Tag Archives: holy spirit

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Sworn Friendship 

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Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD…”  1 Samuel 20:42

Sworn friendship in the name of the Lord is serious and based on faith. When Jesus Christ is the central figure in a friendship, there is fidelity. Loyalty based on the Lord is an extremely strong bond for friends. There is no wavering of commitment when Christ is central to the friendship. A friendship based on the Lord takes on the Lord’s attitude toward friendship. He sticks closer than a brother. He never leaves or forsakes His friends. Jesus personified friendship as He served His friends, forgave His friends, loved, taught, rebuked, prayed, and gave to His friends.

Sworn friendship is committed, especially during dire circumstances. There is a commitment to always be there for the other person. It seeks out the very best for a friend during hard times. This is when friendships require an exorbitant amount of time, money, and effort. They become high maintenance when they become caught in a crisis. The crisis situation may be of the friend’s own doing, or a result of forces outside of his control. Your friend may be on the brink of bankruptcy because of poor financial decisions. You serve him even though he suffers from self-inflicted wounds. Your friend’s health may be going downhill fast; if so, be there to listen.

Sworn friendship in the name of the Lord defends you to the point of risking a right standing with other respected relationships. Faithful friends will stand up for you even when it costs them. It may cost them their job. It may cost them misunderstanding. It may cost them a promotion. It may cost them financially. But, because they are invested in you unconditionally, they are honored to defend you, especially in your absence. They ask questions of your unseen critics such as, “Have you talked to them about this?” or “I’m surprised by what you say. There must be more to the story.” Friends stick up for each other in the face of caustic critics. Love is not silent; it speaks up.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Back to Your Future—Back to School

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How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Psalm 119:9

In his autobiography, Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalls growing up on a North Carolina dairy farm. “Our barns had tin roofs,” he wrote. “On rainy days, I liked to sneak away into the hay barn and lie on a sweet-smelling and slippery pile of straw, listening to the raindrops hit that tin roof and dreaming. It was a sanctuary that helped shape my character. Whenever I visit a bustling city anywhere in the world now, I like to retreat from noisy boulevards into an open church building and just meditate in the cool, dim quietness. At our home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, my favorite spot is a little path above the house where I walk alone and talk with God.”1

Recommended Reading: Psalm 119:1-9

As our children return to school this fall, let’s remember that God’s schoolroom is called meditation. It’s not enough just to read the Bible, or even simply to study it. We need to find quiet times to mull over its words, meditate on its verses, and ponder its truths. That’s what shapes our character. If you can’t find a barn with a tin roof, any quiet spot will do. Settle down, quiet yourself, be still, contemplate the Lord and His Word, and know that He is God.

By holy meditation the soul doth, as it were, breakfast with God every morning.

Thomas Watson, Puritan

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Ezekiel 31 – 35

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Think Before You Speak

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Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.- Psalm 141:3

Have you ever said something that hurt someone else…or perhaps caused unfavorable consequences for yourself?

I know I have. For years I just said whatever I felt like saying, but thank God I have learned that words are powerful. What you say has the power to impact your life—and the lives of others—for good or bad. So it is wise to think about what you’re going to say before you say it.

You should speak only words of encouragement that will build people up and make them feel better. You get many opportunities every day to put this into practice, but it requires real discipline and determination.

You may have been hurt by someone’s words…or perhaps you have hurt someone with your words. But you can change that, starting now. It will take prayer and discipline, but God will help you develop and exercise control over the words you speak.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Not by the Law

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“Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them: His laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners. But now God has shown us a different way to heaven – not by ‘being good enough’ and trying to keep His laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says He will accept and acquit us – declare us ‘not guilty’ – if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we can all be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us ‘not guilty’ of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in His kindness freely takes away our sins” (Romans 3:20-24).

One of my greatest concerns through the years, especially for those who are involved in Christian ministry around the world, has been the problem of legalism. In my opinion, legalism is the greatest heresy of Christianity. The reason legalism is so dangerous is that it is extremely subtle in its appeal. It is attractive even to the most sincere Christians, who are genuinely seeking to please God by determining to be “good enough” and to “earn God’s favor” through the good works of their self-effort.

How often there has been a tendency to forget “the just shall live by faith,” and “without faith it is impossible to please God.” There is a strong tendency to work hard in the flesh in order to please God. But if we trust Jesus Christ to take away such sins in our lives, He is faithful to do so, as He promised.

Bible Reading: Romans 3:25-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will remind myself often that the law is merely a way to show me that I am a sinner. By faith, I will trust Christ and accept His grace and forgiveness. By faith, I will draw upon the mighty resources of God to live the supernatural life, which is my heritage in Christ.

 

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Suppressing the Truth

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Read: Romans 1:18-23

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

Here we see the cause of the wrath of God. The apostle explains that it is the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness that causes God’s wrath. The tragic aspect of life is caused by the attitudes men have and the subsequent actions that follow. Notice the order of this — godlessness and then wickedness. It is the godless attitude that produces the wicked actions, and that is why the wrath of God is being revealed constantly from heaven against man. What is godlessness? Godlessness isn’t necessarily atheism, the belief that God doesn’t exist. Godlessness is acting as though he doesn’t exist. It doesn’t necessarily deny that there is a God, but it never takes any account of him; it doesn’t expect him to be active.

As a result of godlessness, there is unrighteousness or wickedness, selfish and hurtful acts of men toward one another. Why do we act selfishly? Why do we hurt each other? Because we disregard God, and expect there will be no consequences. That is Paul’s analysis. By means of these hurtful and selfish acts, the truth is suppressed.

Here we are in a world in which truth from God is breaking out all around us, but we are busy covering it up, hiding it, suppressing it, keeping it from being prominent and dominant in our thinking. The reason life has turned tragic in so many cases is because the world is deprived of the truth that is necessary for life and liberty and freedom and godliness, and it is hidden by men and suppressed by them. The nature of the truth that is suppressed is the existence of a God of eternal power and majesty.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Prayer

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Read: Matthew 6:5-13

Pray then like this. (v. 9)

“Prayer” isn’t just the title of this reflection, or of this series of reflections. It’s also the title and the first word of a poem by George Herbert, who for the last three years of his short life at the turn of the 17th century pastored a congregation in a village just outside the city of Salisbury in southern England. Its 14 lines set before us a variety of ways in which we can ponder this all-important subject.

Young Christians are regularly encouraged to grasp the fact that prayer is not just a matter of asking for things. ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) was a useful acronym proposed in my young days to give me a more rounded idea of what I was supposed to be doing when I prayed. Herbert would agree, but would encourage us to be a good deal more specific, more anchored in personal experience and practical daily life, than that. What is more, you can tell he is not handing down other people’s ideas, but telling us something of his own delighted discoveries in the matter.

As with the Lord’s Prayer, you could recite Herbert’s sonnet in thirty seconds flat. But (again like the Lord’s Prayer) every facet of this many-sided jewel has its own special luster. Each phrase may call to mind other parts of Scripture and the reflections of other poets and hymn writers. All of them will repay our attention and should stimulate us to frequent, regular, practical, Bible-based praying.

 

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – No Pain, No Gain

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“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials . . .”—James 1:2

Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer” (John 16:33 NKJV). Why? Because it is through storms, trials, and hardships that we enter God’s kingdom.

In Acts 14:21–22, we read, “They returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God'”(NKJV).

We don’t always like to read a verse like that. It’s probably not a passage we want to write on a plaque and hang by our front door.

We would rather the passage read, “Through many days of perpetual happiness we enter the kingdom of God,” but that isn’t Scripture, and that isn’t life.

If you want to “continue in the faith,” you will do so through trials and tribulations. There is no escaping them. Job said it well: “How frail is man! How few his days, how full of trouble!” (Job 14:1 NLT).

No one is exempt from experiencing storms in life. Good things will happen to us, as well as tragic and inexplicable things. Every life will have its share of pain. As much as we would like to believe otherwise, none of us can take an extended vacation beyond the reach of human suffering and tragedy.

We cannot always see the work that God is doing on the inside, but He can.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Good to All

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“The LORD is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Psalm 145:9)

Trisha watched her friend Jillian Blair run to her mother’s car and jump inside. Through the window she could see Jillian’s mother holding up the bird mobile Jillian had made in art class, smiling and exclaiming over it. Mrs. Blair gave Jillian a hug before starting the car and pulling out of the school parking lot.

God is so good to some people, thought Trisha. Jillian has everything. She’s pretty, she has nice clothes, she has lots of friends, she’s good in art, and she has a mother who can come pick her up after school. Trisha thought of her own mother, who had worked a full-time job for as long as Trisha could remember. Trisha had to go to late-stay every day after school and wait two hours for her mom to get off work.

Trisha turned away from the window of the late-stay room and noticed another friend, Heidi, sitting at a desk with her Bible open. “What are you doing?” Trisha asked Heidi.

“Learning my Bible club verse. Can I say it to you? It’s Psalm 145:9.” Heidi handed Trisha the Bible and recited, The LORD is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.

“That was perfect,” said Trisha. “Good job.”

Heidi smiled. “It’s true too,” she said. “God has been so good to our family, especially since my mom died. My grandma has been able to stay with us and help us out, and my Dad was able to finish paying all Mom’s medical bills. My little brother has even gotten over having nightmares!”

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Deliverance from Sin

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 6:11

“Consider yourselves dead to sin.”

The guilt of our sin in Adam resulted in our being given over to sin’s dominion as a penal consequence. When a judge sentences a convicted criminal to five years in prison, that sentence is the penal consequence of his crime—analogous to what God did to Adam and all his posterity. Part of the penal consequence of Adam’s sin was being delivered into sin’s bondage.

When the prisoner has served his five years, his penal consequences are over. The broken law no longer has a claim against him. In that sense he has ended his relationship to the law and its penal consequences. He must continue to obey the law in the future, but the particular offense that sent him to prison has been dealt with forever. To use Paul’s expression, he has died to the law and its penal consequences.

How does this apply to us? Let me paraphrase from the comments of John Brown, a nineteenth-century Scottish pastor, theologian, and author of several commentaries: “The wages of sin is death. Until the condemning sentence is executed, a person is subject to sin, both in its power to condemn and its power to deprave [or exert dominion]. But let the penal consequences be fully endured, let the law’s penalty be fully paid, and the person is at once delivered from sin’s condemning power and its depraving influence or dominion. It’s in this way that all that are in Christ Jesus, all that have been justified by his grace, have died, not in their own persons, but in the person of their surety. They are therefore delivered from the reign of sin—from its power to condemn, and therefore, also from its power to rule in the heart and life.”

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Lord Delivers

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 13-15

They called the apostles in and had them flogged… The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. – Acts 5:40-42

One of the most unusual and possibly confusing statements in the Bible is, “Out of them all the Lord delivered me” (2 Timothy 3:11, KJV). It was written by Paul about the events recorded in Acts 13-15. As Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in Antioch, they had tremendous results. Acts 13:44 tells us, “Almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” But the enemies of Christ stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and finally threw them out of town.

Acts 14:1-6 describes their next stop at Iconium, where they spoke boldly for Christ but were forced to leave when a murder plot was discovered. Paul and Barnabas escaped to Lystra but were followed by men from Antioch and Iconium, who stirred up the crowd against them. Acts 14:19 says, “They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”

Some years later, when Paul wrote to Timothy about these persecutions, he said this in 2 Timothy 3:11: “But out of them all the Lord delivered me” (KJV). What? He escaped at Antioch and Iconium, but not at Lystra. There his enemies stoned him and left him for dead. But Paul doesn’t say he was delivered two out of three times. He says, “Out of them all…”

Christian, if you’re feeling a bit bruised and battered right now, remember that God sometimes delivers us through the stones, not from the stones. Our choice is to trust Him in every circumstance so that we can echo the triumphant testimony of the apostle Paul, “Out of them all the Lord delivered me.”

Prayer

Lord, You are my Strong Deliverer. Thank You for Your never-failing presence in my life. Amen.

To Ponder

Paul rejoiced that he was counted worthy of suffering for the Name. Does that sound like something you would say?

 

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word –AN ACT OF DEFIANCE

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Read ESTHER 1:13–18

The Supreme Court was first assembled in 1790 as the highest court in the United States of America and initially was composed of one chief justice and five associate justices. Members of the court are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. In 1869, the number of justices increased to nine. Their purpose at the Supreme Court is to interpret legislation to see whether it is consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

How would King Xerxes handle the direct and very public defiance of his queen? He decided to convene his own so-called Supreme Court to help him determine the most appropriate punishment. He selected seven nobles of Persia who were given special access to the king and held in high esteem (vv. 13, 14).

Their judgment of the facts of the case was simple: Vashti had clearly broken the law. No matter how sympathetic we might be to her decision, she had not obeyed the command of the king. Their judgment of the needed penalty was quick: The court of nobles agreed that her actions needed to be punished. If her act of public disobedience were left unchecked, it would undermine the king’s authority (vv. 16, 17).

But notice how their own self-interest influenced their judgment of Vashti. She should have upheld a standard for other wives to follow, and therefore she should be punished not only to maintain the king’s honor but also to keep their own wives from challenging them at home (v. 18). Their interpretation of the law was as much about preserving their own sphere of power as it was about adjudicating fairly.

The law was necessary to retain control and order, they said. King Xerxes had no choice, they said. He had to punish Vashti or else endure no end of “disrespect and discord” (v. 18).

APPLY THE WORD

Human laws are necessary for governance, but only the law of the Lord is perfect (Ps. 19:7). God’s Word reveals our sins of pride and temptations to pursue power, and it also offers us freedom from sin though accepting the forgiveness available in Christ. Spend time in confession before God today, and thank Him for His perfect law that restores us.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Reconciling God’s Love and Justice

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Psalm 33:4-5

Some people reject the message of salvation because they are offended by the Bible’s description of God’s wrath. Even believers can struggle to reconcile the Lord’s love and justice. How can He at the same time be perfectly loving and perfectly just? In an attempt to come to terms with this dilemma, we often try to soften the message of judgment and instead emphasize His warmer, fatherly qualities. But love and justice are not contradictory terms. In fact, you can’t have one without the other.

God’s love brings good into our lives. But if there is no justice, sin runs rampant and causes untold pain and suffering. No one thinks a judge is loving when he or she refuses to punish guilty criminals. To set them loose in society is not healthy for either the wrongdoer or the community. In the same way, our loving heavenly Father cannot allow sin to go unpunished.

But this presents an even bigger dilemma for mankind. We are all guilty before a holy God. That is why Christ came to earth. He bore divine wrath for all our sins so that the Father could be both just and forgiving. His justice was satisfied by the most loving act of all time—Christ’s death on the cross. Now those who by faith accept Jesus’ offer of salvation will not experience eternal punishment for sin.

Although believers will all one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, there will be no reason to fear. Our judgment has the purpose of determining rewards, not dishing out punishment. In gratitude, we should prepare now for that time by living for the Lord every day.

Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 20-22

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — How to Carve a Duck

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Read: Psalm 138:7-8; Ephesians 2:6-10

Bible in a Year: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.—Romans 8:29

My wife, Carolyn, and I met Phipps Festus Bourne in 1995 in his shop in Mabry Hill, Virginia. Bourne, who died in 2002, was a master wood carver whose carvings are almost exact replicas of real objects. “Carving a duck is simple,” he said. “You just look at a piece of wood, get in your head what a duck looks like, and then cut off everything that doesn’t look like it.”

So it is with God. He looks at you and me—blocks of rough wood—envisions the Christlike woman or man hidden beneath the bark, knots, and twigs and then begins to carve away everything that does not fit that image. We would be amazed if we could see how beautiful we are as finished “ducks.”

But first we must accept that we are a block of wood and allow the Artist to cut, shape, and sand us where He will. This means viewing our circumstances—pleasant or unpleasant—as God’s tools that shape us. He forms us, one part at a time, into the beautiful creature He envisioned in our ungainly lump of wood.

Sometimes the process is wonderful; sometimes it is painful. But in the end, all of God’s tools conform us “to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29).

Do you long for that likeness? Put yourself in the Master Carver’s hands. —David Roper

Father, You are the craftsman who shapes me. You are the one who knows what shape my life should take. Thank You for carving me into the image You have planned. Help me to trust that the pieces and parts that You shave from me are the right ones.

Growing in Christ comes from a deepening relationship with Him.

INSIGHT: We are God’s handiwork, and our Father will not abandon the work of His hands. Ephesians 2:6-10 provides further insight into the theme of God’s handiwork. After Christ’s atoning death, God raised Him from the dead “and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms” (v. 20). Those who believe in Him have been given new life by God’s grace.

Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – But as for Me

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There are some thoughts about God a Christian carries as truths deeply cemented into the mind. That God is good, for instance, that Christ forgives, that God is a God of grace and mercy and strength. Recitation of these qualities could be offered on cue, or given as gentle correction from a friend when vision has become skewed: God loves you. God is in the midst of your situation. You are forgiven. These phrases are known by heart, even if there are times we do not apply them to our own:

“Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold” (Psalm 73:1-2).

Here in these ancient words, a familiar lament is exposed in the expression of an unknown soul: There are times when what is true for all of Israel doesn’t seem true for the one, for me.

There are many reasons one might feel singled out from time to time as being separated from a particular promise or attribute of God. It may be that we are feeling cast aside from God’s presence or forgiveness because something is blocking our view of God’s mercy. A false sense of humility or remnants of shame from previous mistakes may cause us to keep a picture of blame ever before us, skewing our vision of the cross. Still other times, we find ourselves feeling alienated because it seems God has truly overlooked us. Surely God is good to Israel. But as for me… Whatever the cause, in our very admission of feeling overlooked, the Spirit may be attempting to draw us toward the face of God and away from the things that distance us.

No matter the spirit in which it is uttered, the addendum “but as for me” is a heartfelt cry for all. Yet, in a way, the words themselves cast us away from God as we draw ourselves in sharp distinction from what we know to be true. The truth is not moved by our addendums; we are.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Two Spirits or One?

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“There is one body and one Spirit just as also you were called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4).

Although there were distinctions of ministry, one and the same Holy Spirit has been at work in both the Old and New Covenants.

The famous radio broadcast of October 30, 1938, in which Orson Welles and his fellow actors fooled many of the American people into thinking an actual invasion from Mars was occurring, is a classic example of how miscommunication can drastically distort people’s understanding of the facts. Because many listeners failed to hear the disclaimer about the fictional nature of the War of the Worlds dramatization, thousands were panicked into believing that Martians were beginning to invade New York City and the rest of the East Coast. Not many hours after the program ended, most people realized it was not a broadcast of actual events. Nevertheless, apologies and clarifications were necessary in subsequent days.

Scriptural truth is seldom miscommunicated with that same kind of sensational result. But that doesn’t mean we never need to correct previous thinking about certain doctrines. One of these concerns the Holy Spirit. Due to popular teaching on the dissimilarities between the Old and New Covenants, many Christians have understood the Spirit’s Person and role as being sharply different between the Testaments.

But the apostle Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 4:4 that there is but one Spirit (also see 1 Cor. 12:11, 13). Paul also knew that since the Holy Spirit is God, He is therefore unchanging; the same Spirit has been at work throughout redemptive history. We can believe with certainty that the Holy Spirit will always be the saving agent who draws people to the Lord. That’s what Jesus taught when He instructed the Jewish teacher Nicodemus about the new birth (John 3:5-10).

There are important distinctives between the Holy Spirit’s Old Covenant and New Covenant roles (see Acts 1:5). His New Covenant work is more intimate and personal for believers, but His essential character has always been the same.

We should rejoice that there is no confusion between two Spirits, but that there is one Holy Spirit who has been active in God’s plan, from Genesis 1:1 right to the present and for all eternity.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank the Lord for giving you a clear understanding of the Holy Spirit’s oneness.

For Further Study

Read John 3:1-15.

  • What should Nicodemus already have understood about the new birth?
  • How far back does Jesus reach to make an analogy about God’s method of salvation?

 

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Lexus Think About This

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For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

Recommended Reading

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Compare these two verses—the one above, and 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

In both verses, the Lord gives the same assurance. Our present momentary suffering and afflictions aren’t as important as we think, when compared to the eternal glory awaiting us in the future.

Imagine you won a contest that awarded you a new automobile—a new Lexus. But on your way to pick it up, you hit a pothole and damage your flat tire. There’s nothing fun about that, but you can put up with the aggravation of a flat tire on your old car because soon you’ll be driving your new Lexus.

When we hit life’s potholes it helps to keep things in perspective. God’s blessings in our lives supersede our earthly trials, and our glory in the future exceeds any problems we face today. If you’re in a tough spot, remember Romans 8:18 and 2 Corinthians 4:17.

These sufferings are but for a moment; but the glory shall be eternal. These will soon pass away; but that glory shall never become dim or diminished…

Albert Barnes, in his commentary on Romans 8:18

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Ezekiel 28 – 30

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – No More Insecurity

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And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity].- Psalm 9:10

Every one of us has experienced a measure of insecurity. At one time or another, we all want to step out and do something, but at the thought of it, insecurity freezes us in our tracks. But this is not the plan of God for our lives. He wants us to step out in faith and confidence.

Insecurity tries to torment us into being so doubtful and miserable we will be prevented from doing what God wants us to do and receiving all God has for us.

We can live without insecurity by building our faith on what God has said in His Word. When we open our mouth and confess what the Lord says to us and about us, God’s Word will give us the power to overcome fear, insecurity, and uncertainty.

If you find yourself trying to avoid confronting some issue in your life because of dread or insecurity, I encourage you to pray and ask God to do for you what He has promised in His Word—to go before you and pave the way.

Ask God to strengthen you in the inner man, that His might and power may fill you, and that you may not be overcome with the temptations to give in to fear.

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – The Granddaddy Sin

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Today’s Truth

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.

James 4:6

Friend to Friend

I once dated a fellow who drove me up the wall with his boasting. He would ask, “What did you think of that touchdown I made? Have you ever seen anybody run so fast and dodge so many people before crossing into the end zone?” He invited me to spend the weekend with his family by saying, “If it’s okay with you, my dad will fly us down in our fifteen-passenger Lear jet, and we can spend a couple of days on our seven-and-a-half-million-dollar yacht, which by the way, is the largest one in the Florida Keys.” After three months of dating, I was ready to slap some duct tape on his mouth, bind his hands and feet, and throw him off his seven-and-a-half-million-dollar yacht.

Boasting is a form of pride. The more pride we have, the more we despise it in others. While this boy desperately needed to get over himself, I must admit that I am guilty of this same sort of boasting. I’m just slightly more clever in how I do it. I’ve manipulated conversations in order to casually mention an accomplishment, name drop, or detail a “humble” act of service. I’ve said things like, “I am so excited! I’ve been invited to speak at the largest home-school convention in the country.” Realizing how that might sound, I’ll quickly add a spiritual cover-up to divert attention from my proud motive. “What an amazing opportunity to encourage others for God’s glory.” I may have fooled the listener, but I certainly haven’t fooled God.

Pride is the granddaddy of all sins—typically the sin from which all other sins originate. It was pride that caused Satan to become Satan. It was pride that caused the fall of Israel. And, as much as we hate to admit it, it is often pride that blocks the Holy Spirit from moving in our lives. It’s the sin with the strongest grip, the sin we loathe when we see it in others, and the sin we often refuse to see in ourselves.

Jesus demonstrated humility during his time on earth, setting an example for us to follow. His time on earth was not spent seeking glory from people. John records that Jesus said, “I do not accept glory from human beings” (John 5:41), and he made it clear that his purpose for humbling himself was not to do his own will, but the will of the Father (6:38). He did not come to receive honor and praise, but avoided it like the plague. “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (6:14-15).

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – The Granddaddy Sin →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – None of These Diseases

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“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26, KJV).

Prior to a recent minor operation the surgeon came to my hospital room for prayer and to explain the nature of the hernia correction. He explained, “It is God alone who heals. It is my responsibility, along with my staff, to treat and care for you.”

In his excellent book, None of These Diseases, Dr. S.I. McMillen abundantly amplifies and proves the point of this promise: that if we always do that which is right in God’s sight, at the very least our health will be greatly improved.

This highly qualified physician contends that most of our physical problems are caused by stress, but the person who is doing that which is right in God’s sight is not likely to be continually under stress – at least not the kind of stress that impairs one physically.

“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” And He is the same yesterday, today and forever. That would indicate that His healing is available for all today – which of course brings up that sticky question of method and means.

Whatever our persuasion about this, the fact remains that if we really do believe that it is God who heals, then it should follow that He would be our first resource in time of physical need. And it may well be that His direction would take us to the physician. But He alone would be the healer.

Bible Reading: Exodus 15:22-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: As I approach each task today, I will make a conscious effort to be concerned about doing that which is right in God’s sight.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Not Ashamed

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Read: Romans 1:8-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:16-17

This quotation from Habakkuk that Paul uses is the great fact that he is expounding in the gospel. He is not ashamed of it, and that is a way of saying that he is proud of it.

Paul especially is not ashamed of the gospel in Rome because the Romans appreciated power, just as Americans do. The Romans prided themselves on their power. They had military power that could conquer all the nations that stood in their path; they had a tremendous program of road-building; they had some of the greatest law-makers of history; they had the power to write literature and create art. But Paul knew that the Romans also were powerless when it came to changing hearts. They were powerless to eliminate slavery. They were powerless to change the stubborn, hostile, hateful hearts of men and eliminate violence. Paul says that is why he is so proud of the gospel — because it is the power of God to do those very things that men cannot do. We never need to apologize for the gospel. It is absolutely without rival.

Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it reveals a righteousness from God. Righteousness is an old word that we don’t understand very much. I would like to substitute for it the word worth, a worth before God. A sense of acceptance before God that He has given to you. You can’t earn it, you certainly don’t deserve it, but it is given. God really accepts you because of the gospel, because of the good news of the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Therefore, it is something that you, or I, or anybody else can have, and it is complete, perfect.

The last thing Paul says is that this righteousness is received by faith. It is not something we can ever earn; it is something we can take anytime we need it, and that is good news. Our worth before God is not simply something we receive once, by faith, at the beginning of our Christian lives. It is also something we remind ourselves of every time we feel depressed, despairing, discouraged, defeated, etc. God has loved us, restored us, and we have perfect standing in his sight. He already accepts us and loves us as much as he possibly can; nothing more can be added to it. That is the righteousness that is revealed in the gospel, by faith, to all who believe, no matter what their background or training may be.

Father, I pray that I may understand how hopeless, how dark and bitter my condition would be were it not for the gospel of the grace of God. Help me to know that nothing could have saved me from the wicked machinations of the evil one had it not been for the intervention of the gospel of grace.

Life Application

When we consider the magnitude of God’s gift of unearned, undeserved righteousness, are we responding with gratitude and worship? How does it affect the habits of our hearts and our actions?

 

http://www.raystedman.org/