Tag Archives: human-rights

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Every Day Is Thanksgiving

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Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! —Psalm 95:2

Thanksgiving is not just a day to eat turkey and pumpkin pie. It was a day originally set aside to remember and give thanks to God for what He had done in protecting the first men and women who came to America, fleeing religious persecution in Europe. It was a type of harvest celebration like the one that the Jews celebrated; a day to give thanks for the crops they were able to harvest.

In addition to thanking God as we go through life, it is also a good idea to set aside special times of gratitude and giving thanks.

Sometimes our family sits together and remembers where God has brought us from, and we thank Him for all He has done. Dave and I talk about our life when our children were all young and we lived in a tiny three-room apartment and had to cash in soda pop bottles to make it through until payday.

I am sure you can recall times similar to those we had, and remembering them makes us thankful for how God brought us through them, and for all the progress we have made by His goodness.

Prayer of Thanks: Father, help me to realize that Thanksgiving is more than just a day on the calendar. I am grateful for all You have done in my life, not just today, but every day of the year.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Prayer Has Great Power

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“Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results” (James 5:16).

“I can take my telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space,” said the great scientist Sir Issac Newton , “but I can lay it aside and go into my room, shut the door, get down on my knees in earnest prayer, and see more of heaven and get closer to God than I can assisted by all the telescopes and material agencies on earth.”

Among many other things, the carnal Christian is characterized by a poor prayer life. The spiritual Christian, on the other hand, is characterized by an effective fruitful prayer life.

Prayer is simply communicating with God by listening as well as talking. The acrostic ACTS is helpful in recalling the various components of effective prayer, though the order is not necessarily rigid.

“A” is for adoration – worship of God, first for who He is; and second for all of His benefits. He alone is worthy of our adoration and praise.

“C” stands for confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Sometimes this component should take priority, especially for the unbeliever and the disobedient believer, because God does not hear the prayers of the disobedient until they confess. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalms 66:18, KJV).

“T” is for thanksgiving – gratitude to God for His blessings.

“S” represents supplication – expressing our petitions to God for individuals and specific things and events.

Bible Reading:James 5:13-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will claim great power and wonderful results for supernatural living by a righteous life and by giving priority to prayer. I will remember to bring my adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication to God throughout the day

 

http://www.cru.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Growing From Our Hurts

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Genesis 50:15-21

Throughout history, people have suffered tremendous injustice and pain at the hands of others. None of us are exempt from conflict, criticism, and mistreatment. The question is, Are we growing more or less like Christ as a result?

Nothing that happens in our lives is an accident. As children of God, we know that everything coming our way is filtered through our Father’s loving, sovereign hands. And He can use whatever we experience to grow us in grace and holiness—yes, even injustice and abuse.

Joseph endured more unfair treatment than most of us can even imagine: He was sold into slavery by his brothers, slandered by Potiphar’s wife, and forgotten in prison. For years, it seemed that no good would ever result, but there was divine purpose in it all. Joseph learned more about God’s ways and was also being trained for the future.

The same is true for each of us. The Lord doesn’t want us to focus on the wrongs done to us and the pain we’ve suffered. Instead, He wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him. As we read God’s Word, He reveals His ways and purposes, giving us guidance to walk with Him and patience to wait for His timing. And His indwelling Holy Spirit enables us to respond in a godly manner by forgiving those who wrong us.

Think about Joseph’s words to his brothers: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). Remember, that is true in your life also. The pain you carry can be used for good if you’ll forgive your offenders and trust the Lord’s ways.

Bible in One Year: John 8-9

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — See Your City

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Read: Genesis 12:1–3 | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 30–31; Philemon

All peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12:3

“See our city the way we do.” A Detroit, Michigan, urban development group used that slogan to launch its vision for the city’s future. But the project came to a sudden stop when members of the community noticed something missing in the campaign. African Americans make up a large majority of the city’s population and workforce. Yet people of color were absent from the crowd of white faces that showed up on signs, banners, and billboards urging all to see the city as they did.

The countrymen of Jesus also had a blind spot in their vision for the future. As children of Abraham, they were primarily concerned about the future of Jewish people. They couldn’t understand Jesus’s concern for Samaritans, Roman soldiers, or anyone else who didn’t share their family roots, rabbis, or temple worship.

I relate to the blind spots of Detroit and Jerusalem. I too tend to see only people whose life experience I understand. Yet God has a way of bringing about His unity amid our diversity. We’re more alike than we realize.

Our God chose a desert nomad by the name of Abram to bring blessing to all the people of the world (Genesis 12:1–3). Jesus knows and loves everyone we don’t yet know or love. Together we live by the grace and mercy of One who can help us see one another, our cities, and His kingdom—as He does.

Father in heaven, please open our eyes to people and hearts who are more like us than we are inclined to believe. Help us see our own need of You.

Everyone everywhere is more like us than less like us.

By Mart DeHaan

INSIGHT

Abram, Nahor, and Haran (the father of Lot) were the sons of Terah. The brothers grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:27–28), which archaeologists have revealed to be a flourishing city in its day. Haran died, and sometime later Abram married Sarai. Then Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot left Ur bound for Canaan. On the way, the group settled in Harran where Terah later died (vv. 31–32). Although God’s call to Abram to “go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” isn’t recorded until Genesis 12:1, Abram received this call earlier while still in Ur (see Acts 7:2–4). That’s why the family initially starts out for Canaan (Genesis 11:31). It’s believed the group stalled in Harran because Terah, who was named after the moon deity worshiped in Ur, may have had trouble leaving behind his idolatrous past (see Joshua 24:2). What’s most important is that Abram heard God’s call, left the familiar behind, and obeyed. “Abram went” (Genesis 12:4), and through him “all peoples on earth [would] be blessed” (v. 3).

Alyson Kieda

 

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Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – The Sword

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“The word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrew 4:12)

Roman soldiers exercised and trained heavily with the sword. More specifically, they were trained to thrust the sword versus cut with it.  In fact, they made fun of those who preferred the cut to the thrust, and they relished a battle of styles.

The sword was the Roman soldier’s primary offensive weapon.  He trained with it more than any other and learned how to wield it lethally.  A thrust accomplished the job, where cutting gave the enemy a second chance.  The author of Hebrews shows that he also was intimate with a sword and how the sword of God’s man is best welded in battle.

There’s a compare and contrast going on here between only grazing evil and killing it with a deep penetration of the Word into the heart.  More profoundly, the end result of a strong thrust of God’s Word is a judgment. That is what God’s man is after in his fights with deception, temptation, and accusation on a personal level.  And that is what he’s after in a direct confrontation with evil.

A Roman soldier would move to parry a blow with his shield, create space and then step and thrust his sword strategically into the flesh of his enemy. Similarly, God’s man defends himself by moving into a blow with the shield of his faith, positioning the sword of God’s Word, and thrusting it into the heart of evil.
Father, thank you for giving me your word, and showing me how to use it.

 

The post November 3, 2018 appeared first on Every Man Ministries.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Get Up and Get Going

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I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping…Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. — Psalm 6:6,8

Adapted from the resource Starting Your Day Right Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

Even before we are totally awake, Satan is bidding to deceive us and is ready to plant defeating thoughts in our mind. He wants us to be hopeless, faithless, and negative.

He definitely doesn’t want us to be positive when we get up. He wants us to have a bad attitude and be selfish and self-centered, full of hatred, bitterness, resentment, doubt, unbelief, and fear—to be mad at everybody.

But thank God, through Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed from all of those negative patterns. We can resist Satan and trust God’s power in or­der to live victoriously today.

Prayer Starter: Father, this is the day You have made! Help me to approach it with a positive attitude, full of faith and hope, knowing You have great things in store. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Welcomes You

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“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV).

Several years ago I had the privilege of meeting with a world-famous theologian. This great scholar had denied the deity of Christ and had taught thousands of seminarians who had studied under him that Jesus was only a great man and a great teacher. He was not God incarnate, and surely could not forgive sin and provide rest to His followers. Yet, in a unique way God had created a hunger in his heart for truth and for two years he had done an in-depth study of the life of Jesus.

As we met together in his office, he asked, “What do you tell a student when he asks you how to become a Christian?”

When I realized he was sincere, I proceeded to explain why I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and why all men everywhere need Him as their Savior and Lord, and how anyone who wants to can receive Him.

“I am persuaded,” he said after a long while, “that no honest person who is willing to consider the overwhelming evidence for the deity of Christ can deny that He is the Son of God.”

This great scholar, who had denied the deity of Christ all his life and encouraged millions of others to think likewise, bowed in prayer and received Christ into his life as Savior and Lord.

Jesus Christ stands out clearly as the one supernaturally unique figure in all of history. He is incomparable. He invites all who will to experience His love and forgiveness. “Come unto Me.” He welcomes “all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Bible Reading:Matthew 11:23-27

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I will seek to make sure that every loved one, every friend, every contact I make today is fully aware of the fact that God loves him, that Jesus Christ died for him and will welcome him into His family through a simple act of faith. I will tell him that He offers peace and rest – from life’s burdens – to all who follow Him in faith and obedience

 

http://www.cru.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Root of Bitterness

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Hebrews 12:12-15

If you’ve ever tried to get rid of weeds in your lawn or garden, you know what a big problem they can be. You pull them out, and everything looks really good for a while, but before long, the unwanted growth returns because the roots are still there.
An unforgiving spirit is like a root branching out in all directions, affecting every area of our life. Lopping off the leaves by repressing the pain and resentment isn’t a long-term solution, because like a weed, bitterness can continue to grow and reproduce as long as roots are in place.

When we’ve been deeply hurt, we sometimes resist offering forgiveness, thinking that a pardon excuses the wrongdoer and downplays the severity of the wrong done to us. But that’s not what forgiveness is—it’s letting go of both the offense and our right to demand payment, with the acknowledgment that vengeance is God’s responsibility, not ours (Rom. 12:17-21).

Stubbornly refusing to forgive may seem like a way to get even, but it’s actually a poison that harms us. It hampers our ability to enjoy life and, like any sin, erodes our fellowship with the Lord. Unforgiveness could even affect our health, resulting in physical illness, anxiety, or depression.

But roots of bitterness don’t stop with us; they reach into our relationships, causing trouble and defiling others (Heb. 12:15). An unforgiving spirit hinders our ability to love, poisoning the atmosphere in homes and workplaces.

Isn’t it time to deal with that root of bitterness? Lay down your grievances and refuse to rehearse your hurts. Then fill your mind with positive things instead—namely, truths about the Lord.

Bible in One Year: John 6-7

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Catching Foxes

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Read: Song of Solomon 2:14–17 | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 27–29; Titus 3

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. Song of Solomon 2:15

While talking on the phone with a friend who lives by the seaside, I expressed delight at hearing seagulls squawking. “Vile creatures,” she responded, for to her they’re a daily menace. As a Londoner, I feel the same way about foxes. I find them not cute animals but roaming creatures that leave smelly messes in their wake.

Foxes appear in the love poetry of the Song of Solomon, an Old Testament book that reveals the love between a husband and wife and, some commentators believe, between God and His people. The bride warns about little foxes, asking her bridegroom to catch them (2:15). For foxes, hungry for the vineyard’s grapes, could tear the tender plants apart. As the bride looks forward to their married life together, she doesn’t want vermin disturbing their covenant of love.

How can “foxes” disturb our relationship with God? For me, when I say “yes” to too many requests, I can become overwhelmed and unpleasant. Or when I witness relational conflict, I can be tempted to despair or anger. As I ask the Lord to limit the effect of these “foxes”—those I’ve let in through an open gate or those that have snuck in—I gain in trust of and love for God as I sense His loving presence and direction.

How about you? How can you seek God’s help from anything keeping you from Him?

Lord God, You are powerful and You are good. Please protect my relationship with You, keeping out anything that would take my eyes off You.

God can guard our relationship with Him.

By Amy Boucher Pye

INSIGHT

Although the author is not specifically named, Song of Songs is traditionally attributed to Solomon, who is mentioned in 1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11, 12 and who is referred to as “King Solomon” in 3:9–11. Therefore, this book is also called “The Song of Solomon.” Solomon composed 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32), but this song is deemed to be “the best”—hence the appropriate title “Solomon’s Song of Songs” (1:1). It is one of two biblical books (the other is Esther) where God isn’t mentioned explicitly. Some interpret Song of Songs as an allegory of Christ’s love for the church; others consider it to be a poem describing the romance and relationship of two passionate lovers. Rich in nature metaphors—“Your eyes are doves” (1:15); “My beloved is like a gazelle” (2:9); “The little foxes that ruin the vineyards” (v. 15)—the song celebrates sexual love and physical intimacy within the bonds of marriage (4:8–5:1). Together husband and wife wield out “the foxes” (2:15), removing anything that threatens their loving union or hurts the exclusivity of their marriage.

  1. T. Sim

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Dining Scandalously

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We typically fill our parties with people similar to ourselves. We invite into our homes those we work with, play with, or otherwise have something in common with. We celebrate with fellow graduates, entertain people from our neighborhoods, and open our doors to four year-olds when our own is turning four. Psychologists concur: we socialize with those in our circles because we have some ring of similarity that connects us.

The man in the parable of the great banquet is no different. The story is told in Luke chapter 14 of an affluent master of ceremonies who had invited a great number of people like himself to a meal. The list was likely distinguished; the guests were no doubt as prosperous socially as they were financially. Jesus sets the story at a critical time for all involved. The invitations had long been sent out and accepted. Places were now set; the table was now prepared. All was ready. Accordingly, the owner of the house sent his servant to bring in the guests. But none would come.

Anthropologists characterize the culture of Jesus’s day as an “honor/shame” society, where one’s quality of life was directly affected by the amount of honor or shame socially attributed to him or her. The public eye was paramount; every interaction either furthered or diminished one’s standing, honor, and regard in the eyes of the world.

Thus, in this parable, the master of the banquet had just been deliberately and publicly shamed. He was pushed to the margins of society and treated with the force of contempt. Hearers of this parable would have been waiting with baited breath to hear how this man would attempt to reclaim his honor. But scandalously, in fact, the master of the feast did not attempt to reverse his public shame. Altogether curiously, he embraced it.

Turning to the slave, the owner of the house appointed the servant with a new task: “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and the poor and maimed and lame and blind bring in here.”(1) Returning, the servant reported, “Lord it has all occurred as you ordered, and still there is room.” So the owner of the house responded again, “Go out into the waves and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Dining Scandalously →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Bridle Your Tongue

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For we all stumble and sin in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says [never saying the wrong thing], he is a perfect man [fully developed in character, without serious flaws], able to bridle his whole body and rein in his entire nature…. — James 3:2 (AMP)

Adapted from the resource Power Thoughts Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

According to this scripture, the one thing proving our level of spiritual maturity isn’t how religious we are—whether we can quote Scripture, or the good works we do—it is the words from our mouths.

James 1:26 says, If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religious service is worthless (futile, barren) (AMP).

No matter how religious you think you are, the true test proving your spirituality is whether you bridle your tongue or not. Bridle means “to restrain or control.” If we aren’t controlling our tongues, we are not operating in the level of maturity God wants us to have.

Prayer Starter: Holy Spirit, please help me with my words today. I can’t do it on my own, but with Your help, I can speak words of life and encouragement to those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright –Judging the World

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“For He has set a day for justly judging the world by the man He has appointed, and has pointed Him out by bringing Him back to life again” (Acts 17:31).

Why does God command men and women to repent? And why does He expect you and me to relay His message to them?

The answer is simple: because “He has set a day for justly judging the world.” And if people refuse to be penitent and thus become pardoned, they must be condemned.

“Justly,” of course, can be interpreted: “according to the rules of strict justice.” And who will do the judging? The man God has appointed – His only Son, Jesus Christ; the one He has pointed out to us clearly by bringing Him back to life again.

Jesus, you will remember, declared that He would judge the nations (John 5:25,26 and Matthew 25). God confirmed the truth of those declarations by raising Him from the dead – giving His sanction to what the Lord Jesus has said, for surely God would not work a miracle on behalf of an imposter.

What comfort and help can you and I receive from these truths today? Surely, this is a reminder that God is still on the throne; He is in control; nothing is going on in the world without His knowledge and consent.

Further, we are reminded of God’s justice, which assures us that He will always do right in behalf of His children. That falls right in line with Romans 8:28, of course, which concerns all things working together for our good.

Bible Reading:Psalm 9:7-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: World turmoil will not upset me, for I know the God who sits on the throne – and who rules over all

 

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Uses the Common

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

Luke 17:33 says,  “Those who try to keep their lives will lose them.  But those who give up their lives will save them.” Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.  If so, it’s a place you won’t want to miss.  See Rahab’s rope, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone.  Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart.

I don’t know if these items will be there.  But I’m sure of one thing—the people who used them will be there.  The risk takers– Rahab who sheltered the spy; David slinging a stone; and Samson swinging a bone.  And Mary at Jesus’ feet…what she gave cost much, but somehow she knew what he would give would cost more!

Read more Grace for the Moment II

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Meet a modern-day faith hero

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Asia Bibi is a Pakistani wife and mother of five. She and her family were the only Christians in their village. Her fellow workers repeatedly urged her to convert to Islam.

In June 2009, she was harvesting berries with a group of other farmhands. She was asked to fetch water from a nearby well and stopped to drink with an old metal cup she found near the well. A Muslim neighbor angrily told her it was forbidden for a Christian to drink from a utensil used by Muslims. The woman condemned her faith and ridiculed her Lord.

Asia responded: “I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your Prophet Mohammed ever do to save mankind? And why should it be me that converts instead of you?”

Five days later, she and her family were beaten by a mob, then she was arrested for blasphemy. In November 2010, she was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. She was put in solitary confinement while her husband appealed her conviction. Her family was threatened with death and forced to flee their village.

A Pakistani governor who supported her was assassinated; a government official who worked for her release was shot to death.

On Wednesday, the Pakistani Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges. However, protesters immediately took to the streets and the leaders of one Islamic group called for the judges to be killed. Roads, schools, and phone services were shut down in most parts of Pakistan today as protests continued across the country.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Meet a modern-day faith hero →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How to Handle Hurts

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Ephesians 4:30-32

Are you carrying wounds around with you wherever you go? Maybe someone said or did something hurtful to you yesterday, and you can’t seem to get it out of your mind. Or perhaps the offense occurred many years ago, and it’s still affecting you today. Despite your attempts to bury the pain, it keeps rising to the surface.

God doesn’t want us to live under a cloud of emotional pain. In today’s passage, He provides the way out if we’re willing to take it.

Recognize our own sin (v. 30). Although the other person’s guilt seems much greater, we can’t hide behind the label of “victim.” Wrongdoers will be held answerable to God for their actions, but we are accountable for our response. That’s why we’re warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

Let go of sinful responses (v. 31). The only way to move forward is to drop all bitterness, anger, and malice toward our offender. Each time we rehearse the wrong, relive the pain, and feel resentment rise up within us, we’re responding in a sinful manner instead of walking in obedience to the Spirit. To be healed of our hurts, we must put away such things.

Forgive (v. 32). As people forgiven of every sin we’ve ever committed, we have no right to hang on to others’ offenses.

Each time we submit to the Spirit, He moves us forward in forgiveness. If the pain is deep, the progress may be slow. Nevertheless, continue obeying God in an attitude of forgiveness. You’ll discover that as you let go of the offense, the hurt you’ve been carrying will be lifted as well.

Bible in One Year: John 4-5

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Compassion Fatigue

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Read: Matthew 9:35–38 | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 24–26; Titus 2

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

Anne Frank is well known for her diary describing her family’s years of hiding during World War II. When she was later imprisoned in a Nazi death camp, those with her said “her tears [for them] never ran dry,” making her “a blessed presence for all who knew her.” Because of this, scholar Kenneth Bailey concluded that Anne never displayed “compassion fatigue.”

Compassion fatigue can be one of the results of living in a badly broken world. The sheer volume of human suffering can numb even the best intentioned among us. Compassion fatigue, however, was not in Jesus’s makeup. Matthew 9:35–36 says, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Our world suffers not only from physical needs but also from spiritual brokenness. Jesus came to meet that need and challenged His followers to join Him in this work (vv. 37–38). He prayed that the Father would raise up workers to respond to the needs all around us—people who struggle with loneliness, sin, and illness. May the Father give us a heart for others that mirrors His heart. In the strength of His Spirit, we can express His compassionate concern to those who are suffering.

For more on this topic, see Compassion: Learning to Love Like Jesus at discoveryseries.org/q0208.

In a world filled with heartache, we can model the compassion of Jesus.

By Bill Crowder

INSIGHT

While contemplating the crowd in Matthew 9, Jesus did three specific things. First, He “saw” the crowds (v. 36) and recognized they were “harassed and helpless.” Second, He felt compassion toward them (v. 36). Finally, our Lord acted by challenging His disciples to pray that the Father would raise up workers to serve in the harvest (v. 38).

We find the same pattern in Acts 17 when Paul entered the city of Athens. He saw (v. 16) that the city was filled with idols, which stirred strong feelings within him (“he was greatly distressed”)—perhaps because of the self-destructive nature of idol worship. Then Paul acted by engaging people with the message of Jesus and His resurrection (vv. 17–18).

This pattern practiced by both Jesus and Paul established a model we can embrace today.

Bill Crowder

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – God at Terminal Five

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I wrote one of the last sections of the book Why Suffering? on a plane flight from London to New York.(1) As I came through security at Heathrow Airport, I had about an hour until my departure, and I had it in mind to find a quiet spot and make a start on the writing I had planned.

As I began to walk toward the departure gates, a small sign for the “Multi-Faith Prayer Room” caught my eye, and instantaneously—though I have never before had an urge to visit an airport prayer room—I felt this conviction that there was someone in that room whom I was supposed to talk with. It was as if someone had just told me, “There is someone waiting to speak with you there,” even though I had not audibly heard those words.

I did an about-face and walked a good distance away from my departure gate to the arrivals terminal where the prayer room was located. When I walked in, there was one man in the room, sitting in a corner on the floor. He appeared to be about my age. When he saw me looking around the prayer room, he asked, “Are you religious?” We began speaking about what it means to be religious, and he soon shared with me that he was going through the worst suffering of his life.

Mohammed fought back tears as he shared about what no one would ever want to go through. He expressed that he never talks about such things with anyone, but that he just needed to get it out. He told me that he used to pray five times a day, but that now the suffering is too much; he opens his mouth to pray and nothing comes out. Finally, Mohammed challenged me, “If God exists, why is there so much suffering? And where is he amidst it all?”

Now I understood why we were supposed to meet. I told Mohammed that the one person of whom he finally asked “Why suffering?” was currently writing a book by that very title, and in fact was walking in the opposite direction toward the departure gates when God turned him around and led him to this specific room to share that God does care and that he is present.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – God at Terminal Five →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Exceedingly, Abundantly, Above & Beyond

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Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us. — Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)

Adapted from the resource New Day, New You Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

When I pray about or simply meditate on all the people who are hurting, I have a strong desire to help them all. I sometimes feel that my desire is bigger than my ability, and it is—but it is not bigger than God’s ability!

When the thing we are facing in our lives or ministries looms so big in our eyes that our mind goes “tilt,” we need to think in the spirit. In the natural, many things are impossible. But in the supernatural, spiritual realm, with God nothing is impossible.

God wants us to believe for great things, make big plans, and expect Him to do things so great it leaves us with our mouths hanging open in awe. James 4:2 tells us we have not because we ask not! We can be bold in our asking.

Sometimes in my meetings people will approach the altar for prayer and sheepishly ask if they can request two things. I tell them they can ask God for all they want to, as long as they trust Him to do it His way, in His timing. It is untold what people can do—people who don’t appear to be able to do anything.

God does not usually call people who are capable. If He did, He would not get the glory. He frequently chooses those who, in the natural, feel as if they are in completely over their heads but who are ready to stand up on the inside and take bold steps of faith as they get direction from God.

We usually want to wait until we “feel ready” before we step out, but if we feel ready then we tend to lean on ourselves instead of on God.

Know your weaknesses and know God—know His strength and faithfulness. Above all else, don’t be a quitter.

Prayer Starter: Oh, Lord, help me to make you bigger in my eyes and believe You can do the impossible in my life. Help me to live with “God confidence,” and trust You to do things that are above and beyond what I even think I deserve. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Place Prepared for You

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“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3, KJV).

Recently my 93-year-old father went to be with the Lord. Though I was saddened to realize that I would never see him again in this life, and I shed a few tears of sorrow for myself, at the same time I rejoiced in the knowledge that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

My father is now rejoicing in the presence of our wonderful God and Savior. One day I shall join with him, my mother (who is still living at 93), all my brothers and sisters who have declared their faith in Christ, and multitudes of other loved ones, friends and saints to spend eternity in that place where “eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard…what God hath prepared for those who love Him.”

“I cannot think what we shall find to do in heaven,” mused Martin Luther. “No change, no work, no eating, no drinking, nothing to do.”

“Yes,” responded a friend, “‘Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.'”

“Why, of course,” said Luther, “that sight will give us quite enough to do!”

Joy of joys, you and I not only have been given purpose and power for living the supernatural, abundant life – by the indwelling Holy Spirit – but we have also been promised a place in His presence when this life is over. And, as Luther realized, we will then worship Him face to face throughout the endless ages of eternity.

We need not know exactly what heaven will be like; we need only know who will be there – our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That assurance and anticipation should motivate us to live the kind of supernatural life that burdens and concerns us about the needs of others, moment by moment, day by day.

Bible Reading:John 14:27-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will meditate on the glory and beauty of my heavenly Father and my eternal home where I shall worship and have fellowship with my Lord throughout eternity. I will encourage loved ones, friends and strangers alike to prepare to go there also when their work on earth is done

 

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Entered Time

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

When God entered time and became a man, he who was boundless became bound.  For more than three decades, his once limitless reach would be limited to the stretch of an arm.  His speed would be checked to the pace of human feet.

I wonder, was he ever tempted to reclaim his boundlessness? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather?  If ever he entertained such a thought, he never gave in to it.  Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort.  With one word he could have transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn’t. With a wave of his hand, he could have boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces.  With the arch of his brow, he could have paralyzed the hand of the soldier that braided the crown of thorns.  But he didn’t.

Read more Grace for the Moment II

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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