Tag Archives: christianity

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Against the Flesh

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“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)

Does your family have a family recipe for salad dressing? Henry’s mom had an amazing salad dressing recipe that she made every Sunday afternoon. Henry loved that salad dressing! He did not even like salad if it didn’t have his mom’s homemade salad dressing on it. He could eat almost anything if that salad dressing was on top!

There was a trick to this salad dressing, though. You had to shake it up before you could pour it out onto your salad! The oil and vinegar in the salad dressing would separate (come apart) if you left the bottle sitting too long on the tabletop. Unless you shook the bottle to mix the oil and vinegar together again, they would stay in two separate parts. If you were to pour the dressing out without mixing it up first, it would come out tasting really gross.

The way that oil and vinegar naturally separate is kind of a picture of the way spiritual things and fleshly things are separate from one another. What is the “flesh”? Is it your skin or your organs? No. When we talk about the “flesh” like it is talked about in the Bible, we are describing sinful human nature. The flesh is what makes us want to give in to sinful temptations. It is a part of every human being, because we are all born with a sinful nature. As we keep turning away from our sins and keep turning toward God, we are walking more and more in the Spirit, and that means we will not do what the flesh tempts us to do.

To be at “enmity” with God means to be at odds with Him, to be against Him, to be His enemy. God and the flesh are enemies! They are opposites, like light and dark. Sinful nature is not something that can be nearby God. God is holy, so He cannot stand sin.

Because we are sinners, and because God is holy, we are born as natural enemies of God. He loves us but cannot stand sin. So Jesus Christ came, took on the likeness of  fleshly nature, and yet He never sinned! That is why Jesus is so wonderful: He is our Bridge back to God! Because Jesus was 100% God AND 100% human, He is the only One Who can change us so that we do not have to be the enemies of God.

Because God is holy, He is the natural Enemy of our sinful nature.

My Response:

» Do I walk in the temptations of the flesh, or do I turn away from them to follow God?

» Am I trusting in Jesus to be the Bridge between me and God?

» Am I choosing to walk in the Spirit like Jesus did when He faced temptations as a human being?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Best Kept Secret

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Today’s Scripture: Galatians 3:3

“Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

One of the best kept secrets among Christians today is this: Jesus paid it all. I mean all. He not only purchased your forgiveness of sins and your ticket to heaven, He purchased every blessing and every answer to prayer you will ever receive. Every one of them—no exceptions.

Why is this such a well-kept secret? The core issue is that we don’t believe we’re still spiritually “bankrupt.” Having come into God’s kingdom by grace alone solely on the merit of another, we’re now trying to pay our own way by our performance. We declared only temporary bankruptcy; we’re now trying to live by good works rather than by grace.

After we become Christians, we begin to put away our more obvious sins. We also start attending church, put money in the offering plate, and maybe join a small group Bible study. We see some positive change in our lifestyle, and we begin to feel pretty good about ourselves. We’re now ready to emerge from bankruptcy and pay our own way in the Christian life.

Then the day comes when we fall on our face spiritually. We lapse back into an old sin or fail to do what we should have done. And we assume we’ve forfeited all blessings from God for some undetermined period of time. Our expectation of God’s blessing depends on how well we feel we’re living the Christian life. We think we can and must “pay our own way” with God.

Try this test: Think of a time recently when you really fell on your face spiritually. Then imagine that immediately afterward you encountered a terrific opportunity to share Christ with a non-Christian friend. Could you have done it with complete confidence in God’s help? (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Living by the Word

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Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 1-4

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. – Jeremiah 15:16

In the first few chapters of Deuteronomy, as the people of God stand on the brink of the Promised Land, they are faced with a formidable foe. Their instructions do not concern the strategy and tactics of battle, but their duty to God. Why? Because if they would walk with God in obedience and faith, and keep themselves in the light of His favor and blessing, He would go before them–He would fight for them and settle them securely in the land He’d promised to faithful Abraham many years before.

The book of Deuteronomy gives one of the clearest pictures in Scripture of the importance God places on His Word. For instance, we are told that when the nation was given a king, he was to write out a copy of the Word of God with his own hand and read it every day of his life. When the people passed over Jordan, it was to be written on huge stones for the people to see–sort of like billboards along the highway. God’s Word was to be read publicly at the Feast of Tabernacles by the priests to all the assembly of Israel.

Jesus, our role model, knew the Word. When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, all of His answers came from the pages of Scripture–in fact, from the book of Deuteronomy.

This fifth book of the Old Testament shows us the sort of attention God wants all His people to pay to the Scriptures. We are to learn His Word, remember His Word, and obey it.

God always keeps His Word. His people must do the same.

Prayer

Lord, thank You that by the Holy Spirit’s power Your Word gives me greater insights into Your heart and purposes. Amen.

To Ponder

If we are ignorant of God’s Word, how can we recognize and enjoy the promises He has made to us?

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Chinese Government Urges People to Make Babies: Chinese People Tell Government to Mind Its Own Business

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Over the past decade or more, we’ve talked on BreakPoint about China’s looming fertility crisis. This, of course, is the result of the Communist Party instituting what became known as the “one-child policy” back in 1979.

With very few exceptions, Chinese couples were permitted to have only one child. The policy, in the words of the Washington Post, “led to untold millions of forced abortions, sterilizations and horrific abuses of power.”

It also led to a huge demographic problem. As birthrates plummeted, there were fewer and fewer workers, and China’s overall population aged rapidly. China, instead of growing rich and then getting old, like European nations and Japan, will grow old long before it has a chance to get rich.

This has the Communist Party very worried. So worried that they’ve done an about face. They not only dropped the “one-child policy,” they’ve tried to convince Chinese couples that having two kids is their patriotic and political duty.

Clumsy party propaganda is telling people to “Train your body, build up strength, get ready for the second baby!” Another slogan read “Get to sleep early, stop playing cards, work hard to produce a child!”

The response? Yawns and outrage. You see, after 35 years of being told “one child is enough,” people have come to believe it. As a recent article in the Washington Post put it, “Having only one has become ingrained in Chinese culture and society, and people no longer believe the party should be telling them what to do in the bedroom.”

Actually, that’s an understatement. When officials in Hubei province, east of Shanghai, sent a letter to party members urging them to implement the new “two-child policy,” the result was “outrage” on Chinese social media.

One person wrote “You can’t just make people have kids when you want them to, or stop when you tell them, we are humans not pigs!” Even state-run media called the letter “ridiculous and illegal.”

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Chinese Government Urges People to Make Babies: Chinese People Tell Government to Mind Its Own Business →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – STAND FAST

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Read 1 PETER 5:10–14

The Birth Hotel in Amsterdam offers men the opportunity to experience something previously reserved for women: the labor pains of giving birth. The birth-simulation machine uses electrical impulses to cause the abdominal muscles to contract. One man who went through this simulated labor process said, “The pain . . . is all-consuming, searing, and intense. I’m exhausted by the sheer effort of enduring it. It’s as though I’m no longer myself: my body’s sole purpose is to cope with wave after wave of agony as the contractions come thick and fast.”

Why would women endure such pain? Because the reward is worth it! The joy of holding a newborn baby puts the experience of suffering into perspective. A lifetime of parenthood is worth the hours of labor. In a similar way, Peter wants to remind believers that the suffering they endure is worth it. They will share eternal glory with Christ, and God will restore them and make all things right (v. 10).

To have the right perspective on suffering requires having the right perspective of God. Notice all the theology that Peter packs into just two verses! Who is God? He is the Giver of grace and the Source of all power. He calls us, restores us, and strengthens us. This God of grace and power can be trusted to deliver us to “eternal glory.”

Peter closes this letter with a final exhortation and personal testimony. He could instruct these believers in Asia Minor to remain faithful to God because he himself had experienced the grace of God (v. 12). The phrase “she who is in Babylon” almost certainly refers to the community of Christians where Peter was, probably in Rome, (v. 13). These Christians were not alone—and they needed to encourage one another in love and faith.

APPLY THE WORD

Review our study on 1 Peter. How have you been encouraged to live as a Christian, especially where your values might be countercultural? How have you been challenged to be a member of your church, practicing love, humility, and faithfulness? Has your perspective been shaped to think about who God is and what He has done for you?

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – HOW CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND TO THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

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The candidates began and ended last night’s presidential debate without shaking hands. The ninety minutes in between were filled with argument, name-calling, and vitriol. Donald Trump refused to say if he will accept the vote if he loses, a statement that is leading this morning’s news. Hillary Clinton called him a “puppet” of Russia, while he called her a “nasty woman.”

In eighteen days I will vote in my eleventh presidential election over four decades. I have never seen a campaign season as bitter as this one has been. Nor have I seen Christians as divided over an election as we seem to be today.

I receive emails regularly from believers who liken Donald Trump to Winston Churchill and characterize him as the war leader we need today. I also receive emails from believers who are convinced that no Christian could vote for Mr. Trump. Many evangelicals are convinced that electing Hillary Clinton would end America as we know it. Others believe that she would advance our status as leader of the free world.

Here’s what I know for sure: on November 9 the election will be over, but our witness—for good or for bad—will endure.

Christians are commissioned to reach all nations with the good news of God’s love (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, we must not limit our witness to the place we happen to inhabit today. In the same way, we must not limit our witness to the moment we happen to inhabit today.

Continue reading Denison Forum – HOW CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND TO THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Alone With God

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Mark 1:35-39

Where does prayer fit in your daily schedule? I’m not talking about the times you pray on the way to work or while eating breakfast, but the occasions when you are alone with God and it’s just the two of you. Although prayer at any time is good, we also need to have a set time and place where we meet with the Lord each day—preferably in the morning.

Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He knew the importance of solitary prayer time. He didn’t do anything on His own initiative but instead lived in dependence upon the Father, acting only on the instructions God communicated to Him. In today’s reading, we don’t know exactly what Jesus prayed, but when the disciples interrupted His morning prayer time, He had obviously received His Father’s direction for that day—to “go somewhere else” so that He could preach.

Jesus was the perfect example of a Spirit-led life, and prayer played a vital role. Since we are to follow in His footsteps, wouldn’t it make sense for us to meet with God early each morning in preparation for the day? This is the time to lay our concerns at His feet, seek guidance for whatever the day holds, trust Him for provision and protection, and intercede for others.

Although many things demand our time and attention, we can’t afford to neglect prayer. The fruit of prayerlessness is spiritual weakness, unmet needs, anxiety, and ingratitude. But when we make prayer a priority, we’ll have a firm foundation for the day ahead, no matter what it brings. And in the evening, we can look back with a heart of gratitude for answered prayer.

Bible in One Year: Mark 15-16

 

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Desert Solitaire

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Read: Psalm 136:1-9

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

And God saw that it was good.—Genesis 1:12

Desert Solitaire is Edward Abbey’s personal history of his summers as a park ranger in what is now called Arches National Park in Utah. The book is worth reading if only for Abbey’s bright language and vivid descriptions of the US Southwest.

But Abbey, for all his artistry, was an atheist who could see nothing beyond the surface of the beauty he enjoyed. How sad! He lived his entire life in praise of beauty and missed the point of it all.

Most ancient peoples had theories of origins enshrouded in legend, myth, and song. But Israel’s story of creation was unique: It told of a God who created beauty for our enjoyment and childlike delight. God thought up the cosmos, spoke it into being and pronounced it “beautiful.” (The Hebrew word for good also signifies beauty.) Then, having created a paradise, God in love spoke us into being, placed us in Eden, and told us, “Enjoy!”

Some see and enjoy the beauty of the Creator’s good gifts all around them, but don’t “worship him as God or even give him thanks.” They “think up foolish ideas of what God [is] like. As a result, their minds become dark and confused” (Rom. 1:21 nlt).

Others see beauty, say “Thank You, God,” and step into His light. —David Roper

Loving Father, we praise You because You are good. Thank You for infusing Your creation with beauty and purpose and for placing us here to enjoy it as we discover You. Your love endures forever!

All of creation reflects the beauty of God.

INSIGHT: This psalm of worship praises the wonders of God’s creation and God’s providential intervention for His people. The repeating refrain is, “His love endures forever.” Key concepts in this psalm are God’s creation (see Isa. 40), the love of God (see Pss. 5-7), and the miracles of God (see Ex. 6-7). The list of items for which to thank God, our Creator, are vast and extensive: God is good (v. 1); He is over all other “gods” (v. 2); God is the Lord of lords (v. 3); He alone does great wonders (v. 4); God by His understanding made the heavens (v. 5); He placed the earth on the waters (v. 6); God made the great lights (v. 7); He made the sun to govern the day (v. 8); and God made the moon and stars to govern the night (v. 9). Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Uncategorized

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Into the Waste Land

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“April is the cruellest month…” begins the first line of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The poem is thought to be a portrayal of universal despair, where we lie in wait between the unrelenting force of spring and the dead contrast of winter, and the casualty of the warring seasons is eventually hope. In the bold display of life’s unending, futile circles, one can be left to wonder at the point of it all. Does everything simply fade into a waste land? Is death the last, desperate word? Perhaps it was somewhere between the war of winter and spring when the prophet reeled over life’s abrupt and senseless end. “In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years? For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise. The living, the living—they praise you as I am doing today.”(1)

Though differing in degree and conclusions, literature is unapologetically full of a sense of this deep irony, at times expressing itself in futility. Euripides, writing in the fifth century, remarks:

“…and so we are sick for life, and cling

On earth to this nameless and shining thing.

For other life is a fountain sealed,

And the deeps below us are unrevealed

And we drift on legends for ever.”(2)

Shakespeare, on the lips of Macbeth, is struck by the monotonous beat of time and the futile story it adds up to tell:

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Into the Waste Land →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Slaves of Righteousness

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“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17-18).

True freedom comes from being a servant of Jesus Christ.

I once knew a man who, though intellectually convinced that the gospel was true, balked at committing his life to Jesus Christ. When I asked him why, he replied, “Because I don’t want to give up my freedom.” He understood clearly that genuine saving faith requires submission to Christ’s lordship. But he was tragically deceived in thinking that non-Christians are free—they aren’t. Unbelievers are slaves to sin (John 8:34). Only Christians have true freedom (John 8:31-32)—the freedom not to sin.

Paul reminded the Roman Christians that before they were saved, they ”were slaves of sin.” The apostle’s use of the imperfect tense indicates that the Romans, like all unbelievers, had been in a continual state of slavery to sin. Every human ever born—since Adam and Eve plunged the human race into sin—has been born enslaved to sin—except of course, for Christ.

When a person comes to faith in Christ, he or she becomes “obedient from the heart” to the Lord Jesus Christ. A Christian’s initial act of obedience, repenting and believing the gospel message (Mark 1:15), is the first step in a lifelong path of obedience. In the words of the apostle Peter, Christians are those who “have in obedience to the truth purified [their] souls” (1 Peter 1:22).

Paradoxically, it’s only those who have made themselves servants of Jesus Christ who are truly free. They alone are free to do what is right; even unbelievers’ “good deeds” are sinful, since they aren’t done to glorify God. Christian liberty is not the freedom to choose to sin, but the freedom to choose not to.

Renew today your commitment to be an obedient servant of God, knowing that “you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Praise God for freeing you from slavery to sin.
  • Ask Him to show you those areas in your life that you have not yielded fully to Him.

For Further Study

  • Memorize Matthew 5:6; 1 Timothy 6:10-12; and Hebrews 12:14.
  • Ask God to help you pattern your life after Jesus Christ.

 

http://www.gty.org

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Iceland Anyone?

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He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.

Acts 17:31a

Recommended Reading

Acts 17:22-34

The Institute for Economics and Peace released its 2016 Global Peace Index, ranking the nations in terms of safety. Iceland is the most peaceful nation on earth, but 79 countries in the world are less peaceful now than a year ago, with Syria being the most dangerous. Overall, said the report, global levels of peace continue to deteriorate. Deaths from terrorism increased by 80 percent from last year. “Terrorism is also at an all-time high, battle deaths from conflict are at a 25-year high and the number of refugees and displaced people are at a level not seen in sixty years.”1

The course of events is moving toward the Rapture of the church, the Great Tribulation, and the return of Jesus, who will come on His appointed day to judge the world in righteousness. Things will grow worse, but then things will get better. As Hebrews 2:8-9 says: “We do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus….”

Evil purposes cannot overpower God’s goodness, and evil forces cannot escape His judgment. Let’s be strong and await His return.

For the past there is forgiveness; for the present there is divine companionship; for the future there is absolute assurance.

  1. Nelson Bell

1“Global Peace Index 2016,” a reliefweb.int/report/world/global-peace-index-2016.

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Mark 14

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Holy Spirit Is a Gentleman

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To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit. – Galatians 3:14

I have written a great deal about the Holy Spirit and about being filled with the Spirit, and I want to make sure you have an opportunity to know the Holy Spirit in this way.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not force Himself into your life in His fullness uninvited. He will fill you, but only if you ask Him to do so. In Luke 11:13, Jesus promises that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. And James 4:2 tells us that the reason we do not have certain things is that we do not ask for them.

I encourage you to go boldly before God and daily ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Ask expecting to receive. Don’t be doubleminded or allow doubt to fill your heart, but ask in faith. Believe you receive, and thank God that He lives in you. God is not a man, that He should lie (see Numbers 23:19). He is faithful to fulfill His Word whenever anyone steps out on it in faith, so ask and receive that your joy might be full (see John 16:24).

Today’s verse says that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Gifts cannot be forced on anyone; they must be offered by the giver and then received by those to whom they are given. God makes the offer of His Spirit, so all you need to do is relax and receive by faith.

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Will You Pout or Praise?

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Today’s Truth

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:25

Friend to Friend

Trials can lead us to a greater dependency on God and a deeper trust in His sovereignty if we let them. I’m reminded that in every situation I come to a crossroad and have a choice: I can pout or I can praise. I can turn away from God because I don’t understand or I can turn toward God in full assurance that His understanding is enough for the both of us – even if it hurts – even if anger lingers – even if doubt looms.

Have you been to these crossroads?

God shows us a powerful example of praise-over-pout behavior in chapter sixteen of the book of Acts. During the Apostle Paul’s second missionary journey, he and his ministry buddy Silas encountered a collision of faith and trouble while in Philippi.

After Paul cast out a demon that was terrorizing a young slave girl, he and Silas were seized by disgruntled Roman citizens and dragged to the marketplace before the rulers. They were then wrongfully accused of public disruption. And later stripped, beaten, and unlawfully jailed without a trial. After the flogging, Paul and Silas were taken to the inner cell of the prison, normally reserved for the most dangerous offenders, and their feet were placed in stocks.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Will You Pout or Praise? →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – God’s Word Works

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“As the rain and snow come down from heaven and stay upon the ground to water the earth, and cause the grain to grow and to produce seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry, so also is My Word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to, and prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

An angry student leader confronted me at the conclusion of my message to a student meeting at UCLA. “You have no right to impose your views on these students,” he exclaimed. “You will confuse them. They are easily influenced and might respond to some of your religious views which I totally reject.”

I learned that he was the Communist leader on the campus and did not believe in God or the Scriptures. I invited him to our home for dinner and as we ate, we talked about many things of a general nature, nothing controversial. After we had finished our dessert, I reached over and picked up my Bible and said that I would like to read something very important to him. He resisted, saying, “I don’t want to hear anything from the Bible. I don’t believe it. It is a ridiculous book filled with all kinds of myths, contradictions and exaggerations.”

I would have made similar statements during my years of agnosticism. Not because I knew such statements to be true, but because I was simply parroting what others had told me – I did not really know the facts.

I said, “If you don’t mind, I would like to read you something anyway,” and I turned to John 1:1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (KJV). I continued through the 14th verse. Then I turned to Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1, reading similar portions identifying Christ as the Creator, the visible expression of the invisible God. I concluded with 1 John 2:22,23.

As I read each passage, he asked if he could read for himself. The initial flash of anger soon turned to interest and then to acceptance and finally he was like a repentant child experiencing the love of the Father’s embrace. He surrendered all resistance. As he stood to leave that evening, I asked him to sign our guest book. He wrote his name, address and these words: “The night of decision.”

Bible Reading: Isaiah 55:6-13

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will share a portion of God’s word with someone who does not know our Savior with the prayer that he, too, will come to know Him and experience with me the supernatural life which is our heritage in Christ.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Duty and Delight

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Read: 1 Corinthians 9:1-23

For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:16-18

What Paul is saying is that he has no sense of pride and achievement because he faithfully preached the gospel without charge. On the contrary, he really has no choice about preaching the gospel. I am compelled to preach. In other words, If I do not preach I am miserable. I have really no choice in this matter. I would much rather preach than experience what I know I am going to experience if I do not: the lash of my conscience, the sense of failure in what God has called me to do. I cannot live with that. Woe to me if I preach not the gospel. He says, If I do it willingly I gain a reward. If I accept this commission from God, and joyfully do what he tells me to do, it is to my great advantage. I enjoy it; but whether I like it or not, I have to do it.

There is nothing wrong with a sense of duty; the feeling that God has given you a job to do, and you have to do it whether you like it or not. Many of us are uneasy with that kind of motivation, but Paul felt it. He said, There is no choice for me in the matter of preaching. Whether I like it or not I have a commission to fulfill, and if I want my life to be worth anything at all, I had better do it.

But that is not why he does it without charge. He tells us the reason in verse 18: What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. He is saying that the thing that motivated him, the thing that drove him to work late hours at night making tents so he would earn a living and would not have to be supported by anybody in the church in Corinth, was the sheer delight it gave him to bless and enrich someone else without taking a penny in return. It was the joy of giving that Paul was experiencing.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Duty and Delight →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The End of a Dream

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Read: Job 1:1-22

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (v.21)

The opening lines of Job 1 portray a righteous man blessed by God. Job’s reverence for God led him to occasionally sacrifice an offering to God on behalf of his children in case they had sinner against God in their hearts. By the close of the chapter, Job sits with torn robe and shaved head, having experienced multiple losses. The abundance of oxen, donkeys, and sheep, and the lives of servants sons, and daughters were tragically gone. Imagine the future dreams and aspirations of Job that suddenly came to an end.

We experience the end of dreams, too. Our hopes and plans can be changed in an instant. Unfilled hopes can quickly lead to sorrow, depression, and pain. Hopes and dreams often motivate us to keep pressing on. When times are tough, we set goals and establish future hopes to pursue. In a fallen world, goals and future hopes are not always realized.

What then? Do you give up, curse God, fault yourself or others, live with bitterness? Somehow Job refrained from sin, refused to blame God, and fell to the ground in worship. HIs faith had the capacity to trust God even with endings that did not make sense. Many of his questions remained unanswered. Yet even as he grieved, he kept hoping and trusting in his Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer (Job 19:25).

Prayer:

Loving Lord, when my earthly dreams and hopes fall short, help me to trust in your divine and eternal plan for my life. Amen.

Author: Steve Petroelje

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – While We Wait

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Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.—Matthew 25:14

Jesus told a story about a man who went on a journey and left his money with his servants. This was not an uncommon practice in those days. A wealthy man or king would have many servants in his household, from those who would do basic labor to those who would oversee the financial affairs of his home, even managing his business. In many cases, some of the man’s slaves would be better educated and skilled than he was.

Highly trusted slaves had a virtual free hand within prescribed areas of responsibility while the owner was at home. And when the owner would go on a journey, he would leave full authority in the hands of these key servants who would have the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney.

Jesus said the man “gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities” (Matthew 25:15).

Jesus is like that wealthy man who went on a journey, and we are the servants in which He has made an investment. This story, like so many in the Scriptures, reminds us to take advantage of opportunity while it is available. Ecclesiastes says, “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. . . . Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both” (11:1, 6).

The emphasis of this parable is to be productive with your life. Be productive with your time. Seize the opportunities that God has given. We are to take what He has given us and use it for His glory while we await His return.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Gives Mercy Because God Is God

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“And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: For the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:11-13)

Rahab was a sinner saved by God’s grace. She had been a godless woman living in a godless city, Jericho. One day, two spies from the children of Israel came to see Rahab’s city, because their leader Joshua had told them to. God was going to help the children of Israel fight and take over the whole city of Jericho.

Of all the houses the spies could have visited, they visited Rahab’s. Rahab had a bad reputation. She had done many bad things, and she was a low woman in her city. But Rahab took the spies in and protected them from the leaders of Jericho who came searching for them. She helped the spies, showing them kindness, and gave them guidance for how to escape. Do you know why?

All the people of Jericho had heard about the children of Israel and what their God had done for them. They had heard about how God opened up a dry path through the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross in safety, and then how the Egyptian army was drowned when they followed them and God brought down the waters on them. The people of Jericho had also heard about how God fought with the Israelites. And the people of Jericho were scared that they would be next.

Was Rahab like the rest of her people? Was she scared of the children of Israel and their God? Yes! So why did she show kindness to Israelite spies? Rahab was not just scared of God. She believed in Him. She believed that the God of the Israelites was the one true God, everywhere and over all.

Rahab believed God, and she feared Him. But in spite of her fear, she had the faith to ask for goodness and mercy and deliverance from death. Based on what she knew of the Israelites’ God, based on all that He had already done, she asked for mercy for herself and her family. The Israelite spies agreed. They promised that when they came to take over Jericho, they would protect anyone who was in her house.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – On a Good Day

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 5:48

“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Consider what you would probably call a “good” day spiritually—when your spiritual disciplines are all in place and you’re reasonably satisfied with your Christian performance. Have you thereby earned God’s blessing that day? Will God be pleased to bless you because you’ve been good? You’re probably thinking, “Well, when you put it like that, the answer’s no.” But doesn’t God only work through clean vessels? Yet how good do you have to be to be “clean”? How good is good enough?

When a Pharisee asked Jesus which of the law’s commandments was the greatest, he replied, “?ove the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-39, NIV).

Using that as a standard, how good has your good day been? Have you perfectly kept those two commandments? If not, does God grade on a curve? Is 90 percent a passing grade with God? We know the answers to those questions, don’t we? We know that Jesus said, “you therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). And we remember that James wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10, NIV).

Regardless of our performance, we’re always dependent on God’s grace, his undeserved favor to those who deserve his wrath. Some days we may be more acutely conscious of our sinfulness and our need of his grace, but there’s never a day when we can stand before him on our own two feet of performance and be worthy enough to deserve his blessing.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Power Without End

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Today’s Scripture: Exodus 9:13-16

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

A family I know was just about to leave the house to go to church when all the lights went out–the city was experiencing a power failure. No problem, they thought. When we come back from church it will be restored. Then it occurred to them they couldn’t leave–they had an automatic garage door that opened on electricity. So there they stood, thwarted by a power failure.

An electrical power failure causes problems every which way you turn. The same is true of a power failure within our lives. But unlike a failing electricity source, the Bible is very clear that there’s always an abundance of power available to see us through even the most trying and difficult circumstances.

For the Christian, the source of power is God, and God never runs out of power or fails in anything. If that’s true, how can there ever be a spiritual power failure in a believer’s life? The problem arises when we get cut off from the power supply. And one of the primary means by which God transmits His mighty power to His people is through His Word. The Word of God is food that sustains and empowers our soul and spirit.

The apostle Paul spoke of being nourished upon the words of faith. How goes it with you? Are you making time each day to nourish your soul on the Word of God? Don’t let a power failure happen in your life.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for Your life-giving Word. Amen.

To Ponder

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

 

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