Daily Archives: March 8, 2018

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Ending the Blame Game

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Galatians 5:19-25

There’s something within our human nature that resists being controlled by others. Although we may outwardly submit to authority, submissiveness may not reach into our hearts. Inwardly, we could very well be acting like a child who is being disciplined by a parent: outwardly obeying by sitting for time out, but thinking, I’m standing up on the inside!

This is the attitude that leads to the deeds of the flesh described by Paul in today’s passage. Although we have no power to control what others do or say, we have the Holy Spirit, who can govern how we respond. Too often we try to blame our responses on the behavior of someone else. We justify our actions by saying, “But he made me so mad!” In reality, we chose to be angry—justifiably or not.

Whenever someone hurts or frustrates us, we can decide whether to react in a godly or worldly fashion. No matter how much blame we attempt to offload onto others, the Lord is not misled by our maneuvering. He looks at the heart. Each of us is accountable to Him for both our attitudes and responses.

We may think the blame game makes us look better, but God is not fooled. Followers of Christ are called to sow peace and bear the spiritual fruit of love, joy, and kindness (Gal. 5:22-23). If we are clinging to blame, all that is growing are the emotional “weeds” separating us from God. The responses He desires are forgiveness when we are hurt and repentance when we have sinned against another person.

Bible in One Year: Joshua 10-12

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Age-Old Wisdom

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Read: 1 Kings 12:1–7, 12–17 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 5–7; Mark 11:1–18Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? Job 12:12

In 2010, a newspaper in Singapore published a special report that contained life lessons gleaned from eight senior citizens. It opened with these words: “While aging brings challenges to mind and body, it can also lead to an expansion in other realms. There is an abundance of emotional and social knowledge; qualities which scientists are beginning to define as wisdom . . . the wisdom of elders.”

Indeed, wise older people have much to teach us about life. But in the Bible, we meet a newly crowned king who failed to recognize this.

God’s love is meant to be shared.

King Solomon had just died, and in 1 Kings 12:3, we read that “the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam” with a petition. They asked the new king to lighten the harsh labor and heavy taxes his father Solomon had demanded of them. In return, they would loyally serve Rehoboam.

At first the young king consulted the elders (v. 6). But he rejected their advice and accepted the foolish counsel of the young men who had grown up with him (v. 8). He made the burden on the people even greater! His rashness cost him most of his kingdom.

All of us need the counsel that comes with years of experience, especially from those who have walked with God and listened well to His counsel. Think of the accumulated wisdom God has given them! They have much to share with us about the Lord. Let’s seek them out and give a listening ear to their wisdom.

To avoid the mistakes of youth, draw from the wisdom of age.

By Poh Fang Chia

INSIGHT

Rehoboam was free to listen to whichever advice he chose, but his decision not to listen to the wisdom of his elders resulted in the division of the nation of Israel into two different kingdoms.

Are you facing a decision? Seek out the counsel of wise, mature believers.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Bright Fallen World Above

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A New York Times column posed the question “Do moralists make bad novelists?” Two novelists, Alison Gregory and Pankaj Mishra respectively, provided brief responses. Though both writers grapple with the question in a distinctive manner, they are unified on one thought: Morality in the context of a story should be inherent, not explicit. The concrete circumstances of the story ought to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. And, both writers agree, ambiguity is usually a more suitable vehicle for such a task than certainty. Gregory sums up this conclusion well: “It’s not that fiction should be written by amoral authors — in fact, I would argue that novels actively unconcerned with which thoughts and behaviors are worth having are themselves not worth reading — but that their methods ought to be suggestive rather than forthright. Fiction should expose us to a conscience, not a conviction.”(1)

Allowing the circumstances of a story to speak for themselves can lead authors, their characters, and their readers in surprising directions, directions that don’t necessarily fit the assumptions of all three. This is when books get really interesting. When an author’s, a character’s, a reader’s assumptions smack against the hard surfaces of reality this can be a means to an enlarged perspective, an invitation to an outlook that is more subtle, generous, and humane. But this kind of undertaking requires courage. We seldom speak of great writers as brave. We should. Telling the truth flies in the face of fashion, ideology, vanity, and self-interest.

Asked if he is religious, author Jeffrey Eugenides responded, “I don’t think you should be interested in searching for the truth if you don’t think maybe you’ll find the truth.” One of the characters from his latest book, The Marriage Plot, discovers this first-hand. With a last name that is every bit as dramatic as his author’s, Mitchell Grammaticus sets his sights on Calcutta, India, where he plans to volunteer at the Sisters of Charity, Mother Teresa’s home for the sick and the dying. The year is 1982 and Mitchell has just graduated from Brown University. Mitchell boards the Calcutta-bound plane clutching a tattered copy of Malcolm Muggeridge’s Something Beautiful for God, his heart inflated by lofty ideals of charity and sainthood. The trip is a fascinating failure.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Bright Fallen World Above →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Keep the River Flowing

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He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’ — John 7:38

As believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us, abiding in our spirits. He is the river of life within us. This river is a wonderful gift given to each of us by God. It flows with good health, a positive outlook on life, and a generous and forgiving attitude.

Many people, however, have allowed their river to become stopped-up. They are always discouraged, and no matter what they do, they can’t seem to snap out of it. Years of neglect have turned a once-powerful flowing river into a small stream. Do you know people like this? Does this sound like your life?

Until you’re able to get your river cleared out and unclogged, everything will be difficult, disappointing and unfulfilling. You’ll be unable to taste the water that satisfies like nothing else.

Make a choice today to stop spending your life fighting, struggling and trudging through the mud with every step. Ask God to help you clear out the debris. He’ll show you what’s blocking the flow and how to get rid of it. Then, enjoy the satisfying flow of the river of life!

 

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 – Alive Again

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

The 1989 Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to kill thirty-thousand people! One father refused to believe his son was dead. He dug in the rubble—refusing to quit. After thirty-eight hours, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice! The father called his son’s name, and the voice answered him, “Dad, it’s me!” Then the boy added these priceless words: “I told the other kids not to worry—if you were alive you’d save me and when you saved me, they’d be saved, too. Because you promised!”

God has made the same promise to us in 1 Corinthians 15:22-23. “Christ rose first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will become alive again.” Christ’s resurrection is the keystone in the archway of the Christian faith. His death is real. His resurrection is sure! Trust him.

From When Christ Comes

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Professor may have solved the Amelia Earhart mystery

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Aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared on July 2, 1937 as they attempted to fly around the world. Their fate has remained a mystery for more than eighty years.

But an anthropology professor now says that human bones found on the remote Pacific island of Nikumaroro are likely hers. His research indicates that she was more similar to the skeletal remains than 99 percent of the individuals in a sample of 2,776 people.

Earhart was a brilliant and celebrated pilot. She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to fly over both the Atlantic and the Pacific. But her skills and resolve were apparently insufficient to save her from a lonely death.

Meanwhile, another nor’easter is expected to bring power outages to the northeastern US. A person with the mumps attended a national cheerleading competition in Texas last month, potentially exposing thousands of people from thirty-nine states. And a seventeen-year-old girl was killed by gunfire at an Alabama high school yesterday.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Professor may have solved the Amelia Earhart mystery →