Daily Archives: March 7, 2018

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Blame Game

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Genesis 3:8-13

As children, we all played “the blame game.” If caught doing something wrong, we accused a sibling or friend in hopes of escaping discipline. This tactic seldom worked, because the one we accused was quick to give a different account. No one wins by shifting blame and refusing to take responsibility. Sadly, though, many people continue to play the blame game, even as adults.

Shifting responsibility isn’t new. It began in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned. When God held them accountable for rebelling against Him, Adam claimed he ate the fruit because Eve gave it to him. She, in turn, accused the serpent, who had deceived her. Yet they both incriminated themselves with these words: “I ate” (Gen. 3:12-13). Blaming someone else didn’t alter the facts—they were each responsible for their choice and course of action.

So, if we know the futility of the blame game, why do we still play it? Do we think we can avoid the undesirable consequences? Is it an attempt to cause others to regard us more favorably? Sometimes it’s not even other people we blame but circumstances—the way we were raised or the way we were treated. Regardless of the cause, sin is never justifiable, and God always holds us accountable.

While it’s difficult to swallow our pride and admit that we are wrong, it’s always best to take full responsibility for our attitudes, responses, and behavior. That is the only way to walk humbly with the Lord, which pleases and honors Him.

Bible in One Year: Joshua 7-9

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Goodbye for Now

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Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 3–4; Mark 10:32–52You do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13

My granddaughter Allyssa and I have a regular routine we go through when we say goodbye. We wrap our arms around each other and begin to loudly wail with dramatic sobs for about twenty seconds. Then we step back and casually say, “See ya,” and turn away. Despite our silly practice, we always expect that we will see each other again—soon.

But sometimes the pain of separation from those we care about can be difficult. When the apostle Paul said farewell to the elders from Ephesus, “They all wept as they embraced him . . . . What grieved them most was [Paul’s] statement that they would never see his face again” (Acts 20:37–38).

Jesus offers eternal hope.

The deepest sorrow, however, comes when we are parted by death and say goodbye for the last time in this life. That separation seems unthinkable. We mourn. We weep. How can we face the heartbreak of never again embracing the ones we have loved?

Still . . . we do not grieve like those who have no hope. Paul writes of a future reunion for those who “believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). He declares: “The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel,” and those who have died, along with those who are still alive, will be united with our Lord. What a reunion!

And—best of all—we will be forever with Jesus. That’s an eternal hope.

Thank You, Lord, for the assurance that this world is not all we have but that a blessed eternity awaits all who trust in You.

At death, God’s people don’t say “goodbye,” but “we’ll see you later.”

By Cindy Hess Kasper

INSIGHT

The Bible speaks of hope as a robust confidence in the purposes and power of God. First Peter 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our hope is rooted in Christ’s conquering of death on our behalf. Romans 15:4 adds, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

The encouragement of the Scriptures gives us hope as we see how God faithfully deals with His children. He is “the God of hope” (v. 13), who encourages us to trust Him with whatever we might face. And He is our hope as we look forward to our future reunion with loved ones who have gone before us.

For more on biblical hope, get the free download of the Discovery Series booklet Hope: Choosing Faith Instead of Fear at discoveryseries.org/q0733.

Bill Crowder

 

http://www.odb.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – A GOSPEL HOPE

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Hosea 14:1–9

For over two years from 2008 to 2010, the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team never lost a game. Their winning streak included two national titles and 90 consecutive victories, which passed the previous NCAA Division I basketball record of 88 victories, held by John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins in the 1970s.

Fans expect the UConn women’s basketball team to win. And as readers of Scripture, we reasonably expect that God will win. But in the book of Hosea, Israel is depicted as an unfaithful bride to her husband. And we never have the sense in the Minor Prophets that sin doesn’t matter to God. The Lord does not tolerate an open marriage, and His people will face consequences because of their sin. What would a victory for the Lord look like?

“Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” These rhetorical questions, posed by God in Hosea 13:14, indicate His intent to judge Israel’s sin. It’s as if God calls on death itself to punish His people for their sins. He is a lion, a leopard, a bear robbed of her cubs (13:7–8). What hope can Israel have for salvation and rescue?

Yet even though Israel will suffer exile for her sin, the book doesn’t end on a minor chord of doom. Because Israel cannot return to God, as she has been called to do, God chooses to turn to her. He will heal her stubbornness and waywardness. This promise of hope doesn’t end with the story of Israel; it looks forward to the work of Jesus Christ, whose death defeats the penalty and the power of sin and whose indwelling Spirit writes God’s laws on our heart, giving us the capacity to obey. God’s victory is the triumph of His love for His people.

APPLY THE WORD

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul quotes our key verse from Hosea. One scholar says, “Paul turns a text about judgment into one declaring salvation.” Death’s victory and sting are destroyed by the death and resurrection of Jesus! Hosea anticipates God’s love expressed at the cross—where His righteous judgment, mercy, and love defeats our sin.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – When Progress Is Slow

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Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. — Romans 5:3 (AMPC)

It’s important to renew our minds, but it’s also important to realize that this process of reprogramming or renewing our minds will take place little by little. Don’t be discouraged if progress seems slow, or when you have setbacks or bad days. Just get back up, dust yourself off and start again.

When a baby is learning to walk, he falls many, many times before he develops the ability to walk without falling; however, the baby is persistent. He may cry for a while after he falls down, but he always gets right back up and tries again.

Learning to change our thinking works the same way. We struggle and fall down, but God is always there to pick us up. Rather than get frustrated, remember to do what the Bible says and “triumph” in your hardship, because the very fact that you’re struggling means you’re fighting the good fight of faith.

There will be days when we don’t do everything right—days when our thinking is negative. But never stop trying. God is gradually bringing us around to His way of thinking, as long as we don’t give up!

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – You Can Bear It

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“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV).

I find great comfort and encouragement in this promise from God, one of my favorite Scriptures. Believing in this promise has saved me from falling into sin more times than I could ever begin to count.

As Christians, we are on the offensive. We do not have to cringe, trembling in our boots, wondering when Satan is going to attack again and what form it will take. We are the ones on the move. We are to be the aggressors, for we have God’s promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against us (Matthew 16:18).

There is no stronghold of Satan that cannot be recaptured for our Lord, who promises to fight for us. God’s Word reminds us that all authority in heaven and on earth is given to the Lord Jesus, and He promises always to be with us, never to leave us.

Satan would have you believe that there is no hope for you. You are discouraged, you have financial problems physical problems, sorrow from losing loved ones. The whole world seems to be caving in on you, and Satan says, “God doesn’t love or care for you. He can’t help you. You’re on your own. You might as well give up.”

When that temptation comes, we cry out to God in believing prayer and we resist the enemy who is the author of depression. He is the author of negative thinking. He is the author of criticism, lies and all things that are contrary to the will of God.

If we are going to take a proper offense, we must live in the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the reason our Savior – after commanding the disciples to go and preach the gospel to all men everywhere – also commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Act 1:8, KJV).

The key to escaping temptation and resisting sin is faith in the faithfulness of God to keep His promise that you will not be tempted more than you are able to bear.

Bible Reading:I Corinthians 10:9-12

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will not go into the spiritual battle unarmed, but will count on God’s Holy Spirit to make a way of escape when temptation comes. I will tell others how they too can be victorious over temptation.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – On Tiptoe Watching

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

It’s funny how Scripture remembers different people. Abraham is remembered as trusting; John as loving; Paul’s place is carved out by his writing. But Simeon was the man… looking!

Eight days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple. Luke 2:27 contains this curious statement: “Prompted by the Spirit, he (Simeon) came to the Temple.” The previous verse 26 tells us “The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him—God’s anointed King.” Simeon was a man on tiptoe, wide-eyed and waiting for the one who would come to save Israel. Haven’t we, like Simeon, been told of the coming Christ? Aren’t we, like Simeon, prompted by the Spirit? Are we not longing to see the same face? Simeon reminds us to wait patiently, vigilant, always ready!

From When Christ Comes

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Chinese space station will soon crash into Earth

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The sky is falling, literally.

China has lost control of Tiangong-1, its 8.5-ton space station. It will collide with our planet’s atmosphere sometime between March 24 and April 19. It is likely to hit somewhere in the northern US.

However, the odds of being struck by debris are one million times smaller than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot.

There’s plenty of other news to worry about, from the Nor’easter bearing down on the East Coast today, to Russia’s expanding role in the Middle East, to “superbugs” that are resistant to all known antibiotics. But there has always been plenty to worry about.

And every obstacle is an opportunity for people of faith.

A “teachable moment” for all time

Exodus 14 is a chapter that changed the world.

Before the cataclysmic events of this narrative, the Jews were enslaved to the mightiest empire the world had ever known. After this chapter, they were an empowered people protected by the mighty God of the universe. Their lives and destiny would never be the same.

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