Tag Archives: god the father

Our Daily Bread — Is Somebody Singing?

August 17, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

John 17:20-26

[Bear] with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. —Ephesians 4:2-3

From 200 miles above Earth, Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and commander of the International Space Station, joined in song with a group of students in a studio on Earth. Together they performed “Is Somebody Singing,” co-written by Hadfield and Ed Robertson.

One phrase of the song caught my attention: “You can’t make out borders from up here.” Although we humans draw many lines to separate ourselves from one another—national, ethnic, ideological—the song reminded me that God doesn’t see such distinctions. The important thing to God is that we love Him and each other (Mark 12:30-31).

Like a loving father, God wants His family united. We cannot accomplish what God has for us to do if we refuse to be reconciled with one another. In His most impassioned prayer, on the night before He was crucified, Jesus pleaded with God to unite His followers: “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21).

Singing illustrates unity as we agree on the lyrics, chords, and rhythms. Singing can also promote unity as it binds us together in peace, proclaims God’s power through praise, and demonstrates God’s glory to the world. —Julie Ackerman Link

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumphs of His grace. —Wesley

Singing God’s praises will never go out of style.

Bible in a year: Psalms 97-99; Romans 16

Insight

Jesus’ prayer for the unity of believers (17:20-26) is one of the beautiful theological passages of the gospel of John. It discusses both the relationship between God the Father and Jesus as well as the duration of that relationship. Jesus roots His desire for the church to be one in His own relationship with God the Father. Their relationship is characterized by mutual knowledge, love, and glory. Not only does this prayer call for unity in the church, but it shows the unique relationship between Jesus and the Father that existed before the foundation of the world (v.25).

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Father of lights

July 27, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17

Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 21:22-22:5

The apostle, having thus introduced the sun as a figure to represent the Father of lights, finding that it did not bear the full resemblance of the invisible God, seems constrained to amend it by a remark that, unlike the sun, our Father has no turning or variableness. The sun has its daily variation; it rises at a different time each day, and it sets at various hours in the course of the year. It moves into other parts of the heavens. It is clouded at times, and eclipsed at times. It also has tropic; or, turning. It turns its chariot to the South, until, at the solstice, God bids it reverse its rein, and then it visits us once more. But God is superior to all figures or emblems. He is immutable. The sun changes, mountains crumble, the ocean shall be dried up, the stars shall wither from the vault of night; but God, and God alone, remains ever the same. Were I to enter into a full discourse on the subject of immutability, my time, if multiplied by a high number, would fail me. But reminding you that there is no change in His power, justice, knowledge, oath, threatening, or decree, I will confine myself to the fact that His love to us knows no variation. How often it is called unchangeable, everlasting love! He loves me now as much as he did when first he inscribed my name in his eternal book of election. He has not repented of his choice. He has not blotted out one of his chosen; there are no erasures in that book; all whose names are written in it are safe for ever.

For meditation: As part of creation the sun speaks of the character of God (Romans 1:20) but even at its brightest can only give a glimpse of his glory. Praise God for the Lord Jesus Christ, the true light (John 1:9) whose face, when transfigured, shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2); God the Son has made God the Father of light known to us (John 1:18).

1st sermon at New Park St.

27 July (Preached 18 December 1853)

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Accepted

July 24, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He made us accepted in the Beloved. —Ephesians 1:6

All that God has done has been because of His grace, which means “unmerited favor.” You aren’t merely forgiven, justified, and cleansed of your sins; you have been received in love by God Himself. This is because of His deep love for His own Son, Jesus. Because His Son lives in you, you have found His favor. You have the approval of God because of what Jesus has done.

Some people have been raised in homes in which their father may have never demonstrated any kind of love toward them. Maybe he was cold and distant. Or maybe they, like me, were raised in a home where there wasn’t a father at all. We can transfer those emotions to God the Father. We can walk around in life feeling as though we don’t have the approval of God: If I just did this, God would notice. If worked a little harder, then God would love me.

God approves of you. You are “accepted in the Beloved” — not because you read your Bible a little bit longer, share Christ with more people, or give a little more in the offering. You are still accepted even when you don’t do all of that. You are accepted in the Beloved when you fail, when you trip up. You are accepted in the Beloved not because of what you have done, but because of what He has done.

In understanding this great truth, however, you should want to do everything for His glory—not to earn His approval, but because you already have it.

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

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Growing in Servanthood

May 25, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Kids love to show off their height. They eagerly anticipate being tall enough to do all the things their short stature currently prevents. Many parents record and celebrate their children’s growth. They follow the tradition of marking heights on a doorframe.

God the Father also measures His children’s growth. He delights in seeing us reach new levels of spiritual maturity so we can accept greater responsibility. Because a new believer is like a little child in faith, his or her kingdom tasks are, at first, light. God is beginning the transformation process that will grow a saved human being into the image of Christ.

The call to servanthood requires us to do as the Lord Jesus did: act humbly on behalf of our fellow man. When we successfully minister where we are called, new opportunities will open up and offer fresh challenges.

Every opportunity to bless others honors the Lord and increases a believer’s wisdom and stature before Him. Much of God’s work goes on where only He can see it. But our heavenly Father is always measuring His children for future service. He’s gauging how much closer we are to His goal for us and what new task will draw us even closer.

God calls each believer to a life of service, just as He called Paul, Peter and James. This should be an exciting prospect. But too many people get hung up believing they can’t be “as good” as the apostles of old or the preachers and missionaries of today. A popular idea in the church is that the Lord’s servants are only those doing full-time ministry. Everyone else is simply trying to live well. Nothing could be further from the truth. From God’s perspective, you and I are the same as Paul, Peter, and James: servants with important kingdom work to do.

Some kingdom jobs look more important than others. But that’s only because we evaluate them with human eyes. Every work that advances the Gospel or serves a need is valuable—from cleaning the church or preaching to evangelizing or recording a praise album.

Everyone can’t be on a foreign mission field. But we can all share the gospel with a neighbor. Some people can sing in the choir. Others can put a dollar in the hand of homeless man. God invites us to do His work in the world, whether the task is great or small. We accomplish it by serving our fellow man. Ask Him what He would have you do.

Whatever your calling, remember… spiritual growth impacts our fruitfulness. The longer we’ve been believers, the greater our service should be. That does not mean tasks will be highly visible. Satan tries to convince people that some jobs are trivial. But the moment a believer falls for that lie, growth is stunted. God will promote those who put forth the best effort, no matter what the task is.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Ask for the Promises

April 2, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:10

Ask God to fulfill this promise quickly, all you who love the Lord. It is easy work to pray when our desires are fixed and established on God’s own promise. How can He who gave the word refuse to keep it? Immutable truth cannot demean itself by a lie, and eternal faithfulness cannot degrade itself by neglect. God must bless His Son; His covenant binds Him to it.

The Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus what God the Father decrees to give Him. Whenever you are praying for the kingdom of Christ, let your eyes behold the dawning of the blessed day that draws near, when the Crucified will receive His coronation in the place where men rejected Him.

Take courage, you who prayerfully work for Christ with only scant success—it will not always be this way; better times are ahead. Your eyes cannot see the wonderful future: borrow the telescope of faith; wipe the misty breath of your doubts from the viewfinder; look through it and behold the coming glory.

Reader, let us ask, do you make this your constant prayer? Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, “Give us each day our daily bread,” first gave us this petition, “Hallowed be your name; your kingdom come; your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Do not let your prayers be all about your own sins, your own desires, your own imperfections, your own trials, but let them climb the starry ladder and get up to Christ Himself, and then as you draw near to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually: “Lord, extend the kingdom of Your dear Son.”

When you fervently present such a petition, it will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Make sure that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by working to promote the Lord’s glory.

The family reading plan for April 2, 2014 Proverbs 20 | Colossians 3

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Father and Son

March 18, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“For a person who doesn’t believe in Christ, God’s Son, can’t have God the Father either. But he who has Christ, God’s Son, has God the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

An angry young student leader of a leftist movement approached me after one of my lectures on campus. “I resent your poisoning the minds of these students with your religious ideas,” he said, obviously trying to start an argument.

Instead of responding in kind, I asked him to come to our home for dinner where we could talk quietly and more in depth. He accepted the invitation.

After dinner, we discussed our individual views concerning God and man and the way we felt our ideas could best help man to maximize his potential. He objected when I started to read from the Bible.

“I don’t believe anything in the Bible,” he said.

“Well,” I said, “if you don’t mind, I would like to read you a few portions of Scripture which will help you better understand why I became a Christian after many years of agnosticism. I didn’t believe in God or the Bible either, but something wonderful happened to me which changed my thinking – in fact, my whole way of life. There are some of the Scriptures which made a great impression on my thinking, and I would like to share them with you.”

Reluctantly he agreed to listen. So I read portions of John 1, Hebrews 1 and Colossians, finally coming to this key verse in 1 John. My new student friend asked questions along the way. Before leaving that night, the miracle occurred and he wrote in our guest book, “The night of decision.”

Bible Reading: I John 4:14-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Rather than try to defend the supernatural Word of God, I will simply present it in the power of the Holy Spirit and let the Word of God be its own defense.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Acknowledging the Ultimate Source of Everything

February 28, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“Joyously giving thanks to the Father” (Col. 1:11- 12).

The inseparable link between joy and thanksgiving was a common theme for Paul. In Philippians 4:4-6 he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! . . . Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He told the Thessalonians to “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16- 18).

As often as Paul expressed thanks and encouraged others to express theirs, he was careful never to attribute to men the thanks due to God alone. For example in Romans 1:8 he says, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” He thanked God, not the Roman believers, because he knew that faith is a gift from God.

That doesn’t mean you can’t thank others for the kindnesses they show, but in doing so you must understand that they are instruments of God’s grace.

Thanking Him shows humility and acknowledges His rightful place as the Sovereign Lord and the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Those who reject His lordship and refuse to give Him thanks incur His wrath (Rom. 1:21).

Only those who love Christ can truly give thanks because He is the channel through which thanks is expressed to the Father. As Paul says in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Hebrews 13:15 adds, “Through [Christ] then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

As one who is privileged to know the God of all grace, be generous in your praise and thanksgiving today. See everything as a gift from His hand for your joy and edification.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Recite Psalm 136 as a prayer of praise to God.

For Further Study:

From Psalm 136 list the things that prompted the psalmist’s thanksgiving. How can that psalm serve as a model for your own praise?

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Do We Recognize Him?

February 12, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

John 14:16

God the Father revealed Himself to Old Testament believers before the coming of His Son and was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty. Then Jesus came, and the ever-blessed Son in His own proper person was the delight of His people’s eyes. At the time of the Redeemer’s ascension, the Holy Spirit became the head of the present era, and His power was gloriously displayed in and after Pentecost. He remains at this hour the present Immanuel–God with us, dwelling in and with His people, quickening, guiding, and ruling in our lives.

Is His presence recognized as it ought to be? We cannot control His working; He is sovereign in all His operations, but are we sufficiently anxious to obtain His help or sufficiently watchful lest we grieve Him and He withdraws His help? Without Him we can do nothing, but by His almighty energy the most extraordinary results can be produced: Everything depends upon His revealing or concealing His power.

Do we always look up to Him for our inner life and our outward service with the respectful dependence that is appropriate? Do we not too often run before His call and act independently of His aid?

Let us humble ourselves this evening for past neglect, and now entreat the heavenly dew to rest upon us, the sacred oil to anoint us, the celestial flame to burn within us. The Holy Spirit is not a temporary gift–He remains with the church. When we seek Him as we should, we will find Him. He is jealous, but He is full of pity; if He leaves in anger, He returns in mercy. Condescending and tender, He does not grow tired of us but constantly displays His grace.

Sin has been hammering my heart

Unto a hardness, void of love.

Let supplying grace to cross his art

Drop from above.

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 February 12, 2014 Job 11 | Romans 15

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Joy of God’s Peace

February 9, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

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

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.

Peace, as used in Philippians 1:2, speaks of the calmness and absence of strife characteristic of one in whom God’s grace is at work. The New Testament also links it to mercy, hope, joy, and love. To experience those graces is to experience true peace.

It is said that when Bible translators were seeking a word or phrase for “peace” in the language of the Chol Indians of South Mexico, they discovered that the words for “a quiet heart” gave just the meaning they were looking for. That’s an appropriate parallel because peace guards the soul against anxiety and strife, granting solace and harmony.

Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul says to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Although “grace to you and peace” was a common greeting in the early church, it was an uncommon experience in the unbelieving world. The same is true today because only those who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ receive grace and peace.

Are you experiencing God’s peace? Remember, nothing you face today is beyond the purview of God’s all- sufficient grace and surpassing peace.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Read Ephesians 2:14-18 and praise God for Christ, who is your peace, and for His gracious work on your behalf.

For Further Study:

What is the first step to acquiring peace (John 16:33; 1 Pet. 5:14)?

What does the God of peace desire to accomplish within you (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21)?

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The earnest of heaven

February 3, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“That holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Ephesians 1:13-14

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

You remember the day, some of you, when you first learned the doctrines of grace. When we were first converted, we did not know much about them, we did not know whether God had converted us, or we had converted ourselves; but we heard a discourse one day in which some sentences were used, which gave us the clue to the whole system, and we began at once to see how God the Father planned, and God the Son carried out, and God the Holy Spirit applied, and we found ourselves suddenly brought into the midst of a system of truths, which we might perhaps have believed before, but which we could not have clearly stated, and did not understand. Well, the joy of that advance in knowledge was exceeding great. I know it was to me. I can remember well the day and hour, when first I received those truths in my own soul—when they were burnt into me, as John Bunyan says—burnt as with a hot iron into my soul; and I can recollect how I felt I had grown suddenly from a babe into a man—that I had made progress in Scriptural knowledge, from having got a hold once and for all of the clue to the truth of God. Well, now, in that moment when God the Holy Spirit increased your knowledge, and opened the eyes of your understanding, you had the earnest, that you shall one day see, not through a glass darkly, but face to face, and then you shall know the whole truth, even as you are known.

For meditation: The best teacher and interpreter of Scripture is God the Holy Spirit who moved chosen men to record his Word (2 Peter 1:20-21). Do you always seek his help when you are reading or studying God’s Word?

Sermon no. 358

3 February (1861)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Why are men saved?

February 1, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake.” Psalm 106:8

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Peter 1:1,2

Jesus Christ is the Saviour; but not more so than God the Father, or God the Holy Spirit. Some persons who are ignorant of the system of divine truth think of God the Father as being a great being full of wrath, and anger, and justice, but having no love, they think of God the Spirit perhaps as a mere influence proceeding from the Father and the Son. Now, nothing can be more incorrect than such opinions. It is true the Son redeems me, but then the Father gave the Son to die for me, and the Father chose me in the everlasting election of his grace. The Father blots out my sin; the Father accepts me and adopts me into his family through Christ. The Son could not save without the Father any more than the Father without the Son; and as for the Holy Spirit, if the Son redeems, do you not know that the Holy Spirit regenerates? It is he that makes us new creatures in Christ, who “begets us again unto a lively hope,” who purifies our soul, who sanctifies our spirit, and who, at last, presents us spotless and faultless before the throne of the Most High, accepted in the beloved. When you say, “Saviour,” remember there is a Trinity in that word—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this Saviour being three persons under one name. You cannot be saved by the Son without the Father, nor by the Father without the Son, nor by Father and Son without the Spirit. But as they are one in creation, so are they one in salvation, working together in one God for our salvation, and unto that God be glory everlasting, world without end. Amen.

For meditation: We are to be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) in acknowledgement of the fact that all three persons of the Trinity have accomplished our salvation.

Sermon no. 115

1 February (1857)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The death of Christ

January 24, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” Isaiah 53:10

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A New Life to Enjoy

January 19, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Well, then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through His death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. Your old sin-loving nature was buried with Him by baptism when He died, and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought Him back to life again, you were given His wonderful new life to enjoy” (Romans 5:20-6:4).

“When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen,” replied the great musician Haydn when asked why his church music was so cheerful. “And since God has given me a cheerful heart it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit.”

A careful reading of 1 John 2 helps us realize that we will not want to sin if we really are children of God, any more than a butterfly would want to crawl on the ground as it once did as a caterpillar. “Someone may say, ‘I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ.’ But if he doesn’t do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar” (1 John 2:4).

“The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him – he has been born again” (1 John 3:9).

Bible Reading: Romans 5:15-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will thank God often throughout the day for the fact that I don’t have sin. He has made a way of escape. “For sin’s power over us was broken when we received Christ.” So, I will “resist the devil” and he will flee from me. Today I will enjoy my new life in Christ by demonstrating a joyful spirit.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Search the Scriptures

January 17, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20

Suggested Further Reading: Acts 17:10-15

I teach that all men by nature are lost by Adam’s fall. See whether that is true or not. I hold that men have so gone astray that no man either will or can come to Christ except the Father draw him. If I am wrong, find me out. I believe that God, before all worlds, chose to himself a people, whom no man can number, for whom the Saviour died, to whom the Holy Spirit is given, and who will infallibly be saved. You may dislike that doctrine; I do not care: see if it is not in the Bible. See if it does not there declare that we are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” and so on. I believe that every child of God must assuredly be brought by converting grace from the ruins of the fall, and must assuredly be “kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation,” beyond the hazard of ever totally falling away. If I am wrong there, get your Bibles out, and refute me in your own houses. I hold it to be a fact that every man who is converted will lead a holy life, and yet at the same time will put no dependence on his holy life, but trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. And I hold, that every man that believes, is in duty bound to be immersed. I hold the baptism of infants to be a lie and a heresy; but I claim for that great ordinance of God, Believer’s Baptism, that it should have the examination of Scripture. I hold, that to none but believers may immersion be given, and that all believers are in duty bound to be immersed. If I am wrong, well and good; do not believe me; but if I am right, obey the Word with reverence. I will have no error, even upon a point which some men think to be unimportant; for a grain of truth is a diamond, and a grain of error may be of serious consequence to us, to our injury and hurt. I hold, then, that none but believers have any right to the Lord’s Supper; that it is wrong to offer the Lord’s Supper indiscriminately to all, and that none but Christians have a right either to the doctrines, the benefits, or the ordinances of God’s house. If these things are not so, condemn me as you please; but if the Bible is with me, your condemnation is of no avail.

For meditation: This is how to use these daily readings—according to the Bible, Spurgeon must have made some mistakes (James 3:1,2).

Sermon no. 172

17 January (1858)

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Love Without Limit

January 11, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“I have given them the glory You gave Me – the glorious unity of being one, as We are – I in them and You in Me, all being perfected into one – so that the world will know You sent Me and will understand that You love them as much as You love Me” (John 17:22,23).

One day, as I was reading this prayer of Jesus to God the Father, I leaped from my chair in excitement when I realized that God loves me as much as He loves His only begotten Son!

What is more, He loves us unconditionally. That means He loves us not because we are good, or worthy of His love, but simply because of who He is.

Of course, the miracle of it all is that when Jesus, who is the incarnation of God’s love, comes to live within us, that same supernatural love becomes operative within us, enabling us to love others supernaturally as well.

Agape (sacrificial, supernatural and unconditional love) is best described in the well-known and oft-quoted 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians:

“Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”

Bible Reading: John 17:15-21

Today’s Action Point: When things go wrong today – or any day – I will choose to remember that God loves me just as much as He loves His only begotten Son! And I will tell everyone who will listen about God’s supernatural love for them.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Blessing the God of Blessings

January 3, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us” (Eph. 1:3).

Paul’s brief doxology identifies God the Father as the ultimate recipient and source of blessing–the One to whom blessing is ascribed and the One who bestows blessings on those who love Him.

“Blessed” translates the Greek word euloge[ma]o, from which we get eulogy. To bless or eulogize God is to praise Him for His mighty works and holy character.

That should be the response of your heart just as it has been the response of believers throughout the ages. The psalmist said “Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer” (Ps. 66:20); and “blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders” (Ps. 72:18). Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3).

When the situation is reversed and God blesses us, it isn’t with praise, for apart from Him there is nothing praiseworthy about us. Instead, He gives us undeserved benefits through His many deeds of kindness. Scripture identifies Him as the source of every good thing (James 1:17), who works all things together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).

That is but a sampling of the many blessings He lavishes on us in His Son, Christ Jesus. It’s a marvelous cycle: God blesses us with deeds of kindness; we bless Him with words of praise.

Beware of the sin of thanklessness. Recognize God’s blessings in your life and let them fill your heart and lips

Suggestions for Prayer:

Identify ten specific blessings that God has granted to you in recent days and praise Him for each one.

Ask Him to make you more aware of and thankful for His goodness in your life.

Always be ready to seek forgiveness when you take His blessings for granted.

For Further Study:

Read Psalm 103

What blessings does David mention?

How do they apply to your life?

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Gift from the Father

December 7, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

John 3:16

Think about all the presents you’ve received in your life. Some may have seemed heavenly, but Jesus Christ is the only gift any of us will ever receive that came straight from heaven. Without a maker, without a beginning or end, He is unlike any other gift in human experience. And although He arrived as a tiny infant, He is precisely what all mankind desperately needs.

When you placed your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you could not have been given a gift that was more practical or necessary. Sin had so wrecked humanity that we were all under the wrath of God and in desperate need of forgiveness and deliverance from our guilt, shame, and fleshly behaviors. We had emotional needs, material needs, and all manner of brokenness.

So God the Father sent His only begotten Son into our lives. He knew that no other gift could ever provide for our needs or fulfill our longings as completely as Christ Jesus.

He came in human flesh. That’s what the incarnation is all about. God came into this world with a body like ours so that we could see Him, touch Him, and understand Him. And yet the tragedy is that most people never “unwrap” this gift. They keep Him a baby in the manger scene or categorize Him as just a teacher or preacher. But this will never do. If you do not unwrap the gift, you will never know what is inside. To open the present, open the Bible. The more you get to know Jesus, the better you will understand how perfect the gift is for you.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Man’s ruin and God’s remedy

November 20, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” Numbers 21:8

Charles Stanley – The Promise of the Father

November 18, 2013 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

Acts 1:1-8

The Bible is a book of promises, each of which is guaranteed by the Lord’s unchanging nature (2 Cor. 1:20). One precious assurance is that those who trust Jesus as Savior will never be alone. Our Father has promised to send His Holy Spirit to take up residence within each believer. Scripture teaches that the Spirit is a member of the Trinity, along with God the Father and God the Son.

The triune nature of God is clear in a number of Bible passages. Genesis 1:1-2, for instance, identifies both the Father and the Spirit as active participants in creation. The New Testament later reveals that Jesus Christ was likewise present when the world was being made (Col. 1:16).

We find another example in John’s gospel. The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples that He was going away but would ask the Father to send “another Comforter” (14:16). The resurrected Christ later commissioned His followers to make disciples and baptize them in the name of all three members of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19).

On the basis of biblical truth, we can know for sure that the Spirit is fully God, just like the Father and the Son. Scripture teaches that we can intimately know the Father and Jesus, and the same holds true for the third person of the Trinity. Because of the Spirit’s importance, Jesus spent much time talking about Him with the disciples.

Do you know the Holy Spirit as well as you do the Father and Son? If not, spend time studying Scripture to gain understanding of His place in your life.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The exaltation of Christ

November 2, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

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Tag Archives: god the father

Our Daily Bread — Is Somebody Singing?

Charles Spurgeon – The Father of lights

Greg Laurie – Accepted

Charles Stanley – Growing in Servanthood

Alistair Begg – Ask for the Promises

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Father and Son

John MacArthur – Acknowledging the Ultimate Source of Everything

Alistair Begg – Do We Recognize Him?

John MacArthur – The Joy of God’s Peace

Charles Spurgeon – The earnest of heaven

Charles Spurgeon – Why are men saved?

Charles Spurgeon – The death of Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A New Life to Enjoy

Charles Spurgeon – Search the Scriptures

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Love Without Limit

John MacArthur – Blessing the God of Blessings

Charles Stanley – A Gift from the Father

Charles Spurgeon – Man’s ruin and God’s remedy

Charles Stanley – The Promise of the Father

Charles Spurgeon – The exaltation of Christ

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