Tag Archives: nature

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Future Is in the Lord

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. —Luke 4:18-19 KJV

I come from a background of abuse; I was raised in a dysfunctional home. My childhood was filled with fear and torment. The experts say that a child’s personality is formed within the first five years of his life. My personality was a mess! I lived in pretense behind walls of protection that I had built to keep people from hurting me. I was locking others out, but I was also locking myself in. I was a controller, so filled with fear that the only way I could face life was to feel that I was in control, and then no one could hurt me. As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone who has the kind of past I do ever be really all right? It’s impossible!

However, Jesus said that He came to make well those who were sick, brokenhearted, wounded, and bruised—those broken down by calamity.

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I could be set free. I had to have a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that my future was not determined by my past or even my present.

You may have had a miserable past, you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly, your future is not determined by your past or your present!

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Produce Lovely Fruit

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“You didn’t choose Me! I chose you! I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using My name, He will give it to you” (John 15:16).

Some time ago I asked a leading theologian and dean of faculty of a renowned theological seminary if he felt that one could be a Spirit-filled person without sharing Christ as a way of life.

His answer was an emphatic, “No!” On what basis could he make such a strong statement? The answer is obvious. Our Savior came to “seek and to save the lost” and He has “chosen and ordained” us to share the good news of His love and forgiveness with everyone, everywhere.

To be unwilling to witness for Christ with our lips is to disobey this command just as much as to be unwilling to witness for Him by living holy lives is to disobey His command. In neither case can the disobedient Christian expect God to control and empower his life.

There are those who say, “I witness for Christ by living a good life.” But it is not enough to live a good life. Many non-Christians live fine, moral, ethical lives.

According to the Lord Jesus, the only way we can demonstrate that we are truly following Him is to produce fruit, which includes introducing others to our Savior as well as living holy lives. And the only way we can produce fruit is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: John 15:7-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: My part of the “bargain” is to share the good news which will produce lovely fruit; God’s part is to provide the wisdom, love and power, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, to be a fruitful witness. “Lord help me to be faithful in my part, knowing You will be faithful in Yours.”

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – The One Gift Troubles Cannot Touch

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There’s one gift your troubles cannot touch: your destiny. I remember when my father had just retired. He and mom wanted to visit every national park in their travel trailer. Then came the diagnosis of ALS, a cruel degenerative disease that affects the muscles. Within months, the world, as he knew it, was gone.

Denalyn and I were preparing to do mission work in Brazil. I offered to change my plans. But Dad’s reply was immediate and confident. “Go, I have no fear of death or eternity, so don’t be concerned about me. Just Go. Please Him.” Much was lost: his retirement, years with his children and grandchildren, years with his wife. The lost was severe, but it wasn’t complete. “Dad,” I could’ve asked him, “what do you have that you cannot lose?” He still had God’s call on his heart! And so do you.

From You’ll Get Through This

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – LintBron not enough to defeat the Warriors

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Cleveland artist Sandy Buffie is the creator of “LintBron,” an eight-pound bust of basketball superstar LeBron James. Why the name? She used thirty gallons of lint, three gallons of glue, and various recycled materials to create the sculpture. It sits outside her design studio.

She encouraged Cavaliers fans to come by and rub LintBron’s head for good luck before Game 4 of this year’s NBA Finals, which the Cavaliers won. She made a similar sculpture last year, which she credits with helping LeBron’s team win the NBA title. LintBron was not enough last night, however, as the Golden State Warriors defeated Cleveland to become NBA champions.

Buffie’s effort was notable for its sacrifice. It took her five weeks to make LintBron. Of course, it took the subject of her sculpture nearly his entire life to become the player that he is.

James was raised by a single mother who realized her son needed a more stable family environment and allowed him to move in with a local youth football coach. The coach introduced LeBron to basketball when he was nine years old. He has been passionately committed to the game ever since, winning state titles in high school and moving directly into the NBA as the first overall pick of the 2003 draft.

ESPN recently ranked him the third-greatest player of all time, behind Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James led all players with forty-one points last night, but the Warriors were clearly the better team.

Continue reading Denison Forum – LintBron not enough to defeat the Warriors →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –God Has a Purpose for Storms

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Psalm 119:71

Perhaps you’ve seen a TV show in which a distracted person is about to step in front of a moving vehicle. Then suddenly another character races onto the scene, tackling him to prevent a catastrophe. Stunned and indignant, the near-victim fumes and swats at his rescuer—that is, until realizing he has just been saved from a far worse outcome. What at first seemed like a bad thing turns out to be very good.

Storms in our life can at times serve a similar purpose. It’s easy to get so caught up in the daily grind or preoccupied with chasing a goal that we miss the good that the Lord has in mind to give us. When we’re this focused on our own desires, we also become more vulnerable to making choices that don’t align with His Word.

But wanting the best for His children, our heavenly Father will go to great lengths to make sure we are positioned for His blessing in our life. That’s when we may suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a storm—where life was once sunny, we are now faced with turmoil or even pain. Disappointment like that can catch us off guard and make us wonder, Why is God letting this happen to me? It just may be that He’s trying to protect us and draw us closer to Him.

Though the Lord sometimes allows storms in the form of problems and hardships, His goal isn’t ever to hurt you. If you’re going through a trial right now, God may be trying to draw your attention back to Him. It is possible He’s disrupting your plans so He can implement His.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 8-14

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Nothing Is Useless

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Read: 1 Corinthians 15:42–58

Bible in a Year: Ezra 3–5; John 20

Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.—1 Corinthians 15:58 nlt

In my third year battling discouragement and depression caused by limited mobility and chronic pain, I confided to a friend, “My body’s falling apart. I feel like I have nothing of value to offer God or anyone else.”

Her hand rested on mine. “Would you say it doesn’t make a difference when I greet you with a smile or listen to you? Would you tell me it’s worthless when I pray for you or offer a kind word?”

I settled into my recliner. “Of course not.”

She frowned. “Then why are you telling yourself those lies? You do all those things for me and for others.”

I thanked God for reminding me that nothing we do for Him is useless.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul assures us that our bodies may be weak now but they will be “raised in power” (v. 43). Because God promises we’ll be resurrected through Christ, we can trust Him to use every offering, every small effort done for Him, to make a difference in His kingdom (v. 58).

Even when we’re physically limited, a smile, a word of encouragement, a prayer, or a display of faith during our trial can be used to minister to the diverse and interdependent body of Christ. When we serve the Lord, no job or act of love is too menial to matter. —Xochitl Dixon

Jesus, thank You for valuing us and using us to build up others.

Do what you can with what you have and leave the results to God.

INSIGHT: What small act of service can you perform today out of love for God?

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Practical Atheism

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There is no mistaking the presence of unique challenges to belief in our modern day world. Our secular, privatized, consumerist affections have wielded a religion (indeed many religions) that has little or nothing to do with life itself. Coupled with secularism’s privatizing of religion from the public realm, consumerism’s pull creates a context whereby the choice of belief is not only a personal matter, but a matter entirely divorced from the history and communities that inform these beliefs. As professor David Wells notes, “God has been evacuated from the center of our collective life, pushed to the edges of our public square to become an irrelevance to how our world does its business. Marxism rested on a theoretical atheism; our secularized world rests on a practical atheism in the public domain, though one that coexists with private religiosity.”(1) This chasm between public and private, sacred and secular, forces a theology whereby God is largely absent, unknown in the public arena, and silent unless spoken to.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with our evacuation of God and subsequent practical atheism, we live within an understanding of unbounded freedom to pursue and consume whatsoever we will. While we may recognize secularism for what it is, Wells warns: “[W]e do not recognize the corrupting power of our affluence for what it is…. We consider our abundance as essentially harmless and, what is just as important, we have come to need it. The extraordinary and dazzling benefits of our modernized world, benefits that are now indispensable to our way of life, hide the values which accompany them, values which have the power to wrench around our lives in very damaging ways.”(2) Far more than a matter of wealth, our sheer appetites, which we readily appease as if angry gods, bring us to the conclusion that we ourselves are the center of collective life, echoing the call of secularism that God is exactly where God belongs—in quiet, private corners. Even within the church, this outlook is often practically lived if not publicly admitted.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Practical Atheism →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Truth About Willpower

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“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts.—Zechariah 4:6 NKJV

Willpower can be a powerful tool in the hands of a determined, disciplined individual. It can help you confront any problem you have and adjust your lifestyle. However, willpower only takes us so far and then we always run out of our own strength.

Now, what happens if, instead of turning first to willpower in your time of need, you turn to God? God releases His power into you and enables you to go all the way through to victory. Now you’re energized for positive change, but willpower does not get the credit for our success, God does.

Jesus said in John 15:5 (NASB), Apart from Me you can do nothing. This is one of the most important and most difficult lessons we must learn if we want to enjoy the life Jesus died to give us. When we turn to anything or anyone before God, He is insulted and is obligated to let us fail so we will realize that except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Psalm 127:1 AMPC).

We must learn to let God do the heavy lifting. Let Him supply the ability to energize our choices. We can choose to exercise or stop overeating, but our choice alone is not enough for complete victory. Willpower and determination will get us started, but they’ve been known to quit in the middle and leave us stranded. God never quits in the middle.

There are some people in the world who claim to be a self-made success, but if we follow their lives all the way through, they usually end up falling apart. God has not created us to function well without Him, and the sooner we learn that the better off we will be.

Start by asking God to get involved, to do the heavy lifting. Continue on with God and finish with God. What should we do when the burdens in life seem too heavy? Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Trust in Him: Who/what is the first thing you turn to when you need to overcome a problem? Whatever “that” is, that’s where you’re placing your trust. Choose to put your trust in God in all things and at all times.

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Real Freedom

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“If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36, KJV).

A dedicated, but defeated, young missionary returned from the field devastated because of his failure; first, to live the Christian life; and second, to introduce others to the Savior. He came to my office for counsel.

I explained to him that the Christian life is simply a matter of surrendering our lives to the risen Christ and appropriating the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit by faith. “Relax,” I said. “Let the Lord Jesus Christ live and love through you. Let Him seek and save the lost through your life.”

He became very impatient with me. “You dilute and distort the gospel,” he insisted. “It really costs to serve Jesus. I have made great sacrifices on the mission field. I have worked day and night. I struggled. It has cost me my health – though I am prepared to die for Christ – but you make it too easy, and I cannot accept what your are saying.” He left my office in anger.

Later he called for another appointment, saying, “I don’t agree with you, but there’s a quality in your life that I want for myself, and I’d like to talk further.”

Again I explained, “The just shall live by faith. All the supernatural resources of God are available to us by faith, not by our sacrifice and good works – though good works must follow faith, for faith without works is dead.”

As we talked, his attitude began to change. Then some days later I received a letter filled with praise, worship and adoration to God as he described the miracle that had taken place in his life. He had discovered the liberating truth of the principle that God’s grace is available to us by faith. The Christian life is supernatural. No individual is capable of living it apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus explains it in John 15:4,5: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches…without Me ye can do nothing.”

It is His supernatural life, in all of its resurrection power, released through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that enables us to live supernatural lives for the glory of God. Only then can we be free, for the Son alone can liberate us.

Bible Reading: Romans 8:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: By faith, I shall act upon my rights as a child of God and claim the supernatural power of the Son of God. Knowing that He has already set me free, through His death and resurrection, I am confident that He will enable me to experience that freedom, moment by moment, so that I may live the supernatural life to which I have been called.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Don’t Settle for a Small Destiny

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We re-define ourselves according to our catastrophes. As a result, we settle for a small destiny! Think you’ve lost it all? You haven’t. The truth of Romans 11:29 is that “God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.”

Here’s how it works. Your boss calls you into the office. As kind as it sounds, a layoff is a layoff. How will I pay the bills? Who’s going to hire me? Dread dominates your thoughts. But then you remember your destiny: What do I have that I cannot lose? Wait a second. I’m still God’s child. My life’s more than this life. God will make something good out of this. I will work hard, stay faithful, and trust Him—no matter what. Bingo! You just trusted your destiny. Another victory for God. It begins with a yes to God’s call on your life!

From You’ll Get Through This

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Would Bernie Sanders vote for Jesus?

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President Trump has nominated Russell Vought as deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Last year, Vought wrote a blog post in which he stated, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.”

Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is opposing Vought’s nomination, calling his blog post “indefensible.” In Sanders’s view, “It is hateful. It is Islamophobic. And it is an insult to over a billion Muslims throughout the world.” He then stated, “This nominee is really not someone who is what this country is supposed to be about.”

Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore rightly notes that Sanders completely ignores Article VI of the US Constitution, which states, “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Sanders has no right to oppose Vought’s nomination on the basis of the candidate’s personal religious beliefs. The senator’s position is clearly unconstitutional.

Here’s another reason Sanders’s opposition is so significant: by his standard, Jesus could not serve in American public office. Our Lord said of himself, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). Muslims, while they consider Jesus to be a great prophet, emphatically deny that he is the Son of God: “Jesus was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example to the Israelites” (Qur’an 43:59).

So Jesus would agree with Russell Vought that Muslims “stand condemned.” Would Bernie Sanders vote against Jesus for public office?
Continue reading Denison Forum – Would Bernie Sanders vote for Jesus? →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Hard-Hearted Believer

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Hebrews 3:12-19

The believer’s path toward a hardened heart can start innocently enough—it’s easy for us to become preoccupied with things that have little or no spiritual value. Once our focus is diverted from God, it doesn’t take much for the preoccupation to take up greater amounts of time. The diversion can become so consuming that we end up ignoring matters of importance to the Lord.

As our spiritual life withers, we may give up private devotion and public worship. Anyone who is spending time with the Lord daily is going to have a pliable heart, but the person who lays Scripture aside gives Satan an opportunity. When allowed to function apart from God, the heart is deceitful and turns from Him.

If a believer’s mind is preoccupied and his heart is distant from God, he can easily be swayed by the deceitfulness of sin. As sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is dulled by a hard “shell” that’s been forming around his heart, the drifting Christian begins to find Satan’s false promises more tempting. He foolishly trusts in the deception and becomes ever more deeply enmeshed in sin. This, in turn, leads to even greater preoccupation with non-spiritual matters and further neglect of his spiritual life.

Believers are not immune to hardening of the heart. We can become as insensitive to God’s voice as an unbeliever, but we have a way to remove the spiritual callus that has been forming within us. By repenting and refocusing, we can again turn to devotion and worship in order to be soft-hearted before God.

Bible in One Year: Psalms 1-7

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Postures of the Heart

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Read: 2 Chronicles 6:7–9, 12–15

Bible in a Year: Ezra 1–2; John 19:23–42

[Solomon] knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven [and] he prayed.—2 Chronicles 6:13-14 nlt

When my husband plays the harmonica for our church praise team, I have noticed that he sometimes closes his eyes when he plays a song. He says this helps him focus and block out distractions so he can play his best—just his harmonica, the music, and him—all praising God.

Some people wonder if our eyes must be closed when we pray. Since we can pray at any time in any place, however, it might prove difficult to always close our eyes—especially if we are taking a walk, pulling weeds, or driving a vehicle!

There are also no rules on what position our body must be in when we talk to God. When King Solomon prayed to dedicate the temple he had built, he knelt down and “spread out his hands toward heaven” (2 Chron. 6:13-14). Kneeling (Eph. 3:14), standing (Luke 18:10-13), and even lying face down (Matt. 26:39) are all mentioned in the Bible as positions for prayer.

Whether we kneel or stand before God, whether we lift our hands heavenward or close our eyes so we can better focus on God—it is not the posture of our body, but of our heart that is important. Everything we do “flows from [our heart]” (Prov. 4:23). When we pray, may our hearts always be bowed in adoration, gratitude, and humility to our loving God, for we know that His eyes are “open and [His] ears attentive to the prayers” of His people (2 Chron. 6:40). —Cindy Hess Kasper

Lord, direct my focus always toward You and teach me to follow You in obedience and love.

The highest form of prayer comes from the depths of a humble heart.

INSIGHT: The dedication of the temple was much more than a formality; it was a celebration. God had kept His promise to David about the temple being built, but it was also tangible evidence of the settling and permanence of Israel. The temple wasn’t simply where Israelites went to meet with God; it was the place where God resided among His people. Truly that was reason to celebrate! It’s no wonder that Solomon knelt and spread out his hands before the Lord in response to what the Lord had done. In light of the faithful love of God, Solomon could only bow in worship and prayer.What is your reaction to the faithfulness of the Lord? Why not pause and worship Him now with a humble heart. J.R. Hudberg

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – He Is with You

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Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. —Isaiah 41:10 NLT

No matter what your fear is, God’s Word says you are not to fear because He is with you. It is just that simple. I am sure the question comes to mind: If God is with me, why do bad things happen? God never promises us trouble-free lives, but He does promise us His presence and the strength (mental, physical, and emotional) we need to get through our troubles.

Whatever the problem is, you can be assured it will pass, God will be with you all the way through it, and you will be stronger and know God better when it is over than before it began.

Power Thought: God is with me at all times, so there is no need to be afraid.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Save Your Life

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“And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23,24, KJV).

Martin Luther once told the maidens and housewives of Germany that in scrubbing floors and going about their household duties they were accomplishing just as great a work in the sight of heaven as the monks and priests with their penances and holy offices.

In the 15th century, a woman – Margery Baxter – had said the same thing couched in different terms.

“If ye desire to see the true cross of Christ,” she said, “I will show it to you at home in your own house.”

Stretching out her arms, she continued, “This is the true cross of Christ, thou mightest and mayest behold and worship in thine own house. Therefore, it is but vain to run to the church to worship dead crosses.”

Her message was plain: holiness is in our daily service.

Your life and mine are worshiping Christ today to the degree that we practice the presence of God in every minute detail of our lives throughout the day. We are taking up our cross when we shine for Jesus just where we are, obediently serving Him and sharing His good news with others.

If you and I want to save our lives, we do well to lose them in obedient service to the Lord Jesus Christ, allowing His indwelling Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.

Bible Reading: John 12:23-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will take up my cross today – shining just where He puts me at this point in my life.

 

http://www.cru.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – No Struggles 

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They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.   Psalm 73:4-5

Having no struggles at all will never happen in this lifetime. A no-struggle existence is not possible until you graduate to heaven’s struggleless environment with your Savior. The nice and the naughty alike struggle, though outwardly they may seem void of vexation. The righteous and the wicked both struggle to varying degrees. No one is exempt from struggles. Yes, there may be seasons of minimal conflict but struggles are on the way. You are either struggling, about to struggle, or have just finished struggling. Indeed, everyone from monks to mafiosi struggle. Therefore, don’t spend your life trying to insulate yourself from struggles.

You will stress out more from trying to avoid struggles than you will from accepting their reality. This is not to say God would have us solicit struggles into our life. But He does understand that struggles are meant to send us to Him. Struggles look for a Savior, and Jesus is our friend in our fight against struggles.

Envy can erode your eternal perspective by giving you a false impression of others who seem to live lives without struggles. This is inaccurate and ill-conceived. No amount of money or power can completely drive struggles from someone’s life. In fact, it may compound struggles because of the complexity of choices that are created. Someone’s large amount of discretionary time may, on the surface, give the appearance that they are without struggles. Not true. There are still the internal struggles of sin and self against God’s best. And there are the external struggles created by other people’s choices and circumstances that are out of one’s control. You can join in another’s struggle through prayer.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – No Struggles  →

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Commands You To Tell Others About Jesus Christ (Part 2)

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“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

If we are obedient Christians, we will follow the command that God has given us in Mark 16:15 to tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ. But this command is not always easy to follow. Sometimes, we are afraid that others may laugh at us. Other times, we don’t know what to say. What are some things we can do that will help us obey this command?

Pray. Before we tell others, we should pray for them. Even though God uses us (no matter how young or old we are) to be witnesses for Him, it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts of those we tell. We can pray that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of our friends and neighbors before we give them the Good News. Also, we can pray for ourselves. Jesus promises that He is always with us, so we can pray that we will remember His promise and not be afraid. Jesus also promises that the Holy Spirit will empower us to witness for him (Acts 1:8)!

Prepare. Read your Bible and pick out verses that will help you when you talk, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that we only need to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead in order to be saved. You may like to use the Romans Road, or verses that go with the Wordless book. You can write out these verses on a card or underline them in your Bible so that you can find them quickly. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is “powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword”!

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Commands You To Tell Others About Jesus Christ (Part 2) →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – GOD’S LOVE AND OURS

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Read 1 JOHN 4:7-12

A church member once told the pastor that the church should have a sign out front warning people away, and then launched into a litany of complaints about all the problems within the congregation: gossip, cliquish mentalities, selfish behavior—and too many complainers!

How contrary this is to the picture of Christian life in today’s reading. The shining attribute of the Christian community should be love, a theme that will continue for the next few days. In fact, the community is twice addressed as “beloved” (also translated as “dear friends,” vv. 7, 11); and Scripture calls us to love one another three times in six verses.

While this should underscore the call to love one another, God’s own love is mentioned twice as much—six times! In other words, the foundation for Christian love is that “God is love” (v. 8). Central to God’s love is the coming of Jesus Christ as an atonement for sin. If we want to know anything about love, we must first look to the true source and example: the Father’s sending the Son into our world.

Notice the important connection with yesterday’s point, that those who are from God must confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This affirmation is not merely an intellectual belief; it is the very basis of Christian communal life. When the Incarnation becomes the basis for our love, we demonstrate that we are “born of God” and know Him (v. 7). It means that “God lives in us” (v. 12). But most importantly, it means that God’s love “is made complete in us” (v. 12). That is, if people want to know God’s love, they should be able to look to God’s people as the expression of that love.

APPLY THE WORD

This Sunday you have an opportunity to embody Scripture’s call to love one another as God has loved us. As you worship with the community of the “beloved,” avoid self-serving conversations and actions. Instead, find someone in need and focus on serving them rather than having your own preferences as the priority.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Danger of a Hardening Heart

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Hebrews 3:7-11

The Hebrews who left Egypt had concrete proof of God’s existence and commitment to them. Yet when the time came for them to claim their promised land, they hardened their hearts against the Lord and refused to believe He would give them victory over the people living in Canaan. So they rebelled, resisting Joshua and Caleb’s pleas and coming up with justifications for their disbelief.

God responded with harsh discipline: 40 years of wandering in the desert until those adults who resisted Him were dead (Num. 14:33-36). Because He considered the lesson about their resistance and discipline so important, the Lord reiterated it in the New Testament (Heb. 3:7-11). He didn’t want people to repeat the Israelites’ mistake of hardening their hearts against Him.

The way to a hardened heart is gradual. It begins with unbelief—that is, hearing but not accepting all or part of God’s Word as true. Instead, a person rebels, choosing to manage his or her affairs without the Lord. This involves ignoring the conscience or justifying unscriptural behavior; eventually, the heart becomes so calcified that the individual is no longer affected by the whisper of God’s Spirit.

It is dangerous to persist in choosing our own way. Not only does the Lord discipline those who rebel against Him; He also withholds opportunities and blessings. If we take seriously God’s warning not to harden ourselves against Him, then we must choose to be obedient. Over time, as our heart grows more tender and receptive, we’ll find that we are unable to make a wrong move without being convicted by the Spirit.

Bible in One Year: Job 39-42

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Finding Waldo

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Read: Acts 8:26–40

Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 34–36; John 19:1–22

The [Ethiopian] asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”—Acts 8:34

Waldo is the cartoonish star of “Where’s Waldo,” a now-classic best-selling children’s book series. Waldo hides himself in the crowded scenes on each page, inviting children to find where he’s hiding. Parents around the world love the moments of sweet discovery when their children’s faces signal they’ve found Waldo. They also enjoy the occasions when they’re invited to help find him.

Shortly after Stephen, a deacon in the early church, was stoned to death for proclaiming Christ (see Acts 7), widespread persecution broke out against Christians, causing many to flee Jerusalem. Another deacon, Philip, followed these fleeing Christians into Samaria, where he proclaimed Christ and it was well received (8:6). While there, the Holy Spirit sent Philip on a special mission to “the desert road.” It must have seemed a strange request given the fruit his preaching was producing in Samaria itself. Imagine Philip’s joy, then, when he met and helped the Ethiopian court official find Jesus in the pages of Isaiah (vv. 26-40).

We too are often given the chance to help others “find Jesus” throughout the Scriptures so they may know Him more fully. Like a parent witnessing the joy of discovery in their child’s eyes and like Philip helping the Ethiopian find Jesus, it can be exhilarating for us to witness the moment of discovery in those around us. As we go through our days, may we be prepared to share Christ as the Spirit leads us, whether they are people we know well or those we meet even just once. —Randy Kilgore

The biggest work a Christian can do is to find his friend and introduce him to Jesus Christ.

 

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