Tag Archives: holy spirit

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Read Your Own Mail

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Submitting to one another in the fear of God.—Ephesians 5:21

Sometimes wives choke on the verse that says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” They might say, “I don’t want to submit to my husband or anybody else.” But before God tells wives to submit to their husbands, God tells both husbands and wives to submit to one another in the reverence of God.

If you are a Spirit-filled person, you will be a submitting person.

Maybe when you think of submission, you equate it with some form of slavery. That is not what submission is in the Bible. Let me put it another way: If you are really filled with the Spirit, you will think of others over yourself. A Spirit-filled husband will put the needs of his wife above his own. A Spirit-filled wife will put the needs of her husband above her own. Both of them are putting the other in the first position.

In military language, it means, “to rank beneath.” It is not about superiority or inferiority. It is about order. It is about sacrifice. It is about obedience. It is not about you; it is about your mate. You want to hold them up. You want to support them.

A successful marriage is not so much about finding the right person as it is about being the right person.

It drives me crazy when I hear wives quote verses to their husbands about what he should be doing, or when the husband quotes verses to the wife about her role. Read your own verses and put them into practice.

Stop blaming your wife and instead be the best husband you can be. Stop blaming your husband and instead be the best wife you can be. Stop reading each other’s mail and just do what God tells you to do. You will be amazed at what will happen.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is a Rock for His People

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“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” (Psalm 18:30-31,46)

Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art.

I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.

Have you ever heard the song “Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting”? Like the psalmists in the Old Testament, we can sing songs about the heart of God. We can sing songs about His character traits and about His amazing works. What are some things about God’s goodness and greatness that you would think of as good reasons to sing?

In the song “Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting,” the writer is rejoicing that Jesus is Someone we can rest in, Someone whose loving heart is very great, Someone worthy of trust, and Someone Who gives joy. In King David’s psalm quoted above (Psalm 18), he rejoices that God’s way is perfect and that His Word has been tried (proven) to be steadfast. He describes God as a buckler (a safe place, a shelter, a fortress) for all who trust Him. More than once, David even calls the LORD a rock!

Do you know of anyone else like that? Anyone else whose ways are perfect? Anyone else who is a fortress for every single person who trusts in him? Anyone else who could be described as a rock? No one else is like that. Only God! That is why David says, “Who is God, save the LORD?” That means, “Who else could God possibly be, if He is not the LORD?”

People think different things are scary, and every child has his own set of fears. You might be afraid to get a shot at the doctor’s office, or maybe visiting a nursing home is scary for you. Maybe caves (or things that live in caves) make you afraid. Maybe you do not even like to cross the street!

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Is a Rock for His People →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Hardship’s Harvest

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 12:11

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.”

I once knew a person who would recount some of the adversities her family was facing and would then put on a forced smile and say, “But we are victorious.” She apparently thought believers should not admit pain. But the writer of Hebrews was honest. He said the discipline of hardship is painful.

“But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). This “fruit of righteousness” is essentially equivalent to sharing in his holiness. Discipline, then, is one of the chief means God uses to make us holy.

The discipline of hardship also produces peace for those who have been trained by it. This, wrote Philip Hughes, “bespeaks the rest and relaxation enjoyed by the victorious contestant once the conflict is over.” Hughes was speaking of the rest that comes to the believer when we go to be with the Lord. But there’s also a peace to be enjoyed in this life for those who have learned to endure adversity as the evidence of God’s fatherly hand upon them to make them more holy.

F.F. Bruce captured this thought well when he wrote, “The person who accepts discipline at the hand of God as something designed by his heavenly Father for his good will cease to feel resentful and rebellious; he has ‘calmed and quieted’ his soul [Psalm 131:2], which thus provides fertile soil for the cultivation of a righteous life, responsive to the will of God.”

The road to holiness is paved with adversity. If we want to be holy, we must expect the discipline of God through the heartaches and disappointments he brings or allows to come into our lives.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – In the Light

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 24-26

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:6

I heard about an automobile dealer who attended a weekend Christian conference for men. Even though the man was a church member, he wasn’t particularly interested in the things of the Lord. He came as a favor to the friend who invited him.

During the weekend, something happened to this man. He had never heard the message of Christ explained in such a clear way before, and somewhere during that weekend–to put it in his own words–“The light went on.” He went away from the conference a changed man. He has a hunger for the Word now and has begun to memorize key portions. He’s studying the Bible with a group of other men, and he has begun to witness to his business associates and friends.

His story reminds me of the testimony of Paul as he stood before King Agrippa. On the road to Damascus, the light went on for Paul, and he was never the same. The Lord gave him a mission to help others see the light as well. Christ had appeared to him for a purpose: to go to the Gentiles and pass along the message that would open their eyes and turn them from the power of Satan to God.

In Acts 26:19, Paul said, “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.” Paul’s words carry the sense of a continuing change–“not once have I been disobedient to the heavenly vision.” For Paul, that day marked a change in lifestyle, a change of purpose, and a divine call.

Prayer

Lord, I love Your light. Help me to continue to walk with You today. Amen.

To Ponder

Once you have seen the light, you can never be content unless you are walking in daily fellowship with Christ and sharing His love with others.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – The Web and Our Humanity: Take Time Away from the Screen

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Back in the mid-1990s, Andrew Sullivan, the former editor of the New Republic, learned he was HIV-positive. Twenty years later, a series of health issues, including infections that wouldn’t clear up, caused him to shut down his popular and influential blog, “The Dish.”

The ironic, or perhaps telling, thing was that his HIV infection had little, if anything, to do with his health troubles. What was making him sick was the Internet.

Sullivan tells this story in the cover story of the September 19th issue of New York Magazine, entitled “I Used to Be a Human Being.” In it he described his version of what is sometimes called “living in the web”: “For a decade and a half, I’d been a web obsessive, publishing blog posts multiple times a day, seven days a week . . . Each morning began with a full immersion in the stream of internet consciousness and news, jumping from site to site, tweet to tweet, breaking news story to hottest take . . .”

The “reward” for this obsessiveness was being among the first people to make a living and a career out of what has been called “Web 2.0.” He turned being a blogger into a being a “brand.”

The price was a “never-stopping,” “always updating” way of living that was incompatible not only with being healthy, but also, as the article’s title suggests, being truly human: “Vacations,” he wrote, “such as they were, had become mere opportunities for sleep,” and “my friendships had atrophied as my time away from the web dwindled.”

Finally, in January of 2015, he walked away, not only from blogging but to a large extent from the web itself. He even attended a silent retreat as a kind of detox.

If running people ragged was all that “living in the web” did to us, that would be bad enough. But Sullivan, like my BreakPoint colleague Shane Morris, is even more concerned about what it does to our souls. It has, in Sullivan’s words, caused “our oldest human skills to atrophy.”

Continue reading BreakPoint – The Web and Our Humanity: Take Time Away from the Screen →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word –SALVATION RELATIONSHIPS: PERFECT FATHER

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Read 1 PETER 1:17–21

The first formal celebrations and services to honor fathers were held in 1908, 1910, and 1912 in various places in the United States. But Father’s Day, held on the third Sunday of June, did not become an official national holiday until 1972. Congress had resisted earlier efforts, with some claiming it would make the celebration of fatherhood too commercialized.

Most people agree that celebrating the role of fathers is a good thing. But it’s also true that many people experience painful relationships with deeply imperfect human fathers. Thankfully, each of us is offered the opportunity to know the perfect heavenly Father, described in these verses.

Peter has used the word Father three times in this chapter to describe God, and each instance reveals another facet. In verse 2, God the Father is described as part of the Trinity, along with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In verse 3, God is described as the Father of Jesus Christ, and in verse 17 He is identified as our Father. It’s important to see that God is not an abstraction or a distant Being—He is continually in relationship with Jesus and now also with us.

This perfect Father is not capricious or vicious (v. 17). As foreigners in this world, we too easily focus on those with earthly power, but we should instead remember that our reverence and awe is due to God. He is the one we are called to imitate, and He is the only one who knows all things and can judge perfectly in all situations (see Deut. 10:17; Gal. 2:6).

This perfect Father also has power over all things, including death (v. 21). In His love, He has redeemed us through the sacrifice of Jesus. And because He has raised Jesus from the dead, we have the confidence that He will also deliver us.

APPLY THE WORD

What an amazing thing to be chosen and loved by this perfect Father! Why not have a “Father’s Day” celebration to praise Him? He doesn’t want a tie or a barbecue set—just our faith, love, reverence, obedience, and praise. You could devote a few minutes today to praising your Father, or plan a gathering of praise with family and friends.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – EIGHT-YEAR-OLD ACCEPTED TO UNIVERSITY THANKS TO VIRAL VIDEO

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Jordin Phipps is a third-grader in Garland, Texas. She recently recorded a video of a mantra she learned in school: “I will start my day in a positive way! I will be respectful with the words that I say! I will pay attention and I will do my best and I will study hard for every test!”

Her mother shared the video with her alma mater, the University of North Texas. The university has now announced that it is giving Jordin the President’s Award for Excellence in Leadership. It comes with a $10,000 scholarship and guarantees her admission to the college’s class of 2030.

When we do the right thing, life often repays the favor—even in the hardest challenges we face.

Residents on the East Coast are preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful storm to approach the region in almost a decade. More than a million people are being evacuated before the storm strikes tomorrow. This tragedy presents a unique opportunity for God’s people to serve those in need, demonstrating God’s love in their compassion.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis is making headlines this morning with his visit to survivors of an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people in Italy last August. His trip was unusual in that it was unannounced. The pope wanted to meet personally with those affected by the tragedy. In one convalescent home, he greeted all sixty residents individually and had lunch with them. His message was simple: “Always look ahead. [Have] courage, and help each other. One walks better together, alone we go nowhere. Let’s go forward!”

Pope Francis is right: we must have courage and help each other.

Continue reading Denison Forum – EIGHT-YEAR-OLD ACCEPTED TO UNIVERSITY THANKS TO VIRAL VIDEO →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Looking for Fruit

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Galatians 5:16-26

As believers, we all want the fruit of the Spirit, but how can we know if we truly have it? Even unbelievers display these qualities sometimes. The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is not what we do, but it’s who we are. It is primarily on display in Christians when circumstances are unfavorable. Two characteristics help us recognize these traits in our lives.

Fruitful believers are not controlled by their environment. Everyone experiences trials and pain, but those who are filled with the Spirit do not lose His fruit because of their situation. They keep their joy even when difficulties overwhelm. If someone speaks harshly, they respond with kindness. Because God the Holy Spirit is in control, He is free to produce His fruit no matter what the circumstances are. Even though such believers may feel pain, anger, or a desire for revenge, they choose to trust the Lord to protect them and direct the outcome.

Fruitful Christians recover quickly after a fall. These believers are not perfect, but they are sensitive to the Spirit’s conviction and are quick to return to the Lord in repentance. In fact, they are actually grateful for the correction and praise God, not only for revealing their weakness but also for drawing them back to obedience.

Believers can’t produce these qualities in themselves. Trying harder to be godly will never work. Character transformation occurs when we submit to God, giving Him complete control of our lives. Only then will the Spirit be free to produce fruit that remains even in the deepest, darkest storms.

Bible in One Year: Matthew 5-7

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Setting Prisoners Free

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Read: Psalm 146

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

The Lord sets prisoners free.—Psalm 146:7

When my wife and I visited the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force near Savannah, Georgia, we were especially moved by the prisoner-of-war exhibit, with its re-creation of a German prisoner-of-war camp’s barracks. Marlene’s dad, Jim, served in the Eighth Air Force, the “Mighty Eighth,” as they flew missions over Europe during World War II. During the war, the Eighth Air Force suffered over 47,000 injuries and more than 26,000 deaths. Jim was one of those shot down and held as a prisoner of war. As we walked through the exhibit, we recalled Jim telling about the absolute joy he and his fellow prisoners felt the day they were set free.

God’s care for the oppressed and liberation of the imprisoned are declared in Psalm 146. The psalmist describes the one who “upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry,” who “sets prisoners free” (v. 7). All of this is cause for celebration and praise. But the greatest freedom of all is freedom from our guilt and shame. No wonder Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are set free from the prison of sin to know His joy and love and the freedom that only forgiveness can bring. —Bill Crowder

To read more about what Christ did to set us free, read The Mockery and Majesty of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp081.

The prison of sin cannot withstand the power of Christ’s forgiveness.

INSIGHT: Psalm 146 underscores the truth that the poor and marginalized have a special place in the heart of God. Our help does not come from earthly rulers but from the Maker of heaven and earth. When God became a Man in the person of Jesus Christ, He made the marginalized and the broken a central focus of His earthly ministry.  Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Reordering Darkness

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The capture of one of the most notorious drug loads—leader of the Sinaloa Cartel—El Chapo, Joaquin Guzman made global headlines. Guzman was captured without the firing of a single bullet. This was quite a feat given that he kept an arsenal of weapons around him at all times: semi-automatic rifles, hand-grenades, rocket-launchers, and other weapons of mass-destruction. Yet, he was completely caught off guard when police arrested him in his home in the early dawn just over two years ago. He escaped not five months later by creating a tunnel from his shower. While the media hailed his capture and re-capture in January 2016 as a huge success in the fight against drug trafficking, most citizens in Mexico are less sure. There is little confidence that Guzman’s capture will slow the traffic or violence of the drug trade and its cartels, which for many seems an intractable feature of Mexican life.

The moral depravity of the real-life drug cartels has often been fictionalized in television and film. Whether the popular television show Breaking Bad or the 2007 film No Country for Old Men (adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy), the violence intertwined with the illegal drug trade has often been used as a metaphor for exploring the underbelly of evil just below the surface of ‘civilized’ life. Specifically, it is a force that seems to advance without end or solution. The recent news about heroin epidemics and overdoses in typically ‘middle-American’ towns is a chilling example. Given the chaotic elements inherent in addiction and violence, it is understandable how a kind of nihilistic despair can take hold. As the sheriff laments in the film No Country for Old Men:

“I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five years old. Hard to believe. My grandfather was a lawman; father too. You can’t help but compare yourself against the old-timers. Can’t help but wonder how they would have operated these times. The crime you see now, it’s hard to even take its measure. It’s not that I’m afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job. But, I don’t want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don’t understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He’d have to say, “O.K., I’ll be part of this world [emphasis mine].”(1)

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Reordering Darkness →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God Is Light

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“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

God’s truthfulness and holiness are powerful motives not to sin.

Light and darkness are familiar metaphors in Scripture. Intellectually, light refers to truth, and darkness to error; morally, light refers to holiness, and darkness to evil.

Intellectually, the Bible reveals God as the God of truth. In Exodus 34:6 God described Himself to Moses as “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” Both Psalm 31:5 and Isaiah 65:16 refer to Him as the “God of truth.” In the New Testament, Jesus called Himself “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Not only is God true, but so also is His Word. In 2 Samuel 7:28 David exclaimed, “O Lord God, Thou art God, and Thy words are truth.” The Lord Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The Bible, “the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), imparts the light of knowledge. In the familiar words of the psalmist, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).

Morally, light describes God’s absolute holiness and separation from evil. Psalm 5:4 says of Him, “No evil dwells with Thee.” “Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil,” said the prophet Habakkuk to God, “and Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor” (Hab. 1:13). Because God is light in the sense of truth, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). When His Word promises that things will go well with the righteous (Isa. 3:10) and that sin brings consequences (Prov. 11:5), we can be certain that is exactly what will happen. Because God is moral light, we know that He is neither the cause of any evil we encounter, nor the source of our temptation (James 1:13).

Understanding the truth that God is light is foundational to dealing with sin in our lives.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Praise God that He has revealed His truth in the Bible.
  • Ask God to give you a deeper understanding of His holiness as you study the Scriptures.

For Further Study

Read Proverbs 11:3; 19:3; James 1:13-15. Based on those passages, how would you answer someone who blames God for the bad things that happen to him or her?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – When You’ve Got That Empty Feeling

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Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

If you and I could sit down over a cup of coffee and I asked you, “How would you describe an idol or a lesser love?” You might say an idol is anything we believe can take God’s place in our lives—it is a lie, a false god, a seduction, or a deception. But would you describe it as emptiness? According to my New Testament Word Study Bible, the word “idol” means this very thing. I find this definition interesting, because we don’t usually believe our idols are emptiness. Otherwise we wouldn’t cling to them. Instead, we believe they’re something-ness. We may even think, “Sure, my idol doesn’t really satisfy me, but at least it has some value.”

God has a different idea.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8).

If something is empty, it’s empty. It’s not partially empty or sort of empty or a little bit empty—it’s just empty! This means that idols can’t bring lasting peace or satisfaction to anyone’s life, so allowing anything or anyone but God to top your list of dreams, hopes, or desires is a waste of time and life. If we think that we can run from God and embrace idols to find love, satisfaction, peace, or any kind of lasting fulfillment, we’re only fooling ourselves. Maybe you’re thinking, “Wait a minute! How can this be? My idol is desirable. It makes me feel good, so how can it be bad? I can’t believe it’s empty!” Granted, at first, idols may give the impression that they’ll satisfy. But they never deliver. Idols lure us in with great promise, but once we embrace them to save us, they mock us.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – When You’ve Got That Empty Feeling →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Too Many Neighbors

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By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:35

Recommended Reading

Luke 10:25-37

When the pictures, problems, and questions of hundreds of people scroll across our social media accounts, it is difficult to discern when and where to lend a hand. The man questioning Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” was hoping for a boundary that would allow him to write off a group of people as undeserving of his love. As Christians who have experienced the generosity of God, the story of the Good Samaritan invites us to ask Him, “Who are You calling me to love?”

Instead of feeling inadequate or scared that God may call us to a grandiose gesture on behalf of a stranger, we can confidently await His guidance. Small acts of kindness build momentum in our own lives and in the lives of those we serve. A mustard seed becomes a towering tree. As we practice giving and receiving, our capacity for both expands. Although our gifts and impact may seem small, God delights in expanding them. Just as Jesus multiplied the fish and loaves after asking the disciples to feed the hungry crowd, He will provide all you need to do what He calls you to.

Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.

  1. S. Lewis

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Matthew 7 – 9

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Shine On!

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The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you,— Numbers 6:25

As you go through your day, ask the Lord to make His face shine upon you. Ask Him to lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Ask Him to shine His glory upon you, as He did with Moses. Then let that light so shine before others that they may see it and glorify your heavenly Father (see Matthew 5:16 KJV).

Letting your light shine can be as simple as putting a smile on your face. Practice smiling at others and you will find most of them smiling back. The light of God’s glory is in you, but if you never show it outwardly, people won’t be blessed. It is amazing what will happen if you will just be thankful, smile, and be nice to people. Show favor as often as you can to as many as you can. By so doing, you will receive favor, because we are told that whatever we sow is what we will reap (see Galatians 6:7).

Prayer of Thanks: I thank You, Father, for the opportunity I have to be a light in a dark world. Let Your light and Your life shine through me for others to see. I am grateful that with Your help, my life can be a blessing to others.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Help For a Heart That Worries

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Today’s Truth

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

Psalm 56:3

Friend to Friend

The prophet Isaiah said, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor is his ear to dull to hear.” (Isaiah 59:1) Though I know in my heart this is true, I still sometimes go back and forth between doubt and worry as if God’s arms are short and his ears are dull. My friend Erica does too.

She came to my door with a package to deliver and a story to share. I signed for the package and we began to catch up. Her kids are grown. Mine are teens. Her daughter just got married. My oldest just went to college. Mama to mama we shared and cared.

“My daughter and her new husband might be moving to Chicago. I have to be honest, Gwen,” she said seriously, “I’m not doing well trusting God with this. I’m struggling with anxiousness and worry.” I listened and nodded with understanding, knowing full well the strain of worry and anxiety.

Then she perked up and shared a story that went something like this…

God impressed a message on my heart this morning that challenged and convicted me! I just have to tell you about it. I ride motorcycles. Have for years. I love the feeling of being out in the open air. It’s exciting and invigorating. When I ride, I feel vulnerable and alert. It’s risky and requires balance, it’s much more difficult than driving my car, but I ride because it energizes me and makes me feel alive.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Help For a Heart That Worries →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Gives Special Abilities

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“Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. ” (1 Corinthians 12:4).

The late Dr. William Evans, famous Bible teacher and pulpit orator, was one of the most eloquent preachers I have ever heard. He serves as an example of a person who developed his spiritual gift.

Dr. Evans shared with me how he believed as a young man that he had been called of God to be a preacher. But he spoke in a high, squeaky, English cockney accent that was not particularly pleasant to the ear and certainly not conducive to preaching the most “joyful news ever announced.”

So when young Evans told Dwight L. Moody (under whose ministry he had been influenced for Christ) about his calling to be a preacher. Moody unhesitatingly advised him, “Forget it! You don’t have the ability to speak, and no one would listen to you.”

But William Evans determined that he would become a great preacher for the glory of God. So, like Demosthenes of old, he began to practice speaking with pebbles in his mouth and to practice deep diaphragmatic breathing.

After several years, he developed a deep, resonant, bass voice – one of the most beautiful speaking voices I have ever heard. Wherever he went, congregations would pack the pews to hear him preach.

William Evans was an example of Philippians 2:13 in action. Did he have the spiritual gift of preaching? Of course he did! But it did not come to him overnight. He had to work long and hard, by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit, to develop his spiritual gift.

Philippians 2:13 reminds us that whatever God calls us to do He will enable us to do. Be assured that you do not need to depend on your own abilities to serve Him.

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 12:5-11

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Instead of spending fruitless time searching for my spiritual gifts, I will depend on the Holy Spirit to guide me, apply myself diligently to excel in whatever He leads me to do and trust God for a fruitful life and witness.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Not Many

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Read: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

The apostle is dealing with the wisdom of the world versus the inscrutable, marvelous wisdom of God. These believers who were living in ancient Corinth were exalting the wisdom of the world. The Greek custom of philosophizing about everything had penetrated the church and they were dividing into various factions, following certain men, quarreling, boasting, dividing, glorying in men’s ability and men’s power, men’s insight and men’s wisdom.

To deal with this the apostle shows us how God works. He sets it in very simple contrast and he uses these Corinthians themselves as his Exhibit A. He says, Look at yourselves, consider your own call, look what has happened in your own life. He then points out two rather obvious, but very important, facts they were evidently overlooking in their thinking. First, he says, There are not many mighty among you, are there? Fortunately, Paul did not say any mighty. Lady Hamilton, who was an evangelical believer among the English nobility in the early part of this century, used to say she was saved by an m, because if it had said not any mighty or any noble, she would not have made it, but the m changed it all and let her in. There in Corinth there were a few who had some standing in the community, but not many. Many of them were slaves, perhaps, unknown people, plain, ordinary people, like you and me.

Some of them were weak, the apostle says, i.e., they had no political or military clout; they were not men of influence; they had no in at city hall. They were without power, apparently, to affect life around them, but God chose them. They were made up of what we would call the working classes — artisans, tradesmen, the little people of the world. So, if you are feeling that nobody recognizes you, you ought to rejoice that you are a Christian because power and influence are not necessary to be greatly used of God. God delights in setting aside the impressive things of men.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Not Many →

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Leaving and Cleaving

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Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.—Genesis 2:24

The objective God has in bringing a man and a woman together can be captured in two very important words: leave and cleave. These come from Genesis 2:24 (KJV), which says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” The word “cleave” means to glue or to cling. So to leave and cleave is to sever and bond, to loosen and secure, or to depart from and attach to.

A successful marriage begins with leaving. In effect, you leave all other relationships. The closest relationship outside of marriage is specified in Genesis 2:24, implying that if it is necessary to leave your father and mother, then certainly all lesser ties must be broken, changed, or left behind.

This doesn’t mean that when you get married, you are no longer a son or a daughter or a sibling. But what it does mean is that you have a new, primary responsibility, and that is to your spouse. You must still honor your mother and father, but leaving has taken place.

Leaving implies giving other relationships a lesser degree of importance. You still can have friends, but your best friend should be your spouse. Having members of the opposite sex as friends can be problematic at best and potentially destructive at worst. Most adultery happens through close contact and relationship, not mere sexual attraction. So be very careful. Your best friend should be your husband or your wife.

In Malachi 2:14, God said of the relationship between a husband and his wife, “Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” The word “companion” used here means someone united with another in thoughts, goals, plans, and efforts.

Are you united with your spouse in this way?

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – We Cannot Run Away from God

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“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10)

If you like to play hide-and-seek, it is probably fun for you to think about hiding places. Maybe when you visit a new place or go to someone else’s house, you scout out all the best places to hide. If you’re good at finding hiding places, the “seeker” probably has to spend a long time looking for you. There may even have been times when you’ve hidden so well that he’s given up looking for you!

In Psalm 139, David was thinking about hiding places, but not because he wanted to play a game. He was thinking about how impossible it is to run away and hide from God. In the first part of the psalm, he wrote about God’s very personal knowledge of His creatures. He thought about how God knows every move we make, every word we say, and even the thoughts that go through our minds! When we think about a God who knows us so deeply and personally, we might feel like we want to get away and hide from Him – especially when we consider that we’re sinners and He is holy.

David considered several places he might go. Perhaps he could go up into the sky – even into outer space. Or maybe he could go to the world beyond the grave – the world where people go after they die. Perhaps he could go as far east as the sunrise, or to the farthest reaches of the sea. Do those sound like good hiding places? The problem is, none of those are places a person can hide from God. God’s presence fills the earth and the sky. He is there, no matter where we go, no matter how much we might want to run away from Him.

In verse 10, David thinks about the fact that God is loving. His gentle, strong hand is actually leading us when we try to run from Him, and wherever we end up, His hand takes hold of us there. We can never run away or hide from Him.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Response

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 72:17

“May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!”

If God has promised that all nations will be blessed and that “all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord” (Psalm 22:27), how should we respond? I maintain that our response should begin with prayer. We should boldly and persistently plead in prayer the promises of God.

Daniel, one of the Bible’s great men, is our example. He lived during the Babylonian captivity of Judah. He understood, from reading Jeremiah 29:10, that the captivity would last seventy years. So he took God at his word and began to pray that he would fulfill his promise to restore the Jews to their home (Daniel 9:1-19). He pleaded the promise of God. This is what we should do in response to God’s promises of the success of the Gospel. We should earnestly pray over such Scriptures as Genesis 22:18 and Psalm 22:27-28, asking God to fulfill his promises.

I’m dismayed at how little we Christians pray for the success of the Gospel among the nations. If we honestly examine our prayers, we find that we give the greatest priority to our own earthly needs. Perhaps we even pray about our own or our loved ones’ spiritual needs. But how many are praying about the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth? How many are pleading the promises of God?

As a personal application of this challenge, I keep a small world map with my morning devotional material. I try to pray “around the world” over the course of a week, putting my finger on specific countries, especially those more resistant to Christianity, and asking God to bless them with a significant penetration of the Gospel, so his name will be glorified among them. (Excerpt taken from The Gospel for Real Life)

 

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