Tag Archives: faith

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Joy of Recollection

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“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil. 1:3).

A key to Christian joy is to recall the goodness of others.

Though Paul was under house arrest in Rome when he wrote to the Philippians, his mind wasn’t bound. Often he reflected on his experiences with the Philippian Christians. As he did, his thoughts turned to prayers of praise and thanksgiving for all that the Lord had done through them.

I’m sure Paul remembered when he preached in Philippi and God opened Lydia’s heart to believe the gospel (Acts 16:13-14). Subsequently everyone in her household was saved (v. 15). Surely her kindness and hospitality were bright spots in an otherwise stormy stay at Philippi.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Reassuring Words 

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You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.  And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:20-21

My stomach was in my throat as I looked down to earth 30 feet away: my mouth was parched, my body sweaty and my heart pounded in fear. Maybe my mid-life crisis was playing out as a 40 something, yet calmly my “seasoned” 20 something rock climbing friend reassured me that everything was ok—I just needed to stay calm and stay focused. It was not just a little intimidating that my daughter and wife had just scampered up the wall ahead of me! So, I resisted glancing at the ground and kept looking up to follow my leader’s reassuring words.

Even still—17 years after being reunited with Joseph, his brothers feared his revenge. So much so, that after their father’s death (afraid Joseph would retaliate) they made up a death bed story saying their dad requested that Joseph forgive his brothers. Fear kept them from believing the truth about why Joseph had forgiven them years ago, and how he understood God’s bigger purpose of saving lives including his own family’s. Sometimes truth needs to be spoken repeatedly with a patient, kind and reassuring tone. Faith can remember facts and tends to forget lies.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – What Marriage Needs

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

Recommended Reading

Galatians 5:16-26

In the book What My Parents Did Right! Bible teacher Jill Briscoe wrote of how her parents maintained their commitment to each other without ever considering divorce an option. “My sister and I knew that Mom and Dad enjoyed being married, would stay married, and hoped we’d do the same. Differences they had were kept between them and worked out in the context of the promises they made to each other and to God on their wedding day. There was no option out!”

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Both Men and Women

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…I will pour out my Spirit upon all people…. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.—Joel 2:28-29 NLT

I believe that most women possess a sixth sense that God did not give to men. It’s often called women’s intuition, and it’s the real deal. Men are usually very logical, while women tend to be more “feeling” orientated. For example, a male manager might look at a job candidate’s résumé, job application, college GPA, and work history and be ready to hire him, based on the “facts.” However, this male manager’s female counterpart might evaluate the same candidate and intuitively pick up on personality quirks or subtle-but-destructive attitudes that don’t show up on paper.

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Are You Willing?

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So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’

2 Corinthians 5:20

Friend To Friend

My husband Brad went on a missions trip to Guatemala several years ago. What he saw and experienced changed his life and increased his faith in a dramatic way because he was an eyewitness to the healing power of God. On that trip he prayed harder, believed more, and expected more from God each passing day—and God used their medical missions team as a conduit for miracles.

Do you ever doubt that God wants to move in and through your life?

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – God’s Word Gives Joy and Light

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“God’s laws are perfect. They protect us, make us wise, and give us joy and light” (Psalm 19:7,8).

Professor William Lyon Phelps, one of Yale University’s most famous scholars, said, “A knowledge of the Bible without a college education is more valuable than a college education without the Bible.”

Why would he say this? Our verse gives us the answer. The Word of God (1) protects us, (2) makes us wise, (3) gives us joy, and (4) gives us light.

There are many other benefits that come from reading the Word of God. With dividends like these, we are indeed robbing ourselves of untold blessings when we neglect His holy, inspired Word for any reason whatever.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Why Do the Nations Rage?

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Read: Isaiah 23:1-18

Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth. (Isaiah 23:8-9)

Why do the nations rage? That question is answered many times in the Scriptures, but notably in this section of Isaiah, beginning with chapter 13 and ending in chapter 23. In these chapters the prophet is given a vision concerning the great world powers that surrounded Israel in that day. The prophecy begins with a word concerning Babylon; then focuses on Assyria, Moab, Egypt, Edom and other nations; and ends in Chapter 23 with the burden of the city-nation of Tyre.

These messages were wholly predictive when they were uttered. They point out things that are going to happen from Isaiah’s time onward. As we look back on history we can see that much of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. These nations are not only historic but are symbols of forces at work in every age and every generation. What makes this passage so real and valuable to us is that through the experience of these nations we begin to understand our own personal struggles.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Spiritual Exercises

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Read: Psalm 23

You revive my drooping head. (v. 5 The Message)

A calendar above my writing table shows a mother duck venturing out from the weed cover into a serene lake, followed by five fuzzy ducklings. The caption reads “Come, follow me” (Matt. 19:21). This photo perfectly illustrates the concept of living as apprentices of Jesus. Young ducks instinctively follow the example of their parents. I imagine that a duckling’s life is a series of lessons in becoming like mom and dad: diving for bugs; staying together for safety; watching mom while grazing in a puddle or crossing the road. We, too, need to step forward into a life of training with the Master and being spiritually formed.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R.- A Matter of Time

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You may not be entirely happy with the slate of presidential candidates making the rounds in the United States this year, but any of them would be better than the thug leading the people of Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe has been the Prime Minister there since 1980, stubbornly holding on to power now at the age of 92 after several fixed elections. He has been responsible for many grotesque human rights violations and an unbelievable assortment of outrages. Of great intrigue in Zimbabwe – as much of the nation eagerly awaits Mugabe’s passing – is the state of his health. The Prime Minister has taken several mysterious flights to Asian countries for medical treatment of unknown ailments.

Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life.

Psalm 49:7

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – An Ongoing Conversation

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So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.—Genesis 5:23–24

Did you know it’s possible to pray the most beautiful, eloquent prayer ever prayed and not have it go any higher than the ceiling?

Sometimes we are filled with sin. Maybe it’s unforgiveness, or maybe it’s a sin we have never confessed. But that sin is like a barrier between God and us. It is like being on a phone call with God and having the battery go dead.

Maybe you’ve allowed some sin to work its way into your life, and it has brought your prayer life to a halt. If you want to reconnect with God again, then you will need to confess your sin. The Bible tells us that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Knows Our Needs

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“Behold, the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6: 26)

Gwen’s bedroom window looks out on a little pond. A family of mallard ducks lives there all year long. So does a noisy flock of Canadian geese. Sometimes in the spring, there is a wood duck with feathers of so many colors that he looks like someone painted him as an art project. Gwen evens see a blue heron visiting the pond sometimes, wading into the water on its long legs and poking its beak into the tall grasses on the shore.

Gwen used to wonder if birds are able to think. What would they think about? She used her imagination…. “Hmm. I wonder if I’ll find my favorite kind of worm at this pond. I hope the other ducks haven’t eaten all the juiciest water bugs! Maybe I should have gone to some other pond. What if I waste so much energy looking for my meal that I’m too worn out to fly afterwards? What if I starve? Who’s going to take care of me?”

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – We are Not Our Own: The Counter-Cultural Season of Lent

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In many ways, today is one of the strangest days of the year. Everywhere—at work, the grocery store, shopping, exercising—we’ll see all kinds of people walking around with dark smudges on their foreheads.

Now whether or not their own church participates in this ritual, most Christians will know that the smudge is the sign of the cross, and that today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent.

To the unbelieving world, Ash Wednesday is at best quaint (it’s sort of cool to have traditions, you know). At worst, it’s somewhere between bizarre and even anti-social. After all, to a culture committed to the pursuit of self-fulfillment and feeling good about oneself, this whole fasting and self-sacrifice stuff is an existential smack in the face.

Think of how these words contrast with our contemporary illusions of autonomy and self-determination: I am not my own. And I will die one day. And so will you. As the minister tells us when he rubs the ashes on our foreheads, “remember thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.”

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – REST WRECKERS: GUILT

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Read 1 John 3:11-24

In his book Grace, author Max Lucado tells the story of Li Fuyan, a Chinese man who suffered from terrible headaches. He tried a variety of treatments until at last an X-ray revealed that he had a four-inch knife blade lodged in his skull. Lucado equates this man’s suffering with the experience of guilt. “Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating. Sometimes so deeply embedded you don’t know the cause.”

Today’s reading applies the X-ray of God’s Word to the soul. John provides us with a test to see if we show evidence of having passed from death to life, and the proof is love. Those who have entered into new life in Christ have been given a new capacity to love others. If we are in doubt about what love is like, we need only look to Christ.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – THE NEW HAMPSHIRE RESULTS: WHY THEY MATTER

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Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders won last night’s New Hampshire primaries. What do their victories mean for the rest of us?

The winner of New Hampshire’s primary doesn’t always wins the nomination. Since 1952, primary voters have elected the eventual Democratic Party nominee only five out of ten times (excluding incumbents). New Hampshire voters have elected the eventual Republican nominee seven out of ten times (excluding incumbents).

The New Hampshire primary has often been more significant for those who lose than those who win. After President Truman lost New Hampshire in 1952, he dropped out of the race. When President Johnson barely won the primary in 1968, he withdrew as well.

Last night’s results are important politically, but I think they’re even more important culturally.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Prayer in the Believer’s Life

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Isaiah 57:15

The two most important disciplines in the life of a believer are Bible study and prayer. It is impossible to grow continually in Christ without practicing both.

Prayer is the primary means by which we talk to God, and it is also a way He teaches us. When we pray, we’re petitioning the Lord and trusting Him for the answer. In doing so, we learn to listen to Him, just as we learn to wait for His response. And He loves for us to honor Him through this spiritual act of worship called prayer.

Indeed, prayer is one of the best ways to honor God. When we pray to our heavenly Father, we are acknowledging that He is God, that He truly is “the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy” (Isa. 57:15). God alone deserves glory, and we ascribe honor to Him when we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). That is, we are to maintain a God-focused attitude throughout the day—continually asking Him to govern every detail of our lives.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Secret Menu

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Read: John 4:31-34

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30

I have food to eat that you know nothing about. —John 4:32

Meat Mountain is a super-sandwich layered with six kinds of meat. Stacked with chicken tenders, three strips of bacon, two cheeses, and much more, it looks like it should be a restaurant’s featured item.

But Meat Mountain isn’t on any restaurant’s published menu. The sandwich represents a trend in off-menu items known only by social media or word of mouth. It seems that competition is driving fast-food restaurants to offer a secret menu to in-the-know customers.

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Encouragement for Conflict Avoiders

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I am what you might call a classic conflict avoider. At even the hint of disagreement with a friend or colleague, I become like Ferdinand Magellan steering a course of circumnavigation rather than risking a direct hit. Searching for seas of common ground, rather than rift valleys, I employ all the strategies and techniques I can think of to mediate a conflict–including giving way on opinions or convictions in order to maintain the peace. I do not confess this with any sense of pride. While negotiation is a valuable skill, I too often err on the side of compromise. More times than I care to admit, I believed that saving the relationship required giving way and giving in.

It came as something of a revelation, therefore, when I began to notice how much conflict is at the center of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Jewish tradition, in particular, understands that wrestling with God—questioning God, disagreeing with God—is a sign of the health of the relationship. Indeed, Israel gets its name from the famous all-night wrestling match between Jacob and an unknown figure. At the end of the match, Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, which means ‘one who has striven or wrestled with God and prevailed.’

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Joy of God’s Peace

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“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:2).

Nothing you face today is beyond the purview of God’s grace and peace.

Paul’s wonderful benediction for grace and peace was ever on his heart. He offered it in each of his epistles and expounded on it throughout his writings.

Grace is the outpouring of God’s goodness and mercy on undeserving mankind. Every benefit and provision you receive is by God’s grace. That’s why Peter called it “the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 1:10). Just as your trials are manifold or multifaceted, so God’s multifaceted and all-sufficient grace is correspondingly available to sustain you.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – God Uses Ordinary People Just Like You

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For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

Last summer, while I pondered the problem of depending on ourselves more than we depend on Christ, I scribbled the following notes in my journal. I hope they are an encouragement to you and a reminder that God uses ordinary people just like you.

Self-sufficiency is the enemy of grace. If we believe we are able to do everything on our own, why do we need God? Our inadequacies are an opportunity for Him to show Himself sufficient. In this there is grace, a gift we could never receive if we could solve our own problems. God’s grace, and therefore His power, aren’t made manifest in those who believe they have no need for help. It doesn’t shine most brightly in the “I-can-do-it-myself” types. It shines in the inadequate, in those who know they need God’s power to succeed and endure. It shines when we are unable to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. This is when He can show up to do great things in our impossible situation. This is when He is glorified and we are strengthened in our faith and hope by watching Him work. He moves in—and through—ordinary people. He always has and always will.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Established in Eden

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But from the beginning of the creation, God “made them male and female.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

Mark 10:6-8

Recommended Reading

Genesis 2:21-25

As it relates to human sexuality and marriage, no human government can define its terms. Not even the church can do that. Human sexuality and marriage were determined and defined by God before the church came into existence, before the Jewish nation was formed, and before human government was established. The biblical definition of marriage goes back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2, and it was set by God. It was already in place when human government was ordained, when the Jewish nation was established, and the church was born.

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