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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – A Prayer for Godliness

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“This I pray” (Phil. 1:9).

Your prayers reveal the level of your spiritual maturity.

As we come to our study of godliness in Philippians 1:9-11, we note that this passage is a prayer. Typically, Paul’s prayers reflected his concern that his readers would mature spiritually. That is impossible without prayer because spiritual growth depends on the Holy Spirit’s power, which is tapped through prayer.

Prayer is so vital that Jesus instructed His disciples to pray at all times (Luke 18:1). Paul commands us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Peter said we should be “of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer” (1 Pet. 4:7).

Scripture gives many other commands to pray, but the true test of your spirituality is your compulsion to pray, not simply your obedience to commands. As a Christian you exist in a spiritual realm in which prayer is as natural as breathing is in the natural realm. Just as atmospheric pressure exerts force on your lungs, compelling you to breathe, so your spiritual environment compels you to pray. Resisting either brings devastating results.

The more you see life through God’s eyes, the more you are driven to pray. In that sense your prayers reveal the level of your spiritual maturity. Paul prayed with urgency day and night because he shared God’s love for His people and His concern for their spiritual maturity.

Examine your own prayers. Do you pray from a sense of duty or are you compelled to pray? Do you pray infrequently or briefly? Do your prayers center on your own needs or the needs of others? Do you pray for the spiritual maturity of others? Those important questions indicate the level of your spiritual maturity and give guidelines for making any needed changes in your pattern of prayer.

 

Suggestions for Prayer; Thank God for the privilege and power of prayer.

If you have neglected prayer or if your prayers have been centered on yourself rather than others, confess your sin and ask God to give you a sense of holy urgency in praying as you should.

Is there someone for whom you should be praying more consistently?

 

For Further Study; Read Daniel 6:1-28.

What was Daniel’s pattern of prayer?

What accusation did the political leaders bring against Daniel?

What was the king’s attitude toward Daniel?

How did God honor Daniel’s faith?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – “I” Problems

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Now Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses [their brother] because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Has he not spoken also by us?- Numbers 12:1-2

Moses’ sister, Miriam, and his brother, Aaron, complained to God about the Ethiopian woman their brother had married during his forty years of exile. But that was not the real issue. The real problem was revealed when they asked, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Has he not spoken also by us?”

That’s the big “I” problem, also known as the issue of pride. That’s one way Satan gets into our lives, divides us, confuses us, and causes us to fight among ourselves.

In the incident cited above, the issue wasn’t whether God spoke through them or only through Moses. It was their way of calling attention to themselves and yearning for recognition. But their plan backfired on them. If you read the entire account, you will find that God punished Miriam with leprosy and she had to stay outside the camp for a week.

There’s another interesting note: She held them back from moving forward. So Miriam was shut up without the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey on until Miriam was brought in again (v. 15).

What we need to recognize about pride-one of Satan’s most powerful tools-is that while it may actually attack only one or two of us, it affects everyone. When someone stands up and says, “I am special,” the unspoken message is: “But you…you’re not special like me.” That’s when jealousies and anger erupt, and the devil is the only one who is happy.

Here’s another example. A few months ago, I saw a brief review of a college football game on the evening news. The running back stood just over the goal line, jumping up and down and screaming, “I’m the best! I’m the best!”

I’m sure he was excited because he had won the game. Or had he? What he didn’t seem to grasp was that he had only carried the ball over the line, scoring the winning points. His teammates, however, had thrown him the ball and blocked other players from tackling him. His statement would have been more accurate had he said, “We’re the best!”

This illustrates a dangerous attitude. Much of the time, we are only too eager to take all the credit. Too many people act as if they are solely responsible for their gifts and abilities (see 1 Corinthians 4:7). What they (and all of us) need to realize and focus on is that God alone gives us all of the talents, abilities, and gifts that we need to succeed in life. He is the giver we are just the recipients.

Whenever we excel in any area, it is because God has equipped us with the necessary abilities. God expects us to utilize our gifts and become better at the things we do, but we must never forget that He is the one who gives the talent. If we’re high-minded or think more highly of ourselves than we should, we tend to look down on others. This is the sin of pride, and no one appreciates it. We all back away from proud people because they not only elevate themselves, but they arouse negative feelings in the rest of us, especially if we have any issues of insecurity or inferiority.

To win over the big “I” problem, we must remind ourselves of this simple fact: Everything we are and everything we have comes as a gift from God. If we stay focused on that fact, pride will find no place in our hearts.

Patient and loving God, forgive me when I’ve taken credit for my talents and my abilities. Help me now and every day to thank You for the gifts and abilities that You have so generously placed in me. I ask this in the name of my Savior, Jesus. Amen.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Is Your Faith Worth Sharing?

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“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18, KJV).

I had just finished giving a message, challenging students and young executives to commit their lives to helping to fulfill the Great Commission when Steve approached me with words that shocked me. I had known him for a long time and believed his life to be totally committed to Christ.

“If I were to respond to your challenge to take what I have to the rest of the world,” he said, “I’m afraid not much would be accomplished, because my brand of Christianity -quite frankly – is not that attractive, exciting or fruitful.”

He went on to share how he was not experiencing the joy of the resurrection in his life. The study of the Word of God had no appeal, his prayer life was nil and it had been a long time since he had introduced anyone to Christ. His outward evidence of being a man of God was just a facade, by his own admission.

What about you? Is your brand of Christianity truly the revolutionary, first-century kind that helped turn the world upside down and that changed the course of history? If not, it can be – and that is what this daily devotional guide is all about.

Every Christian needs to echo daily the sentiments of an unknown poet:

My life shall touch a dozen lives

Before this day is done,

Leave countless marks of good or ill,

Ere sets the evening sun.

This, the wish I always wish,

The prayer I always pray;

Lord, may my life help other lives

It touches by the way.

That goal should reign supreme during my waking hours – to touch lives for eternity. For if the all-powerful God, in the Person of His Holy Spirit, truly lives and reigns and triumphs, surely I can tap into that supernatural power and give evidence of it in my life.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:14-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Knowing that this dark world desperately needs light, I will trust God to let His light shine through me today. I pray that my life will be so radiant, joyful, attractive and fruitful for Christ that it will demonstrate the kind of Christianity that can be exported to others, to members of my family, neighbors and friends, as well as to people in other countries.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Always Available

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How frustrating it is to call a utility or a lender, only to get a long list of options, several rounds of elevator music and then, if you’re lucky, an actual human being – but who can’t speak English. The days of personal customer service are all but forgotten.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Psalm 86:5

Today’s verse, though, guarantees a far better experience when you call upon the Lord. Jeremiah 33:3 is often referred to as God’s telephone number, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Peter reminds you that God’s ears are open to your prayers (I Peter 3:12), and John assures, “if we ask anything according to his will…we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (I John 5:14-15)

The Psalmist praised God for His character traits. Worship God, not only for what He can do, but for who He is: holy, eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, forgiving, loving and good. Pray, too, that God will remove the blinders from the eyes of America’s leaders and citizens alike so they can see who He is – and call upon Him for their deepest needs. He’s always available!

Recommended Reading: Matthew 7:7-14

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Run Lightly

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All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. —1 Corinthians 10:23

I used to be one of those people who could eat whatever I wanted and never gain weight. When I was in my twenties, I would eat something called a macho combo burrito. It was the size of a sleeping bag, but I could eat it and never gain a pound. Now if I even think about a macho combo burrito, I’ll put on weight. I just can’t do what I once was able to do.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” What may be a weight to one person isn’t necessarily a weight to others. Sometimes we’ll see another Christian doing something, and we’ll say, “Well, I’ll go ahead and do that too.” But what may not be a hindrance to another person can be a hindrance to you.

Sin is sin. And sin is the same for everyone. But there are certain things that some may have the freedom to do that others don’t have. So we have to look at those things and not simply ask whether they are permissible. We also need to ask whether they are edifying. It is not a matter of asking, “Is this allowed?” It’s a matter of asking, “Is this going to build me up?” So ask yourself that question.

The apostle Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23). In other words, just because something is permissible for a Christian doesn’t mean that you ought to do it. Maybe it could hurt you. Let’s run as lightly as possible in the race of life.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – His Great Love

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God has a heart for hurting parents. Should we be surprised? After all, God himself is a father.

What parental emotion has God not felt? Are you separated from your child? So was God. Is someone mistreating your child? They mocked and bullied his. Is someone taking advantage of your children? The Son of God was set up by false testimony and betrayed by a greedy follower. Are you forced to watch while your child suffers? God watched his son on the cross.

Do you find yourself wanting to spare your child from all the hurt in the world? God did. Romans 8:32 says, but because of his great love for us,” he did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” All things– including courage and hope!

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Truth About Self-Love

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Galatians 5:13-14

Although a number of places in the Bible contain the command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 19:19; Gal. 5:14), Christians often overlook the “as yourself” part. But did you know that no one can fully love the Lord or anyone else unless he loves his own being? This means reverencing oneself as a child of God, created for fellowship with Him.

All people are valuable to the Lord. But the believer’s self-worth is rooted in the fact that we have a relationship with God. We are to care for ourselves, based upon the fact that He has provided for our salvation, given us the Holy Spirit, and developed a unique plan for our life.

Love of self is essential to God’s plan for every believer. He desires that we exercise care for our own person, which helps us relate to Him. If we dislike ourselves, we may feel unworthy of God’s love and refuse to approach Him as Father. But love teaches us to see ourselves the way the Lord does—as available vessels, each with unique gifts and talents. Then we can offer greater usefulness to the kingdom. Using us to the fullest extent of our God-given abilities is the Father’s goal, and if we have a righteous love for self, that will be our goal as well.

Whoever you are and whatever your circumstances may be, I can tell you something about yourself: God has a special plan for you. But He cannot set you on the path to achieving His goals for your life until you recognize your worth and learn to love the person He created you to be.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread  – Building A Bridge

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Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. —1 Thessalonians 1:8

 

Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

James Michener’s Centennial is a fictional account of the history and settlement of the American West. Through the eyes of a French-Canadian trader named Pasquinel, Michener converges the stories of the Arapaho of the Great Plains and the European-based community of St. Louis. As this rugged adventurer moves between the growing clutter of the city and the wide-open spaces of the plains, he becomes a bridge between two drastically different worlds.

Followers of Christ also have the opportunity to build bridges between two very different worlds—those who know and follow Jesus and those who do not know Him. Early Christians in Thessalonica had been building bridges to their idol-worshiping culture, so Paul said of them, “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place” (1 Thess. 1:8). The bridge they were building had two components: the “word of the Lord” and the example of their faith. It was clear to everyone that they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (v.9).

As God declares Himself to those around us by His Word and through our lives, we can become a bridge to those who do not yet know the love of Christ.—Bill Crowder

Father, help us live in such a way that others will want to know about Your Son. May we not merely try to do what’s “right” but instead live as people forgiven and loved by You.

Live the gospel, and others will listen.

INSIGHT: In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that the greatest things are faith, hope, and love (v.13). In today’s passage, he commends the people of the church in Thessalonica for exhibiting these very traits. They work in faith and labor in love while hoping in Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:3).
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry –  Through Wilderness

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“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12-13).

Mark’s record of the Spirit’s compelling Jesus into the wilderness immediately following his baptism has always intrigued me. The original language is so forceful as to imply that the Spirit literally expelled Jesus into this land of wild beasts and satanic attack. It is even more striking when compared to Matthew and Luke’s gospels, which both suggest that Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness.(1) Despite Matthew and Luke’s gentler version, the force is still the same—the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested, nay, tormented. Why would the Spirit compel Jesus into the land of testing?

The history of Israel and particularly the Exodus from Egypt gives us some perspective on this question. After four hundred years of oppression and enslavement, God sent Moses to deliver the people and to lead them into the Promised Land. A great drama ensues between the “gods” of the Egyptians and the God of Israel. Ten plagues fall, the sea is parted, and the Egyptian army is swallowed up by the raging waters. And then we read, “Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water…. and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”(2) Israel would spend the next forty years, the text tells us, wandering in that wilderness of lament and bitterness. A great beginning stalls in the deserts of Sinai.

Like Israel before him, Jesus’s story as recorded by Mark begins with great drama. John the Baptist announces the Deliverer; Israel’s exile was over, for the Messiah had come. The Deliverer is baptized by John and in front of the crowds declared “the beloved Son” of God. What a tremendous beginning to his earthly ministry. And yet, like Israel, Jesus begins that earthly ministry not with healings and miracles, or with fanfare and great teachings, but by being “immediately cast out into the wilderness.”

Jesus, many commentators have suggested, was re-enacting the great history of Israel in his own life and ministry. He was Israel’s Messiah, their deliverer, just as Moses had been. Yet, like Israel, Jesus would be tested and his test had to precede entry into the Promised Land. But unlike Israel, Jesus would pass the test and his deliverance of his people would be his gift and offering to God for all eternity.

There are moments when I am particularly mindful that before we can enjoy the promised land of resurrection life, we too must journey with Jesus into the wilderness. I do not go through a single day without hearing many stories about the wilderness spaces people dwell in through suffering, disappointment, doubt, or sin. Often, we want to rush through the wilderness to get to the other side. But, like Jesus, we too must travel through wilderness places. Like Jesus, we will be compelled into that wilderness where there are deaths and deprivations. The wilderness is a place of testing. In the wilderness of unmet needs, what do we do? Who will we turn to? In what, or in whom, do we place our trust? When the Israelites faced their test in the wilderness they wanted to return to the enslavement of Egypt. At least, they fantasized, they had food and drink in that land. Jesus, on the other hand, took nothing with him into that desiccated place. He was hungry and enticed to turn stones into bread to meet his legitimate need. Yet in the face of hunger pangs and thirst, Jesus remembered that the source of his life was in the very word of God and his life would be sustained by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Jesus trusted God to provide in God’s time and manner.

Often, we ask God “why” we are compelled into the wilderness. We grumble and complain in our lament and try to hurry our way into the Promised Land by forcing our own way or by seeking to return to Egypt to meet our needs in our time and through our own methods. The journey of all Christ-followers is a journey through the wilderness towards the cross. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, the wilderness, the cross, and the ultimate resurrection of Jesus all demonstrate that no matter the wilderness we find ourselves in, God will bring us through to life on the other side. We will not be delivered from the suffering of the wilderness, but with God’s help we can indeed be transformed by it.

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

(1) Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1.

(2) Exodus 15:22; 16:2.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Dwelling in God’s Presence

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Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.  Genesis 25:11

 

Hagar had once found deliverance there, and Ishmael had drunk from the water so graciously revealed by the God who lives and sees the sons of men; but that was a merely casual visit, such as unbelievers pay to the Lord in times of need, when it suits them. They cry to Him in trouble but forsake Him in prosperity. Isaac dwelt there and made the well of the living and all-seeing God his constant source of supply.

The usual tenor of a man’s life, the dwelling of his soul, is the true test of his state. Perhaps the providential visitation experienced by Hagar struck Isaac’s mind and led him to revere the place. Its mystical name endeared it to him; his frequent musings at its brim at evening made him familiar with the well. Meeting Rebecca there had made his spirit feel at home near the spot; but best of all, the fact that there he enjoyed fellowship with the living God had made him select that hallowed ground for his dwelling.

Let us learn to live in the presence of the living God; let us ask the Holy Spirit that this day, and every other day, we may sense, “God, You see me.” May the Lord be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life. The bottle of the creature cracks and dries up, but the well of the Creator never fails; happy is he who dwells at the well and as a result has abundant and constant supplies at hand.

The Lord has been a sure helper to others: His name is Shaddai, God All-sufficient. Our hearts have often had most delightful communion with Him; through Him our soul has found her glorious Husband, the Lord Jesus; and in Him this day we live and move and have our being. Let us, then, dwell in closest fellowship with Him. Glorious Lord, constrain us, that we may never leave You but dwell by the well of the living God.

 

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 17, 2015
* Genesis 50
* Luke 3

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg
Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – None but Jesus

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“He that believeth on him is not condemned.” John 3:18

Suggested Further Reading: Acts 15:5-11

When I stand at the foot of the cross, I do not believe in Christ because I have got good feelings, but I believe in him whether I have good feelings or not.

“Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come.”

Mr Roger, Mr Sheppard, Mr Flavell, and several excellent divines, in the Puritan age, and especially Richard Baxter, used to give descriptions of what a man must feel before he may dare to come to Christ. Now, I say in the language of good Mr Fenner, another of those divines, who said he was but a babe in grace when compared with them—“I dare to say it, that all this is not Scriptural. Sinners do feel these things before they come, but they do not come on the ground of having felt it; they come on the ground of being sinners, and on no other ground whatever.” The gate of Mercy is opened, and over the door it is written, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Between that word “save” and the next word “sinners,” there is no adjective. It does not say, “penitent sinners,” “awakened sinners,” “sensible sinners,” “grieving sinners,” or “alarmed sinners.” No, it only says, “sinners” and I know this, that when I come, I come to Christ today, for I feel it as much a necessity of my life to come to the cross of Christ today as it was to come ten years ago,—when I come to him, I dare not come as a conscious sinner or an awakened sinner, but I have to come still as a sinner with nothing in my hands.

For meditation: We have no more right to complicate the Gospel than we have to water it down. Feelings are good and proper, but Satan can use them not only to give false assurance of salvation, but also to make sinners feel too bad to obey the Gospel and come to Christ.

Sermon no. 361

17 February (1861)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – How to Lose Your Joy

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“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Phil. 4:11).

Discontent and ingratitude will steal your joy.

True joy is God’s gift to every believer, yet many Christians seem to lack it. How can that be? Did God fail them? No. As with peace, assurance, and other benefits of salvation, joy can be forfeited for many reasons: willful sin, prayerlessness, fear, self-centeredness, focusing on circumstances, and lack of forgiveness are the main culprits.

Two of the most common joy-thieves are dissatisfaction and ingratitude. Both are by-products of the health, wealth, and prosperity mentality of our day. It has produced a generation of Christians who are more dissatisfied than ever because their demands and expectations are higher than ever. They’ve lost their perspective on God’s sovereignty and have therefore lost the ability to give thanks in all things.

In marked contrast, when Jesus taught about contentment and anxiety (Matt. 6:25-34), He spoke of food and clothing—the basic necessities of life. But preferences, not necessities, are the issue with us. We’re into style, personal appearance, job satisfaction, earning power, bigger homes, and newer cars. In the name of greater faith we even demand that God supply more miracles, more wealth, and more power.

Amid all that, Paul’s words sound a refreshing note of assurance and rebuke: “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Phil. 4:11). He made no demands on God but simply trusted in His gracious provision. Whether he received little or much made no difference to him. In either case he was satisfied and thankful.

Don’t be victimized by the spirit of our age. See God’s blessings for what they are and continually praise Him for His goodness. In doing so you will guard your heart from dissatisfaction and ingratitude. More important, you will bring joy to the One who is worthy of all praise.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Pray that the Holy Spirit will produce in you a joy and contentment that transcends your circumstances.
  • Make it a daily practice to thank God for specific blessings and trials, knowing that He uses both to perfect His will in you.

For Further Study

Read 1 Kings 18:1—19:8.

  • How did Elijah deal with the false prophets of Baal?
  • How did he deal with Jezebel’s threat?
  • What caused Elijah’s shift from a spiritual high to a spiritual low?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Heart of Flesh

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I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God]. – Ezekiel 11:19

God puts a sense of right and wrong deep within your conscience, but if you rebel too many times you can become hard-hearted. If that happens you need to let Him soften your heart so you can be sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

The only way to develop a heart of flesh is to spend time with God. You must be in His presence on a regular basis to hear what He is saying. God often speaks gently, and those who are busy doing their own thing will not hear His still, small voice. Tonight as you spend time in the Lord’s presence, allow Him to soften your heart so you can receive His direction.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Singing Heart

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“And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away” (I Samuel 16:23).

King Saul had disobeyed God and the spirit of the Lord had left him. Instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. As a result, some of Saul’s aides sent for David, who was not only a talented harp player but was handsome, brave and strong and had good, solid judgment. What is more, the Lord was with him.

Every believer experiences warfare between flesh and spirit. As an act of the will we decide whether we are going to allow the flesh or the Spirit to control our lives. One of the best ways to cause an evil spirit to go away is to listen to music of praise and worship and thanksgiving to God. The language of heaven is praise. Listen to music that causes your heart to sing praises to God. Also, saturate your mind with the Word of God. The psalms especially exalt and honor God and express the praise of the psalmist.

I like to begin the day praising God on my knees. During the course of the day, I listen to cassette tapes of praise music as well as recorded portions of Scripture that are appropriate and sermons that are helpful.

Are you discouraged, depressed, frustrated? Have problems in your life caused you to feel that God has left you? If so, may I encourage you to begin to praise the Lord. Purchase cassettes that honor our Lord, that cause your heart to sing and make melody to the Lord, and play them over and over again.

Bible Reading: Psalm 92:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will make a special point of praising the Lord not only through the reading of psalms but also by listening to music of praise. I will remember that praise is one of the expressions of a life that is lived in the supernatural power of God.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Anticipation

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In his Fifteenth Sermon on Canticles, St. Bernard said, “Jesus is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, and joy in the heart. Is any among us sad? Let Jesus enter the heart, and thence spring to the countenance.”

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 85:6

Easier said than done, right? Circumstances sometimes tend to bring you down. The winter surrounds you with cold harshness, the children suffer lengthy sickness, the job demands more than you want to give, death strikes a family member, or some sin has overtaken you…and the heart is heavy. The Old Testament psalmist asked the Lord to revive the people. They had known God’s goodness, His leading and His faithfulness, but they had forsaken Him. Now they needed to come back to Him, forgiven and in His favor once more.

Where’s your heart, Beloved? Let it be uplifted. You can know Jesus – the salvation He secured for you if only you believe – and reflect that peace in your countenance. Rejoicing comes as you worship the Lord in prayers of repentance and thanksgiving for all He is and does for you. Even as you pray for America’s leaders, let your heart soar in anticipation of what God will do to revive this nation.

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 63:7-16

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Wings and Weights

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Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. —2 Timothy 2:22

Have you ever noticed that when you hang around certain people, you end up eating the wrong things? They always want to order the pizza or the hamburgers and French fries and onion rings. Then there are the people who eat very well, and when you are around them, you kind of adapt and make healthier choices too.

In the same way, there are some people who either will drag you down spiritually or make you want to do better spiritually. There are some people who either will dull your spiritual appetite or make you want to walk more closely with God. So here is the question: What kind of person are you in the way you affect someone else? And what about the people you hang around with? How do they affect you?

We want to think about the things we do and about the people we hang out with, because running the spiritual race is not just running to what is right; it is also running from what is wrong. Paul said, “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (2 Timothy 2:22).

For example, there are a lot of things you could do with your weekend, but you make going to church a priority. That’s a really good decision. Think about the people you hang out with and the things you do. Do they speed you on your way spiritually, or do they slow you down? Do they build you up, or do they tear you down? Or, to put it simply, are those people or activities wings or weights? Are they wings that help you on your way? Or, are they weights that slow you down?

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – He Knows Your Needs

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Jesus calls us to calmness with this challenge from Matthew 6:32-33. “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Seek first the kingdom of wealth, and you’ll worry over every dollar. Seek first the kingdom of health, and you’ll sweat every blemish and bump. Seek first the kingdom of popularity, and you’ll relive every conflict. Seek first the kingdom of safety, and you’ll jump at every crack of a twig.

But seek first his kingdom, and you will find it! God meets daily needs daily. Not weekly or annually. He will give you what you need when it is needed. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and in his grace find timely help.”

Let God be enough!

From Fearless

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The resurrection of the dead

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“There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Acts 24:15

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:35-44

There are some faint glimmerings in men of reason which teach that the soul is something so wonderful that it must endure for ever. But the resurrection of the dead is quite another doctrine, dealing not with the soul, but with the body. The doctrine is that this actual body in which I now exist is to live with my soul; that not only is the “vital spark of heavenly flame” to burn in heaven, but the very censer in which the incense of my life smokes is holy unto the Lord, and is to be preserved for ever. The spirit, every one confesses, is eternal; but how many there are who deny that the bodies of men will actually start up from their graves at the great day! Many of you believe you will have a body in heaven, but you think it will be an airy fantastic body, instead of believing that it will be a body like to this—flesh and blood (although not the same kind of flesh, for all flesh is not the same flesh), a solid, substantial body, even such as we have here. And there are yet fewer of you who believe that the wicked will have bodies in hell; for it is gaining ground everywhere that there are to be no positive torments for the damned in hell to affect their bodies, but that it is to be metaphorical fire, metaphorical brimstone, metaphorical chains, metaphorical torture. But if you were Christians as you profess to be, you would believe that every mortal man who ever existed shall not only live by the immortality of his soul, but his body shall live again, that the very flesh in which he now walks the earth is as eternal as the soul, and shall exist for ever. That is the peculiar doctrine of Christianity. The heathens never guessed or imagined such a thing.

For meditation: Spurgeon went on to quote Job 19:25,26; Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Hosea 6:1,2; Hebrews 11:19,35. Does your hope match up to the hope of the Old Testament saints and the experience of Enoch and Elijah who rose bodily into heaven without suffering death?

Sermon nos. 66-67

16 February (Preached 17 February 1856)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Joy of Pleasing God

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“The blameless in their walk are [God’s] delight” (Prov. 11:20).

Your love for God brings Him joy.

Our focus so far this month has been on the joy we experience in knowing and serving Christ. Before we turn our attention to the theme of godliness, I want you to consider two additional aspects of joy: the joy of pleasing God, and how to lose your joy. Pleasing God is our topic for today.

Perhaps you haven’t given much thought to how you can bring joy to God, but Scripture mentions several ways. Luke 15:7, for example, says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Verse 10 adds, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Repentance brings joy to God.

Faith is another source of joy for God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” That’s the negative side of a positive principle: when you trust God, He is pleased.

In addition to repentance and faith, prayer also brings God joy. Proverbs 15:8 says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”

Righteous living is another source of joy to God, as David acknowledges in 1 Chronicles 29:17: “I know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in uprightness.” Solomon added that those who walk blamelessly are God’s delight (Prov. 11:20).

Repentance, faith, prayer, and righteous living all please God because they are expressions of love. That’s the over-arching principle. Whenever you express your love to Him—whether by words of praise or acts of obedience—you bring Him joy.

Doesn’t it thrill you to know that the God of the universe delights in you? It should! Let that realization motivate you to find as many ways as possible to bring Him joy today.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for the privilege of bringing Him joy.
  • Thank Him for His grace, which enables you to love Him and to express your love in repentance, faith, prayer, and righteous living (cf. 1 John 4:19).

For Further Study

Read 1 Kings 3:3-15.

  • What did Solomon request of God?
  • What was God’s response?
Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Saved From Our Troubles

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“This poor man cried to the Lord — and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

It was a high-security penitentiary — filled with murderers, drug pushers, bank robbers and others who had committed major crimes and many who would never see the light of day again outside those bleak, gray prison walls. At an evangelistic service, however, one inmate after another stood to share how Christ had forgiven him of his sins and how, even though he had committed murder or some other serious crime, he knew with assurance that he was now a child of God.

Many of these men expressed in different words, as I sat there listening with tears streaming down my cheeks, “I am so glad I’m in prison, for it was here I found Jesus Christ, and I would rather be in prison with Christ in my heart than to be living in a palatial mansion without any knowledge of God’s love and forgiveness through His Son.”

Often I talk with people – on planes, on campuses, at public meetings – who are poor, not only materially but also physically and spiritually. What a joy to be able to share with them the good news that God cares.

A “poor man’s” first cry must be one of repentance and confession, so that a divine relationship is established: Father and son. Conversion must come by the Spirit of God, before deliverance can come in the less important areas of one’s life.

But after the Father-son relationship has been established, how wonderful to be able to assure such a one that God truly cares – enough to “save him out of his troubles.” Oftentimes that entails enduring such troubles for a time, but never more than we are able to bear. The supernatural life promises victory – in the midst of adversity.

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will assure people whom I encounter today who are in trouble that God cares and promises deliverance. There is nothing more important that I could do for another person than to help him know Christ, so I will seek out those who are in need of a Savior so that they, too, can experience the liberating power of God’s love through Jesus Christ.