Tag Archives: nature

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – When God Says Go

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Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged

Joshua 8:1

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We see a vibrant example of courage and obedience in the book and life of Joshua. He served humbly and faithfully in the shadow of Moses until the Lord took Moses home and chose Joshua to be the next leader His people.

I’d be shaking in my size 10s if I had to fill the sandals of Moses! I’m sure that in his humanness Joshua was intimidated too, but he was well trained because he had served under Moses for 40 years. I mean – he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken when God gave him His incredible I-made-you-for-greatness and I’ve-got-your-back motivational talk.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Orders Your Steps

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“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23, KJV).

Miriam Booth – a beautiful, brilliant, cultured woman – daughter of the Salvation Army founder, began her Christian work with great promise. She had unusual success. Before long, however, disease struck her and brought her to the point of death. A friend visiting her one day said it seemed a pity that a woman so capable should be hindered by illness from doing the Lord’s work. “It is great to do the Lord’s work,” she replied with gentle grace, “but it is greater to do the Lord’s will.”

Are you looking for direction, for purpose, for meaning to your life?

The psalmist wanted to make it very plain that the person who is “good,” the one who is clothed with the righteousness, the goodness of Christ, can have the absolute assurance that His steps, one by one, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, are ordered by the Lord (planned and directed by Him).

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – True Security

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Read: John 10:22-42

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-29)

How can you tell a true Christian? Jesus says, They follow me. That is, they obey Jesus; they do what he commands. This does not mean that they always do so instantaneously, without struggle. All of us struggle at times with what our Lord says; all of us resist at times. Sometimes the word needs to be brought clearly and sharply into focus in our life. But the point of it is, once we see what Jesus wants, the attitude of a true sheep is, Lord, even though it hurts, even though it costs, I will do what you say. I will follow you.

Why do sheep act this way? What has made the difference? Three things: First, Jesus says, I give unto them eternal life. That is stated in the present indicative tense: I keep on giving to them eternal life. What holds us to Jesus? It is the life he gives, the peace, the joy, the love that we feel, the sense of inner serenity, the forgiveness, the sense of belonging and being guarded and kept and loved, that is what brings us. It is a quality of life which comes so continually to us that we would give up anything else rather than give that up. We are drawn because he keeps on giving us life, eternal life, God’s kind of life.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Fruit of Faith

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Read: Matthew 7:15-20

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (v. 20 NIV)

Jesus’ strong words in Matthew 7:21 may sound like salvation by works, but Jesus didn’t mean that. We are saved not by our obedience, but by Christ’s. We must simply trust him as Savior and Lord.

What Jesus meant is that trusting involves obeying. Or as he puts it in our reading for today, obedience is the natural fruit of faith in Jesus as Lord. When your faith in Christ yields the fruit of obedience, you know that you know Christ. The proof is in the doing.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P.- Temporary Life

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“Nothing is certain,” it is said, “but death and taxes.” This amusing statement is pretty much true. How easy it is to make plans, counting on every day to be predictable, and then an event comes along and rattles life as you know it.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Proverbs 27:1

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Law of Sowing and Reaping

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Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. —Galatians 6:7

There are laws that govern everything we do in life. There is the law of gravity, discovered by Newton, that basically says things tend to fall downward. Or, to put it another way, what goes up must come down. Then there is the law of thermodynamics, which effectively says that all things are breaking down. And of course, there is Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong (and usually at the most inopportune time, I might add).

Then there is the biblical law of sowing and reaping, which we find in Galatians 6:7–8: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Spirit Helps Us Speak His Truth

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“That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:12b-13)

When Peter had to prepare oral book reports for school, he always asked his dad for help. Peter thought every sentence his dad said sounded perfect for his report, and he knew that he would never have been smart enough to think of them on his own. It just seemed like his dad always knew just the right thing to say.

When it comes to speaking about God, the Holy Spirit gives us the perfect things to say. The Bible says we are supposed to be speaking about what God has “given to us.” But we are not supposed to speak with “man’s wisdom” – including our own wisdom and our parents’ wisdom. The Holy Spirit teaches us the wisdom that we need to use. He is our teacher.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Generous Landowner

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 20:15

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? ”

God’s reward is out of all proportion to our service and sacrifice. In the kingdom of heaven, God’s reward system is based not on merit but on grace, and grace always gives far more than we have “earned.” as R. C. H. Lenski wrote, “The generosity and the magnanimity of God are so great that he accepts nothing from us without rewarding it beyond all computation. The vast disproportion existing between our work and God’s reward of it already displays his boundless grace, to say nothing of the gift of salvation which is made before we have even begun to do any work.”

In the parable Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-16, a landowner was progressively more generous with each group of workers he hired throughout the day. Each worker, regardless of how long he’d worked, received a day’s wages. He received not what he’d earned on an hourly basis, but what he needed to sustain his family for a day. The landowner chose to pay them according to their need, not according to their work. He paid according to grace, not debt.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Meeting with God

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Today’s Scripture: Leviticus 1-3

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. – Mark 1:35

In today’s passage we find a lesson that could do more than anything I know to end spiritual burnout among Christians. We see the tabernacle set up to be a place of fellowship and communion between God and His people. It was there they rendered their various religious duties to God. It was also there that God revealed His will to them.

Leviticus 1 begins with the words, “The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.” The word translated “called” means God spoke in a still, small voice. No lightning and thunder as on Mount Sinai. This was the gentle voice of God.

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Which Christianity: Following Scripture or the Huffington Post

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The big religion story of last year? Christianity is in decline in America. The sensational headlines were based on data from the Pew Research Center. But as Ed Stetzer of Lifeway Research observed in the USA Today, the folks writing the headlines must not have read the study.

It turns out that almost all of the reported decline took place not among evangelicals, but in mainline Protestant denominations, which have been in freefall spiritually and numerically for decades. And no wonder. The “Christianity” preached in many of them sounds more like the Huffington Post opinion pages than the Bible.

Take the Episcopal Church, which in 2003 began ordaining openly gay clergy, and in 2015 created a marriage ceremony to bless same-sex couples. Earlier this month, a majority of bishops from the worldwide Anglican Communion voted to suspend the at a meeting in Canterbury voted to suspend the Episcopal Church’s voting rights over its support for homosexuality.

This decision, along with the statement from the primates reaffirming one-man-one-woman marriage was due in large part to the leadership of the African bishops. As Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America explained to me and Ed Stetzer on “BreakPoint This Week,” African Anglicans retain the traditional, biblical beliefs of the missionaries who planted their churches generations ago. And they feel abandoned by their American and European counterparts.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – REDEFINING SHAME

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Read 2 Timothy 1:8-2:15

What would you think of a man dressed in an orange jumpsuit with cuffs on his wrists and ankles? If flanked by uniformed police officers, we might see him as a dangerous criminal. But if held between black-hooded ISIS militants, we might think he was a martyr.

The same situation can be a cause for shame or honor, depending on whose interpretation we accept. This is the essence of Paul’s message to Timothy. Paul was wrestling against the shame of his incarcerated status. Both Roman and Jewish officials had treated him as though he were dangerous. Many of his fellow Christians, influenced by public perception, had subsequently turned away from him (1:15).

But when Paul raised his eyes above the world’s view of his life, he saw God smiling on his chains. In God’s economy, these were chains of honor, proving his love for Christ and commitment to His gospel. As long as he held on to a heavenly perspective, Paul could resist the world’s shame.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – GROUP IS ‘MUCH MORE DANGEROUS’ THAN ISIS

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A terrorist group you’ve probably never heard of may be the greatest threat America faces.

A new report on threats to America has been issued by the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War. It claims that Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al Qaeda, is “much more dangerous to the U.S. than the ISIS model in the long run.” Why?

ISIS is alienating Muslims worldwide with its horrific executions, rapes, and forced allegiance to its ideology. Al-Nusra is following a more gradual strategy. It provides services to Syrians, builds strong relationships with local communities, and focuses primarily on fighting the al-Assad government.

According to Middle East expert Fred Kagan, the group is “quietly intertwining itself with the Syrian population and Syrian opposition. . . . They are waiting in the wings to pick up the mantle of global jihad once ISIS falls.”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Landmine of Insecurity

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Psalms 40:1-5

Insecurity may not sound as explosive as landmines like pride or jealousy, but it, too, is a very dangerous pitfall. A great deal of damage can result in the life of a person who habitually feels insecure. Such feelings can develop from many different kinds of situations. We may experience tragedy, like the loss of a parent in our early life, or we may grow up in an environment that throws us off balance. Sometimes we feel insecure because of major failures we’ve experienced.

Whatever the root cause, the effects are often similar. We may be indecisive because our fear of making the wrong choice leads to avoid decisions altogether. Sometimes we have a difficult time establishing lasting relationships because we are afraid we won’t be a good friend. Or we might keep our distance from fear of rejection—people frequently perceive this as pride or snobbery.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — When Questions Remain

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Read: Job 23:1-12

Bible in a Year: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

He knows the way that I take. —Job 23:10

On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into the Mojave Desert. The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived. Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why. The title of a newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions remain.”

Throughout life we may experience sorrows for which there are no adequate explanations. Some are catastrophic events with far-reaching effects while others are personal, private tragedies that alter our individual lives and families. We want to know why, but we seem to find more questions than answers. Yet even as we struggle with “Why?” God extends His unfailing love to us.

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Living Risk

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Actuarial science is the discipline that applies statistical methods to assess risk of disability, morbidity, mortality, fertility, and other life-contingencies. Generally, actuaries are employed by insurance companies or risk management firms to calculate the ‘risks’ associated with insuring individuals against life’s catastrophes. Actuarial science offers accurate and razor-sharp predictive power in order to prevent capital loss for those very companies.

There are always exceptions, of course, that confound even actuaries. These ‘outlier’ events come unannounced. So rare are these exceptions that a theory was developed to explain their occurrence. The Black Swan Theory developed by Nassim Nicolas Taleb suggests that surprise events have major and long-lasting impact.(1) The 2001 terrorist attacks; the Pacific tsunami in 2004; the stock-market crash of 1987; not even a seasoned actuary could have predicted these events with any level of confidence.

The result of the unexpected can be a deep and pervading fear. In my own life, for example, I have come to fear airplane travel—particularly, I fear the worst possible scenarios regarding airplane travel—despite the fact that the odds are much higher for my getting in a car accident when I go to the grocery store. When I swim in the ocean, I fear a shark-attack more than I fear the more likely event of drowning. These are the ‘black swan’ events that haunt me. They are rare and infrequent outliers but their impact on me is as significant as the potential sighting of a real black swan in my front yard; an unlikely but extraordinary occurrence, indeed.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Maintaining a Clear Perspective

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“I pray that . . . you may know . . . what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18).

How you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live.

Throughout Ephesians 1 Paul is clearly struck with the magnificence of our inheritance in Christ. Here he prays that we will know the riches of its glory.

Some commentators see “His inheritance” as a reference to believers, who are God’s inheritance or special possession (v. 14). That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christ’s death, the forgiveness of our sins, and the abundant grace that He lavishes on us (vv. 7-8).

Others see it as referring to the believer’s inheritance, which Paul calls “His inheritance” because God is its source. Just as “His calling” (v. 18) issued from Him and was received by believers, so His inheritance issues from Him.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Maybe It’s Not a Good Idea to Post that Post

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Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” Colossians 4:6.

I enjoy social media because it’s a great way for me to keep in touch with family and friends. I like perusing the pictures they post and reading their reflections online. But sometimes social media is also grievous. Because—as perhaps you have also realized—there are few places where the condition of the human heart can be so obviously seen than online. Granted, I am often blown away by the kindness shown from one stranger to another through online platforms, but I am even more blown away by the human tendency to become quickly offended.

It seems that some folks are quick to jump to conclusions, rushing to judgment about a situation they know little of. They jump on the bandwagon of bad-mouthing someone they have never met because it feels safer to say mean things behind a screen than in person. But as Christians we are called to a higher standard. It takes care and wisdom to know when and how to insert one’s beliefs or opinions into an online conversation. We must remember that the most godly and loving thing to do may be to not say anything at all when online conversations get heated, and when we do speak, (or text, message, tweet, or post) to be kind.

2 Timothy 2:14; 23-24 says,

“Warn them [the believers in Ephesus] before God against quarreling about words; it has no value and only ruins those who listen . . . Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Hand It Over

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Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Recommended Reading

Psalm 1

The neck of a guitar with steel strings has a natural tendency to bend in on itself because of the strong tension of the strings, stressing the instrument over time. Similarly, our natural tendency when faced with challenges and tension is to fold in on ourselves. Challenging situations often feel as though they are tearing us apart and we find ourselves spiraling into worry and fear.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Positive

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. . . But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.—1 Corinthians 2:16

Ever since I started keeping my mind in a positive pattern, I can’t stand the feeling of being negative. I’ve seen so many good changes in my life since I’ve been delivered from a negative mind that now I’m opposed to anything negative.

Here’s what I suggest if you’ve struggled with staying positive: Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you each time you start to get negative. This is part of His work. John 16:7-8 teaches us that the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and convince us of righteousness. When the conviction comes, ask God to help you. Don’t think you can handle this yourself. Lean on Him.

Being positive does not mean that we don’t face reality. The Bible says to do all the crisis demands and then stand firmly in your place (see Ephesians 6:13). Our place is “in Christ,” and in Him we can always be hopeful and positive because nothing is too hard for Him. Jesus was always positive and full of faith. We have His mind in us, and with His help, we can do the same things.

Think like God thinks, so you can be the person He wants you to be and have all that He wants you to have.

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Choose Joy!

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“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10

Friend to Friend

Jesus lived and died so that we can experience abundant life, a life exuding joy, and a life so full that others crave to know the source of that fullness. Jesus did not come so that we can merely survive life. Pagans can survive life. Jesus came to be our joy.

I came across this quote: “Joy is the flag that flies above the castle of our hearts indicating that the King reigns within.” If that is true, then why are so many women living lives with little or no joy? I’m afraid that we have bought the lies of the enemy, allowing him to steal our joy. Discouragement, weariness, disillusionment, shattered dreams, and unrealized goals are some of his favorite weapons, but the truth is that the enemy can only use what we allow him to use.

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