Tag Archives: Prayer

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Perfect Peace

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You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.—Isaiah 26:3

I remember asking Billy Graham a number of years ago about what he experienced when he gave the invitation for people to come to Christ at a crusade. He said, “When I am preaching and giving the invitation, I feel like power is draining out of me.” I understand that, because it is a spiritual battle that rages on. When we are serving the Lord, it can be draining in many ways. It can even be draining spiritually.

Jesus, who was fully God, also was fully man. That means He was human just like you and me. He felt pain. He felt sorrow. He felt hunger. And He could feel weary from a hard day’s work. In Matthew 8, we read that Jesus, tired after a day of ministry, was sleeping soundly. He and the disciples were on a very primitive wooden boat, being tossed back and forth like a cork in the ocean.

How do you sleep in a storm like that? You can sleep in a storm when you’re confident in the will of God. In other words, you know you’re doing what you should be doing. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Sometimes the worries and pressures of life keep us awake at night. When this happens to me, I’ll pray about it and say, “Lord, I can’t worry about this for a while, so I’m going to let You worry about it. I’m going to get some shut-eye.” I’m being humorous, of course, because I know God isn’t going to worry about it. But I’m entrusting the matter to Him. That is what we need to do when we’re tired and overwhelmed by worry. We need to cry out to God.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Sanctifies Us

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“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (John 17:16-19)

What does it mean to “sanctify” something? “Sanctify” means to clean up something, to set something apart as special or for special use, to make it appropriate for a special purpose. The word “sanctify” has the idea of making something holy, purifying it, setting it apart for a special spiritual purpose.

Have you ever been in a stable? It is not especially clean, is it? There are animals in stables, and all the things that go along with animals – their food, the way they smell, the dirt that they get on them. Stables, even when they have been cleaned out, are not exactly clean! But they are clean enough for their purpose – to be a house for animals like cows and horses.

Have you ever been to the mother-baby floor of a hospital? There is a very special nursery room for the newborn babies there. It is a room set apart for them, and it is always kept 100% spic-and-span clean. Why? Because babies pick up germs and sicknesses very easily. It is important to keep germs away from them until they grow strong and healthy enough to fight off sicknesses. This room is so set apart that normal people (non-nurses and non-babies) have to wear special robes to go in there and sit with the babies. Sometimes they have to wear masks. Normal people would look funny wearing masks and robes in a supermarket or at the library – but in a hospital nursery, we do not think it is strange. It is appropriate and right to be careful around babies in a hospital nursery. That room is set apart just for them.

Now, even though Jesus was born in a stable, we would probably never dream of putting a newborn baby in a stable under normal circumstances. Even the cleanest of stables will still have germs and weird smells – and no nurses or masks or robes! So what made the stable where Jesus was born a good enough stable for His birth to happen in? Well, that stable was special because God, in His sovereign wisdom and power, had prepared it and set it apart for the birth of His Son. By itself, that stable would have been just as dirty and smelly – and as inappropriate for a nursery – as any other dirty and smelly stable. But because God chose it and “sanctified” it, it was a good enough place for Jesus’ birth.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Sanctifies Us →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Reign of Christ

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 11:27

“All things have been handed over to me by my Father.”

The concept of Christ’s reign is stated most explicitly in the words of Jesus commonly known as the Great Commission: “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Here Jesus first asserts his universal authority, then commands his disciples to go and make disciples—to bring people of all nations under the sway of his authority. Whatever other meanings we may include in the word disciple, it must capture this idea of coming under the reign and rule of Jesus Christ.

The reign of Christ among all nations is a parallel goal to that of bringing the blessing of Christ to all nations. The goal of Christ’s universal blessing focuses on people’s needs. They desperately need to be rescued from God’s coming wrath, and to be redeemed from their futile, destructive ways of life.

The goal of Christ’s reign focuses on his authority in the hearts of those people. Jesus came “to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14). This speaks of the rule and reign of Christ in the heart of every individual believer.

Both these goals—the blessing and the reign of Christ—are accomplished through the successful proclamation of the Gospel among all nations, or to the ends of the earth.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Till All Have Heard

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Today’s Scripture: Revelation 7-9

Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. – Romans 1:5-6

In 1983, I was privileged to attend the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam, Holland. That week of study, fellowship, and worship with thousands of traveling evangelists from around the world was an experience I will never forget.

Most of the delegates had been won to Christ by devoted messengers of the Cross, who left their homelands and brought their families to disease-ridden locales among suspicious, even hostile, people throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, India, and China. Many of their converts became missionaries to their own people and to those in other countries around the world. Seeing those people in Amsterdam, united in Christ, was like a preview of heaven.

In Revelation 7:9-10, the apostle John gives us a glimpse of a magnificent event in the future: “I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”

What a picture! Here are the fruits of the labors of consecrated men and women of God. But, Christian, the work isn’t done. What contribution are you making to world evangelization? Have you prayed about going for a short-term mission or for an extended time? Your skill may open a door to an effective ministry.

Prayer

Lord, use me in whatever way You choose, to bring people to Yourself. Amen.

To Ponder

The Lord is searching for people who will be willing to do whatever He requires for the Great Commission–to give, to pray, or to go.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Saving the Children: The Story of Irena Sendler

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This past week, PBS premiered the latest film by Ken Burns. His subject was Waitstill Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife Martha, who, during World War II, helped smuggled at least 150 Jews out of Nazi-controlled areas, operating first in Prague and then in Lisbon.

It’s a remarkable story that is worth telling and hearing.

And there’s another story involving the rescue of as many as 2,500 Jews that Glenn Sunshine recently brought to our attention. And I promise, it’s a story that’s also worthy of your attention.

The protagonist of this story was a 29-year-old Polish social worker named Irena Sendler. Her responsibilities included taking care of countless people who had been dispossessed by the German occupation of her country.

The most vulnerable and most dispossessed were Warsaw’s Jews. Four hundred thousand of them were crowded into a three-and-one-half square mile area. At great personal risk, Sendler found a way to enter the Ghetto, which was off-limits to non-Jewish Poles, to see how she could help relieve the appalling conditions.

As her biographer wrote “Irena knew she had to help the sick and starving Jews who were imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. She began by smuggling food, clothing, and medicine into the ghetto.”

But in the fall of 1942, half of the Ghetto’s inhabitants were deported to the Treblinka death camp, where they were immediately gassed upon arrival.

This barbarity led Sendler and her co-conspirators to declare war on Hitler and to redouble their efforts. Working in concert with Catholic orphanages, especially the Family of Mary orphanage in Warsaw, Sendler, code-named “Jolanta,” and her co-conspirators helped smuggle out an estimated 2,500 Jewish children by whatever means possible: hiding them in coffins, potato sacks, even in a tool box.

Continue reading BreakPoint – Saving the Children: The Story of Irena Sendler →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – CELEBRATION IN THE KINGDOM

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Read ESTHER 9:16–19

The book of Ecclesiastes declares that for everything there is a season: “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (3:4). In the city of Susa and throughout the Persian kingdom, the Jewish people had reason to celebrate. They had been vindicated; the enemy had been vanquished.

Verses 16 through 18 summarize what took place on these two days of the month of Adar. When thousands of people attempted to attack the Jews in the provinces, they were killed— some 75,000 (v. 16). The Jews in Susa took two days to complete their triumph over their enemies. Notice that their deliverance required their participation—God had made a way of salvation, but they still had to take up arms to seize the victory.

At last, they had been given “relief from their enemies” (v. 16). Considering all the prior months filled with terror, weeping, and grief, this victory in battle brought long-anticipated calm and then an overwhelming spirit of joy.

This was a time to celebrate. Evil had been thwarted. God was in control. Two different days were named times for “joy and feasting.” In both cases, they observed the day by giving presents to one another. They had lived through a significant period of hardship, but they had also witnessed God’s provision in a miraculous way. He had been generous to them, so they now would be generous with one another (v. 19).

God created His people for times of work, times of rest, and times of celebration. In Exodus 10:9, Moses instructed the Israelites to “celebrate a festival to the Lord.” In Exodus 12:17, they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. God’s provision for His people deserves to be honored and remembered. It is a time for great joy.

APPLY THE WORD

God wants us to have time for work and time for rest and rejoicing. Be sure you observe a day of celebration in your regular routine. Whether a special meal or another meaningful observance, thank God for His provision and remember how He has worked in your life. We should rejoice, for we serve a good and generous God.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – WHAT WOULD GOD SAY ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S DEBATE?

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There’s much debate this morning over the results of last night’s presidential debate. Since undecided voters will likely decide the race, today’s Wall Street Journal is focusing especially on their response. And CNN is fact-checking the debate and discussing its implications for the race.

My question is different: How does God view the debate and what it says about America? I think he would respond in at least two ways.

One: He is grieved by the divisiveness of our culture.

Today’s New York Times actually understates the tone of the event: “Trump and Clinton Press Pointed Attacks in Debate.” From the email scandal to the birther issue, the candidates spent a great deal of time attacking each other. In this sense, they represented the nation they hope to lead.

Lee Drutman noted in a recent New York Times article: “Rather than being one two-party nation, we are becoming two one-party nations.” Drutman explains: most large cities, college towns, the Northeast and the West Coast are what he calls “deep-blue Democratic.” The South, the Great Plains, the Mountain States and suburban and rural areas in between are “ruby-red Republican strongholds.”

Neither “nation” is changing anytime soon.

“Confirmation bias” has been defined as “a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.” We do this when we read and listen only to news sources with which we agree. Or when we watch a debate hoping our candidate will win rather than seeking to learn how each candidate would govern.

By contrast, God calls us to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8). How much were these traits on display last night?

The Spirit wants to draw us to the Father that we might find unity in community with our Savior. As you discuss last night’s debate and the ongoing campaign, will you be a force for division or a voice for Jesus? For more on ways we can respond to the divisiveness of our culture, please see my latest website article, Why Are We So Divided?

Continue reading Denison Forum – WHAT WOULD GOD SAY ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S DEBATE? →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God Meets Our Needs

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Philippians 4:19

Our heavenly Father has promised to provide everything we need. Let’s consider some of the good gifts that are ours in Christ Jesus.

One universal human need is love. Through faith in Jesus, we’ve been adopted as the heavenly Father’s beloved children. But before this could take place, God’s justice had to be satisfied. You see, we were all born with a sinful nature that is bent away from the Lord. Because of the Father’s great love, He sent Jesus to take our place and experience judgment for our sin. Out of deep compassion for us, Jesus willingly suffered and died so we might become part of God’s family and experience His rich affection for us (John 3:16). Through our relationship with Him, this need for love is fully met.

In fact, by means of salvation, our Father also provided for two other basic needs—companionship and security. When we accept God’s offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, fulfilling Jesus’ promise never to leave us (Heb. 13:5). This new relationship is permanent. What Jesus accomplished on the cross was fully accepted by God as payment for our sin debt. Furthermore, Christ Himself promised that no one can ever snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28). Therefore, we can rest in the knowledge that we are God’s children forever. That is true security.

Our deep need for love, security, and companionship is satisfied in an intimate relationship with the Lord. Have you trusted Christ so you could be permanently adopted into God’s family?

Bible in One Year: Nahum 1-3

 

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Calming Your Soul

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Read: Matthew 11:25-30

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 1-2; Galatians 5

Be still, and know that I am God.—Psalm 46:10

While attending a concert, my mind detoured to a troublesome issue that insisted on my attention. Thankfully, the distraction was short-lived as the words of a beautiful hymn began to reach deep into my being. A men’s a capella group was singing “Be Still, My Soul.” Tears welled up as I listened to the words and contemplated the restful peace that only God can give:

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side! Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; leave to thy God to order and provide; in every change He faithful will remain.

When Jesus was denouncing the unrepentant towns where He had done most of His miracles (Matt. 11:20-24), He still had words of comfort for those who would come to Him. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened . . . . learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (vv. 28-29).

This statement is striking! Immediately following His strong words for those who were rejecting Him, Jesus extended an invitation to all to draw near to Him to find the peace we all yearn for. Jesus is the only one who can calm our restless, weary souls. —Joe Stowell

I come to You now, Lord, in need of rest for my heart. Help me to trust You and be confident in Your love.

For further study, read The Lord Is My Shepherd at discoveryseries.org/hp952.

When we keep our minds on Jesus, He keeps our minds at peace.

INSIGHT: Our passage today comes on the heels of Jesus denouncing the cities where most of His miracles were performed (Matt. 11:20-24). Bethsaida, one of the denounced cities, literally means “fisherman’s house.” It was a village on the north side of the Sea of Galilee and could have been the birthplace of three of the disciples: Andrew, Peter, and Philip.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Consider the Lilies

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Wendell Berry has written a poem that haunts me frequently. As a creative writer, the act of paying attention is both a spiritual and professional discipline. But far too often my aspirations for paying quality attention to everything dissolves into something more like attention deficit disorder. As it turns out, it is quite possible to see and not really see, to hear and not really hear. And this is all the more ironic when my very attempts to capture what I am seeing and hearing are the thing that prevent me from truly being present. Berry’s poem is about a man on holiday, who, trying to seize the sights and sounds of his vacation by video camera, manages to miss the entire thing.

…he stood with his camera

preserving his vacation even as he was having it

so that after he had had it he would still

have it. It would be there. With a flick

of a switch, there it would be. But he

would not be in it. He would never be in it.(1)

I sometimes wonder if one of the most quoted sayings of Jesus is not often employed with a similar irony. “Consider the lilies,” Jesus said, “how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field…will he not much more clothe you? Therefore, do not worry.“(2) Typically, Jesus is quoted here as giving a helpful word against worry. And he is. But worry is not the only command he articulates. Consider the lilies, he said. We hear the first instruction peripherally, hurriedly, as mere set up for the final instruction of the saying. And in so doing, we miss something great, perhaps even something vital, both in the means and in the end. With our rationalistic sensibilities, we gloss over consideration of the lilies; ironically, in an attempt to consider the real work Jesus is asking us to do.

But what if considering the lilies is the work, the antidote to anxious, preoccupied lives? What if attending to this short-lived beauty, to the fleeting details of a distracted world is a command Jesus wants us to take seriously in and of itself?

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Consider the Lilies →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Spirit Brings Understanding

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“‘These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father’” (John 16:25).

We understand truth thanks to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture makes it clear that the disciples and all subsequent believers would need additional divine assistance to understand all of God’s teachings. Jesus Himself knew that, as we saw in yesterday’s lesson. And the apostle Paul alludes to that fact in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “Just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’” Our human minds and senses by themselves can’t give us an understanding of God’s truth. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit.

In John 16:25 Jesus says, “An hour is coming when I . . . will tell you plainly.” That reference is to the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured forth to permanently indwell the disciples and all other believers. Therefore, Jesus is saying that the Spirit will help us understand God’s truth, even the veiled mysteries and figurative statements in His Word.

We know and understand all that we do about God only because His Spirit is our teacher. The Holy Spirit is the one who knows the mind of God and teaches us the deep things of God from Scripture (1 Cor. 2:10-14). All the New Testament epistles were written to plainly explain Christ’s teachings to us. At times the Spirit teaches us directly through the Word, and other times He uses people to teach us and unveil what was previously a mystery. But it’s all His working, it’s reliable, and we can thank Him every day for granting us spiritual understanding.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • If there is a Scripture passage that has been unclear to you, pray that God would clarify it for you as you study it again, or that He would lead you to someone who can help you understand it.
  • Pray for an unbeliever who has been struggling with accepting God’s truth. Ask the Spirit to draw that person to the Lord and unlock Scripture’s truths.

For Further Study

Read Acts 8:26-38.

  • What does this passage teach about the importance of obeying the Spirit’s direction?
  • How did Philip and the Ethiopian exhibit different aspects of that obedience?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Possessed by God 

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They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Revelation 9:4

Sealed by our Savior Jesus is a picture of the Lord’s possession of believers and our relationship with Him. We are possessed by God and we have access to God. What a deal: we surrender ourselves and in exchange we know God and He holds title to us. What the Holy Spirit has, He preserves. He is our guarantee. Our inheritance is a secure life with Jesus now and forever. God’s rich grace gives us the commerce to build His kingdom. We are possessed by the Lord for His purposes.

John makes clear those who are sealed by God are kept and protected by God. The final days of judgment will pass over the people who have placed their faith in Christ, but those who have trusted in their own version of truth—will be found out—and will miss out on the rewards of a grace-based life. Unable to overcome the harm of hurtful forces—unbelievers will wish they had trusted and followed the promise of Jesus to possess His power that overcomes (Luke 10:18-20).

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you” (1 Peter 2:9).

What does it mean to be in relationship with the Lord? We have intimate access to Abba God. We seek our heavenly Father in faith and quiet confidence. He is a gracious dad who gives us grace and strength for life’s journey. We walk with our Savior Jesus. Like a compassionate big brother He forgives us, He cares for us and calls us friend. We follow the Holy Spirit’s lead away from temptation and into the Lord’s will. As a blessed child of God—we have all we need!

What does it mean to be possessed by the Lord? What God possesses He keeps. He keeps us as His own. He is jealous of other attractive suitors. He keeps us as His special people. He loves the world, but He loves with everlasting love those who trust His son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He keeps us for His praise and glory. When we sing to our great and majestic Almighty God, it is a holy and acceptable sacrifice to heaven. He protects and prizes His sealed possession.

“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your rich inheritance and for possessing my life.

Application: What area of my life do I need to surrender and allow the Lord to possess?

Related Readings: Deuteronomy 7:6; 1 Samuel 12:22; Titus 2:14; Romans 9:25-26

 

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Break the Cycle

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Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:18

Recommended Reading

Titus 2:11-14

Worry and discomfort can create a downward cycle of emotions. You receive some bad news—the death of a loved one, perhaps. In your discouraged state you find yourself unable to respond to additional troubling events, weakening you further. And the downward cycle continues until hope and relief is interjected by yourself or another.

The apostle Paul found the Thessalonian Christians in a troubled state of mind. They were deeply worried about never seeing their loved ones who had died before Christ’s return. And they were afraid that Christ had already returned and they had missed His appearing. Paul wrote to them words with which they could comfort one another. The subject of His words? The Rapture of the Church—the appearing of Christ in the heavens to gather His followers to Himself just prior to the seven-year Tribulation on earth. Taking the sting out of death would go a long way toward relieving any other earthly trouble.

Are you troubled? Don’t let the downward cycle begin. Comfort yourself with the truth of the any-moment appearing of Christ to gather you to Himself and take you to heaven. That blessed truth is enough to overcome any earthly travail.

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death.

William Gurnall

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Zephaniah 1 – 3

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Hears the Consistently Righteous

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The Lord…hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him).- Proverbs 15:29

God promises in today’s verse that He will hear our prayers if we seek to be faithful in our walk with Him. What does it mean to be “consistently righteous”? Simply put, I think the best way to be consistently righteous is to refuse to compromise.

A person who compromises is someone who tends to go along with what everybody else wants to do, even though it may not be totally right. A compromiser knows when something is not right, but does it anyway and hopes to get away with it. We compromise when we know in our hearts—and even have the conviction of the Holy Spirit—that we should not say or do a certain thing and then do it anyway. We are saying, “God is showing me what to do, but I’m going to do what I want to.” In that case, we can blame only ourselves if we do not see the results we would like. When we refuse to compromise and devote ourselves to being consistently righteous to the best of our ability, God sees our hearts, hears our prayers, and answers us.

God’s word for you today: If you refuse to compromise, you will put a smile on God’s face.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Use What Your Daddy Gave You

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Today’s Truth

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

2 Peter 3:14

Friend to Friend

Did you know that you’ve got what it takes to do all that God has prepared for you to do? The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3, emphasis added).

But that doesn’t mean we get to sit back on our haunches and do nothing. Peter wrote: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness . . .” (2 Pet. 1:5).

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election” (1:10).

“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:14)

Theologian Mark Buchanan said it well: “Those who do not make every effort are like the blind man whose sight is restored, but who never adjusts to that. He remains in his old ways, tapping his cane on the sidewalk, rattling his cup at the curb, reading by Braille, groping and shuffling, turning light into darkness, day into night.”

You have everything you need. You’ve got what it takes to do all that God has called you to do and to be. So now, make every effort to do so—to take advantage of who you are, what you have, and where you are in Christ.

Don’t waste time comparing yourself to anyone else. Sharpen your skills. Practice your trade. Exercise your gifts. Grab hold of the truth and be on your way.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Use What Your Daddy Gave You →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Word Remains Forever

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“Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever” (Matthew 24:35).

In a day of change and turmoil, the promise is made that the word of God will stand forever. The significance of that guarantee is monumental, incredible. It is not just that a book shall remain in print; rather, it is that the multitudinous truths contained in that book likewise will remain in effect steadfast and true.

Long after heaven and earth have passed away God’s holy Word will continue to endure.

That should mean much to you and me in our daily walk. God’s promise, “All things work together for good,” to the believer is just as true today as it was when it was written centuries ago.

In fact, every one of the promises in the Word of God – including the 365 referred to in this daily devotional – is bona fide, guaranteed by the God of the universe, the Creator of all things. That alone should strengthen our faith to know that we can trust him supremely with our lives and everything concerned with them.

When all else fails, when hope is almost gone, we can come back to the Word of God, which is “quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword.” It will have the answer for every problem, every burden, every need we face.

Bible Reading: Matthew 24:36-42

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will place my complete confidence in God’s unchanging Word and will rest upon His faithful promises to all believers for supernatural living.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Our Present Sufferings

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Read: Romans 8:18-25

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

The theme of that verse and the next nine verses is that incomparable glory lies ahead — glory beyond description, greater than anything you can compare it with on earth. A magnificent and fantastic prospect awaits us. All through the Scriptures there has been a thread of hope, a rumor of hope that runs all through the Old Testament, through the prophetic writings, and into the New Testament. This rumor speaks of a day that is coming when all the hurt and heartache and injustice and weakness and suffering of our present experience will be explained and justified and will result in a time of incredible blessing upon the earth. The whisper of this in the Old Testament increases in intensity as it approaches the New Testament, where you come to proclamations like this that speak of the incomparable glory that lies ahead.

We tend to make careful note of our suffering. Just the other day, I received a letter from a man who had written out in extreme detail a report of his recent operation. He said he had to listen to all the reports of other people’s operations for years, and now it was his turn! We make detailed reports of what we go through in our sufferings. But here the apostle says, Don’t even mention them! They are not worthy to be mentioned in comparison with the glory that is to follow.

Now, that statement would be just so much hot air if it didn’t come from a man like Paul. Here is a man who suffered intensely. He was beaten, he was stoned with rocks, he was chained, he was imprisoned, he was shipwrecked, starved, often hungry and naked and cold. Yet it is this apostle who takes pen in hand and says, Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The glory that is coming is incomparable in intensity.

Our sufferings hurt us, I know. I am not trying to make light of them or diminish the terrible physical and emotional pain that suffering can bring. It can be awful, almost unendurable. Its intensity can increase to such a degree that we scream with terror and pain. We think we can no longer endure. But the apostle is saying that the intensity of the suffering we experience is not even a drop in the bucket compared with the intensity of glory that is coming. You can see that Paul is straining the language in trying to describe this fantastic thing that is about to happen, which he calls the revelation of the glory that is coming.

This glory is not only incomparable in its intensity, but it is also incomparable in its locality. It is not going to be revealed to us, but in us. The word, literally, means into us. This glory is not going to be a spectator sport, where we will sit up in some cosmic grandstand and watch an amusing or beautiful performance in which we have no part. We are to be on the stage. We are going to be involved in it. It is a glory that will be revealed into us, and we are part of it.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Bird of Paradise

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Read: Psalm 27:1-6

To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. (v. 4)

The bird of paradise would have been a relative newcomer in Herbert’s England, brought to Europe by some intrepid traveller returning from what were then called the East Indies. Few in his time and place would ever have seen such an exotic creature, more spectacularly beautiful than any of his own country’s native birds.

In the words of Psalm 27, it’s “the beauty of the Lord” that Herbert is likening to that of this fabulous fowl. It may cross your mind to ask how the writer of the psalm could describe as “beautiful” someone that nobody had ever seen, namely, the invisible God of Israel! But there is such a thing as beauty of character, of course, and we may well know of blind people who will readily bear witness to this kind of beauty in some of those who care for them, a quality they are well aware of though they don’t have the eyes to see it with. So in respect of God, it was not what he might look like, but the kind of person he was, that Bible people described as beautiful.

And it is in prayer that we come (as it were) “face to face” with this beautiful God. We shall be bringing to him prayers of appreciation, admiration, adoration, arising from our experience of such a person; and prayers for those around us, that his beauty may become equally real to them.

Here is the poem in its entirety:

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Our Ever-Present Shepherd

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The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. —Psalm 23:1

A favorite Scripture passage for many of us is Psalm 23, which begins: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul” (verses 1–3). We love that. It’s such a beautiful picture of us as sheep being led by our Shepherd.

But it isn’t a compliment when God compares us to sheep. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals on the face of the earth. If God had compared us to dolphins, that would have been great. Dolphins are super smart. If God had compared us to dogs, even that would have been a compliment. But God compared us to sheep.

Sheep are stupid. Sheep tend to run with the pack. Sheep have no defense mechanisms. Sheep can’t even escape from a predator. Sheep are basically leg of lamb in waiting—all that is needed is the mint jelly. It’s a done deal. Sheep need their shepherd. If the shepherd doesn’t come through for them, they are dead. We are like that too.

We love to read that the Lord is our Shepherd and that He makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside the still waters. But Psalm 23 goes on to say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (verse 4).

We love the green pastures and the still waters, but we don’t like valleys—especially if they have the word death attached to them. Yet as David pointed out, the Lord is the Shepherd who was with him. And He is the Shepherd who is with us too.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – The LORD Helps Those Who Trust in Him

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“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7)

“You lost Mom’s what?!” Ray could not believe his ears. Was his little sister just playing some kind of trick on him?

Susie’s face did not seem like she was joking. She was crying. “I lost Mom’s rings!” she cried out. “After she washed the dishes this afternoon, I saw them where she had put them on the windowsill. When she went to the grocery store, I just got this silly idea. I decided I wanted to try them on my finger, you know, just to try them on. But my finger was too small, and they slipped right off and –!” Susie covered her mouth as though she could not say what horrible things must have happened next.

Ray shook his head as he looked down into the drain. These rings mean a lot to Mom, he thought. There was only one thing to do: Call Mr. Silsbee. Mr. Silsbee was the church janitor, and he was a plumber. He had a funny, scruffy beard, and he always wore the same faded blue denim ball cap. Everyone knew that he was the best plumber in town. If anyone could get Mom’s rings out of that sink safely, it would be Mr. Silsbee. And the way Ray figured it, if Mr. Silsbee could not get the rings out – nobody could!

Mom was still out at the grocery store, so Ray called Dad to explain and to ask permission to call Mr. Silsbee. Dad seemed pretty concerned. “Yes – we need to get him to take a look right away. In fact, I’ll call Mr. Silsbee. You just stay there nearby and make sure no one uses the sink.”

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