Tag Archives: Prayer

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – To Outwit the Devil

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God will help us stand against the Devil. He will disclose the craftiness of Satan. But we must regularly consult him in everything. The Scriptures say that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105)…but it doesn’t say it is a spotlight into our future. Our best days come when we learn to hear God’s voice telling us to turn this way or that way. “Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’whether to the right or to the left’” (Isaiah 30:21 NLT).

Like David, we can ask God to “bend low and hear my whispered plea” (Psalm 31:2 TLB). Wait until God speaks before you act. The promise says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8). If you feel a check in your heart, heed it and ask God again. It’s the only way to outwit the Devil’s deceit!

From God is With You Every Day

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Why the Mike Flynn story is so important

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President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the White House yesterday. Then Andrew Puzder withdrew from consideration for Labor Secretary. Most days, such events would dominate today’s news.

However, the media continues to focus on former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who resigned from his position last Monday. Even the conservative Weekly Standard believes that “there will be plenty of questions and revelations about and around Flynn’s resignation over the next days, weeks, months, and likely years.”

Why? What makes his resignation such an important event?

Let’s begin with his personal story. Michael Thomas Flynn served in the United States Army from 1981 to 2014. He was highly decorated, rising to the rank of Lieutenant (three-star) General. On November 18, 2016, Gen. Flynn accepted Donald Trump’s offer to become National Security Advisor, reporting directly to the president on threats to our nation. Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice are among the twenty-four previous occupants of this position.

On January 22, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Flynn was being investigated by US counterintelligence agents over his recent communications with Russian officials. The Washington Post then reported that the Justice Department informed the Trump administration that Flynn misled senior administration officials regarding his communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US. According to the Post, Justice also warned that Flynn was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. On February 13, Flynn resigned from his position after admitting that he failed to adequately inform the administration about his phone calls with Russian officials.

Democrats are calling for an investigation into connections between the Russians and the Trump administration. Republicans are focusing on press leaks that revealed wiretaps reportedly exposing Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak to the FBI. In addition, there are reports that former Obama administration officials worked for months to discredit Flynn and preserve the nuclear deal with Iran.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –How We Respond to a Storm

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2 Chronicles 20:12

If you’ve ever experienced a storm when around other people, you know not everyone responds the same way.

Picture a backyard party where all the guests are having fun, but then the wind picks up. The temperature drops, the sky darkens, and the scent of rain is in the air. Everyone scrambles to grab something and head indoors. Just as the last person rushes in with the potato salad, the skies let go. Inside, people gather into clusters. One group stands at the window, oohing and aahing at the thunder and lightning outside. On the couch, others hug each other or cover their ears; a few jump and shudder with every boom. Another group, chatting away, seems completely oblivious to the weather. Isn’t this a picture of how people react differently to the storms of life?

When it comes to the upheavals we face, our varied responses can have a significant impact down the road. Some people respond in a healthy way and emerge stronger, while others are broken by the challenge.

What accounts for the difference in our response is our view of God. If we see Him as our loving heavenly Father, we’ll understand He has the best possible plan for our life, even if the path is, for a time, through troubled waters. But if we consider Him an obstruction to the goals we’ve set for ourselves, we could miss out on the blessings He has in mind for us.

Storms are unavoidable in life. When one comes your way, the wisest thing you can do is to cry out to Jesus. Won’t you choose to respond with an attitude of trust in the Lord and submission to His way?

Bible in One Year: Numbers 20-22

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Little Lies and Kittens

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Read: Romans 5:12–21

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17–18; Matthew 27:27–50

Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead.—Romans 5:21 NLT

Mom noticed four-year-old Elias as he scurried away from the newborn kittens. She had told him not to touch them. “Did you touch the kitties, Elias?” she asked.

“No!” he said earnestly. So Mom had another question: “Were they soft?”

“Yes,” he volunteered, “and the black one mewed.”

With a toddler, we smile at such duplicity. But Elias’s disobedience underscores our human condition. No one has to teach a four-year-old to lie. “For I was born a sinner,” wrote David in his classic confession, “yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5 nlt). The apostle Paul said: “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Rom. 5:12 nlt). That depressing news applies equally to kings, four-year-olds, and you and me.

But there’s plenty of hope! “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were,” wrote Paul. “But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Rom. 5:20 nlt).

God is not waiting for us to blow it so He can pounce on us. He is in the business of grace, forgiveness, and restoration. We need only recognize that our sin is neither cute nor excusable and come to Him in faith and repentance. —Tim Gustafson

Father, be merciful to me, a sinner.

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

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Truth on Its Head

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G.K. Chesterton took the word “prolific” to a level that, as a writer, simply makes me feel tired. In his lifetime, Chesterton authored over one hundred books and contributed to two hundred others. He penned hundreds of poems, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including the popular Father Brown detective series. He wrote over four thousand newspaper essays, including thirty years worth of weekly columns for The Illustrated London News, and thirteen years of weekly columns for The Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

As one can easily imagine after such an inventory, G.K. Chesterton was always writing—wherever he found himself, and with whatever he could find to write on. So, in the tearoom he scribbled on napkins. On the train, in front of a bank teller, or in the middle of a lecture, he was known to jot hurriedly in a notebook, or even on the cuff of his sleeve.

Chesterton’s eccentric approach to writing, in fact, matched his eccentric approach to life in general. His public image was one out of a Shakespearean comedy. If he were not recognized in the streets of London by the flowing black cape and the wide brimmed top hat he always wore, he was given away instantly by the clamoring of the swordstick he always carried—for nothing more than the romantic notion that he might one day find himself caught up in some adventure where defending himself might become necessary.

He rarely knew, from hour to hour, where he was or where he was supposed to be, what appointment he was to be keeping, or lecture he was to be giving. The story is often told of the time he telegraphed his wife with the note, “Am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?” His faithful wife, Frances, wired back, “Home,” knowing it would be most promising for all involved if she could physically point him in the right direction. Chesterton seemed to live out one of his own clever paradoxes: “One can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place.”

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Wilderness Mentality

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The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. Tum and take up your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites…. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.—Deuteronomy 1:6-8

Those of us who are parents know these words so well: “In a minute. Just a little longer.” We call our children to leave their playing and come inside, but they want just a little more time to stay out with their friends. For now, at least, they’re content playing and don’t want to think about getting cleaned up or eating dinner. It’s always, “Just a little longer”—if we let them. And at times, we adults act a little like those children who cry out, “Just a little longer.”

I’ve met miserable people—those who disliked their lives, hated their jobs, or were in intolerable relationships with the wrong kind of people. They knew they were miserable, but they did nothing about it. “Just a little longer.” A little longer for what? More pain? More discouragement? More unhappiness?

Those are the people who have what I call the wilderness mentality. I want to explain that. Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. If they had obeyed God, stopped their grumbling, and moved straight ahead as God originally told them, they could have made the trip in eleven days. But it took them forty years.

Why did they finally leave? Only because God said, “You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.” If God hadn’t pushed them into the Promised Land, I wonder how long they would have stayed and longed to cross the Jordan.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Reap in Joy

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“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5,6 KJV).

How long has it been since you have shed tears of compassion over those who do not know our Savior as you pray for their salvation? Is God using you to introduce others to Christ? Is your church a center of spiritual harvest? If not, it is likely that you and other members of your church are shedding few tears over the lost.

It is a promise of God that when we go forth with a burdened heart sharing the precious seed of the Word of God, proclaiming that most joyful news ever announced, we can be absolutely assured – beyond a shadow of doubt – that we shall reap the harvests and, in the process, experience the supernatural joy that comes to those who are obedient to God.

It is a divine formula. But where does that burden and compassion for the souls of men originate? In the heart of God. And it is only as men are controlled and impowered by the Holy Spirit of God that there can be that compassion. It is not something that we can work up, not something that we can create in the energy of the flesh, but it is a result of walking in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit, with minds and hearts saturated with the Word of God.

The Old Testament references to sowing are often accompanied by sorrow and anxiety, evidenced by the tears to which the psalmist refers. As a result, the time of reaping is one of inexpressible joy.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 11:27-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will ask the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within me to give me a greater burden of the souls of those around me, so that I may indeed weep genuine tears of compassion as I go forth sowing precious seed. I know that I shall reap abundantly and, in the process, experience the joy which comes to those who obey God by weeping, sowing and reaping.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Your Advocate

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Not all guilt is bad. God uses appropriate doses of guilt to awaken us to sin! We know guilt is God-given when it causes “indignation…alarm…longing…concern…readiness to see justice done” (2 Corinthians 7:11 NIV). God’s guilt brings enough regret to change us. Satan’s guilt, on the other hand, brings enough regret to enslave us. Don’t let him get his shackles on you!

Remember “your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). When he looks at you, he sees Jesus first. In the Chinese language the word for righteousness is a combination of two characters, the figure of a lamb and a person. The lamb is on top, covering the person. Whenever God looks down at you, this is what he sees– the perfect Lamb of God covering you. Do you trust your Advocate or your Accuser?

From God is With You Every Day

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – 5 reasons US will not fall like Rome?

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From the one-day-late news department: scientists have used 3-D mapping to reveal the actual face of St. Valentine. They took photos of his skull, which is kept in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria of Cosmedin, then reconstructed his facial features.

From one facial extreme to the other: a twenty-five-year-old Hitler lookalike has been arrested in Austria. The man, who calls himself Harald Hitler, is charged with glorifying the Nazi era, which is a crime in his country.

I wish this were the only troubling news in today’s news. But it’s not.

The New York Times is reporting today that a science panel has approved editing human embryos to prevent disease or disability. Is this the start of eugenics? Since 2011, the number of violent incidents at churches has doubled. Louisville, Kentucky recently dealt with 151 calls about drug overdoses in a four-day period.

You could be forgiven for wondering if our country is following the fate of so many fallen empires before us. However, writer and filmmaker Paul Ratner disagrees. He has given us “5 Reasons Why America Will Not Collapse Like the Roman Empire.” Here’s his list:

1.    Political instability is here but the US is still a republic.
2.    The economy needs work but is in no danger of a collapse.
3.    The military situation is vastly different.
4.    The US is not in a cultural and social decline.
5.    Technology, not politics will transform the US (and the world).

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Showing Agape Love

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1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Divine love empowers us to respond calmly to difficulties, demonstrate patience in seasons of waiting, and sacrifice without complaint. We offer God’s love when we can:

Forgive others. The son wasted his money in riotous living and discovered both the empty promises and destructive quality of sin. Upon the boy’s return, his father forgave him completely. Love made it possible to wipe away the past (Ps. 103:12).

Act generously. The son, having just fed pigs, arrived at his father’s estate with few expectations. The forgiving dad greeted him most warmly and dressed him in the finest garments. Godly love, which keeps no record of wrongs, enabled the father to show generosity.

Serve joyfully. What a celebration the father had upon the prodigal’s return! His joy in his lost son’s homecoming overflowed to others. Love expresses itself in willing service.

Restore those who fall. The one who both abandoned his father and squandered his inheritance was again given full rights as a son.

When we mess up, our heavenly Father patiently waits for us to turn back to Him. He accepts our repentance, rejoices in our return, and restores intimacy with Him. The elder brother in this parable missed the point because of his self-righteous attitude (1 John 1:8). He didn’t recognize his mistakes or the many times his father had shown him love and forgiveness.

God calls us to a lifestyle of agape love. To whom could you extend the divine love that forgives, restores, and serves with generosity and joy?

Bible in One Year: Numbers 17-19

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Love Revealed

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Read: 1 John 4:9–16

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15–16; Matthew 27:1–26

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.—1 John 4:9

When a series of pink “I love you” signs mysteriously appeared in the town of Welland, Ontario, local reporter Maryanne Firth decided to investigate. Her sleuthing turned up nothing. Weeks later, new signs appeared featuring the name of a local park along with a date and time.

Accompanied by a crowd of curious townspeople, Firth went to the park at the appointed time. There, she met a man wearing a suit who had cleverly concealed his face. Imagine her surprise when he handed her a bouquet and proposed marriage! The mystery man was Ryan St. Denis—her boyfriend. She happily accepted.

St. Denis’s expression of love toward his fiancé may seem a bit over-the-top, but God’s expression of love for us is nothing short of extravagant! “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).

Jesus is not merely a token of love, like a rose passed from one person to another. He is the divine human who willingly gave up His life so that anyone who believes in Him for salvation can have an everlasting covenant relationship with God. Nothing can separate a Christian “from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Dear God, thank You for showing me, in the greatest way possible, that You love me. Help my life to demonstrate my love for You.

We know how much God loves us because He sent His Son to save us.

INSIGHT: In today’s reading the word for love is the Greek noun agape, which speaks of the highest form of love imaginable, a love that seeks the welfare of the other even at great personal cost. John reminds us that the ultimate evidence of God’s love for us is seen in the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf (1 John 4:9). John then says that our response to God’s love should be our self-sacrificing love for one another as fellow Christ-followers (v. 11). His application of God’s love concludes with a reminder that our ability to love one another is dependent upon His love being revealed and “made complete in us” (v. 12). Our expression of the Father’s love for us in our relationships will be a result of what the Holy Spirit is producing in our hearts. To learn more about the love of God, take a look at the Discovery Series booklet God Is Love: Reflections on the Character of God at discoveryseries.org/q0612. Bill Crowder

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Wounds Honored

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Why Won’t God Heal Amputees, a popular website and one-time viral You Tube video, puts forward the basic premise that God doesn’t answer prayer since God has never healed an amputee. By extension, they make the assertion that since God doesn’t heal every person of every infirmity, God does not exist.

While there are obvious false assumptions made about God, prayer, and healing (how does one know that in the whole world God has not healed an amputee, for starters) many interesting questions are raised for those who believe in both God and prayer. Those who do pray for healing often fail to experience it in the way they expect—healing rarely parallels a conventional or traditional sense of that word. Loved ones die of cancer, friends are killed in car accidents, economic catastrophe befalls even the most frugal, and people in much of the developing world die from diseases long cured in the West. Beyond the realm of physical healing, many experience emotional and psychological trauma that leave open and festering wounds. Or, there are those perpetual personality ticks and quirks that seem beyond the reach of the supernatural. Given all of this contrary experience, what does it mean to receive healing, and should one hold out hope that healing can come in this world? Specifically, for those who pray, and for those who believe that God does heal, how might the persistence of wounds—psychological, emotional and physical—be understood?

In a recent New York Times article, Marcia Mount Shoop writes of her horrific rape as a fifteen year old girl.(1) As the descendant of three generations of ministers she ran to the safest place she knew after suffering this horrific trauma—the church. Yet as she stood amid the congregants singing hymns and reciting creeds, she felt no relief. Even her favorite verse from Romans, ‘and we know that in all things God works for good with those who love him’ sounded hollow and brought little comfort. How could she ever be healed or experience ‘good’ after this horrific act of violence?

Once at home, alone with the secret of her rape, Marcia Shoop found something that enabled her to survive. “I felt Jesus so close,” she recalled in an interview. “It wasn’t the same Jesus I experienced at church. It was this tiny, audible whisper that said, ‘I know what happened. I understand.’ And it kept me alive, that frayed little thread.”(2)

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Bless Somebody

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And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.—Galatians 6:9

The Word says, Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually] (Romans 15:2).

This tells me that we need to have our mind full of ways to bless people. Early in the day, think up something you want to do to bless someone. Think up something you can do to surprise somebody or to make somebody happy. You will be amazed at how quickly the Lord leads you to something good you can do for someone. Joy comes from giving on His behalf.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Deliverance from Fears

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“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4, KJV).

Susie seemed outwardly to be a well-poised, lovely young wife and mother with everything under control. She was active in her church and attended other Christian gatherings during the week. But secretly she was filled with fear from which psychologists and psychiatrists with whom she consulted were unable to set her free.

She became very discouraged and depressed. “What can I do?” she asked through her tears. “I have everything to live for and no real reason to be afraid, but my days are consumed with worry and dread and fear, as I anticipate all kinds of evil things happening to me, to my husband , to my children.”

“Do you believe that God in heaven has the power to remove your fears, Susie?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” she replied.

“Do you believe He loves you?”

“Yes, I believe that.”

“Do you believe He wants to remove that fear from you?” And I read her the above passage.

We turned together to 1 John 5:14, 15: “If we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears and answers.” This is the promise that every believer can claim whenever there is a command or another promise. I asked her if she would like to join with me in a prayer of faith that God would deliver her according to this promise.

Together we prayed, and though there was no immediate, dramatic deliverance, with the passing of days God set her free. Day after day she claimed by faith this and other promises from God’s holy, inspired Word.

Are you plagued with fears? Are your days consumed with worry? Saturate your mind with God’s truth — God’s supernatural promises – and begin to claim by faith this supernatural life which is your heritage in Christ.

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-7

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: At the first sign of a fear in my life, I will commit it to the Lord and trust Him for deliverance, and I will seek to help others whose hearts are filled with fear. I will seek to introduce them to the Prince of Peace – the God of all comfort.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – A Different Approach

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Pigeonholing permits us to wash our hands and leave. As long as we can categorize people, place them in labeled boxes, we can dismiss them. “Oh, I know John. He’s an alcoholic.” Translation: Why can’t he control himself? Categorizing others creates distance and gives us a convenient strategy for avoiding involvement.

Jesus was all about including people. “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 MSG). His Facebook page included the likes of Zacchaeus the Ponzimeister and Matthew the IRS agent. Jesus spent thirty-three years walking in the mess of this world. The Scriptures say, “When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity, took on the status of a slave, and became human!” (Philippians 2:6-7 MSG). His example sends this message, Don’t call any person unfit!

From God is With You Every Day

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Denison Forum – Where we will spend $4.3 billion today

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Today is Valentine’s Day. To celebrate the holiday, Americans will spend $4.3 billion on jewelry, $2 billion on flowers, $1.9 billion on clothes, $1.7 billion on candy, $1.4 billion on gift cards, and nearly $1 billion on greeting cards. Today’s news is filled with stories of love appropriate for the holiday.

Not everything in the news is good news, however.

This Vogue article grieves me: “What to Get a Friend Post-Abortion.” The article pictures two teenage girls smiling and acting as though they are congratulating each other. What follows is an assortment of T-shirts, poetry, and other gifts. Among them is an invitation from Planned Parenthood to become an escort for other women who choose abortion. The nation’s leading abortion provider promises that “one day this won’t seem like such a big deal.”

It’s easy to see Valentine’s Day as a momentary respite from a culture that is sliding ever further from biblical morality. But it’s always too soon to give up on God.

Remember the story of Joseph: his brothers sold him into slavery out of anger at his dreams of superiority over them. Fast-forward thirteen years. Joseph is now second-in-command in Egypt, the greatest superpower in the world. His brothers have come to him for food in a time of famine. They do not recognize him, but he knows them.

To test them, he has his personal cup placed in the sack of Benjamin, their youngest brother. They are arrested and brought before him. He offers to keep Benjamin as his servant and free the rest.

The brothers he knew thirteen years ago would gladly have traded their younger brother for their freedom. The Joseph they knew would gladly have forced them into his service.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Power of Love

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Luke 15:11-32

In Jesus’ day, three Greek words were used to express “love”—eros (physical intimacy), philia (friendship), and agape (fruit produced by the Holy Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23). Our heavenly Father cares for us with agape love, and to bring us into a right relationship with Him, He sacrificed His Son (1 John 4:10).

The parable of the prodigal son gives us a good example of this type of love. Agape is evident in our life when we:

Respond calmly to difficulties. To the son’s untimely demand for his share of the inheritance, the father didn’t reply with angry words about ungrateful children. Though the prodigal’s attitude must have caused pain, the man held his tongue and did not retaliate. In calmness, he could think more clearly and chose to love (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

Sacrifice without complaint. Though he knew his son was committed to a ruinous course, the father quietly fulfilled the request. In doing so, he chose the way of love, directing his efforts towards preserving their relationship.

Wait patiently. Out of deep affection, the father let his son leave and stay away. What heartache the man must have felt! Yet he remained hopeful and waited for the young man to recognize that sin cannot deliver what it has promised. This patient response is possible only through the power of agape love (1 Corinthians 13:4).

The Holy Spirit’s work in our life empowers us to show selfless and sacrificial devotion to the development of another person. In that way, we become people who respond calmly, patiently, and without complaint. Which kind of emotion do you offer to others—human or divine?

Bible in One Year: Numbers 14-16

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Death of Doubt

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Read: John 11:1–16

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51–75

Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.—John 20:25

We know him as Doubting Thomas (see John 20:24-29), but the label isn’t entirely fair. After all, how many of us would have believed that our executed leader had been resurrected? We might just as well call him “Courageous Thomas.” After all, Thomas displayed impressive courage as Jesus moved purposefully into the events leading to His death.

At the death of Lazarus, Jesus had said, “Let us go back to Judea” (John 11:7), prompting a protest from the disciples. “Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” (v. 8). It was Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (v. 16).

Thomas’s intentions proved nobler than his actions. Upon Jesus’s arrest, Thomas fled with the rest (Matt. 26:56), leaving Peter and John to accompany Christ to the courtyard of the high priest. Only John followed Jesus all the way to the cross.

Despite having witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:38-44), Thomas still could not bring himself to believe that the crucified Lord had conquered death. Not until Thomas the doubter—the human—saw the risen Lord, could he exclaim, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Jesus’s response gave assurance to the doubter and immeasurable comfort to us: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v. 29). —Tim Gustafson

Father, teach us to act on what we do know about You and Your goodness, and trust You in faith for what we don’t know.

Real doubt searches for the light; unbelief is content with the darkness.

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Breaking In

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The hometown of Jesus was a small village tucked between the hills of the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean, located away from the main centers of the population. One of the disciples describes the first time Jesus visited his hometown after he had become a public figure. His public ministry had, up until then, been based largely in Capernaum.

The townspeople had undoubtedly heard stories. Whispers of miracles and strange events were being reported from neighboring cities. His teaching was being called different, holding a different sort of authority among rabbis. I imagine the people of his hometown took a proud interest in all of the murmuring, anxious to see why everyone was talking about their Jesus, anxious to claim him as their own. Now he was coming back home and they were excited about it. Invitations to teach in the synagogue were usually extended to distinguished visitors; he was, no doubt, in many eyes, the local boy done good, and now they would see for themselves.

According to Mark they were not disappointed. In fact, he reports, “they were astounded.”(1) Making reference to the wisdom they heard and power they beheld, they clearly took notice that he was a man out of the ordinary. And yet, they couldn’t take the man at face value, for it was not just any man; it was Jesus. They could not get past the fact that this seeming authority in front of them was Mary’s son, the carpenter, the boy next door. And so Mark notes, they “took offense” at him, stumbling over the commonality of the extraordinary one before them, the insider they would not see released.(2)

During his tenure as a professor at Magdalen College in Oxford, C.S. Lewis delivered a memorial oration to the students of King’s College, the University of London. It was titled, “The Inner Ring.” Addressing his young audience as “the middle-aged moralist,” Lewis warned: “Of all passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things.”(3)

Lewis spoke of the natural desire to find ourselves a part of the inner circles that exist endlessly and tauntingly throughout life. He cautioned about the consuming ambition to be an insider, and not an outsider, though the lines we chase are invisible, and the circle is never as charming from within as it looks from without. Like the taunting mirage the weary traveler chases through the desert, the quest for the Inner Ring will break your heart unless you break it, he insisted. For “it is the mark of a very perverse desire that seeks what can not be had.”(4)

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Are God’s Favorite

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Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. —Psalm 17:8

What does it mean to be a favorite? It means to be particularly favored, esteemed, and preferred. It means to enjoy special attention, personal affection, and preferential treatment, even without being deserving of it. There is nothing about you or me or anyone else that can cause us to become God’s favorite. He chooses us for that place of honor and esteem by an act of His sovereign grace. All we can do is receive His gracious gift in an attitude of thanksgiving and humility.

Now when I talk about being the favorite of God, I must make something clear. Because God is God of all His creation, and because He has a personal relationship with each one of His children, He can say to every single one of us at the same time, and sincerely mean it, “You are the apple of My eye; you are My favorite child.”

It took a while for me to come to understand that truth. In fact, at first I was afraid to believe it. It was hard for me to imagine myself as God’s favorite, even though that is what He was telling me I was.

But then I began to realize that it is what He tells each of His children. He wants to say it to anyone who will believe it, accept it, and walk in it. God assures each of us that we are His favorite child, because He wants us to be secure in who we are in Christ Jesus so that we will have the confidence and assurance we need to walk victoriously through this life drawing others to share with us in His marvelous grace.

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org