Tag Archives: jesus christ

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – The Comparing Game

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Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Friend to Friend

We live in a competitive world. The pressures to be thin, beautiful, fit, smart, sexy, funny, rich, and popular trap us in a relentless vise-grip. Anyone can become gripped by a disorder or an addictive lifestyle. You could be a college student, a businesswoman, a nurse, a mom, a dance instructor, a retail clerk, or a Sunday school teacher. No one is exempt. Feelings of inadequacy and inferiority ravage hearts of Christians and non-Christians alike.

Our attempts to measure up are all-consuming traps. They focus our attention inward verses upward. When we get caught in the trap of striving to measure up, we focus on ourselves. That was never God’s plan. We were designed to focus on Him. Shifting our attention from ourselves to God will change our perspective. God longs for our obsession to be Him.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Father and Son

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“For a person who doesn’t believe in Christ, God’s Son, can’t have God the Father either. But he who has Christ, God’s Son, has God the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

An angry young student leader of a leftist movement approached me after one of my lectures on campus. “I resent your poisoning the minds of these students with your religious ideas,” he said, obviously trying to start an argument.

Instead of responding in kind, I asked him to come to our home for dinner where we could talk quietly and more in depth. He accepted the invitation.

After dinner, we discussed our individual views concerning God and man and the way we felt our ideas could best help man to maximize his potential. He objected when I started to read from the Bible.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Menace of External Religion

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Read: Philippians 3:2

Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. Phil 3:2

This is a warning about the menace of external religion. This seems like a rather abrupt change of subject, but there is a very vital connection with the previous verse. What is it that destroys rejoicing in the Lord? It’s dwelling on external circumstances as being the important thing. It’s looking away from the indwelling Lord to the outward event with which you are concerned, and counting that the important thing. That will inevitably destroy a spirit of rejoicing. So he warns against certain false teachers who were posing as Christians, who went about trying to get peoples’ faith centered on outward things.

The terms he uses to describe these men are bold and blunt, because in matters of this importance the apostle never minces words. He calls them three things: dogs, evil-doers, mutilators. The reference to dogs is not to the pampered, shampooed, manicured pets we have today. These were not cultured canines. These were the snarling, half-wild curs found on the streets of the city. They can still be found today. The term dogs is a term of reproach used by both Jew and Gentile. Because of what the dogs fed on, they were regarded as unclean animals. They fed on the refuse of the streets, the garbage, decayed meat, rotten vegetables that had been disposed.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Not What We Expected

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Read: Luke 19:28-34

He set his face to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51)

It had been a long journey for the disciples following Jesus. Ever since the whirlwind of events in Luke 9 his disciples had been waiting for Jesus to become Israel’s king. Instead, the ragtag little band wound their way through Samaria, trying to make sense of their master’s stories and confrontations, while dealing with their disappointed expectations.

With the capital just beyond the next hilltop, maybe the disciples finally dared to think, “This is it. Now Jesus is going to bust out the dissident politics, the blazing rhetoric, and start the radical revolution.” And it looked promising. Jesus sent some disciples up ahead to bring him “a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat” (v. 30). Based on the word used for “colt,” the disciples may not have been sure whether Jesus was looking for an unbroken stallion or some other four-legged animal.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; – Dead Men Redemptions?

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The proliferation of media today – round-the-clock news channels, the Internet, and armies of professional pundits – has polarized America and made it nearly impossible for the government to get anything done. How much easier it would be if we could return to the days of the nation’s founding when George Washington was president and the nation was united. Right?

While I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death!

Deuteronomy 31:27

Wrong. During Washington’s presidency, notes one of his biographers, “the number of newspapers printed in the United States exploded…from under 50 newspapers around 1776 to over 250 by 1800, encouraged by new federal laws that made it cheaper to send newspapers through the postal system. Newly aggressive newspaper editors spurned the old standard of impartiality, taking a stronger role in shaping the newspaper’s message in support of, or in opposition to, the government.”

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – A New Relationship

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Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” —John 20:17

On the morning of the Resurrection, Jesus didn’t allow Mary to touch Him. He was essentially saying, “It’s not going to be the way it used to be. You can’t hold on to Me in the old way. It’s a new covenant.”

Then He made a radical statement: “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’ ” (John 20:17). For Jesus to call God His Father was one thing. But He said, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father. . . . ” In other words, “He is your Father now too.”

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Wants Me To Trust Him To Provide

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“For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:14-16)

1 Kings is one of the Bible’s historical books, which means that it tells us the stories of what actually happened during the time those kings and prophets lived. What good can those old stories do for us now? Some of those things that happened back then would never happen now, in the 21st century! God probably has never told your pastor to pray for a river to dry up so you could walk across it, and God probably will not tell your pastor to pray that it would not rain for three years!

Even though some of these historical stories could probably never happen nowadays, God had good reasons for including them in His Word. For one thing, we can learn a lot about God’s character and His works through reading those stories. Think about when someone at your church stands up and gives a “testimony.” What is it? It is just that person’s story of something God has done, and it gives praise to God for being the kind of God He is. We listen to testimonies of people who believe in God, and they remind us that God is powerful and cares about His people. The historical stories in the Bible are often testimonies about the greatness and goodness of God.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Clean Conscience

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 4:8

“Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

God has given each of us a conscience, a moral compass within our hearts, bearing witness to his law. In sinful or self-righteous people (those whose dominant characteristics are either obvious sin or obvious self-righteousness), the conscience is to some degree “hardened.” But in a growing Christian the conscience becomes more and more sensitive to violations of God’s law. As a result, our consciences continually indict us, accusing us not only of particular sins, but, more important, of our overall sinfulness. We recognize that specific sins are simply the expressions of our still-wicked hearts. Our sinfulness is very real to us, and we find it difficult to believe God would no longer remember each offense.

It’s here that I find it helpful to visualize the Old Testament scapegoat carrying away the people’s sins that have been laid on its head. This is an accurate picture of what Jesus did with my sin.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Empowered by the Spirit

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Today’s Scripture: Zechariah 3-4

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. – Zechariah 4:6

One of the best-known verses in the Bible regarding the Holy Spirit is recorded in Zechariah 4:6. The word might comes from a Hebrew word meaning “a powerful force, an army, a band of trained, valiant soldiers.” It also encompasses other resources, such as riches. The word translated power means “to be able to reach our goals by human ability–our own wisdom or clever manipulation of others.” Zechariah is saying that we do not do the work of God by either great human strength or great human ability; we do it by the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Exodus 31:1 says: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel…and I have filled Him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts–to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship… Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you.’”

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Empowered by the Spirit →

BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Congress Finally Acknowledges Genocide in Middle East

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Editor’s note: Fox News is reporting this morning that Secretary of State John Kerry will declare today that ISIS is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities.

In the mid-1940s, Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer born and raised in Poland, coined a name for what prior to the 20th century had been unthinkable. He combined the Greek word for “family,” “tribe,” or “race,” and the Latin word for “killing,” to describe events like the Nazi extermination campaign against his fellow Jews, Stalin’s starvation of millions of Ukrainians, and the Turkish cleansing of their Armenian and Assyrian subjects. The word: genocide.

Lemkin defined genocide as more than the “mass killings of all members of a nation.” Genocide, he suggested, was a “coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves.”

So in addition to physical attacks, genocide could also include “the disintegration of the political and social institutions” and attempts to suppress things like the culture, language, and of course, the religion of the targeted group.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – Read Luke 13

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JESUS, THE VINE

Whenever a tragedy causes the deaths of many people—a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, a building or bridge collapse—some people speculate about the deeper causes. Is it God’s punishment? Did sin cause this suffering?

When we try to determine the meaning of historical calamity, at best we can usually offer only guesses. In today’s reading, Jesus rebukes those in His day who would blame all suffering on sin (vv. 2–4). We can’t assume a mechanistic connection between sin and tragedy, although it’s true that without repentance, everyone will die. But those who are victims of tragic events are not inherently more sinful. Indeed, as Jesus reminds us, every human life, like a fig tree, will be uprooted when it fails to produce the fruit of repentance (v. 7).

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – HOW MUCH WILL MARCH MADNESS COST OUR ECONOMY?

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March Madness began yesterday for men’s college basketball teams. There are more winners and losers than the sixty-four teams that began the tournament, however.

If you’re one of the forty million people who filled out a bracket, know that your odds of predicting the winner of every game are one in 9.2 quintillion. (Baylor’s loss yesterday ended my chances.) But beer and pizza companies always win during March—beer consumption escalates nearly thirty percent, while pizza orders increase by nineteen percent.

Meanwhile, productivity in America loses. Experts estimate that lost wages paid to distracted and unproductive workers could reach as high as $1.9 billion. That amount of cash stacked in dollar bills would reach approximately 120 miles into the atmosphere. That’s seventeen times higher than the altitude at which commercial jetliners fly.

Clearly, what we do in private affects what we accomplish in public.

This fact relates to our spiritual lives as well. In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers claims that “my worth to God in public is what I am in private.” Why is this true?

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Principles of Obedience

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Luke 5:6-11

Peter’s interaction with Jesus by the Sea of Galilee illustrates three important principles.

  1. Compliance in small matters has eternal significance and leads to blessings from God. As we read yesterday, a seemingly small act—loaning a boat to Jesus—resulted in Peter being called to become a fisher of men.
  2. Following Jesus is always beneficial to others. For one thing, Peter’s action made it possible for more people to hear Jesus’ words of truth and life. Later on, when Peter lowered nets back into the water at Jesus’ request, his obedience meant a big catch for his coworkers. In a similar way, when we live out biblical principles, our families will be enriched, and those within our circle of influence will be encouraged to follow our example. And as we share how God responds to our obedience with His goodness, others may be motivated to seek after His Son Jesus.
  3. God may tell us to respond or act in ways that make little sense. The Lord told Noah to build an ark, instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, and directed Joshua to conquer Jericho through silent marching on six days and shouting on the seventh. All of these men agreed to God’s plan even though it did not make sense. Their trust in God overruled any concerns and led to great reward.

God has a plan for our eternal good, and it is foolish not to obey Him. Like Peter, we have no idea what God will do in and through us if we commit to living a life of obedience.

Bible in a Year: Judges 13-15

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Positive Repetition

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Read: Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 30-31; Mark 15:1-25

I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him. —Deuteronomy 30:16

A journalist had a quirky habit of not using blue pens. So when his colleague asked him if he needed anything from the store, he asked for some pens. “But not blue pens,” he said. “I don’t want blue pens. I don’t like blue. Blue is too heavy. So please purchase 12 ballpoint pens for me—anything but blue!” The next day his colleague passed him the pens—and they were all blue. When asked to explain, he said, “You kept saying ‘blue, blue.’ That’s the word that left the deepest impression!” The journalist’s use of repetition had an effect, but not the one he desired.

Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, also used repetition in his requests to his people. More than 30 times he urged his people to remain true to the law of their God. Yet the result was the opposite of what he asked for. He told them that obedience would lead them to life and prosperity, but disobedience would lead to destruction (Deut. 30:15-18).

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Scandal and Mystery

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As a young man growing up in Scotland, like many others, I was exposed to Christianity and the symbol of the cross. However, it was a point of confusion, a mystery at best, and at worst, an object of scorn and disgust. I did not know what it meant or why religious people thought it important, but I knew I wanted nothing to do with it.

Obviously, I have had a change of mind. Why? I’ll explain as we proceed, but first, some helpful voices. Alister McGrath, Professor of theology, ministry, and education at King’s College, London, writes: “Just as God has humbled himself in making himself known ‘in the humility and shame of the cross,’ we must humble ourselves if we are to encounter him. We must humble ourselves by being prepared to be told where to look to find God, rather than trusting in our own insights and speculative abilities. In effect, we are forced to turn our eyes from contemplation of where we would like to see God revealed, and to turn them instead upon a place which is not of our choosing, but which is given to us.”(1)

In other words, nothing in one’s history, experience, or knowledge can prepare us for God’s means of drawing near. At the cross, something we are not expecting is revealed, something scandalous unveiled, something we could never have articulated or asked for is given to us. Philip Yancey, the renowned author, offers more on this: “Here at the cross is the man who loves his enemies, the man whose righteousness is greater than that of the Pharisees, who being rich became poor, who gives his robe to those who take his cloak, who prays for those who deceitfully use him. The cross is not a detour or a hurdle on the way to Kingdom, nor is it even the way to the Kingdom; it is the Kingdom come.”(2)

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Danger of Selfishness and Conceit

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“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself”

(Philippians 2:3).

Selfishness and conceit can prevent us from doing God’s will.

Selfishness and conceit are all too common among people today. It seems there is hardly a prominent entertainer or sports figure who doesn’t portray those characteristics to excess. Yet those traits are the very opposite of what should characterize the humble follower of Christ.

“Selfishness” in today’s passage refers to pursuing an enterprise in a factional way. It involves an egotistical, personal desire to push your own agenda in a destructive and disruptive way. “Empty conceit” describes the force behind such overbearing behavior—personal glory. A person driven by such motivation thinks he is always right.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Undistracted Devotion 

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Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. John 12:3

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to lose focus in our Christian lives? Sometimes due to the hardness of our hearts, we turn away from the Lord and pursue our own selfish desires in explicitly disobedient ways. Yet at times this distraction is far less intentional or obvious! Sometimes this distraction comes in the midst of good and holy things. We can volunteer at church, attend a small group, or read daily devotions, but we may still find ourselves distracted from our singular desire to know and love God.

It’s possible to do good things for God but separate them from an intimate and personal knowledge of Him.

In John 12, we meet a variety of people. We meet Martha who is busily serving dinner to Jesus and the guests. We meet Lazarus who is reclining at the table. And we meet Judas Iscariot, whose heart is so corrupt that he desires to steal money that was meant to be used to serve the poor. Yet none of these characters are the focus of this story. This story is told to direct our attention fully on Mary of Bethany and the love she has for the Lord Jesus.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Divine Protection

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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

Recommended Reading

Psalm 124:1-5

Sometimes it helps to have an insight from Greek grammar to get the fullest meaning of a New Testament text. There are several kinds of conditional sentences in Greek: “if . . . then.” One kind, by its grammatical form, conveys that the premise (“if”) is understood to be true. This is the form that occurs in Romans 8:31b, which could be translated this way: “If God is for us—and He definitely is for us—who can be against us?”

This verse occurs in one of the most powerful passages in all of Paul’s letters: Romans 8:28-39. Paul has said that God uses everything in life (verse 28) to contribute to His purpose of conforming us to the image of His Son (verse 29). Given that fact, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us—and He definitely is for us as I have just said in verses 28-30—who can be against us?” This is the greatest form of spiritual security the Christian can have, both temporally and eternally.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – People Are More Important Than Things

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Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. —1 John 2:15

One day my previous housekeeper was cooking a roast for us in the pressure cooker. She did something wrong and the valve blew off the top, shooting steam, roast, grease, potatoes, and carrots straight up into the air. The ceiling fan above the stove was on full speed. It caught the food and grease and sent them flying all over the kitchen walls, ceiling, floor, furniture—and the housekeeper. When I came home from work, she was sitting in a corner of the kitchen, crying. She looked so bad I thought she had received some tragic news. I finally got her to tell me what had happened; and when she did, I started laughing. By the time Dave came in, she and I were both laughing hysterically. She said, “I’ve destroyed your kitchen!”

I remember telling her, “The kitchen can be replaced, but you can’t. You’re more important than the kitchen. Thank God you’re not hurt.” There was a time in my life when that would not have been my response. Before I learned that people are more important than things, I would have become angry and said things to make the housekeeper feel stupid and guilty.

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Are You God’s Sparkler?

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“You are the light of the world.”

Matthew 5:14

Friend to Friend

My brother was about four years old when he decided to grab a box of matches and a handful of sparklers to see how they worked. He had heard that sparklers worked best in the dark, so he went into the darkest place he could find at Grandma’s house…her wardrobe closet.

Stewart snuck into the darkness, crouched amongst the dresses and coats, and lit the first match. The sparklers immediately began shooting fiery sparks in all directions. Within moments, he noticed more than sparklers on fire. Grandma’s clothes were up in flames. (I’m happy to say that Stewart wasn’t harmed, unless you count the spanking he got from Grandma.)

Friends, we don’t have to go into a closet to find the darkness. It’s waiting for us the moment we step out the front door, turn on the television, or listen to the six o’clock news. The world is full of darkness at every turn. Satan is not our only enemy. The Bible tells us that our struggle is against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

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