Tag Archives: nature

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Taking Risks of Faith

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Matthew 14:22-33

Have you ever taken a risk in your obedience to God? Perhaps He’s given you an assignment that strikes you as beyond your abilities. Demonstrating faith in God may appear to be risky business, but it’s actually the safest thing to do. Furthermore, it’s the way the Lord expects His followers to live.

Can you imagine what the other disciples thought when Peter stepped out of the boat? It seemed like a crazy thing to do, yet Peter trusted that Jesus would keep him from sinking into the raging water.

And Peter did a pretty good job of walking on the water until he took his eyes off Jesus. As long as his total focus was on Christ, he was fine. Yet when he allowed himself to be distracted by human fears, he fell deep into trouble—literally!

This demonstrates an important principle: When doubts prevent us from obeying God, we are doomed to failure. But when we step out in faith, God always assumes full responsibility for the consequences of our obedience.

The story of Peter’s walk on the sea teaches us three things.

  • God will lead us into challenging situations that call us to walk by faith.
    • Christ stands ready to rescue us when we cry out to Him.
    • The Spirit of God will never let us fall beyond His reach.

Are you facing a situation that requires full trust in the Lord as you step out in obedience to Him? The real risk lies in your temptation not to obey Him. Keep your eyes on the heavenly Father, and He’ll see you safely to the other side.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 79-84

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Set Free

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Read: Romans 8:1–2, 15–17 | Bible in a Year: Job 5–7; Acts 8:1–25

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

When I was a boy in the village, something about chickens fascinated me. Whenever I caught one, I held it down for a few moments and then gently released it. Thinking I was still holding it, the chicken remained down; even though it was free to dash away, it felt trapped.

When we put our faith in Jesus, He graciously delivers us from sin and the hold that Satan had on us. However, because it may take time to change our sinful habits and behavior, Satan can make us feel trapped. But God’s Spirit has set us free; He doesn’t enslave us. Paul told the Romans, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2).

Through our Bible reading, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit, God works in us to cleanse us and to help us live for Him. The Bible encourages us to be confident in our walk with Jesus without feeling as if we are not set free.

Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). May the freedom we have in Christ spur us on to love Him and serve Him.

Lord, forgive me for sometimes revisiting my past and forgetting that You have washed away my sins. Thank You for taking my burden and setting me free to enjoy living for You.

My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. Charles Wesley

By Lawrence Darmani

INSIGHT

Romans 8 is one of the theological highpoints of the Bible, specifically as it relates to the Holy Spirit. Of the many references to the Holy Spirit in the book of Romans, over half are found in Romans 8! The life-giving Spirit liberates from sin and death and empowers believers to live in ways that honor God, which includes the reorientation of our thinking (vv. 2–8). God’s Spirit is the seal of God’s ownership and those so sealed are destined for future resurrection (vv. 9–11). God’s children are not under obligation to slavish, sinful desires (vv. 12–13); rather, like Jesus, they are led by the Spirit of God (v. 14). As those in God’s family, believers in Jesus have the Spirit as their internal witness of their privileged status (vv. 15–16). Painful circumstances that make us groan and pray are our lot in this fallen world (vv. 18–25). Though sometimes our prayers are weak, we are not helpless. The Spirit of God is our prayer-helper whose intercession targets the will of God (vv. 26–27).

How have you seen the Holy Spirit working in your life?

Arthur Jackson

 

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – To Fear or to Follow

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I travel the same route every day as I head into school. It takes me through one of the nicest parts of town where million-dollar houses line the cliffs overlooking Bellingham Bay. Manicured lawns and pristine exteriors beckon all passersby to admire their beauty. But this same route also traverses one of the poorest sections of town where the skeletal remains of warehouses and manufacturing plants sit like open tombs. Among these abandoned ruins, solitary figures hover. The shelter of our local rescue mission is here. It is often the place where these otherwise solitary figures gather. Often, I have to steer my bike around a person jaywalking. Ambling with a slow gate or running with hands thrown in the air screaming at some unseen foe, they are quite often figures for whom reality seems as blurred as the transition from sidewalk to street.

When I am stopped at the traffic light just beyond the day shelter, it is difficult for me to avert my gaze from the macabre spectacle in front of me. Yet, I often feel afraid and hope that the light changes quickly so that I can be on my way. As I pedal hurriedly, trying to avoid road debris and traffic, I seek to escape their haunting presence. But I cannot escape wondering about whether or not there are families who love them and still worry about them. What were the legion of forces that contributed to their plight? As I wonder, I cannot help but ask what glimmer of hope there might be for these who are dependent on the mercy of a handout or who suffer the indifference of others like me?

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – To Fear or to Follow →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Dreams and Visions

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Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish. — Proverbs 29:18 (AMPC)

Adapted from the resource Ending Your Day Right Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

The Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had already seen and could see. They did not know how to see with “the eye of faith.”

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. You will only begin to progress when you start to believe you can experience freedom. You must have a positive vision for your life—a vision for a future that is not determined by your past or even your present circumstances.

Exercise your faith tonight and take a positive look at the possibilities God has planned for you. Begin to “call those things that be not as though they are” (see Romans 4:17). Think and speak about your future in a positive way, according to what God has placed in your heart.

Prayer Starter: Father, I thank You for the wonderful things You have planned for my future. Help me to see beyond where I am right now. Help me to take hold of the dreams You have placed in my heart and move forward with faith and expectation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Knowledge and Wisdom

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“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere” (James 3:17).

“Donkeys laden with books,” a phrase in rabbinical literature, is descriptive of those who know much but still remain fools.

Another expression says that “knowledge is power.” True, but how is the knowledge used – beneficially or malevolently? That is a vitally important question. We have more knowledge than ever before, but a few would claim that we have more wisdom.

Going faster and faster, we may be still going astray. Just as grapes are not picked from a bramble bush, neither can the good life be harvested from sowing wild oats.

For a nation of people, many of whom are “educated beyond their intelligence,” as an anonymous wit once observed, America sorely lacks a sufficiency of men with real wisdom – that which is given by the Lord Himself.

In our modern education, we seem to be preoccupied with the accumulation of knowledge, to the neglect of that wisdom which alone can save us from the misuse of knowledge.

William Lyon Phelps, famous English professor at Yale University and a godly statesman, once said, “If I could choose between a knowledge of the Bible and a college education, I would readily choose the knowledge of the Bible.”

If we lack wisdom, God’s wisdom, we need only ask of Him and He will grant it when we ask in faith, according to His promise in James 1:5.

Bible Reading:James 3:13-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: In order to live a supernatural life I’ll look for divine wisdom from the proper source – God, His Word, and His indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God’s Great Gospel

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

No one knows me, we think. People know my name, but not my heart. They know my face but not my feelings. I have a social security number, but not a soul mate. No one really knows me.

The response of heaven is that God does! Prophets weren’t enough. Apostles wouldn’t do. Angels won’t suffice. God sent more than miracles and messages. He sent himself; he sent his Son. In God’s great gospel, he not only sends, he becomes…he lives with. He lives as one of us. He knows our hurt. He knows our hunger. He knows betrayal. Most of all, he knows sin. He knows them better than you do. He knows their price because he paid it. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:18). God knows you!

Read more Cure for the Common Life

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Political hostility escalates: “Is America headed toward a civil war?”

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“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.” This is how Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D–Calif.) urged protesters in Los Angeles to treat Trump administration officials in public.

This after White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant last Friday. That same day, Florida attorney general Pam Bondi was bullied at a movie screening in Tampa by hecklers who had to be deterred by her security personnel. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was jeered at a restaurant, as was White House official Stephen Miller.

The rancor may not stop with political officials. MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch: “If you vote for Trump then you, the voter, you, not Donald Trump, are standing at the border, like Nazis, going ‘you here, you here.'”

By this logic, attacks on Trump administration officials are likely to extend to Trump supporters. And they are likely to respond in kind.

Is this a civil war? Continue reading Denison Forum – Political hostility escalates: “Is America headed toward a civil war?” →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Call to Serve

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Galatians 5:13

Jesus commanded that we serve one another, but obeying this is not natural for us. Sure, there are times we like to help others. But service that involves self-sacrifice—especially for someone we deem undeserving—is much more difficult to do.

What does it mean to serve? Consider Christ’s example. He gave up everything in heaven to live among us, subjecting Himself to dishonor and human frailty. And He loved even those who rejected Him. Think about how He humbled Himself and washed the disciples’ feet at Passover. This was a disgusting, lowly task that a slave might be assigned—far from anything a king should do. He even knew these men were about to abandon Him but served them anyway.

Ultimately, Christ gave His life for us. And He did so while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). Serving others was His lifestyle—part of who He was and what He did. As His followers, we should strive to be like Him.

Therefore, service involves first dying to our selfish attitudes and motives. Only then can we live to glorify Christ. Jesus said that the greatest commandments are to love God wholeheartedly and to love others (Matt. 22:37-39). Ironically, it is only when we humbly serve others that we experience God’s fullness in our own lives.

Many try to achieve happiness by striving after their own desires. The result? Tired, unsatisfied people. True contentment happens only when we walk closely with Jesus. He shows where we can humble ourselves and take care of others. These actions, done through His strength, will be blessed.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 76-78

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Saying Grace

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Read: Colossians 3:12–17 | Bible in a Year: Job 3–4; Acts 7:44–60

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

For many years, I’ve enjoyed the writings of British author G. K. Chesterton.  His humor and insight often cause me to chuckle and then pause for more serious contemplation. For example, he wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the play and the opera, and grace before the concert and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing; and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”

It’s good for us to thank the Lord before every meal, but it shouldn’t stop there.  The apostle Paul saw every activity, every endeavor as something for which we should thank God and that we should do for His glory. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Recreation, occupation, and education are all avenues through which we can honor the Lord and express our gratefulness to Him.

Paul also encouraged the believers in Colossae to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (v. 15).

The best place to “say grace” is anywhere and anytime we want to give thanks to the Lord and honor Him.

Thank You for Your gift of life eternal. May we acknowledge and honor You throughout this day.

In all we do, let’s give thanks to God and honor Him.

By David C. McCasland

INSIGHT

Could anything make whatever we do better? When the apostle Paul wrote to readers in Colossae, he described an alternative to any and all attitudes that are harmful to us and others (Colossians 3:5–10). In his letter to the Philippians he uses the word whatever as he describes his personal accomplishments. Whatever he once considered gained, he now considers loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:7). For reasons he never expected, he found a way to move on to something better than his own efforts to be seen as a good, moral, and religious person.

Many of us know the story behind Paul’s change. After an unforeseen encounter with the resurrected Christ (Acts 9:1–6), he thought differently about anything and everything. Seeing the failure of his own efforts, he learned to live by the grace of God. By relying on the presence of Jesus, Paul discovered the means by which any of us can live with divine help and thankfulness in anything and everything worth doing.

What will we face today that will give us a chance to see and say “grace” in whateverwe encounter?

Mart DeHaan

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Losing Consciousness

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The line between real and imagined is sometimes a little blurry. At least this is the conclusion of one report on the business of cyberspace, where thousands of people have imaginary lives and some are actually making a living at it. The creators of several popular online role-playing games completed a year-long study of the very real transactions that are taking place in their imaginary worlds. The results portray a flourishing economy that is rapidly grabbing advertisers’ attention. The sellers are role players who have taken the time to find marketable goods in their virtual worlds—and they are clearly putting in the time. In one popular game, a gnome is sold with a basic skill set for $214; in another, a virtual cherry dining set for a virtual home runs about 250 actual dollars. Between June 2005 and June 2006, 9,042 role players spent $1.87 million dollars on virtual goods from swords to special powers. According to analyst estimates this year, U.S. virtual goods revenue alone will top $1 billion and could even rake in over $2 billion.

It is entertainment I don’t claim to fully understand. But it is fascinating (and maybe frightening) to see how integrated the real and the virtual can become. Of course, this idea applies to far more than online games. What we imagine can become so enmeshed with what is real that we scarcely notice a difference. That is, until something real reminds us otherwise—like an outsider’s perspective or a credit card receipt.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Losing Consciousness →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Run Your Race

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Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. — Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)

Adapted from the resource Closer To God Each Day Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

If we are going to run our race in life, if we want to fulfill our destiny and do God’s will, it is important that we lay aside every weight and sin and run the race with patience.

In the days this verse was written, runners conditioned their bodies for a race just as we do today. But at the time of the race, they stripped off their clothing except for a loincloth, so that when they ran there would be nothing to hinder them. They also oiled their bodies with fine oils.

In our Christian life, we are called to remove anything that hinders us from running the race that God has set before us. It is essential to be well oiled, or anointed, with the Holy Spirit (often symbolized by oil) if we are going to win our race.

Our enemy, Satan, has many ways to entangle us and prevent us from living in obedience to God’s Word, developing an intimate relationship with Him. There are many distractions and requirements on our time. But with God’s guidance, we can strip away the things that will hinder us. Keep your eyes on your goal and learn to say “no” to things that distract you and keep you from fulfilling your full potential.

Be determined that nothing is going to hinder you from fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for your life.

Prayer Starter: Father, I want to run my race and fulfill the plan You have for my life. Help me not to be distracted by anything that will take my focus away from You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Crown of Life

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“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12, KJV).

In Christian art, the crown is usually pictured entwined with the cross. This suggests that endurance of trial leads to victory, as the above verse indicates.

Temptation often comes at our weakest – rather than our strongest – moments. When we have reached the limit of our love and our patience, for example, we are tempted to be unlike Christ in one way or another. Remember, Jesus’ temptation began after forty days of fasting.

People usually are impressed – favorably or unfavorably – when they see how we act under pressure. It is possible for one weak act to spoil a whole lifetime of witness.

The beatitude, or blessing, in Matthew 5:10; says, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (KJV). The crown of life is promised to those who successfully stand up under the testing of their faith. The Christian life is a spiritual conflict from the moment of birth until we go to be with the Lord. The flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. There is absolutely no hope for victory until one discovers the availability of the supernatural resources of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

A young student who came to me for counsel said, “I have given up. I can’t live the Christian life. There is no hope for me.”

“Good,” I replied. “At last you have recognized that you cannot live the Christian life. Now there is hope for you, for the Christian life is a supernatural life and the only one who can live it is Jesus Christ Himself.”

Surrender your life totally, completely to Him and recognize moment by moment, day by day, that the Holy Spirit is the only one who will enable you to endure temptation. By faith you must draw upon His supernatural resources to live a supernatural life. Only then will you be victorious and fruitful for the glory of God.

Bible Reading:James 5:7-11

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today and every day I will remember to draw upon the supernatural resources of the indwelling Christ who will enable me to be victorious over temptation and to live the supernatural life as a testimony to His faithfulness.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The Language of Loneliness

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

We may relish moments of solitude—but a lifetime of it?  No way. Many of us, however, are too fluent in the language of loneliness. The kids used to need me…the business once needed me…my spouse never needs me.  Lonely people fight feelings of insignificance.

What do you do? How do you cope with such cries for significance? Well, some stay busy; others stay drunk. Some buy pets; others buy lovers. Some seek therapy. Yet only a few seek God. He invites all of us to do so. God’s ultimate cure for the common life takes you to a manger. “…and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). There’s no withholding tax on God’s with promise. He is with us. God is with us!

Read more Cure for the Common Life

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum – Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused service: Political discrimination?

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Racial discrimination is in today’s news after the shooting of teenager Antwon Rose in East Pittsburgh. Religious discrimination has been in the news with the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court ruling.

Gender-based discrimination has been much-discussed with Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to allow women to drive. Socioeconomic discrimination is a fact of life in many cultures around the world.

Now there’s a new kind of discrimination in the news.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has served as President Trump’s press secretary since July 2017. She made headlines over the weekend when she was refused service by a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia.

The issue was not her race, her religious commitments, her gender, or her social or economic status. It had to do with her political positions. In her job, she explains and defends the president’s beliefs and actions on various issues.

Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen specifically because the owner and some of her employees disagreed with some of these political positions.

Is political discrimination legal?

Disparaging people on the basis of their political beliefs happens routinely on late-night television and in the news. For instance, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and White House senior advisor Stephen Miller were recently heckled at restaurants by protesters objecting to the administration’s “zero tolerance” border policy.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused service: Political discrimination? →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Power of God’s Grace

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Romans 5:1-5

Grace is one of God’s most amazing gifts. It provides us with everything we need to live in perfect freedom: pardon for our sins, healing for our heart, the companionship of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, and access to freely cultivate our relationship with Him. We work, worship, and enjoy life, surrounded by His unconditional love. His grace upholds us, fills us, and sustains us.

Since we are forgiven people, the Lord responds to us not as enemies but as His dearly loved children (Rom. 8:15; Eph. 5:1). He hears our prayers, speaks to us, and acts on our behalf. The knowledge that we live under the covering of God’s grace gives us…

Security about our position. No one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28).

Boldness to live for Christ. Our adequacy comes from the Lord and who we are in Him, so we can live in confidence.

Peace for today because we can fully trust in His sovereignty. The Lord is carrying out His perfect will—and we can be sure that nothing is able to thwart His plan. When we cooperate with Him, we cannot fail.

Hope for the future. This life is just the beginning. One day we will see Jesus face to face, be perfected as the individuals He created us to be, and live with Him in our true home forever.

The Lord is committed to transforming each of us according to His special plan for our lives. Even His correction is an expression of His loving favor (Heb. 12:10). When we falter or fail, we can rest assured that His amazing grace hems us in and always offers us redemption.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 71-75

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — A Friend’s Comfort

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Read: Job 2:7–13 | Bible in a Year: Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43

No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2:13

I read about a mom who was surprised to see her daughter muddy from the waist down when she walked in the door after school. Her daughter explained that a friend had slipped and fallen into a mud puddle. While another classmate ran to get help, the little girl felt sorry for her friend sitting by herself and holding her hurt leg. So, the daughter went over and sat in the mud puddle with her friend until a teacher arrived.

When Job experienced the devastating loss of his children and became afflicted with painful sores on his entire body, his suffering was overwhelming. The Bible tells us that three of his friends wanted to comfort him. When they found Job, “they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:12–13).

Job’s friends initially showed remarkable understanding. They sensed that Job simply needed someone to sit and mourn with him. The three men will begin to speak in the next few chapters. The irony is that when the friends do begin to speak, they end up giving Job poor advice (16:1–4).

Often the best thing we can do when comforting a hurting friend is to sit with them in their suffering.

Heavenly Father, help me to be a good friend to those who are hurting. Thank You that You promise to be near to those who are suffering and provide encouragement through Your Holy Spirit.

A friend’s presence in the midst of suffering provides great comfort.

By Lisa Samra

INSIGHT

Job’s wife’s suffering (except for the painful sores) was just as keen as Job’s. She had lost just as much, and her angry advice to Job is completely understandable: “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9). Yet even in Job’s response, he “did not sin in what he said” (v. 10). He merely noted that she spoke “like a foolish woman,” implying that he knew her character to be noble. The text also highlights the fact that Job’s friends truly did sympathize with his situation and were there to provide genuine comfort (v. 11). But Job’s wife and his friends couldn’t fathom that he was part of a cosmic battle they didn’t comprehend.

In this life, certain things will remain beyond our understanding. Perhaps someone close to you faces some unanswerable questions. Who might need your quiet presence today?

Tim Gustafson

 

http://www.odb.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – New Wine Needs New Wineskins

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Read: Matthew 9:14-17

Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. (v. 17)

“Why don’t your disciples fast?” Because there needs to be congruity between faith and form, that’s why. A new faith cannot be contained in an old form. Jesus says, in effect, “Do not expect me to adapt myself and my message to the old forms of Judaism.” To illustrate, Jesus tells a parable. If you have new, fresh wine, you will not store it in an old wineskin, because when the new wine ferments, the old wineskin will stretch and crack, and the wine will be lost. New wine needs new wineskins. A new faith needs new forms.

So much denominational quarreling, it seems to me, revolves around new wine and old wineskins. I am old enough to remember the battle that raged when newer translations of the Bible appeared on the shelves alongside the old King James wineskin. More recently, so-called contemporary worship burst the old wineskins of hymnody and creedal language.

Gospel truth wears one suit of clothes after another, but it remains gospel truth. It’s the wine that’s important, not the wineskin. Christian fashions come and go, but “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). I am not advocating a blind belief in progress, nor a gullible hospitality to everything new. But nothing is wrong with the new just because it’s new. Old wineskins deserve our respect. They would not have been in use so long if they didn’t work well. They were new—once. But God’s vineyard keeps producing new wine. —Lou Lotz

Prayer: Lord, help me to know when new wine needs new wineskins.

 

https://woh.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Right from the Heart

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Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ — Matthew 6:31

Adapted from the resource Battlefield Of The Mind Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

“What are you going to do?”

As a Christian leader, I’ve come to believe this is one of Satan’s favorite questions. I sometimes think he sends out special demons that have one specific task: to whisper this question in the ears of believers: “What are you going to do?” If you listen, the questions increase. The more they increase, the more negative and intense they become. Before long, you think of every possible obstacle on your path. You begin to feel as if nothing is right in your life.

That is Satan’s task. He and his helpers wage war on the battlefield of your mind. They want to engage you and other Christians in long, drawn-out, costly combat. The more questions and uncertainties they raise, the greater their chances for victory over your mind.

Jesus instructs us to “…not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’” (Matthew 6:31 AMP)

The first thing you need to remind yourself of is that you are living in disobedience when you allow anxieties to fill your mind. Jesus says, “Don’t do that.”

Second, remind yourself that when you worry, you’re looking at the wrong things. In school, most of us were shown pictures that were optical illusions. If we looked at a picture one way, we saw a woman’s face. If we looked at it differently, we saw a rose.
Think of that as a mindset. If you focus on Jesus and His loving arms stretched out to you, you live in peace. You know He’s with you, and if He’s with you, He will also take care of you. If you focus on the other picture, you see only problems, defeats, and discouragement. It really does depend on where you concentrate your attention.

The enemy knows that if he can feed your mind often enough and long enough with the wrong things, he can make you think about and feel only the wrong things. For instance, instead of being thankful that the Lord has been with you through many dark and troublesome times, you can begin to ask, “How did I get here anyway? What am I doing in this fix? If God really loved me…”

That’s not the end of it. Once Satan starts to win in the area of poisoning your mind, he moves on, and before long, you’re repeating Satan’s words—words that not only tear you down, but also hurt and tear down others. Then Satan has a double victory—he’s trapped you, and you’ve influenced others.

Jesus said to the people of His day, “You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34–35 AMPC).

Those are strong, powerful words. They remind us that Satan starts with a whisper—just the smallest word of doubt in your ear. If you listen, his words get louder and you hear more things. Soon you unconsciously listen for his misdirection. That leads you to speak the words in your heart, whatever they are. Once you speak, you move into action. You not only spoil your own relationship with God, but you become instruments to churn up doubts and fears in others.

There is only one way for you to win: Refuse to listen to Satan. As soon as you hear such words, you need to say, “Satan, the Lord rebuke you. Stay out of my mind.”

Prayer Starter: Lord, thank You for Your words that remind me of the importance of my thoughts and my words. I ask You to fill my heart with such an abundance of peace and joy that the enemy can never infiltrate my mind. May my words reflect Your presence in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Never Fails nor Forsakes

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“Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never, never fail you nor forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5).

Malcolm Muggeridge, one of England’s leading intellectuals, came to our Christian Embassy headquarters for lunch one day. Together we talked about the things of God – the Christian adventure. On that day, he offered little hope for the future of the Western world.

“We are,” he said, “like a pan of frogs in cold water placed over a low flame. As the flame warms the water, the frogs relax. And by the time the water is boiling, it is too late for them to jump out of the pan. They are boiled alive. In contrast, if the frogs were placed in a pan of boiling water, they would leap out instantly.”

He continued by explaining that the average person in America and in Western Europe was being destroyed by materialism, the love of money and the love of things. People are greedy and are grasping for more than they have. Our appetites know no bounds; we have become insatiable.

As a result, no doubt there is more vital Christianity in Eastern Germany than in Western Germany, in Poland than in Italy, in the Soviet Union than in England. The Christians who are willing to pay the price of persecution in these countries have learned to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and to be satisfied with what they have.

With the apostle Paul, they are able to say, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11, KJV). You will observe that the admonition was to stay away from the love of money. There is nothing wrong with money. Thank God for able, dedicated, godly men and women to whom God has given the ability to make money, but who recognize that there is no satisfaction or fulfillment in making money. It is in the stewardship of that which God has entrusted to them that they find fulfillment and true meaning to life.

Bible Reading:Ephesians 5:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With the certainty that God will never, never fail me nor forsake me, I will seek to find fulfillment and meaning in my life in Christ and not in materialism. I will encourage others to do the same today.

 

http://www.cru.org

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – Hearing God in the Silence

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Silence and the Gospel: Jesus as the Logos

John 1:1–5

Aramaic was the lingua franca of the Middle East in the days of Jesus. Everyone spoke it. Parts of the Bible are written in it. Though Arabic replaced it as the key language for the region in the seventh century A.D., Aramaic endured through the centuries. But linguists now believe it is dying, with its last two generations of speakers driven from their homes by war and persecution now spread out around the world.

Human languages may die, but Jesus is the divine Word who has conquered death and given eternal life to all who believe on His name. Our month’s study now moves into its final section, “Silence and the Gospel.” In light of the fact that Jesus is God’s final Logos, what roles has silence played in the Gospel narrative?

John knew both the Jewish and Greek senses of the word Logos and clearly intended to signify both as well as to transcend both. To the Jewish mind, Logos meant God’s words, specifically the Law, and by extension God’s creation and governance of the world. To the Greek mind, Logos referred to both spoken and unspoken language and more importantly to an impersonal principle of reason or rationality.

The coming of Christ the Logos is like light in a dark place—the best Word humanity has ever heard! Just as God spoke light into creation, now comes His Son to speak life where there had been only death. Darkness and death have been overcome once and for all by the victorious Christ.

The theme of silence and the gospel must be situated within the context of Christ as the Divine Word. He broke four centuries of “prophetic silence” to accomplish God’s mission of redemption and bring hope to us all!

APPLY THE WORD

The apostle John opened his Gospel with words that directly evoke Genesis 1. If you have time, we suggest you read Genesis 1 as part of your devotional time today. Set the two passages side-by-side in order to better examine the themes and parallels. Creation and Incarnation are inextricably intertwined and life-changing realities!

 

http://www.todayintheword.org