Tag Archives: Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – At an Advantage

May 10, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. —Colossians 2:14–15

When I was a kid, I was walking down the street one day with some little cap guns that looked like six shooters, complete with holsters. I was feeling pretty good as I made my way down the street, firing these things off. But then I encountered some kids on the corner who grabbed my guns, pushed me, and told me to go away.

I went home, crying. Then I found my brother, who was five years older than me, and I said, “Let’s go back there. I want to get those guns.” We went back to the same street, where I found the kids with my cap guns. Suddenly I had courage like never before. With my brother behind me, I successfully retrieved my cap guns.

Instead of facing the enemy in our own strength, instead of going out and trying to do this or that for God, we need to stay as close to Christ as possible. We can stand in Christ, and in His protection, because He dealt a decisive blow against Satan and his minions at the cross of Calvary.

So in spiritual battles, when temptation comes, we as Christians aren’t fighting for victory; we are fighting from it. In other words, we are resting in the work that Christ has done for us. Therefore, we should never want to stray from Him because if we are caught alone, we would be weak and vulnerable.

But thankfully, He is with us. The question is, are we with Him?

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

Greg Laurie – Temptation’s Timing

May 9, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. —1 Corinthians 10:12

History tells us that during World War II, Hitler had an interesting strategy for attacking the various European nations: he always did it on a weekend. Hitler knew the various parliaments would not be in session, making it more difficult to react swiftly to an invasion.

In the same way, the Devil will wait for an opportune moment, that decisive time to attack. It may be when our guard is down, when we aren’t expecting it. It may even come when we think we are the strongest, when we think, I’m doing pretty well spiritually. I think I’m really growing. Everything is going great. Often weaker believers are less vulnerable than stronger ones because weaker believers recognize their frailty and vulnerability. The Bible says, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Perhaps recently you have experienced a great blessing in your life. That blessing may involve your family, your career, your ministry, or your personal walk with God. But the enemy wants to rob you of it. Remember, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove, and a voice was heard from heaven from the Father, saying, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). The Bible says that after this, Jesus was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness (see Luke 4:1-14).

Remember, it isn’t a sin to be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. The sin takes place only when we give in to that temptation, when we open the door to it and entertain it. That is why we should flee temptation and never leave a forwarding address.

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

Greg Laurie – Caught in Its Current

May 8, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. —James 1:14

Years ago, I was at the beach with my young son Jonathan, and we decided to go swimming. We weren’t very far from the shore. Suddenly there was one of those drops in the sand, and for a few moments, my feet didn’t really touch the ground. As I was holding on to Jonathan, a little riptide began to pull us over to the right, just enough to move us along. We were originally lined up with a lifeguard stand, but I noticed that it had moved quite a distance. We were being pulled along, and I couldn’t stop the drift. I kept reaching for the ground with my feet, but I couldn’t get my footing.

Suddenly the lifeguard came down from his stand and began running toward us with his flotation device. I didn’t mind being saved, but I was only a few feet from the shore.

“I’m all right,” I said, trying to wave him off.

But you know what? I wasn’t all right. I couldn’t stop myself. As he began swimming out, I thought, “I’ve got to get my feet on the ground.” Finally, I planted myself.

“I’m okay,” I shouted to him, and he waved and swam back in.

That is what temptation is like. You think you can handle it, but suddenly you are caught in its current. To pray we won’t be tempted and then place ourselves in a vulnerable situation is like thrusting our fingers into a fire and praying they won’t be burned. We need a healthy respect for the enemy we face and the temptation he will utilize in our lives.

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

Greg Laurie – Intended for Choice Work

May 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. —Romans 8:29

I read about a traveler who was visiting a logging area in the Pacific Northwest. He watched with great curiosity as a logger, working alongside a mountain stream, would periodically jab his sharp hook into a log as it went past and separate it from the others. This visitor could not see any reason as to why the logger would grab certain logs and let others go by.

When the visitor asked the logger about it, he replied, “These logs may all look alike to you, but I can recognize that a few of them are quite different. The ones that I let pass by grew in a valley where they were always protected from the storms. Their grain is rather course. But the logs that I have pulled aside come from high up on the mountains. They were beaten by strong winds from the time they were quite small. This toughens the trees and gives them a fine grain. We save these logs for choice work. They’re too good to be used for ordinary lumber.”

Maybe God is saving you for a choice work. Maybe you have been going through hardships and have asked, “Why, Lord? What is the purpose?” Maybe He has made it known to you, or maybe He hasn’t. Know this: He is seeking to make you more like Jesus and create in you a family likeness. It’s part of the Christian life. It is also part of every life. Everyone goes through hardship. But for the child of God, whatever comes into our lives comes first through the grid of God’s plan and purpose for us.

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

Greg Laurie – It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask

May 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. —James 1:5

One of the first things that we ask when the bottom drops out, when trials come our way (and there can be so many ways they manifest themselves) is, “Why, Lord? Why are You allowing this to happen? What have I done to deserve such a fate?”

Maybe you have lost your job. Maybe you have suddenly become ill. Maybe you have lost a loved one. It has brought great anguish to you. It just goes on and on, and you wonder why. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Or, as another translation puts it, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (NLT).

When you are going through these times of hardship, there is nothing wrong with saying, “Lord, what are You trying to teach me? Is there a lesson to be learned here? Because if there is, then I want to learn it. I want to get through this as quickly as possible. If this is going to go on for a while and there is nothing I can do to change that, fine. But if there is something I need to learn that will cause this to come to an end, then tell me now, Lord.”

It’s important for us to know that God does have lessons He wants us to learn in times of trial. And many times, it is simply to see whether we have learned the material.

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

Greg Laurie – A Different Kind of Battle

May 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. —Ephesians 6:12

Captain Scotty Smiley has served his country with great courage, but he also has had to face great adversity. A U.S. Army Ranger and a combat diver-qualified infantryman, Captain Smiley is also the Army’s first active-duty blind officer and its first blind company commander. In April, 2006, Captain Smiley lost both of his eyes when a suicide bomber blew himself up thirty meters away from his vehicle.

He has faced this adversity with great faith and courage, an example to anyone dealing with a disability. Since losing his eyesight, he has climbed Mount Rainier, completed a triathlon, skied, skydived, and earned an M.B.A. He was named Soldier of the Year in 2007 and has written his story in a book called Hope Unseen. Captain Smiley is a fantastic model of bravery and courage on the battlefield.

As Christians, we, too, are in a battle, but it’s a battle of a different kind. It is not a physical battle, but a spiritual one — and it is just as real. The Bible tells us that we are “fighting against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). It would blow our minds if God were to pull back the curtain and enable us to see into the spiritual world — the world of God and Satan, the world of angels and demons, the world of heaven and hell.

So here is our choice: Either we are going to win or lose in this battle. Either we are going to gain ground or lose ground. Either we are going to advance or retreat.

Which will it be? It’s a decision we all need to make.

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

Greg Laurie – The Lasting Effects of Sin

May 3, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. —1 Peter 2:11

I once read a strange story in the news about a plumber who was called in to unclog a drain. He had one of those snakelike devices that runs down into a drain and keeps running until the drain is cleaned out. But this time, the “snake” did a strange thing. It went outside of the house through an open vent and into the house next door. Then it went down through a vent, came out, and grabbed a ten-year-old girl who was playing in her backyard.

Fortunately her little brother cried out, and they stopped. The fire department had to use cable cutters to set the girl free.

After reading that story, I thought about how sin can be that way. You never know where it’s going to go. When we commit a sinful act, we don’t realize the repercussions that can take place and the other lives that can be impacted by it. Billy Graham once said that immorality is an epidemic in our churches just as it is in the secular world at large. No wonder the world is in crisis.

God has a lot to say about immorality, and specifically about adultery, in Scripture. It made His Top Ten list, the Ten Commandments. It was, in some cases, punishable by death. And we see it addressed in the New Testament as well.

God has told us not to commit adultery for good reason. When you cross that line of protection that God has placed around your life and your spouse’s life, you do so at your own peril. And the repercussions of that sin can last for months, years, and yes, even a lifetime.

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

Greg Laurie – Trials of Our Own Making

May 2, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. —James 1:13

Sometimes we walk into trials of our own making because they are a direct result of our own selfishness or pride or greed or lust. Then when this happens and we reap the results of our sin, we get angry at God.

But James says,

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)

We forge the links of small, compromising actions, and before we know it, a mighty chain is wound around us, and we are helpless.

I used to be able to outrun my oldest son Christopher. A number of years ago, however, we were at the beach, and I picked a spot and said, “Okay, Christopher, I will race you to that spot.” We took off, and much to my surprise, he outran me. I thought, How is that possible? I held this child in my hands when he was born. I watched him grow. Well, he grew up. That’s what happened.

That is the way it can be with sin. We think we can handle it. We think it’s so small. But James says that when sin is full-grown, it brings forth death. One of these days, that sin will grow up, and it will outrun you. It will overpower you. That’s what happens.

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

Greg Laurie – Think Before You Speak

May 1, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. —Proverbs 10:32

J. Vernon McGee used to say that the only exercise some Christians get is running down others and jumping to conclusions.

Slander and gossip are sins that, unfortunately, are far too common in the church today. How many times have rumors been spread that are based on information that simply is not factual because a person did not take the time to look into it? The Bible says, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Proverbs 18:13).

Gossip and slander are far easier to dish out than they are to take, aren’t they? Has someone ever gossiped about you? Has something ever been said about you that simply wasn’t true? Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” Gossip is like that.

“Did you hear about this?” someone might say. So we take that tasty little trifle of information. We may swallow it easily, but in the end, it is like a wound. It hurts other people, and it can hurt us.

So when we hear gossip or slander, what should we do? Here is a little acronym that we need to remember: T-H-I-N-K. Is it true? If it is not true, then don’t repeat it. Will it help? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Well, Greg, you might be thinking, If I applied that principle all the time, there would be a lot of things I wouldn’t say.

Good. Then don’t say them. You will be better for it. And so will many other people.

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

Greg Laurie – The Mirror of God’s Law

April 30, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

If you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. —James 1:23–25

Some people really like mirrors. They are always looking in them. When they are driving along, they have their rearview mirror pointed at themselves instead of the road behind them. If they are in a restaurant that has a mirror on the wall, they want to be seated across from it so they can look at themselves. They never miss an opportunity to catch a quick glance at themselves if a mirror is nearby. On the other hand, some of us don’t like mirrors that much. In fact, we have come to dislike mirrors, especially first thing in the morning.

A mirror reflects your image, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, imagine that you’re leaving a restaurant on your way back to work, and you notice everyone is smiling at you. You think, I’m feeling good! Everyone loves me. Then you catch a glimpse of yourself in a mirror, and you find out why they’re smiling. You didn’t just eat your lunch — you’re wearing it. A piece of pasta is affixed to your chin, marinara sauce and all. It’s embarrassing. But better that you saw it in the mirror and dealt with the problem than spend the rest of the day with that noodle on your chin. The mirror showed you something about yourself that needed to be fixed.

In the same way, the law of God is like a moral mirror. When we look in the mirror of God’s law, we see that major changes need to take place. We also realize that we can’t keep things as they were. So that mirror drives us to Jesus.

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

Greg Laurie – In His Strength

April 29, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands. —1 Samuel 17:47

The Greek historian Herodotus told the story of three hundred men from Sparta who bravely defended their country against the invasion of the Persian army. When the Persians launched an attack against Greece with a force of more than two million fighting men led by Xerxes, they had to pass through a little area known as the pass of Thermopylae, which was a small opening through some jagged cliffs.

The armies of Greece, obviously wanting to turn back their attackers, called for troops, but all they were able to rally were three hundred soldiers from Sparta, led by their king, Leonidas. He thought that if he could just hold the area for a while, reinforcements would come. So he led his three hundred men against the two million Persians at Thermopylae. Much to the surprise of everyone, the Spartans fought bravely and valiantly, and they were winning. Persian soldiers dropped one after the other. So Xerxes sent in his elite troops called the Immortals. These were the best men in his army, but the Spartans slaughtered the Immortals like everyone else. Eventually the Persians prevailed when a Greek traitor showed them the way to attack the Spartans from behind. All three hundred men were killed. And though they lost the battle, they didn’t lose the war because the reinforcements finally came. The Spartans had bought much-needed time, and the armies of Greece ultimately prevailed against the Persians.

The same is true in the spiritual world as we fight a spiritual war. God can do a lot with a little. Our numbers may not be large, but our God is all-powerful. And as we go forward in His strength, we can make a difference.

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

Greg Laurie – Our Duty to Disciple

April 28, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” —Matthew 28:18–19

After I became a Christian, I wasn’t really sure of what to do next. I was seventeen years old and in high school. No one told me that I needed to read the Bible, pray, or go to church. No one gave me any materials to read, much less a Bible.

So for a few days, I was in sort of a spiritual no-man’s-land. I didn’t really feel comfortable with my old friends that I had been hanging around with, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the Christians, either. One reason was that I could hardly understand what they were talking about as they spoke to each other in their cryptic, “Christianese” type of language.

Thankfully, a young man named Mark took me under his wing. He invited me to come to church with him and began to help me grow spiritually. He taught me how to read the Bible, and he prayed with me. He was the first actual Christian I knew who modeled for me what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. He wasn’t a Bible scholar, but he was a real believer. He made an impact on my life and put me on the path of spiritual growth. In short, what Mark did was disciple me.

What he did for me is what we need to do for others — to not only seek to win men and women to Jesus Christ, but also to disciple them. Anything less than this is falling short of the Great Commission.

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

Greg Laurie – Forget the Past

April 26, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:13–14

Everyone who has run a race knows that you can break your stride by looking over your shoulder to check out how your opponents are doing. Many races have been lost when the leader looked back. When you see that finish line, that’s the time to give it everything you’ve got . . . because sometimes it’s mere inches that separate one runner from another. You must stay focused.

This is the idea behind Paul’s statement in Philippians 3:13-14. The apostle was saying, “Don’t look back. Don’t look behind you.”

When God promises, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25), He is not predicting a lapse in His memory. God is saying. “I will no longer hold your sin against you because my Son has paid for it at the cross.”

Therefore, we need to do what God does: forget our past. Yes, we certainly need to learn from our mistakes and remember some of the bitter lessons we have learned. But we no longer need to be controlled by our past.

That is what Paul meant by “forgetting what is behind.” Think about the horrible things Paul had done. He shared responsibility for the death of Stephen and had to carry that in his conscience until his final day. He knew that he was responsible for terrible deeds. But he was able to put his past in the past. And we need to do the same.

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

Greg Laurie – An Evangelism Essential

April 25, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” —Jeremiah 23:29

Billy Graham once said, “Time and time again in my ministry, I have quoted a Bible verse in a sermon, sometimes without planning to do so in advance, only to have someone tell me afterward it was that verse that the Holy Spirit used to bring conviction and faith to him.”

Knowing God’s Word is essential for any person who wants to lead others to Jesus Christ. Anyone who shares the gospel needs to use the Word of God.

When Philip met the Ethiopian in the desert, the Bible tells us, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35). What if Philip had not been a student of Scripture when the Ethiopian was looking for answers? He would have had to say, “I don’t know, that’s a good question. Uh, can I get back to you?” Fortunately, Philip was well-versed in what the Scripture taught.

That is why we are told in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” I’m not saying we need to have the answer to every question. But I am saying that we need to study and prepare ourselves as effectively as possible. And if we don’t have the answer, let that propel us back into the pages of Scripture to find it for the next time that question arises.

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

Greg Laurie – Four Things We Should Know

April 24, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He has planted eternity in the human heart. —Ecclesiastes 3:11

There are four things we should know about every person on earth. No matter how successful or unsuccessful they are, how famous or obscure they are, or how attractive or unattractive they may be, everyone shares these four traits.

One, there is an essential emptiness in every person who hasn’t yet come to Christ. Everyone is essentially empty. No matter how much money or prestige someone has, he or she has to deal with that emptiness. Scripture says that God made His creation subject to vanity, or emptiness, meaning there is a void, a hole if you will, inside every man, woman, and child.

Two, people are lonely. We can assume there is a sense of loneliness in every individual. Albert Einstein once wrote, “It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.” People are lonely. We need to know that.

Three, people have a sense of guilt. They may try to mask it with alcohol or have a psychologist or psychiatrist tell them it is not there. But they have to deal with their guilt over the things they have done wrong. The head of a mental institution in London said, “I could release half of my patients if I could find a way to relieve them of their sense of guilt.”

Four, people are afraid to die. Some may strut around and say, “Not me. I’m not afraid to die.” But they are.

So don’t be so intimidated by the facades that people hide behind and assume they don’t want to hear what you have to say about your faith in Christ. Remember, you used to be one of those people. I used to be one of those people. We responded to the gospel. And so will they.

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

Greg Laurie – The Key to Answered Prayer

April 23, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

—John 15:7

How often have you felt that your prayers were hitting a glass ceiling — as though the Lord were saying no? Maybe it is because you were praying outside of His will. Maybe it’s because you were praying for something that God didn’t want you to have.

We need to remember the promise Jesus spoke of in John 15:7, which says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” Another version puts it this way: “But if you live your life in me, and my words live in your hearts, you can ask for whatever you like and it will come true for you” (PH). I really like that version — especially the part that tells us to ask for whatever we like.

But let’s also remember the condition: “If you live your life in me, and my words live in your hearts. . . .” If you are maintaining a living communion with God and His words are at home with you, then your desires are going to change. Your prayers won’t necessarily be the same as they were before. As you get in sync with the will of God, you will see that prayer is not getting God to do what you want Him to do, but prayer is getting you to do what God wants you to do.

You will discover the important truth that prayer is not bending God our way — it is bending us His way. And then, you just may see your prayers being answered in the affirmative.

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

Greg Laurie – The Importance of Pacing

April 22, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. —Genesis 5:22

I’m glad the Bible compares the Christian life not only to running a race, but also to walking a walk. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

The book of Genesis tells us about a man named Enoch who walked with God for three hundred years. Enoch teaches us the importance of pacing ourselves in the spiritual race. I bring this up because there are people who have a yo-yo relationship with God. Either they are fully backslidden, or they are passionate to the point of being obnoxious. They haven’t learned to pace themselves.

I learned the importance of this one day on a twenty-five-mile bike ride with some friends. I had a lot of energy, so I would pedal ahead of the pack. But then I would run out of steam and have to pull back. I would get another burst of energy and pedal ahead of everyone else. Then they would catch up and pass me. Once we reached our destination and were on our way back, one of the guys I had been cycling with had to actually push me because I had no strength left. That is not the way to do it. The objective is to get there and back.

The same is true in the spiritual race. The objective is not to just run fast. It is to run long. Finish. That is the objective. If you want to grow up spiritually, then you need to pace yourself in this race of life — because you are in it for the long haul.

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The carnal mind

April 21, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“The carnal mind is enmity against God.” Romans 8:7

Suggested Further Reading: Romans 5:6-11

Let me suppose an impossible case for a moment. Let me imagine a man entering heaven without a change of heart. He comes within the gates. He hears a sonnet. He starts! It is to the praise of his enemy. He sees a throne, and on it sits one who is glorious; but it is his enemy. He walks streets of gold, but those streets belong to his enemy. He sees hosts of angels; but those are the servants of his enemy. He is in an enemy’s house; for he is at enmity with God. He could not join the song, for he would not know the tune. There he would stand; silent, motionless; till Christ should say, with a voice louder than ten thousand thunders, “What doest thou here? Enemies at a marriage banquet? Enemies in the children’s house? Enemies in heaven? Get thee gone! Depart ye cursed, into everlasting fire in hell!” Oh! sirs, if the unregenerate man could enter heaven, I mention once more the oft-repeated saying of Whitefield, he would be so unhappy in heaven, that he would ask God to let him run down into hell for shelter. There must be a change, if you consider the future state; for how can enemies to God ever sit down at the banquet of the Lamb? And to conclude, let me remind you—and it is in the text after all—that this change must be worked by a power beyond your own. An enemy may possibly make himself a friend, but enmity cannot. If it be but an adjunct of his nature to be an enemy he may change himself into a friend; but if it is the very essence of his existence to be enmity, positive enmity, enmity cannot change itself. No, there must be something done more than we can accomplish.

For meditation: The Lord Jesus Christ has done for us much more than he commanded his disciples to do for their enemies (Luke 6:27-28).

Sermon no. 20

21 April (Preached 22 April 1855)

Greg Laurie – “Lord, I Trust You”

April 21, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. —Job 13:15

Sometimes God will glorify Himself by the way you and I lean on Him and trust Him through our suffering and hardships. At other times, He will glorify Himself by simply removing those things.

He doesn’t always say no, and He doesn’t always say wait. Sometimes He steps in immediately, bringing help, wisdom, comfort, and provision. I’ve seen that happen many, many times in my life and ministry.

The gospel of John tells the story of Jesus and His disciples encountering a man who had been blind from birth. The disciples asked their Master, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (John 9:2, NLT).

It sounds a little like a rehash of the accusations Job’s counselors tossed out at him, doesn’t it? Whose fault was this? Why is he sick? Who committed this sin? In fact, it may not have anything to do with personal sin. Godly people can suffer, too, and still be right in the middle of God’s good plans and purposes.

Jesus had a strong answer for the disciples when they asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“‘It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,’ Jesus answered. ‘He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him'” (verse 3, NLT). God wanted to display His power by healing this man — as He did when He raised Lazarus from the dead. But we must also recognize there are times when God will choose not to heal the blind, raise the dead, or do what we plead with Him to do through our anguish and tears.

And it is then that we must trust Him.

It is then that we must do what Job did when his whole world fell apart. He said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). He didn’t say, “I understand this. I understand You.” He simply was saying, “Lord, I trust You.”

Job lived a real life in real time, and in the midst of his suffering, he couldn’t read the end of his own story to see how things turned out. Yet he said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And so must we.

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

Greg Laurie – Full Speed Ahead

April 19, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

—Hebrews 3:12

We all know of situations, activities, and places we can go that make it easier for the Devil to tempt us. But now that we have been delivered from his power, we don’t want to put ourselves in a position of vulnerability again.

Why do I bring this up? Because I believe that we are living in the last days. And one of the prophetic signs we sometimes forget about is that in the last days, there will be a great apostasy, meaning that people will fall away from the Lord. According to 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” This means that in these critical days in which we are living, the Devil is walking around like a roaring lion, looking for people that he can pull down (see 1 Peter 5:8).

The book of Hebrews warns about the perils of spiritually turning away. Hebrews 3:12 tells us, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” Notice this verse doesn’t address unbelievers. Rather, it is a warning to Christians. The passage continues, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end” (verses 13-14). Did you catch that? You will “become partakers of Christ” — if you are faithful to the end.

In other words, you need to cross the finish line.

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

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