Tag Archives: Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Pour It On!

April 18, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

—Acts 20:24

Imagine for a moment that you are running a race that is ten laps long. And let’s just say that you are in first place for nine of those ten laps. Not only are you in first, but you are creaming the competition. So when you come to the tenth lap, you think, What’s the point? I’m obviously the winner here. I’m going home. Guess what? You don’t get first place, second place, or even an honorable mention. You don’t get a gold medal, silver medal, or bronze medal.

You are disqualified because you didn’t finish the race.

In the same way, it isn’t enough for you to do well in the first five years or the next twenty years of your Christian life. You have to cross the finish line. That is why the apostle Paul, when he was leaving the elders of Ephesus, said in his departure speech, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

That is what we all should be aiming for. The apostle Paul wanted to win the spiritual race. We should want to win it as well. And that is why this is not the time to be easing up. This is the time to pick up the pace. This is the time to pour it on.

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

Greg Laurie – Destruction in Disguise

April 17, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

—Romans 12:9

One of the first things I remember taking place when I committed my life to Jesus Christ was the erosion of bitterness and anger and the growth of a love I had not known before. Years of bitterness and anger that had been building up just began to dissolve.

If we claim to be followers of Christ and harbor bitterness or hatred in our hearts toward someone, there is something very wrong. John was very distinct when he wrote, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?” (1 John 4:20, NLT). John was saying that if we have hatred in our hearts toward fellow members of the body of Christ, fellow Christians, there is something wrong in our spiritual lives.

Maybe someone has wronged or hurt you. Even so, God calls on you to love and forgive that person and not to avenge yourself. Here is why: that bitterness and hatred will do more harm to you than the person to whom you are directing it. It will eat you up inside. It will destroy your life. It will hinder your time of prayer with God. It will hinder your worship. It will, for all practical purposes, act as an obstacle in the relationship God wants to have with you.

There is no room for hatred, bitterness, or prejudice in the heart of a child of God. God wants our love to be honest and without hypocrisy.

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

Greg Laurie – Conformed or Transformed?

April 16, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. —Romans 12:2

A flock of wild geese was flying south for the winter when one goose looked down and noticed a group of domestic geese by a little pond near a farm. He noticed they had plenty of grain to eat. Life seemed relatively nice for them. So he flew down and hung out with these geese until spring and enjoyed the food that was there. He decided that he would rejoin his flight of geese when they went north again. When spring came, he heard them overhead and flew up to join them, but he had grown a bit fat from all of the seed. Flying was difficult, so he decided to spend one more season on the farm and then rejoin the geese on their next winter migration. When the geese flew south the following fall, the goose flapped his wings a little, but he just kept eating his grain. He had simply lost interest.

That is what happens in the subtle process of the world influencing our lives. It’s not necessarily dramatic, nor does it usually happen overnight. It is gradual, causing erosion in our lives as we begin to lower our standards. Soon, the things of God become less appealing, and the things of this world become more appealing. After a while, we have no interest in the things of God.

We have a choice: either we will be conformed to this world, or we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It is one or the other. The only question is, which way will you go?

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

Greg Laurie – Living Victoriously

April 15, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. —Isaiah 59:19

I remember reading a story about one of the battles between General Lee and General Grant during the Civil War. General Lee was, of course, the head of the Confederate forces and was known for his brilliant tactics in doing a lot with a little. He didn’t have the organization of the Union army or the manpower, but he was able to move in an effective way and foil his enemies on a number of occasions. His exploits had become so legendary that the Union soldiers were terrified of him.

One night, some Union soldiers were standing around the campfire talking about General Lee. They said, “What if General Lee does this? What are we going to do?” General Grant was standing a few feet away. He walked over and said to the soldiers, “The way you boys are talking, you would think that General Lee is going to do a somersault and land in the middle of our camp. Stop talking about what he’s going to do, and let him worry about what we’re going to do.”

Sometimes I see the same thing happening in the church: Oh, the devil is doing this. The Devil is doing that. Did you hear about this wicked thing that happened? I think we should stop focusing so much on what the Devil is doing and stop worrying so much about what he will do; instead, let him worry about what we Christians will do.

Rather than trembling in fear about what the Devil is doing, we can rejoice in the power that God has given us to live victoriously and effectively for Him.

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

Greg Laurie – The Trap of Temptation

April 14, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. —James 4:7

Right after I became a Christian, other believers warned me, “Greg, watch out. There is a Devil who will tempt you.”

I said, “Right. A Devil.” I thought of the red figure with the pitchfork and horns.

They said, “No, the Devil is real. He is a real spirit power, and he will tempt you.”

I said, “Get out of town! He isn’t going to tempt me.”

I was in high school at the time, and there was a certain girl in my art class whom I sort of had a crush on. I hadn’t mustered up the courage to walk up and talk to her. I was sitting in class one day as a brand-new Christian, and suddenly she walked up to me and said, “Hi. What’s your name?” We had been in the same class for months, and she had never even acknowledged my existence.

I told her my name.

She said, “You know, you’re kind of cute. My parents have a cabin up in the mountains, and I’m going up there this weekend. Why don’t you come up with me? Let’s get to know each other better.”

I thought, This is it. This is what they told me about. It’s temptation! I declined her invitation and realized there had to be something to what had just happened. I thought, I’m not an idiot. No girl has ever come up to me and said this before. This is a setup.

That experience made me want to follow the Lord even more because I saw the reality of the spiritual world beginning to unfold. Remember, the Devil wants to keep you from coming to Christ. And once you have come to Christ, he wants to keep you from moving forward.

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

Greg Laurie – The Voice of Circumstance

April 12, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said — look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” —Judges 6:36–37

Not only does God speak to us through His Word and not only will He never contradict His Word, but God also speaks through circumstances. Although I’m not one to base major life decisions on circumstances alone, clearly there have been times when I have sensed that something was the will of God and then things would fall into place circumstantially. At other times, circumstances have made it obvious that God was saying no.

A classic example of God speaking through circumstances was when God spoke to Gideon, who laid his fleece out on the ground, asking God to confirm His Word. Certainly Jonah got the right message when God brought his journey to an abrupt halt, and he found himself in the belly of a very large fish.

Of course, as a part of this process, God speaks to us through people. For example, there have been times when I’ve been listening to someone preach or have been talking with a friend, and suddenly what he is saying addresses the situation I’m going through, even though he is completely unaware of my circumstances. It makes me realize that it is God Himself speaking to me through those individuals.

Maybe God has spoken to you through a pastor or a Christian friend. Or perhaps He has been speaking to you through circumstances. Listen carefully, and remember that He never will contradict His Word.

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

Greg Laurie – Hearing God

April 11, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105

There are a lot of people today who say they hear the voice of God telling them to do this or that. But what we must remember is that God never will contradict His Word. He always will lead us according to what the Bible says.

Some people come up with some lame concepts, such as “We’re not married, but God has told us it’s okay to have sex.” I could assure them that God didn’t say that because in His Word, He says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). God won’t contradict His Word.

Let’s say you were hoping for a letter from someone. You stand at the window, waiting for what seems like an eternity for the mail carrier to come by. Finally, he drives up, and you bolt over to your mailbox. You’re looking for that letter. Maybe it’s from someone you’re in love with. Maybe it’s an answer to a job application. Maybe it’s something you ordered in the mail. Maybe you’ve won the sweepstakes.

But imagine this. What if you had a handwritten note sent to you from God? Would you carry it around in your pocket for a couple of weeks and open it when you got around to it? I doubt it. You probably would tear it open as you’re thinking, Wow, God spoke to me! What does He have to say?

The Bible is a written letter from God. A lot of us carry it. We have it in different colors and sizes. We have it in different translations. Some of us even have it on our smartphones or tablets. But we never read it. Yet it’s a letter from God to us. If you want God to speak to you, then open up His Word.

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

Greg Laurie – Make the Right Choice

April 10, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. —Deuteronomy 30:19

When I first became a Christian, I decided that I would somehow find a way to live in two worlds. I was planning to hang out with my old friends and still be a Christian. For a time, I felt as though I were in a state of suspended animation. I wasn’t comfortable with my old buddies, but I wasn’t quite comfortable with the Christians, either. So I decided to be Mr. Solo Christian. I even said to my friends, “Don’t worry about me. You’re thinking I will become a fanatic and carry a Bible and say, ‘Praise the Lord.’ It will never happen. I’m going to be cool about this. I won’t embarrass you, but I’m going to believe in God now.”

However, as God became more real to me and I began to follow Him more closely, He changed my life and my outlook, and my priorities began to change.

There are people who will discourage you from growing spiritually. They will say, “I think it’s good that you are a Christian. I go to church too, at Christmas and Easter, and for weddings. But you’re getting a little too fanatical. You actually brought a Bible to work the other day. We were so embarrassed. You’re no fun anymore. We’re glad you have made changes in your life, but don’t become too extreme.” There are people like this who will discourage you.

When this happens, you have the choice to either do what God wants you to do or to go with the flow. Are you going to let people hold you back? Are you going to let people discourage you from wholehearted commitment to Jesus Christ?

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

Greg Laurie – Ingratitude

April 9, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. —Romans 1:21

A man who was nailing down a loose shingle on a roof lost his footing and began to slip. Working three stories above ground, he was terrified at the thought of falling to his death. He started shouting, “God, help me! I’m falling! Do something!” Just as he came to the edge of the roof, his belt loop caught on a nail and stopped him long enough to grab hold again.

He shouted, “It’s okay, God! I got caught on a nail.”

That is how we can be. We cry out to God. He answers our prayers. Then we say, “It’s okay, God! Everything seemed to work out.”

But do we ever stop and think that God might have worked through certain circumstances to come to our rescue? My point is, we need to put as much zeal in thanking God for what He has done as we put into pleading with God when we are in need.

I heard about a hospital chaplain who kept a record of some two thousand patients whom he had visited, all who seemed to be in a dying condition and showed signs of repentance. Among those restored to health, he felt that only two showed a marked change in their spiritual lives after their recovery. In other words, when these people thought they would die, they repented. But when they recovered, they forgot about God.

What would you think of a person who always wanted things from you but never offered a word of thanks in return? We can be that way with God, can’t we? Let’s remember to thank Him.

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

Greg Laurie – By the Brook

April 8, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. —1 Kings 17:6

When the Bible says that ravens brought Elijah food, it doesn’t mean they took his order, flew through the local fast food restaurant, and then delivered his meal. Ravens are scavengers. They brought little bits of meat and bread to Elijah. What’s more, the water in the brook from which he drank would have been somewhat polluted. It wasn’t an easy situation by any stretch.

How easily Elijah could have said, “Well, Lord, I don’t really want to be in this crummy little place, drinking river water. I kind of like being in front of people. I like the limelight.” But the Lord was preparing Elijah for something beyond his wildest dreams. Not long after this, Elijah would be standing on Mount Carmel in that great showdown with the false prophets (see 1 Kings 18:20-40).

Sometimes we don’t like where God has put us. We say, “Lord, I don’t like this situation. I don’t like where I am. I want to do something great for You. I want to make a difference in my world.” Maybe the Lord wants you to be effective right where you are. Maybe He wants you to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you and be faithful in the little things. Who knows what God has in store for you?

If God has you by some muddy little brook, so to speak, just hang in there. Be faithful, do what He has already told you, and wait on Him and on His timing. God will do something wonderful for you or with you. Just be available and open to do what He would have you to do.

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

Greg Laurie – In Search of Ordinary People

April 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. —1 Samuel 16:7

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Many times when we’re looking for some great superstar to come on the scene, God is developing someone in obscurity whom we haven’t ever heard of. We will say, “What if so-and-so became a Christian? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” And while we’re wondering if so-and-so ever will come around, God is grooming someone unknown to us.

Think of the time when a giant Philistine was taunting the armies of Israel. Everyone was paralyzed with fear. So whom did God select? He chose a shepherd boy who had been sent by his father to take food to his brothers on the front lines. He went out to face the giant with a few stones and a sling, and more importantly, faith in God. That was the person God used.

At another time in Israel’s history, when they were immobilized by fear because of their enemies, God found a man threshing wheat. His name was Gideon, and he was convinced that God had called up the wrong guy. But God selected him because he didn’t trust in his own ability. Gideon had to trust in God.

If you have faith in God, if you believe that God can use you, if you are willing to take a step of faith here and there, then God can do incredible things through you. One thing I have said many times over the years is that God is not looking for ability but availability. He can give you ability in time. But God is looking for someone to say, “I would like to make a difference where I am. Lord, I am available.” You just watch what God will do.

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

Greg Laurie – Just Our Nature

April 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

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

We all know what it’s like to be tempted. But where does temptation come from? It does not come from God. James 1:13-14 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.” We play a key role in our own temptation.

It’s like the scorpion who wanted to cross a pond. Scorpions can’t swim, of course, so he needed a ride. He walked up to a rather unsuspecting turtle and said, “I was wondering if you might give me a lift across this little pond?”

The turtle said, “Are you joking? You will sting me, and we’ll both drown.”

The scorpion said, “My dear turtle, if I were to sting you, I would go down with you. Where would the logic be in that?”

As they made their way across the little pond, however, the scorpion pulled out his stinger and gave the turtle a mighty sting. As they both sank to the bottom, the turtle turned to the scorpion and said, “There was no logic in stinging me. Why in the world did you do it?”

The scorpion replied, “It has nothing to do with logic. It’s just my nature.”

This is a good point. When we give in to temptation, it has nothing to do with logic. It’s just our nature. We like to say, “The Devil made me do it” or “Circumstances overwhelmed me” or “I couldn’t control myself.” But in reality, it’s just our sinful nature.

Let’s not give in to the enticement of our own desires. As the Scripture says, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14, NIV).

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

Greg Laurie – Sowing and Reaping

April 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. —Galatians 6:8

A successful building contractor called in one of his employees, a skilled carpenter, and told him that he was putting him in charge of the next house the company was building. He instructed the carpenter to order all of the materials and oversee the entire process from the ground up. The carpenter excitedly accepted his assignment. It was his first opportunity to actually oversee an entire building project. He studied the blueprints and checked every measurement.

Then he thought, If I’m really in charge, why can’t I cut a few corners, use less expensive materials, and put the extra money in my pocket? Who would know the difference? After we paint the place, no one would be able to tell.

The carpenter set about with his scheme. He used second-grade lumber and ordered inexpensive concrete for the foundation. He put in cheap wiring. He cut every corner he possibly could, but reported the use of higher-quality building materials.

When the home was completed, he asked his boss to come and see it. His boss looked it over and said, “This is incredible. You did a fantastic job. You have been such a good and faithful worker and have been so honest all of these years that I am showing my gratitude by giving you this house.”

We will reap what we sow. Just as we can’t plant weeds and reap flowers, we can’t sin and reap righteousness. There are reactions to our actions. Think about it: every day, we are either sowing to the Spirit or we are sowing to the flesh. What kind of seeds will you sow today?

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

Greg Laurie – The Spiritual Battlefield

April 3, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

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

Someone once asked the great evangelist Charles Finney, “Do you really believe in a literal devil?”

Finney responded, “You try opposing him for a while, and you see if he’s literal or not.” If you want to find out if there is a literal devil, then start walking with Jesus Christ and seeking to be in the will of God. You will find just how real he is.

I think that many people, after they have decided to follow Christ, are surprised to find that the Christian life can be so difficult, so intense sometimes. It isn’t a life of ease, but one of conflict, warfare, and opposition. Our choice is simple: Will we be victorious? Or will we be victims on the spiritual battlefield?

It has been said that you can tell a lot about a man by who his enemies are. The same is true for us. We are no longer opposing God, but we now have a new, very powerful foe, and he is described in the Bible as the Devil. The Devil, of course, is not happy with the fact that he has lost one of his own. He is angry that you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ. Now you have become a potential threat to his kingdom as well.

The closer you stay to the Lord, the safer you are, because you stand in the work that Jesus did on the cross. Don’t try to engage the Devil in your own ability because he can chew you up and spit you out. But if you stand in the Lord and in His power and stay as close to Him as you can, then you will be safe.

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

Greg Laurie – What’s Inside?

April 2, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. —Job 27:6

I heard the story of a pastor who boarded a bus one morning, paid his fare, and took his seat. A few minutes later, he realized that the driver had given him too much change. Some people might have put it in their pocket and said, “Lord, thank You for Your provision.” But this pastor knew that would be wrong. At the next stop, he walked to the front of the bus with the extra change and said to the driver, “Excuse me, sir, you gave me too much change, and I wanted to return it to you because obviously you made a mistake.”

The driver said, “Pastor, I didn’t make a mistake. I was at your church last night and heard you preach on honesty. I wanted to see if you practiced what you preached.”

Fortunately, he did.

People are watching you as a Christian, virtually scrutinizing your every move. You should know they aren’t hoping you will be a godly witness. They are hoping you will slip up so they will have something on which to conveniently hang their doubts and unbelief.

Humorist Will Rogers said, “So live that you wouldn’t mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip.” That is the idea of integrity: having nothing in our lives to be ashamed of. This personal integrity is something we are developing on a daily basis with every thought we think and every action we take. We are either building up character or tearing it down.

What kind of character do you have? Who are you in private? For all practical purposes, that is the real you.

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

Greg Laurie – Conditional Obedience

April 1, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

They did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. —Jeremiah 7:24

My dog practices selective listening. When he doesn’t like what I am saying, he acts as though he doesn’t understand me. If he is in my room at bedtime and I tell him to leave, he looks at me as if to say, “What?” It’s as though his hearing is gone. On the other hand, he can be asleep behind closed doors, and if I go downstairs, open the cupboard, and pull out his leash, he suddenly has supersonic hearing. He is right there at my side. When he likes what I want him to do, my dog hears and obeys me. But when he doesn’t like what I want him to do, my dog doesn’t hear and doesn’t obey.

We can be the same with God. When God tells us to do something we like, we say, “Yes, Lord!” But when He tells us to stop doing something, we say, “God, I think you’re cutting out on me. There’s too much static. I’m not hearing you clearly.”

Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). He didn’t say, “You are My friends if you do the things that you personally agree with.” God has told us in His Word how we are to live. It is not for us to pick and choose sections of the Bible that we like and toss the rest aside.

If God tells you to do something, He says it for good reason, and you need to obey Him. If God says not to do something, He also says it for good reason. Even if you don’t understand it, obey Him.

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

Greg Laurie – The Master Arsonist

March 31, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. —1 Thessalonians 4:3, NLT

When wildfires swept through Southern California one fall a few years ago, I noticed a photograph in the newspaper of an entire neighborhood that had been leveled by the fires. All that was left were the foundations. In the midst of all the burned, charred rubble stood one house that remained completely untouched, even by smoke. This gleaming white house stood in stark contrast to all of the ruin around it.

When asked why his house was left standing when all the others fell, the homeowner explained how he had taken great care to make his house flame-retardant. This included double-paned windows, thick stucco walls, sealed eaves, concrete tile, and abundant insulation. Firefighters said, “It made it clear to us that this would be a place to make a stand.” This man went the extra mile, and as a result, his house survived when the fires came.

Satan, a master arsonist, is causing massive devastation today. Our country is being devastated by the wildfires of immorality. It destroys homes. It devastates families. And if we aren’t careful, we could become its next victims.

The writer of Proverbs asked, “Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire?” (6:27 NLT). The answer is no. Fire can burn out of control so easily.

If we as believers allow temptation to infiltrate our lives and allow our sinful natures to prevail, we could fall, as surely as a fire spreads by putting gasoline on it. But if we take practical steps to guard ourselves and to stay close to the Lord, then we don’t have to fall.

Let’s go the extra mile to protect our homes and our lives against the wildfires of immorality.

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

Greg Laurie – Against All Odds

March 29, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. —2 Chronicles 20:3–4

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, faced a dilemma. His enemies greatly outnumbered him. To make matters worse, his enemies had joined forces with the other enemies of Israel and were coming to destroy him. One day, someone came to King Jehoshaphat and warned him that a gigantic army was headed his way, bent on his destruction. It was hopeless. There was no way that he could meet this army with what he had. He was going to be destroyed. What did Jehoshaphat do? The Bible says that he “set himself to seek the Lord.” He prayed, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

The Lord told Jehoshaphat, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. . . . Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you” (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

Jehoshaphat and his army went out to meet their enemies, but they put the worship team out front. The Bible says that when they began to sing and praise the Lord, the enemy started fighting among themselves and destroyed each other.

Maybe you are facing what seems like an impossible situation right now. You may not be able to see a way out. But God can. Call on Him. Then stand still and see what He will do.

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

Greg Laurie – Letting God Choose

March 28, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. —Ephesians 3:20, NLT

When my oldest son was a little boy, I would take him to Toys R Us. We would look around, and I would tell him to pick out something for himself. He would look at the Star Wars figures. I would look at the X-wing fighter with the remote control, thinking that I would like to get it for him. The truth was that I wanted to play with it too. He would pick out his little figure. Then I would say, “I was thinking of getting you something better than that.” He always went along with my idea.

After a while, he started learning something about Dad, which was that Dad liked to get presents for his kids. He came to realize that it was better to say, “I don’t know what to get, Dad. You choose it for me.” He came to realize that my choices often were better than what he chose for himself.

Have you ever said to the Lord, “Here is the way I think You ought to work. But not my will, but Yours, be done”?

Some might say, “I’m not saying that to God! If I say that, He will make me do something

I don’t want to.”

I believe a person who thinks that way has a warped concept of God, a misconception that

His will is always going to be something undesirable.

God may be saying no to something you have asked Him for because He wants to give you something far better than what you could ask or think. Don’t be afraid to let your Father choose for you.

Greg Laurie – A Work in Progress

March 27, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. —Ecclesiastes 3:11

I am an artist. I like to draw and design. Sometimes when I am sketching, someone will come along, look over my shoulder, and see only a certain shape or form.

“What’s it going to be?” the person asks. “Just wait.”

“I think you should do it this way. . . .”

“Just let me do it,” I say. “Why don’t you let me alone until I’m finished, and then I will gladly show it to you.”

Every artist loves to display his work. But when I am working on my art, I know it is a work in progress. When I’m done, then I am happy to show it to others.

You, too, are a work in progress. God is doing a work in your life. When it is done, He will show you. If it isn’t done yet, be patient. God sees the end from the beginning. We can’t see what it is, but God can. That is important to remember. As God told the exiled nation of Israel, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

For Israel, it meant they would be in Babylon for a while, but ultimately, God would get them out. What it means specifically for us on a day-to-day basis, time will tell. Whatever it is, it is good because God is in control of it.

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

Scriptures, Lessons, News and Links to help you survive.