Tag Archives: current-events

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Trust the Cross

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Max Lucado

My dog Salty knows he isn’t supposed to get into the trash. But let the house be human free, and dark side of Salty takes over. If there’s food in a trash can, the temptation is to
great. That’s what happened the other day. I got mad, but I got over it. I cleaned up the mess and forgot about it. Salty didn’t! He kept his distance. When I finally saw him, his tail was between his legs, 
his ears drooping. He thinks I’m mad at him. He doesn’t know I’ve already dealt with his mistake.

Somewhere, sometime, you got tangled in garbage…and you’ve been avoiding god. You wonder if you could ever feel close to God again.The message of his torn flesh on the cross is — you can. The door is open. Don’t trust your conscience. Trust the cross. You’re welcome in God’s presence!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

from He Chose the Nails

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Man and God

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Charles Stanley

Matthew 22:41-46

The Pharisees hated that so many people believed the man standing before them was the Messiah. This Galilean commoner had no pedigree. Sure, he might astound people with inexplicable wisdom, but surely he was not the returning king—for what would that make them?

Not only did they have the wrong answer; they asked the wrong question. They thought Christ’s rise to prominence merely raised the possibility that He was the long-awaited Messiah. But Christ pointed them to a deeper truth, on which depended the salvation of man. “What do you think about the Christ,” He asked them. “Whose son is He?” (Matt. 22:42)

They knew the answer, just as they knew the rumors about this distant descendant of David. But David had many descendants. The Christ would be, they replied, “the son of David.” “Then how,” Christ asked, “does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet'”?” (vv. 43-44).

He referred to Psalm 110, in which the Holy Spirit speaks through David to illuminate Christ’s divinity. The Pharisees thought this debate was about whether Christ was the Messiah. In an instant, Christ raised the stakes.

His interlocutors were stubborn but clever. They recognized the implication of His question. Of course, David would not have called some great-great-grandchild “Lord.” A king would give that honor only to the living God.

Christ was pointing them—and us—to the startling truth: He is king, and He is Savior, and He is God.

It was a scandal, and it was the only path to salvation. God took on flesh, bore it sinlessly into death, and raised it to life eternal, thereby breaking the hold of sin and death over mankind. God became man so that man might return to God.

This upends the world, and it terrified the self-regarding Pharisees. So they were silent, “nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.” (v. 46)

God forgive us when we are likewise silent. Christ is the risen God. Tell it to the world.

–Tony Woodlief

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Spoonful of Sugar

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 19:7-14

The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. . . . Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. —Psalm 19:9-10

Where is Mary Poppins when you need her? I know this sounds as if I’m longing for the good old days when cheerfully unrealistic movies featured characters like this fictional nanny, but what I’m really longing for are people with a vision for the future that is realistically optimistic. I yearn for joyful, creative people who can show us the positive side of what we consider negative, who can remind us that “just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.”

David wrote a song that expressed a similar truth. In his words, “the judgments of the LORD” are “sweeter also than . . . honey” (Ps. 19:9-10). Seldom do we hear that truth is sweet. More often we hear that it is bitter or hard to swallow. But truth is so much more than medicine to treat what’s wrong. It’s the diet that will prevent disease. It’s not an inoculation or an injection. It’s a gourmet meal that should be presented as a culinary delight, enticing the hungry to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (34:8).

We sing “Jesus is the sweetest name I know,” but some of us present Him as if He’s gone sour. Pure truth, untainted by pride, is the sweetest, most refreshing taste of all to those who hunger for spiritual sustenance. And we have the privilege of serving it to a starving world. —Julie Ackerman Link

Jesus is the sweetest name I know,

And He’s just the same as His lovely name,

And that’s the reason why I love Him so;

Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know. —Long

The truth of the LORD endures forever. —Psalm 117:2

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

Insight

Psalm 19 is a song of David that celebrates how God has revealed Himself to us—first in His creation and then in the Scriptures. While the psalm does not tell us at what point in David’s life this song was written, many scholars have suggested that it was in some way a product of David’s years as a shepherd over his father’s flocks. Constantly exposed to the wonders of God’s creation, David would have found ample material to celebrate how the Creator reveals Himself in what He has made (vv.1-6).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Holy Week

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Ravi Z

For Christians, this week is the holiest of all weeks. And yet, it is holy in a most ironic way. In this week, those who follow Jesus seek to remember and commemorate the final days and hours of Jesus’s life are commemorated. They are holy days as we struggle to understand the suffering and agony of Jesus. Beginning with Maundy Thursday and traversing through the horror of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, Christians attempt to comprehend and remember the passion of Jesus in his suffering prior to celebrating his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.

His final hours were spent in prayer. Yet the Gospel of Luke tells us that there was nothing unusual about him being in prayer: “And he came out and proceeded as was his custom to the Mount of Olives…and when he arrived at the place…he withdrew from them…and knelt down and began to pray” (Luke 22:39-41). As was his custom, he would go to pray. We do not often hear the content of these prayer times, but in this case, in these final hours, we see him gripped with passion. Luke tells us that he was in such agony that his sweat “became like drops of blood” (22:44). Modern medicine surmises that under extreme conditions of duress, capillaries in the head burst forth drops of blood literally pouring out of the skin like perspiration. Whatever the case, Jesus had never been in this much distress before—even in his wilderness testing—we have no other portrait of such extreme duress in prayer.

And being in agony he was praying very fervently, Luke says. I’ve often wondered about the nature of these agonized prayers. Was Jesus in agony over the physical torture and death he was about to endure? Was he in agony over his disciples; one who would betray him and the others who would all abandon him in his time of need? Certainly, the latter is a real possibility as he exhorts his disciples at least two times to watch and pray that you might not enter into temptation (Luke 22:40; 46). I’m sure he prayed fervently because of both of these reasons.

Whatever the reason for his agony, Jesus’s humanity was on full display in his prayer. He did not want to walk the path that was unfolding before him, and he pleads with God to provide an alternative path, a “plan B” as it were. Matthew’s gospel reveals more of his struggle. He tells his disciples, “I am deeply grieved, to the point of death. Then he prays to God, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but your will be done” (Matthew 26:38-39). The way of suffering unfolded before him and he would go to his death, despite his anguished prayers for another way.

As I meditate on Jesus’s passionate prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, his human agony and suffering on full display, I am reminded how often I also long for God to provide another way for me in the face of suffering. All Christians struggle with following Jesus down the via dolorosa, the way of suffering. We are more comfortable with following Jesus in his victorious into Jerusalem to be enthroned and crowned the king. We often clamor for that kind of victory borne out in our lives as the absence of difficulty or struggle. We are tempted towards the glory and the grandeur of Palm Sunday. But as author Kim Reisman has noted, “[T]hat is not the Jesus way. God doesn’t dispense with death. God resurrects us from it. The truth is that the Jesus way isn’t about God taking pain away from God’s people; it’s about God providing us with strength, courage, and meaning, with abundant life, often in the midst of pain.”(1)

I am always thankful then, for this very human portrait of Jesus struggling with his own suffering in agony. Jesus struggled as I do. And while I often reluctantly say to God, “Not my will but yours be done,” I put my faith in the God who is able to transform the evil of suffering and affliction into salvation and death into life for all who believe.

Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.

(1) Kimberly Dunnam Reisman, Following At a Distance (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005), 75.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg  – Lifted Up

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Alistair Begg

Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 28:9

God’s people need to be carried. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or if they have, they are like the dove of old that lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them rise up on wings covered with silver and with feathers of yellow gold. By nature sparks fly upward, but the sinful souls of men fall downward.

O Lord, “carry them forever”! David himself said, “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,”1 and here he feels the necessity that other men’s souls should be lifted up as well as his own. When you ask for this blessing, do not forget to seek it for others also.

There are three ways in which God’s people require to be carried or lifted up. They require to be lifted up in character. Lift them up, Lord; do not allow Your people to be like the rest of the world! The world lies in the wicked one; lift them out of it! The world’s people are looking for silver and gold, seeking their own pleasures and the gratification of their lusts; but, Lord, carry Your people up beyond all this; keep them from being “muck-rakers,” as John Bunyan calls the man who was always scraping for gold! Set their hearts upon their risen Lord and the heavenly heritage!

Moreover, believers need to be carried in conflict. In the battle, if they seem to fall, Lord, be pleased to give them the victory. If the foot of the enemy is upon their necks for a moment, help them to grasp the sword of the Spirit and eventually to win the battle. Lord, lift up Your children’s spirits in the day of conflict; do not let them sit in the dust, mourning forever. Do not allow the adversary to disturb their peace and make them fret; but if they have been, like Hannah, persecuted, let them sing of the mercy of a delivering God.

We may also ask our Lord to carry them at the last! Lift them up by taking them home; carry their bodies from the tomb, and raise their souls to Your eternal kingdom in glory.

1Psalm 25:1

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth For Life with written permission.

The family reading plan for  April 15, 2014  Ecclesiastes 2 | 1 Timothy 4

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The parable of the sower

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CharlesSpurgeon

“A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:5-8

Suggested Further Reading: Colossians 1:1-10

The ground was good; not that it was good by nature, but it had been made good by grace. God had ploughed it; he had stirred it up with the plough of conviction, and there it lay in ridge and furrow as it should be. And when the Gospel was preached, the heart received it, for the man said, “That’s just the Christ I want. Mercy!” said he, “it’s just what a needy sinner requires. A refuge! God help me to fly to it, for a refuge I sorely want.” The preaching of the gospel was the vital thing which gave comfort to this disturbed and ploughed soil. Down fell the seed; it sprung up. In some cases it produced a fervency of love, a largeness of heart, a devotedness of purpose, like seed which produced a hundredfold. The man became a mighty servant for God, he spent himself and was spent. He took his place in the vanguard of Christ’s army, stood in the hottest of the battle, and did deeds of daring which few could accomplish,—the seed produced a hundredfold. It fell in another heart of like character;—the man could not do the most, still he did much. He gave himself, just as he was, up to God, and in his business he had a word to say for the business of the world to come. In his daily walk, he quietly adorned the doctrine of God his Saviour,—he brought forth sixtyfold. Then it fell on another, whose abilities and talents were but small; he could not be a star, but he would be a glow-worm; he could not do as the greatest, but he was content to do something, even though it were the least. The seed had brought forth in him tenfold, perhaps twentyfold.

For meditation: Quantity of fruit is desirable, but quality of fruit is essential—fruit that has gone mouldy is useless. The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for fruit in quantity and fruit which lasts (John 15:5,16).

Sermon no. 308

15 April (1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Showing Mercy

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John MacArthur

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

God delights in mercy, and as a believer you have the privilege of showing mercy in many ways. In the physical realm you can give money to the poor, food to the hungry, or a bed to the homeless. God has always wanted His people to be that way. Deuteronomy 15 says, “If there is a poor man with you . . . you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from [him]; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks” (vv. 7-8). Verses 12-14 instruct Israelites who release a slave to provide for the slave’s needs. That was the merciful thing to do.

In the spiritual realm you can show mercy by pitying the lost. St. Augustine said, “If I weep for that body from which the soul is departed, how should I weep for that soul from which God is departed?” (cited by Thomas Watson in The Beatitudes, p. 144). We mourn over the dead but do we mourn as much for lost souls? When Stephen was being stoned, he pitied his wretched murderers, asking God to forgive them (Acts 7:60). Jesus did the same (Luke 23:34). That should be our attitude as well.

Another way of showing mercy is to rebuke sin. Second Timothy 2:24-25 says, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all . . . with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.” It is merciful and loving to rebuke sinners because it gives them a chance to repent and be forgiven.

Prayer is also an act of mercy, as is preaching the gospel. In fact, sharing Christ with someone is the most merciful thing you can do!

There are many more ways to be merciful, but I hope these will stimulate your thinking and encourage you to discover as many ways as possible to pass on the abundant mercy God has shown to you.

Suggestions for Prayer:

•             Thank God for the mercies you have received from others.

•             Take advantage of every opportunity to minister to others.

For Further Study:

Determine who receives mercy according to the following verses: Matthew 6:14, Titus 3:5-6, Hebrews 4:14-16, James 2:13, and 1 Peter 2:9-10.

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Invite Christ into Your Relationships

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Joyce meyer

(Lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service, living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. —Ephesians 4:1-2

God loved us first, and we loved Him back. He reaffirms us concerning His love; and we start loving others, and eventually, the love becomes so intertwined in us that it no longer matters who was first to love the other. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].”

The book of Ephesians explains this lesson of love by saying that we are to be useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted, compassionate, and understanding with the other. In becoming like Christ, we will naturally turn our attention to the needs of others. Christ is the role model to whom we must adapt.

It is sometimes painful to work at relationships; but it is more painful to reap failure, dissension, and separation from those we love because we have simply neglected them and sown bad seed. So, to foster good rela¬tionships, we must first come into agreement with God by drawing near to Christ and becoming like Him. Once we invite Jesus into our relation¬ships and do what He says to do, we become like Him in our thoughts and deeds; and consequently, we become loving like He is and we develop and maintain good relationships.

Remember, “There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Rich Storehouse

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dr_bright

“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.'”

I gave them my own testimony of how, though I had been a Christian for more than 30 years and God had graciously used my life in many ways – sometimes my preaching, other times my teaching or administrative gifts, or in the area of helps – I quite honestly did not know my spiritual gift nor did I seek to “discover” my gift. I was very content to know, with the apostle Paul, that I could do all things through Christ who strengthened me, who keeps pouring His power into me. I showed them a quotation from a book on gifts, in which a famous Christian leader declared that for 25 years he had believed he had a particular gift but recently had cause to question whether he possessed it, and concluded finally that he did not.

My word to you, then, as to Roger and Len, is not to be distressed if you do not know your gift. Simply continue to walk in faith and obedience, make Christ the Lord of every part of your life, be sure you are filled with the Spirit, and hide the Word of God in your heart daily.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  For the rest of my life I shall seek the Giver and not the gift, depending upon Him to give me the necessary wisdom and ability and whatever else is needed to accomplish the task which He has called me to do. I shall share this concept with other Christians who are confused over the matter of spiritual gifts.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – National Heritage

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ppt_seal01

In the last decade, genealogy websites have reported astounding growth. One of the most popular, Ancestry.com, reports over one billion user names and conservatively estimates having four billion names on record. Obviously, a great many people worldwide are wondering, “How did I get here?”

Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel.

Exodus 12:31

From Bible times to today, Hebrew people relate their national heritage to their children by telling the fascinating story of how their ancestors moved out of Egyptian slavery into a promised land. During Passover season the story is related along with ceremonial observations based around family and food. It’s an important time and most adults believe it is a great blessing to prepare the next generation for its place on Earth by explaining the past in rich detail.

People of faith, pray today for young people in America. Whatever you are doing to observe this season of spiritual significance, do not neglect to teach the next generation about what has made the United States a country blessed by God. Do your part to help them understand how this nation got here – and how belief in Jesus Christ is the only hope for America’s future.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Eternal Choices

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Max Lucado

God gives eternal choices, and these choices have eternal consequences. Isn’t this the reminder of Calvary’s trio?  Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ?  Why not six or ten?  Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center?  Could it be the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gifts?  The gift of choice. The two criminals were convicted by the same system.  Condemned to death.  Equally close to the same Jesus.  But one changed and one did not.

You’ve made some bad choices in life, haven’t you?  You look back and you say, “If only I could make up for those bad choices.”  You can.  When one thief on the cross prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him.  When the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him.  He allowed him the choice. And he does the same for you and me.

Then (the thief) said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:42-43

from He Chose the Nails

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Mistaken Identity

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Our Daily Bread

Matthew 16:13-20

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” —Matthew 16:15

My youngest brother, Scott, was born when I was a senior in high school. This age difference made for an interesting situation when he grew to college age. On his first trip to his college campus, I went along with him and our mom. When we arrived, people thought we were Scott Crowder and his dad and his grandmom. Eventually, we gave up correcting them. No matter what we said or did, our actual relationships were overridden by this humorous case of mistaken identity.

Jesus questioned the Pharisees about His identity: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They replied, “The Son of David” (Matt. 22:42). The identity of Messiah was critical, and their answer was correct but incomplete. The Scriptures had affirmed that Messiah would come and reign on the throne of His father David. But Jesus reminded them that though David would be Christ’s ancestor, He would also be more—David referred to Him as “Lord.”

Faced with a similar question, Peter rightly answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Still today, the question of Jesus’ identity rises above the rest in significance—and it is eternally important that we make no mistake in understanding who He is. —Bill Crowder

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;

Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend. —Grant

No mistake is more dangerous than mistaking the identity of Jesus.

Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59

Insight

The place where Jesus asked His disciples the question about His identity was significant, for it was at Caesarea Philippi (v.13), a center of worship for Baal, the Greek god Pan, and the emperor. Jesus first asked what others were saying about His identity (vv.13-14). He then made it personal, directing the question to His own disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (v.15). To the world, Jesus was merely a great man, such as John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah (v.14). But Peter got it right: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16).

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Lesson of the Fig Tree

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Charles Stanley

Luke 13:6-9

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the hosannas and citywide profession of His messiahship were loud and enthusiastic. It must have seemed a stunning triumph.

But Jesus realized that outward appearances don’t necessarily indicate universal or even authentic agreement. At the time of the cheering, in fact, He was en route to the temple, where money changers were evidence of that very truth. And so our Savior had wept as He neared the city, because the people “did not recognize the time of [their] visitation” (Luke 19:44) or the way to avoid what was now inescapable judgment.

The gospel writers then inserted a rather curious anecdote about Jesus approaching a distant fig tree in leaf, since He was hungry. Mark 11:13-14 tells us, “He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!'”

Why would Jesus, the Creator of fig trees, curse one for not bearing fruit out of season? The question seems baffling—that is, except to those familiar with Middle East fruit crops. They would realize small edible knobs, or taqsh in Arabic, appear with the leaves and fall off before the actual fruit develops. Scholar F. F. Bruce (Are The New Testament Documents Reliable?) explains, “If the leaves appear unaccompanied by taqsh, there will be no figs that year. So it was evident to our Lord . . . [that] for all its fair foliage, it was a fruitless and a hopeless tree.”

Then Mark added a significant detail: “And His disciples were listening” (v. 14). Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree wasn’t some whimsical or annoyed outburst, as some suppose. It was an object lesson on the fruit born of genuine faith, in contrast to the worthlessness of empty religion, which they’d just witnessed in the temple.

This was a crucial teaching for the first-century disciples, whose Teacher would be present just a short while longer. It’s also crucial for 21st-century disciples. Our fruitfulness matters greatly to God, but only when it’s the genuine article—the fruit of His Spirit, produced as we abide in the vine, Jesus Christ (John 15:5; Gal. 5:22-23). No matter how impressive, works achieved solely through human effort have zero value in our Father’s eyes.

What if the Lord checked you and me for spiritual fruit? Would He discover something nourishing, even though we might consider it inconsequential? Or would He find a breathtaking display of leaves that proves to be but a glorious façade?

–Sandy Feit

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg  – It Is Well…

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Alistair Begg

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them.

Isaiah 3:10

It is well with the righteous ALWAYS.

If it had said, “Tell the righteous that it is well with them in their prosperity,” we would be thankful for so great a blessing, for prosperity is an hour of peril. It is a gift from heaven to be safe from its snares. If it had read, “It is well with them when under persecution,” we would be thankful for such a comforting assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included.

God’s shalls must always be understood in their largest sense. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until a new day dawns, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it will be well with the righteous. It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed—he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed—he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed—he dwells in God; he is well married—his soul is knit in bonds of marriage to Christ; he is well provided for—for the Lord is his Shepherd; he is well endowed—for heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous—well upon divine authority; the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance.

O beloved, if God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we may laugh them all to scorn. Blessed be God for a faith that enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict Him. It is, says the Word, at all times well with you, righteous one; then, beloved, if you cannot see it, let God’s Word assure you; believe it on divine authority with more confidence than if your eyes and your feelings told it to you. Those God blesses are blessed indeed, and what His lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth For Life with written permission.

The family reading plan for  April 14, 2014  Ecclesiastes 1 | 1 Timothy 3

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – David’s dying song

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CharlesSpurgeon

“Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.” 2 Samuel 23:5

Suggested Further Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

If God were to put my salvation in my hands, I should be lost in ten minutes; but my salvation is not there—it is in Christ’s hands. You have read of the celebrated dream of John Newton, which I will tell you to the best of my recollection. He thought he was out at sea, on board a vessel, when some bright angel flew down and presented him with a ring, saying, “As long as you wear this ring you shall be happy, and your soul shall be safe.” He put the ring on his finger, and he felt happy to have it in his own possession. Then there came a spirit from the vast deep, and said to him; “The ring is nothing but folly;” and by deceit and flattery the spirit at last persuaded him to slip the ring from off his finger, and he dropped it in the sea. Then there came fierce things from the deep; the mountains bellowed, and hurled upward their volcanic lava: all the earth was on fire, and his soul in the greatest trouble. By and by a spirit came, and diving below, brought up the ring, and showing it to him, said, “Now thou art safe, for I have saved the ring.” Now might John Newton have said, “Let me put it on my finger again.” “No, no; you cannot take care of it yourself;” and up the angel flew, carrying the ring away with him, so that then he felt secure, since no deceit of hell could get it from him again, for it was up in heaven. My life is “hid with Christ in God.”

For meditation: Satan is unable to snatch anyone from the mighty hand of God (Job 1:12; 2:6; Luke 22:31,32; John 10:28,29). But he still has the unbeliever in his grasp.

Sermon no. 19

14 April (Preached 15 April 1855)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Following Christ’s Example

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John MacArthur

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

Mercy is not a human attribute. It is God’s gift to those who seek Him. Psalm 103:11 says, “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (KJV).

The verb form of “merciful” appears many times in Scripture and means “to have mercy on,” “aid the afflicted,” “give help to the wretched,” or “rescue the miserable.” In general it refers to anything you do to benefit someone in need. The noun form is used only twice: here in Matthew 5:7 and in Hebrews 2:17, which reads, “[Christ] had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest.” Christ Himself is both the source and illustration of mercy.

Christ modeled mercy throughout His earthly ministry. He healed the sick and enabled the crippled to walk. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the mute. His redeeming love embraced sinners of all kinds. He wept with those in sorrow and comforted the lonely. He embraced little children and the elderly alike. His mercy was compassion in action!

Despite His abundant mercy, Jesus received no mercy from His enemies. They hated Him without cause, accused Him falsely, beat Him, nailed Him to a cross, spat upon Him, and cursed Him. Even then He sought mercy for them, praying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Some have paraphrased Matthew 5:7 to say that if you show mercy to others, they will show mercy to you. Now that might happen in some isolated incidences, but in this jaded world that’s not often the case–as Jesus’ life clearly demonstrates. Many Christians have incurred slander, rebuke, lawsuits, and even death for their noble efforts. Jesus didn’t guarantee merciful treatment from others. His emphasis was that God shows mercy toward those who show mercy to others.

Don’t ever be reluctant to show mercy to others–even when they misunderstand or mistreat you. God will use your kindness for His glory and reward you accordingly.

Suggestions for Prayer:

•             Praise Jesus for being willing to suffer death that you might receive mercy.

•             Is there someone you might show mercy to today in some tangible way?

For Further Study:

Read John 5:1-18.

•             How did Christ demonstrate mercy to the sick man?

•             How did the Jewish religious leaders react?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Too Hard?

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And the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in every work of your hand. . . . If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being. For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. . . . But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.

—Deuteronomy 30:9–11, 14

Please make everything easy and simple for me, dear God. I don’t like to struggle, and I want constant victory without exerting any effort. Let me go on my way as I let You do everything to keep me secure.

I’ve never heard anyone pray those words, but I have heard people pray in such a way that they were asking for an easy time in life. Too many people want victory without battle, triumph without effort, and ease without labor. God’s world simply doesn’t function that way.

“It’s just too hard.” I wonder how many times I’ve heard people talk that way. I wonder how many times Joyce Meyer has talked that way. And I did. There was a time when I’d make a firm stand for following the Lord, but in my heart (and often in my mouth) were the words that “it was just so hard.”

God convicted me of negative thinking. He taught me that if I would stop looking at the hardships and obey Him, He would make a way for me. The previous verses tell us that God wants to bless us and prosper the work of our hands, but we must obey His commandments. And in verse 11, He assures us that we can do it: “For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off.”

Because we spend so much time listening to the negatives and figuring out what can go wrong, too often we forget the promise that His will is not too difficult for us. Instead, it may help if you think of the obvious difficulties as blessings from God.

For instance, take encouragement from Joseph. After he spent years in Egypt and saved the lives of his family in Canaan, his brothers were afraid of him. They had hated him, plotted to kill him, and sold him into slavery. After their father, Jacob, died, they expected Joseph to punish them. He could have done that and groaned about his hard life—and his life had not been easy. Not only was he sold as a slave by his brothers, but he had been wrongly imprisoned and could have been put to death if God hadn’t been with him.

Instead of saying, “Life is so hard,” Joseph said, “As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day” (Genesis 50:20). He understood how God works in human lives.

Joseph didn’t look at the hardships; he looked at the opportunities. Joseph didn’t listen to the whispering campaign of his enemy; he turned his ears to the encouraging words of his God. In no place do we read of him complaining. He saw everything that happened to him as God’s loving hand upon him.

I wrote the words loving hand even though it may not always seem that way. And that’s where the devil sometimes creeps in to say, “If God loves you so much, why are you in this mess?”

The best answer I can give is to repeat the words of Paul the great apostle: “Let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3–5).

God never promises an easy life, but He does promise a blessed life.

God of love and compassion, please forgive me for complaining about life being too hard. Forgive me for wanting things to be easy. Lead me wherever You want me to go and, in the name of Jesus, I plead that You will help me rejoice all the way—even in the midst of the problems, because You will be there to help me solve them. Amen.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Destroying the Devil’s Works

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“But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

A young Christian came to inquire of me one day, “How do you account for the fact that so many Christian leaders, many of them famous personalities, pastors and heads of Christian organizations are involved in moral and financial scandals?”

He named several well-known pastors and Christian leaders to illustrate his point.

Sadly I acknowledged his statement to be true. It seems there is an all-out attack of Satan to destroy the credibility of the Christian message. My explanation to him was that our Lord and the apostle Paul dealt with the same problem because, even though the disciples had been with the Lord Jesus three years or more, Judas betrayed Him and the others deserted Him.

The apostle Paul spoke of several who had deserted him. Those included Demas, who loved the present world, and Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus, who strayed from the truth.

Only one person can help us live holy lives that will honor our Lord, who came to destroy the works of the devil, and that is the third person of the Trinity – God the Holy Spirit. As long as we cast our ballot for the Spirit in our warfare against the flesh, we can live supernaturally every day in the joy, the wonder, the adventure and the power of the resurrection. It is simply a matter of our will; the decision is ours.

Bible Reading: I John 3:4-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  “Oh, God, thank You that You sent Your Son to destroy the works of the devil. I will claim the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit so that I may live victoriously and never bring scandal or disgrace to Your name.”

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – The Foreseen Future

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Many Americans wonder what tomorrow holds for the country and themselves. Where is the nation heading? What will happen to the economy? Who will win the next election? Will I be happy and prosperous? Humans long to know the future so much that psychic hotlines have become a multimillion-dollar industry. People fail to realize while they may not know the details, their future can be certain…if they look to the Scriptures to God’s plan.

Jesus took bread…broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:26

In today’s passage, Jesus and the disciples were celebrating the Passover Feast. Jesus used this meal as a prediction of what He was about to do for all mankind; sacrifice Himself. Passover was the commemoration of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. In the new covenant, it would become a symbol of Jesus delivering men from the slavery and penalty of sin through His death and resurrection. Those who believe can know their future is secure.

Are you concerned about your future or the country’s destiny? Know God is in control. As you pray today, ask the Lord to direct you and the nation’s leaders to follow His ultimate plan.

Recommended Reading: Luke 12:22-31

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Trap of Temptation     

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Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. —James 4:7

Right after I became a Christian, other believers warned me, “Greg, watch out. There is a Devil who will tempt you.”

I said, “Right. A Devil.” I thought of the red figure with the pitchfork and horns.

They said, “No, the Devil is real. He is a real spirit power, and he will tempt you.”

I said, “Get out of town! He isn’t going to tempt me.”

I was in high school at the time, and there was a certain girl in my art class whom I sort of had a crush on. I hadn’t mustered up the courage to walk up and talk to her. I was sitting in class one day as a brand-new Christian, and suddenly she walked up to me and said, “Hi. What’s your name?” We had been in the same class for months, and she had never even acknowledged my existence.

I told her my name.

She said, “You know, you’re kind of cute. My parents have a cabin up in the mountains, and I’m going up there this weekend. Why don’t you come up with me? Let’s get to know each other better.”

I thought, This is it. This is what they told me about. It’s temptation! I declined her invitation and realized there had to be something to what had just happened. I thought, I’m not an idiot. No girl has ever come up to me and said this before. This is a setup.

That experience made me want to follow the Lord even more because I saw the reality of the spiritual world beginning to unfold. Remember, the Devil wants to keep you from coming to Christ. And once you have come to Christ, he wants to keep you from moving forward.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013