Tag Archives: nature

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Your Kingdom, Your Will

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Read: Luke 22:39-46

Not my will, but yours, be done. (v. 42)

“God’s will be done.” That’s what people say. When the diagnosis comes, when the child is killed in a playground accident, when natural disasters strike people who have no resources to start with. “God’s will be done” can be said so glibly, used as a way to circumvent our own pain or self-righteously avoid the pain of others. Jesus wrestled within himself and with God to get to that conclusion.

As a general rule, I don’t think we should try to be holier than Jesus. And, when Jesus prayed “your will be done” (see Matt. 6:10), it wasn’t as though he immediately stood up, shook the dirt out of his robes, dusted his hands off and put his game-face on. Jesus wrestled in the garden. This is good news for any of us who have struggled to find peace with God in terrible disappointment.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M.- Tireless Prayer

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In his first season at the University of Alabama, football player Derrick Henry won several awards, including the college’s second Heisman Trophy. Today, the star running back has foregone his senior year to play as a professional in the National Football League. In his acceptance speech for the Heisman, Henry encouraged all of the young people who were watching.

While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept.

II Samuel 12:22

“Don’t be afraid to pray. He always hears your cry. If you have dreams, go chase them. If you believe it, you can achieve it, and God will be there every step of the way. I am a living testament, man. Growing up, having this dream, I am so nervous. I never thought I would be up here. But God is good and I get on my knees every night and thank Him for everything,” Henry said. “So keep God first. Always pray. And always chase your dream.”

Just as David in today’s verse prayed for his child as long as was possible, pray tirelessly for the children in your life to come to know Jesus as Savior. Intercede also that America’s future leaders will embrace godly values and seek His wisdom for all of their decisions.

Recommended Reading: II Samuel 12:13-22

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Surrender at Gethsemane

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Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”—Mark 14:34

Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever felt as though your friends and family had abandoned you? Have you ever felt like you were misunderstood? Have you ever had a hard time understanding or submitting to the will of God for your life?

If so, then you have an idea of what the Lord Jesus went through as He agonized at Gethsemane.

Hebrews tells us, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (4:15–16 NLT).

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Glorified in Life or Death

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“Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21)

John and Betty Stam were missionaries to China in the 1930s. China was a dangerous place to be. The Communist army did not want foreign people in the country, and they did not like Christians. One day the Communists captured the Chinese city where the Stams lived. They took John, Betty, and their baby girl, Helen, captive.

That night, John, Betty, and Helen were locked in a room together. Sometime during the night, Betty found a way to leave baby Helen some things she would need if they were separated. She tucked a clean nightdress, diapers, and two five-dollar-bills into the blankets where Helen slept.

The next morning, John and Betty Stam were led outside the city and killed by Communists. They became martyrs, people who lose their lives because of their faith in Christ. Baby Helen was left alone in that little room. But God had not forgotten the baby. A whole day and night passed. The next day, Christian friends of the Stams found Helen after she had been left alone for thirty hours! The money that her mother had hidden in her blankets was enough to provide for these Chinese Christians to carry her to safety.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Commit Yourself to God

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 37:5

“Commit your way to the Lord.”

When Paul turned his attention from his masterful exposition of the Gospel in Romans chapters 1?1 to practical issues of Christian living, the first thing he did was call for commitment: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1, NIV).

As we look at Paul’s call to commitment, we can see one obvious difference between the commitment of the devoted athlete and the commitment Paul called for. The athlete’s commitment is to himself or herself or perhaps to the team. The commitment Paul urged upon us is to God. Commit yourself to God. Offer your body to him as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to him.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Holy Spirit’s Mission

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Today’s Scripture: John 16:5-16

And [Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. – Colossians 1:18

One summer my wife and I attended an opera in the magnificent opera house in Vienna, Austria. We arrived early to take a look around, then the usher showed us to our seats way up in the third balcony, practically to the roof.

To be honest, I wasn’t enjoying the opera that much. It was sung in German–which I didn’t understand–and the plot was hard to follow. When I heard some movement behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and saw the spotlight operator, whose job was to follow the lead character with this huge, thousand-watt light. He never let the spotlight stray from the central figure, who moved back and forth on the stage or among the rest of the characters in the story.

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Marriage and Nominal Christianity: A Match Made, Well, Not in Heaven

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In Ezekiel 5, the prophet laments that not only had Jerusalem become wicked and idolatrous—she had become an embarrassment to even her pagan, Baal-worshiping neighbors.

Well, professing Christians today may find themselves in a similarly embarrassing spot. When it comes to marriage and family, the nation is doing poorly. But it turns out one group is doing worse than the whole: Christians who don’t go to church.

First, some background. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2015 the U.S. marriage rate had fallen to an all-time low of 6.74 per 1,000 people and is expected to keep dropping.

That’s bad news for kids, increasing numbers of whom are being raised in single-parent households and by unmarried couples. As W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, notes, “marriage provides a unique level of emotional security and stability” for kids.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – JESUS, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE

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Read Luke 18

In ancient society, a widow was one of the most powerless members of society. Without a man to speak for her in the public square, she had no voice and no recourse against injustice. When her husband died, his property passed to the nearest male relative. Apart from family charity, the widow was almost assuredly cast into poverty.

Jesus tells a story about a widow pleading her case before an unjust judge (vv. 1–8). It’s likely that this judge had refused to grant the widow justice in her case because she was too poor to pay the necessary bribe. Because of her persistence, however, he finally ensured that justice was done, and the case was resolved. If even a corrupt, unjust judge would eventually do the right thing, how much more will our perfect Judge, who hears our cry and delivers us.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – EXPLAINING THE ATTACKS IN BRUSSELS

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When you heard about the ISIS attacks on Brussels yesterday, what was your first response? Horror as the crisis unfolded? Grief for the victims? Fear of more attacks? Immediately after your first impressions, did you think something like, “Here we go again”?

If so, you’re like the rest of us. The greatest tragedy of yesterday’s bombings is, of course, the lives lost and city shattered. I have traveled in the beautiful city of Brussels and grieve for what its people are facing today. But another tragedy is that terror attacks have become the “new normal” for so much of the world.

If these bombings had occurred in Syria or Iraq, they would not be headline news. The recent attacks in Turkey and Pakistan also feel to most Americans like something happening “over there.”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Bread

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John 6:35

Editor’s Note: The devotions for March 21st, 22nd, and 23rd focus on elements of Passover, which Jesus celebrated with His disciples the night before His crucifixion.

For thousands of years the Jewish people had a special script for their most important event of the year—the Passover. Brimming with drama and intensity, the Passover included a carefully prepared order of words, symbols, foods, tastes, smells, and actions. So if the father of the household went off script as he led the Passover meal, everyone present would immediately notice.

And that’s exactly what happened when Jesus gathered His band of followers as death loomed. The evening started like a typical Passover meal—they were celebrating the way Jews had done for centuries … until Jesus intentionally went off script and started talking about Himself. As the Savior took the Passover bread in His hands, He said something utterly shocking: “Take, eat; this is My body” (Matt. 26:26).

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Best Is Yet to Come

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Read: Colossians 3:1-11

Bible in a Year: Joshua 10-12; Luke 1:39-56

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. —Colossians 3:2

In our family, March means more than the end of winter. It means that the college basketball extravaganza called “March Madness” has arrived. As avid fans, we watch the tournament and enthusiastically root for our favorite teams. If we tune in early we get a chance to listen to the broadcasters talk about the upcoming game and to enjoy some of the pre-game drills where players shoot practice shots and warm up with teammates.

Our life on earth is like the pre-game in basketball. Life is interesting and full of promise, but it doesn’t compare to what lies ahead. Just think of the pleasure of knowing that even when life is good, the best is yet to come! Or that when we give cheerfully to those in need, it’s an investment in heavenly treasure. In times of suffering and sorrow, we can find hope as we reflect on the truth that a pain-free, tearless eternity awaits us. It’s no wonder that Paul exhorts: “Set your minds on things above” (Col. 3:2).

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Question and Answer

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“What do you want me to do for you?” is a common enough question. Used in multiple personal exchanges, it could be asked by a clerk of a patron or between colleagues in dialogue. It could be used casually between friends or spoken harshly in retort for misunderstanding. Whatever the context or mood, it is a question of clarification. On the one hand, it seeks to clarify the expectations of the one to whom it is directed. On the other hand, it seeks to clarify what action is required of the one who asks.

“What do you want me to do for you?” is a seemingly ordinary question Jesus asks more than once. In the Gospel of Mark, it is posed both to a blind beggar and to the disciples of Jesus.(1) The writer places the two instances right beside one another in a way that reveals the questioner as much as the expectations of the men being asked. Mark tells the story of the blind man, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, immediately following a revealing exchange between Jesus and his disciples. For the disciples, the question would no doubt have rung familiarly in their ears. But their answers to this question could not have been more discordant.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Humility of Jesus’ Servanthood

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“Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Jesus is the role model of the suffering servant.

Jesus not only gave up His divine privileges when He emptied Himself, but He also became a servant. For us, this is the next phase in His supreme example of humility. Paul’s phrase “the form of a bond-servant” can also be translated “the essence of a slave.” Christ’s servanthood was not just external—it extended to the essential, down-to-earth role of a bond-slave doing the will of His Father.

We would expect Jesus, the God-man, to be a servant only in the truest fashion. His servitude was not performed like a stage player putting on and taking off the costume of a servant. Jesus truly became a servant. He perfectly fulfilled everything Isaiah predicted about Him (52:13-14). Jesus was the Messiah who was a suffering servant.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – The Parable of the Two Prodigal Sons

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Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:22-23

God has been sending some messages my way lately that have been hitting me right in the heart. Such are the words from Timothy Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. In this fantastic read, Keller reveals there is more to the Parable of the Prodigal Son than most Christians were ever taught in church.

In his book, Keller writes that there is not just one lost son, but two in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In reality, the older brother who diligently obeys his father is as lost as the younger who squanders his inheritance and lives a wild lifestyle. Both are alienated from the father because each reject relationship with the father but in very different ways: one through licentious living, and the other through legalism. One through being bad and one by being good (Luke 15:13; 29). Both attitudes are rooted in pride and self-centeredness—and both attempt to get from their father what they want without caring for their father’s heart.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Always Enthroned

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In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:1

Recommended Reading

Revelation 4:2–3

Sometimes after a calamitous event, a well-meaning person will say, “Not to worry. God is still on His throne and everything will be alright.” That is definitely true, and such statements affirm our belief in the sovereignty and providence of God in all things. But the word “still” poses a bit of a problem.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Building Bridges, Not Walls

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For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us. –  Ephesians 2:14

One day while I was praying, the Holy Spirit showed me that my life had become a bridge for others to pass over and find their place in God. For many years, I erected only walls in my life; but now where there were walls, there are bridges instead. All the difficult and unfair things that have happened to me have been turned into highways over which others can pass to find the same liberty that I have found. I have learned to build bridges instead of walls.

In Hebrews 5:9 Jesus is referred to as “the Author and Source of eternal salvation.” He pioneered a pathway to God for us. He became a highway for us to pass over. It is as though He faced a giant forest and went in ahead of us so that when we came along we could drive right through it without having to fight all the elements and the density of the forest. He sacrificed Himself for us; and now that we are benefiting from His sacrifice, He is giving us a chance to sacrifice for others so they can reap the same benefits we enjoy.

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Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – The Power of the Pit Part 2

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I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.

Psalm 40:1-2

Friend to Friend

We have several choices about how to deal with the pain and darkness in life. We can become bitter and blame God or someone else for the pain, or we can give up and wallow in the mire and mud of that slimy pit.

At one point in my life, I simply plastered a smile on my face, gritted my teeth, and denied that the pit even existed. Not a good choice.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Gain Understanding

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“For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations” (Psalm 119:89,90, KJV).

A story is told of a young woman who had been informed about a famous novel. She was interested in reading it, but as she began to read the novel, she found it dry and uninteresting. She would put it down to read something else, and then she would come back and try to read it again because her friends said it was an excellent book.

Even with the high recommendations of her friends, the book just did not captivate her. Then one day she met the author. He was very handsome and personable. They became interested in each other, and she fell in love with him.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Knowing Him

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Read: Philippians 3:9-11

I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death Phil 3:10

Paul says he is quite ready to give up the usual status symbols of the Christian for the personal knowledge and friendship of Jesus Christ. This is not an academic subject. This is not a course in Christology or on the person of Christ. This is not knowing about Christ. This is knowing Him. As has wisely been said, Knowing about has value; knowing has vitality. This knowledge the apostle is talking about is not simply a casual contact now and then. You don’t get to know your friends that way. The friends you know best are the ones you have spent most time with, or at least you have gone with through deep experiences. This knowledge of Christ comes by continual sharing of experiences together. It comes by the two of us, Jesus and I, living our lives together, moment-by-moment sharing experiences. It comes by gazing on the face of Jesus Christ as he appears in the pages of scripture. It comes by allowing every circumstance to make us lean back on his adequate life, hiding nothing from his eyes, by bringing every friendship and every loyalty to his gaze, for his approval or disapproval, by walking every day reckoning upon him to be with us. That’s the secret of a successful ministry.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Hallowed Be Your Name

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Read: Luke 19:45-48

It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer,” but you have made it a den of robbers. (v. 46)

I have a friend who can walk into any thrift store, find something everyone else had overlooked, bring it home, spruce it up, and set it up as the loveliest decoration in the room. She sees the world differently. She finds beauty in strange places.

When Jesus walked into the temple, he saw it differently too. He saw the glory of what it should have been behind the chaos and money-changing it had become. He saw the glory of a “house of prayer” overshadowed by the gaudy showmanship of a “den of robbers.”

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