Tag Archives: christianity

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Need for Cleansing

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Read: Leviticus 14

The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. Lev 14:3-4

In Chapter 14 we move into a further development of this whole matter of handling leprosy. Here we have the cleansing of the leper. Notice that the leper does not go through all the ritual which follows in order to be healed; he does it in order to be cleansed. He is already healed. Healing is something only God can do. It is the sovereign act of God and it takes place in the inner life of a believer. His cleansing of a person allows the one who is healed to understand God’s basis and purpose for the healing. God wants the inner cleansing to be reflected in the outward life and actions of the person who is healed. That is the picture which is drawn here.

You and I can’t heal our leprous hearts. If there is some wrongful attitude within us, if we burn with envy or jealousy or resentment toward one another, if we are impatient and upset and angry at heart — we seldom see these things in ourselves until God puts us into circumstances where they are brought out — and then the only thing we can do is take them to him because we are helpless victims caught up in these dangerous attitudes. When you finally see yourself like that, then you can say, Lord, heal me! And God does! With a touch of his grace he changes our attitude. We stop being defensive about it and we admit it. And then the leprosy is arrested, its action is stopped, and we are healed.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – A Word to the Wise

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Read: James 1:1-8

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (v. 5)

For the next two weeks, we will dig deep into the letter written by James, who introduces himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” James was a leader in the early church, and his letter was written as an encouragement to believers who were scattered around the Roman Empire. Even by today’s standards, it is a wise and practical letter. James often sounds like the writers of Old Testament Wisdom literature (Proverbs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes). James also sounds a lot like Jesus (see Matt. 7:7-11), probably because Jesus was his older half-brother. For pastoral wisdom about living the Christian life, you can’t beat James.

Today what passes for “wisdom” seems to be gathered and dispersed online. There’s a podcast or blog for everything now—from how someone overcame severe physical disabilities and climbed Mount Everest, to why dogs can understand quantum physics better than humans. And while the internet may have content worth sharing, I am not sure it all counts as true wisdom.

Wisdom is usually gained from experience, which is why older people are considered wiser than younger people. Yet James says that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and God will give it to us! The key here is asking God, and trusting that God will answer. Just the act of asking is wisdom in itself!

Prayer:

Lord, grant us the wisdom to seek all of the answers in you.

Author: Susan Hetrick

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team;  J.R. – Ballpark Variety

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At a grand dedication ceremony on the afternoon of April 16, 1964, New York City’s Mayor Robert Wagner praised William Shea, a lawyer who had helped bring a National League baseball team back to the city and was now having the brand new, state-of-the-art ballpark named in his honor. The mayor proclaimed it the “world’s greatest stadium” and said that with his name on it, Shea was now “practically an immortal.”

His disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Mark 13:1

To paraphrase baseball great Yogi Berra, immortality ain’t what it used to be: Shea Stadium, old and outdated, was demolished in 2009 and replaced with a parking lot the city needed for the newer, adjacent Citi Field. Last year, the new park hosted the World Series.

Jesus understood, better than the disciples, that “wonderful buildings” have limited and distinctly short-term utility. “Do you see these great buildings?” He responded, “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2) What are you building today? As you pray for America’s leaders, may you be focused on immortality – not the ballpark variety, but that offered by the eternal and loving God who offers those who love Him a hope and a future.

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 4:13-18  Click to Read or Listen

 

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – When Does Temptation Generally Come?

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“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”—1 Peter 5:8

When does temptation generally come? Answer: Often after great times of blessing!

When Jesus began His public ministry, He went to be baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. The heavenly Father proudly said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Then temptation came. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted.

After the dove came the devil.

It usually works that way in our lives as well. After the blessing comes the trial. The two often go hand in hand. Don’t be surprised if temptation comes to you, for instance, right after God speaks to you in church or in a time of devotion.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Specific Commitments

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Today’s Scripture: Daniel 1:8

“Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself.”

In addition to an overall commitment to pursue holiness in every area of life, I find it helpful to make specific commitments in areas where we’re particularly vulnerable to sin. There’s great value in identifying those areas—either in what we do (for example, gossip) or in what we fail to do (such as loving our wives as Christ loved the church)—and then making specific commitments of obedience to God in those areas.

I urge you to list any areas of temptation wherein you need to make this specific commitment. Do you need to make a covenant with your eyes about what you look at (Job 31:1), or with your mouth about what you say, or with your mind about what you think? Is there a particular temptation or sinful practice that arises in your work environment that needs a commitment to fortify you against it? Write these commitments down on paper, for your eyes only, so you can review them and pray over them daily.

Perhaps there’s a particular area in your marriage or in your relationship with your children, your parents, a friend, or an associate at work where you aren’t demonstrating the Spirit’s fruit of love, patience, or kindness. Do you need to make a commitment that, in dependence on the Holy Spirit to enable you, you’ll seek to display that particular “fruit” toward that individual? If so, I urge you to make such a commitment. You may find the need to make several commitments—sins to put off or avoid and Christ-like traits to put on. If you don’t commit yourself to the pursuit of holiness in these specific areas of your life, you’ll find a tendency to vacillate in the face of these temptations.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Love One Another

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 5-7

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. – Ephesians 4:15-16

My wife and I were in Great Britain on a preaching tour shortly after a violent windstorm had swept the land, flattening more than a million trees. An official investigation discovered that the trees had been planted just far enough apart that their roots were not intertwined with each other. Each tree stood alone, with no help from the tree next to it, and over a million were lost.

When we as Christians become estranged from each other, the whole church is weakened and becomes more vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. The only way we can stay together is to be constantly involved in the process of being reconciled to each other.

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  What was the Secret of Jackie Robinson’s Greatness?

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If you happen to watch a Major League Baseball game on TV tonight, you’ll notice something unusual about the players’ uniforms. Every major leaguer will be wearing the number 42.

That’s because 69 years ago today, Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

It’s almost impossible for us today to imagine what Robinson endured as the big leagues’ first black ballplayer. But his ordeal is captured brilliantly in the biopic film “42,” which came out just a few years ago.

As good as the film is, it all but omits the most significant factor in Jackie Robinson’s ability to turn the other cheek; to endure almost unbearable insults and physical attacks on the field without lashing out himself. That factor was Robinson’s strong Christian faith.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – NO BARRIERS TO GOD’S LOVE

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Read Romans 8:28-39

Love—it has inspired music and poetry and countless fairy tales. Love is depicted as our greatest aspiration and most powerful force. As poet Maya Angelou said, “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

Romantic love, parental love, friendship love—these all are indeed powerful feelings and motivations. Greater than any dimension of human love, however, is the love of God. And because of our identity in Christ, we are free to experience His love without hindrance or barrier.

Our text today describes the nature and action of God’s love for us. God gave His own Son to die for our sins and raised Him from the dead (vv. 32, 34). God has chosen, called, and justified us through Jesus (vv. 29–30). God continues to work in our lives to

bring about good that blesses us and glorifies Him, and Jesus continues to serve as our advocate in heaven (vv. 28, 34). God’s love is not simply passive feelings. His love is action that saved us and continues to bless us.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How to Give

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2 Corinthians 8:1-6

The first-century church in Jerusalem was impoverished. Jews who became Christians were often ostracized, and their businesses suffered as a result. This affected local giving and increased the number of poor in the community. As the church grew, resources were spread thinner and thinner. So as he traveled, the apostle Paul asked his congregations to aid the mother church.

Many of these congregations were also in financial crisis, but they pledged to help Jerusalem anyway. The Corinthian church was among those that agreed to send support (2 Cor. 8:10). To inspire them to meet or exceed their goal, Paul described the Macedonians’ sacrificial giving as an example. He noted that despite being poor, that church managed to give beyond its ability—and did so with a heart of gratitude and joy. Like the widow whom Jesus praised for giving her last coins to the temple treasury, the Macedonians gave a gift that was liberal, compared to its resources (Mark 12:43). The congregation trusted that God would provide the gift and continue to meet their needs.

Modern believers have much to learn from the Macedonians’ example. The amount we donate towards God’s work isn’t as important as our feelings about giving. Generosity is a quality of the heart—an attitude that grows out of a believer’s thankfulness for the Father’s spiritual and material provisions.

God wants us to be givers because the act of charity spiritually enriches the benefactor. The Lord will respond to a generous heart by pouring out blessing, according to His promise in Luke 6:38: “By your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 6-7

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Great Sacrifice

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Read: Hebrews 10:5-18

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

The Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us. —Galatians 1:3-4

  1. T. Stead, an innovative English journalist at the turn of the 20th century, was known for writing about controversial social issues. Two of the articles he published addressed the danger of ships operating with an insufficient ratio of lifeboats to passengers. Ironically, Stead was aboard the Titanic when it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. According to one report, after helping women and children into lifeboats, Stead sacrificed his own life by giving up his life vest and a place in the lifeboats so others could be rescued.

There is something very stirring about self-sacrifice. No greater example of that can be found than in Christ Himself. The writer of Hebrews says, “This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God . . . . For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:12,14 nkjv). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul opened with words describing this great sacrifice: “The Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Gal. 1:3-4).

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – No Strange Land

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Flannery O’Connor could not explain her fascination with peacocks. But she loved them. In fact, the southern writer of short stories lived on a farm where she raised near a hundred of them. She adopted her first peacock at the age of twenty-five, around the time she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease, and she could not stop looking at him. It was for her a sign of grace, and an image that silenced her. In an essay focusing on her fascination, she describes the bird’s transfiguration from fledgling to finery: “[T]he peacock starts life with an inauspicious appearance….the color of those large objectionable moths that flutter about light bulbs on summer nights.” But after two years, when the bird has fully attained its pattern, “for the rest of his life this chicken will act as if he designed it himself… With his tail spread, he inspires a range of emotions, but I have yet to hear laughter. The usual reaction is silence, at least for a time.”(1)

It is thus without coincidence that O’Connor used the peacock as a symbol for the transfigured Christ in many of her stories. Often cited is her use of the bird in The Displaced Person. In this story, the peacock is a main character of sorts, functioning for everyone else in the story as something of a spiritual test. Some never notice him; another sees the bird only as “another mouth to feed.” Still another liked to have peacocks around simply to signify his wealth; another is altogether besieged by the peacock’s splendor. With eyes locked on the regal bird poised in color and majesty, he says, overwhelmed, “Christ will come like that.”(2)

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Reaching Out to Others

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“‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:43).

The circumstances are never too adverse, nor the hour too late, to offer the gospel of Christ to someone.

Jesus was crucified between two criminals (thieves)—one on each side of His cross. At first the two men both joined the onlookers in hurling unbelieving rhetoric at the Lord (Mark 15:32). But one of the thieves obviously had a change of heart as the hours elapsed. He rebuked the other thief by pointing out Jesus’ sinlessness (Luke 23:40-41) and then expressed his need of salvation: “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” (v. 42). And Jesus graciously answered the thief’s request.

The dying thief’s conversion is an extraordinary story. At Calvary there was nothing convincing or favorable about Jesus. From man’s vantage point He was dying because He had been completely rejected; even the disciples had deserted Him. Jesus appeared weak, disgraced, and ashamed. When the thief uttered his plea for help, no one was pointing to Jesus and saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – I Work for the Lord 

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Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

She worked tirelessly, as she meticulously cleaned the hospital room. Every object shone brightly after her sanitized rag rubbed over the surface of the metal mirror frame, the elaborate bed support, the mobile meal table—all surfaces harboring germs. My wife Rita, recognizing the hospital attendant’s energetic work commented, “Teresa, you must sleep well at night.” Sincerely she replied, “I sleep well every night. The Lord gives me good sleep. I work for the Lord. I used to do those drugs and alcohol, but not for seven years. I was rescued and now I work for the Lord.”

Teresa continued, “I worked my way up to this job (custodian) and I am glad I can do good work for all these people who need me. Like your mother (Rita’s mom was very ill), she’s going to be ok, she is a good woman. Reminds me of my momma. My momma saw me work here for three years before she passed. Yes, momma saw me work for the Lord and not do those old drugs and alcohol.” Rita felt she was in the presence of greatness, a great woman who acknowledged and served her great God. Teresa’s gratitude was infectious, her work ethic for her Lord—worshipful!

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – An Appointed Way

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Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21

Recommended Reading

Psalm 85:10-13

One day in 1975, Reese Kauffman, an Indianapolis manufacturer, responded to the invitation at the end of a missionary service. Reese was a believer but felt something was missing in his life. He needed an outlet to serve the Lord with all his heart. A man named Roy Daniels met Reese in the prayer room and asked what decision he’d reached. “I don’t know that I’ve reached a decision,” said Reese. “I’ve just realized I want to do something for God.”

Roy’s eyes brightened and he asked, “Have you ever heard of Child Evangelism Fellowship?” The Lord had surely arranged that meeting and that moment. For many years now, Reese Kauffman has served as president of CEF, a ministry to children in more than 190 nations.1

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Can Win the Battle in Your Mind

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Thoughts are powerful, and according to the writer of the book of Proverbs, they have creative ability. For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost]. (Proverbs 23:7)

In fact, you cannot have a positive, exciting life and a negative mind.

See, I spent a lot of years unhappy because the minute I woke up in the morning, I started thinking negative, sad, depressing things. Now I can truly say I am fully satisfied since the Holy Spirit has helped me operate out of the mind of Christ (the mind of the Spirit) that is within me.

Maybe you’ve spent years thinking wrong thoughts based on a warped, dysfunctional past, but that can change today.

Powerful Force

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – What We Need The Most

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God is love.

1 John 4:8

Friend to Friend

My mom tells a story that when I was a toddler, I used to push my older brother and sister off my dad’s lap so I could cuddle with him all by myself. I still do this with my kids and husband. It might look different today, but my goal is the same: I want more love. And I’m not above pushing someone else out of the way to move myself forward.

My love hunger stumps me. I’ve been a Christian since I sat on a little plastic Sunday-school chair and learned Bible stories from a flannel-graph board. If I’m so into Jesus—and I promise you, I am—then why am I still needy?

Why is my heart such a love vacuum?

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Rich Storehouse 

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

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

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

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

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

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Dealing with the Leprosy of Life

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Read: Leviticus 13

When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest. Lev 13:9

The purpose of this chapter is to enable the detection of leprosy. When the Bible uses this term, it is not merely referring to the disease that we call leprosy today, Hansen’s disease. That is included in the term, but the Hebrew word translated leprosy here also includes other contagious and infectious skin diseases. They all were recognized to be dangerous and damaging, a serious threat not only to the individual but to the whole camp of Israel, and so they were to be detected. The process of detection was prolonged and careful inspection. The priest was to look at the symptoms, then shut the diseased person up for seven days, examine him again, and shut him up for another seven days. At the end of that time he could determine whether it was leprosy or something less serious.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Galilee

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Read: Mark 16:1-8

But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. (v. 7)

We don’t often think about biblical geography. But everything happened someplace and often the locations were significant. Or sometimes they were confusing. For instance, we know the angel told everyone to go meet Jesus in Galilee, but has that ever struck you as odd? After all, everyone was in Jerusalem at the time (the risen Jesus too). So why couldn’t they all encounter Jesus there? Galilee was 80 miles away as the crow flies and maybe 100 miles by road. Although today you could hop in a car and drive that distance in an hour or two, back then it took much, much longer. So why the journey?

Maybe because quiet, out-of-the-way Galilee fit Jesus better than glitzy, big-city Jerusalem. Maybe because even after being raised from the dead, Jesus still wanted to reach out to people in quiet, humble love. Had Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, maybe the disciples would have wanted to parade him in front of Pontius Pilate as a slam dunk way to say, “Thought you could kill Jesus, eh? Well, ta-da! Here he is again!”

But that was not Jesus’ way—not then, not now. He wants us to bear witness to him in humility, conviction, and with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is good to go see Jesus in Galilee—it’s exactly where you’d expect to find him even yet today.

Prayer:

Help us, O God, to witness to the resurrection in all of this world’s Galilees that all may truly see your Easter power.

Author: Scott Hoezee

https://woh.org/

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – Tomorrow Talk

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Do you ever wonder what the future holds? Many do – so it’s not surprising that one of the most widely read sections of any newspaper is the horoscope section. Several folks make their decisions based on the information they read. Because people fear the unknown, they look for ways to figure out what will happen next.

Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

Revelation 1:19

For Christians, there should be no fear of the future. Corrie Ten Boom said “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Today’s verse is from the book of the Bible that tells the future. Jesus provided a vision to the apostle John as a message to give to His followers about what would one day happen. Some are confused or frightened by the descriptions and imagery of Revelation, but because God has a purpose for everything, you can trust His plan for the future.

If you are concerned about what tomorrow holds – don’t be. Trust God to work everything that happens into His perfect will. Ask for His direction for your part of His plan, and then pray for the nation’s citizens and leaders to turn to Him for guidance.

Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 29:4-14

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