Tag Archives: holy spirit

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Our Words are Seeds

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Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.- Hebrews 4:13 NLT

Every action is a seed we sow, and we will reap a harvest from our seeds. Our words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions are all seeds that we sow, and seeds produce harvest. Sow mercy; reap mercy. Sow judgment; reap judgment. Sow kindness; reap kindness. If you don’t like how your life is right now, I have good news for you. You can change your life by sowing right seeds.

If you’re not in a good place in life, you didn’t make one wrong choice to end up where you are, and you can’t make one right choice to get yourself out of it. Change won’t happen overnight. But if you invest your life in learning what is the right thing to do and then do it with God’s help, you will reap the harvest.

Power Thought: With God’s help, I’m sowing good seeds every day of my life.

Uncategorized

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Humble Dependence

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Is your relationship with God intensely personal? Your response can be “yes,” but there is always room for improvement. Today’s culture wants to pull you into its mold and accept the things it tolerates. But you must be different.

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?

Psalm 116:12

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) As you listen to His Word, you realize the Lord’s goodness and His ultimate love for you…He gave His Son Jesus Christ to be your Savior. If you are indifferent to this fact, you have slighted God and will miss His blessings.

So what shall you render for all his benefits? One Bible commentator wrote that God delights in the payment of a heart won to His love and melted by His mercies. A thankful heart responds in prayers of adoration, thanksgiving and humble dependence…an indication that you are genuinely convinced of His wisdom and love. Let that carry over into your prayers for this nation – the results can be surprising as you give Him honor with your lips and your heart.

Recommended Reading: Hebrews 12:18-28

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – New Every Morning

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Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.—Lamentations 3:22–23

Sometimes I will run into people I knew years ago, and they will say, “Hey, Greg, we remember the old days back at the tent [at Calvary Chapel]. Those were good days, weren’t they?”

“Yeah, those were great days,” I will say. “So anyway, where are you going to church now?”

“We don’t go to church. We’re still living off the tent.”

They need to get current. That was then, this is now. For some people, it is all about what God did thirty years ago or twenty years ago. But I am interested in what God is doing today. And I want to see what He will do tomorrow. The past is interesting to me only to the extent that I can learn from it so I don’t make mistakes that I have made there. I can also remember some great things that God did and pray that He will do them again.

There’s a place for remembering, but let’s not be crippled by past victories that stop us from doing what God wants us to do today. The Bible says that His mercies are new every morning (see Lamentations 3:22–23).

That is why Paul could say, “Forgetting those things which are behind . . .” (Philippians 3:13). If anyone could have rested on his laurels, it was Paul. He had a pedigree that didn’t stop (see Philippians 3:4). And if anyone could have been crippled by his past, it was Paul. Before he was the great apostle, he was the notorious Saul of Tarsus, the Christian killer. But Paul wouldn’t allow himself to be crippled by past sins or to be distracted by past victories. Nor should we.

God wants to do a fresh work in your life today—and He wants to do another one tomorrow.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Cause of Your Fatigue

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Most people embrace the assumption that God saves good people. So be good. Be moral. Be honest. But for all the talk about being good—what level of good is good enough? It’s an essential question; at stake is our eternal destination.

Paul said in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” We contribute nothing. Zilch. Salvation of the soul is unearned…it’s a gift. Our merit means nothing. God’s work merits everything.

Paul’s message in Galatians 3:13 is this, “Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself.” Translation– Say no to the rules and lists. Say no to slavery and performance. He asked, “Do you know what this means?” And I ask, “Do you?” If you don’t, I know the cause of your fatigue. You need to trust God’s grace.

From GRACE

Charles Stanley
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 1 Peter 1:3-9

Obviously, we don’t enjoy times of trial or conflict. Despite the assurance we have that God will always be by our side through any and every circumstance (Heb. 13:5), it is still natural to fear and bemoan such occurrences.

In hardships, however, we often forget the very words Christ spoke in John 16:33. We hear and certainly relate to the first part of His instruction: “In the world you have tribulation.” We’ve all faced enough problems to know that it is not possible to avoid them altogether. In fact, Jesus takes it a step further by asserting that our faith in Him will actually lead to even more attacks and criticism (15:18-20). Truly it is impossible for a devoted Christian to live trouble-free in a world that is hostile toward God.

What we tend to miss in Jesus’ statement, however, is the second half of the verse. After delivering the “bad” news that we would have tribulation in our life, He offers a word of hope: “But take courage! I have overcome the world.” Notice that He didn’t say, “I will overcome,” but rather, “I have overcome.” In Christ, the victory has already been won. He has victory over all things. Even the world’s greatest threat, death itself, has already been defeated by Jesus Christ.

Life certainly isn’t easy. However, we have a loving God who not only understands our suffering but also chose to experience it Himself. Because He did, we can now claim participation in the ultimate victory over every trial of life.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – The Unseen World

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The Angel of the Lord [was] standing in the way. —Numbers 22:23

 

Read: Numbers 22:21-31
Bible in a Year: Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41

Did you know that the microbes on just one of your hands outnumber all of the people on the earth? Or that millions of microbes could fit into the eye of a needle? These one-celled, living organisms are too small for us to see without a microscope, yet they live in the air, soil, water, and even in our bodies. We constantly interact with them, even though their world is completely beyond our senses.

The realities of the spiritual world are also often not visible to us humans, as the prophet Balaam discovered. He was trudging along the road with his two servants when his donkey “saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand” (Num. 22:23). To avoid the angel, the animal walked into a field, crushed Balaam’s foot against a wall, and lay down with Balaam still on her back. Balaam was angry and struck the donkey. He didn’t realize something supernatural was going on—until God opened his eyes (v.31).

The Bible tells us that a spiritual world does exist, and we may sometimes encounter realities from that realm—both good and bad (Heb. 13:2; Eph. 6:12). Because of this, we are encouraged to be watchful, prayerful, and prepared. Just as God rules the world we see, He also rules the unseen world.—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Heavenly Father, help us to be strong in You and in the power of Your might. Open our eyes so that we may see the spiritual realities You have for us.

All that is seen and unseen is under God’s sovereign power.
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Lament and the Open Grave

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It was a cold February at Christ of the Desert monastery, high in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Behind the chapel, author William Bryant Logan noticed an open grave, the disturbed red soil waiting in a tall mound beside it.

“Has a brother died?” he asked a monk.

“No,” he answered, “but we cannot dig in winter, so we opened this grave ahead of time, just in case.”

To many of us, an open grave is unnerving, the thought of soil disturbed and waiting entirely unwelcome. “An open grave is an open mouth,” writes Logan. “It exhales all the suggestion of the dark.”(1) In the Western world in particular, we have a complicated relationship with death, dismissing as much of it as we can manage from sight and mind and society. An open grave is a gaping wound we seem to prefer buried.

Christian theologian J. Todd Billings notes something similar about the practice of lament, a discipline—maybe even a word—that has fallen out of use in modern times, buried or hidden in Christian liturgies. “[I]n a growing trend,” writes Billings, “many funerals completely avoid the language of dying and death as well as the appearance of the dead body—turning it all into a one-sided ‘celebration’ of the life of the one who has died.”(1) While this language might be fitting for certain worldviews, where death remains an enemy that puts an end to the celebration, the biblical paradox about death attends to far more of the human experience. The Christian worldview affords the hopeful (and far more multivalent) language of celebration to be sure—Christ has indeed conquered death—but likewise, we are afforded the equally hopeful language of lament, given permission to groan as mortals who do not yet taste the fullness of the victory Christ has won, as creatures who confess with their Creator that death is an enemy of God. Where we fail to face this fuller vision of our mortality, writes Billings, “we attend to one side of the biblical paradox about death, forgetting that even the death of a very elderly person is not ‘altogether sweet and beautiful’… [At the grave of Lazarus], Jesus still wept—even for one who would be raised again. And so should we.”(2)

For Billings, the signs of death’s current reign and the dire need for the language of lament are not the mere theological abstractions of a theology professor. In a book he never fathomed he would write at the midpoint of his life, Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ, his need for the language of lament is voiced in personal terms. The book is a remarkably honest account of his own lamenting, but it is equally clear that lament itself is a gift of the church to the world.

In one section, Billings describes his own congregation, filled with an array of people and stages of life, a church that baptizes and celebrates new life in Christ and holds funerals on a regular basis. This collective, human journey struck him as he led a Sunday school class after his diagnosis, compelling an honesty that moved him. “In this room are cancer survivors who have gone through chemo; and there are others who have lost spouses and other loved ones to cancer and other disease and tragedy. The congregation is the only place in Western culture where we develop relationships, celebrate our faith and life together, and also extend those same relationships all the way through death and dying… That is a gift of the church. I would go so far as to say that a top recommended question from me for ‘church shoppers’ might be this: who would you like to bury you?”(3)

For any death-denying culture, the church sits as a striking counterpoint, empowered by the crucified Jesus to tell a vastly different story. But the whole story needs to be told. “The Psalms—with their laments, petitions, and praises—have been a staple of Christian worship for centuries. They, along with the sacraments of Christ’s dying and new life, have incorporated death into the story of Christian worship.”(4) The Christian imagination is not one that has to bury its head in the sand, taking its cues from our culture’s qualms about death. To lament is not to undermine that we are a people who live in hope. On the contrary, it is a gift of God for the people of God, who discover in the vicarious humanity of the crucified Lord both a more profound rejoicing and a more honest lament. Whereas other worldviews have no basis for the practice of lamentation (to whom would we lament?), for the Christian it is a part of the journey, a testimony to our identity in Christ. Writes Billings, “To mourn and to protest is to testify that the gifts of creation are truly wondrous, that the communion with God and others that we taste in Christ is truly the way things are supposed to be—thus alienation and death are not truly ‘natural’ but enemies of God and his kingdom.”(5)

The lections of the Christian season of Lent upon us are full of God’s care within multifaceted journeys: crossings from darkness into light, blindness to vision, the familiar to the unexpected, thirst to a place of provision. We find journeys beside still waters, through dark valleys and green pastures to a table prepared in the presence of enemies, pathways from the desert to the Sea of Galilee, a valley of dry bones and the tomb of a friend to a meal in an upper room and the crucifixion of the Lamb. There are no abstractions here. As Billings attests of the Christian story, it is mercifully not one that asks us to deny the dark and painful realities of life. Death is not pushed away in denial, but incorporated into God’s redemptive story, and held by a storyteller who knows every part of the journey, even the open grave.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) William Bryant Logan, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth (New York: W.W. Norton, 1995), 48.

(2) J. Todd Billings, Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker,2015), 108.

(3) Ibid., 101.

(4) Ibid., 109.

(5) Ibid., 100.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – He Promises

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I will never leave you.  Hebrews 13:5

 No promise is for private application. Whatever God has said to one saint, He has said to all. When He opens a well for one, it is that all may drink. When He opens a granary-door to give out food, there may be one starving man who is the reason for it being opened, but all hungry saints may come and feed too. Whether He gave the word to Abraham or to Moses matters not, believer; He has given it to you as one of the covenanted seed.

There is not a high blessing too lofty for you, nor a wide mercy too extensive for you. Lift up your eyes now to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, for all this is yours. Climb to the mountaintop, and view the utmost limits of the divine promise, for the land is all your own. There is not a brook of living water of which you may not drink. If the land flows with milk and honey, eat the honey and drink the milk, for both are yours. Be bold to believe, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

In this promise, God gives His people everything. “I will never leave you.” Then no attribute of God can cease to be engaged for us. Is He mighty? He will show Himself strong on behalf of them that trust Him. Is He love? Then with loving-kindness will He have mercy upon us. Whatever attributes may compose the character of Deity, every one of them to its fullest extent shall be engaged on your side.

To summarize, there is nothing you can want, there is nothing you can ask for, there is nothing you can need in time or in eternity, there is nothing living, nothing dying, there is nothing in this world, nothing in the next world, there is nothing now, nothing at the resurrection-morning, nothing in heaven that is not contained in this text–“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

 

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for February 23, 2015
* Exodus 6
* Luke 9

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A solemn warning for all churches

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“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4

Suggested Further Reading: John 14:18-24

Do you meet with many men who hold communion with Christ? Though they may be godly men, upright men, ask them if they hold communion with Christ, and will they understand you? If you give them some of those sweetly spiritual books, that those who hold fellowship love to read, they will say they are mystical, and they do not love them. Ask them whether they can spend an hour in meditation upon Christ, whether they ever rise to heaven and lay their head on the breast of the Saviour, whether they ever know what it is to enter into rest and get into Canaan; whether they understand how he has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; whether they can often say,

“Abundant sweetness while I sing
Thy love, my ravish’d heart o’erflows;
Secure in thee my God and King
Of glory that no period knows.”

Ask them that, and they will say, “We don’t comprehend you.” Now, the reason of it is in the first part of my sermon—they have defiled their garments, and therefore Christ will not walk with them. He says “Those that have not defiled their garments shall walk with me.” Those who hold fast the truth, who take care to be free from the prevailing sins of the times, “These,” he says, “shall walk with me; they shall be in constant fellowship with me; I will let them see that I am bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh; I will bring them into the banqueting-house; my banner over them shall be love; they shall drink wine on the lees well refined; they shall have the secrets of the Lord revealed unto them, because they are the people who truly fear me: they shall walk with me in white.”

For meditation: Do you have to confess that you have no idea what Spurgeon is talking about? If so, he must be talking about you!

Sermon no. 68
23 February (Preached 24 February 1856)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Realizing Our Ultimate Priority

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“To the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11).

To glorify God is to reflect His character in your words and deeds.

Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 closes with a reminder that love, excellence, integrity, and righteousness bring glory and praise to God.

God’s glory is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings, and rightly so because that is the Christian’s highest priority. But what is God’s glory and what does it mean to bring Him glory? After all, He is infinitely glorious in nature, so we can’t add anything to Him. His glory is never diminished, so it doesn’t have to be replenished or bolstered.

In Exodus 33:18-19 Moses says to God, “‘I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!’ And [God] said, ‘I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.'” In effect God was telling Moses that His glory is the composite of His attributes.

That suggests we can glorify God by placing His attributes on display in our lives. When others see godly characteristics like love, mercy, patience, and kindness in you, they have a better picture of what God is like. That honors Him. That’s why it’s so important to guard your attitudes and actions. Paul admonished Timothy to be exemplary in his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Tim. 4:12). That should be true of every believer!

Another way to glorify God is to praise Him. David said, “Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in holy array. . . . In His temple everything says, ‘Glory!'” (Ps. 29:1- 2, 9).

You cannot add to God’s glory, but you can proclaim it in your words and deeds. What picture of God do others see in you? Does your life bring glory to Him?

Suggestions for Prayer;  In 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 David instructs Asaph and Asaph’s relatives on how to glorify God. Using that passage as a model, spend time in prayer glorifying God.

For Further Study; Reread 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, noting any specific instructions that apply to you.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Sit Down

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But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.- Ephesians 2:4–6 NKJV

Today’s scripture says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. I read past that passage one day, and the Holy Spirit stopped me. After His resurrection and ascension, Jesus is often depicted as being seated at the right hand of the Father.

Do you know what people do when they sit? They rest. To be seated in heavenly places with Jesus is to enter an “inner rest.”

Sometimes when you start to get nervous and upset, anxious or worried, tell yourself, “Sit down.” That does not mean just your physical body; it also means your soul—your mind, will, and emotions. It is important to let your entire being rest and just wait on God. Wait expectantly for God to do what you cannot do. Don’t worry, get frustrated, or become fearful while you rest. We often feel that we should always be “doing” something. The promise of God’s peace is not made to those who work, struggle, and strive in their own strength, but to those who enter God’s rest.

Love Yourself Today: “Lord, teach me how to sit down in Your holy rest.”

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Kingdom of Heaven

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“Happy are those who are persecuted because they are good, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:10).

Have you ever been persecuted because of your faith in Christ? If so, how did you respond?

While Francis Xavier was preaching one day in one of the cities of Japan, a man walked up to him as if he had something to say to him privately. As the missionary leaned closer to hear what he had to say, the man spat on his face.

Without a word or the least sign of annoyance, Xavier pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face. Then he went on with his important message as if nothing had happened. The scorn of the audience was turned to admiration.

The most learned doctor of the city happened to be present.

“A law which teaches men such virtue, inspires them with such courage, and gives them such complete mastery over themselves,” he said, “could not but be from God.”

Supernatural power and enablement by God’s Holy Spirit make that kind of behavior possible for every believer. Furthermore, that kind of behavior probably will do more to attract and influence an unbelieving world than words ever can.

With Christ as our example, love as our motive, and humility as our covering, let us depend on God’s Holy Spirit for the wisdom and strength required to respond to mistreatment in a Christ-like way. Then, and only then, are we in a position to reflect honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:7-12

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Mindful that millions of Christians have died as martyrs getting the message of God’s good news through to men, and remembering that “all who live godly lives in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, “I will not shrink from whatever the Lord may have in store for me today as His witness. Drawing upon the supernatural resources of God, I will demonstrate by my words and witness that I belong to Christ.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Sure to Inspire!

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One way to deal with bad news is to disguise it, and corporate wordsmiths have turned this strategy into an art form. A well-known airline recently issued a press release saying it had “outlined a long-term plan to drive shareholder returns through new and existing initiatives aimed at enhancing the Company’s product advantage and service-oriented culture while delivering improved financial results.” The CEO added that the new focus would help the company “inspire humanity and its differentiated model of serving underserved customers.”

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7

Can you even begin to guess what this verbiage means? The answer is that the airline was adding new fees for checked baggage and reducing leg room to squeeze more seats into their airplanes. How this might “inspire humanity” is anyone’s guess.

There’s plenty of bad news in America these days – and new baggage fees are likely the least of your worries. But there’s no need to be fazed or afraid when your trust is in the Lord. As you worship Him today and pray for America, do so with a firm and glad heart. However uncomfortable the journey may be right now, your final destination is secure…and sure to inspire you!

Recommended Reading: II Corinthians 3:12-18

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Put It Away

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“No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.’ “—Jeremiah 31:34

I read about an interesting custom that takes place every New Year’s Eve in Italy. Just before midnight, the streets are cleared. Even the policemen take cover, because at the stroke of midnight, the windows of the houses fly open, and to the sound of laughter, music, and fireworks, everyone throws out what they no longer want. Old dishes, hated furniture, and some personal possessions are tossed out of the windows. It’s a way of dealing with the old year, wiping it out, and starting fresh. I like the idea of that.

The apostle Paul said in Philippians, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (3:13). To forget something does not mean failing to remember; it means no longer being influenced or affected by it.

When God promised, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34), it is not suggesting that God was having a lapse in memory. He knows everything. He remembers everything. When God says He is choosing not to remember something, it means that He is putting it away.

We can put it away as well. We break the power of the past by living for the future. And we should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. Sometimes we are crippled by the things we have done wrong. Instead, we should learn from our mistakes and fail forward, which means not doing the same things again. Otherwise, we haven’t learned anything.

It’s a serious sin to do the wrong thing, but what is even worse is to repeat it. And one sure way to forget our past is to not repeat our mistakes.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – We’ve Been Found Guilty

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Romans 3:10 introduces an essential truth. “There is no one righteous, not even one. . .no one who seeks God. All have turned away, there is no one who does good, not even one.”

We must start where God starts. We won’t appreciate what grace does until we understand who we are. We are rebels. We deserve to die. Four prison walls, thickened with hurt, and hate, surround us. Incarcerated by our past, our low-road choices, and our high-minded pride. We have been found guilty.

Our executioner’s footsteps echo against stone walls. We don’t look up as he opens the door and begins to speak. We know what he’s going to say– “Time to pay for your sins.” But we hear something else. “You’re free to go. They took Jesus instead of you.” The light shines, the shackles are gone, and our crimes are pardoned.

What just happened? Grace happened!

From GRACE

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Hope for the Hopeless: Learning to Trust God in the Low Points of Our Lives

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Do you feel as though God is distant? Sometimes, when we can’t sense His presence, we wonder if He has forgotten us. Some people even believe God is merely a third-party observer and is no longer involved in the world. To them, He set the earth in motion long ago but is now uninterested in our daily lives. 

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep (John 10). He promised to protect and provide for us, and we misunderstand Him if we think He doesn’t care.

Our spiritual lives are full of highs and lows, valleys and mountaintops. But some people panic, or grow bitter and angry, when they face a disappointing situation. They ask, Where is God? Why hasn’t He answered my prayer? Why is He silent while I’m hurting? Many believers become disillusioned and hopeless. And instead of seeing a valley, they see an endless tunnel with no light at the end.

This is a dangerous mindset, because it causes a person to lose confidence in the Lord. With such an attitude, trusting that the pain will end becomes increasingly difficult.

But there is a reason to trust in God.

If you are at a low point and feeling hopeless, be encouraged. The Good Shepherd, who is the Sovereign of this universe, is with you. You may not always sense His presence or see how He’s working, but He’s there. The Lord loves you unconditionally and is ready and willing to help. All you need to do is turn to Him.

God does not send anyone into a valley, but He may allow us to enter one to teach dependence upon Him. One day, perhaps you’ll look back and think, Thank you, God, for never leaving me, and for carrying me through the low place. You’ll never be able to thank Him enough.

So why do we get discouraged in dark times? I believe there are four reasons.

  1. We don’t have a solid belief system.

What do you believe about God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole spiritual world? Many people accept a little of this or that, but not the whole witness of God’s Word. You could say that their theology is “all over the place.” If we don’t have a clear understanding of the truth, we won’t be able to live an authentic Christian life and will have a difficult time making wise choices.

Some people may say, “This is over my head.” But we don’t need to be intimidated by theology. It simply helps us know Who God is and how to understand the Scriptures.

Knowing God’s character is a must. Failing to do so can cause us to panic in difficult times, and could lead us to make destructive choices.

  1. We don’t understand the ways of God.

Evidence of confusion about God is everywhere. For instance, some people think God shouldn’t allow His followers to suffer. They believe that if a person experiences pain or illness, it is because of sin or a lack of faith. They think that if you trust and obey God, you won’t get sick and will never be in want of anything.

But the Word of God doesn’t teach this. Not all suffering is punishment for sinful actions. Take a look at the life of the apostle Paul. God saved him on the road to Damascus and called him to preach the gospel. And yet he experienced much suffering in his life as a believer. Paul wasn’t living in sin when he was stoned in the streets or imprisoned. Because he persevered through each hardship, we are blessed with the epistles he wrote during those times.

  1. Our faith is based on emotion.

Sometimes we think, I can trust Him as long as everything’s going my way. But this leaves us feeling hopeless when things go wrong. We cannot base our faith on emotion, personal judgment, or perception—it must be grounded in the Word of God. When we feel discouraged, we need to ask, What is the clear teaching of Scripture? You won’t come across any kind of valley experience for which God doesn’t provide an answer in His Word.

  1. We don’t know God’s promises.

How can we feel hopeless when the Father promises to love, protect, and guide us throughout our lives? If we commit the Scriptures to memory, He will bring them to mind whenever we need encouragement.

Closing Thoughts

There are many things that happen in a valley, and God allows us to experience them for a number of reasons. The truth is, we tend to learn far more from the low points in our lives than we do from the high. When do you learn the most about trusting God? Too often we take the good things for granted. It’s in times of trial that we learn how to lean on the Lord.

If you haven’t discovered who God is and how He operates, then start now. Spend time reading the Bible each day, learning his promises and committing them to memory. Remember to trust Him with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understandings—or emotions (Prov. 3:5). Follow Him, and He will walk you—and you will never be alone again.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Ask The Author

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We have the mind of Christ. —1 Corinthians 2:16

Read: 1 Corinthians 2:9-16
Bible in a Year: Numbers 4-6; Mark 4:1-20

Over the years I’ve been part of various book groups. Typically, several friends read a book and then we get together to discuss the ideas the author has put forward. Inevitably, one person will raise a question that none of us can answer. And then someone will say, “If only we could ask the author.” A popular new trend in New York City is making that possible. Some authors, for a hefty fee, are making themselves available to meet with book clubs.

How different it is for those of us who gather to study the Bible. Jesus meets with us whenever we get together. No fees. No scheduling conflicts. No travel expenses. Furthermore, we have the Holy Spirit to guide our understanding. One of the last promises Jesus made to His disciples was that God would send the Holy Spirit to teach them (John 14:26).

The Author of the Bible is not limited by time or space. He can meet with us at any time and any place. So whenever we have a question, we can ask with the assurance that He will answer—though perhaps not according to our timetable.

God wants us to have the mind of the Author (1 Cor. 2:16) so that through the teaching of the Spirit we will comprehend the greatness of the gift He has freely given us (v.12).—Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, thank You that You are meeting with me right now. I want to be taught by You. I don’t want just to have more knowledge about You; I want to know You in the depths of my heart.

When you open your Bible, ask the Author to open your mind and heart.

INSIGHT: One role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the follower of Christ is that of a guide to help discern spiritual truth. In John 16:13, Jesus said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (niv).
John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Cultivating the Fruit of Righteousness

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“Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:11).

Bearing spiritual fruit is the acid test of a true believer.

After facing life-threatening situations, people often say, “I saw my entire life flash before my eyes.” That’s the picture we get in Philippians 1:11.

“The fruit of righteousness” refers to what is produced in you as you operate in love, pursue excellence, and maintain your integrity. It includes every attitude and action consistent with God’s standard of what is right.

“Having been filled” speaks of something that happened in the past with continuing results. At your salvation the seed of righteousness was planted within you. It bears righteous fruit throughout your lifetime. On the day of Christ that fruit will confirm your salvation.

Fruitfulness has always been the acid test of true salvation. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31). When John the Baptist admonished his followers to “bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8), he was speaking of good deeds (vv. 10-14). Paul said we are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10) John said that all who profess Christ should live as He lived (cf. 1 John 2:6).

Bearing spiritual fruit is not something you can achieve on your own. It “comes through Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:11). Jesus Himself said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

You were redeemed to glorify God through righteous deeds. Make that your priority today.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Psalm 71 is a psalm of praise to God for His righteousness and faithful provisions. Read it and meditate on its truths. Then praise God for His righteousness toward you.
  • Ask for opportunities to demonstrate righteousness to others today.

For Further Study

Read Proverbs 11:1-9, 15:8-9, and 21:2-3, noting the characteristics and benefits of righteousness.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Spokesperson for God

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Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time. She sat under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came up to her for judgment.- Judges 4:4–5

Whether we look at Miriam, Deborah, Esther, and Ruth in the Old Testament or Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, or Priscilla in the New Testament, we easily see that God has always used women in ministry. For instance, Deborah was a prophetess and a judge. As a prophetess, she was a spokesperson for God. As a judge, she made decisions on God’s behalf.

When God needed someone to save the Jews from the destruction that wicked Haman had planned for them, He called upon Esther (Esther 4:14). If God is against using women, why didn’t He call a man for this job? Esther sacrificed her plans as a young woman and allowed herself to be taken into the king’s harem in order to be in a position to speak on behalf of God’s people when the time came to do so. Because of her obedience, God gave her favor with the king, and she exposed a plot to kill all of the Jews. She saved her nation and became a queen who held a high position of leadership in the land and cared for the poor.

Lord, help me to be a spokesperson for You today. Wherever You put me, I will do whatever it takes to represent Your great name. Amen.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Inherit My Holy Mountain

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“Let’s see if the whole collection of your idols can help you when you cry to them to save you! They are so weak that the wind can carry them off! A breath can puff them away. But he who trusts in Me shall possess the land and inherit My Holy Mountain” (Isaiah 57:13).

It was the very last week prior to our deadline for raising two million dollars to purchase the property at Arrowhead Springs for our international Campus Crusade for Christ headquarters. A dear friend had offered a $300,000 matching fund as a gift if we could raise the balance of the $2 million by a certain date.

Because of a very heavy speaking schedule at both the student and faculty conferences held at Arrowhead, I was unable to make any significant contribution to the raising of funds. And yet somehow in my heart of hearts I knew that God was going to supply our need in a miraculous way.

The late Dr. V. Raymond Edman, then president of Wheaton College, was one of the featured speakers at the conferences. At breakfast, one day Dr. Edman shared with my wife, Vonette, and me this very meaningful verse in Isaiah – a verse that God had impressed upon him that morning to share with us as he prayed about our urgent financial needs.

Now we were all the more encouraged to believe God in an even greater way than before. We truly expected to see Him provide the remaining funds – miraculously. In the evening of the day of the deadline, I was informed that we still needed $33,000 and that every possible source of revenue had been exhausted. There was nothing more, humanly speaking, we could do. Yet, through a series of circumstances between 11:00 and midnight, those funds were pledged, and we met the deadline. Exactly at midnight, the last of God’s miracles had been wrought and the goal had been reached. God had promised, “He who trusts in Me shall possess the land and inherit My Holy Mountain” – Arrowhead Springs.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 57:10-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Whether the need be for funds, for health, for wisdom, or whatever, I will believe God to supply my every need as He has so wonderfully promised in His Word to those who trust in Him.