Tag Archives: Bible

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Beginning of New Life in Christ

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READ: Romans 10:9-15

Savior, thank you for those who have shared the good news with me. Help me to respond to it in a way that brings new life for myself and many others. Amen.

Starting over is possible because of God’s grace. God’s grace enables us to begin a new life in Jesus Christ. We may not get our job back or our marriage restored. However, we can gain a restored relationship with God.

God makes that possible through the gift of Jesus Christ, the one who came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). This salvation is available through repentance and faith. We must tell God we are sorry for our sin and place our trust in Jesus to forgive us.

If we confess and believe, the Bible doesn’t say we might be saved or we could be saved. It says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Have you confessed your sin to God and asked him to forgive you? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior? Empowered by the Holy Spirit, are you striving to live in a way that shows him to be the Lord of your life?

Through Christ, the lost are found, those dead in sin are granted eternal life, and the perishing are saved. This is the new beginning everyone needs! Have you experienced the beginning of new life in Christ? Are you sharing the good news with others who desperately need to hear it?

PRAYER

Savior, thank you for those who have shared the good news with me. Help me to respond to it in a way that brings new life for myself and many others. Amen.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Warped Concept of God

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“And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.” —Matthew 25:25

I think somewhere in our minds as believers, we expect serving the Lord or using what God has given us to be drudgery . . . hard . . . difficult . . . unpleasant . . . no fun.

In the parable of the talents, that is what the third servant thought. He had a warped concept of his master. He said to him, “I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24–25).

So essentially the master said, “All right. You say that I am a hard man, harvesting crops that don’t belong to me. If that is so, then why didn’t you invest my money?”

You see, this man’s concept of his master was wrong. He thought his master was something he was not. In the same way, some people have a warped concept of God. They are afraid to say to Him, “Here is my life, Lord. Here is my future. Here are my resources. Here is my time. It is now dedicated to Your glory.”

They would never say that because they think God would make their lives miserable. That was the problem with this third servant. He had a false concept of his master.

Many of us are afraid of God, but that fear is not a godly reverence for Him. We are afraid of what He will do to us, afraid that He will ruin our lives. It’s time for us to realize that the greatest joy in life is serving the Lord. It is not drudgery; it’s joy. It is life as it’s meant to be lived.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – The LORD Is a Present Help

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“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

Do you know what a “first responder” is? There are teams of men and women who are trained to be able to come help in an emergency situation. They are supposed to be always ready in case an emergency happens nearby them. They practice, and they stay alert so that they can be the first people on the scene if there is a car accident or another kind of crisis where somebody might be seriously hurt. First responders are trained to give medical help to people right after an accident, so that they are taken care of until they can be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

We can be very thankful for first responders. Paramedics, firefighters, EMTs, and all kinds of people are trained to act in an emergency, when people need help most desperately. If you call 9-1-1, someone will respond to your call for help. They will come right away. They will come as soon as they possibly can. And they will come faster than any other help can get there.

But you know what? They are not already there. Do you realize that God is always already there? The Bible says He is “our refuge and strength,” a “very present help” when we are in times of trouble. To be a “present help” is to be right there already. Even the fastest first responders cannot reach you in an emergency faster than God can. We don’t even have to dial 9-1-1 in order to cry out to God in an emergency. He is already there, because He is always present with us.

What a comfort it is to know that God is always with us! Even when we have to wait for other people to come help, or if we just feel alone and need someone with us – God is already there. Are you living like you believe that God is a “very present help in trouble”?

Because He is always with us, God is already there when we need Him.

My Response:

» Do I feel worried or lonely when my friends and family are not around me?

» Do I forget that I can trust God to be there for me when I need Him?

» How can I show in my own “first responses” that I am trusting the LORD more than anyone or anything else?

 

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx

The Navigators

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

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ”

As we consider various means by which Christians grow, think of each one of them as a book you’re putting on the shelf of your life. In order to keep those books in place, you need two bookends.

The first bookend we need is the righteousness of Christ. The most important question any person can ask is: how can I, a sinful person, be accepted by an infinitely holy and righteous God? Paul told us that it’s by trusting in the righteousness of Christ. Paul counted all his impressive religious credentials as rubbish in order that he might “gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ —the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:8-9, NIV). Paul found his acceptance with God not in his own imperfect obedience, as impressive as it was, but by trusting in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, which God credits to all who trust in him as savior. This is what faith is —trusting in Jesus Christ alone as one’s savior.

The second bookend we must set in place is the power of Christ. Just as our acceptance with God must come through the righteousness of Christ, so our power to live the Christian life must come from Christ as well. As Jesus indicated in John 15:5, we have no ability within ourselves to grow. All of the ability must come from him.

The common element in these two bookends is the word dependence. We’re dependent upon the righteousness of Christ for our acceptance with God, and upon the power of Christ for our ability to pursue spiritual growth.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – God, Have You Forgotten Me?

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Today’s Scripture: Genesis 45-47

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. – 1 Corinthians 2:12

Thirteen years passed from the time Joseph was sold into slavery until he entered Pharaoh’s service–years of injustice, disappointment, and obscurity. It must have been a great day for Joseph when the mystery finally was solved, and he understood the leading of God in his life and in the lives of his family.

Through a series of almost unbelievable circumstances, God had worked out a plan to save the lives of Joseph’s father and brothers and their household. They now were settled safely in Egypt, with plenty of food to eat and plenty of work to do. But the thing to remember is Joseph’s statement to his brothers: “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:7-8).

Throughout the years of loneliness and all the months in an Egyptian prison, throughout all the difficulties that could have caused his faith to fail and his spirit to become bitter, Joseph saw the hand of God. In his mind there was nothing for which man could take either the credit or the blame.

Remember the account of the apostle Paul and Silas being beaten and cast into prison at Philippi? Acts 16:25 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” Why weren’t they complaining, griping, demanding their legal rights? Somehow, like Joseph many centuries before, they were able to detect the merciful hand of God in it all.

Prayer

Lord, I praise You for Your hand on my life. Amen.

To Ponder

Failure to look up to God, whether your circumstances are good or bad, can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

 

https://www.navigators.org/Home

BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Not Buying ‘Death with Dignity’: African Americans and Assisted Suicide

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On October 18th, the nation’s capital took the first step towards physician-assisted suicide. The District of Columbia City Council voted to place the measure on its November agenda.

The so-called Death With Dignity Act would permit a person with a terminal diagnosis of six or fewer months as confirmed by two doctors to obtain a lethal dose of drugs, which they would administer to themselves.

This terrible idea still faces some formidable obstacles. Chief among them are the misgivings of Washington’s large African-American community. As the Washington Post recently reported, “In national surveys, African Americans have consistently stood against assisted suicide.”

According to a 2013 Pew survey, while only 42 percent of American whites opposed physician-assisted suicide, 65 percent of African Americans and Latinos did.

By way of underscoring the gap between the races on this issue, since Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide in 1997, only one African-American has availed himself of its provisions. That’s one out of 991 people.

The obvious question is: Why?

One readily apparent reason is religion. One African American woman quoted in the piece, who is fighting cancer herself, spoke for many District residents when she told the Post that “We believe in God. That’s not even a question. I’m fighting for my life, and my God is going to show me how.”

But there’s another reason: a distrust of the medical system. As Patricia King of Georgetown Law School put it, “Historically, African Americans have not had a lot of control over their bodies, and I don’t think offering them assisted suicide is going to make them feel more autonomous.”

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Not Buying ‘Death with Dignity’: African Americans and Assisted Suicide →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE JUDGMENT ON FALSE TEACHERS

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Read 2 PETER 2:17-22

Setan’s life seemed to be turning around. She had been sold by her family to a brothel owner in Phnom Penh when she was 12 years old, with the hope that she would earn money for her family. But two years later the police raided the brothel and declared that she was free. A local couple offered to take in several of the young girls and provide them with schooling. But this salvation was actually a ruse: the couple intended to force the girls into yet another prostitution ring.

Such stories should horrify and anger us. Abuse of vulnerable children is a grievous sin, and even worse is the promise of freeing children from bondage only to enslave them again (see Matt. 18:6). This should help us understand Peter’s feeling about the false teachers who are ensnaring new believers, young children in the faith, and leading them away from the truth of freedom in Christ.

Scripture certainly doesn’t mince words about the sin of these deceivers and the judgment that awaits them. They promise life and freedom but deliver death and slavery (vv. 17, 19). They tell believers that following Jesus doesn’t mean giving up your sinful habits and desires—in fact, they claim that their pride and lust and greed are perfectly acceptable to God (v. 18). Doesn’t God want you to be happy? they hiss, an echo of the first deception perpetrated by Satan in the Garden of Eden (see Gen. 3:1–5).

Judgment will come: “Blackest darkness is reserved for them” (v. 18). What makes their embrace and propagation of heresy even more tragic is that these false teachers have heard the gospel (vv. 20–21). They have rejected the marriage supper of the Lamb in order to feast on vomit (v. 22; see Rev. 19:19).

APPLY THE WORD

If you are a new follower of Jesus, make every effort to grow in your faith: read Scripture, attend a Bible study, find a spiritual mentor, or take a course through Moody Distance Learning (moody.edu/distance-learning). If you’re an established believer, make every effort to support the spiritual growth of others!

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – MAN SLEDGEHAMMERS DONALD TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD STAR

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Donald Trump was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. Yesterday a man dressed as a construction worker attacked it with a sledgehammer and an ax.

Doesn’t this feel like a metaphor for the politics of our day?

Joe Biden recently suggested that he’d like to fight Trump, a challenge the Republican nominee said he’d relish. Meanwhile, Trump is telling voters that Hillary Clinton’s Syria plan “will lead to World War Three.” Clinton is claiming that Trump represents “an unprecedented attack on our democracy.” And on it goes.

Why are our politics so combative? One answer is that successful politicians know what their constituents want. We live in a day consumed with conflict. Terrorism threatens our homeland; violence in our cities is escalating; chronic anxiety continues to rise. We want leaders who feel our pain and give voice to our fears. Those running for office know this. As a result, our politics are belligerent because our politicians reflect the conflicts our people feel.

In one sense, this is good news. The Founders knew firsthand the danger of monarchy without representation. As a result, they sought to establish a participatory democracy where leaders reflect the sentiments and desires of those they serve. Abraham Lincoln’s dream of “government of the people, by the people, for the people” was not his alone but the hope and goal of those who forged our great nation.

In another sense, however, our system of democracy can worsen the challenges it is intended to solve. Like throwing water on a grease fire, our voter-driven political process can turn a spark into a bonfire.

Here’s why: The Founders did not imagine a class of professional politicians whose only income would come from their elected office. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison all had financial sources outside their political income. Following Washington’s example, they imposed a two-term limit on themselves and viewed their service as a duty rather than a career.

Continue reading Denison Forum – MAN SLEDGEHAMMERS DONALD TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD STAR →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Genuine Repentance

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2 Corinthians 7:8-10

Because we desire to be more like Jesus, we make resolutions, ask Him to help us, and try to behave differently. Yet despite our best efforts to do things God’s way, we slide back into old habits. Frustrated, we may ask Him, “Why can’t I change?”

Overcoming sinful attitudes and behaviors starts with genuine repentance.

Conviction. The Holy Spirit will reveal the areas in which we’ve sinned and convict us of wrongdoing. Through Scripture, He’ll show us God’s standard and what needs to change. Repentance begins with understanding where we have gone astray.

Contrition. The next step—grieving over our iniquity—is followed by confession to the Lord. It’s simply human nature to sense regret when we are caught in misbehavior, deal with the consequences of poor choices, or feel ashamed that people know about our sin. In contrast, genuine sorrow arises from the knowledge that we’ve sinned against God. True contrition will lead us to humble confession.

Commitment. Real repentance is complete when we wholeheartedly pledge to turn from our old ways and move toward righteousness. God knows we won’t live perfectly, but He looks for a surrendered heart that diligently seeks to obey Him.

Paul used strong language when telling us to turn from iniquity: “Put to death … whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Col. 3:5 NIV). What sin are you struggling to overcome? Have you genuinely repented, committing to turn from it permanently? Let the Holy Spirit empower you to change.

Bible in One Year: Luke 12-13

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Mending Hearts

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Read: Matthew 5:1-16

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 9-11; 1 Timothy 6

You are the light of the world.—Matthew 5:14

Not long ago I went to a seamstress to have some clothing altered. As I entered her shop I was encouraged by what I saw on the walls. One sign read, “We can mend your clothes but only God can mend your heart.” Near it was a painting of Mary Magdalene weeping in anguish as the risen Christ was about to reveal Himself to her. Another sign asked, “Need prayer? Let us pray with you.”

The owner told me that she had run this small business for fifteen years. “We’ve been surprised how the Lord has worked here through the statements of faith we have posted in different places. A while back someone trusted Christ as their Savior right here. It is amazing to watch God work.” I told her I too was a Christian and commended her for telling others about Christ in her workplace.

Not all of us are able to be so bold in our workplace, but we can find many creative and practical ways of showing others unexpected love, patience, and kindness wherever we are. Since leaving that shop, I’ve been thinking about how many ways there are to live out our Lord’s statement: “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). —Dennis Fisher

Dear Father, use me to be a light today to the world around me. I love You and want others to know and love You too.

How can you be a light in your world? Read Truth With Love: Sharing the Story of Jesus by Ajith Fernando at discoveryseries.org/hp141.

God pours His love into our hearts to flow out to others’ lives.

INSIGHT: Today’s reading deals with the Beatitudes in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. Those who recognize their own spiritual bankruptcy will be helped as they “seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). The gift of God’s grace in our lives manifests itself in doing good to others, which brings glory to God (5:16). We are blessed by God so we can bless others. —Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Pharisees

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“You are nothing but a Pharisee,” said Maggie with vehemence. “You thank God for nothing but your own virtues; you think they are great enough to win you everything else.”(1)

Whether familiar or new to the scathing words of Maggie Tulliver to her brother Tom in George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss, it is clear that she is not speaking complimentarily.

The word “Pharisee,” as this interchange illustrates, is often used as something of a synonym for hypocrite, a haughty individual with a holier-than-thou air about them. Webster’s dictionary further articulates this common usage, defining the adjective “pharisaical” as being marked by “hypocritical censorious self-righteousness,” or “pretending to be highly moral or virtuous without actually being so.”(2) To be called a Pharisee is far from a compliment; it is to be accused of living with a false sense of righteousness, being blind and foolish with self-deception, or carrying oneself with a smug and hypocritical legalism.

The etymology of the word from its roots as a proper noun to its use as an adjective is one intertwined with history, drawing on the very tone with which a rabbi from Nazareth once spoke to the religious group that bore the name. In seven consecutive statements recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus begins his stern rebukes with the scathing introductions: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” “Woe to you blind guides!” His conclusion is equally pejorative: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?”(3) The word “Pharisee” has become far more associated with this critique than its greater context. Thus Maggie can call her brother a Pharisee and not be thinking of the Jewish sect of leaders for which Jesus had harsh words, but of the harsh words themselves.

Yet taking something out of context, even if Webster’s dictionary grants the permission, can be dangerously misleading. These were not always the connotations of the word Pharisee, and we do ourselves and the words of Jesus a disservice by assuming that his harsh words are all we need to remember about them. Quite ironically, the description “pharisaical” would once have been a great compliment. The Pharisees were highly regarded guardians of the strict interpretation and application of Jewish Law. They were known for their zeal and for their uncompromising ways of following the God of their fathers. It is likely that the apostle Paul was a Pharisee, and it is suggested that much of his Christian theology owes something to the shape and content of this earlier training.(4) In other words, to be a Pharisee was not an easy life riddled with loopholes and duplicities, like we might assume. The Pharisees were so certain there was a right way to follow God that they sought to follow this God to that very letter with all of their lives.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Pharisees →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Law Reveals Sin

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“What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7).

God’s holy standard exposes man’s rebellious heart.

So far in Romans, Paul has told us what the law can’t do: it can’t save us (3—5) or sanctify us (6). At this point the apostle anticipates and answers a question that naturally arises: What, then, was the purpose of the law? Was it evil? In the next few days we’re going to consider three important purposes the law served.

First, the law reveals sin. Sin is a violation of God’s righteous standard (1 John 3:4); if no such standard existed, there would be no sin. In Romans 3:20 Paul said that “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” Romans 4:15 adds, “Where there is no law, neither is there violation,” and Romans 5:13 reveals that “sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

To the question “Is the Law sin?” Paul replies emphatically, “May it never be!” Such a question is as absurd as it is blasphemous; an evil law could never proceed from a holy God. Paul goes on to say, “I would not have come to know sin except through the Law.” The law brought the proud Pharisee Saul of Tarsus face to face with his utter sinfulness, revealing his need for a Savior and preparing his heart for his life-changing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.

The specific commandment Paul cites, the injunction against coveting, is revealing. Coveting is an internal attitude, not an external act. It was the realization that God’s law applied to his attitudes, not merely his external behavior, that devastated Paul. He was forced to realize that all his external self-righteousness was worthless because his heart wasn’t right.

I pray that you too will be “obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed” (Rom. 6:17).

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24).

For Further Study

Read Isaiah 1:14-20; Amos 5:21-27; Matthew 23:25-28. What does God think of mere outward conformity to His law?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Patient Endurance

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This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.   Revelation 13:10

Patient endurance is not easy, but many times it is necessary. If you change jobs every two years, ten times in a row, you do not have twenty years of work experience. You have two years of work experience in ten different places. So, make sure that you learn what God intends for you to learn where you are, before you move on. This is one of Satan’s ploys. His desire is to keep you reactive to life, accompanied by a shallow faith.

Your faith has the opportunity to go deep when you stay somewhere for a while, but your faith remains shallow when you run from resistance. Resistance is a faith builder. When you are pressed against by life (what sometimes seems from all sides), you have the opportunity for growth. This is where patient endurance can serve you well. Patient endurance says that I will stay in this marriage, because it is for better or for worse. I will allow God to change me for the better, and I will trust Him to do the same for my spouse over time.

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).

Patient endurance is illustrated throughout the Bible. Jesus patiently endured the cross. He patiently endured His critics and, ultimately, He more than restored His reputation when He proved His claims by His resurrected life. David patiently endured the fallout from his adultery and murder. He had pushed himself to the point of totally turning his back on God, but ultimately, he turned back to God and became a broken and humbled leader. Hannah patiently endured her inability to bear children. Her faithfulness to God during barrenness was a testimony of encouragement to friends, family and a nation. Her womb was empty, but her faith was pregnant with God possibilities.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Patient Endurance →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Enraptured

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Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

1 Thessalonians 4:17a

Recommended Reading

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Do you know the actual word “rapture” is not found in most English translations of the Bible? It’s not in the King James Version, the New King James Version, or the New International Version. But that doesn’t diminish its reality or our excitement about it. According to the apostle Paul, one day soon Christ will descend from heaven with a shout and believers who are alive at the time will be “caught up” or “caught away” to be with Him.

When the Bible was translated into Latin in the fourth century, the translators rendered the original Greek phrase with the Latin word raptura, a term used meaning “snatched away.” That’s the source of our English term “rapture.” Later when the Bible was translated into English, the scholars bypassed the Latin term and used the more literal words, “caught up.” The meaning, however, is the same.

In our modern society, the word “rapture” also means being caught up in excitement and joy. When Jesus descends from heaven with a shout, we, His children, will be caught up with Him in the clouds, and we’ll feel rapturous joy in our hearts.

Many people do not seem to think Jesus will come back in their lifetime; if they did it would affect the way they lived.

Tom Blackaby, in Experiencing God at Home Day by Day

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Luke 11 – 12

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – When It’s Time for Something New

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To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1

When what you are doing no longer gives you joy—when there is no life in it for you anymore— that is a strong indication that God is finished with whatever He was doing through you. Prayer will help you find out if God is leading you to make changes.

Some individuals don’t have any joy because they are trying to do things God is not calling them to do anymore. They are simply trying to ride a dead horse, so to speak. My advice is this: When the horse isn’t moving, it is time to dismount!

Seek God’s direction and have the boldness to say, “I did things a certain way for a long time, and I was grateful to have the chance to do it, but this isn’t the way God is leading me now. I believe God is leading me to do something new.”

Prayer of Thanks: Father, thank You for showing me when it is time to do something new. I trust You to lead and guide me, and I know that joy always comes with Your plan. I thank You in advance that You will make it abundantly clear which direction You want me to take.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Learning to Give Joy Away Part 2

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Today’s Truth

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Philippians 4:12

Friend to Friend

I once heard a story that offers a great prescription for joy. A young believer came to a man who had followed Christ for many years with the complaint that he had lost his joy. The older and wiser Christian responded, “Go do something for someone else. Repeat that act of kindness nine times. Then you will find joy.”

When we develop the habit of looking for a need and then meeting that need, we will experience joy as never before. Many times, instead of looking for a need, we look the other way.

One of the most amazing paradoxes in the Christian life is that the more we give, the more we receive. We simply cannot out-give God!

In Luke 6:38 we find an amazing promise, “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving – large or small – it will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Learning to Give Joy Away Part 2 →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – You Will Be Saved

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“For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Many years ago, God clearly led me in the preparation, planning and production of a little booklet called the Four Spiritual Laws. Still widely used today, its volume of copies to date might well be second only to the Bible itself. More than a billion copies have been distributed and one can reasonably conclude that many millions have received Christ as a result of reading its message.

In something so succinct, it of course was impossible to include all of the appropriate Scriptures under each of the four laws. This verse for today, Romans 10:9, is one of those that might have been used with the Law Four, for it fits in well with the wording:

“We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.”

The three passages used (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8,9; Revelation 3:20) clearly direct the seeker after God. And of course this verse in Romans clearly confirms all that the other passages affirm.

Two conditions precede salvation, the apostle Paul is saying to the church in Rome: (1) “Tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord,” and (2) “Believe in your own heart that God has raised Him from the dead.” Simple, yet significant and meaningful, are these two preparatory steps.

As you share your faith with others today and in the days to come, recall with joy these two simple conditions that must be met.

Bible Reading: Romans 10:8-13

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: “Dear Lord, I thank You with all of my heart for the simplicity of the gospel and, with the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I will share this good news with all who will listen.”

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Value of Prophecy

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Read: 1 Corinthians 14

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:1-3

That ties this back to the love chapter. Love is to be the basic, biblical reason for exercising a spiritual gift. Love is the hunger to reach out for someone else’s benefit. That is to be the controlling theme throughout this whole chapter in the discussion of tongues and prophesying. Love is building up someone else. To that end, desire spiritual gifts, so that they may be a means of helping others and fulfilling love.

Clearly the one spiritual gift that is most effective in that direction is prophesying. The gift of prophesying is not predicting the future. That may be an element occasionally in it, but it is the explanation of the present in the light of the revelation of God. The closest term we would call it by today is biblical preaching that unfolds the mind of God and applies it to the daily struggles of life. That is prophesying. That is the gift for a congregation to desire above all others.

Beginning with Verse 2 and on through Verse 5, Paul compares the gifts of prophesy and tongues. Anyone who speaks in tongues is not understood in a congregation because he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. The reason for that was he was speaking in a language that they did not understand. At Corinth people would stand up and speak in these languages, perhaps recognizable as being languages used somewhere nearby (as on the Day of Pentecost), but the people there did not understand the language, and so they could not know what the speaker was saying.

In contrast, Paul now describes the gift of prophesying, which Paul says has a threefold effect. First, it builds people up. The word is oikodomen in the Greek, oiko means house, and domen means to build. To build a house on a solid foundation is the idea; and the work of prophesying gives people a foundation. One of the major problems among Christians today is the struggle they have with the sense of their true identity. Many people are emotionally torn apart because they do not understand that they are new creatures in Christ; they are no longer what they once were. Because they still get feelings of being what they once were, they believe those feelings, and they react accordingly. There is an up-and-down experience that they can never get away from. Prophesying corrects that. It teaches us who we are in Christ.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Value of Prophecy →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A God of Second Chances

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READ:  Psalm 51:1-17

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (v. 10)

Moses killed an Egyptian, David committed adultery, and Peter denied Christ. Every human being including those whose life stories are included in the Bible has sinned against God. Only Jesus was without sin. I imagine Moses, David, and Peter all felt guilt in the midst of their failures.

What guilt weighs heavy on your heart? What brings feelings of embarrassment and shame? Do you realize that God wants to give you a fresh start? He can forgive your faults and failures. Need evidence? Moses was later used to lead God’s people out of slavery. David confessed his sin (see Psalm 51) and sought to honor God as a king. Peter was restored by Jesus and boldly proclaimed the good news in the early church.

You are not a failure. You are not damaged goods. You are loved by God and he longs to create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you. The person you fault in the mirror is a person in whom God sees great potential. He can restore you and give you a fresh start so you can humbly serve him with gratitude and purpose.

The world is filled with people who feel they can’t possibly be forgiven for the sins they’ve committed. Don’t buy that lie of Satan. Our God can restore the joy of salvation and empower us to do mighty things for him!

PRAYER

Glorious God, as you have enabled me to receive a fresh start, help me to encourage others as they start afresh. Amen.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Be Faithful

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For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.—Romans 14:10

Maybe you are serving the Lord somewhere right now, working hard behind the scenes, and you’re saying, “No one notices what I’m doing. This is a thankless job.”

Be faithful in the little things. God is paying attention. As 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

It may be that God will open up some wonderful new opportunities for you here in this life, possibilities that you never dreamed of. Then again, it may not be until Heaven that you receive full recognition and reward for all that you have done. Jesus said, “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4).

As Christians we will one day stand before God. We will give an account for what we have done with our talents, our gifts, our resources, our time, and all that He has given us (see 1 Corinthians 3:11–15). This is described as the judgment seat of Christ, which is not to be confused with the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in Revelation 20. The judgment seat of Christ is a place where rewards are given.

When we die and go to Heaven, we will be there because of what Christ did for us. But then each of us will stand before Him, and the fire of God’s judgment will go through our lives and determine what we did with them. If we wasted our lives, if we wasted our time, if we wasted our resources, we are still saved because of what Christ has done for us. But we will have nothing to show for our lives.

It is our blessed responsibility to fully utilize all our energies to please our Master by faithfully using what He has given us. Let’s be faithful.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie