounds as you follow Christ. It may seem like you are in an insignificant season. This is not true. All seasons with your Savior are significant. You may live in a confusing season, but your confusion is Christ’s opportunity to bring clarity. This is a significant time for your faith to bear fruit. Faithfulness brings clarity during uncertain times.

Do not wish away this season; it is a time for you to go deep with Him. It is on the anvil of adversity that appreciation and gratitude are forged. You may thrive in a season of prosperity and it’s tempting to walk away from God and continue on your own. But in doing so, you leave the spirit of humility and dependency on God. He brought you this far. So, stay faithful as your finances flourish, and be more aggressive in your generous giving. Live for the Lord, not for yourself.

The blessing of God’s fruit comes when you avoid the advice of the wicked and cling to the counsel of Christ and His followers. The wicked try to define a better way. They want to lead you astray. But Jesus is the way. You cannot improve on Christ.

Faith in Him is not always flashy, but it bears the fruit that matters. It is the fruit of children who honor their parents; it is the fruit of fidelity between husbands and wives; it is the fruit of an unselfish friendship; it is the fruit of a caring culture at work, home, and church; it is the fruit of wise and generous giving; it is the fruit of fearing God and having a friend in Jesus. Therefore, by faith, stay in a position to be blessed. Wise positioning invites God’s blessing. Prosperity is looking for those who depend on the Lord.

The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust…”(Psalm 40:4).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your blessings so I can be a blessing, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Application: In what ways has the Lord blessed me that I can use to bless others?

Related Readings: Matthew 5:16; Luke 6:31; 2 Corinthians 9:8-11; Philippians 2:3-4

 

 

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Voice of Mark: Work

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Read: Mark 13:32-37

Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. (v. 33)

The story is told of a day when St. Francis of Assisi was working in his garden. A neighbor came by and said, “Francis, if you knew Jesus was coming today, what would you do?” Without even glancing up, Francis replied, “I would continue to hoe my garden.”

It is also reported that in Hartford, Connecticut, during the 17th century, a judge was presiding in a court when an eclipse of the sun occurred. Because the people did not understand what was happening, they panicked. They were sure cosmic catastrophe was not far off; the end of time was near. But the judge rapped his gavel, calling for order. Then he said, “If this is the end of the world, let us at least be found doing our duty. Bring in the candles and let the trial continue.”

Although Mark 13 pertains to Jesus’ second coming, we can ask the question, “What does it mean to ‘watch’ during Advent?” Part of watching is to do our assigned tasks. It is like a man going on a journey who leaves his house in the care of servants, each with work to do. The best thing these servants can do is tend to their work. Watch! It’s another way of saying: do your best at work. Listen to your children. Help your neighbor. Find opportunity to share your faith. Serve God. Watch, and see how God comes to you. —Ken Eriks

Prayer: Lord, help us stay awake and keep working until you come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

https://woh.org/