Tag Archives: christianity

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Where is Your Confidence?

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Read: Philippians 1:3-6

…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6

Perhaps Paul’s joy in these people at Philippi was that he was seeing them by faith. Not as they were, but as they would be when God’s work was done. He was looking at them with the eye of faith. He was sure that He who began a good work in them was going to finish it, so Paul could say that, even though you rub me the wrong way once in a while, I know what you are going to be. This is the key to getting along with other Christians. Sometimes it’s difficult, but when we realize what they will be we can do it. I heard of an artist who called a friend in and asked him to comment on a picture he was painting. He said, this is my masterpiece. It is beautiful. The man said I guess I don’t see what you see. It just looks like dabs of different colors to me, without form or anything. The artist said, Oh I forgot. I’m seeing it as it will be when finished. You are seeing it as it is now.

This is what Paul was doing. He was seeing these Christians as they would be and he thanks God it’s going to happen. What a comforting verse. Many times, when I am discouraged with myself, I utterly despair of being what I ought to be. I am so aware of the deceitfulness and subtlety of the flesh. Even when I want to be what I ought to be, I end up deceiving myself. I see the utter futility of depending on me to get this job done. In those times, I try to remember this verse, being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – What Happened In Church

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Read: Mark 1:21-28

And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. (v. 26)

Ever think about why people come to church? Believe me, your pastor thinks about it all the time. Some people come to worship. Some come out of habit. Some come to keep peace in the family. Some probably don’t know why they come—they just come. There are a lot of reasons, but surely one reason is that life is confusing and chaotic, and we are all groping for something, someone with authority, to set us straight, and help us find our peace, our poise, our purpose.

Look around on Sunday at the people sitting with you in church. Can you even begin to appreciate the turmoil in their lives—the upsetting phone calls in the previous week, the hurtful words heard and spoken, the strife in relationships, concerns about health and finances, bad memories of things that happened long ago. Can other people appreciate the turmoil in your life? Life can be painful and chaotic. Like the poor, tormented soul in the synagogue, we’re all yearning for someone with authority who can calm the chaos and set us straight.

Out in the world it may appear that money reigns supreme, or political power, or cancer. But when we come to church we are reminded of the truth that sets things straight, and calms the chaos, and makes the demons quake—Jesus is Lord. Ask for his help. You will not be disappointed.

Prayer:

Lord, let me find in you my peace, my poise, and my purpose.

https://woh.org/

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Pair Prayer

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In life, many good things come in pairs. The Earth and sky. Arms and legs. Ice cream and cake. You can likely name many more.

The animals according to their kinds…two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.

Genesis 6:20

In Genesis, God asked Noah to help Him preserve the world by keeping pairs of animals fed, nourished, and alive during a global catastrophe. You might be inclined to believe you are not called personally to do something big like Noah, but think again. Today you probably know several “pairs” struggling to keep their relationships alive. The divorce rate in America is close to 50 percent.

aving an impact on marriage in America doesn’t require a degree in counseling, but a commitment to prayer. Start at the top with President Obama, then pray for members of Congress from each state, and don’t forget local officials and church leaders. Ask God to lead couples across the land in discovering His purpose and presence in their marriage commitments. As you can see, it’s a large job, and like Noah you will probably need a little help. Invite a friend to pair up with you this week in praying for life and health to infuse marriages in America.

Recommended Reading: Mark 10:5-9

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

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Your Sphere of Influence

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The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.—Proverbs 11:25

I believe the hardest part of evangelism is getting started. But once you get started, and once God starts speaking through you, it can be one of the most joyful things you have ever done. To think that God Almighty would speak through someone like you or me is indeed a great privilege. It is an honor to go and tell others about Jesus.

The gospel was not designed to be hoarded; it was designed to be shared. You were blessed to be a blessing. Therefore as you take in, you need to give out that message again so others can come into a relationship with God. One of the greatest joys you will ever experience, next to knowing the Lord himself, is when you have the privilege of praying with someone to accept Christ. You start seeing the radical, even visible, changes that will take place in your life. We are told in Proverbs 11:25, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” It is refreshing as you give back and help other people.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Does Not Fail

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“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Joshua 1:5b)

In life we make a lot of friends, but most of us have only a few friends who are very close. Statistics and surveys have shown that the average number of close friends per person is only eight. Can you think of eight close friends you have? Your close friends may change as you grow older, too. Have any of your friends ever been mean to you or let you down? We have probably all had friends who have let us down before. It is also probably true that we ourselves have let our friends down! Even our moms and our dads, who love us very much, are not perfect. Even they have let us down before.

What does it mean to fail or to forsake someone? To “fail” means to let someone down, or to respond lazily to someone’s need. To “forsake” means to leave someone, to leave them all alone in time of need.

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The Navigators

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

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Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 43:25

“I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.”

God uses several metaphors and colorful expressions to assure us that our sins have been literally carried away by our Lord Jesus Christ. One of them is in Psalm 103:12: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (NIV). Here was an infinite distance, as great as human vocabulary could express.

Jesus not only bore our sins on the cross, he carried them away an infinite distance. He removed them from the presence of God and from us forever. They can no longer bar our access to God’s holy presence. Now “we have confidence”—or “boldness” as the King James Version more strikingly puts it—to enter God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19).

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Only Trust Him

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Today’s Scripture: Ezra 1-6

I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. – Psalm 119:104

Who do you think will be president two hundred years from now? Impossible to answer, you say. The person hasn’t even been born yet. It would be like the signers of the Declaration of Independence predicting the election of our president two centuries in advance.

But this is exactly what we have in Ezra, chapter one. Some two hundred years before it happened, the prophet Isaiah wrote that Cyrus, king of Persia, would issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom–and put it in writing–that the captive Jews were to be released to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the house of the Lord. When Isaiah wrote that, there was no Cyrus, king of Persia. He hadn’t been born yet.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Only Trust Him →

BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Why We Haven’t Endorsed a Candidate: Political Wisdom from Chuck Colson

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As I record this, it’s still hours before the results from Super Tuesday are in, and that’s intentional. I’m more convinced than ever that as we think about this election season, there are some pre-political Christian convictions that we need to remember.

Many evangelical leaders have publicly endorsed candidates, even earlier than usual, but the Colson Center will maintain Chuck’s practice of not doing so, as tempting as it is. But that ought not be confused with disinterest. Trust me—I’m very interested in this election, even more about what it’s revealing about the character of our nation than who will actually reach office.

But I’m also interested because, like each and every area of culture, Christ cries “Mine!” over politics and government, too. The question, as Chuck once said, is not whether Christians should be involved in politics, but how.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word –JESUS, SON OF ABRAHAM   

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Read Luke 1:46-80

In the United States, perjury is considered a felony and is punishable by prison. In the State of California, perjury can even be a capital offense if the false testimony contributes to a wrongful conviction and execution. These penalties for perjury affirm our conviction as Americans, that justice depends on determining the truth of a case.

Scripture portrays God as a God who always tells the truth. When He swears an oath or binds Himself to a promise, He can be trusted to follow through. Consider, for example, the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12. I will bless you. I will make you great. You will inherit this land and become the father of many multitudes. All people on earth will be blessed through you. As Luke begins his “orderly account” of the historical events concerning Jesus, a promised Son of Abraham, he wants us to remember that God is a promise-keeper. God always makes good on His word.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – SUPER TUESDAY AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

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Super Tuesday results are in. What have we learned?

Hillary Clinton now has a commanding lead in the Democratic race. Marco Rubio won Minnesota; Ted Cruz won Oklahoma, Alaska, and his home state of Texas; and Donald Trump won the rest of the states. Both Rubio and John Kasich can win their home states in two weeks. If that happens, as one pundit said, “it’s going to go on and on and on.”

Here’s something else we learned: Whether you like the results or not, the system works.

America is a nation where anyone who is a natural born citizen, fourteen years a resident, and thirty-five years of age can be president (U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1). As a result, Clinton is likely to become the first female major party presidential candidate. Trump, a businessman in his first political campaign, is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination. And there is increasing interest in a third party candidacy as well.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Person God Can Use

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Acts 2:14-36

When Jesus called him to a life of discipleship and service, Peter left his fishing career to become a leader in the church at Jerusalem. We can learn much from both the high and low points of his transformation.

Peter publicly acknowledged that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. When the Lord asked the disciples who they believed He was, Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). He boldly confessed his faith in front of the other disciples and didn’t hold back for fear of their opinion. In a similar way, the basis for our identity—in public as well as in private—ought to be that we are followers of Christ. Our words and actions should proclaim to those around us that we belong to Him.

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Day Four

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It was a day without hope: March 11, 2011. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake set off a devastating tsunami that washed away coastal cities in Northeastern Japan. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Roads were impassable, transportation destroyed or shut down, and power remained down for weeks in the cold temperatures of early spring. All around were scenes of desperation, as stranded survivors cried for help, buried alive under the rubble of what remained of their cities, communities, and homes. Things couldn’t get much worse when the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor was discovered, making it impossible to return home. Over three hundred thousand were left homeless and over eighteen thousand people died.

March 11, 2011 was a day without hope for me, as well. Like many around the world, I couldn’t believe that yet another massive earthquake and tsunami of such magnitude—like the Southeast Asian tsunami of 2004—had wrought so much destruction and devastation. Yet on this same day, I attended the funeral for my husband who had died suddenly on March 2, 2011. I felt as if I was buried by the rubble of grief over his lost life and the life we shared together for nearly twenty years.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Grace to the Humble

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“He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6).

A person cannot be saved unless he comes to God with a humble attitude.

Today’s verse is a challenge and a promise to anyone who is not sure about his salvation, or who thinks he is saved but does not measure up to the tests of faith in James’s letter. Even the worst sinful character traits—relying on worldly wisdom, having enmity against God, lusting after fleshly and selfish desires—are no match for God’s abundant grace.

The kind of grace James is referring to here is simply God’s saving grace—His undeserved favor of forgiveness and love bestowed on all sorts of sinners. Included within that favor is the Lord’s promise of the Holy Spirit, an understanding of God’s Word, Heaven, and all spiritual blessings. Such grace is available to all who will come in faith to Christ. Nothing in this universe can prevent the truly humble and repentant person from receiving grace—not the strength of sin and depravity, not the might of Satan, not the pull of the flesh, not even the power of death.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Why Desperation is a Good Thing

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For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. . .  Romans 3:23-24

There are times in most of our lives when we don’t want to go backward. We don’t want to move back to the city where we used to live because it will make us feel as if we haven’t made progress. We don’t want to go back to our old job because it will make us feel as if all of the skills we learned since then were a waste. We don’t want to go back to doing what we used to do, because going backward makes us feel as if we haven’t gone forward. Going backward feels like failure.

There are times, however, we may need to go back to the beginning of our relationship with Jesus. We need to go back to the place where we first started with Him, which for most of us was the place of desperation. We were desperate because we knew we couldn’t save ourselves. We were desperate because we knew we couldn’t change our hurts, hang ups, and addictions on our own. We were desperate because we knew our old ways of trying to earn God’s favor weren’t working. We knew we needed His deliverance. But then as the Lord liberated and healed us, we exchanged desperation for being self-sufficient, so we tried to earn favor with God through being good enough. We tried to do the Christian life on our own without empowerment from the Holy Spirit. This is why we sometimes need to go back to the beginning to the place of desperation where we first started with the Lord.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Inseparable

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Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Recommended Reading

Psalm 63

As Adam and Eve looked back on the Garden of Eden, their physical removal from the Garden was a visual reminder of their break in their relationship with God. Despite their dismal circumstances, God had a different ending in mind. He did not forsake His creation.

God’s affection for us is revealed through His presence. He heard Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish. He sustained David as he waited to become king while being ruthlessly pursued by King Saul. God positioned Queen Esther to save His people from annihilation.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Speaks a Fresh Word

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Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength.…—Psalm 105:4

When King Jehoshaphat heard that a huge army was amassing to attack Judah, he knew what to do. He needed to set himself to seek not the advice of the people, but to seek God and hear directly from Him.

No doubt, Jehoshaphat had been involved in other battles before this one, so why couldn’t he use the same methods he had employed in previous situations? No matter how many times something has worked in the past, it may not work to solve a current crisis unless God anoints it afresh. He may anoint an old method and choose to work through it, but He may also give us brand-new direction, instructions we have never heard before. We must always look to God, not to methods, formulas, or ways that have worked in the past. Our focus, our source of strength and supply, must be God and God alone.

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Stop Doubting Your Value, Part Two

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Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:7

Friend to Friend

In part one of this devotion, we looked at the doubts and insecurities that cause us to question our significance and value. We also examined the Biblical truth that validates both. {Click here to read Part One.}

Today we’ll look to see what Jesus had to say about this topic and reflect on why this matters in the grand scheme of God’s purpose for your life.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Stop Doubting Your Value, Part Two →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Hear His Voice

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“My sheep recognize My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from Me. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Are you one of God’s “sheep”? Do you know for sure that you are a child of God? Do you have any question about your salvation? How do you know that Christ is in your life and that you have eternal life and that no one can take you away from our Lord? What is the basis of your assurance?

Frequently, one hears a Christian share the dramatic testimony of how Christ changed his life from years of drug addiction, gross immorality or some other distressing problem. On the other hand, there are many, like myself, who have knelt quietly in the privacy of the home, at a mountain retreat, or in a church sanctuary, and there received Christ into their lives with no dramatic emotional experience at that time of decision. Both are valid, authentic ways to come to Christ.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – In Christ

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Read: Philippians 1:1-2

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi… Phil 1:1a

The ancient practice of correspondence had one very distinct advantage over our modern method. They signed their name at the beginning of the letter. Have you ever received a letter, perhaps two or three pages long, and had to flip through the pages to see the name at the end before you knew who the letter was from? The ancients were much more efficient, putting their name at the beginning.

The address of the letter is very distinctive: to the saints in Christ at Philippi. In Christ was the source of their lives. In Philippi was the sphere in which they lived it. Both are very important in this letter. For what these people would be as citizens in Philippi would be determined by who they were as Christians — in Christ.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Best Is Yet to Be

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Read: John 2:1-11

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (v. 11)

What is a miracle? The Greek word for miracle is semaios, which means sign. Like all signs, miracles point to something beyond themselves. They point to God. A miracle is not a magic trick; it is a sign that God is at work in human affairs.

The Lord’s first sign took place at a wedding, when the mother of Jesus—John never calls her Mary—informs her son that, “They have no wine.” Initially, Jesus refuses to get involved. But what son can hold out for long against his mother’s wishes? The six stone jars are filled to the brim with water, and the water becomes wine. And not the cheap, inferior wine that was usually served later on. No, this was the good stuff.

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