Tag Archives: Prayer

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Love Does Not Depend on Us

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“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

When God inspired Jeremiah to write these words, He meant them for the whole nation of Israel, not only Jeremiah. And when He gave the people of Israel this message, many of them were living lives that did not please Him. Some of them were even worshipping idols instead of God, but He still loved them and promised to keep on loving them forever.

Many of us seem to think that we must somehow earn God’s love by doing things that make Him happy. But that kind of thinking is wrong. Yes, God is pleased when we choose to obey His commands and follow the principles He has given in His Word. But His love for us does not change because of things we do or don’t do. If you are God’s child, He loves you now, will love you tomorrow, and the next day, and forever – because of Who He is, not because of the way you behave.

Chelsea had a hamster named Rascal, and his name was all too fitting. Rascal was always trying to escape from his cage! Often, he would bite Chelsea and anyone else who tried to hold him or pet him. One time, Chelsea worked hard to earn some money so she could buy Rascal a special ball for his cage. Because he tried to get out so much, she thought he would like to have the freedom to run around inside the ball. But after Chelsea had spent all her hard-earned money to buy him this gift, Rascal just sat still in the ball, refusing even to budge.

Chelsea’s family watched all that she did for Rascal – cleaning out his cage, buying toys for him, spending time with him, holding and petting him (when he would let her), and often getting bitten or scratched for all her efforts. They told her that Rascal was just not a good pet. In fact, Chelsea’s mother offered to take Rascal back to the pet store and see if they would give her a different hamster, one that would respond better to all that Chelsea tried to do for him. But Chelsea said, “No.” You see, Chelsea loved Rascal. Her love for Rascal did not depend on his being lovable, or upon his loving her back.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Preach the Gospel to Yourself

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1

“I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.”

To preach the Gospel to yourself means that you continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith in his shed blood and righteous life. It means that you appropriate, again by faith, the fact that Jesus fully satisfied the law of God. In both its precepts and penalty, he fulfilled the law of God in its most exacting requirements. And he did this in our place as our representative and our substitute. He is your propitiation, so that God’s holy wrath is no longer directed toward you.

To preach the Gospel to yourself means that you take at face value the precious words of Romans 4:7-8: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” You believe on the testimony of God: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). You believe that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). You believe he forgave you all your sins (Colossians 2:13), that he reconciled you “to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22).

To preach the Gospel to yourself means you appropriate by faith the words of Isaiah 53:6: “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” It means you dwell upon the promise that God has removed your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), that he has blotted out your transgressions and remembers your sin no more (Isaiah 43:25). (Excerpt taken from The Discipline of Grace)

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Satan’s Lies

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Today’s Scripture: Genesis 3-5

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked… He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. – Psalm 1:1,3

The greatest lie ever told comes at the beginning of the saddest story ever written. “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat [this fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). Adam and Eve believed the lie and ate the only fruit God had kept from them.

As Genesis 3 opens, we see our first parents enjoying a life of fellowship with God in a garden home filled with His abundant provision. They were holy. They were experiencing the grace and blessing of God. Everything that surrounded them was good. But in one devastating stroke, the scene changes.

The apostle Paul gives the summary: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

There is one primary lesson in these chapters. Holiness, not sin, brings happiness. Let me repeat that. As long as Adam and Eve were walking with God in the unbroken fellowship of a holy life, they were happy. Now, how could they turn their backs on God? It seemed so senseless and absurd for them to think they could improve on what God had done.

Before it’s experienced, the life of sin appears attractive, exciting, colorful, and everything you could desire. And the life of holiness appears drab, dull, and unattractive. But once the life of sin is experienced, what you desired and embraced turns to ashes.

Prayer

Lord, help me to remember that sin never delivers what it promises, and that my greatest joy will be in the pursuit of holiness. Amen.

To Ponder

Satan’s basic lie in his war against mankind is that we can improve our lives by disobeying God.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Opening Darwin’s Black Box: Behe’s Bestseller Turns 20

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“On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.” It was a mouthful of a title too typical of Victorian-era authors. But Charles Darwin’s magnum opus, more commonly known as “On the Origin of Species,” belongs on any list of books that made our world what it is today.

What many don’t realize is that the father of evolutionary theory showed a great deal of humility and openness to criticism. In one famous passage, Darwin wrote that, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” He immediately added that to his knowledge, there were no such examples.

What Darwin gave us here was a criterion by which his theory could be falsified, teeing up future scientists to reevaluate his conclusions. And in 1996, one biochemist did just that.

Lehigh University professor Michael Behe has spent his career peering through a microscope at the inner workings of cells—workings about which Darwin, writing in the 1850s, could only speculate. In his 1996 book, “Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution,” Behe explained how Darwin’s inability to see inside the cell kept him from witnessing mechanisms and processes which could not possibly have been formed through “numerous, successive, slight modifications.”

Organelles like the flagellum—a microscopic “outboard motor” which many bacteria use for propulsion—exhibit what Behe describes as “irreducible complexity.” In other words, these tiny machines—complete with drive shafts, bushings, universal joints, and propellers—have exactly the correct configuration of parts to perform a specific function. They could not have evolved from simpler mechanisms with fewer parts, because such mechanisms would be either useless or detrimental, in which case natural selection would weed them out.

As scientists gain ever more detailed access to the inner workings of cells, the case against Darwinism from irreducible complexity only becomes stronger. And the intelligent design movement—a community that considers Behe a founding father—continues to question the viability of materialistic evolution on the basis of his reasoning.

To make Behe’s meticulous arguments more accessible to the public, the folks at the Discovery Institute have just produced a documentary summarizing “Darwin’s Black Box.” It’s called “Revolutionary,” a tribute to the fact that Behe’s book forever changed the way we think about evolution. It also documents how, as David Klinghoffer writes at Evolution News and Views, “Black Box” sparked a public debate that rages to this day.

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Opening Darwin’s Black Box: Behe’s Bestseller Turns 20 →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – GOD PROVIDES JUSTICE, SO DON’T FRET

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Read PSALM 37:1–13

In God’s Prayer Book: The Power and Pleasure of Praying the Psalms, Ben Patterson wrote about Psalm 37: “This psalm could be really irritating,” because when we think we have good reason to be upset, we don’t want to be told to calm down. “However, this psalm is a powerful tool against worry and rage in the face of evil. . . . [I]t insists on the same few basic ideas over and over again: God will bring about justice for his people in his own way.”

Injustice would seem to be a legitimate reason for anger and worry. But even in a good cause, sinful anger and worry are still sinful (v. 8). Fretting about such things is misplaced envy (v. 1). Whatever success or advantages the wicked seem to enjoy at the moment are an illusion. “They will soon wither” and “die away” (vv. 2, 9–10). They have “no future hope” (Prov. 24:19–20). They do not pose any real threat. In fact, God laughs at them, “for he knows their day is coming” (vv. 12–13).

Therefore, the central question remains one of faith: Do we trust God to provide? Will He right wrongs and accomplish justice? If the answer is yes, why do we persist in worrying? Instead of being anxious, we should trust and delight in the Lord (vv. 3–4). We should commit and submit our ways to Him (v. 5). We should “be still” in His presence and wait for Him to act (v. 7).

Godly waiting is patient, not passive— this is not an excuse for inaction. The point is that when we put our hope in the Lord rather than in ourselves (v. 9), He will vindicate and reward us (v. 6). Meekness, then, is about humble dependence on God. As Jesus also taught, “the meek will inherit the land” (v. 11; see Matt. 5:5).

APPLY THE WORD

Whatever you’re facing today, why not take a few extra minutes to “be still” before the Lord (v. 7)? “Being still” carries the ideas of patience, calmness, peace, faith, and reverence. Stop clamoring. Pause your thoughts. Turn off your smartphone. Remember that He is sovereign over all peoples and all of history. He invented justice!

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Stranded cows and Bruce Springsteen

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Congratulations—you survived last night’s “perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system.” This is the technical term for the closest full moon our planet has experienced since 1948, a phenomenon known as the “Supermoon.”

What happened to you as a result? Your body experienced a rise in lunar pull equivalent to about 1/9th the mass of a paper clip. I doubt you noticed. Studies also show that, contrary to folklore, you weren’t at greater risk for epilepsy, psychiatric trauma, or an emergency room visit.

Nonetheless, it would be easy to think that something strange is happening these days. Three cows in New Zealand were stranded by earthquakes and had to be rescued. Similarly, Bruce Springsteen’s motorcycle broke down last Friday, and he had to be rescued by a group of bikers returning from a Veteran’s Day ceremony.

Especially troubling is what The Washington Post calls “the post-election hate spike.” More than any election I can remember, this campaign has left many in our country bitterly divided against those with whom they disagree.

In light of such vitriol, a perceptive reader reminded me of a relevant insight from C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters. This classic book contains advice from a senior tempter to his apprentice. Its backward logic brilliantly unmasks some of Satan’s most subtle strategies. Consider this example:

“Be sure that the patient [the person being tempted] remains completely fixated on politics. Arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people they have never met serves as an excellent distraction from advancing in personal virtue, character, and the things the patient can control. Make sure to keep the patient in a constant state of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards the rest of the human race in order to avoid any kind of charity or inner peace from further developing. Ensure the patient continues to believe that the problem is ‘out there’ in the ‘broken system’ rather than recognizing there is a problem with himself.”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God Knows Your Needs

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Matthew 6:7-8

I remember once watching a mother and marveling at her mastery in handling several energetic young children. It was an amazing sight. In the midst of a whirlwind of activity, this seasoned pro intuitively met the needs of her kids. A meal was served, spills were averted, noses were wiped, shoelaces were tied, hugs were distributed—all at the same time! Clearly, such a parent knows the needs of her family, even when the children cannot express them.

Sometimes it is difficult for us to think of ourselves as children. When we see little ones running around, always needing something from us, we cannot imagine that we often look and act the same way, only in grown-up bodies. Fortunately, we also have a Parent who already knows our needs. And yet we frequently act as though we must explain every detail of our problems to the Lord so He can get a more accurate view of how to provide for us.

Isn’t it strange? If you asked most Christians whether they thought God was all-knowing, they would respond, “Of course!” However, if you could listen in when they pray, you would probably often discover long, complicated explanations of why they need His help.

God does want you to talk with Him about what is on your heart. But at the same time, remember that “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). Therefore, do not spend all of your prayer time repeating yourself or explaining everything in unnecessary detail to God. For a change, simply ask Him to speak to your listening heart. Remember, He’s already got the answer. Give Him the opportunity to share it with you.

Bible in One Year: Acts 12-13

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — All Together Now

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Read: Romans 15:1–7

Bible in a Year: Lamentations 3–5; Hebrews 10:19–39

With one mind and one voice . . . glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.—Romans 15:6

While Nicholas Taylor was boarding a train in Perth, Australia, his leg became wedged in the gap between the platform and a commuter car. When safety officials could not free him, they coordinated the efforts of nearly 50 passengers who lined up and, on the count of three, pushed against the train. Working in unison, they shifted the weight just enough to free Taylor’s leg.

The apostle Paul recognized the power of Christians working together in many of his letters to the early churches. He urged the Roman believers to accept each other the way Christ had accepted them and said, “[May God] give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:5-6).

Unity with other believers enables us to broadcast God’s greatness and also helps us to endure persecution. Knowing that the Philippians would pay a price for their faith, Paul encouraged them to strive “together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you” (Phil. 1:27-28).

Satan loves to divide and conquer, but his efforts fail when, with God’s help, we “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Dear God, please let Christians everywhere experience the blessing of unity in You. Remind us of what we have in common: one hope, one faith, and one Lord—Jesus Christ.

Our unity comes from our union with Christ.

INSIGHT: The Roman believers were in need of building on the sense of unity they enjoyed. Our reading for today concludes on an essential ingredient in interpersonal relationships, that of acceptance. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Certainly a subtle sensing of rejection will inhibit all healthy relationships. We are to accept others as Christ has accepted us Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – On the Outskirts

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I have not spent much of my life as a foreigner, though my relatively short bouts with being a cultural outsider remind me of the difficulty of always feeling on the outside of the circle. Just as the distance between outside and inside seems to be closing, something happens or something is said and you are reminded again that you do not really belong. On a visit with Wellspring International to Northern Uganda some years ago, the thought never left us. Everywhere the director and I went, children seemed to sing of “munos,” a term essentially (and affectionately) meaning “whiteys.” It made us smile every time we heard it. But even when communicated playfully, it can be both humbling and humiliating to always carry with you the sober thought: I am out of place. I am an outsider.

The book of Ruth scarcely neglects an opportunity to point out this reality. Long after hearers of the story are well acquainted with who Ruth is and where she is from, long after she is living in Judah, she continues to be referred to as “Ruth the Moabite” or even merely “the Moabite woman.” Her perpetual status as an outsider brings to mind the vision of Keats and the “song that found a path/ through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home/ She stood in tears amid the alien corn.”

And yet, while Ruth was undoubtedly as aware of being the foreigner as much as those around her were aware of it, she did nothing to suggest a longing to return to Moab. Her words and actions in Judah are as steadfast as her initial vow to Naomi: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17a). This is Ruth’s pledge to her mother-in-law, repeatedly.

In these early pages of the story, little is known about Naomi’s God or her people. The brief mention of each comes as a distant report: “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food” (1:6). Moreover, Naomi’s first mention of the God of her people holds a similar sense of detachment. Though she recognizes God’s sovereignty over her situation, it is blurred with bitterness: “The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. For I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty” (1:20-21). Her description was hardly a compelling glimpse for the outsider looking in.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Motive for True Wisdom

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“The wisdom from above is first pure” (James 3:17).

A pure life is necessary for a wise life.

A person whose life is characterized by true wisdom will seek to be pure. The Greek word translated “pure” in James 3:17 refers to spiritual integrity and moral sincerity. It is freedom from bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, and arrogant self-promotion. Christ is the perfect example of purity (1 John 3:3).

A true believer will have pure desires. The deepest part of him desires to do God’s will, serve God, and love God. In Romans 7:15-21 the apostle Paul testifies that when he sinned, he was doing what he didn’t want to do. In Psalm 51:7 David cries out, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” The true believer hates his sin. Rising out of his innermost being is a longing for what is clean, pure, holy, and honest.

Purity of heart is the motive of someone who seeks to live a life of godly wisdom (cf. Ps. 24:3-4). God says he will “take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19); that new heart will be consumed with purity rather than self. You do still sin because your new heart is incarcerated in your old flesh. But your new heart fights against your flesh. That’s why Paul said, “I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom. 7:22-23).

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). As you persevere in battle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil, be encouraged by reminding yourself that one day the fight will be finished. The apostle John said it this way: “We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Suggestions for Prayer

Read Psalm 51:1-17, making David’s prayer your own.

For Further Study

According to Matthew 5:48 and 1 Peter 1:15-16, what is God’s standard of purity?

 

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Finish Well 

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Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” Revelation 14:13

God is not looking for perfection, but He does desire passion for Himself and obedience to His word. People—who have decided to take control themselves, do not finish well. They act as if they have a better plan than God. This type of decision-making process will have limited, if any, success in the Lord’s eyes. So, does it mean we will have no regrets when we finish well? No.

It’s like a lifelong race—a marathon. Jesus is at the finish line, and as you run an eternal entourage of people who have been faithful before you—surrounds you. Your Savior and His saints are praying for you and encouraging you to finish well—this is His will. Don’t lose heart or become proud of heart. Keep your focus on the ultimate destination: the prize of Christ’s commendation that awaits you. Die in the Lord and you will live eternally with the Lord.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Along the race of life you will encounter difficulty. You will tire and need rest. You will have stretches of road that you run alone and feel like quitting. Other times the race will seem like an uphill battle with every muscle in your body screaming for attention. But thankfully, there are times of refreshment and rejuvenation. After you have run up a hill of hope, there is an opportunity to enjoy the righteous run down the other side. Finishing well thrives in the presence of God. Intimacy with Him positions you to hear His voice and obey Him.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – “We Made a Decision”

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So I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to me, “Arise and go….”

Acts 22:10

Recommended Reading

Acts 22:6-16

In his autobiography, Our Incredible Journey, Word of Life co-founder Harry Bollback and his wife, Millie, wrote about their years of missionary service in Brazil, where they lived in very primitive circumstances. “Living under these conditions was truly difficult,” Harry wrote. “But neither of us thought of it as being hard at the time. We had made a decision to serve the Lord, and we were just doing what we thought the Lord would have us do. We were enjoying the good hand of God’s blessings.”

In Acts 22, the apostle Paul recounted his conversion for the Jewish Ruling Counsel. He told them of the light that blinded him on the Damascus Road, and he recounted the two questions he asked God: “Who are You, Lord?” (verse 8) and “What shall I do, Lord?” (verse 10)

When we come to Christ for salvation, we then ask, “What do You want me to do?” We just need to have a submissive spirit to His guidance, and He’ll use us in ways beyond our expectation.

I’m convinced that when you are serving the Lord, there is never a question of sacrifice. It’s just doing what we are supposed to be doing for His glory. You don’t think of the sacrifice—you think of your mission.

Harry Bollback

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Acts 8 – 9

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be a Good Example

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Teach what is fitting and becoming to sound (wholesome) doctrine [the character and right living that identify true Christians].—Titus 2:1

Being a Christian is not so much a matter of doing as it is of being. When you’re willing to get out there and shine, you’ll eventually swallow up the darkness in your realm of influence.

God anoints normal, everyday people to live supernaturally in a frustrating world. He wants you to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. He wants you to stop just telling people Jesus loves them and start letting Jesus flow through you to meet their needs.

The best way to show the love of Christ is by example. People in the world want to see Christians who live what they preach and teach.

You can be a shining example of a victorious Christian, and that’s the best way to “teach what it fitting.”

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Attitude Check

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Today’s Truth

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

Proverbs 11:3

Friend to Friend

On a recent flight, I was thumbing through a magazine someone left behind when the title of an article caught my eye. “Image is everything” the author declared. For a few seconds, I found myself actually agreeing with the author’s statement.

And then the Holy Spirit whispered, “Attitude check!” I knew what that meant. I needed to straighten up and pay attention because something was wrong. And then I saw it – the subtle lie expertly hidden in the seemingly benign words. It was from the pit and smelled like smoke!

As followers of Christ, we sometimes focus on developing and presenting the right image while neglecting the spiritual discipline of integrity. What we wear, how we look, the people we know, or even how big we can grow our ministry platform gets in the way of loving God, serving God, and becoming more like God.

Oh, friend, Satan is one sneaky dude! But remember that he is the Father of lies. It is his native language, and he speaks it well. Do not miss these two very important truths about integrity.

Our public lives are only as authentic as our private lives.

Image is who and what people think we are, while integrity is who and what we really are.

Billy Graham once said, “Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.”

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Abundant, Supernatural Life

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“Even so, consider yourself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11, NAS).

My friend Randy had given up on the Christian life. He said, “I have tried, but failed so many times; nothing seems to work. God doesn’t hear my prayers, and I am tired of trying. I’ve read the Bible, prayed, memorized Scripture, and gone to church. But there is no joy and I don’t see any purpose in continuing a life of shame and hypocrisy, pretending I am something that I’m not.”

After listening to his account of his many failures and defeats, I began to explain the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He interrupted me with, “I know all about the Holy Spirit. I’ve read everything I can find, everything you and others have written – and nothing works for me.”

My thoughts turned to Romans, chapter 6. I asked him, “Randy, are you sure you’re a Christian?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m sure.”

“How do you know?”

“By faith,” he responded. “The Scripture promises, ‘For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it’s a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.’ I know I’m saved.”

“Why,” I asked him, “do you trust God for your salvation, but do not believe in His other promises concerning your rights as a child of God?”

I began to read from Romans 6 and reminded Randy that every believer has available to him the mighty, supernatural power of the risen Christ. With the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the believer can live that supernatural life simply by claiming his rights through an act of his will. The same Holy Spirit who inspired Ephesians 2:8 and 9 inspired Romans 6, and, by faith, we can claim that sin no longer has control over us and that the mighty power of the resurrection is available as promised.

That day, God touched Randy’s life, his spiritual eyes were opened and he began, by faith, to live in accordance with his God-given heritage.

Bible Reading: Romans 6:12-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today, by faith, I will claim the truths of Romans 6. As an act of my will, I surrender the members of my body as instruments of righteousness unto God, to live that abundant, supernatural life, which is my heritage in Christ. Enabled by the Holy Spirit, I will encourage other believers to claim their kingdom rights, and non-believers to join this adventure with the risen Savior

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Tax Day

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Read: Romans 13:6-7

Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:7

Here the apostle is dealing with our actual response to what these demands of government are. We haven’t the right to withhold taxes if the government doesn’t use them quite the way we think they should. Governments are made up of fallible men and women just like us, and we can’t demand that the government always handle everything perfectly. Therefore what Paul wrote to these Romans, who had the same problems we have about taxes, was, If you owe taxes, pay them.

The point the apostle is making clearly is: Don’t resent these powers of government. This is all set within the context of Paul’s word in Chapter 12, Be not conformed to this present age, (Romans 12:2a). Don’t act like everybody else acts about taxes. The world grumbles and gripes and groans at paying taxes. You have a right, of course, as does everyone, to protest injustice and to correct abuse. There is no question about that. But don’t forever be grumbling about the taxes that you have to pay.

I don’t hold up any defense for the gross injustices that prevail in our American system. But the very fact that we can meet for worship and don’t have to hide behind closed doors, the very fact that we have relative freedom from attack when we walk about is due to the existence of a government that God has brought into being. I want to make every effort I can, as a good citizen, to improve it and to see that it does things better. But we can thank God for the privilege of paying our taxes. This is what the apostle is after. He wants us to have a different attitude than the world around us about these matters. We are not to come on with gimlet-eyed fanaticism, attacking the government and seeking to overthrow it because it doesn’t behave quite as we think it ought. But rather, we are to understand that God has brought it into being, and he will change it if the hearts of the people of the land warrant that.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Tax Day →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Blessed Are the Persecuted

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Read: Matthew 5:10-12

Blessed are you when others . . . persecute you . . . on my account. (v. 11)

“Blessing” and “persecution” don’t sound like they belong in the same sentence. But Jesus puts them there.

I have an Iranian acquaintance who as a young university student was disturbed by the injustice and inequality of the Shah’s regime. He joined the Communist party to work for revolution. He was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured by the Shah’s secret police. But when Islamic revolution came to Iran, it turned out to be very different from the Communists’ dream. The new Iran was even more brutal, repressive, and unjust than it had been under the Shah.

Dejected, despairing of the future, wondering if he even wanted to go on living, my friend was sitting on a park bench one day when he noticed a windblown piece of paper at his feet. Glancing down, he saw that it had English words printed on it. It was a page from a Bible. He picked it up and his eyes fell on these words: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” My friend accepted the invitation then and there, and became a follower of Jesus.

Eventually he would go to prison again, this time for the gospel. He told me he found it more enjoyable to be jailed as a Christian than as a Communist. Actually, I don’t think “enjoyable” was the word he used; it was something like “more rewarding.” We do have Jesus’ word on that.

—David Bast

Prayer:

Pray for the church in Iran.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Power of Forgiveness

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David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD’S army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.—2 Samuel 1:11–12

If an enemy who had opposed you for years was finally dealt with, what would be your first thought? I doubt it would be how to show kindness to that person or to members of his or her family. Generally, we want to give the way that we get. If we get hit, we want to hit back—even harder. That is human nature.

But David had made a promise to Saul’s son Jonathan, and he was a man of his word. He would look out for Jonathan’s children and show mercy and kindness to his descendants.

After Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle, there was no king over Israel. David was the rightful king, but the battle continued between the house of David and the house of Saul. Saul had a son named Ishbosheth, and Abner, Saul’s general, made him king. He ignored the fact that God had chosen David as Saul’s successor.

Then Abner and Ishbosheth had an argument, and Abner threatened to defect. Sure enough, he went over to David’s side. But there were problems with that because Joab, David’s general, hated Abner. He couldn’t believe that David would allow Abner into their ranks. This escalated, and Joab ultimately hunted down Abner and killed him.

David was outraged. He was tired of the fighting and wanted it to end. He didn’t want to deal with his enemies in the way they had dealt with him. He wanted to forgive them.

David could have engaged in some big-time payback. But he did the very opposite. Even before all of the experts figured it out, David knew the power of forgiveness.

Was David a perfect man? No. Did he have his flaws? Yes. But God loved David. And He uniquely described him as a man after His own heart.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Quality Obedience

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Peter 2:22

“He committed no sin.”

There are times when our inward desires do not match our outward conduct. We act very proper on the outside, but sin in our hearts. This was never the case with Jesus. Through one of the messianic psalms he could say, “I delight to do your will, o my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). He not only perfectly obeyed the law of God; he always desired to do so and, in fact, delighted in doing it. Once he even said, “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me” (John 4:34, NIV).

If we think about it, we realize that obedience that isn’t delighted in is not perfect obedience. Yet that was the quality of obedience Jesus rendered throughout his life.

In one of his many confrontations with his chief antagonists, the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus could unselfconsciously and without any pretentiousness say, “I always do what pleases [the Father]” (John 8:29, NIV). Such a claim must include not only Jesus’ outward actions and speech, but also his inward thoughts (Psalm 139:1-4). Even more important, it must include his motives, for God not only knows our thoughts but understands our motives as well (1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

A little later in the same confrontation Jesus asked, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46). Jesus dared his critics to name a single sin he had committed, knowing full well how eager they would have been to do so if it were possible.

It’s no wonder that at the beginning of his ministry and again toward the end of it, a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Consider the Consequences

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Today’s Scripture: Genesis 3

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? – Romans 6:16

When someone tells us not to do something, it makes us want to do it all the more, sort of like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Here was a lush, beautiful garden filled to overflowing with wonderful things to eat, and all available for the taking. But there was one tree in the midst of the garden the Lord declared out of bounds. Adam and Eve were not to eat its fruit.

But, of course, they did. Notice this tree and its forbidden fruit were not evil things. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed, they knew they were in big trouble–so big, in fact, that the effects of their sin are still felt today by the entire human race.

Now why do you think these two indulged their appetites on something that was forbidden when they had so many other choices?

We must take very seriously the biblical admonition to be content with our personal lot. Ask the Lord to give you the attitude of the apostle Paul: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11).

Secondly, ask God to give you a healthy fear of the consequences of giving in to the sins of the flesh. I’ve found that temptation makes a sin seem very attractive, but it’s a lie. After I’ve done wrong, the sin that seemed so attractive is disgusting and short-lived.

Prayer

Lord, through your Holy Spirit, I want to be a thoughtful, obedient person who considers the consequences of sin and says “no” instead of letting desire take control. Amen.

To Ponder

Are you content with the life God has given you?

 

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