Tag Archives: jesus christ

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A New Year’s benediction

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“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10

Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Oh, beloved, when you hear of Christ, when you know that this grace comes through Christ, and the calling through Christ, and the glory through Christ, then you say, “Lord, I can believe it now, if it is through Christ.” It is not a hard thing to believe that Christ’s blood was sufficient to purchase every blessing for me. If I go to God’s treasury without Christ, I am afraid to ask for anything, but when Christ is with me I can then ask for everything. For sure I think he deserves it, though I do not. If I can claim his merits then I am not afraid to plead. Is perfection too great a boon for God to give to Christ? No. Is the keeping, the stability, the preservation of the blood-bought ones too great a reward for the terrible agonies and sufferings of the Saviour? No. Then we may with confidence plead, because everything comes through Christ. I would in concluding make this remark. I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us. Begin from this day, and may God help you. Never let a single day pass over your head without a visit to the garden of Gethsemane, and the cross of Calvary. And as for some of you who are not saved, and know not the Redeemer, I would to God that this very day you would come to Christ.

For meditation: The New Year may not always be as “Happy” as we would wish, but the Christian is blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3) and can look forward to a “Blessed New Year” throughout the problems that may come.

Sermon no. 292

1 January (1860)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Measure of True Success

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John MacArthur

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1).

Our society is success oriented. We love success stories. We even have television programs that exalt the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But God’s standard for success is quite different. Unimpressed by our status or wealth, He looks instead for faithfulness to His will.

Paul understood that principle and diligently pursued his calling as an apostle–one of those unique men who were foundational to the church and recipients, teachers, and writers of the New Testament.

That was a high calling, yet judging from Paul’s lifestyle most people would hardly call him successful– having suffered imprisonments, beatings, death threats, shipwrecks, robberies, hatred from his theological enemies, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, and exposure to the elements (2 Cor. 11:23-27). But none of those things deterred him from obeying God’s will. His final testimony was, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). That’s true success! Although we’re not apostles, we’re to follow Paul’s example of faithfulness (1 Cor. 11:1). That’s possible because, like the Ephesian believers, we are “saints [holy ones] . . . who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). By God’s grace we’ve trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior (Eph. 2:8-9) and received His righteousness (Phil. 3:9), Spirit (Eph. 3:16), and every spiritual resource necessary for faithful, victorious Christian living (Eph. 1:3).

What remains is to cultivate greater love for Christ and more consistent obedience to His Word. Those are the hallmarks of a true disciple and God’s measure of success. Make it your goal that your life today warrants the Lord’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful [servant]” (Matt. 25:21).

Suggestions for Prayer:

•             Praise God for His wonderful grace, by which He granted you salvation and all the spiritual resources you need.

•             Thank Him for His Word, where you learn the principles of godly living.

•             Ask Him for opportunities today to encourage the faithfulness of others.

For Further Study:

Read Ephesians 1:3-4; 2:10; Titus 2:11-12

•             What is the goal of your salvation?

•             Are you living each day in light of that goal?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Mind, Mouth, Moods, and Attitudes

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Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

—LUKE 10:19 KJV

This is typically how your mind, mouth, moods, and attitudes are connected: When you have a negative circumstance, you have a negative thought. Then you say a negative thing about the circumstance, and then your mood begins to sink. Next you get a bad attitude, and you end up with more negative circumstances than you started with.

But you can break this cycle in your life. Did you know that? Luke 10:19 says we have power to “tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (KJV). To tread means “to walk all over, to take steps, to take action, to resist.” You have the power to do these things. When you have a problem, nothing negative will fix it. Keep your mind, mouth, moods, and attitudes positive, and watch God work miracles on your behalf.

Power Thought: In Christ, I have power over negative thinking.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Bible’s No. 1 Promise

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“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV).

As I travel from country to country, I find that millions of people in many countries and cultures are receiving Christ into their lives after hearing about Him for the first time. Millions of others would respond joyfully if they fully understood the truth of John 3:16, the most wonderful promise ever given to man.

Only through His indwelling presence can they live supernaturally. The first prerequisite to supernatural living, of course, is life – eternal life, supernatural life from God. I encourage you to meditate often on the content of this God-inspired promise:

God: The omnipotent Creator – loving, sovereign, holy, all-wise, ever-present, compassionate God who flung a hundred billion or more galaxies into space merely by speaking.

So loved: His love is unconditional and inexhaustible.

He gave: a gift that can never be earned by our good works, but can be received only by faith.

His only begotten Son: the most precious, priceless gift ever given – Jesus.

That whosoever: you and I and every person who inhabits the world.

Believeth in Him: believes that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, the one who died on the cross for the sins of all people everywhere and who was raised from the dead.

Should not perish: should not be eternally separated from God. “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV).

But have everlasting life: not only in heaven, but also on earth, experiencing the supernatural, everlasting life of the indwelling, risen Savior.

Bible Reading: Romans 5:6-11

Today’s Action Point: If I am not already a believer in Christ, I will receive Him into my life as Savior and Lord today. If I am a believer and have not already done so, I will acknowledge His lordship in my life and begin to draw upon His resurrection power as a way of life. As I continue to claim His promise, I am confident that the result will be a full, abundant and supernatural life.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – A New Year of Hope

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According to the World Association of Publishers, more than half of the Earth’s adult population read the newspaper. The facts are hard to dismiss: newspapers are pervasive, and their influence is great. They are weavers of the fabric of society. Sadly, what they report seldom lends hope or feelings of security to the reader.

The hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth.

Colossians 1:5

For 2014, how about starting each day not with the newspaper, but with the Word of God? In those pages you’ll find the pathway to hope for the future, and confirmation that you’re on it. As you read, you’ll place yourself in an environment to grow into the person you want to be. What better resolution for the New Year than to spend more time with your Creator and the lover of your soul?

As you place yourself in the center of God’s Word and His will for your life, His reflected love will permeate and influence the lives of those around you, brightening the future. Won’t you also intercede daily for the nation’s leaders to find more time in the Bible for themselves? It is the only true hope for a weary America.

Recommended Reading: I John 3:16-24

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Leaning Tower of You

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No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.—1 Corinthians 3:11–12

Workers laid the foundation for one of Italy’s most famous structures in 1173, a tower designed to stand next to a cathedral. During construction, however, they discovered the soil was softer than previously thought, and the tower began to sink.

Today the top of that tower is nearly thirteen feet off center. People come from around the world to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and scientists travel to Pisa yearly to measure its slow descent. They calculate that at its current rate of decline, and without taking any countermeasures, it will one day collapse.

Nothing is more important in construction work than making sure you have the foundation right. If you don’t get that correct, then nothing else will matter. It may be more fun to decide what color to paint the rooms and how you will decorate the finished structure, but without a proper foundation, nothing else you do will last long enough to make any difference.

Smart and successful Christians build their lives on the right foundation. Scripture makes it clear that the only foundation possible for a sound spiritual life is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians

3:11). And where do you learn about Jesus? In the Word of God. The Word is truth and it will never lead you astray. If you are building your life on the right foundation, which is Jesus Christ, then you’re also regularly getting into the Word. Only that foundation will stand the test of time.

Don’t become the Leaning Tower of You.

Build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ, as you learn of Him in Scripture and stand straight and tall as the years pass.

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Truth About Life

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Max Lucado

Hair transplants, surgery, color in a bottle. All to hide what everyone already knows—we’re getting older.

If you ever want to stall a conversation at a party just say, “How’re you feeling about your approaching death?” It won’t put much life into the conversation.

I have a friend who has cancer.  He’s in remission. A nurse unaware of his condition was asking a question for his medical record.  “Are you presently ill?”  “Well yes, I have cancer,” he said.  She looked at him and asked, “Are you terminal?” He responded, “Yes, aren’t we all?”

You’d think we weren’t, the way the subject is kept hush-hush. Jesus does His best work at such moments. Just when the truth about life sinks in, His truth starts to surface.

The next time you find yourself facing the undeniables of life, whisper His name. He is nearer than you think!

From God Came Near

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – What God Wants You to Know

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Charles Stanley

Romans 8:14-17

The Lord “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). In other words, God would like all of humanity to accept Christ as Savior. Today we will explore certain truths that the Father longs for His children to know.

• Salvation. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict us of our sinfulness and bring us to the knowledge that Jesus Christ died for our sin. When we receive the Lord as our personal Savior, we are reconciled to God and accorded full fellowship with Him. This happens the moment salvation occurs. Our sin debt is paid in full so we are free from guilt. Also, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit for eternity and set apart for God’s service.

• Identity. What is our identity in the Lord? Believers are children of God. The Bible calls us “joint heirs with Christ”—in other words, we share in the wealth of the Lord Jesus. Also, we have been transformed from sinners into saints. We may not always act saintly, but a true saint is someone who has been saved and set apart for the purposes of God.

• Position. Jesus Christ is always present to guide and provide for the believer. Through Him, we have instantaneous access to God the Father.

• Mission. Our primary mission in life is to demonstrate Christ to the world. Believers should live in such a way that others see the life of Jesus within us. And because we understand the wonder of our salvation, our identity in Christ, and our position to the Father, we share about the Savior with other people. God wants everyone to know the truth.

 

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — In His Grip

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Our Daily Bread

Romans 8:31-39

I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12

When we cross a busy street with small children in tow, we put out our hand and say, “Hold on tight,” and our little ones grasp our hand as tightly as they can. But we would never depend on their grasp. It is our grip on their hand that holds them and keeps them secure. So Paul insists, “Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). Or more exactly, “Christ has a grip on me!”

One thing is certain: It is not our grip on God that keeps us safe, but the power of Jesus’ grasp. No one can take us out of His grasp—not the devil, not even ourselves. Once we’re in His hands, He will not let go.

We have this assurance: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).

Doubly safe: Our Father on one side and our Lord and Savior on the other, clasping us in a viselike grip. These are the hands that shaped the mountains and oceans and flung the stars into space. Nothing in this life or the next “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). —David Roper

Father, I thank You for the nail-pierced hands

that reached out in love and took me by my hand.

You have led me by Your right hand throughout life.

I trust You to hold me and keep me safe to the end.

The One who saved us is the One who keeps us.

Bible in a year: Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22

 

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Comfort and Joy

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Ravi Z

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is one of my favorite carols of the Advent season.

God rest ye merry gentlemen

Let nothing you dismay,

For Jesus Christ our Saviour

Was born upon this day,

To save us all from Satan’s power

When we were gone astray:

O tidings of comfort and joy,

comfort and joy,

O tidings of comfort and joy.

The carol reminds Christian pilgrims that we need not dismay since Jesus Christ has delivered us from the “domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:13). And yet, the tune is sung in a minor key. While no expert in music, I love the juxtaposition of a minor key with uplifting lyrics. The minor key reminds me that joy is mingled with sorrow during the Advent season.

The longing and expectation that begins the Advent season, turns to joy as the arrival of the Christ child approaches. Christians rejoice for the tiny baby who will be King; here is joy enfleshed, and our lives belong to his rule and reign. And yet, many who are familiar with this carol, even those who sing its verses, may still feel the power of evil over them, or feel that they have yet to find their way to the manger of Jesus. Some find it difficult to enter into the victory that Christmas proclaims.

For many in our world today, it is difficult to rejoice when all that is experienced is a world in crisis. Many desperately long to enter into the joy promised long ago to humble shepherds: “Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

Those who heard the announcement of the birth of the Messiah knew it signaled the end of exile and darkness, for the coming of the Messiah meant a new age for the people of Israel. We hear this promise sung in psalms: “When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them’” (Psalm 126:1-2). Great things will be accomplished for the people as a result of the Messiah’s advent.

Yet, these great things were not accomplished without tears of sorrow and mourning. For, as the psalmist suggests, joy and sorrow are inextricably linked. “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6). Indeed, the sowing and the seed are the tears of the exiles, tears that bear the fruit of joy. Talitha Arnold reflects on the mystery of suffering turned to joy: “The natural power of God to turn seeds into grain would be miracle enough. But Psalm 126 makes an even greater statement. The seeds are not ordinary, but seeds of sorrow. The fruit they bear is not grain or wheat, but shouts of joy.”(1)

In spite of a world easily consumed by sorrow and sadness this season, those who anticipate the arrival of the source of all joy recognize that the harvest of joy is sown in tears—tears that are redeemed by the one who “for the joy set before him endured the cross and suffered its shame” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus, the joy of the world, was not immune to tears. The “tidings of comfort and joy” would be that God enters our suffering, and is not removed from it. God enters our exile, and offers deliverance and salvation.

We all seek joy in this season, but perhaps we look in the wrong places and in the wrong ways: “This is no jingle-bells joy brought with a swipe of a credit card,” Arnold continues. “The seeds of this joy have been planted in sadness and watered with tears. This is the honest joy that often comes only after weeping has tarried the night.”(2) Tidings of comfort and joy come to us in a person, a person who sowed both tears of joy and sadness himself. Jesus brings joy from tears and fills hearts with gladness at his coming. Weeping may last through the night, but joy indeed comes in the morning.

Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.

(1) Talitha Arnold, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Ed. David Lyon Bartlett (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 60.

(2) Ibid.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Wonder of Wonders

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Alistair Begg

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.’

John 7:37

Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He pleads with us and waits to be gracious to us. The long-suffering of the Savior is truly admirable as He bears with some of us year after year despite our insults, rebellions, and resistance to His Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!

Mercy expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus “cried,” which implies not only the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. “God making his appeal through us,” says the apostle, “we implore you on behalf of

Christ . . .” What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep the Father’s love that causes Him to weep over sinners and, like a mother, to tenderly call His children to Himself! Surely at the sound of such a cry our willing hearts will come.

Provision is made most generously: Everything that man needs to quench his soul’s thirst is available. To his conscience the Atonement brings peace; to his understanding the Gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nourishment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Even if the soul were utterly famished, Jesus can restore it.

Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of greed, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and not be a sign of grace, but a mark of inordinate sin that longs to satisfy itself with deeper lust; but it is not goodness in the creature that brings him the invitation-the Lord Jesus sends it freely and without respect of persons.

Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus-not to works, ordinances, or doctrines but to a personal Redeemer who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Savior is the only ray of hope to a sinner. Oh, for grace to come now and drink, before the sun sets upon the year’s last day!

No waiting or preparation is even hinted at. Drinking represents a reception that has no special requirements. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; our sinfulness is no barrier to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We need no golden cup, no fine china, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and drink of the life-giving stream. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it but will themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, listen to the dear Redeemer’s loving voice as He cries to each of us, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Our Sympathetic High Priest

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John MacArthur

“Assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:16-18).

In his letters to Timothy, Paul counseled and encouraged his young associate about many things–his health, his critics, his moral and spiritual warfare. His counsel is well summed up in these words: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David” (2 Tim. 2:8).

Like Timothy, we need to be reminded of Christ’s humanity, especially when life becomes particularly tough. Then we can pray, “Lord, You know what You endured while You were here. I’m going through it now.” We can be sure He knows and will encourage us.

Jesus came not only to save us but also to sympathize with us. He experienced what we experience so He could be a “merciful and faithful high priest.” After all, “we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

Jesus felt everything we will ever feel–and more. Most of us will never know the full degree of any given temptation because we usually succumb long before we reach it. But since Jesus never sinned, He took the full measure of every temptation.

Ours is not a cosmic God, powerful and holy, but indifferent. He knows when we hurt, where we are weak, and how we are tempted. Jesus is not just our Savior, but our loving Lord who sympathizes with us. Rejoice in the greatness of His love for us.

Suggestion for Prayer:

Ask God to remind you of your need of Him at all times, not just when times are tough.

For Future Study:

Memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13 for quick recall whenever you are faced with any trial.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Solid Foundation

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“All who listen to My instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won’t collapse, for it is built on rock. But those who hear My instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

What a wonderful promise for supernatural living to know that no matter what happens – the greatest tragedies, adversities or losses – your house will stand. You will not only survive, but mature, grow and become more like Jesus.

As you listen to and follow His instructions, you will observe that He has been speaking to the multitudes in what is frequently referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Review chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew. List all the things that He commands us to do, and then by faith claim those instructions in your life. For there is nothing that God ever commands that He will not enable us to do if we seek His help.

Remember, too, His promise recorded in Matthew 22:37-40, that all of the commandments in the sermon on the Mount are fulfilled when we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and when we love our neighbor as ourselves. So the instructions that He is giving are not difficult, for He who gives the command will enable us to build on a sure foundation of solid rock.

Note, however, the admonishment for those who ignore His instructions. For those foolish people who build their houses on sand, collapse of those houses is the certain consequence. One need only look around to see evidence of the fulfillment of God’s warning in the lives of numerous loved ones, neighbors and friends. God loves us, and He wants to bless us, but He cannot if we ignore Him.

Are you following the instructions of the Lord Jesus Christ? If not, I encourage you to begin today, with the assurance that He will bless you, your family and all who are dear to you.

Bible Reading: 1 John 2:3-9

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will meditate upon our Lord’s instructions as contained in the Sermon on the Mount, as well as the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. I will meditate upon 1 Corinthians 13 and other commandments of our Lord on love. Through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I will obey His instructions for supernatural living.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K.-Conscious Reliance

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Each of you is prompted in your life by some distinct principle or passion. It affects how you contend with good things as well as bad. The tendency of each person is to live in themselves, to act in their own strength and to work toward selfish motives.

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Colossians 3:17

But Christians can find the holiest and purest motives only in Jesus. Out of love for Him and respect to His authority, selfishness is pushed aside. Jesus provided a noble example of moral excellence in life, obeying His Father’s will even to death. Today’s verse encourages you to recognize Christ in everything…in your work, conversation, public worship, private prayer and in all matters related to your home and family – everything!

To live your life fully is to depend absolutely on Jesus at all times. He is God’s greatest gift to you. Full, conscious reliance on Him helps you be humble in successes, encouraged in perplexities, and uplifted in your grief. Dear one, take His example to heart in the coming year. Then intercede for the leaders of this nation that they accept God’s gift in 2014 so their motives will not be selfish but Christ-centered.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 3:5-16  Click to Read or Listen

 

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A Legacy that Lasts

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So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. —Colossians 1:28

In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham said, “God doesn’t want us to waste our latter years or spend them in superficial, meaningless pursuits. Instead, He wants us to use them in whatever ways we can to influence those who will come after us. God wants us to finish well. . . .”

One day, your most precious possessions will fit inside a hospital drawer. You will leave it all behind and will enter into eternity. What kind of legacy will you leave? If you are a Christian, are you seeking to win people to Christ? Are you helping anyone to get on their feet spiritually, grow, and continue on to serve the Lord?

Someone did this for me. I accepted Christ during a meeting at my high school, but afterward, I was sort of left all alone, wondering what I was supposed to do. But then God brought along someone named Mark. He introduced himself and told me that he wanted to take me to church and that I needed to go to church if I wanted to grow spiritually. He was persistent in a good way. He brought me to church again and again. Mark showed up at a critical moment in my life. If he hadn’t, I tremble to think of where I would have ended up. He was just some regular guy who had a concern for me and took time with me.

You can be that regular person for someone else. Are you doing that? If not, will you start?

You can’t really control when God will call you home. That is not up to you. You don’t determine the date of your birth or the date of your death. But you have everything to do with what you do between those dates. So finish well.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – No Harm Done

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Max Lucado

Insensitivity makes a wound that heals slowly!

Words like, “Whoa–she’s put on some weight!” Or a question carelessly asked, “Trish, is it true you and Brian are separated?”

If you were to tell the one who threw these thoughtless darts about the pain they caused, the response would be, “Oh, but I had no intention. . . it was just a slip of the tongue.”  No one’s at fault.  No harm done.

But as the innocent attackers go on their way excusing themselves, a wounded soul is left in the dust.  God says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3).

The message is clear.  Excuses are shallow when they come from those who claim to be followers and imitators of God. Insensitive slurs may be accidental—but they’re not excusable!

From God Came Near

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Putting Off Procrastination

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Charles Stanley

Acts 24:24-27

Some people like to say that they are “born procrastinators.” According to Scripture, that is impossible for believers. Procrastination can be a form of bondage in a person’s life, and the Lord, who wants the best for His followers, didn’t design us to be enslaved.

Procrastination has several common causes. The first is an attempt to dodge discomfort. Many people put off taking action because they feel uncomfortable or anxious about the ramifications. In today’s passage, Felix sends Paul away, fearing the apostle’s talk about righteousness, self-control, and judgment.

This can show up in our spiritual life— we sometimes delay Bible reading and meditating because we are afraid God will bring to the surface a matter we need to confront. Then, if such a subject comes up, we often choose to procrastinate about dealing with it. Issues like pride, self-control, or guilt may not be comfortable to face, but dodging them obstructs God’s purpose in our life.

The second cause for putting things off is self-doubt. Those who consider themselves inadequate to complete a task may choose not to begin it. Related to this is another factor: fear of making a mistake or failing in an endeavor can make postponement seem preferable.

Procrastination is no laughing matter, particularly in the spiritual realm since delaying on an assignment from God is the same as disobeying Him. Are you prone to delay? Identify problem areas and the feelings that accompany them. Then confess your tendency, and rely on God’s strength to overcome it.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Anticipate the End

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Alistair Begg

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Look at David’s Lord and Master; consider His beginning. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Then look at the end! He sits at His Father’s right hand, waiting until His enemies are made his footstool. “As he is so we are also in this world.”1 You must bear the cross or you will never wear the crown; you must wade through the water or you will never walk the golden pavement.

Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” View the creeping worm-how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flowers, full of happiness and life-that is the worm’s end. You are that caterpillar, wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ appears, you will be like Him, for you will see Him as He is.

Be content to be like Him, a worm and no man, so that like Him you may be satisfied when you wake up in His likeness. The rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the gem-smith. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much-much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head accompanied by the trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that same diamond that was so recently fashioned at the wheel.

You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown is set upon the head of the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of Hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”2 “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.”

1 1 John 4:17 2 Malachi 3:17

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Canaan on earth

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CharlesSpurgeon

“For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year.” Deuteronomy 11:10-12

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 139:1-12

We have come now, beloved, to the end of another year—to the threshold of another period of time, and have marched another year’s journey through the wilderness. Come, now! In reading this verse over, can you say Amen to it? “The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon you, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” Some of you say, “I have had deep troubles this year.” “I have lost a friend,” says one. “Ah!” says another, “I have been impoverished this year.” “I have been slandered”, cries another. “I have been exceedingly vexed and grieved”, says another. “I have been persecuted,” says another. Well, beloved, take the year altogether—the ups and the downs, the troubles and the joys, the hills and the valleys altogether, and what have you to say about it? You may say, “Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Do not pick out one day in the year, and say it was a bad day, but take all the year round, let it revolve in all its grandeur. Judge between things that differ; and then what will you say? “Ah! Bless the Lord! He hath done all things well; my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” And you know why all things have been well. It is because the eyes of the Lord have been upon you all the year.

For meditation: Are you glad that God sees you through and through every moment of your life? This should bring terror to the unbeliever (Hebrews 4:13) but great comfort to God’s people in the hour of distress (Genesis 16:13; Exodus 2:25).

Sermon no. 58

30 December (1855)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Satan’s Conqueror

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John MacArthur

“Since . . . the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb. 2:14-15).

To be free to live with God and share in all His blessings, someone had to shatter Satan’s death grip on us. Sin is what gives Satan his powerful hold on us, but the power itself is death.

Satan knew that God required death for us because of sin. He knew that all died in Adam–that death became a certain fact of life. And he knew that men, if they remained as they were, would die and go out of God’s presence into hell forever. So he wants to hang onto men until they die because once they are dead, the opportunity for salvation is gone forever.

To wrest the power of death from Satan’s hand, God sent Christ into the world. If you have a greater weapon than your enemy, then his weapon is useless. You can’t fight a machine gun with a bow and arrow. Satan’s weapon is death, but eternal life is God’s weapon, and with it Jesus destroyed death.

How was He able to do it? He rose again, proving He had conquered death. That’s why He said, “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19). His resurrection provides the believer with eternal life.

Nothing terrifies people more than the fear of death. But when we receive Christ, death in reality holds no more fear for us since it simply releases us into the presence of our Lord. We can say with Paul, “To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Rejoice that you have placed your hand into the hand of the conqueror of death, who will lead you through death and out the other side.

Suggestion for Prayer:

Ask God to give you a greater realization that He has conquered death to help you live life more fully to His glory.

For Further Study:

Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. How are we to live our lives based on what we know about death?