Daily Archives: May 10, 2018

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Discipline Determines Destiny

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1 Corinthians 9:23-27

The apostle Paul compares our life to a race and points out that self-discipline—or the lack of it—determines the outcome. What he’s speaking about is not simply our place in heaven, which is secured by our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He also has in mind our obedience and service for the Lord here on earth.

In order to fulfill the Father’s purposes for our life, we need to “exercise self-control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Though we long to obey the Lord, we have flesh tendencies, which are bent toward sin. Therefore, we need to control our sinful thoughts, impulses, and actions by making our body our slave instead of letting fleshly desires rule us (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Paul says to live with a goal in mind rather than float aimlessly through life (1 Corinthians 9:26). God has prepared good works for us to accomplish during our lifetime (Eph. 2:10). As we live in obedience to the Lord, He guides our path and empowers us through the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will.

Next, we must work toward God’s goal for us. Wishing and hoping never accomplish anything if there is no action. And effort that’s not directed at the right goal is like “beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:26). We may be working hard for our own purposes, but if they’re not God’s goals, it’s all wasted effort.

Paul tells us to run to win (1 Corinthians 9:24), but what is the prize? As we fulfill God’s purpose, He does His sanctifying work in us and accomplishes His will through us. Then one day, when we finish our course and stand before Christ in heaven, we’ll receive eternal rewards that never perish.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 28-29

 

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Land of Far Distances

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Read: Isaiah 33:17–22 | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 10–12; John 1:29–51

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar. Isaiah 33:17

Amy Carmichael (1867–1951) is known for her work of rescuing orphaned girls in India and giving them a new life. In the midst of this exhausting work there were times she called “moments of vision.” In her book Gold by Moonlight, she wrote, “In the midst of a crowded day we are given almost a glimpse of ‘the land of far distances,’ and we stand still, arrested on the road.”

The prophet Isaiah spoke of a time when God’s rebellious people would turn back to Him. “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar” (Isaiah 33:17). To view this “land of far distances” is to be lifted above the circumstances of the immediate present and to gain an eternal perspective. During difficult times, the Lord enables us to see our lives from His viewpoint and regain hope. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us” (v. 22).

The Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. Isaiah 33:22

Each day, we can choose to look down in discouragement or lift our eyes to “the land of far distances,” to the Lord who is “our Mighty One” (v. 21).

Amy Carmichael spent more than fifty years in India helping young women in great need. How did she do it? Each day she fixed her eyes on Jesus and placed her life in His care. And so can we.

Lord, today we lift our eyes from the circumstances that discourage us to see You in Your splendor, and find peace.

Fix your eyes on Jesus.

By David C. McCasland 

INSIGHT

In today’s reading (Isaiah 33), King Hezekiah mourns the Assyrian oppression of Judah. Yet the promise Isaiah the prophet gives is that those who trust in God can see past their present reality to a time of triumph in which the promised Messiah will be victorious over all enemies. Jerusalem is where God’s kingdom will be realized (Jeremiah 3:17; Revelation 21:1–2, 10).

Today we may not be oppressed by a foreign power, but each of us can think of someone who has treated us unjustly. It’s comforting to know that our ultimate destiny is a place of peace and joy.

In what ways does recognizing you have a future heavenly home give you grace to face the challenges of life?

For further study see OT Survey: Ecclesiastes–Isaiah at christianuniversity.org/OT224.

Dennis Fisher

 

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Human Circumference

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French existentialist Jean Paul Sartre closes his play Huis Clos (“No Exit”) with the pronouncement, “Hell is other people.” The play offers a sardonic vision of hell as the place in which one must spend eternity with individuals one would barely seek to spend five minutes with in real life. As one writer notes, “The most terrible, exasperating torment, in Sartre’s eyes, is the agony of soul caused by having to live forever alongside someone who drives you up the wall. Their annoying habits, their pettiness or cynicism or stupidity, their disposition and tastes that so frustratingly conflict with yours and require, if you are to live in communion with them, some sort of accommodation or concession of your own likes and desires—that, says Sartre, is Hell.”(1) Living in a world in which tolerance is the highest value, most readers find Sartre’s vision highly narcissistic or the logical conclusion of an exclusively individualistic, existentialist philosophy.

For many others, however, Sartre’s sentiments are not so easily dismissed. Living, working and interacting with other people can indeed create a hellish existence for many. And most of us, if we are honest, can quickly think of the names of several individuals whose personal habits or grating personalities makes relating to them very difficult at best. Sartre’s honesty, albeit through a cynical lens, also exposes a truth about the realities of human tolerance. On the one hand, we generally base our capacity for tolerance on loving those who are easy to love or who are broadly similar to our own way of living and viewing the world. On the other hand, we are easily tolerant of external causes, ideals, and principles, which are quickly lost when we come into contact with individuals who shatter that ideal image.

I was reminded of Sartre’s insight while serving at my church’s hospitality ministry dinner. Homelessness and hunger for the working poor is a perennial issue where I live. While homelessness remains an abstract idea, it is easy for me to ‘love’ the broad category of people who are poor or homeless. Yet, every month at my church dinner for the homeless—the full-range of humanity on display right in front of me-I often see the ways in which my ‘love’ is merely a form of patronage. Eating with individuals who have not showered in weeks (or months), who suffer from mental illness or chemical dependency tests my love of humanity in ways that the abstract category of homelessness never will. A preference for categories makes it very hard for me to love the real people seated all around me.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Human Circumference →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – A VIEW OF HEAVEN

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Revelation 4:1–11

In recent years many books claim to describe a visit to heaven, usually the result of a near-death experience. Some skeptics view these accounts as fiction, and others attribute them to chemical changes in the dying brain. In a few cases the authors have admitted they made it all up.

Today’s passage is different. John doesn’t describe a near-death experience but rather a vision of the heavenly throne room that he had while “in the Spirit” (v. 2). What John sees is similar to other visions recorded in Scripture by Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The phrase “after this” in verse 1 signals a shift in focus from John’s present to things that will take place in the future (cf. Rev. 1:19).

In his vision John saw a throne with someone sitting on it. This unnamed figure who is clearly divine “had the appearance of jasper and ruby” (v. 3). The throne was encircled by a rainbow and surrounded by twenty-four other thrones. This number suggests the twelve Patriarchs of Israel and the twelve Apostles, though the text does not specifically identify them.

Thunder and lightning emanated from the throne and seven blazing lamps stood before it to represent the fullness of God’s Spirit. John also saw four “living creatures” (v. 6) whose description resembled the cherubim of Ezekiel

1:4–24 and whose cry echoed that of the seraphs of Isaiah 6:3. Whenever these beings gave glory to God, the twenty-four elders lay their crowns before the throne and declared God’s worth.

This is the first of several scenes of heavenly worship. The images may seem strange, for they are intended to describe a heavenly reality in earthly terms. But what is clear is that God is at the center of all heavenly worship.

APPLY THE WORD

Worship is not a mode of entertainment. It’s not merely our preferred musical style for church. It is a combination of experiencing God’s presence and praising His worth. The hymn “Crown Him with Many Crowns” by Matthew Bridges attempts to capture the essence of this scene from our passage today. Why not find it in a hymnal and read or sing it?

PRAY WITH US

Moody’s campus library provides our students, faculty, and staff with a wealth of resources. We are grateful for the expertise and faithful service of the staff: April Nelson, Ashley Smith, Blake Walter, and Christine Cherney. Will you pray for them today?

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Shall Never Lack

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“Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:10)

“When you have nothing left but God,” a Christian leader once observed, “then for the first time you become aware that God is enough.”

With every command of God is a specific or implied promise to enable us to do what He commands us to do. He always makes it possible for us to fulfill the conditions to obey His commands.

Rarely, will some of us see a check for a million – or even thousands – of dollars. But here is a check for millions of millions, waiting to be cashed by those of us who know and love the Lord, who love Him enough to obey His commands.

Here is a promise of God which is great enough to meet our needs, our wants, even our deepest desires and distresses.

As you and I go through our day, how reassuring it is to know that our reverence for the Lord will be rewarded by provision of every good thing we need. That means the strength, the peace, the courage, the love I need to get me through the decisions, the trials, the testings.

That also means a new consciousness of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, the one through whom I find the supernatural, abundant life. That means a tender conscience toward God, so that I make a supreme effort to avoid yielding to temptation in any way, lest I grieve my wonderful Lord.

Bible Reading:Psalm 34:1-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I shall not be afraid to go to the bank of heaven today and cash a check for all my needs, enabling me to share the supernatural life with all whom my life touches.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Be Kind to Yourself

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

Kindness at home. Kindness in public. Kindness in church and kindness with our enemies. Pretty well covers the gamut, don’t you think? Almost. Someone else needs your kindness. Who could that be? Well, it’s YOU! Since God is so kind to us, can’t we be a little kinder to ourselves?

Oh, but you don’t know me, Max. You don’t know my faults and my thoughts. You don’t know the gripes I grumble and the complaints I mumble. No, I don’t, but he does. He knows everything about you, yet he doesn’t hold back his kindness toward you. Has he, knowing all your secrets, retracted one promise or reclaimed one gift? He forgives your faults, calls you his ambassador, his follower, even his child. In God’s book you are a good thing. Be kind to yourself. God thinks you’re worth his kindness. And he’s a good judge of character.

Read more A Love Worth Giving

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – The Boy Scouts are dropping “Boy” from their name

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I remember fondly my years with the Boy Scouts. Overnight campouts with my father. Lessons in outdoor survival and the care of nature. Building camaraderie in an environment uniquely suited to develop boys into men.

As a teenager, I became too involved in academics and other activities to continue in the Boy Scouts, but I have always admired the Eagle Scouts I met and consider their achievement to be enormously significant. The list of notable Eagle Scouts includes President Gerald Ford, astronaut Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon), Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and businessman Sam Walton.

The Boy Scouts have been one of America’s great cultural institutions. Five years ago, things began to change.

What the BSA has done

From their inception in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) excluded openly gay people from membership or leadership. The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that they had a legal right to continue this position.

Then companies such as UPS, drug manufacturer Merck, and the United Way began opposing the organization’s policy, choosing to stop or postpone their financial support. A gay advocacy group gathered more than 1.2 million online signatures to protest the BSA’s position.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The Boy Scouts are dropping “Boy” from their name →