Tag Archives: Bible

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Help Hurting People

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He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellowman, and himself], but happy (blessed and fortunate) is he who is kind and merciful to the poor. —Proverbs 14:21

Helping the poor and those who are less fortunate than we are is not only a nice thing to do, but according to the Bible, it is our responsibility. God cares deeply for the poor and needy and seems to have a special place in His heart for the widow and the orphan because they are alone and unable to meet all their needs. God gives us hearts of compassion, but when needs arise we can’t close our hearts—we need to open our hearts and our hands wide to help the poor.

When we give to the poor, the Bible says that we lend to the Lord. Anything we give to help hurting people, God will always return many times over. Not only will He meet our needs, but our joy will increase as a result of giving in love. I urge you to share what you have with those who are less fortunate than you are.

Power Thought: I am always merciful and generous to the poor.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Listens and Answers 

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“Mark this well: The Lord has set apart the redeemed for himself. Therefore He will listen to me and answer when I call to Him” (Psalm 4:3).

My 93-year-old mother has known and walked with the Lord since she was 16. In all the years that I have known her, now more than 60, I have never known her to say an unkind or critical word or do anything that would be contrary to her commitment to Christ, made as a teenage girl.

Hers has been a life of prayer, study of God’s Word and worship of Him. The radiance and joy of her godly life has inspired not only her husband and seven children, but also scores of grandchildren and great and great-great grandchildren, and thousands of neighbors and friends.

A few days ago I invited her – for the hundredth time, at least – to come and live with us, knowing that all the rest of the children have made similar invitations. She responded, “No, I prefer to live alone. But I am not really alone, for the Lord Jesus is with me, comforting me, giving me His peace and assurance that He will take care of me.”

So she spends her days in prayer, in study of the Word and in being a blessing to all who enter her home, as the love of God flows through her. Only eternity will record the multitudes of lives that have been transformed through her godly example and her dedicated prayers of intercession.

Surely every Christian needs a daily engagement – with priority claim over everything else – to meet the Lord in the secret place if his life is to be a benediction to others.

Bible Reading: Psalm 5:1-7

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I recognize that if I am going to live a supernatural life, I must set aside time which will take priority over every other consideration. Only a genuine emergency will take precedence over such an engagement of prayer, study of God’s Word, worship and praise of my wonderful Lord.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Promised Land

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God has a promised land for you to take!

I sat across the table from a man in midlife misery. He described his life with words like stuck, rut, and stalled. He’s a Christian, but he can’t tell you the last time he defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer. Twenty years into his faith and he fights the same battles he was fighting the day he came to Christ. It’s as if the door to spiritual growth has a lock and everyone has the key but him.

Joshua 21:43 says, “So the Lord gave Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give. . .and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.”

The promised land! God’s vision for your life. Yours for the taking. Expect to be challenged. The enemy won’t go down without a fight. But your glory days await you!

From Glory Days

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Billionaire bunkers for the apocalypse

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US Vice President Mike Pence is in South Korea this morning, where he issued a warning that North Korea “would do well not to test the resolve or the strength of the armed forces of the United States in this region.” This after North Korea staged another missile test Saturday. Though it failed, their military currently has about ten nuclear weapons with enough material to make one hundred more. Intelligence agencies estimate that North Korea’s missiles could reach South Korea or Japan now and the continental US by 2026.

If you’re looking for protection from World War III, a global pandemic, or an asteroid, and you have a spare billion dollars, a “billionaire bunker” may be for you.

Developers are converting Cold War-era missile silos and military bunkers built by the US and the USSR, equipping them with water purification systems, air filtration, and food supplies for a year or more. One compound will have a community theater, classrooms, hydroponic gardens, a medical clinic, a spa, and a gym.

A development in the Czech Republic includes an above-ground estate and a 77,000-square-foot underground component. One company’s sales have grown 700 percent compared to 2015.

On the same theme, “longevity scientists” are making news these days. The New Yorker tells the story of researchers who are searching for ways to extend physical life. One doctor claims that “we can end aging forever.” Many are taking these claims seriously; one company raised $116 million from such investors as Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel.

Humans are motivated to defeat death because we fear what we do not know, and death is the greatest unknown of all. But if we know that death leads to life and the worst that could happen leads to the best that could happen, we turn fear into faith. We claim Jesus’ promise, “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26). And we testify with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Continue reading Denison Forum – Billionaire bunkers for the apocalypse →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Resurrection: Our Assurance

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1 Peter 1:18-19

Despite appearances, it had been no ordinary crucifixion. Passersby may have thought three men were simply paying the penalty for their crimes, but events of cosmic import were taking place: Sin was judged and Satan was defeated. Yet that wasn’t all—the cross was also the scene of the greatest purchase in history. It was there that Jesus Christ shed His blood to pay for the salvation of all mankind.

This transaction occurred at great cost to the purchaser and great benefit to the purchased—you and me. But you might ask, How can I know God the Father accepted Christ’s blood as an atoning sacrifice for my sin? In other words, How can I be sure that the Savior’s death fully paid the debt I owed?

The answer lies in the resurrection. Jesus had repeatedly said He would rise from the dead (Matt. 16:21; John 2:19; John 10:18), and fulfilling such a prophecy is no small accomplishment. Imagine the reaction of all those who witnessed His cruel death—and then saw Him alive.

Christ’s return to life was the Father’s way of showing He accepted the offering made on our behalf. It was God’s proclamation to the world that the sin debt had been paid in full—and all who trust in His Son are free forever from the power and penalty of sin. What’s more, the resurrection is our assurance that every promise God has made can be trusted.

Easter is wonderful news: God has broken the power of sin and death, and all who place faith in Christ will enjoy the Lord’s presence throughout eternity. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 8-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — He Understands and Cares

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Read: Isaiah 53:1–8

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 30–31; Luke 13:23–35

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.—Isaiah 53:4

When asked if he thought that ignorance and apathy were problems in modern society, a man joked, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

I suppose many discouraged people feel that way about the world today and the people in it. But when it comes to the perplexities and concerns of our lives, Jesus fully understands, and He deeply cares. Isaiah 53, an Old Testament prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus, gives us a glimpse of what He went through for us. “He was oppressed and afflicted . . . led like a lamb to the slaughter” (v. 7). “For the transgression of my people he was punished” (v. 8). “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand” (v. 10).

On the cross Jesus willingly bore our sin and guilt. No one ever suffered more than our Lord did for us. He knew what it would cost to save us from our sins and, in love, He willingly paid it (vv. 4-6).

Because of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, He is alive and present with us today. Whatever situation we face, Jesus understands and cares. And He will carry us through. —David McCasland

Lord, we give thanks for Your knowledge of our circumstances and Your care for us. Today we want to walk with You and honor You in all we do.

He is not here; He has risen! Luke 24:6

INSIGHT: As Isaiah prophetically describes the crucifixion of Jesus, we see it all from the perspective of people at the foot of the cross. In verse 3, “we” held Him in low esteem. In verse 4, He bore “our” suffering. This perspective is critical because Isaiah anticipates the hostility with which Jesus would be viewed. As Jesus died for the sins of the world, the anger directed at Him by the people for whom He died brings new significance to His loving words, “Father, forgive them . . .” (Luke 23:34). For more on the ground-level view of the cross of Jesus see the Discovery Series booklet The Power of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp131.  Bill Crowder

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Blessed

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Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her, [saying], Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.—Proverbs 31:28-29

A virtuous and worthy wife [earnest and strong in character] is a crowning joy to her husband…(Proverbs 12:4). She enjoys the praise of her children and husband. They rise up to call her blessed. Her husband says that many daughters have been virtuous and noble but that she exceeds them all. In other words, he says that she is the best wife anyone could ever have. He applauds and celebrates her strength of character and goodness.

One year my birthday happened to be during one of our conferences, and my husband, Dave, stood up and read Proverbs 31 to me in front of a room filled with people. Then my children one by one rose up to say kind and edifying things to me. There is no better feeling than to spend years raising your children, and then have them tell you that they honor you, love you, and don’t believe they could have had a better mother. Or to have your husband say you are the best wife in the world. Those comments certainly were confidence boosters for me.

Lord, whether anyone ever gives me these commendations, I want to live my life in a way that brings joy and blessing to others. Build strength into my character. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Healthy, Growing Body 

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“Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times – speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly – and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of His body, the church. Under His direction the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

I am concerned, as you no doubt are, that God’s ideal church, in which the whole body is fitted together perfectly, becomes a reality. And if that is to happen, it will mean that I must become a part of that perfect fit.

Within the body of Christ, each of us has a unique function. True, two people might have similar functions just as a body has two hands that function similarly. But those two hands are not identical. Just try to wear a lefthand glove on your right hand!

The hands have similar functions, not identical functions. You and I might have similar abilities, but we are not identical. We are unique creations of God.

Therefore, we should not look upon our abilities with pride or be boastful of them. On the other hand, we should not be envious or look with disdain on others because of their different abilities.

Spiritual gifts include (1 Corinthians 12): wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, apostleship, teaching, helping, and administration; (Romans 12, additional): leadership, exhortation, giving and mercy.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:7-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  So that I might fit more perfectly into God’s whole body, I will prayerfully seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit to enable me to make a maximum contribution to the body of Christ.

 

http://www.cru.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE EARLY CHURCH PRAYS TOGETHER

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Read Acts 2:1-41

Sociologist Christian Smith has studied the religious lives of American young adults and found them to be highly individualistic. Many believe “religion need not be practiced in and by a community.” Statistics documenting declining church participation support his findings that Americans increasingly believe that other people are not essential to an individual’s faith.

That idea stands in stark contrast to the communal Christianity we see modeled for us in the book of Acts. After that first Resurrection Sunday, the early followers of Christ did not scatter to their own private spiritual disciplines. Instead, the 120 believers found themselves almost constantly together, especially for prayer. Having received Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit, they confidently prayed together for the promise’s fulfillment.

The first church prayed together, and the Lord answered them together. On the day of Pentecost, “they were all together in one place” (v. 1) when tongues of fire came upon them and the prophesy of Joel came to pass: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. . .Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28, 29). As a community, God’s people were blessed.

But the answer to their prayers was not only for their own edification. The coming of the Holy Spirit equipped and empowered the church to proclaim Christ to those around them—and those as far away as the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). In a single day, the infant church grew by 3,000 people. Doubtless, those thousands of people who first trusted Christ at Pentecost gave thanks to the Lord for the community of praying believers who had first gathered in one place to intercede for their salvation.

APPLY THE WORD

Private prayer is a priority of the Christian life (see Matt. 6:6), but when we pray together we multiply our thanks to God. Paul encourages the practice of praying together with others for others: “Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (1 Cor. 1:11). Look for opportunities to pray in community.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Corrects His Children

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“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:7)

It was August, and the Ellisons’ air conditioner had broken down. Mrs. Ellison called the repairman, who tested the unit and took it apart. To his surprise, he found large quantities of sand in the outdoor fan. Mrs. Ellison asked her children if they knew how the sand had gotten in. Sadly, they admitted that they and their neighbor friends had made a game of throwing sand into the fan and running away before it could blow back into their faces.

Mrs. Ellison reminded them of the rule they had broken: sand was not supposed to be thrown or removed from the sandbox. Because of the children’s disobedience, the family would spend hundreds of dollars to replace the broken fan. The Ellison children would do extra cleanup in the yard as punishment, and a trip to Six Flags would be cancelled so that the money could go toward a new air conditioner. The Ellison children learned to take better care of property and to obey authority.

Mrs. Ellison also asked the neighbor children not to throw sand into the new fan. She explained about the damage, but she did not punish them. They went to their own yards and threw dirt and sand into their air conditioning fans. Soon other families were calling the same repairman and buying new air conditioners.

Why didn’t Mrs. Ellison discipline the neighbor children? They had knowingly broken the rules along with her children. But they were not her children, so she did not punish them.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Corrects His Children →

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Daily – Today’s Reading

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The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of ‘little Christs’, all different, will still be too few to express Him fully. He made them all. He invented— as an author invents characters in a novel—all the different men that you and I were intended to be. In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him. It is no good trying to ‘be myself’ without Him. The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires. In fact what I so proudly call ‘Myself’ becomes merely the meeting place for trains of events which I never started and which I cannot stop. What I call ‘My wishes’ become merely the desires thrown up by my physical organism or pumped into me by other men’s thoughts or even suggested to me by devils. Eggs and alcohol and a good night’s sleep will be the real origins of what I flatter myself by regarding as my own highly personal and discriminating decision to make love to the girl opposite to me in the railway carriage. Propaganda will be the real origin of what I regard as my own personal political ideas. I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call ‘me’ can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.

From Mere Christianity
Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Impact of the Cross

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Hebrews 2:14-15

A day after the crucifixion, life must have looked hopeless to Jesus’ followers. They’d watched their beloved leader die, and the enemy seemed to have won. Considering the prevalence of evil today, we could make the same assumption. But we’d be wrong because when Christ died on the cross, Satan was defeated.

In Genesis 3:15, the evil one—who had spoken through the serpent—was cursed for his part in Adam and Eve’s sin. Referring to the conflict between the realms of light and darkness, God told Satan, “He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This was the Lord’s way of foretelling, “Christ will be victorious over you.”

That’s why the enemy went to such great lengths in both testaments to derail God’s program of redemption, even attempting genocide to prevent Jesus’ arrival or otherwise disrupt the divine agenda (Est. 3:6; Matt. 2:16). Since the devil knows all the prophecies, he was well aware that Jesus Christ, the virgin-born, sinless, incarnate Son of God, came to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). This meant that if the Lamb of God died on the cross at Passover, His shed blood would pay mankind’s sin debt in full (Rom. 4:7-8). Satan did want Jesus to die, but at any other time and in any other way. (See Luke 4:29-30.) Yet all his efforts amounted to “nipping on the heel” compared to the deathblow Christ would deliver from the cross.

Satan has lost his power and can in no way tamper with our eternal life. If you believe in Christ, remember: “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 6-7

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Price of Love

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Read: Isaiah 53:9–12

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 27–29; Luke 13:1–22

He poured out his life unto death.—Isaiah 53:12

Our daughter burst into tears as we waved goodbye to my parents. After visiting us in England, they were starting their long journey back to their home in the US. “I don’t want them to go,” she said. As I comforted her, my husband remarked, “I’m afraid that’s the price of love.”

We might feel the pain of being separated from loved ones, but Jesus felt the ultimate separation when He paid the price of love on the cross. He, who was both human and God, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy 700 years after Isaiah gave it when He “bore the sin of many” (Isa. 53:12). In this chapter we see rich pointers to Jesus being the suffering Servant, such as when He was “pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5), which happened when He was nailed to the cross and when one of the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34), and that “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

Because of love, Jesus came to earth and was born a baby. Because of love, He received the abuse of the teachers of the law, the crowds, and the soldiers. Because of love, He suffered and died to be the perfect sacrifice, standing in our place before the Father. We live because of love. —Amy Boucher Pye

Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, have mercy on us, and help us to extend mercy and love to others. Show us how we might share Your love with others today.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who died to give us life.

INSIGHT: Can you think of a time when you thought you would have been willing to do anything for love? Or, by contrast, have you known what it is like to avoid love—for fear of being hurt?  Living eight centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah had the hard job of letting the people of Jerusalem know that God loved them too much to let them continue to turn their backs on Him without consequence. Before confronting the idolatries of Ephraim, Assyria, and Egypt, Isaiah described the citizens of Jerusalem and Judea as dearly loved children who had rebelled against their Father (1:2-3). In chapter five it is evident that God cares too much about His people to let them continue embracing the false gods and futile hopes of other nations (vv. 1-7). Woven through Isaiah’s warnings, however, are promises that the painful judgments of God have a merciful purpose. Beyond the consequences, Isaiah sees a future of restoration not just for Jerusalem but also for the whole world (2:1-5). Yet, until the day of Jesus’s resurrection, the means by which God would carry out that rescue was a secret of His love. Mart DeHaan

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Source of Security

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“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” —Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV

One way to know whether you really love yourself in a healthy, bal¬anced way or not is to ask yourself whether you are a relatively secure person or whether you struggle with insecurity. Simply put, insecurity is a feeling that you really aren’t “good enough,” or needing others’ approval in order to be confident. It has to do with whether your life is built on the unshakable foundation of God’s love or the faulty founda¬tion of what others think of you.

Your security does not depend on your bank account, your job, the way you look, other people’s opinions of you or even the way others treat you. I know this can be tempting in today’s world, but I urge you not to base your security on your educational or professional achieve¬ments, the labels inside your clothes, your car, or the house you live in. Don’t base it on whether you are married or single, or whether you have children or not. Don’t look for your security anywhere but in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. He is the only one whose opinion matters, and He is the only one who will love you forever and never change His thoughts toward you.

Re-read the scripture for today and be encouraged. You are the beloved of the Lord and you can rest secure in Him.

Love Yourself Today: Start working with God to develop a rock-solid sense of security. He loves you, and through Him you can do whatever you need to do in life.

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Rich Storehouse 

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“However, Christ has given each of us special abilities – whatever He wants us to have out of His rich storehouse of gifts” (Ephesians 4:7).

Roger and Len read a popular book on spiritual gifts. Instead of being blessed, they were distressed. They came for counsel.

“What is our gift?” they pleaded, as though I had the ability to immediately discern God’s supernatural provision for them.

“First of all,” I explained, “you should not be exercised over the undue emphasis on gifts, which has been of somewhat recent origin. For centuries, until recent times, men did not make a great deal of that particular emphasis in the Word of God.

“The emphasis was on the authority of the Scripture, the lordship of Christ, the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Great servants of God were mightily used as preachers, missionaries, teachers and godly laymen, without ever being made particularly aware that spiritual gifts were something that needed to be emphasized. The feeling was, ‘Whatever God calls me to do, He will enable me to do, if I am willing to surrender my will to Christ, study the Word of God, obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, work hard and trust God to guide me.'”

I gave them my own testimony of how, though I had been a Christian for more than 30 years and God had graciously used my life in many ways – sometimes my preaching, other times my teaching or administrative gifts, or in the area of helps – I quite honestly did not know my spiritual gift nor did I seek to “discover” my gift. I was very content to know, with the apostle Paul, that I could do all things through Christ who strengthened me, who keeps pouring His power into me. I showed them a quotation from a book on gifts, in which a famous Christian leader declared that for 25 years he had believed he had a particular gift but recently had cause to question whether he possessed it, and concluded finally that he did not.

My word to you, then, as to Roger and Len, is not to be distressed if you do not know your gift. Simply continue to walk in faith and obedience, make Christ the Lord of every part of your life, be sure you are filled with the Spirit, and hide the Word of God in your heart daily.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  For the rest of my life I shall seek the Giver and not the gift, depending upon Him to give me the necessary wisdom and ability and whatever else is needed to accomplish the task which He has called me to do. I shall share this concept with other Christians who are confused over the matter of spiritual gifts.

 

http://www.cru.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – RAYING AGAINST TEMPTATION

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Read Luke 22:31-46

A segment of the BBC series Human Planet depicts two fishermen harvesting rare goose barnacles from dangerous rocks along Spain’s northern coast. The men are attached to one another by ropes and take turns descending to the base of the rocks between onslaughts of violent waves. As one man gathers barnacles, he depends on the other to shout a warning when a particularly large breaker approaches and to pull him to safety if necessary.

Our calling as Christians often brings us into potentially dangerous situations. We struggle not against flesh and blood—or waves and rocks—but against spiritual forces of evil that seek to destroy our souls (see Eph. 6:12). To survive unhurt, we too must be constantly vigilant, both for ourselves and for others.

Jesus knew the vulnerabilities of His disciples. Earlier He had taught them to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13). Now, on the Mount of Olives hours before His death on the cross, He reminded them that they would face a renewed onslaught of spiritual danger for which they must be prayerfully alert.

They failed at watchfulness, however. The evening advanced, and fatigue won. Thankfully, they were not alone. While their prayerful vigilance faltered, Christ’s never does. He is so alert and earnest in His prayers that His anguished sweat was “like drops of blood” as it fell (v. 44). While Peter failed to consider his danger, Jesus was praying for his spiritual safety (vv. 31–32). While the disciples snored, their intercessor was pleading for them.

Temptation presses us, but today’s passage strengthens us. We have been given warning of danger and help to escape it. We have someone who joins us in prayer.

APPLY THE WORD

Puritan theologian John Owen wrote, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” Are you aware of the danger of sin? What sins are particular temptations for you, your family, your church, or your community? Take a few moments today to pray for the Lord’s help to escape these temptations, and be encouraged by the thought that Jesus is praying alongside you.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Daily – Today’s Reading – On Forgiveness

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On forgiveness

I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me I am often in reality (unless I watch myself very carefully) asking Him to do something quite different. I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me. But there is all the difference in the world between forgiving and excusing. Forgiveness says “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology, I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.” But excusing says “I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it, you weren’t really to blame.”. . .

Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it.

From The Weight of Glory

Compiled in Words to Live By

The Weight of Glory: And Other Addresses.

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – Don’t Fret

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Psalm 37:1

What in the world does “fret” mean? Here is a little word that doesn’t have any positive definitions. It means “to worry, to be discontent, to have something be eaten away by something else.” It means, “to torment or irritate or upset someone or yourself.” So when the Bible says not to “fret” it means “quit worrying about it.” That’s not always easy to do, is it?

Here’s another little word with a negative definition: Envy. Envy is a kind of jealousy. The dictionary defines it as the “resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody else’s success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions.” We can envy someone else’s clothes, their looks, their friendships, their talents, or their achievements. For example, when a friend does well on an exam, instead of being happy for her, you feel jealous and you wish it could have been you instead. That’s envy.

The Bible says that we shouldn’t fret about or envy the apparent success of people who do wrong. Do you know someone who got rewarded for cheating? How did it make you feel? Did you fret and feel envious? Unfortunately, fretting and envy don’t change the situation, but they do make us miserable. That’s why the Bible says not to fret or envy. And although people who cheat to get ahead appear to be getting away with it, they’re losers in the long run.

Dear Lord, I admit I have both fretted and been envious. Please help me to be content with doing honest work and to trust you with the rest. Amen.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – What Really Happened at Calvary

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Hebrews 10:10-14

If asked what took place on Good Friday, many people could list the events of Calvary. Some might explain that Christ was nailed to the cross, Roman soldiers gambled for His garments, and darkness covered the land. Others would mention the crown of thorns, an earthquake, and Jesus’ mother watching with what must have been heartbreak and horror.

But no matter how many visible details one could mention, far more was going on than the eye could see: At the cross, sin was judged.

In giving His very first command in the garden of Eden, God warned that disobedience carried the death penalty (Gen. 2:17). So from the start, His judgment of sin was prophesied, and later it was also pictured in the elaborate sacrificial system He established. Under this system, each transgression required an animal’s blood to be sprinkled on the altar. The severity of the penalty—payment of a life—was a graphic way for our holy God to communicate how offensive and grievous sin actually is. It was also a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God, who would come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Jesus Christ was, on the cross, what that lamb was on the altar—but with a significant difference: Under the old covenant, every time sin was committed, another animal had to die. Jesus, however, willingly offered Himself once for all to atone for the sin of the entire world (Heb. 7:27).

Refusing to personally accept Christ’s substitutionary atonement leaves a person with the responsibility of paying his or her own sin debt. Won’t you thank the Savior for your amazing free gift—or receive it from Him now?

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 3-5

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Remember the Cross

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Read: Mark 15:19–20, 33–39

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 25–26; Luke 12:32–59

“Surely this man was the Son of God!”—Mark 15:39

In the church I attend, a large cross stands at the front of the sanctuary. It represents the original cross where Jesus died—the place where our sin intersected with His holiness. There God allowed His perfect Son to die for the sake of every wrong thing we have ever done, said, or thought. On the cross, Jesus finished the work that was required to save us from the death we deserve (Rom. 6:23).

The sight of a cross causes me to consider what Jesus endured for us. Before being crucified, He was flogged and spit on. The soldiers hit Him in the head with sticks and got down on their knees in mock worship. They tried to make Him carry His own cross to the place where He would die, but He was too weak from the brutal flogging. At Golgotha, they hammered nails through His flesh to keep Him on the cross when they turned it upright. Those wounds bore the weight of His body as He hung there. Six hours later, Jesus took His final breath (Mark 15:37). A centurion who witnessed Jesus’s death declared, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39).

The next time you see the symbol of the cross, consider what it means to you. God’s Son suffered and died there and then rose again to make eternal life possible. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Dear Jesus, I can’t begin to thank You enough for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross. I acknowledge Your sacrifice, and I believe in the power of Your resurrection.

The cross of Christ reveals our sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.

INSIGHT: In the two cameos provided in our reading today, we witness the injustice and horrors of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Verses 19-20 reveal the terrible indignity Jesus endured before going to the cross. Roman soldiers mocked, struck, and spit on Him. Next, a supernatural darkness came over the world (vv. 33-39). Many theologians believe it was then that the eternal fellowship of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—was disrupted as God the Son was made sin for us so that we might have right standing and relationship with God. The Father turned away from Him and in anguish Christ cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But because of God’s redeeming love, we will never be forsaken. How does this give you greater confidence in facing the future? Dennis Fisher

 

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