Daily Archives: August 25, 2018

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Truth Can Set You Free

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John 8:31-36

Freedom is something we all love, but do we really know what it is? Some people think it’s being able to choose or act with few if any restraints, limits, or accountabilities. But that is what God calls rebellion because it’s a rejection of authority, as each one does as he sees fit (1 Samuel 12:14-15). True freedom is being released from bondage to sin, and that is only possible through Jesus Christ.

The first step to freedom is recognizing areas where we are imprisoned. People who have not received Christ as Savior are in bondage to sin and unbelief. They can neither believe God nor trust the promises of Scripture because sin has blinded their eyes to the truth that they need a Savior.

Even followers of Christ can find themselves in bondage to particular sins despite repeated attempts to change. But for some of us, the struggle is with more subtle kinds of enslavement. Habitual feelings of inferiority, insecurity, rejection, or worthlessness can cloud our responses to life’s challenges by altering our ability to think or act while undermining our trust and obedience to God.

The Lord wants us walking in freedom, and Jesus describes the pathway. He says that if we’ll continue in God’s Word, we will know the truth, and it will set us free (John 8:31-32). First of all, we are liberated from sin and its condemnation through faith in Christ. Then, as we continue reading and meditating on Scripture, our mind, will, and emotions will be changed. The sins that once enticed us will become repugnant, and the emotional prisons will be opened as we discover our position in Christ.

Bible in One Year: Lamentations 1-2

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Generous Givers

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Read: 1 Chronicles 29:1–14 | Bible in a Year: Psalm 119:1–88; 1 Corinthians 7:20–40

Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:14

After reviewing all God had already done throughout our church’s history, leaders presented the congregation with a proposal for a new gym to help us better serve our community. The leadership team announced they’d be the first to sign pledge notes to fund the construction. I initially prayed with a heart soured by selfishness, not wanting to offer more money than we had already committed to give. Still, my husband and I agreed to pray for the ongoing project. While considering all God continued providing for us, we eventually decided on a monthly offering. The combined gifts of our church family paid for the entire building.

Grateful for the many ways God’s used that gym for community events since we celebrated opening its doors for ministry, I’m reminded of another generous giver—King David. Though the Lord didn’t choose him to build His temple, David invested all his resources to the project (1 Chronicles 29:1–5). The leaders under him and the people they served gave generously too (vv. 6–9). The king acknowledged all they’d contributed had first been given to them by God—the Creator, Sustainer, and Owner of everything (vv. 10–16).

When we recognize God owns it all, we can commit to grateful, generous, and faithful giving for the benefit of others. And we can trust the Lord will provide—and may even use the generosity of others to help us when we’re in need.

Lord, please help us remember You own it all as we commit to giving You our all, willingly and selflessly.

God gives first, and He always outgives His most generous givers.

By Xochitl Dixon

INSIGHT

For further study, see Cultivating a Heart of Contentment at discoveryseries.org/hp052.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – High and Low

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Luke 4:1–2

Have you ever noticed that after you’ve had a “high” day like a birthday or passing a test or a vacation, sometimes you have a “low” day? On high days everything seems to be going great and you are happy. On low days nothing seems to go right. You are grumpy and sad and you may not even know why.

Everyone has high days and low days. Jesus had a wonderful day when he was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River. The Bible says he was full of the Holy Spirit, and being full of the Holy Spirit makes you feel great. But immediately, the same Holy Spirit led him out into the desert, and there the Devil came to visit him and to tempt him. It was an awful time for Jesus. So how did he get through it? He responded to every temptation by quoting God’s Word, and the Devil finally gave up and left him.

So when a high day comes your way, don’t be surprised if a low day follows. And when the low day comes, believe that it will go away in time. Hide God’s Word in your heart for those low days, and use it to help you resist the temptations that you face.

Dear Lord, I love high days, and I wish they could stay all the time. I hate low days, but help me to realize they won’t last forever. Help me to hide your Word in my heart for those low days. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Weakness Is God’s Opportunity

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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. — 2 Corinthians 12:9

Adapted from the resource Ending Your Day Right Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

Do you ever feel hopelessly weak and down on yourself? God wants you to know that the only power weakness has over you is the power you give it.

Disliking yourself because you have weaknesses opens the door to trouble that can affect many areas of your life. But human weakness is no surprise to God. In fact, it is an opportunity for His strength and power to be made perfect in your weakness.

As you meditate on the truth of this promise, make a decision that you will not get so disturbed about your weaknesses that you fail to recognize them as great opportunities for God. Stop grieving over your weaknesses and start receiving God’s grace, strength, and power.

Prayer Starter: Father, I ask for Your help to see myself the way You see me. Help me to view my weaknesses as opportunities to receive your grace and strength. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Free Gift 

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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

One night I was speaking to several hundred men gathered in a skid row mission for an evangelistic meeting. I had been invited to bring the address and as always my heart was deeply stirred when I realized that these men needed the Lord so very much. In the spiritual sense, though, their lot was no worse than the leaders of the city, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death whether one is rich or poor, old or young, sick or well. It makes no difference. The wages of sin is death.

In an effort to communicate to these men the love of God and His free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, I pulled a ten-dollar bill from my pocket and said, “The first person who comes to take this from my hand, can have it as a free gift.” This was my way of illustrating God’s gift of grace. Out of the hundreds of people seated before me, not a single person moved as I extended the bill, repeating several times, “The first one who will come and take this bill from my hand can have it.”

Finally, a middle-aged man, shabbily dressed like the rest, stood timidly to his feet and with an inquiring expression said, “Do you really mean it?” I said, “Sure, come and get it; it is yours.” He almost ran to grasp it and he thanked me. The rest of the crowd began mumbling, as if to say, “Why didn’t I have the faith to go and accept the gift?”

This gave me a marvelous opportunity to emphasize that we do not earn God’s love. He loves us unconditionally – not because of who we are, but because of who He is. God proved His love for us in that while we were all wretched sinners, He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for us and give to all men who will receive Him the gift of eternal life. Oh, what an attractive gift. Who could refuse to accept such a wonderful gift?

Bible Reading:Romans 6:17-22

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will trust the Lord to help me make His offer of this marvelous free gift, the gift of His only begotten Son who is eternal life, so attractive that no one can refuse to accept it.

 

http://www.cru.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Working in Exile

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Read: Jeremiah 29:4-14

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf . . . (v. 7)

Exile is a metaphor the Bible uses repeatedly for the life of faith. It is during times of displacement that God’s people most profoundly rely on God’s presence and God’s promises. And it is during exile that God makes himself known to an unbelieving world through his people.

When the Babylonians conquered and enslaved Judah in 586 BC, God’s people faced two choices. They could curse the pagan city while capitalizing on it. Or they could assimilate into the city, becoming pagans themselves. God mandates a third choice. God tells his people to maintain their faith while living in this home away from home. At the same time, God adds: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf” (v. 7).

God commands this investment in the pagan city not only to benefit his people but also to benefit their neighbors. Neighbors who, in this instance, are social and political adversaries. As Christians, we live in a world that is inherently hostile to us. Like the exiles, we are tempted either to capitalize on the “earthly city” while cursing it or to assimilate to such an extent that we are unrecognizable as God’s people. God commands a third way: to invest ourselves in such a way that our communities are blessed and God’s name is known. —Ben Van Arragon

Prayer: Lord God, make your presence known to my community through my investment in it.

 

https://woh.org/