Daily Archives: February 25, 2018

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Grace and Ongoing Sin

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Romans 6:11-13

God’s mercy is everlasting. Sometimes, however, a Christian becomes convinced that divine forgiveness has limits. This usually happens when the person has repeatedly confessed a sin but finds himself returning to the habit anyway. Satan whispers to us that surely the Lord is weary of this cycle of sin and admission. But as always, the enemy lies. The truth is that a believer cannot sin his way out of God’s grace, no matter how many times he confesses the same wrongdoing.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paid our past, present, and future sin debt. This means that no matter how great our offense or how often we sin, God’s grace covers every transgression. Our heavenly Father forgives as often as necessary.

Anytime I preach on this topic, a few people will ask if I am promoting grace as a license to sin. The Lord’s mercy is not a “get out of jail free” card. His forgiveness is infinite, but that does not mean we can get away with sin. As a loving Father, God disciplines His children. He wants us to learn from our mistakes and return to the path of righteousness.

God desires that each of His children grow in righteousness and reflect the nature of His Son Jesus Christ. He understands that maturing our faith is a lifelong process. Sometimes we will make mistakes and fall into sinful patterns from which we must be restored. Our Father is pleased to draw us back into a right relationship because His grace is infinite. No sin will ever be greater—or more frequent—than His capacity to forgive.

Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 12-14

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Our Sure Foundation

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Read: Isaiah 33:2–6

Bible in a Year: Numbers 12–14; Mark 5:21–43

[The LORD] will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.—Isaiah 33:6

For many years, people in our city built and bought homes in areas subject to landslides. Some knew about the risk of the unstable land, while others were not told. “Forty years of warnings from geologists and city regulations created to ensure safe homebuilding” were unexplained or ignored (The Gazette, Colorado Springs, April 27, 2016). The view from many of those homes was magnificent, but the ground beneath them was a disaster in the making.

Many people in ancient Israel ignored the Lord’s warnings to turn from idols and seek Him, the true and living God. The Old Testament records the tragic results of their disobedience. Yet, with the world crumbling around them, the Lord continued reaching out to His people with a message of forgiveness and hope if they would turn to Him and follow His way.

The prophet Isaiah said, “[The LORD] will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure” (Isaiah 33:6).

Today, as in the Old Testament era, God has given us a choice about the foundation on which we will build our lives. We can follow our own desires, or we can embrace His eternal principles revealed in the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ. “On Christ, the solid rock, I stand—all other ground is sinking sand” (Edward Mote). —David C. McCasland

Father in heaven, we acknowledge You as our sure foundation. Our security and hope are in You.

The Lord Himself is our strong foundation in life.

INSIGHT: This brief section of Isaiah comes immediately after the prophet has pronounced six “woes” (contained in chapters 28 through 33:1). Now, beginning with 33:2, Isaiah prays in expectancy, despite the Assyrian forces threatening Jerusalem. He looks not to the city’s military strength or diplomatic skill for deliverance, but to God. “At the uproar of your army, the [invading] peoples flee” and “scatter,” said Isaiah (v. 3). The loot left behind when the Assyrians fled would be “harvested as by young locusts” (v. 4)—the citizens of Jerusalem themselves. No wonder Isaiah saw God as “the sure foundation” and the “rich store of salvation” (v. 6).

Isaiah’s original audience expected a Messiah, and Isaiah prophesied of Him in 28:16—“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” In Matthew 21:42, when Jesus told His critics, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” He was referring to Himself as that Messiah.

What tempts you to panic today? Christ is our deliverer. He provides a sure foundation and a rich store of salvation to all who turn to Him. Tim Gustafson

 

http://www.odb.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – False Trust 

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Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.  Proverbs 11:28

Trust in stuff will cause you to stumble and eventually fall. Why? Why is money unfit for trust? It is unreliable because it cannot save us or bring us forgiveness, peace, or contentment. Money is an unemotional master that can trip you up if it becomes the basis for your security. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. Money moves around like a gypsy looking for the next place to live. Trust in riches fails to focus on Christ.

The Bible says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5). Trust in riches causes some to fall from the faith, because they equate wealth with success. However, you can be faithful to the Lord and thus be successful whether rich or poor. It may take losing money to reveal our true motivation. Trust in riches is a recipe for false security, fear, and sadness.

However, the righteous understand the role of riches is to remind them of God’s provision. The Bible says, “Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19). Are you struggling with the reduction of your wealth? Do you remember what really mattered when you were first married? Was it trust in the Lord, your spouse, and good health? The righteous thrive in trust and obedience to Christ.

Lastly, guard your good name during financial crisis. Character is of much greater value than cash. The Bible says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1). This means you do not fear and you follow through with your commitments. Faith grows in its giving during uncertain times. Am I thriving or surviving? Is my trust in gold or God?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the faith to totally trust You and not in my ability to work and make money, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Application: Where does the Lord want me to aggressively give money while trusting in Him?

Related Readings: Deuteronomy 8:12–14; Job 31:24–25; Matthew 13:22; 1 Timothy 6:17

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Say What God Says

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This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful. — Joshua 1:8

God tells us that the more time we spend meditating on and speaking His Word, the more we will see the benefits in our everyday lives and even have a closer relationship with Him. He even promises we’ll be prosperous and successful! (See Joshua 1:8).

I can testify to this because I have made it through many trials and even devastating times by believing and confessing the Word of God over my life.

There’s something powerful that happens when we speak His Word out loud. It’s the way we learn to purposely think right thoughts, especially when we make the Scriptures personal confessions of faith.

It’s great to read the Word and receive it in your heart, but when you confess it out loud, you actively interact with what God says and release its power into your life.

I encourage you to spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word, lining your thoughts up with it. But I also urge you to speak the Word. You can make up your mind to work toward changing your life by saying what God says. Read His Word and speak it over your circumstances today.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Great and Mighty Things

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“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3, KJV).

How long has it been since you have prayed for great and mighty things – for the glory and praise of God?

I find in God’s Word at least six excellent reasons you and I should pray for “great and mighty things”: to glorify God; to communicate with God; for fellowship with God; because of Christ’s example; to obtain results; and to provide spiritual nurture.

There is a sense in which I pray without ceasing, talking to God hundreds of times in the course of the day about everything. I pray for wisdom about the numerous decisions I must make, for the salvation of friends and strangers, the healing of the sick and the spiritual and material needs of the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry – as well as for the needs of the various members of the staff and leaders of other Christian organizations and the needs of their ministries.

I pray for the leaders of our nation and for those in authority over us at all levels of government. I even pray about the clothes I wear, on the basis of the people I am to meet – that the way I dress, as well as my words and actions, will bring glory to God.

But there is another sense in which there is a set-apart time each day for prayer – I often kneel quietly before the open Bible and talk with God as I read His Word.

Before I begin to read the Bible, I ask the Holy Spirit, who inspired its writing, to make my reading meaningful. Throughout the reading I often pause to thank God for His loving salvation and provision, to confess the lack in my own life revealed by the Scriptures, to ask Him for the boldness and faith His apostles displayed and to thank Him for new insights into His divine strategy for reaching the world with the gospel.

Bible Reading:Jeremiah 33:4-8

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will call unto God, expecting Him to show me great and mighty things beyond anything I have ever experienced, for His glory and for the blessing of those about me, that they may know that God does supernatural things in response to the faith and obedience of His children.

 

http://www.cru.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – PRESS ON AND PRESS IN

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Isaiah 62:1–12

In the documentary series Dispatches from the Front, director Tim Keesee tells the story of David, a gospel worker in the Southeastern European nation of Albania. Though the challenges for missions in Albania are immense, David persists with a simple approach: “Pray. Meet people. Tell them about Jesus.” And, little by little, people are coming to Christ and churches are being established.

The church today might appear to be faltering. Many pews are empty, younger members seem to be scattering, and enthusiasm is dwindling. From local communities to foreign countries, people barely acknowledge that the church exists, even if they drive past a building. Evangelistic outreach seems to bear no fruit at all. Baptisms of new converts are unusual. We can understand Isaiah’s descriptions: deserted, desolate, plundered by her enemies (vv. 4, 8).

This may be the church’s momentary condition. But it is not our promised future. At the end of time, God’s people will have glory, splendor, and praise (vv. 2, 3, 7). When people speak out—refusing to be silent—about the gospel, God will vindicate their message and make it winsome to its hearers. When people pray—persisting in their petitions to God—God will answer by ensuring that His people receive “the praise of the earth” (v. 7). When God’s people do diligent kingdom work, God promises to reward the Son with a redeemed people (vv. 11–12).

Through the simple work of prayer, meeting people, and telling them about Jesus, God promises to build up those who follow Him. The image that Jesus gives us is encouragement indeed: “The good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it” (Luke 16:16). As we press on, people will press in.

APPLY THE WORD

God has in the past poured out a spirit of revival in which many people have come to saving faith. Reading the historical accounts of these great spiritual revivals can encourage our hearts today, and one excellent resource is the book A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir by Collin Hansen and John D. Woodbridge.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Enjoy Yourself!

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Read: Ecclesiastes 9

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. (v. 7)

I had a temper tantrum on July 20, 1969. I don’t know the dates of any of my other childhood temper tantrums, but I know this one because my snit almost caused me to miss watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. I don’t remember the details, but I was upset and my parents had to plead with me to come out and watch history being made. I’m glad they did.

There was a saying among the ancient Jewish rabbis that at the final judgment God will ask us to give account of all the good things in life we beheld and didn’t enjoy. While that idea isn’t exactly found in the Bible, its first cousin is—in verses like Ecclesiastes 9:7. In the midst of his fairly depressing ruminations about life (or, more accurately, about the inevitability of death), Qoheleth exhorts us to enjoy the life we’ve been given. We’ve seen him return to this theme frequently—life is a vanity; we’re all going to wind up riding in the back of a hearse—but that leads him to joy instead of despair.

This is your one life. Today is the only today you’re ever going to have. How are you embracing it? LIVE today in capital letters, telling those you love how you feel about them, reveling in God’s good gifts, eating your bread with joy, and drinking your wine (or morning coffee) with a merry heart.  —Jeff Munroe

Prayer: Thanks, Lord, for the gift of life today!

 

https://woh.org/