Tag Archives: christianity

Wisdom Hunters – Faith Follows Jesus

April 2, 2016 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27

You follow Jesus because of His invitation and His worthiness. You follow Jesus because His way is the best way and because you are His disciples. You follow Jesus because there is none other who offers an abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven. You follow the Lord because He leads you toward His will. He is worth following because He can be trusted; He will never lead you astray. The Lord’s leadership is perfect, potent, and practical. Therefore, pursue Him as a faithful follower. Do not hold back one ounce of obedience and loyalty to your leader, Jesus Christ. Where He leads you, follow. Where He sends you, go. His path will be painful at times, but it is in your pain that He purifies. Follow Him and you will be forever grateful, for He does not disappoint.

Follow Him through your difficult days. Do not give in to the temptation to quit. Where else is there to go? This is the insightful question Peter posed out of frustration (John 6:68). It is in your adversity that you desire the Almighty. He is not occupied with a celestial distraction somewhere far away. He is still leading you through this valley of despair. Do not give up on Him, for He has not given up on you. He still lovingly leads even though your soul feels resistance. He will pull you through this present predicament. Use this time of challenge to strengthen your faith in Him.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Spring Cleaning: Shake the Dust Off—Read Your Bible

April 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I am afflicted very much; revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.

Psalm 119:107

Joyce Meyer – Seek the Truth

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The sower sows the Word. The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them.—Mark 4:14-15

If you hear or study the Word, the devil will immediately attempt to steal it from you. He does not want the Word to take root in your heart and begin to produce good fruit in your life. When you learn the truth, deception is uncovered and you are set free. Satan hates and fears the Word. He will do anything possible to prevent you from learning God’s Word.

The reason Satan works so hard to keep you from the Word is simple: He knows the Word of God is a powerful weapon against him. It assures his defeat! That is why it is imperative that you learn to wield the spiritual sword. Reading, hearing, believing, meditating on, and confessing the Word cancels Satan’s evil plan. Tonight, determine to make the Word of God a priority in your life.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Clothed in Christ

April 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ” (Galatians 3:27, NAS).

You may be surprised, as I was, at the result of our personal surveys having to do with church members and salvation.

Such surveys indicate that somewhere between 50 and 90% of all church members are not sure of their salvation. Like Martin Luther, John Wesley and many others who became mighty ambassadors for Christ, some spend many years “serving God” before they experience the assurance and reality of their salvation.

The pastor of a large fashionable church of 1,500 members once reacted negatively when I shared these statistics, doubting that such large percentages of church members lacked assurance of their salvation.

He decided personally to survey his own congregation at the church where he had served as senior pastor for 15 years. To his amazement and shock, more than 75% of the membership indicated they were not sure of their salvation.

Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Clothed in Christ →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Need to Respond

April 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Leviticus 2

When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. Lev 2:1-2a

Now we come to the grain offering. Many versions call it the meal offering. In the King James Version it is called the meat offering because meat was the old English word for food, or meal. But there is no meat in it at all. In fact, this is the only one of the offerings that is bloodless. In all the others animals had to die but in this one no blood was shed.

It is obvious that the essence of this offering was that it was bread. It was food, the staff of life. This theme is the key to the grain offering. All through the Old Testament you find people offering meal offerings, often in the form of three loaves of bread. And in the tabernacle there was the showbread.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Need to Respond →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – In the Wilderness

April 2, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Mark 1:2-4

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” (v. 3)

If Jesus’ arrival on earth is a new beginning, a new Genesis, then it makes sense that we begin in the wilderness. After humanity’s fall into sin, the wilderness became a symbol of brokenness. When God created the heavens and the earth, he began by having his Spirit hover over the primordial chaos when all was “formless and void” (Gen. 1:2). God imposed cosmos (order) on that chaos, but once sin came, chaos made a comeback. And nowhere in the Bible is this seen more clearly than in the desert wastes that often get described as being “formless and void.”

The wilderness is a reminder of all that is wrong with our world. So if God’s Christ is going to reestablish an ordered cosmos where life can flourish, then there is no better place to begin than the wilderness.

At one time or another we all find ourselves in situations where we feel trapped in some hot, dusty desert where the sun scorches and the demons howl. Death, unemployment, depression, loneliness: these are the deserts in which we find ourselves lost and wandering around. The good news, though, is that our God in Christ is still very good at entering the wilderness places to make a way for us that is straight and smooth once more. In fact, the wilderness may well be one of the more likely places where you will bump into Jesus even today.

Prayer:

When we are hot and lonely, O God, show us your face in the wilderness.

Author: Scott Hoezee

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Character vs. Charisma

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“The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.”—Proverbs 11:3

The stand you make today will determine what kind of stand you will make tomorrow. Character is not some mystical thing that you have no say in. You decide what principles you will live by, what road you will take.

The Bible is filled with examples of those who had character. But it is also filled with examples of those who did not. This is one of the reasons we can believe the Bible: it tells the truth without “airbrushing” the flaws and inconsistencies of the people found in its pages.

When Oliver Cromwell had his portrait painted, he said to the artist, “Paint me, warts and all!” The Bible gives us our heroes, “warts and all.”

Character isn’t just about starting the race well, but finishing it well. But sadly, many run strong at first but then slow down, quit, or are disqualified. King Saul comes to mind as an example.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – Character vs. Charisma →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Under God’s Gracious Hand

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Today’s Scripture: Ezra 7-8

In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. – 2 Chronicles 31:21

Have you ever looked at someone who was being used by God in a special way and wondered why the Lord seems to have His hand on that man or woman? Why is God using that person and not someone else? What is the secret of their spiritual success?

Ezra 7:9 says of Ezra, “The gracious hand of his God was upon him.” And the reason is found in the next verse: “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Under God’s Gracious Hand →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

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Read Romans 4:13-25

Like many people in the 1990s, Chris Robinson loved Beanie Babies. He thought the small plush toys would increase in value, and he began devoting all his spare time—and money—to amassing a collection. He figured eventually he could sell them to pay college tuition. But after spending over $100,000 on some 15,000 Beanie Babies, the market for the toys plummeted, leaving Robinson with a whole lot of stuffed animals and debt.

Trying to invest money can be a wise decision, but the investment must be trustworthy. The object of our trust is important: faith in a worthless cure or risky business or unreliable person will do us no good. This is even more true in our spiritual lives. Merely having faith will not save us. Our faith must be placed in Jesus Christ.

As our text today makes clear, the object of faith was always supposed o be God, the Giver of the Law, not the Law itself. Only God can keep His promises. Only God could fulfill His word to Abraham to make him a father of many nations (v. 18).

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God Has Time For You

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Mark 10:46-52

Time is a precious commodity in our fast-paced culture. Because of this, it is also a tremendously valuable gift that we can give to someone else.

The Lord was the ultimate model of balanced time management. He had critically important business to take care of and was certainly intentional about accomplishing His Father’s work (John 6:38); however, you won’t come across any Bible verse saying that He “ran to Bethany” or “rushed back to Galilee.” Wherever Jesus went, He was sensitive to people’s needs and always reached out in love to help them. He wasn’t so busy that He could not be interrupted.

Right before He went to the cross to accomplish the most important work of His life, Jesus stopped to help a poor blind beggar, who was a nobody in the eyes of society. Although the redemption of mankind was vitally important, the Savior cared enough about the suffering of one person to stop and do what He could to bring the man relief.

If the Lord allowed Himself to be interrupted on the way to the cross, will He not also stop and listen when we call out to Him in our distress? He is never too busy governing the universe to hear His beloved children cry to Him for help.

Continue reading Charles Stanley – God Has Time For You →

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Gallery of God

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Psalm 100

Bible in a Year: Judges 13-15; Luke 6:27-49

The Lord is good and his love endures forever. —Psalm 100:5

Psalm 100 is like a work of art that helps us celebrate our unseen God. While the focus of our worship is beyond view, His people make Him known.

Imagine the artist with brush and palette working the colorful words of this psalm onto a canvas. What emerges before our eyes is a world—“all the earth”—shouting for joy to the Lord (v. 1). Joy. Because it is the delight of our God to redeem us from death. “For the joy that was set before Him,” Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2 nkjv).

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — The Gallery of God →

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Slain and Standing

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When the reigning fifteenth century Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa broke his favorite Chinese tea bowl, the distraught military dictator sent the antique pieces of pottery back to China to be repaired. The bowl was returned to him, repaired using a technique commonly practiced at the time. Metal staples fused the pieces together in a manner that assured the beloved bowl’s function, but the bowl was never the same. In Yoshimasa’s mind, the object was broken first by the fracture and then again by the mending. Disappointed, he called Japanese craftsmen to come up with another way.

What was born was the art of kintsugi, which expresses the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi, embracing the flawed and imperfect, revealing beauty and strength in what has been broken. Kintsugi literally means golden connection or golden jointing. Broken pottery fragments are fused together using lacquer and gold. The end result is still repair in the deepest sense, but the breakage itself is not erased; in fact, it becomes all the more obvious. Rather than concealing the flaws, cracks are accentuated and highlighted. The repair remains the object of admiration, but the breakage is seen as a part of it, bestowing more value, emboldening strength, esteeming beauty.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Anticipating Jesus’ Death

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“‘After two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered up for crucifixion’” (Matthew 26:2).

Jesus adhered perfectly to God’s timetable for His death, which was part of the Father’s larger plan of redemption.

The history of redemption most definitely centers on the cross of Jesus Christ. Hymn writer John Bowring expressed this fact well:

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Anticipating Jesus’ Death →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Unheard, But Heard by God

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind? You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. Job 6:26-27

We all want to be heard—for our ideas to be valued. But when we feel unheard, especially by friends—our heart can slump into an unhealthy posture of dejection. We ache. From time to time we all need correction, but not to the point of contempt—where it seems like every time we open our mouth, our antagonist attacks us. There was a season in my work where I felt totally unheard. My supervisor acted deaf. The intimidation and innuendos were painful to my heart and sickening to my soul. Eventually, we parted ways—sadly we never fully understood each other.

Job finds himself in a situation where he feels totally on the outside of a relationship that once throbbed with passion and possibilities. He tries to reason with an unreasonable person—Eliphaz—but, Job’s integrity is on the defensive. Like a swirling wind captures a feather, once Job’s words cross his lips, they are swept away and dismissed by a mind already made up. He tries to claw back with a straightforward and stingingly accurate civil discourse. Job learns: unfair accusations need to be addressed with a prayerful, direct response. Integrity hears—then speaks!

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Simple Math

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

Matthew 12:35

Joyce Meyer – Quick to Forgive

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And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted…forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.—Ephesians 4:32

The Bible teaches us to forgive “readily and freely.” That is God’s standard for us, no matter how we feel about it. We are to be quick to forgive.

According to 1 Peter 5:5, we can clothe ourselves with the character of Jesus Christ, meaning that we can choose to be long-suffering, patient, not easily offended, slow to anger, quick to forgive, and filled with mercy. My definition of “mercy” is to look beyond what is done to me that hurts and discover the reason why it was done. Many times people do things even they don’t understand themselves, but there is always a reason why people behave as they do. Perhaps they are hurting and in their own pain they don’t even realize they are hurting someone else.

God forgives! We are to be merciful and forgiving, just as God in Christ forgives us our wrongdoing. He not only sees what we do that is wrong, but He understands why we did it, and is merciful and long-suffering. The choice to forgive others is ours. God will not force anyone to do it. Even if you don’t understand it, believe that God’s way is the best. It works. He can take what Satan meant to destroy you and turn it for your good.

We are to forgive in order to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us.

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Take Hold of the Faith You Long For

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I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Philippians. 3:12

Friend to Friend

Have you ever watched a circus performer on a flying trapeze? A short horizontal bar suspended by ropes or metal straps dangles high above the crowd. The aerialist grabs the trapeze bar, jumps off of a high platform, and swings through the air. She swings out once, swings back above the platform, and swings out again.

It is during the peak of the third swing where the fun begins for those below. The performer releases the bar mid-air and grabs hold of another bar or second performer hanging from his knees who swings toward her. Once she grabs hold, the crowd remembers to breathe. Somersaults, backflips, and triple twists wow the crowd. And each move requires the performer to let go and grab hold—let go of one bar and grab hold of another. Without the faith to do so, the trapeze artist would simply swing back and forth until the pumping momentum gave way to dangling, or she would hang, stuck in-between two platforms, with hands clinging to both bars. Not the greatest show on earth.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Take Hold of the Faith You Long For →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Mark of Ownership

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“He has put His brand upon us – His mark of ownership – and given us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as guarantee that we belong to Him, and as the first installment of all that He is going to give us” (2 Corinthians 1:22).

Some time ago, a young Christian came to share his problems. He was very frustrated and confused, and he spoke of the constant defeat and fruitlessness which he experienced in the Christian life.

“You don’t have to live in defeat,” I said to him.

The young man registered surprise.

“You can live a life of victory, a life of joy, a life of fruitfulness,” I assured him. “In fact, by the grace of God – and to Him alone be the glory – for more than 25 years as a Christian I do not recall a single hour of broken fellowship with the Lord Jesus.”

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Need to Belong

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Leviticus 1

The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. Lev 1:1-2

There are five offerings in Leviticus: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the trespass offering and the sin offering. All five represent aspects of the work of Jesus Christ. The first offering is the burnt offering. The most important characteristic of the burnt offering is that it had to involve a death. Death in these offerings is always a picture of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. So when these Israelites offered this sacrifice they were learning the great truth that only by means of the death of an acceptable substitute can man ever satisfy this great longing to belong. Only in the recognition of the death of Jesus Christ for you, can you ever satisfy that longing. He is the expression of the love of God. So we must give ourselves to God through Christ, acknowledging that he owns us, that we belong to him: You are not your own; you are bought with a price, (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a RSV). God does not and will not exploit you and run you like a robot or a slave. He loves you and wants to fulfill you and set you free. But you do belong to him. That is the most basic truth of all.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Need to Belong →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Beginning

April 1, 2016 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (v. 1)

Everything starts somewhere. The gospel did too, and so Mark makes his very first word (in Greek) “Beginning.” If this sounds like Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning . . .” you’re right. This was Mark’s intention. The arrival of God’s Son was an act of new creation, a new Genesis.

But no one is quite sure how much of Mark constitutes this “beginning.” Does Mark mean just Mark 1:1-8? All of Mark 1? Or could Mark mean the whole book is just the beginning? I prefer the latter option because of how Mark also ends in Mark 16:8. Since we just celebrated Easter, we may recall that Mark’s Gospel, at least in its most ancient version, concludes with terrified women fleeing from the empty tomb in silence.

Seems like an odd way to end! Can the gospel end in silence? No! But just before the women flee, they are told to go back to Galilee to see Jesus. But where in Mark is Galilee? Right back in Mark 1. It is as though Mark is saying, “Go back to the beginning. Now that you have seen the cross and the empty tomb, go back and reread my gospel. Because the whole thing is just the beginning. Now the story continues through you. Don’t let it end in silence but tell the whole story of how in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the whole world is being made new!”

Prayer:

Father God, open our lips that they may speak gospel truth.

https://woh.org/

DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION

Tag Archives: christianity

Wisdom Hunters – Faith Follows Jesus

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Spring Cleaning: Shake the Dust Off—Read Your Bible

Joyce Meyer – Seek the Truth

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Clothed in Christ

Ray Stedman – The Need to Respond

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – In the Wilderness

Greg Laurie – Character vs. Charisma

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Under God’s Gracious Hand

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

Charles Stanley – God Has Time For You

Our Daily Bread — The Gallery of God

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Slain and Standing

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Anticipating Jesus’ Death

Wisdom Hunters – Unheard, But Heard by God

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Simple Math

Joyce Meyer – Quick to Forgive

Girlfriends in God – Take Hold of the Faith You Long For

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Mark of Ownership

Ray Stedman – The Need to Belong

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Beginning

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