Tag Archives: Bible

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – The ancient antidote for smartphone distraction

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Smartphones are changing us.

According to recent research, 94 percent of us have one, demonstrating the device’s status as an essential tool for living today. Forty-six percent of men and 55 percent of women check their phone before getting out of bed each morning. More than half do the same when trying to fall asleep at night. The younger we are, the more likely we are to spend much or all of our free time on the phone. More than half of millennials admit that their phone makes them more distracted in life.

Here’s an antidote: according to Science Daily, engagement with the natural environment is a significant contributor to life satisfaction. Hiking regularly in a forest or otherwise spending time in nature is a proven factor in overall happiness.

Clearly, we need help in dealing with our chaotic culture. Consider a new transgender “fact sheet” produced by Harvard University. According to the document, the concept of gender is “fluid and changing,” can be expressed a number of ways, and can change on a daily basis. The office that produced the “fact sheet” hosts several annual events at Harvard, one of which is a “Queer Prom.”

Of course, sexual issues are not limited to homosexual or transgender concerns. New research indicates that 68 percent of men who attend worship services regularly also view pornography on a regular basis. In addition, 76 percent of religious young adults, ages eighteen to twenty-four, actively seek out porn. A ministry devoted to freeing men from pornography concludes, “Never before has such a large portion of the Church lived in contradiction of what we believe.”

Our culture is convinced that all truth claims are personal and subjective, elevating tolerance as the apex value of our day. Anything you do that doesn’t hurt me is now acceptable morality. Obviously, we cannot find truth in a society that doesn’t believe truth exists.

How should we respond?

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Enemy of Security

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1 John 5:1-9

Sin can shake our faith in eternal security. God promised that anyone who believes Jesus Christ died on the cross for his or her sin will live forever in heaven (John 6:40). But because unconfessed sin creates a barrier between the Lord and the believer, it short-circuits faith and assurance.

When a believer confesses wrongdoing, the Father forgives and cleanses His child (1 John 1:9). But by failing to admit to sin, a Christian will experience estrangement from God. He or she may feel unworthy of the Father’s love and can even struggle with a sense of rejection. Ask people in this situation if they are certain about their eternal future, and you’ll probably hear, “I used to be.” Sometimes they will go so far as to tell me that they are no longer saved—but that is impossible. While we can lose our assurance, we can never lose our salvation or our place in heaven.

Too often, people mistake the Lord’s chastening hand for confirmation of their lost condition. “God wouldn’t put me through this if I were saved,” they’ll say. Actually, the opposite is true. The heavenly Father disciplines those He loves, so correction is proof that we are His children (Heb. 12:6-7). Chastisement is His way of guiding the wayward believer back into fellowship with Him.

Jesus is our advocate before God. Like ancient Israel’s high priests who offered blood sacrifices, He atoned for our sins by His own death on the cross. We can’t sin our way out of His grace. The minute we confess our wrongdoing, estrangement dissipates and assurance comes flooding back into our hearts.

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 10-12

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Don’t Give Up

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Read: Galatians 6:1–10 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21–22; Luke 18:24–43

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Bob Foster, my mentor and friend for more than fifty years, never gave up on me. His unchanging friendship and encouragement, even during my darkest times, helped carry me through.

We often find ourselves determined to reach out and help someone we know who is in great need. But when we fail to see improvement right away, our resolve can weaken and we may eventually give up. We discover that what we hoped would be an immediate change has become an ongoing process.

As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.

The apostle Paul urges us to be patient in helping one another through the stumbles and struggles of life. When he writes, “Carry each other’s burdens” and so “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2), he is comparing our task to the work, time, and waiting it takes for a farmer to see a harvest.

How long should we keep praying and reaching out to those we love? “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”  (v. 9). How many times should we reach out? “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (v. 10).

The Lord encourages us today to trust Him, to remain faithful to others, to keep on praying, and to not give up!

Father in heaven, we ask for hope and perseverance to continue reaching out to others.

In prayer we call on God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20

INSIGHT:

We may be hesitant about allowing ourselves to start feeling the pain of those around us. So did Paul lead us into more than we can handle when he urged us to reach out to the needs of others? (Gal. 6:9). Let’s put his words in context. In the previous chapter he wrote extensively about the importance of living with a sense of liberty (5:1). He didn’t see love as a matter of duty and bondage; rather, life in the Spirit is a life of care and concern for others, enabled by the Spirit.

So are we having cold feet about the implications of being warmhearted? If so, maybe we need to accept those natural fears. But in the freedom of the Spirit we can learn to act out of our own heart rather than out of duty; we can act out of the grace God generously gives us to care for others (6:4–5).

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Continuing Presence

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There is a great amount of anticipation leading up to Easter Sunday. Easter has always been a springtime holiday. Coinciding with the Jewish celebration of Passover, where death gives way to life, the spring is a season of beginnings and of openings. What seemed “dead” in the natural world over the long, winter months now breaks forth with green buds of new life. The Easter season opens the door to verdant spring meadows, even as it closes the door behind on long, cold, dreary winters.

The historic Christian church laid out the liturgical calendar not only to coincide with the natural seasons of spring, summer, winter, and fall, but also to coincide with the events in the life and ministry of Jesus. The spiritual significance of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead—he is the firstborn of all creation—also finds expression in the cycles and seasons of the natural world. But the celebration of Easter is far more than a mirror for the natural world. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus issues a call to reveal the continuing reality of the Risen Lord in the world. In many church traditions, Easter Sunday is simply the first day of the season of Eastertide, which lasts until Pentecost. It is an invitation to consider how the continuing presence of the Risen Lord is perceived by and made manifest in the world. It is a season that invites followers of Jesus to consider how and in what ways their action in the world bears witness to the reality of new life, of opening, of new beginning.

Yet, when we’re honest, many simply view Easter as an annual remembrance day of an event that happened long ago. Many of us do wonder what difference the resurrection has made in the practical realities of our lives and in this world. We still argue with our spouses and loved ones; we still have children who go their own way. We have difficulties at work or at school. We still see a world so broken by warfare, selfish greed, oppression and sin. Like the two pilgrims on the road to Emmaus recounting the events surrounding the death of Jesus, perhaps we wonder aloud at the things we might have hoped would happen. “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21a). Signs of redemption seem fleeting like the spring. Flowers fade and grass withers. Things seem pretty much as they were before Easter Sunday and the reality of our same, old, lives still clamor for redemption.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Answers the Prayers of the Righteous

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…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].— James 5:16

When people struggle in their prayer lives, they often think it is because they are unholy and unrighteous so they try to behave better, hoping that then their prayers will be answered.

The truth is that if we are born again, we are righteous. We may not do everything right; but we are 100 percent righteous through Christ. Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (NKJV).

There is a difference between righteousness and “right” behavior. Righteousness describes our standing—our position or condition before God—because of the blood of Jesus. We cannot make ourselves righteous; only the blood of Jesus makes us righteous, as if we had never sinned at all. God views us as righteous even though we still make mistakes. Because He sees us as righteous, we have a God-given right to pray and expect God to hear and answer us.

Always do the best you can to behave properly and do it because you love God, but remember that He hears and answers your prayers because He is good, not because you are.

God’s word for you today: You have been made righteous by the grace of God.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – When He’s in Control

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“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us:…self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).

Sue insisted that she was Spirit-filled, and she frequently challenged others to be filled with the Spirit. But there was no evidence that the Holy Spirit was in control of her life, because she was completely undisciplined in everything she did. She knew nothing about self-control. She knew all about the Holy Spirit, in her mind, but there was no evidence that He was in her life – and in control of her life.

Dr. Henrietta Mears, as director of Christian education at the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, had one of the greatest spiritual ministries of her time. Hundreds of young men and women became church members and missionaries under her influence. She lived in a palatial home, owned priceless antiques and dressed beautifully. Most people assumed that she was a woman of great wealth. Actually, she was a person of relatively modest means. She simply knew how to take her regular salary, a modest inheritance, plus savings, and maximize them for God’s glory.

For example, she would advise young people, “Do not eat in expensive restaurants where you spend excessively except on rare occasions. Instead, prepare your own lunch, and over a period of a year you can save enough money by not eating out to take a trip around the world and enrich your spirit, your soul and your cultural sensitivities. Or you can use the money you save to buy something which will enhance the beauty of your home or person.”

We see disciplined people all around us in the world. Athletes discipline themselves to strict training, soldiers are drilled in military discipline, artists and writers are disciplined to sharpen their talents through dedicated practice. On the other hand, we also see examples of a lack of discipline in the lives of many people around us.

Whether a person is a Christian or a non-believer, the development of self-control as a quality of character seems to be difficult for most people. Yet we are told in the Bible that the Spirit-filled Christian will exhibit self- control as a part of the fruit of the Spirit.

Bible Reading: I Chronicles 28:9-13

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I acknowledge that to walk in the fullness and control of the Holy Spirit will enable me to demonstrate a life of discipline and self-control. Therefore, by faith, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I shall live a life of discipline and self-control for the glory of God. Self- control is essential for supernatural living.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Certain Victory

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“It’s time to declare war on the pestilence that goes by the name, I can’t. It attacks our self-control with…I can’t keep a job and it attacks our marriages… I can’t forgive. It even attacks our faith…I can’t believe God cares for me.

Had Joshua mumbled those words, who would’ve blamed him? Joshua 1:1 begins with bad news, “Moses, my servant, is dead.” To lose Moses was to lose the cause. Imagine the dismay, the grief, the fear! And yet, God told Joshua, “Moses is dead. Now therefore, arise.” Moses may be dead, but God is alive! Even so, Joshua had reason to say, I can’t. Moses was dead. And the Canaanites ate folks like the Israelites for breakfast! But Joshua never declared defeat. God gave him reason for faith. Victory was certain because the victory was God’s!  The same is true for you.

From Glory Days

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Flying cars and the reason for our existence

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Today’s New York Times announces: “No Longer a Dream: Silicon Valley Takes on the Flying Car.” Uber is beginning the Elevate Summit today in Dallas, a three-day conference focusing on “the future of on-demand, urban air transportation.” Speakers include senators, governors, NASA scientists, and industry pioneers.

The Aeromobil was unveiled in Monaco on April 20. The flying car will cost more than a million dollars and is due out in three years. Other options are expected to be much less expensive.

Innovation proceeds at a breakneck pace, but human nature remains the same.

Sirens sounded across Israel yesterday as the nation paused for Holocaust Remembrance Day. I have been in Israel on this solemn day. Cars stop; business ceases; the entire nation remembers the “Shoah” (Hebrew for “catastrophe”) in which a third of the world’s Jews were annihilated.

Most of the world’s leaders routinely condemn anti-Semitism, yet violence against Jews continues to rise. In the US, assaults against Jews rose 50 percent over the last two years. Anti-Semitic incidents at colleges and universities nearly doubled last year. Anti-Semitism is rampant in Europe as well, where Jews were murdered in Paris and Copenhagen and synagogues were attacked by mobs and firebombed.

While science increasingly confirms that life begins at conception, abortion advocates continue to press their position. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez declared recently that “every Democrat” should be pro-choice. “That is not negotiable and should not change city by city or state by state,” he claimed.

Even Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders disagreed, contending that Democrats could have varying opinions on this issue. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse tweeted a picture of a baby in the womb and the note, “@Tom Perez Your profile says you fight for the little guy. Please check out this little fella—special, isn’t he? (He’s 12 weeks old.)”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –What Is Your True Purpose?

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1 Samuel 16:6-13

What do you live for each day? A pay raise? Retirement? Then perhaps you’ve discovered the reality that basing aspirations on getting ahead in this world typically ends in disappointment. People with a misguided sense of direction often wonder why they feel unfulfilled.

Maybe you’ve already achieved a goal of saving for the future or moving up the corporate ladder. You give to charity and volunteer at church, but somehow still feel a sense of insignificance or aimlessness. If so, there is a truth you need to hear: God gives each of us life for a very specific reason—namely, to serve Him. Nobody finds inner peace without reconciling this fact. Our society teaches us that pleasure, prosperity, position, and popularity will make us happy. But living in the service of self always leaves an emptiness no earthly reward can fill.

Besides, worldly philosophy won’t stand the test of time. Few of us are going to live even 100 years. So whatever we’ll become in this life, we are in the process of becoming that right now. Consider David: He was anointed king long before actually assuming the role (1 Sam. 16:12). He spent many years serving the purpose of God in insignificant places while developing into a great man. As his story shows, discovering God’s purpose for your life is the surest path to success.

Our Father’s purpose for us comes from His heart of love—which is perfect. None of us can know the things He has in store for us, but we can trust His plan. Surrender to Him and say, “Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done.”

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 7-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Small Things

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Read: Psalm 116:1–9 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 19–20; Luke 18:1–23

Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

My friend Gloria called with excitement in her voice. She had not been able to leave her home except for doctors’ appointments. So I understood why she was so happy to tell me, “My son just attached new speakers to my computer, so now I can go to my church!” Now she could hear the live broadcast of her church’s worship service. She raved about God’s goodness and the “best gift my son could have given me!”

Gloria teaches me about having a thankful heart. Despite her many limitations, she’s thankful for the smallest of things—sunsets, helpful family and neighbors, quiet moments with God, the ability to remain in her own apartment. She’s had a lifetime of seeing God provide for her, and she talks about Him to anyone who visits or calls.

God is the giver of all good gifts in our life.

We don’t know what difficulties the author of Psalm 116 was encountering. Some Bible commentaries say it was probably sickness because he said, “the cords of death entangled me” (v. 3). But he gave thanks to the Lord for being gracious and full of compassion when he was “brought low” (vv. 5–6).

When we’re low, it can be hard to look up. Yet if we do, we see that God is the giver of all good gifts in our life—great and small—and we learn to give Him thanks.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? . . . I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 116:12, 17 esv).

Praise to God comes naturally when you count your blessings.

INSIGHT:

This marvelous psalm celebrates the miraculous deliverance we receive from the God who comes to our rescue. Verses 1–9 recognize the call for help, the gracious response of God, and the praise and rest that come to us after a stressful time. Verses 8–9 also give us an eloquent summary of God’s deliverance: “For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” These two verses are worth memorizing as a means of strengthening our faith, giving thanks for past help from God, and in preparation for future trials. Fear of death, tears of sorrow, and even stumbling feet find their comfort and restoration in the God of grace. All of these offer reasons to count our blessings.

For what can you praise God today?

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In the House of Resurrection

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To the people of ancient Israel, God’s house was an image that shaped the way they saw everything. In the minds of ancient Israelites, the house of God was the center of the world. The modern notion of the separation between heaven and earth would have seemed strange and wrong. God’s was a house reaching from the heavens to the places on earth where God caused his name to be remembered. God’s house was seen in experiences like Jacob’s, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”(1) It was experienced in the tabernacle that once moved among them as pilgrims, and later in their pilgrimages to the temple. Ever-expanding their vision of God’s house, altars were built over the places where God had appeared to them, marking the reach of its walls. Though at times as prodigals, their longing for home was a part of their identity as children of the house of God: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”(2) The house of God as it reached from heaven to earth was occupied by the Creator. As the people of God, they had been invited inside, and they longed to remain; they longed for this home.

As with any group with a clear vision of inside and outside, belonging and not belonging, the Israelite’s understanding of the house of God could have easily become the very rationale for excluding foreigners, neighbors, and outsiders. Yet not long after God had called the people of Israel his own, God instructed them very specifically on the treatment of such people: “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”(3) “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”(4) The house of God was to be a house of hospitality, for such a spirit reflected the very God within it: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”(5) Called to ever-remember their own status as foreigners, the people who were invited into the care of God’s house were to become a sign of that care themselves.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Written Word

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Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105

The Bible is written as a personal letter to you. God speaks to you, ministers to your needs, and directs you in the way you should go in His written Word. He tells you what you should do and how you should live.

It is a mistake to think we can hear clearly from God without spending time in the Word. Knowing the written Word protects you from deception. Listening for God’s voice without being dedicated to spending time in the Word on a regular basis opens you up to hearing voices that are not from God. There may be times when God speaks something to you that is outside a specific chapter and verse of the Bible, but it will always be in agreement with His Word.

Tonight, spend time reading a portion of God’s personal letter to you and allow Him to speak to your heart. God’s Word is one of the most precious gifts we have. Treasure it.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Poor, Blind and Naked

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“You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!” And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). 

George had come for a week of lay training at Arrowhead Springs. Following one of my messages on revival, in which I explained that most Christians are like the members of the church at Ephesus and Laodicea, as described in Revelation 2 and 3, he came to share with me how, though he was definitely lukewarm and had lost his first love, he frankly had never read those passages, had never heard a sermon such as I had presented and therefore did not realize how wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked he was.

If there were such an instrument as a “faith thermometer,” at what level would your faithfulness register? Hot? Lukewarm? Cold?

Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, “I know you well – you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!” (Revelation 3:15).

Again, I ask you, where does your faithfulness register on that faith thermometer?

The greatest tragedy in the history of nations is happening right here in America. Here we are, a nation founded by Christians, a nation founded upon godly principles, a nation blessed beyond all the nations of history for the purpose of doing God’s will in the world. But most people in this country, including the majority of church members, have without realizing it become materialistic and humanistic, all too often worshiping man and his achievements instead of the only true God.

Granted, the opinion polls show meteoric growth in the number of people in America who claim to be born-again Christians. But where does their faith register on the faith thermometer? America is a modern-day Laodicea. We are where we are today because too many Christians have quenched the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Bible Reading: Revelation 3:14-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  Realizing that America cannot become spiritually renewed without individual revival, I will humble myself, and pray, and seek God’s face, and turn from my wicked ways. By faith I will claim revival in my own heart.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Your Promised-Land Life

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Think about the Christian you want to be. What qualities do you want to have? More compassion? More conviction? More courage? What attitudes do you want to discontinue? Greed? Guilt? Endless negativity? Here’s the good news. You can. With God’s help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be—indeed, the person God made you to be. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we can live “from glory to glory.”

The walls of Jericho—they are already condemned. The giants are already on the run. The deed to your new life is already signed. It just falls to you to possess the land. Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to their fathers—and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.” Your promised-land life— It is yours for the taking.

From Glory Days

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Erin Moran and the pivotal decision of life

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Happy Days was one of the most popular shows on television when I was in high school. The sitcom idealized American life in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s. Ron Howard (“Richie Cunningham”) was the star; Erin Moran played his kid sister, “Joanie.” Now the actress has made headlines once again, but for a tragic reason: she was found dead last Saturday at the age of fifty-six. Moran had reportedly been living in a Holiday Inn Express after struggling with homelessness.

The death of a Happy Days star feels like a sign of the times, but there’s more to the story.

While Erin Moran’s life came to a tragic end, Ron Howard has become a very successful movie director and actor. Henry Winkler (“Fonzie”) is a multi-millionaire with regular television appearances and multiple credits as a director, producer, and author. Tom Bosley (“Mr. Cunningham”) frequently appeared on television; Marion Ross (“Mrs. Cunningham”) has been nominated for several Emmys and continues to act at the age of eighty-six.

How we choose to see the world is usually how we see the world. Consider three examples in today’s news.

One: The French elections

The New York Times calls Sunday’s vote a “full-throated rebuke of France’s traditional mainstream parties.” Since the country moved to a direct popular vote in 1965, the French presidency has been won each time by a candidate representing either the major center-right or the major center-left parties. For the first time, neither party survived to the second round of voting. The outcome would seem to presage more political turbulence for the global economy.

However, US stock futures rose sharply after the results came in. Centrist Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to defeat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the May 7 runoff. According to one analyst, yesterday’s outcome is “a solid vote in favor of a more solidly integrated Europe.”

Two: American politics
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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – What Can You Do for God?

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Matthew 6:20-21

Oftentimes we elevate serving God to the point that we overlook opportunities to have a real impact for Him. But the truth is, serving Him usually involves what’s happening in your life on a daily basis.

I remember my first Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Eva Crane, smiling at me and giving candy to the class. Her gentle spirit created a conviction in me that church is a good place—she made me want to be in God’s house. After 70 years, I still remember her smile.

Another example is my grandfather. Though I wasn’t able to spend much time with him, I clearly recall my one-week visit at his home. He listened to me and shared what was going on in his life. During that time, he gave me several principles by which to live, and they’ve affected me all these years. The lessons he taught me as we sat on his back porch come out in almost every sermon I write. So his wisdom has blessed millions of people.

Don’t underestimate what the Lord is doing in your life. You may not think it’s important, but it is. What you say to people, how you treat others, and the way you handle adversity are like stored-up treasures—God uses these things to reveal Himself to the world. When you stand for righteousness and refuse to compromise, you are bearing witness to Him.

How is God serving His purpose through you? Before starting your day, say this prayer: “Lord, I choose Your way. Accomplish Your will in me, whatever that takes.” When you do, things will happen in your life that you never expected. God will bless you beyond all measure.

Bible in One Year: 2 Kings 4-6

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Shrinking Piano

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Read: Philippians 1:1–11 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

For three consecutive years, my son participated in a piano recital. The last year he played, I watched him mount the steps and set up his music. He played two songs and then sat down next to me and whispered, “Mom, this year the piano was smaller.” I said, “No, it’s the same piano you played last year. You’re bigger! You’ve grown.”

Spiritual growth, like physical growth, often happens slowly over time. It is an ongoing process that involves becoming more like Jesus, and it happens as we are transformed through the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2).

Dear God, give me a desire to grow spiritually. I want to honor You with my life.

When the Holy Spirit is at work in us, we may become aware of sin in our lives. Wanting to honor God, we make an effort to change. Sometimes we experience success, but at other times, we try and fail. If it seems like nothing changes, we get discouraged. We may equate failure with a lack of progress, when it’s often proof that we are in the middle of the process.

Spiritual growth involves the Holy Spirit, our willingness to change, and time. At certain points in our lives, we may look back and see that we have grown spiritually. May God give us the faith to continue to believe that “He who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

Dear God, give me a desire to grow spiritually. I want to honor You with my life and experience the joy of the Spirit’s work inside of me.

Spiritual growth is a process.

INSIGHT:

Paul established the church at Philippi during his second missionary journey. It was a growing and faithful church that had actively supported his ministry, and he was concerned that Christ-followers live exemplary holy lives (1:27). Paul’s prayer for believers to grow strong is also what we need. Let us pray that our love for God and for each other will overflow (v. 9), that we will grow in our understanding of Christ and His Word (v. 9), that we will live pure and holy lives (v. 10), that we will grow to be more like Christ (v. 11), and that we will glorify God in all we do (v. 11).

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Rock-Solid Foundation

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[Jesus] said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:15-16 — Matthew 16:15-16

When Peter said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, it was a statement of faith. In making this statement, Peter was displaying faith.

I don’t think Peter just casually or nonchalantly made that statement. I think he did it with a surety and a certainty that impressed Jesus because He immediately turned to Peter and told him that he was blessed. Then He went on to say that it was upon this rock-solid foundation of faith that He would build His church.

Jesus was saying to Peter, “If you maintain this faith, it will be a rocklike substance in your life upon which I will be able to build My kingdom in you, and through you. Your faith will be developed to the place that even the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against you.”

There have been many times in my life when I have been discouraged and not known what to do, or felt that nothing was working and that everybody was against me. The words I have heard over and over again are, “Only believe.”

This promise was not just for Peter alone. Jesus is saying the same thing to you and me. Only believe!

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Abounding Therein

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“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8, KJV). 

Some years ago, while speaking at the University of Houston, I was told about a brilliant philosophy major. He was much older than most of the other students, having spent many years in the military before he returned to do graduate work.

He was so gifted, so brilliant, so knowledgeable that even the professors were impressed by his ability to comprehend quickly and to debate rationally. He was an atheist, and he had a way of embarrassing the Christians who tried to witness to him.

During one of my visits to the university, I was asked to talk with him about Christ. We sat in a booth in the student center, contrasting his philosophy of life with the Word of God. It was an unusual dialogue. He successfully monopolized the conversation with his philosophy of unbelief in God.

At every opportunity, I would remind him that God loved him and offered a wonderful plan for his life. I showed him various passages of Scripture concerning the person of Jesus Christ (John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1). He seemed to ignore everything I said; there appeared to be no communication between us whatsoever.

A couple of hours passed, and it was getting late. I felt that I was wasting my time and there was no need to continue the discussion. He agreed to call it a day. A friend and staff member who was with me suggested to this student that we would be glad to drop him off at his home on the way to my hotel.

As we got into the car, his first words were, “Everything you said tonight hit me right in the heart. I want to receive Christ. Tell me how I can do it right now.” Even though I had not sensed it during our conversation, the Holy Spirit – who really does care – had been speaking to his heart through the truth of God’s Word which I had shared with him.

Bible Reading: Colossians 2:1-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will not depend upon my own wisdom, my personality or even my training to share Christ effectively with others, but I will commit myself to talk about Him wherever I go, depending upon the Holy Spirit to empower me and speak through me to the needs of others.

 

http://www.cru.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Forgiving

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“He will turn again; He will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19)

Have you ever wondered if God has really forgiven you of your sin after you’ve confessed it to Him, and asked His forgiveness? Do you fear there’s a possibility that He’ll hold your sin against you in the future? In our verse for today, God compares His forgiveness of our sins as if He has thrown them “into the depths of the sea.”

Consider the following amazing facts about the deepest part of the sea:

  • The deepest point of the Pacific Ocean is called the “Marianas Trench.”
  • Its depth is 36,089 ft. (nearly 7 miles!)
  • The lowest part of the Marianas Trench is called the “Challenger Deep.”
  • “Mt. Everest could fit into the Challenger Deep and its peak still be covered by over a mile and a quarter of ocean. If you dropped a steel ball into the Challenger Deep from a ship, the ball would fall through the ocean for sixty-three minutes before it hit bottom.” (Science 5 for Christian Schools, Second Edition, BJU Press, 1990, page 31.)

Just think what that means! The deepest part of the sea could completely cover Mt. Everest! Now, with that thought in mind, read Micah 7:19 once more. God is giving us a wonderful illustration to show us that our sins are forgiven for all eternity. We read in Jeremiah 31:34b, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” You will never have to wonder again whether your confessed sin will be forgiven by God. He has “cast all your sin into the depths of the sea.”

Spend some time today in prayer thanking God for His assurance that your sins are forgiven. Another good verse to memorize would be 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God forgives our sins and puts them far away from Him.

My Response:

» Have I been doubting God’s promises about forgiven sin?

» How can I show others that I rejoice in an amazing, forgiving God?

 

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx