Tag Archives: christianity

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Retirement: Not So Fast! 

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When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.” Joshua 13:1

Christians may retire from their career, but they can still engage as a volunteer or start a fresh, new second career. Simply doing nothing and spending all on self indulgence is not an option for followers of Jesus. “Retirement” as my friend Sonny says, “Is a reallocation of my calendar, cash and expertise”. More time for grandchildren, yes! More time for exercise, sort of. More time for travel, yes but in moderation (maybe take a grandchild with you). But mostly, more opportunity to engage with God’s heart as a: joyful giver, mentor, teacher, server—to be hospitable and pray.

Joshua had grown old and could have faded off into the sunset and died, but the Lord wasn’t finished with him yet. Though he had experienced the miracles of God as Moses’ apprentice and won battles to take possession of the promised land as Israel’s leader—the Lord had another assignment for him. So, Joshua stayed involved in the distribution of land for the various tribes. He established Cities of Refuge, so those who had committed manslaughter could find asylum. Some of Joshua’s best work occurred in his twilight years. His was reallocation not retirement!

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Honor

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…for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

1 Samuel 2:30

Recommended Reading

1 Samuel 2

Paris was in the grip of a heat wave during the 1924 Summer Olympics, and the Colombes Stadium was like a frying pan. For runner Eric Liddell, heat was the least of his concerns. His best event—the 100-meter—had been scheduled for a Sunday. He withdrew because he didn’t want to run on the Lord’s Day. He set his sights on the 400-meter instead. In the dressing room before the event, the masseur handed him a folded paper. It contained a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30: “Those who honor Me I will honor.” Inspired by those words, Eric Liddell broke the existing world record and won the gold medal.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Positive

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We have thought of Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple. —Psalm 48:9

Positive minds—minds full of faith and hope—produce positive lives. Negative minds—minds full of fear and doubt—produce negative lives. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus tells us that it will be done for us as we have believed. This doesn’t mean that you and I can get anything we want by just thinking about it. God has a perfect plan for each of us, and we can’t control Him with our thoughts and words, but if we want His plan, we should think and speak in agreement with His will and plan for us.

I encourage you to think positively about your life and be thankful for the good things God is doing and going to do. Practice staying positive in every situation that arises; even if you’re going through a difficult situation, stand in faith, believing God will bring good out of it as He has promised in His Word.

Prayer of Thanks: Father, help me to keep my thoughts and my words focused on You. I thank You that You have good things in store for my life. I trust You today.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – God’s Got It!

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When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

Friend to Friend

I am an avid reader. In fact, reading is one of my favorite ways to escape the chaotic pace of daily life. I also enjoy browsing through bookstores, especially the ones that provide cushy chairs where customers can sit quietly and read without being disturbed.

It is easy to tune out your surroundings and lose yourself in the pages of a good book. I was doing just that when I heard a familiar voice. Looking up, I spotted one of my friends, Carol, who was asking an employee where she could find a new suspense novel that had just been released. The young man quickly handed Carol the book from his personal stash behind the counter and went back to work. I watched a smile spread across Carol’s face as she examined her new treasure while gently turning the book over in her hands and flipping through pages. Carol then did something I absolutely could not believe. She turned to the last several pages of the book and began reading.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Need the Word

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“And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

In my own life, as I have come to know God better and to live more fully in the power and control of the Holy Spirit, my daily devotional Bible reading and study is not a duty or a chore, but a blessing; not an imposition on my time, but an invitation to fellowship in the closest of all ways with our holy, heavenly Father and our wonderful Savior and Lord.

Remember, God delights to have fellowship with us. The success of our studying God’s Word and of prayer is not to be determined by some emotional experience which we may have (though this frequently will be our experience), but by the realization that God is pleased that we want to know Him enough to spend time with Him in Bible study and prayer.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Power To Do

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Read: Leviticus 20

I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground — those that I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. Lev 20:24b-26

Note how carefully God identifies himself with each one of these instructions. He signs his name, as it were, after each one. He gives us a practical admonition and then says, I am the LORD your God. The name he uses here is his covenant name: I am Jehovah. That is, I am the Living One, the Eternal One, the Sufficient One. I am the God who is Enough. That is what Jehovah means.

What is God trying to impart to us by this format? Two things are involved. The first is authority. This underscores something very important. It is that we must discover how to distinguish between right and wrong, truth and error, on the basis of what God says — if we are in relationship to him. There is a different standard for the people of God.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Stop, in the Name of the Law

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Read: James 2:14-19

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (v. 17)

Jim, a police officer in Kentucky, was called out to a local grocery store with a report of a shoplifting in progress. He arrived just in time to watch the suspect walk out the door. The suspect was a young man, about 19 years old, and Jim was surprised to see that he was pushing a baby in a stroller. Jim rolled up next to the young man and ordered him to stop. The young man stopped, sat down on the curb—and burst into tears.

After Jim interviewed the store manager, he determined that the only things the young man was accused of stealing were a package of diapers and a can of baby formula. After speaking with the young suspect himself, Jim learned that he was a single father, and although he was working, he didn’t have the money that week to feed his six-month-old daughter.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M.- Wondrous Works

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When Brian Barcelona was 16, he thought he didn’t need God. But a friend had been inviting Barcelona to church for months. He finally consented when he was promised a free smoothie! But when Barcelona got to church, he dared God to touch him and prove He was real…and He did. “I felt so overwhelmed with love that I’ve never felt before,” he said. “I just started weeping and in that moment I encountered this God that everyone had talked about, and for once in my life it was actually becoming real to me.”

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

II Corinthians 9:15

Two years later Barcelona had a vision that God was going to save the high school students of America. He started preaching in a Bible club of about six students; it quickly grew to 600 teens a month. Then Barcelona started an organization that now helps students start Christian clubs on their campus.

Thank the Lord today…and then daily seek opportunities to express to others the inexpressible gift of His love to you. When you do, pray that, like Barcelona, they would find their life purpose through a personal, genuine experience with the Lord. Then ask God to do the same in the lives of the presidential candidates.

Recommended Reading: I Chronicles 16:8-15

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/index.php

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Love, Joy, and Peace

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . . .—Galatians 5:22

The future is something we all should be thinking about, because we need to plan ahead. Not only do we need to think about what we will do in this life, but also what we will do for all eternity.

An extensive survey conducted in the United States by a leading polling agency distributed questionnaires to people of various ages and occupations, asking, “What are you looking for most in life?” When the results were compiled, the analysts were surprised. Most expected those who were polled to say they wanted to achieve certain materialistic goals. But the top three things that people wanted in life were love, joy, and peace—in that order.

Galatians 5:22 tells us the fruits of the Spirit include love, joy, and peace. Thus, the very things people are looking for today can be found in a relationship with God. Yet some have given up on these things. They say, “Love, joy, and peace? That’s a pipe dream of flower children. Give me a break. You are not going to find love, joy, and peace in this world . . . not in the real world I live in.”

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Strong Arm

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“For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.” (Psalm 44:3)

Do you like to have strong friends? Strong friends can really come in handy. A strong friend can help you lift something heavy. A strong friend can hit the ball really far for your team. A strong friend can stand-up for you if a bully is mean to you.

In Psalm 44, the Hebrew songwriter remembers when the Lord God brought the Hebrews into the Promised Land. The songwriter says in Psalm 44:3 that the Hebrews were not able to win the battles by themselves, but God’s strong right arm won the battles for them.

Does God literally have an arm? No, not really. We know that God is a spirit (John 4:24), and a spirit does not have arms or legs that we can actually see. The songwriter is using a word picture to say that the Lord God of Israel is very strong. Think about it. When you see someone who is very strong, what do notice first? Their arms. Sometimes kids want to show off their muscles. Do you flex your leg to show off your muscles? No! You would probably flex your arms to show how strong you are. When the songwriter says that God’s “arm” saved the Hebrews, he is using a word picture to express that God was stronger than all of Israel’s enemies.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – God’s Hatred

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 11:5

“The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked.”

Reconciliation by definition assumes a previous state of alienation and hostility caused by the offensive actions of one or both parties. Our sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and caused us to be “God’s enemies” (Romans 5:10, NIV), those hated by God. Does God actually hate people? Yes, the psalmist wrote, “you hate all who do wrong” (Psalm 5:5, NIV). So when Paul described us as God’s enemies, he was describing not our sinful hatred of God but rather his righteous hatred of us because of our sin.

It’s difficult for us to conceive of God’s holy hatred toward people. But this is simply his just and holy revulsion against sin and his holy antagonism toward those who rebel against him.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – This Little Light of Mine

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Today’s Scripture: Jeremiah 7-10

“I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” – Hebrews 6:14

A lot of people look around today and feel like Jeremiah did nearly three thousand years ago. As he watched the moral and spiritual decline of his country, Jeremiah wondered if anything could be done to heal the sin of his people and prevent the judgment of God. Had the darkness become so great that it could not be overcome? Could the condition of the people be set right? The answer to the latter question was yes, and that’s the answer for us today. Something can be done about the darkness if we’re willing to let the work begin in and through us.

Every year a few weeks before Christmas, we have a candlelighting service in our church. The entire sanctuary is dark except for one candle at the front. As a few people light their candles from that one, and then pass the flame to the candles around them, the entire sanctuary is lighted. To me, it’s a beautiful picture of God’s plan for conquering the spiritual darkness of the world.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – This Little Light of Mine →

BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Why Did Adam LaRoche Walk Away from Baseball and $13 Million?

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In March, Major League baseball player Adam LaRoche shocked the sports world. LaRoche, a 12-year veteran who averaged more than 20 home runs a year and won many awards for his defensive skills at first base, unexpectedly retired.

By doing so, he walked away from $13 million—the amount left on the final year of a two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Even more shocking than leaving $13 million on the table was the reason he did so: The White Sox had informed LaRoche that his 14-year-old son, Drake, could no longer accompany him in the club house every day.

If you can’t imagine walking away from that kind of money for that kind of reason, you’re not alone.

But then again, a lot of what LaRoche does is peculiar, and I mean that in the best possible way.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word –  UNITED AS HEIRS OF GOD

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Read Galatians 3:26-4:7

Inheritance fraud is one of the most common scams perpetrated today. You receive notification that someone with your same last name (perhaps a distant relative?) has died without heirs. The so-called lawyers who sent the letter say that for a small fee to process some paperwork, the vast inheritance can be yours! But they keep requesting fees and bank transfer details and no inheritance ever arrives.

Thankfully, our identity as heirs of God is secure! We are heirs not because of how impressive our accomplishments are or because we have the right genetic profile—we are heirs because we belong to Christ (3:29).

Our passage today is filled with some of the most beautiful and profound statements about our identity. Through faith in Jesus, we are children of God (3:26). This familial relationship is more than just emotional connections of love and care. It also has legal implications; as God’s children, we stand to gain His inheritance (4:7). We have the Spirit of God within our hearts as confirmation of our status as heirs (4:8). Unlike the inheritance fraudsters who just want to take your money, God gives us the Spirit as a down payment on our inheritance. We have the Spirit dwelling within us now, and one day we will dwell with God fully, worshiping in His presence.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – PRINCE’S DEATH IS PERSONAL TO ME

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“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57.” So reported his publicist yesterday, news that made instant headlines around the world.

Prince was born on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was signed to Warner Brothers Records as a teenager; his debut album in 1978 put him on the road to superstardom.

He was a singer, songwriter, multiple instrumentalist, producer, and actor. Prince was often compared to Michael Jackson and was considered a musical genius by many. He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

No stranger to controversy, many of his lyrics were sexually explicit, a fact that prompted a movement encouraging records to place advisory labels on albums with such lyrics. When his death was announced yesterday, CNN reports that fans rushed to buy his albums amid an outpouring of grief on social media.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Nothing Can Separate Us

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Romans 8:32-39

We have been learning about the Lord’s amazing plan to save us for all eternity. A persuasive argument for believing in eternal security is found in two of the apostle Paul’s questions in Romans 8.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? The answer is simple: No one can bring an accusation against believers and make it stick. Satan certainly tries, but God has justified us through His Son Jesus Christ—He has declared that we are no longer guilty. No matter what new sin we might commit after we are saved, we can’t be tried in God’s court a second time. If you fall into a stage of unbelief or sinful living, you may lose your reward, but you cannot lose your eternity in heaven with God (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Undoubtedly, there are many experiences that test our faith, but we are ultimately saved by God’s grace. Jesus understands our trials and doubts, and He is not interested in casting us away at our first misstep. God always knew we would make thousands of mistakes after receiving Christ, but He saved us anyway.

Some followers of Jesus Christ worry that embracing eternal security will motivate people to go out and live a life of sin because they have nothing to lose. If we think about the wonder and majesty of our heavenly Father, doesn’t it make more sense that people would be motivated to praise Him for saving them out of the filth of their disobedience? The more we know of Jesus and His love for us, the more we will love Him and want to please Him. Forever.

Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 20-22

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Jesus Wept

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Read: John 11:1-4, 38-44

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16

The sting of death is sin. . . . But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 15:56-57

I was engrossed in a book when a friend bent over to see what I was reading. Almost immediately, she recoiled and looked at me aghast. “What a gloomy title!” she said. I was reading “The Glass Coffin” in Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and the word coffin disturbed her. Most of us don’t like to be reminded of our mortality. But the reality is that out of 1,000 people, 1,000 people will die.

Death always elicits a deep emotional response. It was at the funeral of one of His dear friends that Jesus displayed strong emotions. When He saw Mary, whose brother had recently died, “he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33). Another translation says, “a deep anger welled up within him” (nlt).

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Christ in Public

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God has been in the news a lot lately. From Christian prayers in council meetings, to statements from the highest echelons of the Royal Family and the government, discussion of the place of God and in particular the role of Christianity in Britain today has been in the news on a daily basis. Professor Richard Dawkins continues to argue that religion has no place in the 21st century and debates over his anecdotes continue to capture the twittersphere. It seems it is now acceptable to discuss the Christian faith and belief in God in public. From radio studios to the school gate I have enjoyed being a part of this. The role of God in Britain is being discussed up and down the country in government, education, legislation, and community life in a way that I can’t remember in recent history.

While secularism insists that nothing good comes from religion, isn’t it actually the case that it is a Christian heritage that actually provides us with this free and open society—encouraging people to question and reason for themselves? For many, religious faith is a process, a journey of discovery on the basis of evidence, reason, and personal experience. Christianity has provided the foundation in Britain for an open and tolerant society. It was the great Christian leader Augustine who coined the phrase tolerare malus. He claimed that political structure influenced by the Christian faith must tolerate that which it disagreed with and perceived as wrong for the greater good of freedom.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Centrality of the Resurrection

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“‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said’” (Matthew 28:5-6).

The fact of Jesus’ resurrection is the culmination of redemptive history and the essential basis of the Christian faith.

Without the Resurrection, our Christian faith would just be a lot of wishful thinking, no better than human philosophies and speculative religions. In fact, the noted seventeenth-century philosopher John Locke, some of whose ideas were incorporated into the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “Our Saviour’s resurrection is truly of great importance in Christianity, so great that His being or not being the Messiah stands or falls with it.”

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Thankful Soil Grows Humility 

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Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

By default, I think many of us spend our days focused on our own needs, wants, and desires. From basic health and nutrition to our ambitions and dreams, we are wired to care chiefly about ourselves! As Augustine said, because of sin and brokenness we as human beings are “curved in upon ourselves.” Yet the beauty of the gospel is that when we encounter the love of Christ, not only are we made new but we also learn to turn our focus away from ourselves and onto the needs of others and the worship of almighty God.

One of my favorite quotes comes from 20th century pastor and theologian Michael Ramsey, who once said, “Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.” How true that is! If you struggle, as we all do, with an inflated sense of self-worth or self-interest, rush to plant yourself in the soil of thanksgiving. As Paul reminds us, lift up your heart and soul in thanksgiving and praise to God. Let the love of Christ dwell within you and heal you from the empty love of self.

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