Tag Archives: god

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – God’s Delight

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Alistair Begg

I will rejoice in doing them good. Jeremiah 32:41

How heartwarming to the believer is the delight that God takes in His saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we do not even take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened, conscious of our sinfulness and deploring our unfaithfulness. We are fearful that God’s people cannot take much encouragement from us, for they surely can see our many imperfections and our follies, and so be caused to lament our infirmities rather than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so the Lord rejoices over us.

We do not read anywhere that God delights in the cloud-capped mountains or the sparkling stars, but we do read that He delights in the habitable parts of the earth, and that His delights are with the sons of men. We do not even find it written that angels give His soul delight; nor does He say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, “Thou shalt be called Hephzibah . . . for the LORD delighted in thee.”1 But He does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves-debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified by His grace.

In what strong language He expresses His delight in His people! Who could have conceived of the Eternal One bursting into a song? Yet it is written, “He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”2 As He looked upon the world He had made, He said, “It is very good”; but when He looked on those who are the purchase of Jesus’ blood, His own chosen ones, it seemed as if the great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy.

Should we not utter our grateful response to such a marvelous declaration of His love and sing, “I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation?”3

1Isaiah 62:4 KJV

2Zephaniah 3:17

3Habakkuk 3:18

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Epic Love

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Problems with love are as old as humanity. Those in need of it can be driven to extremes to get it, and those “in” love many times find a paradoxical misery. Most people amass a lifetime of complaints about love: it’s not enough, too much, not in the right time, or not returned. A few, however, find a rare and epic kind of love, one that stirs the heart, and satisfies, sustaining the very soul.

His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.

Song of Solomon 5:12

The Song of Solomon in the Bible is one of the most intense love poems in all of western literature. Nowhere in this book is God mentioned, but the analogy of His intense desire for relationship with mankind cannot be missed. His affections are likened to a bird sitting beside a full pool – a place where there is nothing required that is not present.

Do you know how to stand beside a nation desperately in need of God’s love today? Start with prayer, a deep and personal prayer for God’s presence to revive your love relationship with Him. And, as your heart is replenished pray for the opportunity to bring others along to sit beside the full pool of his care. America will only be revived by this epic kind of love.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 107:1-9

 

 

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A New Quality of Life

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“When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, He shall guide you into all truth, for He will not be presenting His own ideas, but will be passing on to you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He shall praise Me and bring Me great honor by showing you My glory. All the Father’s glory is Mine: this is what I mean when I say that He will show you My glory” (John 16:13-15).

Steve asked me the question, “What is my number 1 priority as a Christian? I want to be a man of God, so I need counsel as to what I am to do first.” This is a good question for every Christian to ask.

The answer is simply: to glorify God. Jesus tells us how we can best do this in John 15:8, “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (NASB). Or, as the Living Bible states it, “My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to My Father.”

The Holy Spirit has come to be a witness to our Lord Jesus. When the Spirit controls our lives, we too will be witnesses for Him.

Witnessing for Christ with our lips is not only a natural result of being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, but also is a necessary act of obedience if we are to continue to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

That which is most on our hearts is most on our lips, so if we truly love Christ, we will want to share Him with others. But God does not want or need the witness of individuals whose carnal lives fail to give credibility to their testimonies.

The greatest experience that has ever happened to any believer is to know Jesus Christ personally as Savior and Lord, to be forgiven of his sins and to have assurance of eternal life.

Therefore, the most important thing we can do to help another person is to introduce him to Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can empower us to live holy lives and be fruitful witnesses for Christ.

Bible Reading: John 14:16-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will ask the Holy Spirit to glorify God through the quality of my life and the witness of my words, as a demonstration of the supernatural life that I have received from God.

 

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Beneficial Power

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Our Daily Bread

2 Chronicles 16:6-13

The eyes of the LORD run to and fro . . . , to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. —2 Chronicles 16:9

Boxing and strong-man competitions have a unique aspect to them. In the events, the athletes compete individually for the purpose of demonstrating their superior strength. It’s like arm wrestling—you do it to prove that you are the strongest person in the room.

One aspect of God’s glory is His almighty power. But how does He show His strength? He doesn’t do it by rearranging the galaxies before our very eyes, changing the color of the sun at a whim, or freezing a lightning bolt as a trophy to His strength. Instead, in His love and compassion for needy people like ourselves, God has chosen to “show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).

The pattern is consistent throughout Scripture. From the dividing of the Red Sea, to the marvel of manna in the wilderness, to the miraculous virgin birth, and ultimately to the power of the resurrection, our Almighty God has chosen to demonstrate His strength to bless, preserve, and protect His people.

Be assured that He delights in showing Himself strong in the challenges of our life. And when He proves His power on our behalf, let’s remember to give Him the glory! —Joe Stowell

Lord, thank You for choosing to expend Your

divine power on the needs of my life. When my

strength is weak, teach me to trust that Your mighty

arm is able to guard, protect, and deliver!

All of God’s promises are backed by His wisdom, love, and power.

Bible in a year: Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — It’s All About The Love

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Our Daily Bread

1 John 4:7-19

We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. —1 John 4:16

I saw a sign in front of a church that seems to me to be a great motto for relationships: Receive love. Give love. Repeat.

The greatest love that we receive is the love of God. He loved us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to live, die, and rise again to redeem us (1 John 4:9). We receive His love when we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

After we’ve experienced God’s love, we then can learn to give love. “Let us love one another, for love is of God” (1 John 4:7).

God’s love enables us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We teach, encourage, and rebuke. We weep and rejoice. The love we give is tender and tough and supportive. We are taught by Jesus even to love our enemies: “Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). Giving love to others can be challenging in some situations, but it’s possible because of the love God has first given to us.

A good plan for our lives today: Receive love. Give love. Repeat. —Anne Cetas

For Further Study

How do we experience the love of Christ? (John 15:10).

What is the evidence of God’s love in our lives? (1 John 4:16-21).

How can we show God’s love today?

Receive love. Give love. Repeat.

Bible in a year: Proverbs 10-12; 2 Corinthians 4

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Preparation for Heaven

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Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. —Hebrews 11:10

We think so much about the here and now, but God thinks more about the by and by. We need to remember that heaven is being prepared for us, and we are being prepared for heaven.

As Randy Alcorn wrote, “We live between Eden and the new earth, pulled toward what we once were and what we yet will be.”

Heaven is not some mysterious, atmospheric realm of smoke and mirrors. Heaven is a real place for real people, where we will do real things. Hebrews 11:9 says that Abraham, “even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.”

Abraham did this because he “was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God (verse 10). Abraham recognized that this world was not really his home and that his real home was eternal, built by God.

Deep down inside, I hope we realize that too. Our real home is heaven and the new earth that is to come. Heaven is the real place that Abraham was searching for, and it is the place we are all searching for, really. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Putting it in context, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” That is what God wants in our lives. He wants eternal weight.

The things that we go through in life are not just preparing us for the opportunities God will reveal during our time on this earth. God is also preparing us for heaven.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Rest at His Feet

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A very powerful man inviting a lowly foreigner to sit with him and his workers for meals each day was the most generous of invitations. Ruth was to eat beside the reapers – a sign of acceptance into Boaz’ family, the inner circle.

And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers.   Ruth 2:14

The meal provided a time of rest from the day’s work and renewed strength for the remaining hours of labor. Boaz offered her protection from any ill treatment and provisions as she gathered grain from anywhere in the fields. Later he offered her rest at his feet.

Can you see the parallel in Christ’s invitation? “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) God’s Son, your Savior, invites you to have rest in Him as a member of His family. His forgiveness relieves your load of sin. His provision supplies your every need, and His protection allows you to be free from fear.

Come alongside the Lord. Rest at His feet and learn from Him. Pray, as Jesus did, with boldness…for your families, your neighbors and this nation’s leaders.

Recommended Reading: Lamentations 3:21-26, 55-57

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The new heart

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“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 9:10-17

The promise is that he will give us new hearts and right spirits. Human nature is too far gone ever to be mended. It is not a house that is a little out of repair, with here and there a slate blown from the roof, and here and there a piece of plaster broken down from the ceiling. No, it is rotten throughout, the very foundations have been eroded; there is not a single timber in it which has not been eaten by the worm, from its uppermost roof to its lowest foundation; there is no soundness in it; it is all rottenness and ready to fall. God does not attempt to mend; he does not shore up the walls, and repaint the door; he does not garnish and beautify, but he determines that the old house shall be entirely swept away, and that he will build a new one. It is too far gone, I say, to be mended. If it were only a little out of repair, it might be mended. If only a wheel or two of that great thing called “manhood” were out of repair, then he who made man might put the whole to rights; he might put a new cog where it had been broken off, and another wheel where it had gone to ruin and the machine might work anew. But no, the whole of it is out of repair; there is not one lever which is not broken; not one axle which is not disturbed; not one of the wheels which act upon the others. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot, to the crown of the head, it is all wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. The Lord, therefore, does not attempt the repairing of this thing.

For meditation: The only cure for man’s sinful condition is a heart transplant carried out by the Great Physician (Romans 2:28,29).

Sermon no. 212

5 September (1858)

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Mind of Christ

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“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we must have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV).

The first thing I do when I awaken each morning is to kneel before my Lord in humility, meditate upon His attributes, and praise, worship and adore Him.

The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is to kneel in prayer, to praise, worship and give thanks to Him. Thus, my first thoughts are automatically of Him when I awaken, because all night long my subconscious mind has been meditating on Him.

Every morning of every day, I acknowledge His lordship. I gladly surrender control of my life to Him acknowledging my dependence upon Him. Then, by faith, I claim His mind and His wisdom for direction in every detail of my life. I trust Him to influence and control my attitudes, my motives, my desires, my thoughts and my actions.

In different words and ways, I remind Him that I am a suit of clothes for Him and that He can do anything He wants in and through me. I invite Him to walk around in my body. I ask Him to think with my mind, to love with my heart, to speak with my lips, to lead me wherever He wants me to go, to seek and save the lost through me.

We should study the Word of God daily and diligently, determining as an act of the will to pattern our lives according to His commands and His example. We begin to experience the reality and the availability of the mind of Christ when we literally saturate our minds with His thoughts and spend much time meditating upon His Word.

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 2:9-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Consciously and deliberately I will begin each day by inviting Christ to walk around in my body, think with my mind, love with my heart, speak with my lips and continue to “seek and save the lost” through me.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – His Child Forever

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Max Lucado

I’m entering my fourth decade as a pastor and I’ve learned the question to ask. If we were having this talk over coffee and you were telling me about your tough times, I’d lean across the table and say, “What do you still have that you cannot lose?” The difficulties have taken much away.  I get that. But there’s one gift your troubles cannot touch.  Your destiny. Can we talk about it?

You are God’s child.  He saw you, picked you, and placed you. Jesus said,  “You did not choose Me.  I chose you.” (John 15:16).

I remember a young groom once leaned over, just minutes before the ceremony and said to me, “You weren’t my first choice.”  “I wasn’t, I responded?”  “No, the preacher I wanted couldn’t make it.”  “Oh, I said.”  He responded, “But thanks for filling in.”

You’ll never hear such words from God. He chose you. Replacement or fill-in?  Hardly.  You’re His first choice. His open, willful, voluntary choice.  Hear him say, “This child is mine!”  His child forever.  That’s who you are!

From You’ll Get Through This

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Cupbearer To The King

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Our Daily Bread

Nehemiah 2:1-8

Why is your face sad? . . . What do you request? —Nehemiah 2:2,4

One of my favorite Bible passages that applies to work is Nehemiah 1–2. King Artaxerxes’ employee Nehemiah had been such an exemplary worker that the king wanted to honor him by helping him when he was sad that Jerusalem was still in ruins. He asked Nehemiah, “Why is your face sad? . . . What do you request?” (2:2,4). He wasn’t just any worker for the king, he was the cupbearer, the man who tasted the king’s drink to protect him from being poisoned. In order to have earned such a position, he apparently worked hard and honored God in everything he did. And the king granted his requests.

God cares about the way we work. Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” We can follow Nehemiah’s example in these ways: Be such a competent and trusted worker that God is honored (Neh. 1:11–2:6). Care passionately about others and what’s important to them. Take action, occasionally even risky action, to honor what’s important to God and to fellow believers (2:3-6).

When we honor God in work, our employers may notice. But even if they don’t, our heart’s desire and purpose should be to honor the One we really serve—the Lord our God (Col. 3:17,23). —Randy Kilgore

O Lord, may the way I serve tell Your story!

I want to bring You all the glory in my work,

at home, and everywhere I go. Fill me and use

me to bless others and honor You today.

God honors faith because faith honors God.

Bible in a year: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Patience in Affliction

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Alistair Begg

Wait for the Lord.   Psalms 27:14

It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures that a Christian soldier cannot learn without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier for God’s warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desiring to serve the Lord, does not know what role to play. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Retreat back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the matter before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of help.

In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is best to be humble as a child and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly and are genuinely willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting is just an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keeps you waiting even until midnight, He will still come at the right time; the vision will come and not delay. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because things are difficult, but blessing your God for the privilege of affliction.

Never grumble against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the circumstance as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any selfish agenda, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, “Now, Lord, not my will, but Yours be done. I do not know what to do. I am at an end of myself, but I will wait until You part the floods or drive back my enemies. I will wait, even if You test me for a while, for my heart is fixed upon You alone, O God, and my spirit waits for You in the deep conviction that You will still be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.”

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Waste Time

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Joyce meyer

Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity]. —Ephesians 5:15–16

We need to be so self-controlled that we don’t waste time. That doesn’t mean that we can never do anything fun. It doesn’t mean we can’t do things that we enjoy.

We don’t need to be rigid, stiff, or boring. But we do need to use our time wisely, choosing to give the best part of our day to spend time with God.

The Word encourages us to be prepared, saying, “Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come” (Proverbs 19:20). Starting your day with God’s instruction will keep you walking in wisdom, making the most of your time.

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Law and grace

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“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Peter 3:10-14

There has always been the salt of grace in the world to counteract the power of sin. The clouds have never been so universal as to hide the day. But the time is fast approaching when grace shall extend all over our poor world and be universal. According to the Bible testimony, we look for the great day when the dark cloud which has swathed this world in darkness shall be removed, and it shall shine once more like all its sister planets. It has been for many a long year clouded and veiled by sin and corruption; but the last fire shall consume its rags and sackcloth. After that fire, the world in righteousness shall shine. The huge molten mass now slumbering in the bowels of our common mother shall furnish the means of purity. Palaces, and crowns, and peoples, and empires, are all to be melted down; and after, like a plague-house, the present creation has been burned up entirely, God will breathe upon the heated mass, and it will cool down again. He will smile on it as he did when he first created it, and the rivers will run down the new made hills, the oceans will float in new-made channels; and the world will be again the abode of the righteous for ever and for ever. This fallen world will be restored to its orbit; that gem which was lost from the sceptre of God shall be set again, yea, he shall wear it as a signet about his arm. Christ died for the world; and what he died for, he will have. He died for the whole world, and the whole world he will have, when he has purified and cleansed it, and fitted it for himself. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound;” for grace shall be universal, whereas sin will be destroyed.

For meditation: The believer’s sure and certain hope of being freed completely from the presence of sin then, is a strong motive for seeking to be as free as possible from it now (1 John 3:2,3).

Sermon no. 37

26 August (1855)

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – You Have a Bible?

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Max Lucado

Do you have a Bible?  Read it!

Has any other book ever been described like it?  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

The words of the Bible have life. Life-giving words! Nouns with pulse rates. The Bible is to God what a surgical glove is to the surgeon. He reaches through them to touch deep within you. Haven’t you felt His touch? In a late, lonely hour you read, “I will never leave you.  I will never forsake you.” The sentences comfort like a hand on your shoulder.

Don’t make a decision without sitting before God with open Bible, open heart, open ears. Let the words of Christ live in your heart and make you wise.

You have a Bible?  Read it.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Expecting the Best

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John MacArthur

“[Love] believes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7).

In Luke 15 Jesus tells a parable about a father who had two sons. The younger son asked for his share of the family inheritance, then left home and squandered it on sinful pursuits. When he realized his folly, he decided to return home and ask his father’s forgiveness. So “he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry'” (vv. 20-23).

That’s a beautiful illustration of love’s eagerness to forgive, but it also implies another characteristic of love. While the son was still far away, the father saw him coming. How could that be? Because he was watching for his son– anticipating and longing for his return. Love forgives when wrongs are committed against it, but it also expects the best of others. That’s what it means to believe all things (1 Cor. 13:7). That son had hurt his father deeply, but his father never lost hope that his son would return.

I know a Christian woman who has been married to an unbelieving husband for thirty years. Yet she continues to say, “He will come to Christ someday.” She isn’t blind to the situation, but her love for her husband has transformed her earnest desire into an expectation. She believes he will turn to Christ because love always expects the best.

Perhaps you have a spouse or child who is an unbeliever or has drifted away from the Lord. Don’t lose heart! Expect the best and let that expectation motivate you to pray more fervently and set a godly example for your loved ones to follow.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to guard your heart from cynical and suspicious attitudes toward others.

For Further Study:

Read Matthew 9:1-13, noting the attitudes of the Jewish scribes and Pharisees toward Jesus.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Reverence Brings Reward

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“If you belong to the Lord, reverence Him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs” (Psalm 34:9).

Roger had a heart for God. He wanted to be everything the Lord wanted him to be. But he was troubled over how to achieve the balance between being what God wanted him to be and doing what God wanted him to do.

As we talked together I reminded Roger that everything flows from our relationship with the Lord – that He has to be primary. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” As we follow Him, He enables us to become fishers of men.

“If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7, KJV). “Out of the heart are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, KJV). That which is most on our hearts will be most on our lips. If we love the Lord Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, it will be impossible for us to remain silent.

At the same time, obedience is a confirmation of our walk with the Lord. Jesus said, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21, KJV).

One of the most important commandments of our Lord is that we lead holy lives. Another is that we be fruitful in our witnessing for Christ. There is no substitute for reverence, worship, praise, adoration.

As we remember to reverence God by enlisting His guiding hand before we get into a predicament, He reaches out in love and extends a protecting hand in the midst of the trouble as we again invoke His divine care. If I am to live the supernatural life today, it will require divine enabling, and I must remain yielded to God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:10-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will worship God today as a demonstration of my love and trust for Him by spending quality time with Him in His word and in prayer, and helping others to understand the importance of reverence for and worship of God.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Put God to the Test

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“Oh, put God to the test and see how kind He is! See for yourself the way His mercies shower down on all who trust in Him” (Psalm 34:8).

Sam wanted to receive Christ, but he was reluctant. Somehow, he just could not bring himself to make that necessary commitment of the will to exercise his faith and receive Christ. Because of unfortunate experiences in his youth, he had a distorted view of the goodness of God.

I encouraged Him to make his commitment, but he still hesitated. Finally, I turned to that wonderful promise of our Scripture for today and asked him to read it. As he read, the Holy Spirit gave him the faith to believe that he could trust God.

Put God to the test. Taste and see how good and kind He is. Sam discovered that day, and for the rest of his life, the faithfulness and the goodness and the kindness of God.

Do you have reservations, uncertainties, fears about the trustworthiness of God? If so, I encourage you to place your trust in Him, and you will find, as millions have found, and as I have found, that God is good, faithful, and true.

Similarly, you and I can put God to the test and find a friendly haven in the midst of enemy territory. More important, perhaps, is the certainty we can have that God does hear and answer our prayers – in situations where He and He alone knows the end from the beginning and can provide deliverance.

How vital to the supernatural life to know that we have immediate access to the God of the universe, the very one who alone can guarantee victory and deliverance.

Bible Reading: I Peter 2:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that, as a believer, I am constantly in “enemy territory,” I will trust God and encourage others to trust Him moment by moment for deliverance, for I know that He is just and kind and good. He is a loving, heavenly Father whom I can trust. I will encourage others to put God to the test and see how kind He is, to discover for themselves His mercies that He showers on all who place their trust in Him.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Faith illustrated

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“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 6:13-20

Joab, when he fled from the sword of Solomon, laid hold on the horns of the altar, thinking that surely when he had laid hold on the altar he was safe. His was vain confidence, for he was dragged from the horns of the altar and slain. But if you can lay hold on the horns of the altar of God, even Christ, you are most surely safe, and no sword of vengeance can ever reach you. I saw the other day a remarkable picture, which I shall use as an illustration of the way of salvation by faith in Jesus. An offender had committed a crime for which he must die, but it was in the olden time when churches were considered to be sanctuaries in which criminals might hide themselves and so escape. See the transgressor—he rushes towards the church, the guards pursue him with their drawn swords, all athirst for his blood, they pursue him even to the church door. He rushes up the steps, and just as they are about to overtake him and hew him in pieces on the threshhold of the church, out comes the Bishop, and holding up the crucifix he cries, “Back, back! Stain not the precincts of God’s house with blood! Stand back!” and the guards at once respect the emblem and stand back, while the poor fugitive hides himself behind the robes of the priest. It is even so with Christ. The guilty sinner flies to the cross—flies straight away to Jesus, and though Justice pursues him, Christ lifts up his wounded hands and cries to Justice, “Stand back! Stand back! I shelter this sinner; in the secret place of my tabernacle do I hide him; I will not suffer him to perish, for he puts his trust in me.”

For meditation: We should never be ashamed to be seen hiding behind Jesus (Mark 8:38).

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Gift Of Remembering

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Our Daily Bread

Genesis 40:1-14,23

Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. —Genesis 40:23

During seminary, I worked in a nursing home. As I spent time talking to these men and women, at some point nearly every patient would describe the loneliness of their present lives and the realization that they were outliving their peers. Most wondered if anyone would remember them when they passed from this life.

It isn’t just the elderly who can feel lonely and forgotten. In fact, many of us feel trapped and alone, set aside by circumstances fair and unfair. Sometimes we even experience what the Old Testament character Joseph did: people failing to remember us when there’s every reason they should.

Genesis 40 describes Joseph’s experiences as he’s trapped in prison. The cupbearer had been freed and returned to the king’s service, just as Joseph told him would happen (vv.9-13). Joseph had asked to be mentioned to Pharaoh, but the cupbearer forgot him (vv.14,23).

We may feel forgotten. Yet, like Joseph, we are not (42:9-13). Jesus sits at the right hand of God, and our prayers reach the throne of the King without fail because our Savior is our Mediator. When we feel alone, let’s remember to rest in the confidence of Jesus’ promise to be with us forever (Matt. 28:20). —Randy Kilgore

Lord, let me be found serving others, as Joseph

did, in those hours when I feel most forgotten.

May I never be the “cupbearer” who fails to bring

the lonely and hurting to Your attention in prayer.

Jesus never abandons or forgets His own.

Bible in a year: Psalms 103-104; 1 Corinthians 2