Tag Archives: love

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Having True Sorrow for Sin

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“Be miserable and mourn and weep” (James 4:9a).

Spiritual humility will be marked by a true sorrow over sin.

Modern culture does everything possible to avoid pain, to put off thinking about unpleasant subjects, to maximize comfort, and to feel good about circumstances.

That philosophy is the reflection of a proud and self-centered attitude, not the humble and God-centered attitude we have been examining during the past week. Today we continue our look at humility in the Epistle of James. The apostle urges people to “be miserable” concerning their sin. The demands of the gospel begin at this point. James is not denying the joy that will come when the gospel is sincerely received. He is simply saying that sinners have to feel bad before they can feel good. The word misery in this sense refers to the inner feelings of shame over sin, the deep sorrow it causes, and the spirit of penitence the humbled sinner will have as a result.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Hot Hearted for God

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I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!…Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Revelation 3:15, 19

As a young dad, I couldn’t wait to bring my wife and our first newborn home from the hospital. Damp, dreary and chilly outside, I built a roaring fire in our new Ashley wood burning stove to assure our 1,200 sq. ft. ranch home was warm and toasty. Our precious baby girl’s little pink fingers and toes never felt a tinge of coolness, because I kept feeding the fire with dried logs from a cord of wood just outside the back door. In preparation for the dark, cold night I filled the furnace and barely opened the flue. Like a hot fire, a hot heart for God needs its faith fueled.

The Lord looks displeasingly on a lukewarm life or on the institutional church that has lost its fiery faith for Christ. A mediocre church or Christian who coasts through life are unacceptable to God. In Revelation Jesus calls out the church for blending in with the world. He would rather the church be totally dead and cold than a spiritual zombie, acting as if it were alive. Death knows it is dead, but being alive and going through the motions is deadly. But God’s great desire is for His bride the church and each disciple to burn brightly for the faith.

“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15, AMP).

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Pilgrim’s Progress

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These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hebrews 11:13

Recommended Reading

1 Peter 2:11-12

What’s your favorite road trip? The Pacific Coast Highway is one of America’s best drives. Ditto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Even old Route 66 has its charms. In Germany, try Route 500 through the Black Forest. Travelers in England enjoy trekking through the Cotswolds. There’s a carefree feeling to spending a day on the road, finding overnight accommodations, and continuing the excursion the next day.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Worship with Your Whole Hear

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I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]! —Psalm 57:2

Great worship leaders know to come into the presence of God with their entire being, prepared to give thanks and praise (see Deuteronomy 10:12). They don’t just roll out of bed, throw water on their face, and run a comb through their hair before church. They know that the anointing comes from a sincere pursuit of loving God with their whole heart.

Likewise, as you approach God in the morning, come to Him with a heart full of worship, expressing your awe of Him for His faithfulness toward you. He promises that He will never forsake you, but will be with you all day long (see Joshua 1:5).

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Share His Treasures

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“For His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts, and tells us that we really are God’s children. And since we are His children, we will share His treasures – for all God gives to His Son Jesus is now ours too. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering” (Romans 8:16,17).

You may cringe, as I do, at the thought of suffering for Jesus. As He reminds us in Mark 10, anything we ever give up for Him will be given to us a hundred times over, with persecution. Quite frankly, I have never relished the thought of being persecuted. Yet, again and again, in my own experience I have known the reality of that supernatural presence of God, that peace that passes all understanding, during times of suffering and persecution.

Our Lord Himself, knowing that He was on His way to the cross, spoke of peace, love and joy more than at any other time in His ministry. The apostle Paul knew all kinds of suffering. He was in prison frequently; he was beaten, and he finally died as a martyr for his faith. Yet, even while in prison, he wrote of joy and peace – “Count it all joy,” he said. “Rejoice ever more.”

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Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson, Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Citizens of Heaven

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Read: Philippians 1:27

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Phil 1:27a

Paul uses an interesting word here, translated conduct in the NIV. It is a word from which we get our English word politics, or politician. The Greek word is politeuma, a word that means your conduct as a citizen or a colony. This is the first indication in this letter of a unique condition in the city of Philippi. Everyone in that city was aware that its citizens were citizens of Rome even though they were a thousand miles away. This was because of the great battle that had been won by the Roman Emperor, and in gratitude to the residents they were made citizens of Rome.

Paul builds on this idea and says to them, in effect, you Christians in Philippi are members of another government. You cannot have the same attitude to the rest of the citizens of Philippi. You belong to a colony of heaven; therefore you must behave like citizens of heaven. You must let your manner of conduct be worthy of the government to which you belong, the kingdom of God and the gospel of Christ.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Who Is to Blame?

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Read: Mark 5:1-20

. . . there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. (v. 2)

Who is to blame for this poor man’s problems? When you are possessed, and you keep hurting yourself and hurting others, whose fault is that? Is the Gerasene demoniac himself to blame, or is he at the mercy of external forces that make him do hurtful things that he doesn’t want to do?

A young boy watches, daily, as his mother is abused by his drunken father. The boy grows up, becomes a man, begins to drink, and now he abuses his wife. Whose fault is that? Whose sin is to blame?

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W- The Elected

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The 2016 presidential election campaign season is in full swing, and already many hopefuls have been left wanting. The Democratic Party began with six potential candidates; the Republican Party with 17, the largest presidential field in American history. Now, fewer remain and the attrition will continue until only one from each party are left alive in the race for the White House.

In the whole land…two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.

Zechariah 13:8

In the verses preceding today’s scripture, the Lord promised to eradicate idolatry and those who honored them, leading to most of the people perishing. Those remaining would be tested and refined. Many believe these verses reference the Jewish nation during the Roman wars, or the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy of Christ’s return when only an elected, faithful few will remain.

Only two presidential candidates will make it through the campaign process. Those remaining will undergo testing, perhaps proving their worthiness for future political races. As you pray today, ask God to intervene by refining the candidates. Pray that the next president will be one who honors Jesus, and that the Lord will aid you by guiding your vote.

Recommended Reading: I Timothy 2:1-8

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/index.php

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Created Languages

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Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” ( Genesis 11:9)

Wouldn’t it be easier if everyone spoke the same language? Then we could all understand one another! Missionaries wouldn’t have to learn a foreign language when they left for the mission field, businessmen wouldn’t have to use interpreters when they had a business meeting overseas, and we could travel the world and be able to talk to anyone we wanted!

That may sound like a great plan to us, but God had even better plans. It was God Who created languages, and He did it for a purpose. For hundreds of years after God first created the world, everyone spoke the same language, and everyone could understand everyone else. The people became very wicked, though, and did what was right in their own eyes instead of loving and obeying God. To judge them, God sent a great flood to destroy the whole world. After God rescued Noah and his family from the flood, God gave them a command. They were supposed to multiply (grow the family) and spread out all over the world. In other words, they were supposed to scatter around and fill up the world with their children and grandchildren. Earth would be filled again with people who would know and worship the one true God.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Discipline of Prayer

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 119:25

“Give me life according to your word!”

How can we grow in a conscious sense of dependence on Christ? Through the discipline of prayer. Prayer is the tangible expression of our dependence. We may think we’re dependent on Christ, but if our prayer life is meager or perfunctory, we thereby deny it. We’re in effect saying we can handle our spiritual life through self-discipline and our innate goodness. Or perhaps we’re not even committed to the pursuit of holiness.

The writer of Psalm 119 teaches us about the discipline of prayer in pursuing holiness. We usually think of it as the Psalm about the Word of God, but more accurately it’s an expression of the psalmist’s ardent desire and commitment in pursuing holiness. Twenty-two times the psalmist pleaded for God’s help in obeying his law, as in these words of prayer: “Teach me, o Lord, the way of your statutes. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments. Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” (Psalm 119:33-36).

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – A Picture of Faith

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Today’s Scripture: Numbers 34-36

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” – Matthew 21:22

If you were the commander of an army on the brink of war, wouldn’t you appoint some commanders and generals and get organized for the fight? That’s what’s happening in Numbers 34-36, but instead of organizing for war, Moses takes the list of names the Lord gives him and appoints those who will be involved in dividing the land that is still in the hands and under the control of the Canaanites.

This whole scene is a picture of faith. The Israelites knew they were going to possess the land–not by the skill of sword and bow, but by the power and favor of God. Their faith was not arrogance or presumption. This business of possessing the Promised Land was not their idea, but God’s. They were acting on God’s orders to accomplish His mission in the world.

That’s exactly the way we should respond to God’s commands in the Bible. God commands us to share the good news about Christ with other people; to be kind and compassionate to one another; to forgive each other; to live godly lives in a dark world. We have been called into a spiritual warfare whose battlefields are the ordinary, nitty-gritty situations of everyday life. If we wait until we think we’re well trained or skilled enough to accomplish all that, we’ll never do anything.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS,THE HEALER

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Read Luke 4:31-44

In her mid-thirties, author Theresa Brown left her career as a writing professor at Tufts University and became a trained nurse, first in oncology then in palliative care. She has written several books describing the difficult—though at times, blessed—task of preparing patients (and patients’ families) for death.

The good news of God’s kingdom is a proclamation of healing and deliverance from death—both physical and spiritual. Today’s reading marks the end of Luke’s long introduction to Jesus’ ministry: the angelic visits, birth narratives, ministry

of John the Baptist, and wilderness temptation. Now we begin to study Jesus’ life of ministry, and we see Jesus traveling throughout Galilee with crowds flocking to the Miracle Worker. The news was spreading quickly that Jesus of Nazareth was doing extraordinary things.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – FREE CHICK-FIL-A? SAVING MONEY AND FAMILIES

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I am traveling this week, and grateful to Nick Pitts for writing the Cultural Commentary in my absence. Nick is Director of Cultural Engagement for the Denison Forum. He has been writing daily for our website across the last year, and is the author of The Daily Briefing, a survey of each day’s news in biblical perspective. Nick is a Ph.D. candidate at Dallas Baptist University, finishing his dissertation. I encourage you to subscribe to the Daily Briefing, and know you will profit from his wisdom and insight in the Cultural Commentary this week.

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Over 350 Chick-fil-A restaurants are now offering a “family challenge”: If you’ll lock your phone up in a “Cell Phone Coop” for the entire meal, you win a free ice cream cone. This coop, a cardboard box at the center of your table, holds your phone while your family keeps your attention. The average American spends four hours a day on the phone. But Chick-fil-A is hoping to entice their customers to reduce that time and increase their calorie count.

Research shows that dinnertime conversation boosts the vocabulary of young children more than being read aloud to does. Regular family meals have been shown to lower the risk of teenage smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, eating disorders, and sexual activity. However, it does increase their chances of attaining a higher grade point average and better self-esteem.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Power of God’s Music

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Read: Colossians 3:12-17

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 10:1-31

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly . . . with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. —Colossians 3:16

The Sound of Music, one of the most successful musical films ever produced, was released as a motion picture in 1965. It won many accolades, including five Academy Awards, as it captured the hearts and voices of people around the world. More than half a century later, people still attend special showings of the film where viewers come dressed as their favorite character and sing along during the performance.

Music is deeply rooted in our souls. And for followers of Jesus, it is a powerful means of encouraging each other along the journey of faith. Paul urged the believers in Colossae, “Let Christ’s teaching live in your hearts, making you rich in the true wisdom. Teach and help one another along the right road with your psalms and hymns and Christian songs, singing God’s praises with joyful hearts” (Col. 3:16 Phillips).

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Cleansing Our Hands and Hearts

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“Cleanse your hands . . . and purify your hearts” (James 4:8).

Clean hands and a pure heart will always characterize the humble.

Hands represent our behavior, the pattern of our outward actions. Scripture uses that symbol when it encourages people to abandon their sinful behavior: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of bloodshed” (Isa. 1:15).

Today’s verse uses “hands” in reference to the Jewish ceremonial requirements. The priests were required to wash their hands before they entered the presence of God in the tabernacle and temple (Ex. 30:19-21). Therefore, a call to have clean hands was not just a strange figure of speech for James’s audience. As Jews, they would know that a person needed to go through a cleansing process and have a clean life if he wanted to be close to the Lord.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – God Interruption 

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The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”    Jonah 1:1-2

God may be interrupting your plans. He does this from time to time according to His will. You were going in one direction, and He stopped you in your tracks and led you in an about-face. It can be disconcerting and more than a little scary. But do not be surprised if this happens to you. Your current path may be the opposite of what He intended. Maybe you got in a hurry and ran ahead without Him or maybe you have been reluctant to move forward and missed Him. Either way, the Holy Spirit has now arrested your attention and is leading you into uncharted waters. Like Phillip, you are an agent of God (Acts 8:29). You may be uncomfortable with the assignment because of the novelty in its nuances.  God is moving you out of your comfort zone and into His arena of obedience. If you disobey and stay put, you jeopardize proclaiming Jesus to the fullest.

The consequences of disobedience are not isolated to you alone. They ripple throughout your relationships. Don’t wait for people to be hurt before you say yes to heaven’s directive. God interrupts for a reason and for a season. The reason may be to protect you from a convergence of bad decision-making. You don’t know what’s around the corner in your life, but He does. He is watching out for you, so this severe turn in His will may be to protect you from a pattern of bad behavior. Do not allow pride to keep you from changing your mind. Promptings from the Holy Spirit make pride uncomfortable because it means giving up control and submitting in humility. If you continue to drive forward in pride, you are destined for unnecessary pain (Ecclesiastes 2:23). Take this interruption as a sign from God to slow down, reevaluate, and recalibrate.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Lay It on the Altar

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…God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. —Genesis 22:1-2

Once the Lord said to me, “Joyce, do you love Me? If so, will you still love Me and serve Me even if I don’t do everything just the way you want or just when you think I should?” At the time of the Lord’s visitation, I had been asking God for a huge ministry. He also said, “Joyce, if I asked you to go down to the riverfront here in St. Louis and minister to fifty people for the rest of your life and never be known by anyone, would you do it?” My response was, “But, Lord, surely you can’t really be asking me to do that!”

We always have such grandiose plans for ourselves. If God asks us to do something that isn’t prominent, we aren’t always sure we are hearing Him correctly or that it is His will for us! When God asked me those questions about my ministry, I felt the way I imagined Abraham must have felt when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac through whom He had promised to bless him and all nations of the earth (see Genesis 22).

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – No Longer Under Law

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“So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

What an exciting fact! We are no longer under the law. We have been liberated from the bondage of trying to please God through our self-effort.

What is our motivation under grace? Under law our motivation was fear, and desire for reward and blessing; under grace, our basic motivation is an expression of gratitude – an inward appreciation and response to God’s love and grace.

Why do we do what we do as Christians? We should respond because we, like the apostle Paul, are constrained by the love of Christ. We live for the glory of God. You will remember that the apostle Paul had been beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, starved, buffeted, criticized and condemned, yet he said, “The love of Christ constrains me.”

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – To Live or Die?

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Read: Philippians 1:19-26

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! Phil 1:21-22

The Christian view of death is given in just four words in this passage: with Christ, far better. That sums it up. But before we look closer at that, it’s important that we see what this man’s view of life is, because these are not the words of a man who is sighing after heaven but resigned to living on earth. This is not the utterance of someone who is fed up with living and couldn’t take life any longer so now the only hope is that heaven is close at hand. For Paul, to live is Christ, and that is exciting! Living, he says, means fruitful labor, in which I can take the greatest delight. The prospect of continuing to live is not an unwelcome prospect here, in fact he says I hardly know which to choose, both prospects are so enticing and inviting. The Christian is not so neurotically desirous of death that he no longer wants to live. We sometimes give the wrong impression. We sing these wonderful songs about the glory up there but sometimes, unfortunately, Christians leave the impression that this is really all they’re living for is what comes at the end.

The Christian does not live with some unutterable longing to escape, to evade life, to run from it. No! Paul is not at all saying that! He says, to live is Christ — I love it! And evidently the Spirit of God tips the scale here in favor of life, so he goes on to say, convinced of this I know that I shall remain, and continue with you all — because you need me and I will have the joy of coming to you again. But facing the possibility of death does not mean he is tired of life, but that death can only mean a more wonderful and deeper companionship with Christ. That is what makes life worth living. He says, to die is gain, and you can only say that if you are prepared to say, to live is Christ!

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Do You Want To Be Healed?

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Read: John 5:1-9

He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6)

She never knew it, but behind her back people called her Boo-Hoo, because she was always talking about how badly she’d been treated in life. She’d been cheated, mistreated, shortchanged, passed by, unfairly dealt with. Other people always got the big break she deserved. Nobody gave her a chance. Nobody understood her. Nobody appreciated her. It’s like she had a tape player in her head, and whenever she opened her mouth out came this sad song. Boo-Hoo.

“Do you want to be healed?” Jesus asks. And immediately, out comes the tale of woe: “I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up . . . while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus doesn’t offer sympathy. He doesn’t commiserate. All Jesus wants to know is: “Do you want to be healed?”

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