Tag Archives: Jesus

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Perfect in His Sight Promise

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“But Christ gave Himself to God for our sins as one sacrifice for all time, and then sat down at the place of highest honor at God’s right hand, waiting for His enemies to be laid under His feet. For by that one offering He made forever perfect in the sight of God all those whom He is making Holy” (Hebrews 10:12-14).

All the sins you and I have ever committed or ever shall commit – past, present and future – are forgiven the moment we receive Christ, according to God’s Word. Think of it and rejoice!

Then you may rightly ask, “If all of my sins – past, present and future – are forgiven, why do I need to confess my sins?”

According to God’s Word, confession is an act of obedience and an expression or demonstration of faith that makes real in our experience what is already true concerning us from God’s point of view.

Through the sacrifice of Christ, He sees us as righteous and perfect. The rest of our lives on earth are spent maturing and becoming in our experience what we already are in God’s sight.

This maturing process is accelerated through the faithful study of God’s Word, prayer, witnessing for Christ, and spiritual breathing – exhaling through confessing our sins and inhaling by appropriating the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit by faith.

If you retake the throne, the control center, of your life through sin (a deliberate act of disobedience) breath spiritually. First, exhale by confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, KJV).

Next, inhale by appropriating the fullness of God’s Spirit by faith. Trust Him now to control and empower you by faith according to His command to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

Bible Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25

Today’s Action Point: Today I will study God’s Word, pray and invite the Holy Spirit to lead me to someone whose heart He has prepared to receive Christ. Also, I will practice spiritual breathing whenever any attitude, action, motive or desire that is contrary to God’s will short-circuits God’s power in my life. I will confess it and by faith inhale by appropriating the fullness and power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M. – Draw Near

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In the Greek language, the noun “logos,” translated “Word,” most often refers to either oral or written communication. The primary use of logos is to denote divine revelation in some form or another. In the Gospel of John, Word is a title for Jesus as the communicator and the ultimate revelation of God the Father.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

During Old Testament days, the high priest went before God each year to plead for the forgiveness of the nation’s sins. However, Hebrews 7:25 says, “He [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Christ has paid the price for your sin and is now the only needed advocate between you and God.

No matter what happened in 2014, thank Jesus that He has paid for your sin once and for all. This year, commit to drawing closer to God through worship and reading His Word. Consistently present your needs to Him through prayer – and as you do, also ask that the nation’s leaders who don’t know the Lord will discover a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Recommended Reading: James 4:8-17

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Should Christians Judge?

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Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? —1 Corinthians 6:2–3

One day I was talking with someone who wasn’t going to church anywhere, and I asked why.

“Well, I don’t want to be judged,” the person said.

The fact was that this individual was doing something unscriptural, and I had mentioned it. I said, “Well, what do you be mean by not wanting to be judged? What is your definition of being judged?”

“Well, I’m afraid that if I showed up, people wouldn’t agree with what I’m doing and would say something.”

“So that is being judged?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.”

“I hope that if you go to a church, someone would say something,” I said. (That would be the loving thing to do.)

I think the nonbeliever’s favorite verse is Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Nonbelievers love to quote that to Christians who dare to confront them. But we need to understand what judge means in this verse. Jesus spoke these words in the Sermon on the Mount, and the word He used for judge means “condemn.” Jesus was saying, “Condemn not, that you be not condemned.”

I am in no position to condemn someone. It is not for me to say who is going to hell. That is for God to decide. But I should apply discernment, wisdom, and even judgment with fellow believers. Judgment is an evaluation. It’s saying to another believer, “Hey, I don’t think you are doing as well as you could be doing” or “I want to encourage you.” That is encouraged in the Scriptures (see 1 Corinthians 6:2–3).

So in a way, we should apply judgment—but not condemnation. We want to lovingly tell the truth from God’s Word with humility, wanting to help that person reach his or her full potential as a follower of Jesus.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Season of Suffering

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God uses our struggles for His glory! The last three years of my dad’s life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from being a healthy mechanic to being a bed-bound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said, but more in what he didn’t say. Never outwardly angry or bitter, Jack Lucado suffered with dignity.

His faith led one man to seek a like faith. This man sought me out and told me because of my dad’s example, he became a Jesus follower. Did God orchestrate my father’s illness for that very reason? Knowing the value God places on one soul, I wouldn’t be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father is not complaining. A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the great reward!

From Max on Life

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Confidence in Troubled Times

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Read | Romans 8:35-39

Life is continually changing. At times I tell myself that if just a few pressing issues resolve, my days will be calmer. But as soon as those problems are settled, a new challenge pops up. Even globally, we’re in a constant state of flux. The economy rises and then spirals downward. Gas and food prices increase. New conflicts flare up all the time. Since we live in a fallen world, trouble is part of our reality. Life will never settle down to the point that we can sail along with uninterrupted ease.

Thankfully, God guides believers through times of turbulence (Ps. 23). He is the Good Shepherd, who constantly abides with His world-weary lambs. Jesus vowed to His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:18). And His promise was fulfilled in the person of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to indwell and care for each of God’s followers. Paul poetically described the Spirit as a seal placed around believers until they are called to their heavenly home. In other words, He provides a protective barrier against evil forces desiring to snatch us from God’s hand.

In the verses leading up to today’s reading, Paul described his audience as the Lord’s children (Rom. 8:16). So let me be very clear that the promise of a holy, protective presence is only for those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior. No one’s life will always be calm. But believers are assured of a Companion in the dark hours. You can be confident that God’s goodness and love will surround you until you dwell in His house forever (Ps. 23:6).

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Storyteller

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READ: Colossians 1:13-23

You, who once were alienated . . . , yet now He has reconciled. —Colossians 1:21

In the years following the American Civil War (1861–1865), Union Major General Lew Wallace served as a governor of the New Mexico territories; New Mexico not yet having been admitted as a state. His work there put him in contact with many of the characters that make up the Wild West’s near-mythic history, including Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett. It was here that Wallace wrote what has been called by some “the most influential Christian book” of the 19th century, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

Wallace witnessed the worst impact of sin on humanity as he saw the violence of the Civil War and the Wild West. In life and in his best-selling book, Wallace understood that only the story of Jesus Christ has the power of redemption and reconciliation.

For the follower of Christ, the climax of our lives was the moment God “delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). Now we have the privilege of being storytellers of God’s wonderful redemption. —Randy Kilgore

Lord, please take control of my words today.
Fill me with Your words of love and grace.
Use them to turn some heart toward You.
I can do nothing without You.

The difference Christ makes in your life is a story worth telling.

Bible in a year: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17

Insight

Paul mentions the believer’s past, present, and future in this passage. We “once were enemies,” but now in Christ “we have redemption” and are “reconciled” (vv.14,21). When Christ returns, He will “present [us] holy and blameless” if we “continue in the faith” (vv.22-23).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Body of Hope

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Dr. Paul Brand was an orthopedic surgeon who chose his patients among the untouchable. With his wife, who was also a physician, he spent a lifetime working with the marred and useless limbs of leprosy victims. In fact, he transformed the way in which medicine approached the painful and often exiled world of the leper. Whereas the disfigurements of leprosy were once treated as irreversible consequences of the disease, Dr. Brand brought new hope to sufferers of leprosy by utilizing the body’s capacity to heal. “I have come to realize that every patient of mine, every newborn baby, in every cell of its body, has a basic knowledge of how to survive and how to heal that exceeds anything that I shall ever know,” wrote Brand. “That knowledge is the gift of God, who has made our bodies more perfectly than we could ever have devised.”(1)

Philip Yancey was a young journalist when he first met this dignified British surgeon in an interview. He recalls a teary-eyed Brand speaking of his patients, describing their disease as if first hand: their unremitting suffering, experimental surgeries, societal rejection. Many memorable conversations later, Yancey would recall the healing presence this physician was to his own crippled and weary belief in God. To Yancey, Brand represented faith and hope in body, amidst nothing less than suffering and death and loss. His belief in Christ caused him to outwardly live in a very particular way. He worked to restore the image of humanity and the image of God in lives marred by disease, and so helped restore the face of God in the doubt-ridden world of a young author. As Yancey later would write of their meeting, “You need only meet one saint to believe, to silence the noisy arguments of the world.”(2)

Brand was for Yancey a physical reminder that Christianity is no mere system or organization, preference or thought process, but a way of life with one concerned as much with broken bodies as marred souls. In a 1990 lecture titled The Wisdom of the Body, Dr. Paul Brand said, “I pray that when my time comes I may not grumble that my body has worn out too soon, but hold on to gratitude that I have been so long at the helm of the most wonderful creation the world has ever known, and look forward to meeting its designer face to face.”(3) In a body like ours, God silences the arguments of a noisy world. Jesus approaches humanity as one of us, coming to make us well entirely—in body, mind, soul, senses.

Of the ten lepers Jesus healed on his way to Jerusalem, there was only one who stopped to recognize the significance of the man behind the miracle. For this one, it was not simply a life-changing moment of being healed of leprosy; it was a life-changing invitation into a kingdom and a community, into life as a new creation. Falling on his face at Jesus’s human feet, he saw the Son of God who made him well. And Jesus said to him: “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”(4)

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

(1) Paul Brand and Philip Yancey, In the Likeness of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 16.

(2) Philip Yancey, “The Leprosy Doctor,” Christianity Today (November 2003), 112.

(3) Paul Brand, “The Wisdom of the Body,” Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Program 3428, April 28, 1990.

(4) Luke 17:11-18.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – His by Donation, Dedication, and Relation

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You are Christ’s.  1 Corinthians 3:23

 

“You are Christ’s.” You are His by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; His by His purchase of blood, for He paid the price for your redemption; His by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to Him; His by relation, for you are named by His name and made one of His brethren and joint-heirs. Labor practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus.

When tempted to sin, reply, “I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ’s.” Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ’s, and touch it not. Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ’s. Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, “No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ’s. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ’s and cannot loiter.” When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply, “Your music cannot charm me; I am Christ’s.” When the cause of God invites you, give your goods and yourself away, for you are Christ’s.

Never contradict your profession. Be ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like Jesus, whose conduct and conversation are so reminiscent of heaven that all who see you may know that you are the Savior’s, recognizing in you His features of love and His countenance of holiness. “I am a Roman!” was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let your argument for holiness be, “I am Christ’s!”

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 12, 2015
* Genesis 13
* Matthew 12

 

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The bed and its covering

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“For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it.” Isaiah 28:20

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 4:3-10

What a glorious thing, it is to be a Christian, to have faith in Christ. Come my soul, take thy rest, the great High Priest has full atonement made. Thou hast much good laid up, not for many years, but for eternity; take thine ease; eat spiritual things; drink wine on the lees and be merry; for it cannot be said of thee, “tomorrow thou shalt die,” for thou shalt never die, for “thy life is hid with Christ in God.” Thou art no fool to take thy ease and rest, for this is legitimate ease and rest, the rest which the God of Sabaoth hath provided for all his people. And then, O Christian! march boldly to the river of death, march calmly up to the throne of judgment, enter placidly and joyfully into the inheritance of thy Lord, for thou hast about thee an armour that can keep thee from the arrows of death, a wedding garment that makes thee fit to sit down at the banquet of the Lord. Thou hast about thee a royal robe that makes thee a fit companion even for Jesus, the King of kings, when he shall admit thee into his secret chambers, and permit thee to hold holy and close fellowship with him. I cannot resist quoting that verse of the hymn:

“With his spotless vesture on,

Holy as the Holy One.”

That is the sum and substance of it all. And on this bed let us take our rest, and during this week let us make Christ’s work our only garment, and we shall find it long enough, and broad enough, for us to wrap ourselves up in it.

For meditation: The Christian’s sufficiency is not his own but comes from God (2 Corinthians 3:5).

Sermon no. 244

12 January (Preached 9 January 1859)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The High Cost of Free Grace

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“In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood” (Eph. 1:7, emphasis added).

Redeeming grace is free to us, but its cost to God is inestimable.

Sin is not a serious issue to most people. Our culture flaunts and peddles it in countless forms. Even Christians who would never think of committing certain sins will often allow themselves to be entertained by them through television, movies, music, and other media.

We sometimes flirt with sin but God hates it. The price He paid to redeem us from it speaks of the seriousness with which He views it. After all, we “were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold . . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

In Scripture the shedding of blood refers to violent physical death—whether of a sacrificial animal or of Christ Himself. Sin is so serious that without bloodshed, there is no forgiveness of sin in God’s sight (Heb. 9:22).

The sacrificial animals in the Old Testament pictured Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That’s why John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Old Testament sacrifices were necessary but incomplete. Christ’s sacrifice was perfect, complete, and once for all (Heb. 10:10). No further sacrifices are needed other than the “sacrifice of praise to God” for what He has done (Heb. 13:15) and our very lives in service to Him as “a living and holy sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

By His sacrifice Christ demonstrated not only God’s hatred for sin, but also His great love for sinners. You could never redeem yourself, but Christ willingly paid the price with His own precious blood. He “gave Himself up for [you], an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Eph. 5:2). His sacrifice was acceptable to the Father, so your redemption was paid in full. What magnanimous love and incredible grace!

 

Suggestions for Prayer; Worship God for His wonderful plan of salvation.

Worship Christ for the enormous sacrifice He made on your behalf.

Worship the Holy Spirit for applying Christ’s sacrifice to your life and drawing you to Christ in saving faith.

Ask God to help you guard your heart from flirting with sin.

 

For Further Study; Read 2 Samuel 11.

What circumstances led to David’s sin with Bathsheba?

How did David attempt to cover his sin?

How did David finally deal with his sin (see Ps. 51)?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Pray and Obey

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You have given me the capacity to hear and obey. —Psalm 40:6

For many years, I wanted God to speak to me, but I wanted to pick and choose what things to obey. I wanted to do what He said easy and I thought it was a good idea, but if I didn’t like heard, I acted like it wasn’t from God!

Some of what God says to you will be very exciting. Other things He says may not be so thrilling, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work out for your good if you will simply obey. For example, if God tells you that you need to apologize because you were rude to someone, it won’t work for you to respond, “Well, that person was rude to me too!” If you talk back to Him with excuses, you may have prayed and even heard God’s voice, but you didn’t obey.

Looking back at more than three decades of walking with God and being in ministry, I have to say that the simplest explanation for the success we have enjoyed is that we have learned to pray, hear from God, and then do what He tells us to do. Over the years, as I have sought God and pressed forward in what I feel He has told me to do, I can say that what I have done more than anything else is simply to pray and obey. Doing so has not always been popular, but it has worked.

If you want God’s plan for your life, I can give you the recipe in its most basic form: pray and obey. God has given you the capacity to do both, and if you do it continually, you will be moving right along in His will for your life.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Be Strong in Character

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“Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete” (James 1:2-4).

A friend of mine had been very successful in business, but after he became a Christian everything seemed to go wrong. Problem after problem seemed to plague him. Yet he never seemed to be discouraged or defeated.

As we counseled together, he assured me that there was no unconfessed sin in his life. So I rejoiced with him that God was preparing him for a very important responsibility in His kingdom. That is exactly what happened. He is now the director of a very fruitful ministry for our Lord. The problems and testing served to help equip him to be a better ambassador for Christ.

If you are experiencing difficulties in your life – physical illness, loss of loved ones, financial adversity – remember the above admonition from God’s Word. Be happy, knowing that God will work in your life to accomplish His holy purpose.

You can decide how you will respond to problems and temptations – you can either become critical and cynical, or as an act of the will, by faith, you can choose to believe that our sovereign, loving God is allowing this to happen in your life for your own good and for His glory.

Even the hairs of your head are numbered. “His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, KJV). He is tender, loving and compassionate, concerned about your every need.

Bible Reading: James 1:5-12

Today’s Action Point: When difficulties and temptations enter into my life I will – as an act of the will, by faith in God’s faithfulness to His promises – rejoice and be glad, knowing that He is always with me and will never forsake me. As I trust Him and obey Him, he will supernaturally turn tragedy to triumph, and He will change heartache and sorrow to joy and rejoicing. I will trust Him in the darkest night of circumstances.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Recipe for Prosperity

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The Adams and Bush families are the only ones in the history of this nation to have both father and son serve as president. John Adams was the United States’ second president and his son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth. George Bush was the forty-first person to hold the highest office and his son, George W. Bush, the forty-third.

Keep the charge of the Lord your God…that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.

I Kings 2:3

Of the many powerful father-son duos in history, none are as recognizable as David and Solomon. King David was one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history and his son the wisest. As David prepared to die, he gave his son advice. Today’s passage shares his guidance to prosper – follow God always, without turning from His commands.

As you begin the New Year, reflect on David’s counsel. Walk with God and keep His statutes. This guidance for the new king is also good advice for a new year. Ask God to give you wisdom as you prepare and set goals for 2015. Pray, too, for Him to grant knowledge and understanding to your nation’s leaders.

Recommended Reading: I Kings 2:1-12

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Why of Divine Election

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For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. —Romans 8:29

It’s a funny thing to me how people will argue about divine election. They will argue endlessly about whom God chooses, about whom God doesn’t choose, and about how to know whether you are chosen by God. But very few talk about why someone is chosen.

So why are we chosen? The Bible says that God chose us to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son. God works all things together for good to ultimately make us like Jesus. Now, what is going to make us like Jesus might be adversity. It might be hardship. It might be suffering. And it also might be blessing in abundance. But it is all in God’s hands, and I have to trust Him for the outcome.

I don’t know what is coming in life, and sometimes it might not make a lot of sense to me. But God promised that it will be a good work. He has also promised in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things “together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” But let’s not forget the verse that follows it: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (verse 29).

So He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. God will finish it, and one day, we will be perfect. Will it be on earth? Absolutely not. It only will be when we get to heaven. In the meantime, I am just thankful that I am chosen. And if you have asked Christ to come into your life, then you can rest in that confidence as well.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Regular Repentance

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My college roommate, Steve, was neat. Not just neat in the sense of a lot of fun but neat in the sense of not sloppy. I on the other hand, tend to be sloppy. Why make up a bed you’re going to sleep in that night? Steve was very gracious. Little by little he helped me change. I learned the purpose of hangers. The reason for toothpaste lids. Our four years of rooming together were four years of regular repentance. Then he turned me over to Denalyn and she’s still working on me.

The same thing happens to Christians. As Christ moves in and takes up residence in his life, the Christian sees how sloppy he is. Over time, his language changes. His habits change. He lives a lifestyle of repentance. The longer we hang out with Jesus, the more we see what needs to change. Repentance becomes a lifestyle!

From Max on Life

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How does the renewing of my mind set me free?

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Romans 12:1-2

How does the Word of God teach us the truth that sets us free? The original Greek in Romans 12 helps explain the process.

The apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).

Another way of saying it is, “Stop allowing the world to shape you into its mold.” The meaning of the phrase is further deepened in the Greek. He used words that mean, “Stop assuming an outward appearance and lifestyle that is inconsistent with your inner being.”

Now that Jesus Christ lives within you, it is incompatible with your true identity to allow the world to influence you into old behaviors. You have been freed from those old thought patterns, insecurities, inadequacies, and inferiorities, and freed to become a fruitful, Spirit-filled child of God.

Paul tells us to “be transformed,” a Greek word from which the English word metamorphosis is derived. The believer is to have a metamorphosis by making his outward appearance and lifestyle consistent with who is within him and what he has become internally.

This metamorphosis comes by the renewing of our minds—when we replace old, erroneous thought patterns with the truth we find in God’s Word. And when truth becomes a part of your thinking, you become a free man or woman, a free saint, a free child of God fully apprised and confident of your position, personage, and possessions in Christ

 

Related Resources

Related Audio

How The Truth Can Set You Free

How does God renew your mind in order to set me free? (Listen to How The Truth Can Set You Free, Part 10.)

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — What’s Your Motto?

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READ: Luke 12:4-7,22-32

Do not fear . . . ; you are of more value than many sparrows. —Luke 12:7

Grug Crood, the dad of a caveman family in an animated movie, believes that there’s no safe place beyond their cave. They huddle together at night so he can protect them. He thinks his teenage daughter should give up her adventurous side because it can only lead to danger. His motto for his family is “Never not be afraid.” In other words, “Always be afraid.”

Jesus often told His followers the opposite: “Do not be afraid.” He said that to Simon when He called him to follow Him (Luke 5:10). When Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter was dying, came to Him, Jesus reassured him with those same words of care (8:50).

Luke 12 records Jesus telling His disciples not to be afraid when He taught them how God cared for them much more than for the sparrows (v.7). And after His resurrection, Jesus told the women who came to the tomb, “Rejoice! . . . Do not be afraid” (Matt. 28:9-10).

Fear is a universal feeling. We have concerns about loved ones, our needs, and the unknown future. How can we learn to have faith? The Lord has given us a foundation on which to build our confidence in Him: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Heb. 13:5-6). —Anne Cetas

Father, life in this world can sometimes be scary.
Thank You for the promise that Your love and care
will never be taken away from us. When fear seems
overwhelming, help us to remember Your promises.

The love of God frees us from the prison of fear.

Bible in a year: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Soul Food

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These have no root.  Luke 8:13

 My soul, examine yourself this morning by the light of this text. You have received the Word with joy; your feelings have been stirred, and a lively impression has been made. But, remember, to receive the Word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into your very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the Word is not always a lasting one.

In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone, and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could. But having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upward and downward at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart.

Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as lacking in endurance as Jonah’s vine; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus. Above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as stubborn as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible.

Therefore, O heavenly Sower, plow me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield a bounteous harvest.

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 11, 2015
* Genesis 12
* Matthew 11

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The war of truth

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“And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.” Exodus 17:9

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Timothy 2:1-7

There are many things that should make you valiant for God and for his truth. The first thing I will bring to your remembrance is the fact, that this warfare in which you are engaged is an hereditary warfare; it is not one which you began, but it is one which has been handed to you from the moment when the blood of Abel cried aloud for vengeance. Each martyr that has died has passed the blood-red flag to the next, and he in his turn has passed it on to another. Every confessor who has been nailed to the stake to burn, has lit his candle, and handed it to another, and said, “Take care of that!” And now here is the old “sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” Remember what hands have handled the hilt; remember what arms have wielded it; remember how often it has “pierced to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow.” Will you disgrace it? There is the great banner: it has waved in many a breeze; long ere the flag of this our land was made, this flag of Christ was borne aloft. Will you stain it? Will you not hand it to your children, still unsullied, and say, “Go on, go on; we leave you the heritage of war; go on, and conquer. What your fathers did, do you again, still keep up the war, till time shall end.” I love my Bible because it is a Bible baptized with blood; I love it all the better, because it has the blood of Tyndale on it; I love it, because it has on it the blood of John Bradford, and Rowland Taylor, and Hooper; I love it, because it is stained with blood.

For meditation: The Christian faith does not change with the course of time; we are still to contend for the truth (Jude 3). The church today has no right to insult the memory of the martyrs by making friends with unbiblical teaching which they bravely opposed with their lives.

Sermon no. 112
11 January (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Slavery That Frees

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“In [Christ] we have redemption” (Eph. 1:7).

Slavery to sin is bondage; slavery to God is freedom.

Freedom is a precious thing. People throughout history have prayed, fought, and even died for it. Our Declaration of Independence upholds it as one of our inalienable rights.

But the truth is, no matter what one’s political situation might be, everyone is a slave—either to sin or to God. Jesus said that “everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). Paul added that all of creation is in slavery to corruption (Rom. 8:21). However, believers have “been freed from sin and enslaved to God” (Rom. 6:22).

The Roman Empire had as many as twenty million slaves; slave trade was a major industry. For a slave to gain his or her freedom, a redemption price had to be paid. The Greek word for such a transaction is lutroō, which Paul uses in Ephesians 1:7 to speak of our “redemption” from sin’s bondage.

Slavery to sin is bondage; slavery to God is freedom. That sounds paradoxical, but God is the Sovereign King, and true freedom means having the ability to bend your will to His and thereby become all He created you to be. Even though you will fail at times, your greatest desire and highest pursuit as a believer is to be like Christ (1 John 2:5-6). Those enslaved to sin cannot do that, nor do they want to.

Today you will have many opportunities to demonstrate your submission to Christ. Let your attitudes and actions speak clearly of your love for the Master.

Suggestions for Prayer; Thank the Lord that He is a faithful and just Master who always does what is best for His servants. G A self-seeking slave is a contradiction in terms. Ask the Lord to guard you from thoughts and actions that are contrary to His will.

For Further Study; According to 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 what key characteristic is required of a servant of Christ? G Read Matthew 24:42-51. How does Jesus describe a wise servant? G Read Philippians 2:5-11. How did Jesus demonstrate the heart of a servant? What implications does His example have for your life?