Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Children of God

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Read: Romans 8:14-15b

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. Romans 8:14-15

We are all creatures of God by natural birth, but Paul is careful to use a different word in Romans. Here the word is children (sons) of God. We are in the family of God, and this is a very distinctive term. This is something that God intends for us to return to when we are in trouble. If you are having difficulty handling your behavior — whether you are not doing what you want to do, or doing what you don’t want to do — the way to handle it is to remind yourself of what God has made you to be.

In other words, in the struggle that you have with sin within you, you are not a slave, helplessly struggling against a cruel and powerful master; you are a son, a son of the living God, with power to overcome the evil. Though you may be temporarily overcome, you are never ultimately defeated. It cannot be, because you are a child of God. That is why Paul could say in Romans 6, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace, (Romans 6:14 KJV). In this gracious relationship, we are made sons of the living God. No matter what happens to us, that is what we are. Nothing can change that.

It is important also for us to see how we become sons of God. Paul says the Spirit of God found you, and he adopted us into God’s family. Some of you may be saying, What do you mean when you say we are adopted into the family of God? I have been taught that I was born into the family of God. The truth is that both of these are true. You are both adopted and born into the family of God. God uses both of these terms because he wants to highlight two different aspects of our belonging to the family of God. You are said to be adopted because God wants you to remember always that you are not naturally part of the family of God. We are all children of Adam by natural birth. We belong to the human family, and we inherit Adam’s nature. All his defects, all his problems, all the evil that came into his life by his disobedience. So by nature we are not part of God’s family. This is just like those today who were born into one family, but were taken out of that family and were adopted into another family. From then on they became part of the family that adopted them.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Man Well Dressed

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Read: Ephesians 4:17-24

Taught . . . to put on the new self. (vv. 21, 24)

The meaning of yesterday’s quotation, “heaven in ordinary” may not have been obvious to us, but we need have no doubts about today’s phrase “man well drest,” or “man well dressed”—what it means, what it has to do with prayer, and why it is here bracketed with that previous phrase.

“Putting on Christ” is regular New Testament language for what you actually did in becoming a Christian. So once you belong to Jesus, it’s not something you have to do again, let alone do repeatedly; it’s something you have already done. You could rightly say that the whole character of your wardrobe is now different from what it was before. So far as your witness to the world around is concerned, what you are “wearing” these days will be what you might call a uniform, showing other people what you are. But so far as your prayer life is concerned (that being the focus of these readings), what you are “wearing” these days will always be your best clothes, recognizing what a privilege it is to be meeting God and talking with him.

About that meeting, yesterday’s phrase (“heaven in ordinary”) was about how God comes to me; today’s phrase (“man well drest”) is about how I come to him. They are two ways of describing what is happening when I pray. The first consideration moved me to humble worship, this second one gives me happy confidence.

Here is the poem in its entirety:

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?

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He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

—John 3:36

Sometimes people will make a profession of faith, and then seemingly fall away. We ask ourselves, “Did this person lose their salvation?”

My question, in turn, would be, “Were they ever really saved to begin with?”

If somebody commits their life to Christ, then walks away and never comes back, I suggest to you that they were never a Christian at all. If, on the other hand, someone commits their life to the Lord, walks away, and then comes back to Christ, I suggest to you that they were simply a prodigal.

The true test is where they end up.

A true believer will always come home to the Lord, eventually. A person who is not a true believer won’t. In 1 John 2:19 (NIV) we read: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – Waiting on God Is No Vain Thing

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“The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” (Lamentations 3:25)

Jim Elliot was a missionary in Ecuador, South America – over fifty years ago. Even as a young man, Jim had decided in his heart to follow God’s leading. He did not want to make a plan unless he was sure his plan was what God wanted. He was careful not to “run ahead” of God. Instead, he waited on God to make things plain. In a letter to the girl who would one day become his wife, Jim wrote about how he was waiting on God to lead and protect and provide for them. He signed his letter to her this way:

 

Waiting on Him for Whom

it is no vain thing to wait,

Jim

 

What does it mean to say “it is no vain thing to wait” for God? The word “vain” means “worthless,” “without purpose,” “hopeless,” or “empty.”

“Waiting on Him for Whom it is no vain thing to wait.” Jim’s words were another way of saying what God Himself says in Lamentations 3:25. It is not a worthless or purposeless or empty thing to wait on the Lord. Why not? Because the LORD is good to all those who wait for Him.

You and your family might be waiting on God today for something. Maybe you are waiting for provision (things you need). Maybe you are waiting for protection (safety or a rescue from something painful). Maybe you are waiting on God for direction (leadership and wisdom).

Whatever it is you think you need or want from God…can you wait for it? Can you wait for Him? Like Jim Elliot was learning when he wrote that letter over fifty years ago, you can never go wrong if you are waiting on God. By waiting on God, you show that you trust His perfect timing and His goodness. You can show you believe the truth of Lamentations 3:25 when you hold out for God’s direction and protection and provision.

When you wait to know what God wants you to do, when you wait for Him to rescue or protect you, and when you wait for Him to provide what He thinks you need, you will agree – God’s timing is perfect, and His goodness is worth waiting for.

God’s goodness and God’s timing are always worth the wait.

My Response:

» Am I tempted to “run ahead” of God instead of waiting for Him?

» What are some ways God has protected, directed, or provided for my family and my church?

» How can I show that I trust that God really is good?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – A Blessing to All

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Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 49:6

“I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

To explore what the apostle Paul called “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) —the Gospel —we rightly examine our need of the Gospel, the work of Christ in meeting that need, and the application of his work to our individual lives in justification, adoption, glorification, and sanctification. But if we stopped at that point, it could seem as if the Gospel promotes only an attitude of pure self-interest on our part: What will the Gospel do for me? Or at most, the Gospel would be about God and me.

But the Gospel is not about God and me. The Gospel is about God and the world: “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

We’re not to be a terminus point for the Gospel, but rather a way station in its progress to the ends of the earth. God intends that everyone who has embraced the Gospel become a part of the great enterprise of spreading the Gospel. What our particular part may be will vary from person to person, but all of us should be involved.

The same Scriptures that in centuries past motivated the pioneers in world missions should motivate us today. A good starting point is Genesis 12:3, where God promises Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (NIV). God repeats this promise in Genesis 22:18, where he more specifically says, “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (NIV). In Galatians 3:16 the apostle Paul identified this “offspring” as Christ. God’s promise to Abraham, then, is that all nations will be blessed through Christ—that is, through his atoning work for us. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – This One Thing I Do

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Today’s Scripture: Colossians 1-4

To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. – Colossians 1:29

The apostle Paul is remembered for many things: He was a great Bible teacher, a brilliant theologian, and a church planter par excellence. But all these things were an outgrowth of the primary focus of his life: “We proclaim [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:28-29).

When we observe the life of Paul, we don’t see a man who meandered through life saying, “These forty things I dabble at.” Instead, we see a man of focus who said, “This one thing I do.”

We never see Paul losing his passion and excitement for his goal. Notice how he speaks of his work of bringing people to Christ and building them up in the faith. The word he uses for labor is kopiao, which means to work until you are ready to drop. Then he uses the word agonizomai, which means to strive, to struggle, to agonize. But he speaks of doing the work through God’s energy.

Christian, what about you? Does the prospect of walking with Christ and serving Him start your day with excitement and anticipation? You don’t have to be an evangelist or a missionary. All it takes is a clear focus on the person of Jesus Christ and what He has called you to do in your family, your job, your life. Why not give yourself to the task of winning people to Christ and helping them grow to their full maturity in Christ.

Prayer

Lord, may my walk be consistent through Your energy and power. Amen.

To Ponder

The focus of your life determines how you go through each day.

 

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – GOD’S PEOPLE ARE SAVED

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Read ESTHER 8:11–17

At the end of World War II, The Washington Times stated, “WAR IS OVER.” The Chicago Daily Tribune declared, “GREAT WAR ENDS.” With capital letters and bold type, newspapers ushered in rejoicing across the nation that the war was finally over.

The new edict written by Mordecai and sealed by the king’s ring (v. 10) brought about rejoicing throughout the land. The new law undermined the original one written by Haman. Rather than sanctioning the murder of the Jews, the new edict returned power to God’s people (vv. 10–11). The edict said that on the day set for their destruction, the Jewish people could defend themselves. Notice the action verbs in verse 11. They were given the authority to “destroy, kill and annihilate” anyone who dared to try to attack them.

The date of the edict is also significant. Mordecai gave this permission to his people on the very day that Haman’s edict was set to be carried out, on the “thirteenth day of the twelfth month” (v. 12). While the original harmful law was not erased, the new law ensured their protection.

The old had become new. The effect of this new edict was immediate and widespread. No longer was Mordecai a man in mourning, dressed in sackcloth and ashes. He was now arrayed in gold and purple. The city of Susa, once filled with grieving people, is now described as “joyous” (v. 15). For God’s people this was a time of great joy and happiness. They had been vindicated. Their lives had been spared.

God had triumphed over their enemies. As a result of this victory, many people of other nationalities became Jews. Rather than oppose God’s people, they wanted to be part of a people who experienced such mighty deliverance.

APPLY THE WORD

Jesus places us under a new covenant, where His burden is easy and His yoke is light (Matt. 11:30). Though we still struggle with temptation, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to resist being controlled by sin (1 Cor. 10:13). We have the armor of God, spiritual weapons that the Lord has given us as part of our victory over evil (Eph. 6:10–18).

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – The Living One

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Revelation 1:18

Have you ever been to a funeral? They are very sad times. There is a finality to funerals that is difficult for us to understand. One moment the person we love is with us on earth, and the next he or she is gone. A funeral is a way for us to say goodbye to that person. We know that we will meet him or her again in heaven, but it’s still hard without him or her here on earth. We won’t be able to make any more memories with that person. We won’t be able to laugh with him or her about a funny joke. Death is the end of everything we know here on earth. We will all die someday and leave our life here behind.

But there is one person who lives forever. Christ died on the cross, but three days later he burst the chains of death and rose victoriously. Christ conquered death and lives in heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. And Christ also lives within us, working within your heart to bring his kingdom to earth. Because Christ lives, we don’t have to fear death. We don’t have to worry when our loved ones pass away. Someday we will all share in Christ’s eternal, heavenly glory!

Dear Lord, The best news of all is that you are alive today and that you love me. I know that someday I’ll be able to see you and everyone I love here on earth! Amen.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Commitment on Trial

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Genesis 22:4-18

Abraham began walking with the Lord many years before he was asked to offer Isaac on the altar. His first step had been to leave his home and relatives and go to a land God pledged to show him. But now he was being told to give up the person he cherished most. Isaac was the son of promise, the one through whom God would bring forth a great nation and bless the entire world. Offering Isaac up was the biggest challenge Abraham had ever faced, yet he obeyed.

The Lord never allows us to rest on a spiritual plateau. That’s why He at times tests our commitment. These stretching opportunities are an expression of His love because He knows that standing still is not what’s best for us. The testing is designed to help us grow in faith, obedience, and spiritual maturity while increasing our dedication. That is the way we become valuable servants in His kingdom.

Abraham’s obedience to this crucial test was determined by his understanding of God. He believed that the Lord would keep His promise to give him descendants through Isaac, even if it required raising the boy from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). That’s why Abraham confidently declared to his servants, “We will worship and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). He knew the Lord was faithful.

If you’re going through a time of testing, God is seeking to raise your commitment to a new level. He wants to prove to you that He’s faithful to His promises and will greatly bless you for your obedience. The stretching may be painful, but He will wrap you in His love and carry you to victory.

Bible in One Year: Jonah 1-4

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Words for the Weary

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Read: Isaiah 50:4-10

Bible in a Year: Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.—Isaiah 50:4

A few days after his father died, 30-year-old C. S. Lewis received a letter from a woman who had cared for his mother during her illness and death more than two decades earlier. The woman offered her sympathy for his loss and wondered if he remembered her. “My dear Nurse Davison,” Lewis replied. “Remember you? I should think I do.”

Lewis recalled how much her presence in their home had meant to him as well as to his brother and father during a difficult time. He thanked her for her words of sympathy and said, “It is really comforting to be taken back to those old days. The time during which you were with my mother seemed very long to a child and you became part of home.”

When we struggle in the circumstances of life, an encouraging word from others can lift our spirits and our eyes to the Lord. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote, “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary” (50:4). And when we look to the Lord, He offers words of hope and light in the darkness. —David McCasland

Heavenly Father, help me to hear Your word of hope today. And help me to speak words of hope and encouragement to others, pointing them to You.

Kind words can lift a heavy heart.

INSIGHT: The Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary gives this description of Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant: “[In Isaiah 50:1-11] it is revealed how the Servant learned through his own rejection to comfort the weary and discouraged. The phrase ‘Sovereign Lord’ occurs four times and may be better translated ‘My Master God.’ It emphasized that the Servant had a Master (God) to whom he submitted and in whom he found help. The ‘words of wisdom’ (50:4) was a reference to his speaking or prophetic ministry. The followers of the Servant were called upon to trust in God, who would bring judgment upon the disobedient (50:10-11).”

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Non-Answers and Hope

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In the fifteen seasons of the television series ER, there is one scene for me that uncomfortably stands out among the many. In a hospital bed rests a former prison doctor named Truman, ridden with cancer and laden with guilt. Julia, the ER chaplain, sits beside him, trying with great compassion to listen, and being slower to give answers than he’d like. One of Truman’s roles as a prison doctor was to administer lethal injections to those who were sentenced to die. With great torment, he remembers one man in particular who did not die after the injection and needed to be given a second round. Looking back, Truman believes it was a sign from God, a sign which he ignored and would never be able to undo; the man he injected was later found to have been innocent, framed for the crime for which he was killed.

Now desperate for answers—blunt and solid answers—Truman reels at Julia for the uncertain comforts she attempts to offer. “I need answers, and all your questions and your uncertainty are only making things worse!” he yells. But in his last, livid outburst he is even more honest: “I need someone who will look me in the eye and tell me how to find forgiveness, because I am running out of time.”(1)

The problem of injustice and the difficulty of forgiveness are specters often met with cries for answers. Christians who attempt to respond at all often invoke the story of Job, for in it, the questions of injustice reel like Truman in his hospital bed, and unexpected answers from God counter in a way we never fathomed. The story begins with an accusation that Job only serves God because God has allowed him to prosper. To prove Job’s accuser wrong, God steps back, removing divine protection and leaving the tempter to his destructive game. Job loses everything; he writhes in his own anguish, confusion, and ashes. In the end, he remains in his belief of God, though limping with his weighted questions, and he encounters God without pretense.

Former evangelist turned atheist Charles Templeton heard the story similarly, but thoroughly detested the idea that the tormented Job is an answer to anything at all. Templeton held that the story of Job reveled God as a “cruel and callous despot” and for him the story was anything but an answer to suffering.(2) His anger is often pointed at the seeming attempt to speak into pain and suffering at all, to make sense of that which often cannot be explained, and to bring God into it in a way that is meant to trump the cry for answers: “[The story of Job] is an immoral story and it portrays an immoral God.”(3)

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Non-Answers and Hope →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Guaranteed Heavenly Glory

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“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17).

The Holy Spirit confirms within our hearts the hope of eternal glory.

I believe people today instinctively know they are devoid of glory (see Rom. 1:18-21), but they explore all the wrong avenues in seeking to regain it. They look for personal glory by building successful careers, spending many hours in community service, being generous to charities, and so forth. But such efforts only lead to jealousy and pride. Unregenerate men and women simply cannot know the glory that was present before the Fall.

However, there is coming a day when believers will be transformed fully into Christ’s likeness, having a complete reflection of God’s glory. We will receive a perfect, radiant glory that is far better than the glory Adam and Eve knew in the Garden of Eden before they sinned.

Glorification completes the reality of salvation. From before the foundation of the world, the Lord planned to save those who believe and conform them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29-30). Therefore, every believer lives in the hope of future glory, a hope best summarized by the following two verses: “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Ps. 17:15). “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

The Holy Spirit guides us through different levels of glory while we are still on earth. As we consider the glory of the Lord, the Spirit gradually restores the honor we lost in the Fall. He encourages us by restoring our dignity. Salvation is the path to glory, and once we start down that path we will come to its final goal, which is being fully conformed to the image and glory of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray that you would be content in allowing the Spirit to help you realize God’s glory.

For Further Study

Mark 9:1-8 contains an account of Christ’s transfiguration.

  • How was this event a preview of future glory?
  • How was it unlike anything the disciples had seen (v. 3)?
  • How did Peter reflect the other disciples’ amazement (vv. 5-6)?

 

 

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Delayed Repentance Escalates Discipline 

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The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up. Revelation 8:7

Spiritual fruit from the past is no substitute for fruit produced in the present. Praise God for our faithful ancestors of the faith, but their fruit was for their time. The Spirit of God looks to harvest fruit of repentance for this generation. The good old days of spiritual renewal are inspiring to reminisce upon, but today the Lord calls those of us with a little gray hair to grow up in His grace. We who identify with Jesus have a significant role and responsibility to produce fruit of repentance.

Those who ignore spiritual fruit bearing in this life will experience the severe discipline of the Lord in the next life. Indeed, as we close in on Christ’s second coming, it is imperative we are prepared to meet our Maker with lives that reflect God’s standards, not the anemic morality of a sick society. The picture of a world that rejects repentance of sin and turning to Jesus is not a pretty site: the discipline of the Lord on unrepentant sinners will escalate across a scorched earth.

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

How do we know if we produce fruit of repentance? Private belief for salvation and public confession in baptism are the first fruits of repentance, but just the beginning point. The ongoing fruit bearing process is a lifetime of leaning into the Lord. The Spirit reminds us when we drift into bad habits or wrong thinking. We confess spiritual pride and remember that only by the grace of God can we do good. We turn from self righteousness and turn to God’s righteousness.

What is the proof of fruit produced by repentance? Good deeds from a heart of humility and grace are fruit that glorifies God. Your Spirit-filled actions of abstinence, generosity, tutoring, public service, faith sharing, foster care and orphan adoption please your Heavenly Father. Jesus smiles when you are hospitable or when you visit the sick or those in prison. Your authentic repentance keeps you broken to care for the broken. What breaks God’s heart breaks your heart!

“I [Paul] preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grow in me a humble heart that is quick to confess and repent of my sin.

Application: What do I need to repent of and turn to the Lord for forgiveness and the faith to produce good deeds?

Related Readings: Deuteronomy 4:30; Jeremiah 18:11; Luke 3:8-9;  Galatians 3:7

 

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Two Addresses

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For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isaiah 57:15

Recommended Reading

Isaiah 57:15-21

Baby boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day, and many of them can afford second homes. For some, it’s an investment, providing rental income or real estate value. Others enjoy the fun of living part time in a vacation-oriented area.

According to Isaiah 57, God has two addresses. He dwells in two places. His heavenly home is a high and holy place where He fills the highest heaven with His glory. His throne reigns supreme in the center of Zion, ruling over the physical and spiritual realms of His creation.

But He also lives in the hearts of His humble people; and when He dwells within us, He revives us. His presence restores our souls. His abiding Spirit within us radiates enthusiasm, peace, joy, gentleness, and the very character of Christ.

We cannot lift ourselves to heaven to draw God down, but He comes willingly, gladly, and in grace. He gladly moves into our hearts and makes us His temples.

The great God, who is big enough to fill His mighty universe, is small enough to live within my heart. I am the temple of God. He literally dwells in me. Hallelujah!

Adrian Rogers

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Micah 5 – 7

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – It’s Impossible for Love to Fail

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But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.- Matthew 5:44

It is difficult to keep showing love to those individuals who take from us all we are willing to give and who never give anything back. But I want to encourage you not to give up. We are not responsible for how others act, only how we act.

The truth is that God did not give up on us. How could He? He is love, and love never quits— aren’t you thankful for that? Love is always right there, doing its job. Love knows that if it refuses to quit, it will ultimately win the victory.

Some people may refuse to receive our love no matter what we do. But that does not mean that love has failed. Love upholds us. It gives us joy. It pleases God when we walk in love.

Prayer of Thanks: Father, when I am faced with a person who doesn’t seem to receive love, help me to keep showing them love anyway. I know that no act of love is ever wasted. Thank You that love never fails.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Finding God in the Dry of Your Drought

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Today’s Truth

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Friend to Friend

Now, the Old Testament prophet Elijah is a guy I can relate to. God asked him to do and say some difficult things. He also got an all-access pass to the God-Is-Awesome show as he experienced epic miracles at the hand of the Almighty. Even so, at one point he became gripped by fear and tried to run away from his problems. He knew exhaustion and sank into a pit of depression that darkened his hope. He felt alone, yet was provided for when God sent angels to care for his every need. At times Elijah found God in grandiose shouts and flames, but also heard from Him in a humble whisper. And through all his highs and lows, he loved and served God. Yes. I can relate to this guy. He’s my kind of people.

The story of Elijah begins in 1 King 17 when God sent the prophet to give a bold message to King Ahab, the reigning King of Israel who had been doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’” (1 Kings 17:1)

Then, at the prompting of the Lord, Elijah went into hiding – first in the Kerith Ravine.

At the ravine, just east of the Jordan, God miraculously made sure His prophet had water from a brook and food from ravens. How crazy is that? Birds brought dinner to the man every night. Birds! Love it. God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider.

I think it’s important to point out here that even Elijah, God’s faithful servant and great prophet, had to endure the drought. He was provided for, but not kept from the strain and struggle just because he was living for God. Deep thirst, hard times, and hunger impacted Elijah’s days just like those of the rebellious Israelites. Just like yours and mine. Jesus spoke of this reality in Matthew 5:45 when He said that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Droughts and difficulties are a reality for all of us.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Finding God in the Dry of Your Drought →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He’s in the Midst

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“For where two or three gather together because they are Mine, I will be right there among them” (Matthew 18:20).

What better proof is there of the fact that Jesus is God, that He is omnipresent? As you and I gather with our little groups – whether two or three, or 200 – Jesus is there in the midst. And at the same time that wonderful promise applies to similar groups in Africa, Israel, China and anywhere else!

This general assertion is made to support the particular promise made to his apostles in verse 19. Those who meet in His name can be sure He is among them.

An omniscient, omnipotent God – and His Son Jesus Christ – are omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time)! What a glorious truth! Let your imagination soar: among the Masai tribe in Kenya, Africa, or the Quechua Indians in Ecuador – if they are meeting in that name which is above every name, even Jesus Christ our Lord, He is right there meeting with them.

Equally important, you and one or two friends meeting together in His name can have the assurance that He is right there meeting with you as well. And you can feel His presence – especially as you acknowledge the fact that He is there and begin to worship Him for who and what He is.

Joy of joys, God and Jesus Christ who meet with missionaries and national believers on the field and with church leaders in their councils also meet with you and me today.

Bible Reading: Acts 20:32-38

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will look for new opportunities to invoke His presence in my midst by fellowshipping with other believers in His name.

 

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Spirit and the Body

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Read: Romans 8:8-13

But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:10-11

Notice the helpful teaching about the Spirit here. He is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Then it is made clear that the Spirit actually is the means by which Jesus Christ himself is in us. By means of the Holy Spirit, Christ is in you. And if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin.

The problem is, our bodies are yet unredeemed. As a consequence, they are the seat of the sin that troubles us so. And the sin that is in us — still there in our bodies — affects the body. That is why the body lusts, the body loves comfort, and the body seeks after pleasure; that is why our minds and attitudes react with hate and bitterness and resentment and hostility. Sin finds its seat in the body. That is why our bodies keep growing old. They are dying, dead, because of sin.

But that is not the final answer for the Christian. The spirit in the Christian is alive because of the gift of righteousness. Christ has come in and we are linked with him. Paul puts it so beautifully in Second Corinthians 4:16: Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. That is the joy of being a Christian. Though the body, with the sin that is within it, is giving us trouble and difficulty, tempting us, confounding us at times, nevertheless, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Sin has its seat in the actual physical body, and it rises up like a powerful beast. But we have an answer. It is put very beautifully in First John 4:4: The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world, (1 John 4:4). The Spirit of God within us is stronger than the sin that is in our bodies. Therefore in Christ, we have strength to control the body.

Unfortunately, many of the commentators say that verse 11 refers to the promise of the resurrection at the end of life, when God is going to make our bodies alive. But that is not what Paul is saying. He is talking about the Spirit in us, giving life to our mortal bodies. A mortal body is not yet dead. A mortal body is one that is subject to death. It is dying, but it is not yet dead. Therefore, this is not talking about the resurrection. Later on Paul will come to that, but here he is talking about what the Spirit does in us now. He says that though sin in our mortal bodies is going to tempt us severely, and at times rise up with great power, we must never forget that because our human spirit has been made alive in Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of God himself dwells in us, we have the strength to say, No! to that expression of evil.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Heaven in Ordinary

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Read: Luke 1:39-45

Why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (v. 43)

“In ordinary” is in any case an unusual turn of phrase; but “heaven in ordinary” is even more puzzling. What does it mean, and what does it have to do with prayer?

Of course praying people repeatedly find “heavenly” truths becoming real in “ordinary” life. That is a wonderful experience, and a great privilege. But the words “in ordinary” represent something more than that. In fact a dictionary may give us half a dozen different meanings for “ordinary.” I think it is very possible that the meaning in Herbert’s mind, writing as he was in 17th-century England, was one in regular use in those times; a more specific, and more commonplace, reference. An “ordinary” in Herbert’s day was a tavern or other place that served meals. Here you are, having a routine lunch with a friend or two in your local diner, and the Queen of England stops by, and asks, “May I join you?” Heaven in ordinary.

The experience shared by the two remarkable women in our reading—relatives, one old, one young—was a miraculous pregnancy. They were both overwhelmed with the privilege of that most intimate awareness of God himself at work in their lives. Heaven had broken in! Their particular experience was of course unique; but something like that is the privilege of every praying believer.

Here is the poem in its entirety:

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Give It a Go

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When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.”

—Matthew 9:36–37

As a teenager, I would hang around a place in Newport Beach called the Balboa Fun Zone. I would lean up against a wall, hair hanging in my eyes (use your imagination there), looking real tough. Christians who walked around and handed out their tracts didn’t know what to make of me. They would thrust a pamphlet in my direction and then back off. But in my heart I was saying, “Talk to me. Don’t be put off by my tough-guy façade. It is false. I am too proud to say that I need help. I am too proud to say, ‘Tell me about Jesus.’ ”

I wanted someone to engage me. I would take the little tracts the Christians gave me and stuff them in my pocket, but never in the trash. I took everything that everyone gave me, everywhere. I had a drawer for all kinds of religious literature at home, and every now and then, I would pull it out, empty it on my bed, and try to sort through it. I had literature from Christians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hare Krishnas, and more. You name it, I had it. I would look at this stuff and wonder what it all meant. I was looking for someone to show me the way.

Most Christians who have a basic knowledge of the faith could have easily explained the gospel to someone like me. And there is a world full of people out there who are just like I was, waiting for someone to take a risk. They are waiting for someone like you to say, “I will go ahead and give it a go.” The worst-case scenario is they will say no. But what if they say yes?

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

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