Daily Archives: September 14, 2023

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Let Go

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Bible in a Year:

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 46

The owner of the bookstore where Keith worked had been away on vacation for only two days, but Keith, his assistant, was already panicking. Operations were smooth, but he was anxious that he wouldn’t do a good job overseeing the store. Frenetically, he micromanaged all he could.

“Stop it,” his boss finally told him over a video call. “All you have to do is follow the instructions I email you daily. Don’t worry, Keith. The burden isn’t on you; it’s on me.”

In a time of conflict with other nations, Israel received a similar word from God: “Be still” (Psalm 46:10). “Stop striving,” He said in essence, “just follow what I say. I will fight for you.” Israel was not being told to be passive or complacent but to be actively still—to obey God faithfully while yielding control of the situation and leaving the results of their efforts to Him.

We’re called to do the same. And we can do it because the God we trust is sovereign over the world. If “he lifts his voice [and] the earth melts,” and if He can make “wars cease to the ends of the earth” (vv. 6, 9), then surely, we can trust in the security of His refuge and strength (v. 1). The burden of control over our life isn’t on us—it’s on God.

By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

How can you let go of situations that are out of your control and surrender them to God? What aspects of His character help you to surrender all to Him?

Almighty God, You know what’s troubling me. I don’t know how to deal with it, but You do. Help me surrender to Your leading.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Guarding Your Mind and Emotions

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“Stand firm therefore . . . having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14).

True righteousness begins with a right relationship with God.

A Roman soldier would often engage his enemy in hand- to-hand combat. At such times, the weapon of choice was the short sword, with which he sought to penetrate his opponent’s vital organs. For his own protection he wore a molded metal breastplate that extended from the base of his neck to the top of his thighs. It helped deflect any attacks aimed at his heart and abdomen.

The Roman breastplate has great symbolism in Paul’s analogy because to the Jewish people, the heart represented man’s mind and thinking processes; the intestinal area or bowels represented the seat of feelings and emotions. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (KJV). Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jesus added, “From within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts” (Mark 7:21).

During spiritual warfare, Satan’s primary attacks target your thinking and emotions. If he can condition you to think and feel contrary to God’s Word, he has won a significant victory. That’s why he attempts to fill your mind with lies, immorality, false doctrine, and half-truths. He tries to blur the line between righteousness and sin by surrounding you with evil influences that increase your tolerance for sin. He clothes offensive sin in the blinding garment of entertainment. He puts it to music and masks it in humor to confuse you and deaden your spiritual senses. Satan wants to corrupt your emotions and draw you into sinful desires.

Putting on the breastplate of righteousness begins with a right relationship with God, who is the source of true righteousness. From that relationship flows the commitment to cultivate righteousness in your own life by learning and applying His Word. Therein lies the protection you need to safeguard your mind and emotions from satanic deceptions.

Suggestions for Prayer

Focus on strengthening your relationship with God today. Commune with Him in prayer. Meditate on His Word. Seek His grace in responding thoughtfully and righteously to the temptations you face.

For Further Study

Read Proverbs 10, noting Solomon’s description of righteous people.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Stop Trying and Start Trusting

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[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

— Philippians 2:13 (AMPC)

Most of us desire the good life God has planned for us, but sometimes we fail to recognize the areas our lives that need to be changed. Many times, you set out to make those changes, yet despite your best efforts, you seem powerless to make those changes happen.

Trying to bring about change through your own strength and plans will always result in frustration. God is waiting for you to stop trying to change and start trusting Him to change you.

If you need to make changes in your thoughts, attitudes, and behavior, understand that you can’t do it by yourself. Spend time with God and ask for His help—after all, if He can’t do it, it can’t be done. But He can…and He will!

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for helping me to change. I know I can’t do it without You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg –Consumed by Pride

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Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.

Esther 5:9

Haman was the archetypal egomaniac. He surrounded himself with those who would listen to his incessant talking about himself and who would sycophantically acknowledge his significance and greatness. He lived with the mistaken notion that he was the center of the universe. Haman would fit perfectly in contemporary Western culture, where social-media feeds and news outlets are often littered with stories of those who apparently have done little of true significance but who live for, and expect, attention and recognition. (Of course, our hearts are not much different in their proud desire for praise. The difference is often not that we are more godly but that we lack the opportunity to showcase ourselves.)

So it was that after Haman attended the exclusive banquet put on by Queen Esther, he left “joyful and glad of heart” at the elevated position in the kingdom that had seen him invited as the honored guest. Yet all the enjoyment, prestige, and accolades were insufficient to prevent him from becoming entirely destabilized by the fact that Mordecai did not stand when Haman passed by. His joy was so brittle that this one apparent slight caused wrath to consume him.

Pride does that to a person. Nothing can ever satisfy. For the proud person there is always another promotion, another award, another dollar to aim for—something else beyond their reach. King Solomon writes of such a person, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). This was true in Haman’s life. It was pride that drove him to plot murder—even a massacre. It was pride that meant he could not enjoy what he had but could only be angry at what he did not have.

We may shake our heads at Haman’s pride. But then we read in God’s word of how Jesus, God Himself, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). And we are forced to ask whether we are more like that or like Haman. When we thoughtfully consider Jesus’ pattern of humility, we see the truth of our own prideful hearts.

We would do well to echo the words of George Whitefield: “O that I could always see myself in proper Colours! I believe I should have little reason to fall down and worship myself. God be merciful to me, a Sinner!”[1] As we witness Haman’s pride and eventual downfall and look inside ourselves, surely we are prompted to cry out for God’s mercy to help us walk in humility like Jesus—for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Esther 5:9-14

Topics: Biblical Figures Humility Pride

FOOTNOTES

1 The Two First Parts of His Life, with His Journals (W. Strahan, 1756), p 75.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – Jesus Will Never Change

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“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Have you ever gotten ready for school in the morning and decided you did not like your outfit? Maybe you did not like that color of socks. Maybe that shirt is uncomfortable. Maybe your shoes were too tight or too dirty to wear. Unless you are short on time, it is usually OK to change your clothes. People do it all the time.

Have you ever realized that a food you used to hate is starting to become a favorite food now? Maybe you used to hate spinach. After all, it is slimy and green. Your parents made you try it when you were little, and you wanted to spit it out! But let’s say that you just tried spinach again recently. (You had to, because it was in Grandma’s manicotti dish, and you love Grandma’s manicotti! So you tried it again – you put it on your fork, turned it around so you could get a good look at it, tasted it thoughtfully, and swallowed it right down! And you could not believe your tastebuds! After all those years of hating spinach, you are starting to love it. People are like that. As we grow older, our tastes change.

Did you ever lose track of someone who used to be a good friend of yours? Maybe you moved to another town, or maybe you just got busy with things going on at church or with your schoolwork. Maybe something happened in your family, and you just have not been seeing the same friends every day anymore. Or maybe your friends and you have just become interested in such different things that you do not need to spend much time together. That happens to people. Some friends will always be a part of our lives. But some of our friends will change over the years. We make new friends. We may never forget the old friends, but we might spend less time with them.

Change is a part of every human being’s life. Things change around us. We have to deal with that change. Other people change around us. And we ourselves change, both inside and out. We change our minds about little things like favorite clothes or what to drink at breakfast-time. We change our minds about big things, too, like whether we will obey our parents and what we want to be when we grow up. Sometimes it takes a very long time for us to change – it takes a long time to grow taller or wiser! On other things, we might change overnight – it does not take too long to decide whether or not to obey, does it?

Every human being has to change. But one encouraging thing about Jesus Christ is that He is always the same. He is God, so He will always have the great character that only God has. He will always be perfectly good and perfectly great in every single way. Jesus Christ does not have to decide every day whether or not He will love His people. He does not have to think about whether He will keep on being gracious and merciful and sinless. He does not have to wonder about whether He ought to be all-powerful.

Because Jesus never changes, we do not have to wonder about Him, either. We can trust that Jesus will always be exactly Who He always has been. He will never lose love for His people. He will never forget us or let us down or change His mind about us. He will never make mistakes. He will never do wrong. Because He is faithful and never-changing, Jesus deserves our trust and worship. What a great God He is!

The Lord Jesus Christ is always going to be exactly Who He always has been.

My Response:
» Do I ever doubt whether Jesus is still the same Person He was in Bible times?
» Do I ever wonder how Jesus could keep on showing grace to me every day?
» How should I respond as I learn more about the unchanging goodness and greatness of Jesus Christ?

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Eight devastating floods and Apple’s product-launch event: A reflection on the pathway to triumphant faith

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Hurricane Lee is prompting hurricane and tropical storm watches for much of coastal New England this morning, with winds from the massive storm expected as early as tomorrow. Six thousand miles away, a massive flash flood in Libya has killed at least 5,100 people; thousands are still missing, and tens of thousands are homeless. In the first eleven days of September, eight devastating flood events unfolded on four continents. The US has already set a record for billion-dollar weather disasters in a year, with four months still to go.

Meanwhile, Apple’s latest product-launch event unveiled even more sophisticated innovations from the world’s most valuable company. But all that the high tech on my desk, in my pocket, and on my wrist can do about the weather is to report the present and attempt to predict the future. Nothing we have invented can deter nature’s unbridled power and ferocity, proving every day the finitude and frailty of humans and our urgent need for power and protection beyond ourselves.

“Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock”

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the death in AD 407 of St. John Chrysostom, considered by some historians to be “the greatest preacher ever heard in a Christian pulpit.” In one of his messages, he reminded his congregation: “The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus.

“What are we to fear? Death? ‘Life to me means Christ, and death is gain.’ Exile? ‘The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord.’ The confiscation of goods? ‘We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it.’”

He therefore told his people, “I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.”

What is the pathway to such triumphant faith?

“Let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled”

Yesterday we focused on the biblical priority of spiritual discernment and the urgency of “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Today, let’s step further in this direction by considering Jesus’ maxim: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

My attention was drawn to Jesus’ words by this reflection from St. Leo the Great (c. 400–461): “The blessedness of seeing God is promised to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean would not be able to see the brightness of the true light, and what would be happiness to clean minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled, and the inner eye be cleansed of all the filth of wickedness, so that the soul’s gaze may feast serenely upon the great vision of God.”

C. S. Lewis made the same point rather more succinctly: “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”

How can we “want to”? Let’s take three simple but empowering biblical steps today.

One: Refuse the lure of secular thinking.

An E. coli boil water notice was issued a few days ago where I live after traces of the bacteria were discovered in a water sample. We could not see the danger, but that made it no less real.

We are wise to view secular reasoning in the same way: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Scripture is clear: “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong” (Exodus 23:2 NIV) because “friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4).

The Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho observed: “You have two choices: to control your mind or to let your mind control you.” As fallen people, the latter is our default. As redeemed people, we can make the daily decision to choose the former, which leads to our second step.

Two: Focus your mind consistently on Jesus.

John encouraged us, “If we walk in the light, as [the Father] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Jesus assured us: “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

In Life Without Lack, philosopher Dallas Willard writes: “Once you begin to have an impression of who God truly is, everything else fades into insignificance. When the bountiful sufficiency of God himself and the glorious realm of his kingdom are continually brought before the mind, it puts everything else in its proper place and opens us to a life in which we find God more than capable of supplying everything we need.”

As a result, it is transforming to begin your day by spending time alone with Christ. Begin by saying to him, “Speak, Lᴏʀᴅ, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9 NIV). Now read his word, pray, and worship. Then ask him to help you experience his presence through the day. Talk with him as you would with any other friend. Listen to the voice of his Spirit in your mind and heart, which leads to our third step.

Three: Submit daily to the Holy Spirit.

Paul was emphatic: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Oswald Chambers similarly noted: “The tiniest thing we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is quite sufficient to account for spiritual muddle, and all the thinking we like to spend on it will never make it clear.” Conversely, “When the natural power of vision is devoted to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the power of perceiving God’s will and the whole life is kept in simplicity.”

Marcus Aurelius observed: “Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought.”

What “shape” will your mind take today?

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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Psalm 34:19

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

As the Israelites prepared to take possession of the Promised Land, they stared up at the walls of Jericho. But in the middle of today’s difficult circumstances, God had some good news for Joshua.

As Joshua stepped into Moses’ leadership shoes, God assured Joshua that He was giving them the Promised Land. Every piece of land where Joshua’s foot fell belonged to him. No man would be able to stand before him all the days of his life. Just as God was with Moses, He was with Joshua. He would never leave nor forsake him.

As you march around your personal Jericho, be encouraged by the Good News. The afflictions of the righteous may be many, but the Lord delivers us from them all. If your heart is broken, remember that He has heard every prayer and has captured each tear in a bottle.

Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning. No matter your affliction – physical to financial – God’s Word contains 3,000 promises that apply to you. He keeps His promises from generation to generation, and He will not fail you.

No matter how many laps you have circled around your Jericho, if you are walking in obedience and making every step one of faith, your shouting day is coming. One day soon, a roar will erupt. Your shout will go up, and those walls will come down!

Blessing: 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May God’s promises take root and rise up in your spirit as you march around your Jericho. May His Good News carry you to your shouting day when the walls fall flat in the name of Jesus!

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Isaiah 19:1-21:17

New Testament 

Galatians 2:1-16

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 59:1-17

Proverbs 23:13-14

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Let Love Rule

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Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4

 Recommended Reading: Romans 14:17-19

As the Gospel spread from Jerusalem into the world of the Gentiles, cultural issues arose that required a spiritual response. For instance, in the food markets of large cities like Corinth and Rome, meat would be sold that was leftover from sacrifices in pagan temples. In other words, it was meat that had been offered to idols. The question arose as to whether Christians could eat that meat without defiling their conscience.

Paul wrote two lengthy passages addressing this issue in 1 Corinthians 10:14–11:1 and Romans 14:1-23. In short, he said that there was no harm in eating meat from pagan temples, but he left the decision up to the individual. More importantly, he cautioned against letting one’s own conscience be a standard of judgment against others. He said that peace in the church and mutual edification were most important (Romans 14:19). As always, love was to be the guide: “Love…does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

In all our relationships—home, work, church—we are to love one another, not judge one another. Pursue peace and edification wherever you go today.

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – We Need to Tell Them

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Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” 

—Hebrews 3:15

Scripture:

Hebrews 3:15 

The story is told of an attorney who was trying to deliver an important document to a man who was determined to avoid him. The man reasoned that it was a subpoena of some kind, and he went out of his way to dodge it.

Fourteen years passed, and the man found himself lying in a hospital, dying of cancer. Through a strange chain of events, the attorney was sick also, and the two men ended up sharing the same hospital room.

The dying man turned to the attorney and said, “Well, you never got me! I escaped you all this time, and now it doesn’t matter. You can go ahead and serve your subpoena. I don’t even care.”

“Subpoena?” the attorney replied. “I was trying to give you a document that proved you had inherited 45 million dollars!”

People can be the same way when it comes to the Christian faith. They go out of their way to escape a relationship with Jesus Christ. They go out of their way to avoid Christians. As a result, their hearts get harder. And they just might go too far.

People reject Jesus because they don’t know of all that He offers. They don’t know of His great promises. That is why we need to tell them. That is why we need to go out of our way to tell people about the love of God.

So let’s keep praying, and let’s keep trying to reach these people. You may even know someone who seems as though they have a hardened heart beyond the point of no return.

Take heart. Think of Saul of Tarsus, whose conversion was so radical and unexpected that the first-century Christians thought it was some kind of trap in which he was trying to infiltrate their ranks. They didn’t believe that God could save someone who was as wicked, hostile, and against the church as Saul of Tarsus was.

But then Saul of Tarsus became known as Paul the apostle.

You may know someone who seems so hardened and so far gone. Keep praying, because God could reach them.

Or maybe there has never come a moment in your life when you’ve personally asked Jesus Christ to forgive your sin. You know about God, but you don’t really know Him. If you know something to be true and don’t respond to it, that can harden your heart.

The Bible tells us, “Remember what it says: ‘Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled’ ” (Hebrews 3:15 NLT).

If you don’t yet know Jesus Christ in a personal way, then do something about it immediately. Now is the time. If you keep putting it off, there will come a day when you won’t hear from God anymore, because you will have hardened your heart irreparably.

Yes, there is a point of no return. Don’t let it happen to you. Don’t live another day outside of God’s will and His purpose and His blessing for you.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie