Tag Archives: Jesus

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Grace and Our Finances

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Proverbs 3:9-10

If you knew that something you desired could destroy your life, would you keep chasing after it? The Bible warns about a certain kind of pursuit that can cause one to:

1)Fall into sin.

2)Be mastered by foolish wishes.

3)Engage in activities that erode character.

4)Plunge into moral ruin.

5)Wander from faith.

In spite of these dire warnings, many people are still ruled by a longing to get rich.

There is nothing wrong with being affluent, as long as we follow God’s rules for wise living. Specifically, we are to honor Him with our money, which includes acknowledging that He is the rightful owner (Prov. 3:9; Ps. 50:10). And we’re also to give it cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7). The desire for riches becomes a sin when accumulation is among our highest priorities. If that is the case, the god we end up serving is money.

Believers are to live by grace in every aspect of their lives, including finances. That means we surrender wages, portfolio, and charitable giving into God’s hands. Furthermore, we accept what He gives ?as enough, even when the bank account seems low by the world’s standards. He has promised to supply our needs, so we’re to regard financial gains and losses as part of His will and plan.

I am not preaching a message that suggests godly people are rewarded with riches. Poverty and tough times are as common to believers as to unbelievers. However, the Bible promises that if we live by God’s grace, He will provide amply for whatever we need (2 Cor. 9:8).

Bible in One Year: Job 13-16

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — My Father Is with Me

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Read: Mark 14:32-50

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21-22; John 14

You will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. —John 16:32

A friend struggling with loneliness posted these words on her Facebook page: “It’s not that I feel alone because I have no friends. I have lots of friends. I know that I have people who can hold me and reassure me and talk to me and care for me and think of me. But they can’t be with me all the time—for all time.”

Jesus understands that kind of loneliness. I imagine that during His earthly ministry He saw loneliness in the eyes of lepers and heard it in the voices of the blind. But above all, He must have experienced it when His close friends deserted Him (Mark 14:50).

However, as He foretold the disciples’ desertion, He also confessed His unshaken confidence in His Father’s presence. He said to His disciples: “[You] will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32). Shortly after Jesus said these words, He took up the cross for us. He made it possible for you and me to have a restored relationship with God and to be a member of His family.

Being humans, we will all experience times of loneliness. But Jesus helps us understand that we always have the presence of the Father with us. God is omnipresent and eternal. Only He can be with us all the time, for all time. —Poh Fang Chia

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise that You will never leave me or forsake me. When I feel lonely, help me to remember You are always with me.

If you know Jesus, you’ll never walk alone.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – You Are What You Possess

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A shocking story appeared in the Times of India recently, about a teenager, thirteen years of age, who had taken to prostitution because of her obsessive craze for high-end gadgets and mobile phones. The mother, who runs a grocery shop, did not have any clue of her daughter’s act until the girl spilled the beans earlier this week, fearful that she had become pregnant. The shocked mother tried to explain to the teenager that prostitution is illegal and immoral, but the girl refuses to stop or to see anything wrong in the act. She reveals that she had been working independently and booked her clients through a secret secondary phone. The counselor who attended to the teenager noted that she seemed unphased and took quite some time to respond to the counseling, simply repeating in a matter-of-fact tone that, she was strapped for money and unable to buy the latest gizmos and gadgets that her friends used.

This, perhaps, is not an isolated incident but a reflection of a trend among us these days. The young (or, most of us, for that matter), have become so gadget-crazy that they not only draw pleasure, but also their identity from the gadgets that they possess. In his book, You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, Jaron Lanier, one of the pioneers of virtual reality (in fact, the one who first coined the term “virtual reality”), talks about the reductionist tendencies prevalent in the field of Computer Science—for example, reducing thinking to mere “information processing” and prostrating oneself before machines. He points out further, that every software program embodies a personal philosophy: “[I]t is impossible to work with information technology without also engaging in social engineering….People degrade themselves in order to make machines seem smart all the time.”

Therefore, the question that we need to engage with is, not only ‘what we do with our technologies,’ but ‘what we are becoming through our technologies.’ Technology and gadgets alter our perception of ourselves, of others, and of the world in more ways than we can imagine. A familiar script can be seen in the common commercials constantly flashing on our television screens: The average, ordinary man or woman instantly transformed into the most desirable, the most sought-after, airbrushed by the high-end car that they drive, or the Rado watch that they sport, fooled into thinking that they have become more than what they are, simply because of the things they owned, or more ironically, that owned them (and us!). There is, thus, a dialectical relationship between the tools we use, our conception of the world and our self-consciousness. As Neil Postman puts it aptly, “To the man with a hammer, everything is a nail.” In this gadget-crazy generation, we need to pause awhile and reflect on whether the gadgets that we use are just tools to serve our needs? Or have they completely taken over, making us believe that unless we have these gadgets we don’t fit in or are not worth anything?

In such a culture, the biblical worldview increasingly stands out, declaring that human beings have an intrinsic worth apart from anything external, because we are specially created in the image of the living God. Our value does not come from what we possess or what we do not possess, but from what we are—our humanness. Worldviews that tell us otherwise, that equate humans with automatons, or that dismiss man as a mere illusion, will simply not help in addressing the issues that this generation faces, a generation bombarded every moment with the message: “You are what you possess!”

 

Tejdor Tiewsoh is a member of the speaking team with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Shillong, India.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Fellowship with Jesus

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The goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior. Titus 3:4

How sweet it is to see Jesus fellowshiping with His own beloved people! There can be nothing more delightful than when the Holy Spirit leads us into this fertile field of delight. Let the mind for a moment consider the history of the Redeemer’s love, and a thousand evidences of His kindness will come to mind. The purpose of them all has been to draw us to Christ and to weave the mind of Christ into the thoughts and emotions of the renewed soul.

When we meditate upon this amazing love and see the Head of the church endowing her with all His wealth and power, our souls may well faint for joy. Who is able to endure such a weight of love? Even a partial sense of it, which the Holy Spirit sometimes grants us, is more than the soul can contain; how transforming a complete view of it must be! When the soul shall learn to discern all the Savior’s gifts and is granted the wisdom to fathom them and the time to meditate upon them, such as heaven will afford us, we will then commune with Jesus in a more intimate manner than at present.

But who can imagine the sweetness of such fellowship? It must be one of the things that have not entered into the heart of man, but that God has prepared for them that love Him. If we could burst open the door of our Joseph’s granaries and see the plenty that He has stored up for us, we would be overwhelmed with His love. By faith we see, as in a mirror dimly, the reflected image of His unbounded treasures, but when we actually see the heavenly things themselves, with our own eyes, how deep will be the stream of fellowship in which our soul shall bathe! Until then our loudest songs shall be reserved for our loving benefactor, Jesus Christ our Lord, whose love to us is wonderful, surpassing the love of a man for a woman.

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Constraining love

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“Oh love the Lord, all ye his saints.” Psalm 31:23

Suggested Further Reading: 1 John 4:7-12

Christ’s love to us we sometimes guess at, but, ah, it is so far beyond our thoughts, our reasonings, our praises, and our apprehension too, in the sweetest moments of our most spiritual ecstasy,—who can tell it? “Oh, how he loved us!” When Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, the Jews exclaimed with surprise—“Behold how he loved him.” Verily, you might say the like with deeper emphasis. There was nothing in you to make him love you, but he left heaven’s throne for you. As he came down the celestial hills, methinks the angels said “Oh, how he loved them.” When he lay in the manger an infant, they gathered round and said, “Oh how he loves.” But when they saw him sweating in the garden, when he was put into the crucible, and began to be melted in the furnace, then indeed, the spirits above began to know how much he loved us. Oh Jesus! When I see thee mocked and spat upon—when I see thy dear cheeks become a reservoir for all the filth and spittle of unholy mouths—when I see thy back rent with knotted whips—when I behold thy honour and thy life both trailing in the dust—when I see thee charged with madness, with treason, with blasphemy—when I behold thy hands and feet pierced, thy body stripped naked and exposed—when I see thee hanging on the cross between heaven and earth, in torments dire and excruciating—when I hear thee cry “I thirst,” and see the vinegar thrust to thy lips—when I hear thy direful cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” my spirit is compelled to say, “Oh how he loves!”

For meditation: How cold and hardhearted we must be to ever question the Lord’s love towards us (Malachi 1:2).

Sermon no. 325

4 June (Preached 3 June 1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur –Be Slow to Speak

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“Let everyone be . . . slow to speak” (James 1:19).

Don’t rush into the role of a Bible teacher.

It is reported that when the Scottish Reformer John Knox was called to preach, he shed many tears and withdrew himself to the privacy of his room. He was grieved and greatly troubled at the prospect of such an awesome responsibility. Only the compelling grace of the Holy Spirit Himself enabled Knox to fulfill his calling.

John Knox understood the importance of being slow to speak. He knew that God holds teachers of the Word accountable for what they say, and will dispense a stricter judgment to them if they violate their ministry (James 3:1- 2).

In one sense, God holds everyone accountable for what they say. You are to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29). But being slow to speak doesn’t refer to vocabulary or opinions. It refers to teaching the Word. You are to pursue every opportunity to hear God’s Word, but exercise reluctance in assuming the role of a teacher. Why? Because the tongue reveals the subtle sins of one’s heart and easily offends others (James 2:2).

Does that mean you should never teach the Bible? No, because God commands every believer to “make disciples . . . teaching them to observe all” that Jesus taught (Matt. 28:19-20, emphasis added). And the Spirit gifts many believers to be preachers and teachers of the Word. Paul said, “I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

You must take every opportunity to share the gospel with others, and if God has called and gifted you to teach the Word, be faithful to do so. But remember, those are serious and sacred responsibilities. Be sure your motives are pure and your teaching accurate. If someone is offended, let it be by the convicting power of the Word, not by something you said at an unguarded moment.

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask the Lord to teach you to guard your tongue and to speak only what is edifying to others.

For Further Study

Read Proverbs 10:19, 13:3, 17:28, and 29:20, noting what each teaches about wise speech.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Praise Brings Results

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“And at the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves, and they destroyed each other!” (2 Chronicles 20:22).

The armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir had declared war on King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. So Jehoshaphat called the people together and prayed, “Oh, our God. Won’t you stop them. We have no way to protect ourselves against this mighty army. We don’t know what to do but we are looking to You.”

Then the Lord instructed the people, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army for the battle is not yours, but God’s! Tomorrow, go down and attack them!…But you will not need to fight. Take your places; stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you” (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

After consultation with the leaders of the people, Jehoshaphat determined that there should be a choir, clothed in sanctified garments and singing the song, “His Loving kindness Is Forever,” leading the march. As they walked along praising and thanking the Lord, He released His mighty power in their behalf.

One of the greatest lessons I have ever learned about the Christian life is the importance of praise and thanksgiving. The greater the problem, the more difficult the circumstances, the greater the crisis, the more important it is to praise God at all times, to worship Him for who He is; for His attributes of sovereignty, love, grace, power, wisdom and might; for the certainty that He will fight for us, that He will demonstrate His supernatural resources in our behalf.

As in the case of Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah when they began to praise God and He caused the three opposing armies to fight against each other and destroy one another, God will fight for us if we trust and obey Him. There is no better way to demonstrate faith and obedience than to praise Him and to thank Him, even when our world is crumbling around us and the enemy is threatening to destroy. God honors praise. Hebrews 13:15 reminds us, “With Jesus’ help, we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of His name.”

Bible Reading: Psalm 136:1, 21-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will continue to praise God and give thanks to Him for who He is. When difficulties arise, I will praise Him all the more and thank Him for His faithfulness. I will depend upon the supernatural resources of God which enable me to live the supernatural life, regardless of the circumstances.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Misremember the Alamo

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President Lyndon Johnson loved to tell stories – and sometimes they spun out of control. Once, while giving an emotional address to U.S. troops, he claimed his great-great-grandfather had died at the Alamo. Johnson’s aides knew the story wasn’t true, and worryingly the speech had been taped by a reporter. They pressed him for a retraction. For days, Johnson refused. “I don’t care what you heard,” he said. “I didn’t say it.”

Let your light shine before others, so that they may…give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Finally, with the anecdote threatening to become a scandal, Johnson engineered this creative explanation: “You all didn’t let me finish…it was the Alamo Bar and Grill in Eagle Pass, Texas.”

If you are fixated on polishing your life or legacy, you will be prone to embellishments, exaggerations and even outright lies. The greatest tragedy, though, will be that in shining the light on yourself you are claiming glory that belongs only to God. As you pray today for America, its leaders, and your own friends and loved ones, ask Him to make you an honest light to genuinely illuminate His truth and His love.

Recommended Reading: John 8:12-20

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – From Kneeling to Standing

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And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

—Genesis 41:38

One moment Joseph was in prison, and the next moment he found himself standing before Pharaoh. You might think that Joseph would have been very careful with his words. But when Pharaoh called him in to interpret his dream, Joseph told the ruler, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (Genesis 41:16).

I think Pharaoh must have been immediately impressed with Joseph. Who is this guy? He’s not bowing and scraping before me. This guy has conviction. I like him. He had never met anyone like Joseph.

Joseph wasn’t ashamed to tell Pharaoh the truth. He spoke boldly to him. And Joseph’s example is good to remember when we’re sharing the gospel. Sometimes we want to edit out the parts we are uncomfortable with. We love to share the life-changing message of who Jesus is. We like to tell people that if they will turn from their sin, He will forgive them, and they will have a peace that passes understanding, a wonderful joy, and the hope of heaven.

But we also need to tell them that if they don’t believe in Jesus, they will be separated from God for all eternity in a place called hell. I am not saying that we should only preach messages about hell. But I am saying that if we neglect to mention it, we are changing the essential message of the gospel.

When Elijah walked into the court of wicked King Ahab, he said, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1, emphasis added). Then he walked out. Where did Elijah get courage like that? From God.

If you kneel before God, you can stand before any man.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Strength in Waiting

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Isaiah 40:28-31

God has a purpose and plan for your life, and His timing is perfect. Sometimes He answers our prayers with “yes” or “no.” But at other times, He says, “Not now.” When this is the case, we can avail ourselves of the rich rewards that come while we wait.

One very practical blessing is that God strengthens us as we lean on Him during delays. Isaiah 40:31 describes an eagle soaring—an apt metaphor for how the believer who abides in the Lord will be lifted and sustained by His Spirit. (In fact, it’s interesting to note that the Hebrew for “wind” and “spirit” come from the same word: ruach.)

When we are facing a difficult decision, the real key is learning to wait. There is no verse of Scripture that tells us to take control and fight our own battles. God is the one who fights them on our behalf (2 Chron. 20:15). We are to be patient and trust in Him.

When David faced his greatest battles, he waited upon the Lord. God delivered him from destruction and set his feet on solid ground (Ps. 40:1-3). He will do the same for you. When you abide in Him, He gives supernatural energy to accomplish the things He requires of you—His Spirit does for you what you cannot do for yourself.

In reading through the Scriptures, we see that every time one of God’s saints gains a victory, he or she is waiting and trusting in the Lord. You can likewise experience triumph in your life. When you have the omnipotent Creator of the universe acting on your behalf, you can’t lose.

Bible in One Year: Job 9-12

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Something New

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Read: Ephesians 2:10-22

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 19-20; John 13:21-38

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. —Ephesians 2:10

It was only scrap wood, but Charles Hooper saw much more than that. Salvaging old timbers from a long-abandoned corncrib, he sketched some simple plans. Then he felled a few oak and poplar trees from his wooded property and painstakingly squared them with his grandfather’s broadax. Piece by piece, he began to fit together the old lumber with the new.

Today you can see Charles and Shirley Hooper’s postcard-perfect log cabin, tucked away in the trees on Tennessee Ridge. Part guesthouse, part museum for family heirlooms, the structure stands as an enduring tribute to Charles’ vision, skill, and patience.

Writing to a Gentile audience, Paul told the church at Ephesus how Jesus was creating something new by bringing together Jewish and non-Jewish believers as a single entity. “You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ,” Paul wrote (Eph. 2:13). This new structure was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (vv. 20-21).

The work continues today. God takes the brokenness of our lives, artfully fits us together with other broken and rescued people, and patiently chips away our rough edges. He loves His work, you know. —Tim Gustafson

Lord, we can’t thank You enough for Your passionate love for us. Help us to see that You bring us together in this beautiful body of believers known as Your church.

Our rough edges must be chipped away to bring out the image of Christ.

INSIGHT: The Jews believed they alone were God’s favored people (Gen. 17:9-14), so God would never save the Gentiles (Eph. 3:4-8). Correcting this, Paul says that Christ through the cross has torn down the wall of hostility that separated Jews and Gentiles (2:12-14) and has brought them together into a new unified humanity—the church (vv. 15-18).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In This Place

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To the people of ancient Israel, the image of God’s house was the center of the world. It was a house reaching from the heavens to the places on earth where God caused his name to be remembered. God’s house was seen in experiences like Jacob’s, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”(2) It was experienced in the tabernacle that once moved among them as pilgrims, and later in their pilgrimages to the temple. Ever-expanding their vision of God’s house, altars were built over the places where God had appeared to them, marking the reach of its walls. Though at times as prodigals, their longing for home was a part of their identity as children of the house of God: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”(3) The house of God as it reached from heaven to earth was occupied by the Creator. As the people of God, they had been invited inside, where they longed to remain.

As with any group with a clear vision of inside and outside, belonging and not belonging, the Israelite’s understanding of the house of God could have easily become the very rationale for excluding foreigners, neighbors, and outsiders. Yet not long after God had called the people of Israel his own, God instructed them very specifically on the treatment of such people: “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”(4) “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”(5) The house of God was to be a house of hospitality, for such a spirit reflected the God within it: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”(6) Called to ever-remember their own status as foreigners, the people who were invited into the care of God’s house were to become a sign of that care themselves.

Followers of Christ are given the same command: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Similarly the apostles command: “Practice hospitality.” “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”(7)

For those who know the ever-expanding rooms of God’s house, hospitality is both a gift and a posture to embrace. Along with the one who has welcomed us inside, we are to go out “into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” The master of the house has prepared a feast and calls for the tables to be filled: “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”(8)

While images appear daily of people displaced from their homes, disconnected and abandoned by tornado or flood or financial downfall, there are at the same time those who open their homes, communities who respond with food and shelter, hospitality that is given in places where distress and exclusion offer no rest. In these unlikely places, images of the house of God appear, startling us and other observers once again with its real dimensions. The writer of Hebrews describes the communal hope in this place: “Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.”(9)

Startling us with its reach and calling us to hospitality, the house of God is occupied by one who prepares a place for the foreigners and outsiders and neighbors all around us. Whether prodigals or pilgrims, in this house we discover the God who longs to welcome the multitudes home.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) For an interview with the artist and more on the inspiration behind this work, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMZ8R6hQI8E.

(2) Genesis 28:16.

(3) Psalm 27:4.

(4) Exodus 23:9.

(5) Leviticus 19:33-34.

(6) Deuteronomy 10:17-19.

(7) Cf. Hebrews 13:2-3; Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9-10.

(8) Cf. Luke 14:15-23.

(9) Hebrews 3:5-7.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Serve Where He Set You

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These were the potters [who] lived there in the king’s service. 1 Chronicles 4:23

Potters were among the ranks of manual workers, but the king needed potters, and therefore they were elevated to royal service, although the material upon which they worked was nothing but clay. In the same way we also may be engaged in the most menial part of the Lord’s work, but it is a great privilege to do anything for the King; and therefore we will play our part, hoping that, although we live among the pots, we will soar in the service of our Master.

These people dwelt among plants and hedges and had rough, rustic hedging and ditching work to do. They may have wanted to live in the city, amid its life, society, and refinement, but they kept their assigned places because they were doing the king’s work. There is no ideal place for us to serve God except the place He sets us down. We are not to run from it on a whim or sudden notion, but we should serve the Lord in it by being a blessing to those among whom we live. These potters and gardeners had royal company, for they lived with the king, and although among hedges and plants, they lived with the king there. No lawful place or gracious occupation, however menial, can keep us from communion with our Lord. In hovels, run-down neighborhoods, and jails, we may keep company with the King. In all works of faith we can count upon Jesus’ fellowship. It is when we are in His work that we may reckon on His smile.

You unknown workers who are serving the Lord amid the dirt and wretchedness of the lowest of the low, be of good cheer, for jewels have often been found among rubbish, earthen pots have been filled with heavenly treasure, and ugly weeds have been transformed into precious flowers. Dwell with the King and do His work, and when He writes His chronicles, your name shall be recorded.

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – High doctrine

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“And all things are of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 3:7-13

There are some men who seem to think that God does his work bit by bit: altering and making additions as he goes on. They cannot believe that God had a plan; they believe that the most ordinary architect on earth has prefigured to himself some idea of what he means to build, though it were but a mud cottage, but the Most High God, who created the heavens and the earth, when he says, “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” has no plan but what is left to the caprice of manhood; he is to have no decrees, no purposes, no determinations, but men are to do as they will, and so virtually man is to usurp the place of God, and God is to become the dependant of man. Nay, my brethren, in all the work of salvation, God is the sole and supreme designer. He planned the time when, and the manner how, each of his people should be brought to himself; he did not leave the number of his saved ones to chance, or to what was worse than chance—to the depraved will of man; he did not leave the choice of persons to mere accident, but on the stones of the eternal breastplate of the great High Priest he engraved the names of those he chose. He did not leave so much as one tent-pin, one single line or yard of canvas to be afterwards arranged; the whole of the tabernacle was given by pattern in the holy mount. In the building of the temple of grace, every stone was squared and chiselled in the eternal decree, its place ordained and settled, nor shall that stone be dug from its quarry till the hour ordained, nor shall it be placed in any other position than that which God, after the counsel of his own will has ordained.

For meditation: Man has no idea what he is doing himself, but he is very good at questioning what God does (Luke 23:34-39).

Sermon no. 318
3 June (1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Be Quick to Hear

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“This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear” (James 1:19).

Being quick to hear involves a proper attitude toward God’s Word.

It has been well said that either God’s Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from God’s Word. Apparently some of James’s readers were allowing sin to keep them from receiving the Word as they should. God was allowing them to experience various trials so their joy and spiritual endurance would increase, but they lacked wisdom and fell into temptation and sin. James called them back to the Word and to a godly perspective on their circumstances.

James 1:19 begins with the phrase “This you know,” which refers back to verse 18. They had experienced the power of the Word in salvation, now James wants them to allow it to sanctify them. For that to occur, they must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath (v. 19).

Being quick to hear means you don’t disregard or fight against God’s Word. Instead, when trials or difficult decisions come your way, you ask God for wisdom and receive the counsel of His Word with a willingness to obey it. You’re not like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, whom Jesus described as “foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (Luke 24:25).

You should be quick to hear the Word because it provides nourishment for your spiritual life and is your weapon against all spiritual adversaries. It is the means by which you are strengthened and equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It delivers you from trials and temptations and engages you in communion with the living God. The Word should be your most welcome friend!

Be quick to hear, pursuing every opportunity to learn God’s truth. Let the testimony of the psalmist be yours: “O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day. . . . I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Thy word. . . . How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:97, 101, 103).

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His precious Word and for the marvelous transforming work it accomplishes in you.

For Further Study

Read Psalm 19:1-14.

  • What terms did the psalmist use to describe God’s Word?
  • What benefits does the Word bring?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Is This a Test?

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And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV

Years ago a blind couple wanted to come to our Wednesday night teach¬ing sessions in St. Louis. They normally took the bus, but their usual route was canceled, and they could only continue coming if someone would pick them up and take them home. Nobody was willing to do it because the people lived in an area considered “out of the way.”

In other words, providing transportation for this couple would have been inconvenient. Eventually we had to get one of our employees to do it, which meant we had to pay that person. We should not allow money to be our main motivator.

We all need money, but we also need to do things for other people without being paid to do it; in fact, often, such opportunities are “testing times” from God. If you are willing to do something kind for someone else with no pay and perhaps no credit, that’s a positive sign that your spiritual heart is in good condition.

When God wanted to see if the Israelites would obey His commands, He led them the long, hard way in the wilderness. He sometimes does the same with us. He may ask us to do something inconvenient. God may be using these things to test us. He may be looking to see what’s in our hearts and to give us a chance to prove how much we love Him.

Love God Today: Next time you feel called to do something you don’t really want to do, remember, it could be a test.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Bring Forth Much Fruit

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“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24, KJV).

Alex was distressed over his constant failure to live the Christian life victoriously.

“I am always failing,” he said. “I know what is right, but I am simply not able to keep the many commitments, resolutions and rededications that I make to the Lord almost daily. What is wrong with me? Why do I constantly fail? How can I push that magic button which will change my life and make me the kind of person God wants me to be, and the kind of person I want to be?”

I turned with him to review Romans 7 and 8, and discussed with him how all of us experience this conflict when we walk in our own strength. But the victory is ours as we walk in the Spirit. It is impossible to control ourselves and be controlled by the Holy Spirit at the same time.

Perhaps you have had that same problem and wondered why your life was not bringing forth much fruit. Christ cannot be in control if you are on the throne of your life. So you must abdicate – surrender the throne of your life to Christ. This involves faith.

As an expression of your will, in prayer, you surrender the throne of your life to Him, and by faith you draw upon His resources to live a supernatural life, holy and fruitful. The command of Ephesians 5:18 is given to all believers: We are to be filled, directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, continually, moment by moment, every day. And the promise of 1 John 5:14, 15 is made to all believers: When we pray according to God’s will, He hears and answers us.

The person who walks by faith in the control of the Holy Spirit has a new Master. The Lord Jesus said, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38, NAS). “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24, NAS).

Bible Reading: John 12:25-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Because my deep desire is to “bear much fruit,” I will surrender afresh to God’s Holy Spirit so that He might endow me with supernatural life and enable me to bear much fruit for His glory.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – God in You

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Most people have had the disconcerting experience of having a child wander off in a store or hide themselves in a closet. Now imagine Mary’s worry when she realized that her twelve-year-old son hadn’t been with their caravan for three days.

And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Luke 2:47

When she and Joseph found Jesus, He had the religious leaders mesmerized by His wisdom and insights. To top it off, He seemed to be surprised that His parents hadn’t figured out where He’d be. It’s hard to understand divinity in a human body. The people who had the most trouble with it were the ones closest to Him – even though they were the ones who had also heard the testimony of angels and prophets.

As you live your daily life, you might think your actions have no significance. Yet if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are carrying around divinity. Prayer lets divine power manifest in your life and areas of influence. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit inside you…and pray for God’s will to be done in your life and in this country.

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:26-37

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – How Waiting Prepares Us

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But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. —Genesis 39:21

Joseph had been doted on by his father, sold by his brothers into slavery, bought by Potiphar, and eventually promoted to manage Potiphar’s entire household. He was doing a great job. Then he was falsely accused of rape and thrown into prison.

But Genesis 39:21 tells us, “The LORD was with Joseph.”

In typical Joseph fashion, he was so diligent and hardworking that he was soon running the place. Enter the butler and the baker. They had been working for Pharaoh, but now they were in prison. Joseph saw them one day and basically said, “Hey guys, why are you so sad? Why the long faces?” That’s an amazing statement for someone in a dungeon to make to other people in a dungeon. But there was a cheerfulness about Joseph. He was always thinking of others.

So the butler and the baker told Joseph about the dreams they had. Joseph told them, “Interpreting dreams is God’s business. . . . Go ahead and tell me your dreams” (Genesis 40:8).

The butler was the first to explain his dream to Joseph. Then Joseph said, “Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place” (verses 13–14). But two years passed before the butler remembered Joseph.

Has it ever seemed as though you were just spinning your wheels and not going anywhere? How easily Joseph could have felt that way. Yet we never read of him complaining, even for a moment.

Joseph’s life serves as a reminder that everything we go through is preparation for something else. God is preparing each of us for something.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Requirements of Waiting

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Psalms 25:3-5

Waiting for God’s timing is neither passive nor idle—it takes discipline and commitment. I can think of four basic requirements for successful waiting.

Faith. The Lord’s ways and timing are nothing like ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). From a human standpoint, the way He does things is usually totally different than expected. But as we trust Him more, we’ll discover that His approach isn’t so strange after all. And when we live in harmony with God’s will, His timing starts to make sense.

Humility. To wait for the Lord, you must be convinced of your need for Him. Submission to His divine will requires humility—you cannot charge ahead with your own plans and at the same time be fully surrendered to God.

Patience. Are you willing to remain in your current position until you receive clear divine direction? Pausing for clarity from God does not mean that you disengage and allow circumstances to fall apart around you. Waiting upon the Lord is a deliberate decision that requires patience.

Courage. Waiting for God often takes courage, especially when there is pressure to act. If you’re not careful, you might stop listening to the Lord and follow other advice. So keep your ear attuned to the voice of Almighty God, and you won’t go wrong.

Waiting upon the Lord is one of the wisest, most important decisions we make in life. And contrary to popular assumptions, it is an active endeavor that requires faith, humility, patience, and courage. When you rely upon God and wait for His timing, the various facets of life fall into place.

Bible in One Year: Job 5-8