Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Finally!

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You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

James 5:11

Recommended Reading

James 5:9-12

Different translations give us different insights. The New International Version renders James 5:11 like this: “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.”

Notice that word “finally.” Finally, after waves of attacks, after months of suffering, after hours of conversations, after countless tears. Finally, after loss of life, loss of property, loss of health. Finally, after feckless friends and miserable comforters. Finally, after endless pain and ceaseless prayers. Finally … in His timing … in His will … for His reasons. Finally, God brought it all around for good.

James was writing to Christians who were facing pressures that made them feel like Job, but he told them to persevere. He advised them to work through it to see what the Lord would finally bring about.

God gives us insights during our trials to help us along our journey, and He often weaves them into the simplest words of the Bible such as finally. If you’re facing adversity today, persevere. Wait to see what the Lord will finally bring about.

I’m grateful for those little insights God gives us, aren’t you? I don’t think we’d get through the furnace if He didn’t break through our consciousness and say, “Now wait a minute. I’m here. I’m in this place with you. I’m in the midst of this trial with you.”

David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Jeremiah 47 – 48

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Not Self-Confidence, God-Confidence!

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…Put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances.- Philippians 3:3

Everyone talks about self-confidence. All kinds of seminars are available on confidence, both in the secular world and the church world. Confidence is generally referred to as “self-confidence” because we all know that we need to feel good about ourselves if we are ever to accomplish anything in life. We have been taught that all people have a basic need to believe in themselves. However, that is a misconception. Actually, we do not need to believe in ourselves—we need to believe in Jesus in us. We do not dare feel good about ourselves apart from Him. In the above scripture, when the apostle Paul instructs us to put no confidence in the flesh, he means just what he says—do not put confidence in yourself or in anything you can do apart from Jesus.

We do not need self-confidence; we need God-confidence! Many people spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find that when they get to the top, their ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Others struggle, trying to behave well enough to develop a measure of confidence in themselves, only to endure repeated failures. Both of these activities produce the same results: emptiness and misery.

I have found that most people fall into one of two categories: (1) They never accomplish anything, no matter how hard they try, and end up hating themselves because of their lack of achievement, or (2) they have enough natural talent to accomplish great things, but take all the credit for their achievements, which fills them with pride. Either way, they are a failure—in the eyes of God. The only truly successful person in God’s eyes is the individual who knows he is nothing in himself, but everything in Christ. Our pride and boasting are to be in Jesus alone, and He is to have all the glory (credit due) for whatever accomplishments we may achieve.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Let’s Be Encouragers!

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Today’s Truth

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Philemon 1:7

Friend to Friend

I recently read about an African tribe that has what we might consider an unusual approach for dealing with people who make mistakes. When a member of this tribe does something wrong, they take the person to the center of the village where the tribe surrounds him. For two days, they remind him of the good things he has done. The tribe believes that mistakes are often a cry for help, and hope to provide that help through the layers of encouragement they freely give.

Dan began making wooden furniture when we lived in South Florida. My job was to stain and finish the pieces after he had completed them. I had never worked with wood or stain and did not know much about how to accomplish the task. But I knew who did.

I headed to our local hardware store. I explained to a salesclerk that I wanted to finish some furniture—today. I was in a hurry to place it in just the right spot in the house and wanted to get this staining business over with quickly. He smiled and patiently explained that it takes time to achieve the best finish. He obviously did not understand.

Once again I explained my simple plan. Ignoring my words, he said that a beautiful finish requires repeated layers of stain and lacquer with time to dry in between. His last words stayed with me, “There are no shortcuts if you want the final product to be right.”

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Let’s Be Encouragers! →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Subduing the Enemy 

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“At that time Samuel said to [the Israelites], ‘If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then He will rescue you from the Philistines'” (1 Samuel 7:3).

As I was reading and meditating upon the Word of God this morning, the thought struck me forcefully that this passage relates to multitudes of defeated, frustrated Christians today who feel that they have lost contact with God. They are puzzled as to why He has withdrawn His blessing from them, but the reason, in most cases, is very simple.

Throughout the history of Israel, the people alternately obeyed God and disobeyed Him. When they obeyed, He blessed, and when they disobeyed, He disciplined. At this particular time the Lord seemingly had abandoned them. It was because, as Samuel explained, they were worshiping foreign gods and idols. “If you will only obey God,” he counseled, “He will rescue you from the Philistines.”

So they destroyed their idols and worshiped the Lord, and then a miracle happened. Samuel invited all of Israel to come to Mispah and said, “I will pray to the Lord for you.” As they gathered there, the Philistine leaders heard about it and mobilized their army to attack. Of course, the Israelites were terribly frightened, but God spoke with a mighty thunder from heaven, and the Philistines were thrown into terrible confusion. Israel surrounded them, and subdued them, and the Philistines did not invade Israel again for the remainder of Samuel’s life.

Enemies can take many forms, but their intent is always to destroy. What are the Philistines in your life? Lust, pride, jealousy, materialism, financial indebtedness, physical illness, resentments, antagonism, criticism, discrimination? Do you feel that God has forsaken you?

Why not look into the mirror of God’s Word? Ask the Lord to reveal the idols of your life, then turn away from them. Confess your sins and claim God’s victory over those areas of life that are destroying you.

Bible Reading: I Samuel 7:1-12

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will carefully examine my life to see if I am harboring any idols that would cause the Spirit of God to be grieved and quenched. I will destroy any that I find, and will confess my sins and appropriate God’s fullness to live a supernatural life for His glory.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – True Leadership

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Read: Jeremiah 22:1-23:8

Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:3

Jeremiah stands before king Zedekiah with a message that the leadership of the nation was terribly wrong. All through the Bible, leaders are to be shepherds of the people, watching over them and taking care of them. This is what this king, and others like him, had failed to do. Leaders are to be an example of righteousness and justice before the people. It is a very serious thing when elected officials do things which are wrong because every leader is, as Paul makes clear to us in Romans 13, a minister of God. He may not be a believer, but he himself is an agent of God, and is to represent God’s standard of righteousness. Therefore, when these leaders of the land are guilty of wrongdoing, the effect of their wrongdoing is far greater than if they were just ordinary citizens. Jeremiah was sent to tell this king that this was what was wrong in his life. He had failed to correct the leaders of the land and to be an example of justice and righteousness.

Another thing that government leaders are to do: Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow. These are the minority groups in any country, the weak, the helpless. The king is told here that it is his task to watch that he does no violence to them. Here is a recognition of the power of government to hurt the weak. Bureaucracy can grow up, making it easy to turn a deaf ear and to be unavailable to those who are really in trouble. Special care must be taken by any government to watch over the weak among them.

Finally, Jeremiah is given a vision of the true shepherd. For the first time in this great prophecy he looks down through the centuries, and sees the coming of One who would fulfill God’s ideal, and on beyond that to the time when he will return again actually to carry it out in practice: The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior (Jeremiah 23:5-6). That is the name applied to Jesus by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians 1:30: …Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. He himself is our righteousness. So the prophet sees him coming as God’s rightful King, and one day to come again so that Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.

Lord God of hosts, may my mind and heart be open to understand what you are doing in the nations of our day. Help me to bow before you and let you search my heart, that I may be a vessel fit for your use.

Life Application

To whom are national leaders ultimately responsible? What essential characteristics does God require of these leaders? Who is the ultimate Shepherd and rightful King?

 

http://www.raystedman.org/

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Tree of Peace

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Read: Genesis 8:1-12

And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. (v. 11)

A freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah knew that the waters of the flood had receded, and that life on earth again was possible, because the messenger dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. A plant was alive. At least one of the most common and important domesticated trees in the Middle East was alive. Hence hope was alive for Noah and his kin.

All because God remembered (v. 1). God remembered Noah. And God remembered all the wild animals. And God remembered all the domestic animals with Noah on that first endangered-species-act of a boat. And because God remembered, God made a holy wind (ruach) blow over the watery, chaotic earth (v. 1). Just as in the beginning, when God’s Spirit (ruach) hovered over the chaotic waters (Gen. 1:2), so also here God’s Spirit brings order out of chaos. God the mighty Creator is now God the powerful Re-Creator and Savior.

And ever since, the olive leaf (or branch) has symbolized peace. It means the flourishing of all creatures—described throughout the Bible as shalom—is near. The tree of peace is alive. So take hope. All is not lost. God has re-membered us into one family and rescued us from the watery abyss to flourish on a renewed earth. Because of this we, like Noah, should be filled with hope.

Prayer:

God of new beginnings, bring us hope in your faithful remembering.

Author: Steven Bouma-Prediger

 

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Living on Promises, Not Explanations

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“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”—Isaiah 55:8–9

When calamity befell Job, he asked God why many times. There is nothing wrong with asking God why, as long as we don’t feel that He somehow owes us an answer. I think if God actually were to give us the answer, we wouldn’t be satisfied anyway.

What if you said, “Lord, why did this happen?” and God said, “I’m going to tell you right now. Are you ready? Sit down. Here’s why. . . .” Do you think that would really satisfy you? I don’t think it would. If the Lord told you why things happened the way they did, would it ease your pain or heal your broken heart? I don’t think so. I think it would raise more questions.

When her brother, Lazarus, died, Martha cried out to Jesus. Unfair. Foul. Not right. Instead of correcting her, Jesus tried to give her an eternal perspective: “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23).

Martha said, in effect, “Yeah, I know—in the resurrection on the last day.”

But Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (verses 25–26).

In other words, “No, Martha, you are missing the point. I am the resurrection and the life. . . .”

Here is what Martha didn’t know. Jesus was about to raise her brother from the dead. She wanted a healing; He wanted a resurrection. God was going to do abundantly above and beyond that which she could ask or think.

God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). We live on promises, not on explanations. We shouldn’t spend too much time asking why.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Sent Jesus at the Perfect Time

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“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” (Galatians 4:4)

Mom smiled. “Not till after breakfast. Would you like to help me set the table?”

Natalie gulped her food at breakfast. As soon as she finished the last bite of her cinnamon roll, she asked, “Is it time to open presents now?”

Dad pushed his chair back from the table. “Not yet, sweetheart. We’ll read the Christmas story from the Bible and sing some carols first.”

Natalie listened to Dad reading, and she sang with all her heart during the carol-singing time. But her eyes kept roving to that pile of Christmas presents wrapped in shiny, colorful paper.

Finally Mom turned from the piano and said, “Guess what, Natalie? Now it’s time!”

Like Natalie, you might have a hard time waiting to open presents on your birthday or at Christmas-time. When there is something that we really want, the time that we spend waiting for it can seem like forever. God’s people in the Old Testament probably felt the same way. God’s prophets had told them that God would send a Messiah, Someone Who would be their Savior. But hundreds and hundreds of years went by. God’s people waited and waited.

God had a perfect time for His Son to be born. He knew what that time was even before He created the world. Galatians 4 tells us that He sent Jesus into the world only when the time was exactly right – the time that He had planned. When Jesus came into the world, conditions were just right for all of the prophecies about Him to be fulfilled. For example, the Roman emperor at the time of His birth required everyone to travel to His birthplace for a census. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem. Micah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem came true (Micah 5:2). The Romans were still in power when Jesus died. Crucifixion was their normal way of putting criminals to death. Jesus’ death by crucifixion was also a fulfillment of prophecy (Psalm 22; Psalm 34:20). God made sure that His Word, given long ago through His prophets, would come true. His people had to wait for their Messiah, but God sent Jesus at the perfect time.

God sent Jesus at the perfect time to fulfill prophecies about His life and death.

My Response:

» Do I believe that God has a perfect time for working out His plans in my life too?

 

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – A Rich Welcome

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:17-18

“I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, . . . says the Lord Almighty.”

What will it be like when we enter the presence of the Lord? The apostle Peter gave us an inspired perspective on this in 2 Peter 1:11, where he said, “There will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.” This is a picture of a grand and glorious homecoming.

At the end of World War II thousands of servicemen returned home from Europe and the Far East. As the various ships on which they returned arrived in ports here in the United States, they were greeted by cheering crowds and lively bands. And if relatives were able to be present, there was the added excitement of tearful hugs and joyful kisses. These servicemen received a rich welcome back home. This is the way it will be with us, only on a much grander scale.

Peter prefaced his words about this rich welcome with this instruction: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). It might appear, upon a casual reading of this Scripture, that our rich welcome is actually dependent on our practicing these “qualities” mentioned in verses 5 through 7. However, the practice of these qualities—that is, pursuing the particular Christian virtues presented in verses 5 through 7 —is not the basis of the rich welcome. Rather, it’s one of the means whereby we make our calling and election sure. It’s a way we assure ourselves that we’ve been made new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that we do indeed have the hope of eternal life.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Claims of Christ

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Today’s Scripture: John 17:1-5

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. – Colossians 1:15

What would you do if your dad began to say outlandish things about himself? Like one morning he came to breakfast wearing his hat sideways and claiming to be Napoleon? Or he packed his bags to leave for Carnegie Hall, saying he was going to launch a singing career, and you knew the poor guy couldn’t sing a note!

You would probably try to stop him and quickly call a family pow-wow to figure out what to do. But for a person to say he’s Napoleon or Pavarotti is nothing compared to what Jesus claimed for Himself.

In His great high priestly prayer to His Father, He said, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5). Jesus Christ claimed He was alive and present with God before the creation of the world! That’s either one of the most outlandish claims ever made or it is a simple statement by the eternal Son of God.

Jesus also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Now where does that leave those people who claim we’re all heading for the same place and there are many ways to God? Obviously it leaves them in conflict with what Jesus said.

Yes, there are other men in history who have been labeled “divine” by their followers. But none of them ever died for the sins of the whole world. None of them rose again from the grave. Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies given many years before His birth. The extreme claims of Jesus sound unbelievable…unless they are true.

Prayer

Lord, I believe every claim You ever made about Yourself, and I worship You as my God and Savior. Amen.

To Ponder

Jesus is God, yet His sacrifice was necessary to satisfy His holiness.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Celebrates 40 Years

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Charles W. “Chuck” Colson was packing his bags to go home, having served his time for a Watergate-related offense. A new Christian when he entered prison, his faith had been tested behind bars. But he was sustained by the unwavering support of his wife, Patty, and that of his Christian friends on the outside. Also, he’d focused his energy while in prison ministering to fellow inmates.

As Chuck was saying his goodbyes, a large prisoner named Archie confronted him. “Hey, Colson,” he snarled, “You’ll be out of here soon. What are you going to do for us?”

Chuck said, “I’ll help in some way. I’ll never forget you guys or this stinking place.”

“Bull!” Archie yelled back, “I’ve seen big shots like you come and go. They all say the same things while they’re inside. Then they get out and forget us fast. There ain’t nobody cares about us. Nobody!”

Those words were at least part of the reason that Chuck, in August of 1976, filed papers to incorporate a brand new non-profit ministry: Prison Fellowship.

Chuck not only kept his promise to remember those in prison, he mobilized thousands of Christian volunteers and churches to do the same. For forty years now, the most forgotten-members of our society have heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, through Bible studies, seminars, and mentoring.

But Chuck wanted to do more than help those within the walls. He wanted to break the cycle of crime and incarceration. And so, Prison Fellowship has also mobilized churches and volunteers to minister to the families of prisoners through Angel Tree, which delivers Christmas gifts to the children of prisoners in the name of their incarcerated parents.

Continue reading BreakPoint – Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Celebrates 40 Years →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE TRINITY AND THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

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Read JOHN 15:26–16:11

In God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms, Ben Patterson explains prayer in light of the Trinity: “The organic union of the Body of Christ is rooted in the loving union of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together, the ‘community’ of God helps us pray. In fact, we are drawn up into the communion of the Godhead when we pray. Jesus, the Son, teaches us to pray to the Father and intercedes for us as we do. The Spirit also helps us to pray, as something of a translator [Rom. 8:26].”

Praying with us is part of the Spirit’s work. Today’s passage describes His work even more fully. When He comes, the “Advocate” or “Spirit of truth” (15:26) will, in addition to His work in the church and in individual believers, undertake three main tasks in the world (16:8–11). First, He will prove the world wrong about sin. Unbelievers don’t think they’re so bad. They don’t like the idea that they stand condemned and need a Savior. But the Spirit convicts them of their sinfulness and of their urgent need for God’s great love, shown in the gift of His Son.

Second, the Spirit will prove the world wrong about righteousness. Unbelievers think their own goodness is enough. Don’t they do their best? Are they really so bad? But the Spirit teaches them that their own self- righteousness is entirely inadequate. For eternal life with God, we need the redemption and righteousness of Christ.

Finally, the Spirit will prove the world wrong about judgment. Unbelievers are living according to the world, a system which seems normal and fine to them, but which is satanic and puts them in danger of hell. The Spirit can show them Christ, the only way to life.

APPLY THE WORD

Just as part of the Spirit’s work is to testify about Christ, so also is it part of our work (15:27). What’s your testimony? Through what faith-building stories have you testified recently to the work of God in your life? And when you talk about such things, is the focus on you or on God? Rejoice in the privilege of telling what God has done!

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – ‘WE HAVE TO FINISH! THIS IS THE OLYMPIC GAMES’

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Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi noted, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

When New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin fell in the women’s 5,000-meter run Tuesday morning, American runner Abbey D’Agostino tripped over her and fell to the ground as well. Hamblin lay on the ground until she felt D’Agostino’s hand on her shoulder. “Get up, get up! We have to finish!” Agostino said to her. “This is the Olympic Games. We have to finish this.”

The two finished last and next to last, but both will advance to Friday’s final because they were tripped. Hamblin told reporters, “I am so grateful to Abbey for helping me. That girl was the Olympic spirit right there. I am so impressed and inspired by that.”

Christians need more of the “Olympic spirit” these days.

The Washington Post reports that abortion advocates are becoming more proactive than ever. As Planned Parenthood’s president Cecile Richards says, “We need to challenge or repeal every single restriction that’s out there.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is expected to finalize regulations next month that would allow people to stay in homeless shelters based on their identified gender. The move pits LGBT groups against religious organizations that operate many of these shelters.

It also raises the question of security for shelter guests. John Ashmen, president of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, notes: “One of the guests at a rescue mission overheard someone on the street saying, ‘Dude, if you go down to the rescue mission and tell them you’re transgender, you can sleep in the women’s dorm and even shower with them.'”

Here’s a metaphor for our times: a fascinating article in The New York Times Magazine reports that Michelangelo’s David has cracks in his ankles. If the statue is tilted even fifteen degrees, perhaps by an earthquake, it will likely collapse. Since there were 250 earthquakes in the Florence countryside just in December 2014, this is a very real danger.

Continue reading Denison Forum – ‘WE HAVE TO FINISH! THIS IS THE OLYMPIC GAMES’ →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – David: A Picture of God’s Sovereignty

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Psalms 103:19-22

Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s purposes for adversity. In the midst of a personal tragedy, the Lord’s sovereignty may seem like impractical and unrealistic theology. But the truth is, God works all things together for the believer’s good (Rom. 8:28).

David’s writings illustrate the importance of trusting that the Lord is in control, no matter how difficult the situation. Sometimes it’s easy to think of the biblical writers as perfect, almost Christlike figures. But David’s life was full of adversity, temptation, sin, and forgiveness.

When he was running for his life from King Saul, God spared him. When he yielded to temptation with Bathsheba, God spared him. When his son attempted to take David’s throne, God spared him and kept him as king.

Through all of these unfortunate circumstances, David discovered God was protecting and guiding him every step of the way—and using him for extraordinary purposes, despite his human failings. These experiences taught David to trust wholeheartedly in the Lord’s sovereignty.

For those of us in similar situations, the question is, Do we believe God is in control? If He’s not, then who is? In other words, if life events are random and without purpose, then to whom do we turn in trials?

In 1 Chronicles 29:12, David says that God rules over everything and His hand strengthens everyone. Have faith in the Lord’s ability to strengthen you with His sovereign hand. Though you may not always understand His reasons, you can surely trust His purposes.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 28-30

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Swagger

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Read: Romans 16:1–4,13,21–23 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 97–99; Romans 16

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

In the summer of 2015, Hunter (aged 15) carried his brother Braden (8) for a fifty-seven-mile walk to raise awareness of the needs of people with cerebral palsy. Braden weighs sixty pounds, so Hunter needed frequent rest stops where others helped him stretch his muscles, and he wore special harnesses to disperse Braden’s weight. Hunter says that while the harnesses helped with the physical discomfort, what helped him most were the people along the way. “If it weren’t for everyone cheering and walking with us, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. . . . My legs were sore, but my friends picked me up and I made it through . . . .” His mom named the arduous trek “The Cerebral Palsy Swagger.”

The apostle Paul, who we think of as strong and courageous, also needed to be “picked up.” In Romans 16 he lists a number of people who did just that for him. They served alongside him, encouraged him, met his needs, and prayed for him. He mentions Phoebe; Priscilla and Aquila, who were co-workers; Rufus’s mother, who had been like a mother to him as well; Gaius, who showed him hospitality; and many more.

Encouragers pick others up when troubles weigh them down.

We all need friends who pick us up, and we all know of others who need our encouragement. As Jesus helps and carries us, let us help one another.

Lord, in Your wisdom You established Your church as a place for us to love and care for each other. Help me to extend the grace I’ve received to others.

Encouragers pick others up when troubles weigh them down.

INSIGHT:

The letter to the Romans is arguably Paul’s most intensely theological letter. Yet in Romans 16, he issues more personal greetings than in any other letter—twenty-seven! These personal greetings, included at the close of a theological letter about the nature of the gospel, serve as a significant reminder. The message of the death and resurrection of Jesus is not merely a piece of intellectual information. The doctrines that form the foundation for our rescue in Christ are not an academic exercise. These truths describe the love of God for human beings who have names and faces and struggles and victories. The gospel is the story of God’s unfailing love for people—people like those listed here. People like you and me.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Question and Answer

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In a question and answer period after one of his lectures, C.S. Lewis was asked which of the world’s religions gives its followers the greatest happiness. Lewis paused and said this: “While it lasts, the religion of worshipping oneself is best.”(1)

No doubt each word in his response was selected carefully, as he gently challenged the assumptions of the questioner. When happiness is identified as the most important thing, it is the self we seek above all else. And by alluding to this ‘god’ in terms of worship and religion, Lewis makes a helpful juxtaposition. In fact, it is one steeped in an age-old creed professed by many: By jettisoning the divine, by getting out from under the tyrannical arm of God, we believe we are wholly free to pursue that which is pleasing, and that which we please.

Yet in this lies the danger, for even in matters of enormous consequence we may seek that which we think will make us happy, and not necessarily that which is true. We become our own god, the measure of all things. And yet reality, as Lewis alludes, doesn’t seem to back this theory up. “While it lasts,” he prefaces. In other words, self-satisfaction wrought at the expense of all else is always fleeting, unreachable, or unfulfilling. Instead of happiness we more readily find boredom and depression.

While worship of the self is readily tried, much is sacrificed upon the altars of this religion: truth for one, pleasure as it was intended for another, but also—ironically—the very self we were aiming to please in the first place. One immediately thinks of Oscar Wilde’s poignant depiction of Dorian Gray. So then, will we conclude that the self is not, in fact, the most important thing? Will we conclude that the foundation upon which we asked the question in the first place is faulty? Unfortunately, more often we do not.

Even when we are faced with empirical evidence that shows the inadequacy of certain truths we live by, rarely do we look at the underlying suppositions that led us to embrace the truth in the first place. It is hard to go back to our foundational assumptions and start over, if we ever consciously saw them in the first place. It is much easier to keep walking with our assumptions firmly intact.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Question and Answer →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Finding True Contentment

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“To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

True contentment is found only in Christ.

There has never been a society in the history of the world that has had as many commodities as Americans have. We are living in affluence that is unheard of in the world’s history. The key philosophy behind it all is this: only as you accumulate enough assets to satisfy your particular lifestyle can you really be happy.

Sad to say, Christians have bought into that philosophy. Now, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with commodities, but it is wrong to think you’ll find true happiness in them. If God chooses to give you material possessions, it’s because of His good pleasure. But if you make those possessions the love of your life, you’re being deceived about true contentment.

In Philippians 4:11-12 the apostle Paul says, “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” He was saying, “I have contentment that is absolutely and totally unrelated to possessions.”

Where did Paul find his contentment? In Philippians 1:21 he says, “To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He found it in Christ, not in material possessions. Professor Howard Vos said of Paul, “Christ is all to him, he lives only to serve Christ, he has no conception of life apart from Christ. . . . Christ’s goals, Christ’s orientation to life and society and mission, are his.” If you want to be like Paul and have true contentment, make Christ the love of your life, not material possessions.

Suggestions for Prayer

If you are seeking happiness apart from the Lord, confess your sin and forsake it. Acknowledge that contentment is found only in Him

For Further Study

Read Ecclesiastes 2:18-26. What conclusions did the Preacher reach about daily contentment?

 

http://www.gty.org

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – We’ll Understand

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Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

John 13:7

Recommended Reading

John 13:1-7

Maxwell Cornelius left his family’s farm in Pennsylvania to become a brick mason in Pittsburgh, but tragedy struck when he was a young man. He lost his leg when the wall of a house collapsed. Leaving the construction trade, he went into the ministry. His wife battled disability, forcing them to leave their church and move to California for the climate. There he led another congregation into a building program, but the economy failed. Despite all his hardships and setbacks, Cornelius maintained a positive attitude and later wrote a hymn, which was quite popular in its day. The words are timeless: “Not now, but in the coming years, / It may be in the better land, / We’ll read the meaning of our tears, / And there, some time, we’ll understand.”

We won’t understand life completely on earth, but one day we’ll be with the One who does. As Pastor Adrian Rogers said, “In the storms of our lives, we never see the full picture. But one day we will see it all; one day the circle will be complete.”1

God knows the way, He holds the key, / He guides us with unerring hand; / Some time with tearless eyes we’ll see; / Yes, there, up there, we’ll understand.

Maxwell Cornelius, from the hymn “Sometime We’ll Understand”

1Adrian Rogers, Unveiling the End Times (Nashville: B&H, 2013), 77.

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Jeremiah 44 – 46

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Ready to Be Interrupted

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I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.- John 10:11

The more I study the men and women in the Bible whom we consider to be “great,” the more I see that they all made huge sacrifices and there was nothing convenient about what God asked them to do.

Abraham had to leave his country, his relatives, and his home and go to a place God would not even tell him about until he went there. Joseph saved a nation from starvation, but not before he was violently removed from his comfortable home and put in an inconvenient place for many years. Esther saved the Jews from destruction, but God certainly interrupted her plan in order for her to do so.

The list of individuals who entered into sacrificial obedience could go on and on. The Bible calls them people “of whom the world was not worthy” (see Hebrews 11:38). These people we read about were inconvenienced so that someone else’s life could be easier. Jesus died so we could have life and have it abundantly. Soldiers die so that civilians can remain safe at home. Fathers go to work so their families can have nice lives, and mothers go through the pain of childbirth to bring another life into the world. It seems quite obvious that someone usually has to experience pain or inconvenience for anyone to gain anything.

If you make the decision that you don’t mind inconvenience or interruption, then God can use you. You can make a difference in the world. But if you remain addicted to your own comfort, God will have to pass you by for someone who is more willing to endure the hard things in life in order to do God’s will.

Trust in Him: Think about a situation in which God is asking you to do some things you would rather not do—stay in a situation, leave a situation, spend time with someone you don’t get along with . . . Are you willing to trust the “interruption” from God in order to do His will?

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – How to be a Radiant Woman

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Today’s Truth

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Friend to Friend

The Bible is filled with men and women who had an intimate personal relationship with God. Enoch walked with God and then God just snatched him up to heaven…“and he was no more,” (Genesis 5:24). David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” (Acts 13:22). But Moses…he was God’s friend.

What did Moses want more than anything? He wanted to see God’s glory.

“And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’”

Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (Exodus 33:19-23).

God knew that no man could look upon His full glory and live. It is more than our human limitations can bear. Just a glimpse of God’s glory caused Moses’ face to have such a radiant afterglow that the people in the valley below trembled at the sight—and that was from but a glimpse! Moses placed a veil over his face so that others would not see the radiant glory fade between his visits with God.

Moses visible radiance from being in God’s presence always faded with time. This is not so with the believer who lives and moves and has her being in Christ. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). You and I can share the glory of Jesus Christ and go from one degree of glory to the next! Our lives become brighter and more beautiful as we practice constant communion and sacred union with the Trinity.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – How to be a Radiant Woman →

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