Daily Archives: April 16, 2019

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Voice Then and Now

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Genesis 12:1-7

To understand how God may be speaking to us today, we should first examine how He spoke in the past. What made His voice so clear to the heroes of faith?

In the Old Testament accounts, one of the primary ways God spoke to people was by direct revelation. That is, He communicated one-on-one, directly to their spirit. This is what we see in His conversations with Abraham, for instance (Gen. 12:1-3).

Then, of course, the Lord also spoke through His Word. This included the Ten Commandments and the law of Moses, which made it possible for people to know and obey the divine will (Ex. 20:1-26).

Another way that God communicated was through circumstances. For example, think about His interaction with Gideon, who was frightened and needed some extra encouragement (Judg. 6:36-40). The Lord graciously answered his request for a special physical sign of divine presence.

The New Testament mentions more of God’s communication methods. His message can come through angels or the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:19-21; Acts 8:29). There were occasions when God spoke audibly, such as at Paul’s dramatic salvation experience on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-19).

Through these various methods, the Lord has continually reassured His people that He cares for them and is present at their side. This is certainly much-needed encouragement for our lives. Yet God may not choose to convey a message in the same way He’s done in the past. However, we know His voice is always clear in His Word when we’re willing to listen.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 8-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Celebrating Creativity

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Bible in a Year:1 Samuel 30–31; Luke 13:23–35

God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures.”

Genesis 1:20

Today’s Scripture & Insight:Genesis 1:1–21

A rarely seen jellyfish waltzed with the currents, four thousand feet deep in the ocean near Baja, California. Its body shone with fluorescent shades of blue, purple, and pink, bright against the backdrop of black water. Elegant tentacles waved gracefully with each pulsing of its bell-shaped hood. As I watched the amazing footage of the Halitrephes maasi jellyfish on the National Geographic video, I reflected on how God chose the specific design of this beautiful, gelatinous creature. He also fashioned the other 2,000 types of jellyfish that scientists have identified as of October 2017.

Though we acknowledge God as Creator, do we slow down long enough to truly consider the profound truth revealed in the first chapter of the Bible? Our amazing God brought forth light and life into the creatively diverse world He crafted with the power of His word. He designed “the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems” (Genesis 1:21). Scientists have discovered only a fraction of the wondrous creatures the Lord created in the beginning.

God also intentionally sculpted each person in the world, giving purpose to every day of our lives before we drew our first breaths (Psalm 139:13–16). As we celebrate the Lord’s creativity, we can also rejoice over the many ways He helps us imagine and create with Him and for His glory.

By Xochitl Dixon

Today’s Reflection

What creative gifts has God given to you? How might you use them for His glory?

 

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Struggle of Salvation

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For Christians, this week is the holiest of all weeks. And yet, it is holy in a most ironic way. In this week, Christians around the world seek to remember and commemorate the final days and hours of the life of Jesus. Beginning with Maundy Thursday and traversing through the horror of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, Christians seek to comprehend and remember the passion of Jesus in his suffering prior to celebrating his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.

His final hours were spent in prayer. Yet the Gospel of Luke tells us that there was nothing unusual about him being in prayer: “And he came out and proceeded as was his custom to the Mount of Olives…and when he arrived at the place…he withdrew from them…and knelt down and began to pray.”(1) As was his custom, he would go to pray. We do not often hear the content of these prayer times, but in this case, in these final hours, we see him gripped with passion. Luke tells us that he was in such agony that his sweat “became like drops of blood.” Jesus had never been in this much distress before—even in his wilderness testing—we have no other portrait of such extreme duress in prayer.

“And being in agony he was praying very fervently,” Luke says. I’ve often wondered about the nature of these agonized prayers. Was Jesus in agony over the physical torture and death he was about to endure? Was he in agony over his disciples; one who would betray him and the others who would all abandon him in his time of need? Certainly, the latter is a real possibility as he exhorts his disciples at least twice to watch and pray that you might not enter into temptation (Luke 22:40; 46). I’m sure he prayed fervently because of both of these reasons.

Whatever the reason for his agony, Jesus’s humanity was on full display in his prayer. He did not want to walk the path that was unfolding before him, and he pleads with God to provide an alternative path, a “plan B” as it were. Matthew’s gospel reveals more of his struggle. He tells his disciples, “I am deeply grieved, to the point of death.” Then he prays to God, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but your will be done” (Matthew 26:38-39). The way of suffering unfolded before him and he would go to his death, despite his anguished prayers for another way.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Struggle of Salvation →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God’s Vision for You

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“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,” says the LORD, “plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

Adapted from the resource Battlefield of the Mind Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

God’s plan for the people of the nation of Israel was only for their good. Yet they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years on what was actually an 11-day journey. Why? Was it their enemies, their circumstances, the trials along the way, or something entirely different that prevented them from arriving at their destination in a timely manner?

God called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to go to the land He had promised to give them as a perpetual inheritance—a land that flowed with milk and honey and every good thing they could imagine, a land in which there would be no shortage of anything they needed—a land of prosperity in every realm of their existence.

But the Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had seen in the past or what they could presently see. They did not know how to see with “the eye of faith.”

We really shouldn’t view the Israelites with astonishment because most of us do the same thing they did. We keep dealing with the same problems over and over again. The disappointing result is that it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.

I come from a background of abuse. My childhood was filled with fear and torment, and my personality was a mess! I built up walls of protection to keep people from hurting me, not realizing that while I was locking others out, I was also locking myself in. I was filled with fear and believed that the only way I could face life was to be in control so no one could hurt me.

As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone with a past like mine ever be all right? It’s impossible!  

But Jesus had a different plan. He said, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me . . . to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity] (Luke 4:18 AMPC).

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free—and that included me. However, I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I really could be set free. I had to get rid of my negative thinking and replace it with a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that neither my past nor my present could determine my future. Only then could Jesus free me from the bondage of my past—and free me, He did. What a marvelous miracle!

You may have had a miserable past; you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly: Your future is not determined by your past or your present!

Most of the generation the Lord called out of Egypt never entered into the Promised Land. Instead, they died in the wilderness. To me, this is one of the saddest things that can happen to a child of God—to have so much available and yet never be able to enjoy any of it.

Start believing that God’s Word is true. Mark 9:23 assures you that with God all things are possible. Because you serve a God who created everything you see out of the unseen realm (see Hebrews 11:3), you can give Him your nothingness and watch Him go to work on your behalf. All you have to do is have faith in Him and believe His Word—He will do the rest!

Prayer Starter: Dear Father, I thank You for loving me and having a vision—a good plan—for my life. I pray that You will help me overcome any negative thoughts of problems, past or present, that come against my mind, and make my life what You want it to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Healthy, Growing Body

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“Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times – speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly – and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of His body, the church. Under His direction the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

I am concerned, as you no doubt are, that God’s ideal church, in which the whole body is fitted together perfectly, becomes a reality. And if that is to happen, it will mean that I must become a part of that perfect fit.

Within the body of Christ, each of us has a unique function. True, two people might have similar functions just as a body has two hands that function similarly. But those two hands are not identical. Just try to wear a lefthand glove on your right hand!

The hands have similar functions, not identical functions. You and I might have similar abilities, but we are not identical. We are unique creations of God.

Therefore, we should not look upon our abilities with pride or be boastful of them. On the other hand, we should not be envious or look with disdain on others because of their different abilities.

Spiritual gifts include (1 Corinthians 12): wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostleship, teaching, helping, and administration; (Romans 12, additional): leadership, exhortation, giving and mercy.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:7-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  So that I might fit more perfectly into God’s whole body, I will prayerfully seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit to enable me to make a maximum contribution to the body of Christ.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Can Come Home

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

 

What do you do when your failures suck the sandy foundation of your future out from under you?  Well, you can blame the world.  Failure invites finger pointing and buck passing.  You are the victim, and the world is your enemy.  A second option is to continue playing the games.  We are masters of the masquerade.  And, well with time, the real self is forgotten.

Or you can do what the prodigal son did.  You can come home.  When Jesus told this parable of the loving father, I wonder, did he use his hands?  Later he stretched his hands as open as he could.  He forced his arms so wide apart that it hurt.  And to prove that those arms would never fold and those hands would never close, he had them nailed open.  They still are my friend.

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For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral cannot destroy the church

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The fire that devastated the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was an accident, according to the president of the Paris region. Donors have already pledged millions of dollars to rebuild the medieval landmark, one of the most iconic in the world.

The Cathedral was begun in 1163 with the laying of the cornerstone and largely completed by 1345. The cathedral towers are both 226 feet tall. They were the tallest structures in Paris until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889.

Around four hundred firefighters battled the blaze for nine hours before extinguishing it. The cathedral’s iconic spire fell, but the towers were saved.

People in Paris lined the streets as the cathedral burned, praying and holding vigils for the monument.

The “emotion of an entire nation”

The Notre Dame Cathedral is a significant metaphor for religion in our times.

Continue reading Denison Forum – The fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral cannot destroy the church →