“Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face evermore!”—Psalm 105:4
You are not done as a Christian.
No matter how much you love, you ought to love more.
No matter how much you pray, you ought to pray more.
No matter how much you obey God, you ought to obey more.
Continue reading Greg Laurie – Are You Satisfied with Your Present Spiritual State?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . . .—Galatians 5:22
The future is something we all should be thinking about, because we need to plan ahead. Not only do we need to think about what we will do in this life, but also what we will do for all eternity.
An extensive survey conducted in the United States by a leading polling agency distributed questionnaires to people of various ages and occupations, asking, “What are you looking for most in life?” When the results were compiled, the analysts were surprised. Most expected those who were polled to say they wanted to achieve certain materialistic goals. But the top three things that people wanted in life were love, joy, and peace—in that order.
Galatians 5:22 tells us the fruits of the Spirit include love, joy, and peace. Thus, the very things people are looking for today can be found in a relationship with God. Yet some have given up on these things. They say, “Love, joy, and peace? That’s a pipe dream of flower children. Give me a break. You are not going to find love, joy, and peace in this world . . . not in the real world I live in.”
After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. —Acts 4: 31
Sometimes we will take a step of faith if there is a backup plan, if there is a safety net. There is a place for caution, a place for prudence, and even a place for seeking the counsel of those who have lived longer than we have. But having said that, there is also a place for faith. There is also a place for taking chances and taking risks.
As we get older, we are less willing to do that. We want everything laid out for us. We want to know what will happen after this and after that. But sometimes God will say, “I am not going to tell you. I want you to just obey Me.” That is why I would rather try something and fail than never try at all. And if you do try and ultimately fail, then learn something from your failure. I would venture to say that any person who has been successful in ministry, in business, or in any other enterprise has had more than his or her share of failures and has learned something from every one of them. It has been said that the doorway of success is often entered through the hallway of failure. So if at first you don’t succeed, relax. You are just like the rest of us.
So take a chance and do something for God. If you have been thinking about starting a little Bible study at work and are unsure whether anyone would show up, go for it. If you are thinking of sharing the gospel with someone, but you don’t know how they would respond, go for it. Try it. Pray about it. Ask the Lord for direction. But take a risk. Take a chance here and there and watch what God will do.
“Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ ” —Genesis 3:9
God wants to meet with you and me on a regular basis. Think of it, like having and keeping an appointment with God!
I wonder just how many times each day that God wants to speak to us and He can’t get a word in edgewise? The Lord might say, “I have wanted to talk to you for a long time, but you are too busy. This morning I wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t have any time for me. You read the newspapers and watched TV and talked on the phone. You never opened the Word. You never prayed. At lunch I tried to say something, but your prayer was so fast. Later I tried to talk with you. You have been so busy. You have an appointment with Me. Why don’t you keep it?”
Remember how Adam had an appointment with God every day in the Garden of Eden? He would hear the voice of the Lord in the garden in the cool of the evening. One day Adam missed that appointment because of sin. God said to Adam, “Where are you?”
I wonder if the Lord would say that to some of us each day: “Where are you? Where were you? I have been looking for you. I wanted to speak to you. I want you to walk with Me, and I want to walk with you.”
Just imagine, the Creator of the Universe wants to spend time with you. Is there any appointment that is worth keeping more than this one?
“Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” —Daniel 10:12–14
Our culture gravitates toward behind-the-scenes events. We become excited when we’re driving down the street and see movie cameras set up for a big scene. We love that inside look to which no one else has access.
Fascinating events also transpire behind the scenes of the supernatural realm: the world in which angels and demons dwell.
“So you became our followers and the Lord’s; for you received our message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the trials and sorrows it brought you” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
Mary was so radiant it was as though she had swallowed a light bulb. Wherever she went, there was the radiance of the Lord’s presence about her. She literally bubbled over with joy, and whenever she talked about the Lord her words came so quickly they practically tumbled over each other. She was an exciting, contagious person to be around, and many nonbelievers inquired of her, “Why are you so happy? What makes you so different?”
To which, of course, she would always respond by telling them about our wonderful Lord and how He had filled her heart with His joy.
The verse for today clearly indicates that joy comes from the Holy Spirit, who came into this world to glorify Christ. We are told in Galatians also that the fruit of the Spirit is joy, among other things.
Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Source of Joy
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.—Mark 6:20
It has been said that conscience doesn’t always keep you from doing wrong, but it does keep you from enjoying it. The Bible tells the story of a man with a very guilty conscience, a conscience that ultimately went dead. He knew what was right, but he simply refused to do it. His conscience was captive to his own whims and moods.
He was without excuse however, because he had as his personal preacher the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist. Despite hearing countless messages by John, this man did what was wrong. His name was Herod, often known as Herod Antipas.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”—1 Peter 5:8
When does temptation generally come? Answer: Often after great times of blessing!
When Jesus began His public ministry, He went to be baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. The heavenly Father proudly said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Then temptation came. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted.
After the dove came the devil.
It usually works that way in our lives as well. After the blessing comes the trial. The two often go hand in hand. Don’t be surprised if temptation comes to you, for instance, right after God speaks to you in church or in a time of devotion.
Continue reading Greg Laurie – When Does Temptation Generally Come?
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. —Psalm 115:4
We find the second commandment in Exodus 20:4–5, which says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”
The idea of worshiping an idol may seem alien to us today. But it shouldn’t. We can make idols out of people whom we admire. Have you ever heard of a sports hero? How about American Idol? We may use the phrase somewhat jokingly: “That person is a sports god” or “I idolize that person. He’s a guitar god.” But the way some people look at certain individuals, it could be they have made a person their god.
You may say, “Well, I’m not that way.”
Continue reading Greg Laurie – The Surprising Truth about Idols
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”—1 Corinthians 1:18
A true story was reported about a couple that was visiting a jewelry store. As the jeweler showed them various crosses, the woman commented, “I like these, but do you have any without this little man on them?”
That is what so many people want today: a cross without Jesus. They want a cross without any offense, one that will look cool with their outfits. But if we could travel back in time and see the cross in its original context, we would realize that it was a bloody and vile symbol. It would have been the worst picture imaginable to see someone hanging on a cross.
The Romans chose crucifixion because it was meant to be a slow, torturous way to die. It was designed to humiliate a person. The crucifixions outside Roman cities served as warnings to anyone who would dare oppose the rule of Rome.
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Ever since childhood, I have always had a great admiration for the historical person known as Jesus. I had seen all of His movies. I thought very highly of Him.
As a little boy, I lived with my grandmother for a few years. I would thumb through her big family Bible and look at the pictures of Jesus. She also had a picture of Jesus hanging on the wall. I would stare at it and think, “I wish I could have known that man, Jesus.”
The one thing I didn’t like about the life of Jesus was how the story ended. I thought it should have been rewritten with a happier ending. The part about Him being crucified wrecked everything. He was on this great roll, healing people and teaching people. But then it all came to an end. Why did they have to put Him on a cross and kill Him?
Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’—2 Peter 3:3–4
We know what is right, but yet we choose to do certain things that are wrong. We know what the Bible says, but somehow we think that we are above it. Or it won’t happen to us. Therefore, we play around with sin. And sin ultimately plays around with us.
There are many people today that know that Bible prophecy is true. They know that God has foretold many of the events that are happening around us. But yet they continue to live as they please. The attitude is, “Hey, everything is the same.”
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.—Philippians 2:12
I don’t necessarily like to exercise, but I try to get out and take a walk every day. I also go to the gym a couple of days a week. I know it makes me feel better, and it helps me to actually do what I am called by God to do.
Just as we need to work out to stay in shape physically, we need to work out spiritually as well. Paul told the Christians in Philippi, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). The phrase work out doesn’t mean work for your salvation. It means that you are to work it out. Another way to translate it would be “carry it to the goal and fully complete your salvation.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
After a significant moment of delivering his message to King Ahab of an impending drought in the land, Elijah could have said, “Lord, let’s get this thing going. Let’s have the face-off with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Let’s go for it.”
But there was an interesting twist to the story. Loosely paraphrased, God said, “I have a different plan in mind for you, Elijah. I want you to disappear from the scene for a while. In fact, I want you to go over to this little brook called Cherith and just hang out there.”
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” —1 Kings 17:1
Elijah had a message that wasn’t an easy one to deliver: Go tell Ahab it isn’t going to rain for a long time. Go tell Ahab there’s going to be a drought. Yet Elijah faithfully delivered the message that God had given to him.
In the same way, God has given us a message that isn’t the easiest one to deliver. The fact that we Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is the only way to God isn’t a popular thing to say in our culture today. But we’re only the messengers. And it’s our job to declare the whole counsel of God.
Now, we should deliver the message with as much compassion and grace as we can. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” But the truth is that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). People will take it out on the messenger.
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”—Ezekiel 22:30
Most Christians I know are nice, pleasant people. We want to get along with others. We don’t want to offend anyone by saying that something is wrong, because it would be politically incorrect. A lot of times we are afraid to stand out.
That is not how Elijah was, however. When we are first introduced to him in 1 Kings 17, he explodes onto the scene: “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word’ ” (verse 1).
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.—1 Corinthians 1:27
When we think of Elijah, we generally think of powerful miracles. No doubt he was one of the greatest miracle-working prophets of all. He raised the dead. He stopped the rain. He called fire down from heaven. (I think he’d be a great guy to have at a barbecue.)
The Bible tells us that Elijah was a Tishbite, from Gilead. That means very little to us, but it’s important for us to know that Gilead was east of the Jordan River. The people who lived there were roughhewn, tanned from the sun, and tough. He would have dressed in animal skins. We know Elijah as a man who was bold and courageous. He was fearless.
And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.—2 Kings 6:17
I think we would all agree there is a battle going on in the United States today. It’s a battle for our very souls, a battle for right and wrong, a battle over the Bible, a battle over the family. Really, it is a battle over worldviews. And if you want to simplify it even further, it is a battle of the gods.
In the Bible there is only one God; it isn’t multiple choice. God says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5). There is the true and living God who is the God of Scripture and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God who loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross.
Then there are all the other gods. So the battle rages today—the battle of the gods and the battle of the worldviews.
“The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.”—Proverbs 11:3
The stand you make today will determine what kind of stand you will make tomorrow. Character is not some mystical thing that you have no say in. You decide what principles you will live by, what road you will take.
The Bible is filled with examples of those who had character. But it is also filled with examples of those who did not. This is one of the reasons we can believe the Bible: it tells the truth without “airbrushing” the flaws and inconsistencies of the people found in its pages.
When Oliver Cromwell had his portrait painted, he said to the artist, “Paint me, warts and all!” The Bible gives us our heroes, “warts and all.”
Character isn’t just about starting the race well, but finishing it well. But sadly, many run strong at first but then slow down, quit, or are disqualified. King Saul comes to mind as an example.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. —Philippians 4:8
There is something better than pursuing happiness. And there is something that is, in effect, even better than happiness. That something is called joy.
Joy is the theme of the book of Philippians. Now, if Paul had written this epistle while he was sitting on a Mediterranean beach, catching some rays, and sipping an iced tea, that would be one thing. But that wasn’t the case. Paul was incarcerated in Rome when he wrote this letter to the believers in Philippi. Even though he was writing from a place of difficulty, Paul wrote a letter that resonated with joy.
So how could Paul be so joyful and jubilant under such adverse circumstances? And is this joy something that we can experience in the twenty-first century?
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