Category Archives: The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Life of the Prayer

August 12, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Micah 6-7

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. – James 5:16

In Micah 6:6-8, the prophet asks this penetrating question about prayer:

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings?…Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression?…He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah was convinced that true prayer is more than just words. The Bible is clear that God pays as much attention to the life of the one who is praying as He does to the words of the prayer. And He also urges us to persevere in prayer.

One evening I was in a prayer meeting in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I asked for prayer for my father, who never darkened the door of a church. I had prayed for him every day for seven-and-a-half years. After the meeting, two men asked if they could visit my dad and share the gospel with him. On their first visit, my dad threw them out of the house, but a few weeks later they tried again. My dad invited them in and went over to the sofa and knelt down, weeping his way to the foot of the cross. Six weeks later, he died.

Christian, God is not reluctant to answer our prayers. He simply asks that we walk humbly with Him, pray without ceasing, and never lose heart.

Prayer

Lord, purify my heart, and that will purify my life. Amen.

To Ponder

To be effective, our prayers must be accompanied by a God-honoring life.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – When Others Abuse

August 11, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:5

“[Love] . . . is not easily angered.”

I certainly don’t advocate “doormat” Christianity, letting people continually run over us or abuse us. There are times when we must stand up for what is right and just. But we should not sin in the process. We must face the fact that much, if not most, of our anger is sinful, even though it may arise from the sinful actions of others. In emphasizing our sin of anger, I do not mean to minimize the sin of those other people. But there’s an old saying, “Two wrongs never make a right.” The other person’s sin does not make our sin of anger “right” or justifiable. Or as James wrote, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires” (1:20).

Furthermore, I suspect that much of our anger is not a result of significant injustices or wrongs against us but is the manifestation of our own pride and selfishness. I’ve been embarrassed or inconvenienced or frustrated by the actions (or even the inactions) of other people, so I get angry. While there is plenty of injustice that deserves a response of righteous anger, we should not use that as an excuse to evade the reality of the sinful anger that so often arises in our hearts and may be expressed by our words or actions.

So I commend to you three principles or practices that I find so helpful: a firm belief in the sovereignty of God; a diligent pursuit of brotherly love that covers a multitude of sins and does not keep a record of wrongs; and a humble realization that, in comparison to my brother’s sin against me, I am the ten-thousand-talent debtor to God (Matthew 18:21-35). (Excerpt taken from Respectable Sins)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Rejoice in the Lord

August 11, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Habakkuk 1-3

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10

The book of Habakkuk contains a passage you can cling to when the bottom falls out of everything. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18.)

I know of a missionary who has labored for twenty-five years with very few people responding to the gospel. Yet he clings to this passage in Habakkuk and finds comfort and encouragement.

I think also of a mother who reared two children in a godly home. When they came of age, both daughters decided to follow the ways of the world. This praying woman continues to trust in the Lord.

I know a man who spent the greater part of his life working for a large corporation. After twenty-five years of faithful service, he was fired without notice. Eventually, he also lost his home and his savings, but not his peace of mind.

Joy is not a matter of good fortune and pleasant circumstances. Joy is a decision, and God is the focus.

Christian, what are your disappointments? What circumstances have gone wrong for you and are sapping your joy? I challenge you to memorize the passage from Habakkuk and claim it each morning.

Finding our joy in the Lord is a matter of will–a decision we can make because of the love and faithfulness of God.

Prayer

Lord, show me how to fix my inward gaze on You, my hope and my joy. Amen.

To Ponder

Circumstances can defeat us only when we’ve taken our eyes off the Source of our joy.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Sometimes Failure

August 10, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Romans 2:4

“God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”

As we begin to mortify a particular sin, we’ll often fail more than we succeed. Then we must realize that we stand before God on the basis of his grace rather than our performance.

I realize there’s a fine line between using grace as an excuse for our sin and using grace as a remedy for it. John Owen had keen insight on this: “here then is where the deceit of sin intervenes. It persuades us to dwell upon the notion of grace and diverts our attention from the influence that grace gives to achieve its proper application in holy lives. From the doctrine of assured pardon of sin, it insinuates a carelessness for sin. the soul—needing frequently to return to Gospel grace because of guilt—allows grace to become commonplace and ordinary. Having found a good medicine for its wound, it then takes it for granted.”

The way to stay on the right side of the fine line between using and abusing grace is repentance. The road to repentance is godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV). Godly sorrow is developed when we focus on the true nature of sin as an offense against God rather than something that makes us feel guilty. Sin is an affront to God’s holiness, it grieves his Holy Spirit, and it wounds afresh the Lord Jesus Christ. It also gratifies Satan, the archenemy of God. Dwelling on the true nature of sin leads us to godly sorrow, which in turn leads us to repentance.

Having come to repentance, we must by faith lay hold of the cleansing blood of Christ, which alone can cleanse our consciences. In fact, it is faith in Christ and the assurance of the efficacy of his cleansing blood that leads us to repentance.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Walking in the Word

August 10, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Micah 1-2

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. – Ephesians 3:16

A recent magazine article dealt with our society’s growing trend of making celebrities of people involved in criminal or immoral activity. But it really isn’t anything new.

Consider life in the time of the prophet Micah. The Bible tells us the land was filled with idolatry, covetousness, oppression, and contempt for the Word of God. The spiritual and political leaders abused their power, leading the people down the path of destruction. There were also false prophets who enjoyed celebrity status as they said that nothing would come of all the evil in their society (see Micah 2:6).

Micah stepped forward with a clear warning from God. Judgment was coming for all who defied the Lord. He also gave a word of comfort to the faithful people of God. Micah 2:12 records God’s promise of restoration: “I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.”

How we need to give this word of mercy to hurting and helpless people! I have a friend who went through a time of deep disappointment and hurt. She could hardly hold up her head when she walked. At her lowest point, a friend began praying with her and sharing the Scriptures. Weeks passed, and the Word and prayer began to have their effect. She emerged from her ordeal revived in spirit, with a new sparkle in her eye.

Do you know someone who needs comfort–prayer and a thought from the Word of God? Just like Micah, God can use you to speak boldly and compassionately in His name.

Prayer

Lord, give me a mouth that speaks “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.” (from Ephesians 4:29) Amen.

To Ponder

No matter how dark our circumstances, God’s Word can light our way.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Unworthy Apostle

August 9, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Ephesians 3:8

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints . . . grace was given.”

Paul freely acknowledged that he received his apostleship purely as a result of God’s undeserved favor. God used Paul’s testimony to encourage me at a time when I most keenly felt my complete unworthiness to write on the subject of personal holiness.

So is all ministry—whether teaching a children’s Sunday school class, witnessing to inmates at the local prison, or preaching to thousands of people each Sunday—performed by the grace of God by people who are unworthy to be doing it?

Harry Blamires had an incisive answer to that question: “In the upshot there is only one answer for the preacher who wonders whether he is worthy to preach the sermon he has composed or for the writer who wonders whether he is worthy to write the religious book he is working on. The answer is: of course not. To ask yourself: am I worthy to perform this Christian task? Is really the peak of pride and presumption. For the very question carries the implication that we spend most of our time doing things we are worthy to do. We simply do not have that kind of worth.”

In Romans 12:6, Paul described us as “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” He was referring to spiritual gifts enabling believers to fulfill God-appointed ministry or service in the body of Christ. But note that Paul said these spiritual gifts are given according to God’s grace, not according to what we deserve. The Greek word for a spiritual gift is charisma, which means “a gift of God’s grace,” whether it is the gift of eternal life as in Romans 6:23 or the gift of a spiritual ability for use in the body. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – God, Our Refuge

August 9, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Obadiah

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. – Jeremiah 17:6

When I was a kid back in Iowa, we played a game called “King of the Mountain.” Someone would get up on a mound of dirt, and everyone else would try to get him off. There was one big kid we could never get off the hill. And he stayed on top until he was ready to come down.

In the book of Obadiah, we encounter the Edomites, who thought they were king of the mountain. But God saw things differently. “See,” [the Lord said], “I will make you small among the nations; you will be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. (Obadiah 2-4).

I recall standing at the foot of the ancient Edomite capitol city of Petra, the stronghold from which the Edomites launched their raids. They thought they could get away with anything, but their invasion of Judah in 587 b.c. brought God’s judgment.

You don’t have to be an arrogant Edomite to trust in the wrong thing. Even Christians can make the mistake of trusting in hard work, physical appearance, finances. But all those sources of security and pride can be gone in an instant. We must keep our eyes on the Lord and trust in Him as our Rock and high tower.

Prayer

Lord, when I put my security in a fortress of my own making, bring me back to the shelter of God Most High. Amen.

To Ponder

Blessed is the man or woman who boasts in the Lord’s strength.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Being Like Him

August 8, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:29

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

The Spirit’s work within us is as much a gift of God’s grace as is our justification and adoption as sons. But whereas justification and adoption are instantaneous and complete at once, our growth in Christ-likeness is a lifelong process. Therefore, we should never look solely to our love and obedience for our assurance of salvation. At most they can demonstrate our salvation, never prove it. Ultimately our assurance must rest on the Gospel and on the promises of God.

Meanwhile, we can grow in realizing how those promises point to both a glorious present and an even more glorious future. John spoke of our glorious present when he wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now” (1 John 3:2). In the same verse he went on to speak of our even more glorious future: “We know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Likeness to Christ is God’s ultimate purpose for us and the hope we look forward to.

What does it mean to be like Jesus?

First, it means to be like him in spirit, in our true inner being. This is a process that begins at conversion and will reach its ultimate fulfillment when we enter the Lord’s presence at death. Paul calls this process transformation. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). God has predestined us to be conformed to the likeness or image of his Son, and he’s now at work in us through his Spirit to bring that to pass.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Ritual or Reverence?

August 8, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 1-4

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” – John 4:23

There is an old story about two families in the mountains of Kentucky who had been feuding for years. When a young man was asked why he was fighting the other family, he had no idea. It’s what his family had always done.

That was exactly the situation in Isaiah’s time. When the Lord spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah, it wasn’t good news, because judgment was on the way. The reason? They were going through various rituals and religious activities, but they had forsaken the Lord, spurned the Holy One of Israel, and turned their backs on Him.

Oh, they were bringing offerings, but they were meaningless. They celebrated various convocations–feasts of the new moon and special Sabbaths–but God said, “They have become a burden to me.” Isaiah 1:15 records these words of the Lord: “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.”

They had kept the form but lost the meaning. And the problem is still with us today.

A close pastor friend of mine spent twenty years in Christian work, but all the time he was drifting away from the Lord. He doubled the membership, tripled the budget, and built a 100,000-square-foot building. But today he weeps and says that not one person came to faith in Jesus Christ during that time. He had kept the form but lost the meaning.

Christian, do you read the Bible merely to satisfy a habit? How do you approach your time of worship at church? Take a moment and reflect on Isaiah’s words. God longs to restore the meaning to your walk of daily discipleship.

Prayer

Lord, I want to be the kind of worshiper You seek. Show me how to worship You in truth. Amen.

To Ponder

In our worship of God, what pleases Him most?

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – From Raw Experience

August 7, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Philippians 4:12

“I know how to be brought low.”

Philip Hughes said, “every believer must learn that human weakness and divine grace go hand in hand together.” Paul had learned that lesson well. He said, “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).

Paul had learned that God’s grace is indeed sufficient; his divine enabling through the power of the Holy Spirit would sustain him in the midst of the torments of his thorn, and in the depths of other “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (verse 10).

When Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians, it had been fourteen years since Paul received those surpassingly great revelations. If we assume the thorn was given to him at about the same time, and that the three instances when he pleaded for its removal occurred soon afterward, we can say that Paul had had almost fourteen years to prove the sufficiency of God’s grace. Hardships, troubles, and dangers would continue unabated (2 Corinthians 11:25-28).

Paul was no ivory tower theologian. He did not write from the comfortable confines of a minister’s study or a counselor’s office (nor, for that matter, does any competent pastor or counselor today). Paul wrote from raw experience because he “had been there.” The anguish he experienced was real anguish, and the grace he received was real grace. It was not theoretical, nor make-believe, nor merely “whistling in the dark” to keep up his courage. No, Paul experienced a very concrete expression of God’s love and power as the Holy Spirit ministered comfort and encouragement to him in the midst of affliction. (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Do It Now

August 7, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Numbers 1-4

In Joppa there was a disciple named [Dorcas], who was always doing good and helping the poor. – Acts 9:36

In Numbers 1:2-3, Moses received a rather imposing task from the Lord. “Take a census of the whole Israelite community…all the men in Israel twenty years old or more…” Imagine how Moses could have reacted: I don’t have time to do that! I’m already leading all these people across the burning desert. I try to keep them from sin. I lead them in worship. And I’m writing the Bible!

God gave him the job on the first day of the second month of the second year. Notice when he got around to doing it–on the same day! (verse 18).

This is a great lesson for us. When we’re given a job that doesn’t really excite us, the best thing to do is get on with it, because if we keep putting it off, it will insist that we give it our attention. Christian, don’t waste time trying to figure out ways to get out of something distasteful. Roll up your sleeves, thank the Lord, and get it done.

Moses expended his energy accomplishing things for God, instead of figuring out all the reasons why they couldn’t be done. You see, what we’re talking about here is more than just success through a positive mental attitude. For a Christian to respond to the command of God requires faith, not just an act of pulling himself up by his spiritual bootstraps.

Genuine faith responds to the call and command of God by saying, “Lord, by your grace and power, I’ll do it now.” Obedience must be complete, enthusiastic, and immediate.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for letting me join Your work in this world. Amen.

To Ponder

Usually, it requires the same amount of energy to get out of doing a task as it does to do it.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Do We Love Each Other?

August 6, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 1 John 4:7

“Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

The apostle John gave us yet another indicator of the Spirit’s work within us in 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” Do you love other believers? Do you enjoy gathering with them to worship God?

I once became baffled while seeking to help another believer struggling with assurance. Nothing I suggested seemed to work. Then one day he told me his struggle was over. He’d come across 1 John 3:14. As he thought about that verse, he said, “I do love other believers. I rejoice to be around them and fellowship with them. I must truly be a Christian.” The Holy Spirit had used that Scripture to give him assurance that he was indeed God’s child.

We should ask ourselves if our love for other believers is the kind described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Are we patient, kind, gracious, slow to anger, and ready to forgive? None of us can completely measure up to this standard, but do you want to? Do you grieve over your failures in these areas? If so, you love your brothers.

Of course, this indicator (like others) can cut both ways. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

We should never be afraid to examine ourselves. But when doubts arise, the solution is not to try harder to prove to ourselves that we are believers. The solution is to flee to the cross and to the righteousness of Christ, which is our only hope.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The God We Can Know

August 6, 2016 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Today’s Scripture: Psalms 135-139

Yours, O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. – 1 Chronicles 29:11

Some years ago I was speaking to a group of university students in Tucson, Arizona. A young man near the front asked if I believed God created the world. When I told him I did, he replied, “Well, if God created this world you and I live in today with all of its pain and sorrow and violence and hatred and misery of every kind, then God must be the Devil.”

To understand what God is like, we must turn to the Bible, God’s revelation of Himself. Today’s passage has a great deal to tell us about God. First, God is omniscient. He knows everything about everything. But notice that this great truth is expressed in a very personal way. David said, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me” (Psalm 139:1). For the person who loves and trusts God, theology is more than high-sounding phrases.

Second, He’s omnipresent. He is exempt from the limitations of space. This attribute of God guarantees His nearness to each of us. It means we can have communion with Him anywhere, anytime. The psalmist said, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?…If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10).

Interwoven into the doctrines of omniscience and omnipresence is the doctrine of omnipotence, the idea that God has perfect and absolute power. Today, think about what God is like, and revel in the fact that He’s your Father.

Prayer

Lord, there is nothing too hard for You. Amen.

To Ponder

God knows everything about you, He is always with you, and He has all the power you will ever need.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Normal Practice

August 5, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 1 John 3:9

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning.”

The apostle John gave us another indicator for knowing we have eternal life: “you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (1 John 2:29).

This test can be a tricky one. We might understand John to say that only those who always do what is right are born of God. Though that’s certainly God’s standard for us, obviously none of us measures up to it. Even John himself said, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

When John spoke of “everyone who practices righteousness,” he was thinking of our normal practice, of the dominant direction of our lives.

Sometimes our obedience is marked more by desire than by performance. So we have to ask ourselves: Is my life characterized by an earnest desire and a sincere effort to obey God in all that he commands? What is my attitude toward God’s law? Do I find it to be holy, just, and good? And do I delight in it in my inner being, even though I find my sinful nature struggling against it? (See Romans 7:12,22-23.)

Accompanying our sincere desire to obey God will be a heightened sensitivity to our indwelling sin. Often it’s our increased awareness of sin that causes us to doubt our salvation or to give Satan an inroad into our minds to suggest that “a Christian wouldn’t sin like you do.” But Satan would certainly not suggest such a thought to an unbeliever. Rather, he wants unbelievers to be complacent about their sin. So turn the tables on Satan and your own internal doubts. Ask yourself if those accusations or doubts are not really a sign that you do trust Christ. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – God’s Clear Voice

August 5, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 2 Peter 1-3

I trust in your word. – Psalm 119:42

Picture this: You’re up on a high mountain with two of your Christian friends and you hear a voice from heaven saying, “Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” The three of you look at each other and say, “Did you hear that?” You all nod your heads and look around to see if anyone else is up there with you, but it’s just the three of you.

Would you be more convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God through hearing a voice from heaven than by reading the Bible’s declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

While you turn that question around in your mind, let’s reflect on 2 Peter 1:16-19.

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place.

In the context of what Peter writes here, the reference to a more sure word of prophecy is obviously the Bible. This is a mind-boggling evaluation of the validity of the Scriptures, which Peter says are more dependable, more reliable than a voice from heaven. And remember, he’s the one who heard the voice.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your Word–my permanent record of Your love and promises to me. Amen.

To Ponder

When someone wants to know if you’re really serious about something, they usually say, “Put it in writing.” God did that for us.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Weaknesses

August 4, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:10

“When I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul’s attitude toward his weakness was vastly different from our usual response. We abhor weakness and glory in self-sufficiency and manmade accomplishments. Even Christians flock to hear a testimony from the sports superstar or the popular entertainer simply because of that person’s fame and status. How many of us would make any effort to hear a man who said, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses. I am content with weaknesses. When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)?

I think of how I’ve struggled with my own weaknesses instead of delighting in them. I think of the disappointment of failing to reach important goals, of humiliations suffered that were too painful to ever share with anyone, of somewhat minor but very annoying lifetime physical infirmities. Only in the last few years have I realized what a significant contribution these have made on my walk with God and my service for him, especially in their cumulative effect. I think I’m only beginning to understand a little the validity of Paul’s statement, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

Sometimes when I’m introduced as a speaker, I cringe inwardly as the person introducing me waxes eloquent about my accomplishments. I think, “What if they knew the other side of the story? Would they all get up and leave?” Yet ironically, it is the other side of the story, the humiliations and heartaches, the failures and frustrations—not the successes and accomplishments—that have qualified me to be there to speak. Those difficult times have driven me to the Lord. I’ll be honest. It wasn’t that I wanted to lean on God; I had no other choice. But I’m finally learning that in weakness I find strength—his strength.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Emboldened

August 3, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: John 6:37

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

We need the inner witness of the Spirit, not only at the time we come to Christ, but throughout our Christian lives, especially in times of severe temptation and failure. Once I was on my way to speak at a conference on the pursuit of holiness. The trip itself had been one of those stressful experiences when I did not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, and peace to airline personnel. I felt like an utter failure (which was true). How could I possibly speak to others about pursuing holiness when I had been so unholy myself?

Arriving at my hotel room late at night, I opened my Bible to try to find some encouragement. Soon I came to a short phrase in Colossians 2:13: “he forgave us all our sins” (NIV). My heart was flooded with joy. The Spirit bore witness with my spirit that my sins of that very day were forgiven, washed away by the blood of Christ. I was emboldened with courage to speak at that conference, not because I was good enough, but because the Holy Spirit bore witness with my spirit that my sins were forgiven.

Once in a while I get discouraged about my Christian life when God gives me a glimpse of the sinfulness in my heart. At those times I’m tempted to ask, “am I really a Christian?” When those rare occasions do occur, I go back to these promises, especially John 6:37. I know that I have come to Jesus and that he has promised me that he will not drive me away. Thus I regain and strengthen my assurance. We have to let the promises of God drive away our doubts. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Marching into the Enemy’s Camp

August 3, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10-13

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. – 2 Corinthians 2:14

During World War II, one of the greatest threats to Marines in the South Pacific was snipers. An enemy soldier, armed with a rifle and a telescopic sight, would hide himself in a tree and pick off our guys one by one. But in all my time in the Pacific, I never saw a sniper armed with a tank. First of all, it would be really tough to get a tank up a tree, and then it would be very difficult to hide it once you got it there. A tank is a powerful weapon, but it’s not the right weapon for a sniper.

In today’s passage, the apostle Paul pictures the Christian life as a spiritual warfare and says that in order to win, we must use the right weapons. Listen to his words in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

The strongholds of Satan include ignorance of the Word of God and prejudice against it, indifference to spiritual truth, and the allurements of the world. To overcome these powerful forces, we can’t rely on our own strength or wisdom; we must place our confidence in the spiritual weapons God has given us. Christian, we cannot win our spiritual battles with human ingenuity, human wisdom, or human strength. We must call on the mighty name of the Lord and find our strength in Him.

Prayer

Lord, I call on Your mighty name and the power of Your Word to fight my spiritual battles. Amen.

To Ponder

Jesus overcame the temptation of the Devil, not by any human effort, but by His total reliance on the Word of God.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Daily Grace

August 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:3

“And he humbled you . . . and fed you with manna.”

There’s a lesson about grace in the way God distributed the manna to the Israelites in the desert:

“This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat.’ and the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, ‘let no one leave any of it over till the morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted” (Exodus 16:16-21).

Three times the text mentions that each person could gather as much as he needed. There was an ample supply for everyone; no one need go hungry. And God in some mysterious way saw that no one had an overabundance: someone gathering much did not have too much; someone gathering little did not have too little. Furthermore, the gathering was to be a daily activity; they were not allowed to store up for the future.

This illustrates the way God distributes grace. There’s always an ample supply; no one ever need go without. But there’s only as much as we need—and even that is on a day-to-day basis. God doesn’t permit us to “store up” grace. We must look to him anew each day for a new supply. Sometimes we must look for a new supply each hour!

https://www.navigators.org/Home

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Power of the Word

August 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Today’s Scripture: Acts 19-20

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. – 1 Peter 1:23

Sports commentators often remind us how difficult it is for a visiting team to play at someone else’s home court or field, because the home fans are so fanatical about their team. But any coach will tell you that in order to be successful and win on the road, a team must be able to overcome all the jeers and cheers.

Have you noticed in the book of Acts that Paul rarely had the home field advantage? He was usually preaching the gospel in difficult venues. In Acts 19, we find him in the city of Ephesus. Here stood the great temple to Artemis–a worship built around the practice of immorality. The city reeked with all the pollutions of paganism, while the people were dominated by sorcery, black magic, witchcraft, and demonism.

Paul didn’t have the home field advantage, but his message was the power of God unto salvation. The book he carried in his heart was the Word of God. And his life was under the control of the Spirit of God. Soon, many people from this city gripped by Satan’s power responded in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Against the backdrop of an evil power that seemed unstoppable, once again the Bible proved to be alive and powerful.

What will it take to change the lives of people we know and to clean up our towns that are in the grip of drugs, alcohol, false religions, materialism, and secularism? In Ephesus, it took the Bible. I’m sure it will take nothing less today. Let’s study the Word, live it, share it, and watch God work!

Prayer

Lord, I am reminded today that Your Word has given me the home field advantage in the war against Satan. I love Your powerful Word. Amen.

To Ponder

The Word of the Lord endures forever.

https://www.navigators.org/Home

Scriptures, Lessons, News and Links to help you survive.