Tag Archives: Bible

Our Daily Bread — Human Chess

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. —1 John 4:7

Chess is an ancient game of strategy. Each player begins with 16 pieces on the chessboard with the goal of cornering his opponent’s king. It has taken different forms over the years. One form is human chess, which was introduced around AD 735 by Charles Martel, duke of Austrasia. Martel would play the game on giant boards with real people as the pieces. The human pieces were costumed to reflect their status on the board and moved at the whim of the players—manipulating them to their own ends.

Could this human version of the game of Chess be one that we sometimes play? We can easily become so driven by our goals that people become just one more pawn that we use to achieve them. The Scriptures, however, call us to a different view of those around us. We are to see people as created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). They are objects of God’s love (John 3:16) and deserving of ours as well.

The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). Because God first loved us, we are to respond by loving Him and the people He created in His image. —Bill Crowder

Open my eyes, Lord, to people around me,

Help me to see them as You do above;

Give me the wisdom and strength to take action,

So others may see the depth of Your love. —Kurt DeHaan

People are to be loved, not used.

Bible in a year: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4

Insight

The apostle John wrote today’s memorable words about love to a church struggling with the influences of false teachers. The words of verses 7-12 follow his instructions in verses 1-6 about identifying false teachers and false teaching (mainly by their view of Jesus). These verses indicate that love for God and for others is a key test for identifying those who truly follow Christ. Therefore, it is no surprise that John emphasizes the Christian characteristic of love. In today’s passage, he says that we ought to love one another, and in his gospel he records Jesus’ words, “By this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). How we treat one another is a demonstration of our love for God.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Like a Thief

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The alarm of discovering your house has been broken into is one I imagine stays with you long after the thief has gone home. Though most are not eyewitnesses to the looming figure that wrongfully entered, victims of such crimes often report seeing shadows in every corner and silhouettes peering through their windows. Signs that someone had been there are enough to call them to alertness.

Whether you have experienced the shock of burglary and its lasting effects or the violating despair of personal loss, the portrayal of Christ as one who will come like a thief in the night is a startling image. The description is one that seems uncouth amongst the less taxing images that will soon be sentimentally upon us—a peaceful mother and father beside a quiet baby in a manger, a bright star that guides wise men in the obscurity of night. How can the gospel juxtapose these images of one who comes as a child of hope and yet returns like a looming, unwanted figure? But this is the counsel from Jesus himself: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”(1)

The cry of the Christian season of Advent, the sounds of which are just starting to stir, is the cry not of sentiment but of disrupted vigilance. One of the key figures in celebrating the season, John the Baptist brings the probing message that continues to cry in urgency: “Are you ready?” Are you ready to discover this infant who came to dwell in the midst of night and suffering? Are you ready to hear his invasive message? Are you ready to discover God among you, the hunter, the thief, the King, the human? During the season of Advent, the church calls the world to look again at stories that have somehow become comfortably innocuous, to rediscover the disruptive signs that someone has been here moving about these places we call home, to stay awake to the startling possibility of his nearness in this place even now. “I say to all: ‘Stay awake,’” says Christ in Mark 13:37.

The owner of a house who has been disturbed once by a thief lives with the wakefulness that this thief will come again, however persuasively she is urged to see otherwise. She remembers the signs of a presence other than her own—prints left behind, a door left open, the memory of life disturbed—and she vows to keep watch, knowing, even against odds, that the thief will be back. In the same way, yet without fear, the season of Advent cries for our alertness to the vicariously human savior whose breaking into our world has charged every ordinary moment with expectation.

The child who was born in Bethlehem came quietly in the night, unbeknownst to many who dwelled near him. Like a thief, he shattered myths that proposed we were autonomous; he disrupted systems and powers and lives we thought were shielded. Yet Jesus came not to steal and destroy, but to dwell in all that overwhelms us, to live in a world groaning in death, fear, injustice, and suffering. His humanity shows us what it means to be truly human, overturning the categories we make for ourselves. Like a whimper in the night, his presence in the ordinary may go unnoticed. But he is near and knocking. Fear not and keep watch.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Matthew 24:42-44.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – God’s Resourcefulness

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Zechariah 1:20

In the vision described in this chapter, the prophet saw four terrible horns. They were pushing this way and that way, dashing down the strongest and the mightiest; and the prophet asked, “What are these?” The answer was, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah.” He saw before him a representation of those powers that had oppressed the Church of God. There were four horns, for the church is attacked from all quarters. The prophet had good reason to feel dismayed; but suddenly there appeared before him “four craftsmen.” He asked, “What are these coming to do?” These were the men whom God had found to break those horns in pieces.

God will always find men for His work, and He will find them at the right time. The prophet did not see the craftsmen at first, when there was nothing to do, but first the “horns” and then the “craftsmen.” The Lord always finds enough men. He did not find three craftsmen, but four; there were four horns, and there must be four workmen.

God finds the right men—not four men with pens to write, not four architects to draw plans, but four craftsmen to do the work. Rest assured, you who tremble for the Church of God, that when the “horns” grow troublesome, the “craftsmen” will be found. You need not worry about the weakness of the Church of God at any moment; there may be growing up in obscurity the valiant reformer who will shake the nations.

Chrysostoms may come forth from our Ragged Schools, and Augustines from the thickest darkness of London’s poverty. The Lord knows where to find His servants. He has in ambush a multitude of mighty men, and at His word they will take to the battle; “for the battle is the Lord’s,”1 and He will get to Himself the victory. So let us remain faithful to Christ, and He, in the right time, will raise up for us a defense, whether it be in the day of our personal need or in the season of peril to His Church.

1) 1 Samuel 17:47

________________________________________

The family reading plan for December 5, 2014 * Nahum 3 * Luke 19

________________________________________

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Compel them to come in

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Compel them to come in.” Luke 14:23

John MacArthur – God’s Final Revelation

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation.

A Samaritan woman declared, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: “God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.

The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God’s final word: “As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That’s why John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ “all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.

Suggestion for Prayer; Ask God to teach you how to rely more fully on your resources in Christ.

For Further Study; Read John 1:1-18 as a reminder of the fullness of God’s revelation in His Son.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Peace in the Midst of the Storm

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

A furious storm of wind [of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled. But He [Himself] was …asleep.—Mark 4:37-38

In Mark 4:35-41, we read how a storm arose when Jesus and His disciples were in a ship crossing the Sea of Galilee. The disciples got all upset, but Jesus calmly rebuked the storm, speaking peace to it, and it quieted down. Do you know why He was able to speak peace to the storm? Because He never let the storm get on the inside of Him. The disciples could not calm the storm because they were as disturbed as the waves were. Remember, you can’t give away something you don’t have. Jesus gave them peace because He had peace to give them. He had a peaceful heart within Him.

I tell you, I want to be the kind of person who has a soothing effect on people when I get around them. I want to be the kind of person who can spend a few minutes in a strife-filled room, and all of a sudden everyone starts to calm down.

When Jesus walked around on the earth, He had something going out of Him—the anointing or the virtue of God, which is the power of God. Something was constantly emanating from Him that brought healing and hope and salvation to people’s lives.

It wasn’t just something God put on Him; there was a foundation there of how He was living His life.Yes, He was anointed, but that anointing was not going to be released if He didn’t live His life right. And that’s exactly why He never let the devil upset Him. He didn’t let the storms of life get on the inside of Him. He kept His heart peaceful, calm, and loving. And we are to be like Him.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Fishers of Men

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, KJV).

Each morning I kneel to acknowledge Christ’s lordship of my life and ask Him to have complete, unhindered control of my life for that day, to walk around in my body, to think with my mind, to love with my heart, to speak with my lips and to continue seeking and saving the lost through me.

Sometime ago I was at a conference in a midwestern city, anticipating an early adjournment so that I could catch a plane to Los Angeles and rejoin my waiting family.

When I arrived at the airport, I discovered that flight after flight had been cancelled because of poor weather conditions. Rushing from one airline ticket counter to another, I hoped to find one that was still flying its planes. Finally, to my disappointment, I had discovered that all the airlines had cancelled their flights.

On one hand I was discouraged, but on the other I was encouraged by the promise of the Bible, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans” (Romans 8:28, LB).

Back at the hotel for the night, in the lobby I met a businessman who was hungry for God. As I shared Christ with him, I learned that he and his wife had been visiting a different church every Sunday for the past couple of years. They were looking for God but had not been able to find Him.

I explained to my new friend how to receive Christ. Together, we knelt and prayed, and he received Christ into his life as his personal Lord and Savior.

With great joy and enthusiasm my new brother in Christ announced, “I want to take these things to my wife because she too is eager to receive Christ.” It is our responsibility to follow Christ. It is His responsibility to make us fishers of men.

Bible Reading: Matthew 4:18-22

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: As I follow Christ today, I will recognize that even the delays, hindrances and closed doors may well be opportunities for me to share my faith in Jesus Christ. I shall remember, with God’s help, to share Him with others at every opportunity.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Don’t Forget

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

What would it take for you to forget God? In ancient times God’s people, Israel, had no land of their own; they were slaves in Egypt. The Lord performed amazing miracles to lead three million of His chosen ones to a specific place He called their forever home.

There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Judges 2:10

Once there, God gave them a personal guarantee and a formula for success: remove all squatters and, as soon as the land was cleared, He would be their King and they would live in peace. However, when the people of Israel met the occupiers, they found a sophisticated people who were cruel in war but dedicated to lavish living and indulging in every pleasure. Unsurprisingly, the Israelites found it much easier to join their party than start a war. In the span of one generation, the words of today’s verse became reality. They had forgotten God.

As you pray for America today, specifically intercede for coming generations. Pray they will seek God and His purposes. Do your part to make sure America’s future citizens do not forget the faithful One, but instead speak of Him and His love.

Greg Laurie – God of Knowledge

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. —1 Samuel 2:3

If intellectualism alone were the major key to purpose and fulfillment, then our universities and college campuses would be bastions of peace and purpose. Yet as you walk around your typical secular university today, you will see the emptiness of academic pursuit without God. On these campuses you will often find the most bizarre and aberrant ideas circulating today.

Certainly the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is a good one. Very few things this life offers are greater than the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the pursuit of a good education. But if in that pursuit we leave God out, then it will indeed be an empty one.

The year before he died, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who was known as “the father of the atomic bomb,” said this about his life: “I am a complete failure!” In looking back on his achievements, he said they were meaningless. That sounds a lot like Solomon, who said, “But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NLT).

We celebrate our dramatic advances in science and technology, which have been breathtaking to say the least. But as Tom Brokaw once said, “It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul.”

With global telecommunications, we truly have become a global village. Yet there is a sense of isolation and detachment, and all this technology almost seems to numb the soul a little bit more. It is the pursuit of knowledge without God.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Christ in You

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Proliferating throughout Scripture is an enticing and inviting preposition —the preposition “in.” Jesus lives in his children. From Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

God in us! Have we sounded the depth of this promise? With God in you, you have a million resources you didn’t have before. Can’t stop worrying? Christ can. And he lives within you. Can’t forget the past, forgive the jerk, or forsake your bad habits? Christ can! And he lives in you.

Oh to be so full of him that we could say with the apostle Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!”

From In the Manger

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Fresh Encounter With God

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Isaiah 6:1-9

We live in busy times. For many Christians, sadly, church is an item on their checklist, and they think attending a service fulfills their “spiritual duty.” As a result, God seems distant, so they feel unexcited about His work in their lives and lack compassion for the unsaved. Such believers find it easy to start acting in a worldly manner.

But the heavenly Father desires an intimate relationship with His children. As in Bible times, He still has personal encounters with His people—sometimes to comfort or encourage, at other times to guide or convict of sin.

In today’s passage, the prophet Isaiah wrote of such a meeting with the Lord. His reaction to the holiness of God’s presence was a profound recognition of his own sin: “I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips . . . ; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (v. 5).

As the prophet experienced, when God reveals His presence to us, we are likely to be overwhelmed with awe and a sense of our unworthiness. Then, as we humbly respond in repentance or obedience, we, too, will know that our sins have been forgiven (v. 7).

We cannot manipulate or create divine encounters, but we make them possible by being available to God. Are you spending time with the Lord, praying and reading His Word? Or has life become too busy and your spiritual walk too mechanical?

Ask God for a personal encounter with Him. Spend time praising the Lord, confessing sin, and surrendering all areas of your life to Him. Then expectantly watch for Him.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Called By Name

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Luke 19:1-10

[Jesus] looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” —Luke 19:5

At the beginning of the academic year, a school principal in our city pledged to learn the names of all 600 students in her school. Anyone who doubted her ability or resolve could look at her track record. During the previous year she had learned the names of 700 students, and prior to that, 400 children in a different school. Think of what it must have meant to these students to be recognized and greeted by name.

The story of Zacchaeus and Jesus (Luke 19:1-10) contains a surprising element of personal recognition. As Jesus passed through the city of Jericho, a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus climbed a tree in order to see Him. “When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house’” (v.5). Instead of ignoring Zacchaeus or saying “Hey, you in the tree,” Jesus called him by name. From that moment on, his life began to change.

When it seems that no one knows you or cares who you are, remember Jesus. He knows us by name and longs for us to know Him in a personal way. Our Father in heaven sees us through His eyes of love and cares about every detail of our lives. —David McCasland

Father, thank You that my value in Your eyes is not

determined by what I do but simply by the fact that You

created me. Help me to recognize that same value in

others as I represent You to the world.

Jesus knows you by name and longs for you to know Him.

Bible in a year: Ezekiel 47-48; 1 John 3

Insight

First-century tax collectors were hated by the people of Israel because they were seen as collaborators with the occupying Romans. Tax collectors often became wealthy at the expense of their own people. As a result, they were considered defiled and impure. This is ironic, for the tax collector mentioned here is named Zacchaeus, which means “pure.”

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Where God Is

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

In a certain town there lived a cobbler, Martin Avdeitch by name. He lived in a small basement room whose one window looked out onto the street, and all he could see were the feet of people passing by. But since there was hardly a pair of boots that had not been in his hands at one time for repair, Martin recognized each person by his shoes. Day after day, he would work in his shop, watching boots pass by. One day he found himself consumed with the hope of a dream that he would find the Lord’s feet outside his window. Instead, he found a lingering pair of worn boots belonging to an old soldier. Though at first disappointed, Martin realized the old man might be hungry and invited him inside to a warm fire and some tea. He had other visitors that evening, and though sadly none were Christ, he let them in also. Sitting down at the end of day, Martin heard a voice whisper his name as he read the words: “I was hungry and you gave me meat; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in. Inasmuch as you did for the least of these, you did unto me.”(1)

Every Christmas, our family reads the story of Martin the Cobbler as an aid to our celebration. Tolstoy’s words offer something of a creative attempt to capture the wonder of a God who comes near and helps us picture the gift of Christ among us in accessible terms. Notably, the story was originally titled, Where God Is, Love Is.

The Christian story that informs the Christian calendar gives its followers time and opportunity to remember the coming of Christ in a specific context—in Bethlehem, in the Nativity, in the first Christmas. But it also presents repeated opportunities and reminders to prepare for the coming of Christ again and again. Like Martin eagerly waiting at the window, the Christian worldview is one that asks of every day of every year: How will Christ come near today? Will I wait for him? Am I ready for him? Am I even expecting to find him? We are reminded to keep watch, to be prepared, and to continually ready our hearts and minds for the one who is already near. At the same time, the Christian story would also have us to remember how unexpectedly Christ at times appears—as a baby in Bethlehem, a man on a cross, as a woman in need.

In the book of Titus, we read that “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all people.” How and where will grace show up this week? In order to stay alert to the rich possibilities, perhaps we need to keep before us the radical thought of all that God has offered: a Christ child who comes down to us, a redeemer willing to die for us, a God willing to redefine what is near—all so that we might be where God is. Christianity is not an escape system for us to avoid reality, to live above it, or to be able to redefine it. Christianity is a way that leads the world to grasp what reality is and, by God’s grace and help, to navigate through it to our eternal home in God’s presence.

The story God has given indeed feeds the hungry, takes in the stranger, and orients the resident alien who is ever-looking homeward. The focus of Christ’s coming is the message of Immanuel—God is with us. The focus of Christ’s earthly ministry is the declaration of the cross—God is for us. And the focus of Christ’s resurrection is the promise of a future and his imminent return—God will bring us safely home. Until then, God is among us, even when it seems most unlikely.

Stuart McAllister is regional director of the Americas at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Story told in Leo Tolstoy’s, Walk in the Light While There Is Light and Twenty-three Tales (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003).

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Groaning for Redemption

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

We ourselves… groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23

This groaning is common among God’s people: To a greater or lesser extent we all feel it. It is not the groan of murmuring or complaint: It is a note of desire rather than of distress. Having received a deposit, we desire the rest of our portion; we are sighing that our entire manhood, in its trinity of spirit, soul, and body, may be set free from the last trace of the Fall; we long to discard the rags of corruption, weakness, and dishonor and to be clothed with incorruption, immortality, glory—the spiritual body that the Lord Jesus will bestow upon His people.

We long for the manifestation of our adoption as the children of God. “We . . . groan,” but it is “inwardly.” It is not the hypocrite’s groan, by which he would make men believe that he is a saint because he is wretched. Our sighs are sacred things, too holy and too personal for us to broadcast. We keep our longings for our Lord to ourselves. Then the apostle says we “wait,” by which we learn that we are not to be petulant, like Jonah or Elijah when they said, “Let me die”; nor are we to whimper and sigh for the end of life because we are tired of work or wish to escape from our present sufferings till the will of the Lord is done. We are to groan for glorification, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best.

Waiting implies being ready. We are to stand at the door expecting the Beloved to open it and take us away to Himself. This groaning is a test. You can learn a lot about a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after wealth—they worship money; some groan continually under the troubles of life—they are merely impatient. But the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy until he is made like Christ—that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord and the resurrection that He will bring to us.

________________________________________

The family reading plan for December 4, 2014 * Nahum 2 * Luke 18

________________________________________

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Dilemma and deliverance

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10

John MacArthur –Progressive Revelation

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament is but a sample of what is revealed in the New Testament.

When Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets [the Old Testament]; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17), He was affirming that Scripture progressed from promise to fulfillment, from partial to complete. We call that progressive revelation.

For example, the Old Testament anticipated Christ’s coming; the New Testament records His coming. The Old Testament writers didn’t understand everything they wrote because it didn’t always apply to their day. That’s why Peter said, “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit” (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

Progressive revelation doesn’t at all imply that the Old Testament is inaccurate. The distinction isn’t in the rightness or wrongness of the revelation, but in its completeness. Just as a child progresses from letters to words to sentences, so God’s revelation progressed from types, ceremonies, and prophecies to final completion in Jesus Christ and the New Testament.

Thought incomplete by New Testament standards, the Old Testament is nonetheless fully inspired by God. That’s affirmed often in the New Testament. Peter tells us that no human writer of the Old Testament wrote of his own will, but only as he was directed by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). Paul added that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, [and] for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16, emphasis added).

The Old Testament isn’t all of God’s truth, but all of it is true. And as you progress from the Old to the New, you see God’s character and redemptive plan unfolding in greater detail.

Suggestion for Prayer; Praise God for the fullness of revelation you enjoy in Scripture.

For Further Study; Memorize 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – All Things Work for Good

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.—Romans 8:28

After John 3:16, Romans 8:28 is probably the most quoted Bible verse among Christians. Paul’s words bring comfort and peace to many of us in our difficulties and hardships. They give us hope that no matter what hurts and disappointments come in our lives, everything will eventually work out for our good.

The two verses preceding Romans 8:28 talk about prayer. They say that when we don’t know how to pray as we ought to, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and prays through us. It is through these Holy Spirit-filled prayers that all things work together for good, no matter what they are. Not all things that happen to us are good in and of themselves, but God is good and He can cause them to work toward our good if we trust Him.

Continuing to trust God is the key to victory in painful and seemingly unjust situations. Faith and prayer move the hand of God. If we continue believing, He promises to continue moving in our behalf to work everything out for good. God makes this promise to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We must love God with all of our hearts, and we must want His will. We must be willing to submit to His plan at all times.

The plan that God has for us eventually changes us into His image. We are destined to be molded into His image. That may sound spiritual, but in reality, it usually hurts. I often think of clay being pressed into a mold, and wonder how the clay would feel if it had feelings. Being changed into an entirely different shape would probably be painful. If we take a lump of clay and press it into a mold, there is always too much clay to fit, and some pieces must be discarded. I found that there was more of me than would fit into the mold of Jesus Christ, so many of my thoughts, words, and actions had to be discarded.

We must go through things that are difficult and learn how to respond to them the way Jesus would. We must not give way to the fearful thoughts and feelings that attack us. We must learn to remain steadfast, knowing that no matter how things appear now, God will work them out for our good, ¬and in the process, He will use them to make us better people.

God’s purpose in everything that happens is to make us more like Jesus Christ. Jesus was the totally obedient one. Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).

We also learn through what we suffer. We learn from God’s Word and life’s experiences. Because of our sinful nature, we tend to fight God at every point, but this only makes the process longer and more painful. Learn to surrender quickly, and save yourself a lot of agony. I’ve learned that God gets His way in the end, so why prolong the process?

Where the mind goes the man follows. Keep your mind going in the right direction, and your life will catch up with it. A person who has their faith firmly planted in God cannot be defeated. The Bible says that Joseph’s brothers hated him, but God was with him. God gave him favor and promoted him, so we see that his faith in God lifted him above his circumstances.

Some terrible things happened to Joseph. His brothers sold him to slave traders and told his father a wild animal had killed him. He was betrayed by those whom he served and tried to help, but God was watching him all the time. God had a good plan for Joseph, and it came to pass. He ultimately said that although the things that happened to him were originally meant for harm, God intended it for good.

This same thing is true for all of us. Satan cannot defeat us if we keep believing that God is working for our good, and that we are being continually transformed into His image.

All wise and loving God, make me more like Jesus. I don’t like to suffer, and I hate to fail, but through Jesus Christ, I ask You to teach me and enable me to understand that, because of You, everything truly works together for my good. Amen.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Watch Your Intentions

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Phrases such as, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” gives “good intentions” a bad connotation. “At least they had good intentions” usually isn’t a compliment. But good deeds begin primarily with a heart and mind set on doing God’s will. Despite the evil crime Joseph’s brothers committed by selling Joseph into slavery, the Lord intended it for Israel’s deliverance.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

Genesis 50:20

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Intend to do good this holiday season by planning acts of kindness; carry through with your intentions. How can you use your talents, abilities and possessions to help someone? Holidays are often stressful. An extra dose of patience and kindness might be all a person needs to get them through the day.

Pray to the Lord that, like He did with Joseph and Israel, He will turn the bad things in your life and in this nation for the good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)

Greg Laurie – The Role of Faith

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. —Mark 6:5–6

There is no question that faith is a key element in effective prayer. On one occasion, Jesus could not do many miracles in a certain place because of the unbelief of the people there. That place was Nazareth, which happened to be His hometown. He had done miracles in other places, but not in Nazareth. And it was because of their unbelief.

Our faith does play a part in the work of God. Sadly, there has been a distortion of this truth by false teachers who say that we make things happen, that faith is a type of force we just need to use. In an effort to counter this extreme teaching, we may swing too far the other way and end up with no faith at all.

There is a place for having faith and believing the promises in God’s Word. When people ask me to pray for them to be healed, I do. But I always add, “Lord, if You have another purpose that we don’t know about, then not our will, but Yours, be done.” I think we need as much faith as we can muster when we come before God with our requests. But I appreciate the honesty of the man who said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). I believe God will honor that.

When you pray, “Lord, this seems to be Your will from my understanding of Scripture. . . I believe, Lord, but help my unbelief. . . and if You have another plan, then just overrule it,” that is a proper way to bring something before the throne of God.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Came Near

December 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment. God became a man! Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb. Jesus came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were un-manicured, calloused, and dirty. For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. Weak and weary; and afraid of failure. His feelings got hurt.

To think of Jesus in such a light seems almost irreverent. There’s something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant and predictable. But don’t do it! For heaven’s sake, don’t! Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out!

From In the Manger

DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION

Tag Archives: Bible

Our Daily Bread — Human Chess

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Like a Thief

Alistair Begg – God’s Resourcefulness

Charles Spurgeon – Compel them to come in

John MacArthur – God’s Final Revelation

Joyce Meyer – Peace in the Midst of the Storm

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Fishers of Men

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Don’t Forget

Greg Laurie – God of Knowledge

Max Lucado – Christ in You

Charles Stanley – A Fresh Encounter With God

Our Daily Bread — Called By Name

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Where God Is

Alistair Begg – Groaning for Redemption

Charles Spurgeon – Dilemma and deliverance

John MacArthur –Progressive Revelation

Joyce Meyer – All Things Work for Good

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Watch Your Intentions

Greg Laurie – The Role of Faith

Max Lucado – God Came Near

Scriptures, Lessons, News and Links to help you survive.