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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Grace on Display

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Read | 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Paul described himself as the worst of sinners, and yet someone to whom the Lord had expressed His favor and love (1 Tim. 1:16). Because of divine grace, the apostle became spiritually alive and a member of God’s family. He had a new purpose for living—one that would glorify his heavenly Father and help build His kingdom. From that day forward, Paul’s attitudes and behavior were dramatically different.

Through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, Paul’s character was increasingly marked by gratitude and compassion. His writings consistently expressed appreciation for God’s blessings and urged others to be grateful as well. His words also reveal humility. A highly educated and influential man, he now counted all his credentials as “loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [his] Lord” (Phil. 3:8).

After Paul met the Savior, his actions also changed dramatically. He cared deeply about those who were still separated from God, and he fervently desired to help Christians grow in their faith. For the rest of his life, he served the Lord by sharing the gospel, encouraging fellow believers, and meeting the needs of others. He accepted that suffering for the cause of Christ was part of this new life.

As we read about the apostle’s life, we see grace on display. He was used as God’s ambassador to the Gentiles. Through him, biblical truths were recorded for future generations. The Holy Spirit seeks to transform our lives, just as He did Paul’s. Are you allowing grace to work within you?

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Life Before Grace

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Read | Ephesians 2:1-3

Grace is the unmerited love that God shows to sinful people. He expressed this love through the sacrificial death of His Son. It becomes ours when we confess that we are sinners and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. Because of grace, we’re forgiven by God and adopted into His family.

Today’s passage describes our life before grace—we were dead in our trespasses and sins. This means that every person is born with a deadness to the things of God; we come into this world with no spiritual life. Our nature leans away from the Lord and toward ourselves. In addition, our thinking and behavior follow that of the world, which, according to Scripture, is under Satan’s control. His plan always opposes God’s and leads us to rebel against divine commands.

Before encountering grace, Paul was very religious but blind to the Lord’s perspective and plan. He actively opposed those who followed Christ (Acts 26:9-11). With a goal of destroying the church, he sought to eradicate the Christian faith, which he deemed false. Paul continued persecuting believers until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus (9:3-6). Only then did the future apostle surrender his will to God’s and become a true follower of Christ.

If you have not trusted in the Savior, then you are spiritually dead, separated from God, and under His judgment. Like Paul, you may be very religious and yet lack a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God offers you salvation today through faith in Him. How will you respond?

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Lifestyle of Waiting on God

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Read | Psalm 37:1-11

Ever notice how some people will ask a question but then rush out the door before you can respond? We can act the same way toward the Lord when we fail to wait on Him.

To develop a lifestyle of waiting on God, we need to have:

Faith. We must be willing to trust the Lord when a solution isn’t obvious and we can’t see a way through our struggle. Meditating on Scripture and applying it to life’s trials will result in strengthened faith (Rom. 10:17).

Humility. Recognizing that we can accomplish nothing apart from Jesus, we should be willing to endure until God reveals His answer (John 15:5). His ways are always perfect; our cleverest plan will not be as adequate.

Patience. A calm demeanor and inner peace come from believing that the Lord is who He says He is and that He will do exactly as He’s promised. The Holy Spirit will help us to face stressful circumstances without complaint and accept life’s challenges instead of trying to manipulate a way out.

Courage. It is human nature to want to be in control—we yearn to know what’s going to happen and when. Courage is necessary if we are to resist following our own schedule or caving in to pressure from others. With the Holy Spirit’s enablement, we can hold steady to wait on God, even when people around us disapprove of our choices.

Wisdom and right action come through seeking God and His will. Won’t you quiet your heart and mind and listen to what He has to say?

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Rewards of Waiting

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Read | Psalm 33:12-22

We have all experienced many times of waiting—in doctors’ offices, traffic jams, or checkout lines. While there, we have nothing to do but wait for our turn. In God’s kingdom, waiting is defined as an active stillness—active because we are continuing in our present situation, and still because we are focusing our attention on Him for guidance. A lifestyle of active stillness requires a purposeful and expectant attitude, a patient and determined frame of mind, and a prayerful and obedient heart.

There are rewards for waiting on the Lord. One involves receiving the supernatural strength needed for godly living. When we feel overwhelmed, we might be tempted to get out of step with God. Even though we know He is calling us to keep a steady pace, we may start lagging behind. At other times, our schedules leave us little time to think. So we make quick decisions, pushing ahead of Him. In either case, we risk becoming weary and emotionally spent because we are operating in our own strength. Patiently waiting on God will bring us the physical energy and emotional reserves we need to keep going.

Here are two additional benefits of waiting: discovering God’s will, which is always for our good (Rom. 8:28), and gaining spiritual victory in life’s trials.

Our omniscient and omnipotent God is always right on time. It is we who leave too early or arrive too late. Pick a situation in which you are tempted to overrule the Lord’s perfect timing. Then submit to Him, realizing the issue is a matter of trust.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Walking With God

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Read | Genesis 6

Once we receive Jesus as Savior, His Spirit indwells us permanently. Yet there is a difference between having salvation and actually walking with the Lord. Being saved involves the forgiveness of sin and the blessing of eternal security, whereas walking with God is a privilege that we live out day by day.

To understand this idea more fully, let’s consider the example of Noah. Genesis 6:9 identifies him as a man who followed the Lord in a God-pleasing way. In other words, he lived by faith. Surely Noah did not understand God’s direction to build an ark. After all, there had never even been any rain, let alone a cataclysmic deluge. Until the flood, mist would rise from the ground to nourish vegetation. But because the Almighty spoke, Noah believed and obeyed.

For us, walking by faith need not mean something as monumental as building an ark to save wildlife from destruction. Instead, it’s likely to involve something more commonplace, such as living with godly priorities, spending time in the Word, or holding to God’s values in a world that belittles them. In fact, it is frequently when there is no crisis or quandary to motivate us that our true character is revealed. When we are faithful with the simple, mundane things, our heavenly Father will entrust us with more.

Believing God and acting accordingly is an important aspect of following Him. Do you have such trust that you obey even when His directions are difficult or confusing? Ask Him to increase your faith, and renew your commitment to follow wherever He leads.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – What Is Genuine Repentance?

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“Lord, I’m really sorry I got caught.”

“God, I really regret that sin. I sure hope I can do better next time.”

Does either of these statements indicate genuine repentance? I don’t think so. Both are prompted out of guilt or embarrassment, not a heartfelt sense of remorse over the fact that the Father has been grieved. Usually, these people have no intention of changing. They just want God off of their backs.

Genuine repentance involves several things. First of all, confession. Not just, “Lord, I’m sorry for my mistake,” but “Lord, I have sinned against you.” Confession acknowledges guilt. Second, repentance involves recognizing that the sin was against God. Although David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed, he realized that his sin was primarily against the Lord (Ps. 51:4).

All of us need to recognize that our sin is primarily against God. Other people may be hurt as well. However, when we hold our sin up to the love of the Father expressed through the Cross, we see that is where sin is darkest.

Repentance also includes taking full responsibility for our sin. David didn’t blame Bathsheba or make any excuses for himself. He said, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3).

Whenever we catch ourselves blaming someone else for our sin, our repentance is incomplete. We should take full responsibility for our offense, no matter what happened or who was involved. Regardless of the temptation, we are ultimately the ones who chose to sin.

Last, repentance is not complete without honesty. I believe God is looking for us to be honest about our weaknesses, our failures, and our frustrations. Honesty promotes fellowship. As long as we are open and honest with the Lord, He can continue to work with us, even after we have sinned.

We get into trouble when we start to cover things up: “Now, Lord, I know I made a mistake. But after all, everybody makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.” Responding this way avoids the real issue and is therefore dishonest. As long as we approach God in that fashion, there is not much He can do with us.

Repentance for the Unbeliever

Repentance for those outside of Christ means a change of mind. The unbeliever is to change his mind about what he believes concerning Jesus. He moves from unbelief to belief that Christ paid the penalty for his sin. An unsaved person admits that she cannot save herself. She trusts Jesus, instead of her goodness, for eternal life. She changes her mind about God and His payment for our sin.

It is important to understand that repentance for the unbeliever is not referring to cleaning up his life. If he can earn forgiveness of sin and a home in heaven by changing his life through self-effort, there is no need for the Cross.

Repentance and belief are so intertwined that they are almost synonymous. You cannot have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. Jesus used repentance as synonymous with belief when He said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).

After you receive Jesus, you will continue to repent as you grow in Christian faith and character. This repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in behavior.

What happens when we delay our repentance? The Bible teaches that God disciplines those who are disobedient. When we perpetuate our sin with no intention of stopping, we won’t escape the disciplining hand of the Father. However, it is my conviction that if you and I deal with our sin genuinely, openly and immediately, God can lessen the severity of our discipline. We are wise to repent quickly.

Adapted from “Charles Stanley’s Handbook for Christian Living,” 1996.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Truth About Believers

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Psalm 103:1-5

When I became a believer, someone patted me on the shoulder and said, “Do the best you can,” which is neither biblical nor helpful advice. A while later, I was discipled by some faithful saints, who taught me the truth about believers.

A believer is identified as a child of God. Through prayer, we have access to our Father at any time, and we can expect that He will be faithful to every one of His promises. What’s more, we are no longer classified as “sinners,” a term describing those who have not received Jesus Christ as Savior. We’ve been transformed into saints—holy persons saved by grace and set apart for God’s purposes. Sin and temptation will continue to be realities for us as long as we’re on earth. But our transgressions are forgiven, and our new identity cannot change.

A believer is positioned in Christ. God’s Spirit dwells in us so we can live righteously, as Jesus did. Today’s passage uses a grapevine metaphor to describe this relationship. It tells us the Lord is the vine and we are the branches connected to Him and drawing on His power.

A believer’s mission is to show Christ to the world. Our vine is to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). When our character and conduct reflect these aspects of Jesus’ nature, we help others to see the beauty of a relationship with the Lord.

The truth about believers is that we don’t have to “do the best we can.” God works through His children to accomplish His purposes.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Keeping a Young Attitude

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Read | Psalm 103:1-5

We all want to live each day fully. To do that, we need to maintain a youthful attitude instead of letting ourselves grow old and useless to the kingdom. Here are some suggestions for staying young all our life.

First, we need to keep laughing. We are never more like children than when we are having fun with our friends. Yet in order to laugh, we at times must let go of emotional baggage. Some people have been hurt deeply, and their laughter is buried under old pains. But clutching past bitterness and feelings of rejection will age us quickly. Jesus Christ is willing to remove all that ugliness when we lay it down, which we do by forgiving ourselves and others—perhaps repeatedly. Every day is a fresh start and another chance for our indwelling God to help us smile and laugh.

Second, we should keep longing. That means we ought to keep chasing our dreams and working toward goals. When a person wakes up with something to accomplish or a friend to aid, he or she experiences more of the joy life has to offer. As soon as we settle for watching the world go by, we start to age.

Finally, and most importantly, we must keep leaning on the Lord. If we live with childlike trust, God will bless our life and use us to bring blessing upon others. He will give a sense of contentment so deep that no trial or spiritual attack can shake us.

As believers, we have the opportunity to take part in the Lord’s work every day of our life. If we give up before He wants us to stop, we cheat both God and ourselves.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Beyond Ourselves

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2 Corinthians 12:5-10

The apostle Paul understood what it meant to be pushed to the limit. According to his letters, he knew a lot about hardships and suffering. But he was most knowledgeable about the ultimate importance of all of those painful experiences—namely, glorifying Jesus through his weakness.

We don’t like to feel that we’re helpless or lacking control of our own lives. But we can learn from Paul and from our personal life experiences that the prelude to great strength is great weakness. Take note of this important lesson about the Christian life: Our weakest moments—when we feel the most desperate—are the very times when God is free to do His greatest work by empowering and strengthening us. It is in those difficulties during which we whisper, “Father, I cannot go on” that we are granted the best equipping and the greatest enabling to endure adversity.

Human nature cries out for strength, courage, and adequacy to meet life’s challenges. Consequently, many people avoid fiery trials and valley experiences at all costs so they won’t have to face weakness. They tell themselves, I am able to handle life on my own terms; my strength is sufficient. But we can never understand the supernatural empowerment to go beyond our own limits unless we experience it for ourselves. The only way to have conviction about the Lord’s adequacy is to endure weakness and then witness the strength that springs from it. No matter what’s going on in our lives, there is power available to the children of God.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Principles of Prosperity

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Read | Psalm 24:1-2

Remember the truth that God owns it all? When we have a firm grasp of this concept and apply it to our thinking and handling of money, we will have mastered the first principle of prosperity. If we realize that everything we see in our world is His, then we will begin to realize that we literally own nothing; we are merely stewards handling the wealth of our Master. As money managers, we must understand that we do not have the right to dictate how it is to be spent or invested; only God does. He is still in control, and He wants to have the final word in the matter.

The second principle of prosperity is that God wants His resources used in a way that glorifies Him. Not only does He own it all and have the right to tell us how to manage it, but He also expects us to obey. Our obedience in money matters brings Him glory. The Lord wants us to keep this in mind as we put His resources into circulation to accomplish His work, to meet basic needs, and to provide enjoyment.

So for the New Year, ask God these three questions: How much do You want to be designated for Your work? What proportion should go to meet my basic needs and the needs of others? How much do You want me to utilize to enjoy life?

When we accept that God owns it all, that we are His money managers and our resources are to be used to glorify Him, then we will be satisfied with His choices for how to use the money we have. How satisfied are you?

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Courage in Troubled Times

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Read | Romans 8:28-34

Some time ago, two Chinese women shared their father’s story with me. He was arrested in a roundup of house church members and given a choice—to deny Christ or go to jail. The man spent 20 years imprisoned for his faith.

I was moved to tears by this brother’s godly testimony. He understood that God was in control of his life, and that realization gave him the courage to please his Father regardless of the repercussions.

Romans 8:28 teaches that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love [Him].” But relying on that guarantee gets tough when we’re in the midst of trials. The first few words of the verse—“And we know” (emphasis added)—provide a hint about how Christians are to trust that the Lord will keep His promise. We can face adversity courageously when we make a habit of finding God’s fingerprints on prior situations in our life.

While God causes good to come from our experiences, He doesn’t necessarily initiate trials. Psalm 103:19 says, “His sovereignty rules over all” (emphasis added). Other forces are at work in the world, but the Father’s power reigns supreme. Satan may touch our life with pain, but only because the Lord allows him to do so. And God gives permission only when a situation fits His ultimate purpose.

Regardless of the tragedies we face, God’s commitment remains the same—He makes good out of bad, just as He has always done. Paul knew the promise was true, and so do I. Examine your life for evidence of the Lord at work, and you will be assured as well.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Confidence in Troubled Times

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Read | Romans 8:35-39

Life is continually changing. At times I tell myself that if just a few pressing issues resolve, my days will be calmer. But as soon as those problems are settled, a new challenge pops up. Even globally, we’re in a constant state of flux. The economy rises and then spirals downward. Gas and food prices increase. New conflicts flare up all the time. Since we live in a fallen world, trouble is part of our reality. Life will never settle down to the point that we can sail along with uninterrupted ease.

Thankfully, God guides believers through times of turbulence (Ps. 23). He is the Good Shepherd, who constantly abides with His world-weary lambs. Jesus vowed to His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:18). And His promise was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to indwell and care for each of God’s followers. Paul poetically described the Spirit as a seal placed around believers until they are called to their heavenly home. In other words, He provides a protective barrier against evil forces desiring to snatch us from God’s hand.

In the verses leading up to today’s reading, Paul described his audience as the Lord’s children (Rom. 8:16). So let me be very clear that the promise of a holy, protective presence is only for those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior. No one’s life will always be calm. But believers are assured of a Companion in the dark hours. You can be confident that God’s goodness and love will surround you until you dwell in His house forever (Ps. 23:6).

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How does the renewing of my mind set me free?

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Romans 12:1-2

How does the Word of God teach us the truth that sets us free? The original Greek in Romans 12 helps explain the process.

The apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

Another way of saying it is, “Stop allowing the world to shape you into its mold.” The meaning of the phrase is further deepened in the Greek. He used words that mean, “Stop assuming an outward appearance and lifestyle that is inconsistent with your inner being.”

Now that Jesus Christ lives within you, it is incompatible with your true identity to allow the world to influence you into old behaviors. You have been freed from those old thought patterns, insecurities, inadequacies, and inferiorities, and freed to become a fruitful, Spirit-filled child of God.

Paul tells us to “be transformed,” a Greek word from which the English word metamorphosis is derived. The believer is to have a metamorphosis by making his outward appearance and lifestyle consistent with who is within him and what he has become internally.

This metamorphosis comes by the renewing of our minds—when we replace old, erroneous thought patterns with the truth we find in God’s Word. And when truth becomes a part of your thinking, you become a free man or woman, a free saint, a free child of God fully apprised and confident of your position, personage, and possessions in Christ

 

Related Resources

Related Audio

How The Truth Can Set You Free

How does God renew your mind in order to set me free? (Listen to How The Truth Can Set You Free, Part 10.)

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Way to Acquire Wisdom

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Read | Proverbs 2:1-7

Knowledge is a prized commodity in the world, but more important than knowledge is wisdom (Prov. 8:11). God wants us to view life from His viewpoint and evaluate everything according to biblical principles.

How are believers to acquire this God-given insight? The obvious answer is that we must seek it. Too often, however, people who say they want to be wise do little to actually make that happen. Like any worthwhile treasure, wisdom must be actively pursued and carefully gleaned from its sources.

The first source is the Bible. Proverbs teaches that we should pay attention to God’s life-giving words and hold His commands in our hearts (4:20-22). These days information is broadcast with the slant of the people who packaged it. The only way to know the right perspective—namely, God’s—is to read His ancient “broadcast” and apply its principles (8:33).

Another source of wisdom is the counsel of godly men and women (12:15). The Lord at times brings fellow believers into our life to offer biblical advice, encouragement, or reproof. In Proverbs, those who ignore the words of a righteous person are labeled “fool.” Don’t be foolish. Surround yourself with other followers of Christ who are also seeking wisdom as their treasure.

Our heavenly Father ensures that those who seek wisdom will find it (8:12, 17). Diligent believers will discover they possess abundant treasure: In addition to godly insight, they’ll have knowledge, discernment, and prudence—rare riches in the modern world. Use them well.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Priority of Prayer

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Read | Luke 5:15-16

Have you ever forgone your daily prayer time, thinking, I am just too busy to pray today?Whenever we surrender quiet time for something else, we are making a statement about our priorities. It is a not-so-subtle way of saying, “Jesus, my calendar is more important to me than You are today. I’ll have to catch up with You later.”

We all do this on occasion, don’t we? Skipping prayer now and then is all too easy because, since we know the Lord is always there, we figure we can make up the time later. It’s as though we have taken God’s eternal, indwelling presence for granted with the thought, The Lord will still be here tomorrow, but I’ve got to get this done today!

What we fail to realize is that our quiet time with God is what empowers us to face the challenges of the day. Therefore, the busier our day, the more time we should spend in prayer preparing for it!

The Bible clearly shows that Jesus Himself protected His private time with the Father. I cannot imagine any person having more on his mind, having more things to do, or being in greater demand than Jesus. And yet the times when He was busiest are the times we see Him pulling away from the crowds in order to pray.

Is prayer the first thing you cut from your daily agenda when the schedule fills up? Protect that time every day at all costs. Remember, Jesus is God; if He considered prayer necessary to prepare for His busiest days, then it is an absolute essential for the rest of us

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Self-Reliance: An Unwise Habit

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Read | Psalm 55:22

Imagine walking through a crowded airport. You cannot move without bumping into someone, you’re late for your flight, and the wheels just broke on your over-packed suitcase. With no other option, you are forced to carry the luggage in your arms and slowly maneuver through the congested lobby toward the ticketing area.

Almost immediately, a young man approaches and offers to carry your bags, but you refuse, saying, “No, thanks. I can do it myself.” Realizing that the ticket counter is two levels up, you make your way to the stairs. Someone asks, “Wouldn’t it be easier to take the elevator? It’s right over there.” But you reply, “No, I can do it myself.”

As you finally make it to the top of the staircase, your arms feel numb from the pressure of your bags. Your legs are starting to buckle from the weight. Your back aches from supporting the heavy load. Then you spot a collection of unused baggage carts but ignore them, thinking, No, I can do it myself.

This is a silly story, isn’t it? Who would prefer to carry such a heavy burden, ignoring every opportunity to set it down? Yet many believers are doing just that.

Our heavenly Father has called us to lay our cares at His feet. But when we fail to come to Him in prayer, we are just as foolish as the person staggering through the airport, mumbling, “I can do it myself.”

Are you trying to carry a burden that is greater than you can bear? Don’t ignore God’s offer to help. The truth is, we really can’t “do it ourselves”—and He never wanted us to try.

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – All Our Anxiety

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Read | 1 Peter 5:6-10

Did you ever wonder why a passage dealing with anxious thoughts mentions Satan prowling like a roaring lion? Worry can feel like an attack—we get torn up on the inside by fears, frustration, and helplessness. Anxiety is a tormenting emotion, and today’s reading reminds us that the devil wields it skillfully.

But we don’t have to live with worry, because God closes the mouths of lions that threaten His followers (Dan. 6:22). Peter described how to keep clear of anxiety’s jaws. First, we humble ourselves before God. What causes worry is a sense of helplessness in a given situation, so the best response is yielding yourself to God—submitting to Him with the confidence that He has the power to control your life. Another thing that builds trust is the realization that God is always engineering circumstances for your good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).

Remember, prayer is a declaration of dependence. When you humble yourself, you’re kneeling before omnipotent God. And since nothing is a challenge for His power, the second step in casting cares on Him is the simple exercise of telling the Lord your troubles and then trusting Him to deal with them. He assumes responsibility for meeting believers’ needs; your part is to prioritize obeying Him and living a righteous life (Matt. 6:31-33).

Lastly, resist Satan by remaining firm in faith. In other words, don’t snatch those concerns out of God’s hands to worry over them anew. When the devil’s ways make you tremble with anxiety, reject his lie and affirm that the Lord is adequate to handle the situation.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Jesus: Our Seeking Savior

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Read | Revelation 3:14-22

The Christians at Laodicea pictured themselves as rich and self-sufficient, when in reality, their spiritual blindness and self-righteousness had prevented them from recognizing their true poverty. Though they had closed a door between themselves and Jesus, He never gave up on them. Can you relate to this idea of a loving Savior reaching out to you?

Revelation 3:20 shows that Jesus . . .

  • Stands at the door—The Lord takes the initiative. He’s ready and willing to seek us, even when we’ve erected a barrier.
  • Knocks at the door—He tries to get our attention through a variety of means, including circumstances, pain, trials, conviction, sleeplessness, and/or His Word. Then He patiently awaits our response.
  • Invites us to open the door—Though Christ is omnipotent, He never pushes His way into a relationship with us. He lets us respond.
  • Enters through the door—If we open up to Him, He will come into our lives. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we’ll actually partake of Christ’s divine nature and be transformed into His image.
  • Dines with us indoors—Now that nothing stands between us and Jesus, we can begin to enjoy all the benefits of an intimate relationship with Him and be nourished by His Word.

Where are you in this process? Have you built a barrier between yourself and the Lord? The Laodiceans show us how miserable we are when we try to keep Jesus at arm’s length. Only when we let Him have unhindered access to our lives will we experience the joy of intimacy with Him.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Accepted by the Lord

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Read | Romans 8:14-16

Our heavenly Father knows how we yearn to be accepted and to feel that we belong. He provides for both of these needs when we receive His Son Jesus as our Savior.

Because of Adam’s sin, our spiritual connection with the Lord was severed (Rom. 5:12). Consequently, every human being since then has been born with a “flesh” nature that keeps man separated from God. But the Father had a plan to reconcile us to Himself through the shed blood of His Son (Col. 1:20). We must understand that we are sinners who cannot pay the penalty we owe for transgression—and that Jesus’ death on the cross pays the debt on our behalf.

All who accept Christ’s sacrifice will be forgiven of sins and reconciled to God. Having been justified through the Savior’s blood—with our debt cancelled and His righteousness counted as our own—we each become a new creation in Him.

At salvation, we are accepted into God’s family and given the right to call Him our heavenly Father. With this acceptance comes a sense of belonging. We are now part of a worldwide family who are joined together in Christ. On the outside, we look different from one another. But on the inside, we are united through the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-14).

Our performance-driven society tells us that acceptance is based on what we do and how much we achieve. But God’s message is the opposite: Faith in Christ is the sole reason for our acceptance by Him. The presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit affirms that we will always belong to the Lord.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Let Go of Anxiety

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From small challenges like getting stuck in traffic to losing a job or defaulting on a mortgage, it’s normal to feel anxious at times. Anxiety is a natural emotional response to a thought or circumstance that we perceive as negative.

For many people, worry is a way of life. If that describes you, I suggest reading the words Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. His command is clear:

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they (Matt. 6:25-26)?

You may say, “But I can’t help feeling anxious. I have always been a worrier!” Many people have given me the same excuse through the years. My response is always, “Oh yes, you can.”

Anxiety occurs because of the way we respond to a problem or troubling situation. You can choose what to think about, and you can decide how to respond to a circumstance. God grants every human being free will.

No circumstance automatically causes long-term anxiety. It isn’t the Father’s purpose for you to be controlled by worry. He may allow a situation in your life to help you grow stronger in faith and maturity, or to change bad habits and negative attitudes. But He does not intend for you to feel apprehensive. God is always at work to bring you to a place where you will increasingly trust and obey Him.

Concern differs from anxiety

We must be careful not to confuse concern with anxiety. It is normal for a Christian to care. Concern motivates us to intercede and take godly action toward meeting other people’s needs or our own.

We are to be concerned, for example, about our families, staying healthy, and doing a good job at work. Concern involves wanting to do everything as best we can so that God receives glory from our lives.

Simply put concern is positive, forward-looking, and constructive. Anxiety is the opposite—counterproductive, stuck in the past, and negative. One motivates us to take action, whereas the other is paralyzing.

Let me be clear—concern may be marked with tears, thoughtful reflection, and quiet time for meditation. But in the end, it leads us to make decisions, not linger in fear.

The choice is yours

In difficult circumstances, a believer can fall into a downward spiral of anxiety. Or he can pray something like this:

Heavenly Father, I bring this worry to you. It’s beyond my control and influence. While I feel helpless in this situation, I know You have the power to make it right. Show me how to respond to this situation, and I will obey.

Friend, this is the way of peace—the road out of anxiety and worry.

Adapted from “Finding Peace: God’s Promise of Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and Fear” (2003).