Tag Archives: Prayer

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Drastic Measures 

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We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. Acts 27:18-19

Some situations call for drastic measures, such that you cannot continue as usual or you will miss an opportunity to make major adjustments. Figuratively speaking, your boat needs to be lightened for you to stay afloat. This may apply to finances. Because of your increase in debt and your decrease in income, your spending must be drastically curtailed. Your lifestyle cannot continue to rise on the back of credit cards and equity lines. This straw house of credit will collapse one day under the weight of one small crisis. One misstep can cause everything to quickly tumble down.

God’s best is not for you to live on the verge of financial frustration and failure. Start now and pay down debt while you can. Your next job may not be as financially friendly. Prepare today for tomorrow’s turmoil. It is not a question of if things can go wrong, but when things will go wrong. Adversity has a way of revealing bad habits. Success can mask mistakes but failures bring them  front and center. Don’t risk your relational wellbeing for the sake of stuff. “Simple” equals “Freedom,” but “Complex” can be “Bondage.” Maybe you need to lower your stress by lessening your commitments.

Each season of life calls for re-evaluation of what’s needed. The needs of an empty nest marriage are much different than when the children scurried all through the house. This is especially difficult for a wife who has drawn emotional strength and security from the love of the children. She feels insecure and less significant when the kids are no longer under the roof, waiting to be mothered. Yes, she needs the love of her heavenly Father, but she desperately needs the love of her earthly husband. It is during this season of major transition in motherhood that a wise husband loves more. It may mean taking drastic measures in how you love your wife. She needs your love in ways that she defines as love. It probably means more communication, sensitivity, and service. Do not let her frustrations and anger make you defensive or cause you to shut down. She wants to connect. She is longing for love that only you can give.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Kingdom Living

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[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17

God’s kingdom is made up of things far greater and more beneficial than worldly possessions. God does bless us with material possessions, but the kingdom is much more than that: It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness is not the result of what we do, but rather what Jesus has done for us (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). When we accept this truth by faith and receive it personally, we are free to live and enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.

Peace is so wonderful—it is definitely kingdom living. This is why we pursue peace, crave it, and go after it (see Psalm 34:14; 1 Peter 3:11). The closer we get to God, the more we understand that Jesus is our peace (see Ephesians 2:14). God’s will for you and me is to enjoy His peace that goes beyond understanding (see Philippians 4:7).

Joy can be anything from calm delight to extreme hilarity. Joy improves our countenance, our health, and the quality of our lives. It strengthens our witness to others and gives us a godly perspective on life (see Nehemiah 8:10).

It is clear in the Word of God: Seek God and His kingdom, and He will take care of everything else (see Matthew 6:33).

There is no better life than life in the kingdom of God.

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The End of the Beginning

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Read: Acts 28:30-31

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ — with all boldness and without hindrance! Acts 28:30-31

This is what I like to call the end of the beginning. The book of Acts is just the beginning of the record of the operation of the body of Christ at work in the world since his resurrection and ascension. It is just the first chapter. We have come now to the last page of that chapter. The rest of the record is being written as history is being unfolded. Fresh and wonderful chapters are now being written in our own day, ultimately to be incorporated into this account. It is a tremendous privilege and joy to be a part of this divine record.

One of the most impressive things about this last section is the two last words. Do you notice how the book of Acts ends? With the word without hindrance. That describes the freedom of the gospel. Paul was hindered; still chained day and night to a Roman guard. But he could welcome friends in. He could walk around his house and yard, and he could minister and teach there. Paul never chafed under this restraint. His letters from this period are filled with joy and rejoicing. He never fretted about his condition, but he welcomed all who came and he sent letters back with them. It was during this time that he wrote Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and the letter to Philemon. What tremendous truths are set forth in these letters which he had time to write because he could no longer travel abroad.

You and I can be grateful that God kept him still long enough to write them; otherwise we might have been deprived of these great messages which have changed history. Still, Paul had to appear before the emperor. In the next year or so, a great persecution broke out under the vicious Emperor Nero which was one of the greatest that Christians have ever experienced. But the Word was not hindered. No matter what the condition of the church, the Word of God is never bound.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The End of the Beginning →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Crossroads

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Read: Ephesians 3:1-21

I pray that you [may be] rooted and established in [Christ’s] love. (v. 7 NIV)

The central figure in this story is God. Jonah is fascinating (“villains” often are), but not nearly as interesting as the character of God revealed in his interactions with Jonah. The big fish interests people of all ages (like all monsters and miracles), but its role isn’t as astounding as what God does. Nineveh was important in the ancient world (this story highlights that history), but God’s plan of salvation for time and eternity (illustrated by Jonah) transcends an earthly empire.

Jonah struggles to overcome personal prejudices and preconceived ideas about God and the world. He runs on anger more than truth. He fails to grasp the centrality of God’s mission to the purpose of his life. He recognizes sin in others but not in himself. He fails to appreciate how God is able to bring perfect love and justice together, and what that means for his personal guilt, grace, and gratitude. We need to learn from Jonah. It doesn’t matter if we ever see a monster fish, but it matters terribly if we don’t apply the lessons of this book.

Did Jonah finally get it? Did he become a prophet majoring in God’s love, grace, and good news? Or did he stay an angry, bitter man, outside God’s mission looking in? The story doesn’t tell us, because the real point isn’t Jonah’s final response, but yours and mine.

Prayer:

Lord, I know Jonah’s struggles all too well. Open my mind to your Word and my heart to your mission in the world. Amen.

Author: Doug VanBronkhorst

 

https://woh.org/

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Answers Prayers

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“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Kelly was in second grade. Her parents were teachers in a Christian school. They lived a happy life, serving God in their church and school. But all the sudden, something happened that changed their lives forever: doctors found a deadly tumor at the base of Kelly’s brain.

The students in Kelly’s school, people at her church, family members, and many others who heard about Kelly prayed for her. She had surgery, but the surgeon was unable to remove the entire tumor. She was a good girl with a bright smile and cheerful attitude through all the doctor visits, hospital stays, and extra attention she got from everyone. The family took a dream vacation so that they could have some wonderful memories with Kelly before she died. Would God answer many people’s prayers that Kelly would be healed, even when the doctors said it was hopeless?

Kelly’s parents showed awesome trust and dependence upon God, but doctors did not expect for her to live very long. Surgery and medication could not get rid of all of the tumor, and there was nothing else the doctors could do! But God stepped in and miraculously healed Kelly. Her health continued to improve, and years later, she is still doing well and is serving the Lord in full-time Christian ministry. She has been cancer-free for years.

God delights in answering our prayers, but He does not always answer them immediately or in the way we think they should be answered. In Kelly’s case, God chose to answer people’s prayers in the way they wanted Him to. Sometimes, God says “yes” to us; sometimes he says “no”; sometimes he says “wait.” We can always trust Him to choose the answer that will give Him the most glory and be best for us.

God answers prayer in different ways, but He always answers in a way that shows His power and His goodness.

My Response:

» Do I trust God to answer my prayers?

» What prayers has God answered for me lately?

 

http://kids4truth.com/home.aspx

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Two Are Better Than One

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Today’s Scripture: Proverbs 27:17

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

Because mortifying sins is difficult, we need the help of one or two friends to engage in the struggle with us. These friends should be believers who share our commitment to pursuing holiness and who are also willing to be mutually open with us about their own struggles. This principle is well expressed in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”

In the battle of putting sin to death, we need the mutual support of one another. In the New Testament we’re taught to admonish one another (Colossians 3:16), encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), and pray for one another (James 5:16).

Although this principle applies to every aspect of the Christian life, it’s particularly helpful in the pursuit of holiness. We need at least one other person of like heart to pray with us, encourage us, and if necessary, admonish us. This person must be someone who’s also personally involved in the struggle to mortify sin, so that he or she can enter into our struggles and not be scandalized by the nature of our deepest sins. It’s said that the Puritans used to ask God for one “bosom friend” with whom they could share absolutely everything. This is the type of friend we should also pray for and seek out to help us in our struggle to mortify sin in our lives. Remember, however, it’s a mutual effort. Each one should be committed to both helping and receiving help.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Listening to the Word

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 2:42

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does. – James 1:25

Think about the last airplane flight you took. When it came time for the flight attendant to impart the vital information about oxygen masks, exit doors, and the workings of your seat belt, how closely did you or your fellow travelers pay attention? Most people were probably knitting, reading, chatting–anything but listening to the attendant.

I’m usually just as lackadaisical, but there was one particular flight in which I hung on the flight attendant’s every word. I was flying from Bogota, Colombia, over the high, rugged peaks of the Andes Mountains, to Loma Linda, the Wycliffe Bible Translators jungle base. The airplane had gone into service in the 1930s and was not equipped with an automatic oxygen system for high altitude, so all of us on board were instructed in the use of the emergency oxygen system that might keep us alive. I not only listened and paid attention, I asked the steward questions to make sure I had it right.

In many ways, going to church on Sunday morning is like an airplane ride. You’ve heard it all before. You’ve sung the hymns a hundred times; the sermon topic is familiar. So your mind drifts, and you don’t really listen to the vital information passed along by the minister of Christ, the steward of the mysteries of God. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Ask God to give you the spirit of our early ancestors in the faith, who devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. Ask the Lord to give you the same hunger God’s people exemplified when they gathered together to hear the Word of God expounded and hung on to every word. Be one of those who truly hears the Word.

Prayer

Lord, only You have the words of life. As I sit in church this Sunday, give me a passion for what I hear, and keep me from taking Your truth for granted. Amen.

To Ponder

“The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

 

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FORGIVENESS: THE FINAL CALL

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Read GENESIS 49:29–50:26

“Revenge is a dish best served cold!” Historians debate the origins of this quote, but the sentiment is unmistakable: rather than take vengeance while an insult is still fresh, better to wait so that the offending party does not see your revenge coming.

Jacob had died. Per his father’s last request, Joseph and his brothers returned to Canaan with “a very large company” (50:9) to bury him in the cave of his forefathers. Once they all returned to Egypt, however, the brothers’ fears about Joseph’s true intentions emerged. Perhaps Joseph had delayed vengeance only to serve it up now.

They concocted a story about Jacob’s dying wish was to have Joseph forgive his brothers. They threw themselves before Joseph, confessing their crime against him, and pledging themselves to Joseph as his slaves. Four times they mentioned their “sins” and “wrongs” committed against Joseph (vv. 15–17). They were repentant, but also worried about revenge.

But Joseph displayed no grudge at all. Upon hearing their plea, he wept and then spoke words of kindness and wisdom: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (50:19–20). Following those words, Joseph pledged to provide for his brothers and their families. His deep sense of God’s providential goodness (even in harmful circumstances) led Joseph to exercise similar goodness and reconciliation with his brothers.

This was Joseph’s calling—to turn evil into a blessing for others. His only request in these last verses of Genesis is to have his bones returned to Canaan, knowing that God would one day return His people to the land of promise.

APPLY THE WORD

As we close our study of Genesis, we see how understanding God’s providence can lead to proper reconciliation. Where is God calling you to forgive and reconcile with someone who has harmed you? Ask God for the wisdom to see His hand in all things, and the grace to grant true forgiveness to that person in your life.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Pursuit of Glory

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1 Peter 4:11

When we become Christ followers, our view of life should change. No longer are we the center of our world; instead, Christ is (Gal. 2:20). It’s essential that we switch our thinking to a Christian worldview because what we believe dictates how we behave. Many of us have a “patchwork quilt” type of perspective, where we have taken some truths from Scripture, some from our upbringing, and some from our culture to determine what we believe. We often don’t even realize we have done this.

As believers, we are to search Scripture to find answers for all of life’s questions, such as: Where did I come from? (see Gen. 1.); What happens when I die? (John 14:1-4); How do I explain human behavior? (Rom. 3:9-18); How can I determine right from wrong? (2 Tim. 3:16); and What is the purpose of man? (Isa. 43:7). If we have biblical answers—a Christian worldview—we will think and behave in ways that glorify God.

The most vital question is, What is important to God? From the Bible, we learn that all of nature declares the glory of God (Ps. 19:1), the chief aim of man is to glorify the Lord, and Jesus’ mission on earth revealed God’s glory. So we know that what matters to God is His glory.

Does this surprise you? We often fall into thinking that the world revolves around us and the Lord’s work has to do with our needs, wants, and pleasures. But the truth is that life is all about God and glorifying Him. Let us humbly bow before Him, change our thinking, and join Him in the pursuit of His glory.

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 19-22

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Visible Vulnerability

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Visible Vulnerability

Read: Ephesians 4:2–6 | Bible in a Year: Psalms 43–45; Acts 27:27–44

Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

As I ventured out several weeks after shoulder surgery, I was fearful. I had become comfortable using my arm sling, but both my surgeon and physical therapist now told me to stop wearing it. That’s when I saw this statement: “At this stage, sling wear is discouraged except as a visible sign of vulnerability in an uncontrolled environment.”

Ah, that was it! I feared the enthusiastic person who might give me a bear hug or the unaware friend who might bump me accidentally. I was hiding behind my flimsy baby-blue sling because I feared being hurt.

Being honest about our struggles allows us to help each other.

Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable can be scary. We want to be loved and accepted for who we are, but we fear that if people truly knew us, they would reject us and we could get hurt. What if they found out we are not smart enough . . . kind enough . . . good enough?

Continue reading Our Daily Bread — Visible Vulnerability →

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Scene of Miracle

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Middlemarch is the epic novel by Mary Anne Evans, better known by her male penname George Eliot. The work is considered one of the most significant novels of the Victorian period and a masterpiece of English fiction. Rather than following a grand hero, Eliot explores a number of themes in a series of interlocking narratives, telling the stories of ordinary characters intertwined in the intricate details of life and community. Eliot’s focus is the ordinary, and in fact her lament—in the form of 700 pages of detail—is that we not only so often fail to see it, but fail to see that there is really no such thing. There is neither ordinary human pain nor ordinary human living. “If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life,” she writes, “it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heartbeat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity.”(1)

The world Eliot saw around her is not unlike our own in its capacity to silence the dissonance of details, the frequency of pain, the roar of life in its most minute and yet extraordinary forms. We silence the wild roar of the ordinary and divert our attention to magnitudes more willing to fit into our control. The largest tasks and decisions are given more credence, the biggest lives and events of history most studied and admired, and the greatest powers and influences feared or revered most. And on the contrary, the ordinary acts we undermine, the most common and chronic angst we manage to mask, and the most simple and monotonous events we silence or stop seeing altogether. But have we judged correctly?

Artists often work at pulling back the curtain on these places we have wadded out of sight and sound, showing glimpses of life easily missed, pulling off the disguises that hide sad or mortal wounds, drawing our attention to all that is deemed mundane and obscure. Their subject is often the ordinary, but it is for the sake of the extraordinary, even the holy. Nowhere does Eliot articulate this more clearly than in her defense of the ordinary scenes depicted in early Dutch painting. “Do not impose on us any aesthetic rules which shall banish those old women scrapping carrots with their work-worn hands….It is so needful we should remember their existence, else we may happen to leave them quite out of our religion and philosophy, and flame lofty theories which only fit a world of extremes.”(2) For the artist, ordinary life, ordinary hardship, ordinary sorrow is precisely the scene of our need for God, and remarkably, the scene of God and miracle.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Scene of Miracle →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – “. . . And in your brotherly kindness, Christian love” (2 Peter 1:7).

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Sacrificial love proves genuine faith.

Classical Greek had three common terms for love. As we saw yesterday, phileo (philadelphia) is the love of give and take, best expressed in friendship. Eros is the love that takes—one loves another strictly for what he or she can get out of that person. It is typical of the world’s sexual and lustful desires, which are always bent toward self-gratification. Agape is the love that gives. It is completely unselfish, with no taking involved. This is the highest form of love, which all the other virtues in 2 Peter 1 ultimately lead to. It seeks another’s supreme good, no matter what the cost. Agape was exemplified perfectly by Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

But what does this highest type of love look like? A brief survey of the one anothers in the New Testament gives an excellent picture. We are commanded to:

Edify one another (Rom. 14:19).

“Serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

“Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2).

Submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).

Forgive one another (Col. 3:13).

Instruct one another (Col. 3:16).

“Comfort one another” (1 Thess. 4:18).

Continue reading John MacArthur – Strength for Today – “. . . And in your brotherly kindness, Christian love” (2 Peter 1:7). →

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Friendship With Jesus 

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You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:14

Jesus is a friend to His followers. He is Lord, but He is a friend. He is Savior, but He is a friend. He is the Son of God, but He is a friend. He is sinless and holy, but He is a friend. He is a friend to sinners, and a friend to those He saves. Jesus is a friend to his followers, but it is a friendship based on obedience. Compliance with Christ creates companionship.

If I do not obey Christ’s commands, He does not call me friend. It is out of our actions that friendship with Jesus is validated. Obedience to Jesus inspires intimacy with Jesus. It is imperative that we obey Jesus so that we can really get to know Him. His friendship is free for all who follow hard with a hungry heart to obey. Friendship flourishes with faithful fidelity.

“He [Jesus] replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).

Friendship with Jesus is an invitation to intimacy. He reveals to His friends the riches of His grace, and the hope of His glory. It is a friendship that bears the fruit of saved souls and solid character. You begin to emulate the attitude, actions, words and spirit of Jesus, because this is what friends do. Friends look, act and sound like each other. You know you are a friend of Jesus, when Jesus consistently influences you to be like Him.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Friendship With Jesus  →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – The Pasture

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A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

Recommended Reading

Ruth 1:11-18

“The Pasture” was one of Frost’s first poems, published in 1915 in the introduction of his first American collection. Afterward when Frost gave public readings, he often opened with “The Pasture,” inviting his audience to come along on his journey.

Sometimes our friendships become frosty because we don’t practice Frost’s advice. Why not invite someone to join you on a little journey, for a little chore, at a needful time in his or her life? Sometimes our friends don’t need our opinions. They just need us. They need to be included.

If you’ll look around today, you’ll probably find someone in a bit of adversity. Why not say, “I’m going out to clean the pasture spring. You come too!”

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Dale Carnegie

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Isaiah 44 – 46

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Common People with Uncommon Goals

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Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].—Ephesians 3:20

God uses common, ordinary, everyday people who have uncommon goals and visions. That is what I am—just a common, ordinary person with a goal and a vision. But just because I am common and ordinary does not mean that I am content to be average. I don’t like that word. I don’t want to be average. I don’t intend to be average. I don’t serve an average God, therefore, I don’t believe I have to be average—and neither do you.

Average is basically okay. It is not bad, but it is also not excellent. It is just good enough to get by, and I don’t think that is what God wants us to be. I believe that any common, ordinary, everyday person can be mightily used by God. I believe that we can do great and mighty things—things that will amaze even us—if we believe that God can use us and if we will be daring enough to have an uncommon goal and vision. And what I mean by uncommon is something that doesn’t make sense to the mind. We have to believe God for it.

In Ephesians 3:20 we are told that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we could dare to hope, ask, or think, according to His great power that is at work in us. God does it through us according to His power, but it is done through us, so we have to cooperate. That means we need to be daring in our faith and in our prayers. Some of us are not believing for enough. We need to stretch our faith into new realms. We need to be uncommon people with uncommon goals.

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

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – What If Your Worst “What If” Does Happen?

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Today’s Truth

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Psalm 33:4

Friend to Friend

Some people just seem happy and positive all the time. They appear to never worry and fret. These people act like they eat rainbows for breakfast and ride a unicorn to work. But life isn’t all lucky charms. Sometimes it is just plain hard. We anticipate trials. Jesus promised trouble. “In this world you will have trouble,” He warned (John 16:33).

So what if the worst thing you can imagine does happen? What then?

What if my child gets sick?

What if my husband does leave?

What if I lose my job?

What if I get on a plane to go to a speaking engagement and the plane crashes?

I decided a long time ago, when I get on a plane, I’m either going to get where I’m headed, or I’m going to heaven. Either one is all right with me. I know that whatever may happen in this life, God’s still on His throne, and He’s in control.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – What If Your Worst “What If” Does Happen? →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – That You May Become What I Am

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Read: Acts 26:24-32

King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do. Then Agrippa said to Paul, Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? Paul replied, Short time or long — I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains. Acts 26:27-29

As Paul continues speaking directly to Agrippa he says, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. Do you see what he’s saying? He is saying, You know the historical facts of Jesus’ life. You believe the prophets. So put the two together. What did the prophets say the Messiah would do? Where does that drive you? Jesus fulfilled what the prophets wrote.

At this point this enslaved king, mastered by his own lusts, is faced right into the issue. You can just see him squirming up there on his throne. Unfortunately his answer is to turn his back on what Paul says. It is a little difficult to understand exactly what he replied. The Greek is a bit obscure. Certainly he didn’t say what we have in our King James Version: Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. He is not saying, You’ve almost got me, Paul. You almost have me convinced. Many a message has been preached on that theme, as though Agrippa had almost come to the point of becoming a Christian. It is much more likely that he said with almost sneering sarcasm, Do you really think that in this short a time you’re going to make me a Christian? You’ve got to do a lot more than that if you’re going to make me a Christian!

Continue reading Ray Stedman – That You May Become What I Am →

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Revival in Our Time?

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For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.—Psalm 84:11

I can remember situations in my life where things were looking rather bleak. But then I called on the name of the Lord, and He intervened.

Here in our nation, things are looking rather bleak. But God says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

God is saying, in effect, “Check this out. Call on Me, and watch what I will do. Pray right now. Follow My prescription for revival. Watch how I will intervene.”

It is God’s desire to bless us. And did you know that God wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed? Psalm 84:11 tells us, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Often the reason we pray is because we have a need—we have a crisis. We need a healing . . . we need direction . . . we need financial provision. We pray because we are in trouble. It is not as though God simply gives us everything we have ever wanted and our lives are free of problems or conflicts. Rather, God will allow conflict in our lives so we will see our own weakness and then see the greatness of God as we depend on Him.

I don’t believe the ultimate need of our nation will be solved by a new occupant in the White House or by new members of Congress. I believe the real need for America will be met by a spiritual solution. Therefore, we need to pray.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Love Saved Noah and His Family

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“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” (Genesis 7:1)

There was a time when everything God created was perfect and the world was without sin. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, everything changed. The sin of the world became so bad that God decided to destroy the world with a flood and start over.

There was one man named Noah who did what was right and walked with God. God told Noah that he and his family would have to build an ark to escape the coming flood. God gave him special instructions on how to build the ark and what animals to take with him.

Can you imagine the sight of that? It would be like a floating zoo! Noah was to take one male and one female of each animal. He was to take all of his family and he had to take enough food for his family and all of the animals.

There is just one more thing; it is possible that Noah did not even know what rain was! The book of Genesis is not completely clear about this, but it seems to be that, so far, it had never yet rained – from the time of Creation to the time of the Flood! God had watered the plants a different way, from springs underground. So even the promise of rain might have been a test for Noah’s faith in God. Noah’s neighbors made fun of him. Who had heard of water falling from the sky? It had never happened before, so why should it happen now? But Noah knew that God loved him and that God always spoke the truth. Noah trusted God for his life and the life of his family.

Not long after Noah finished the ark, God began bringing animals to it. There were elephants, giraffes, lions, bears, tigers, goats, horses, cows, dogs, cats, snakes, zebras, lizards, and many, many more animals. Once the animals, people, and supplies were on board, God closed the door. The rain began to pour down, and the winds blew hard. It rained for 40 days straight! When the rain finally stopped, Noah opened a window and looked out. There was water everywhere, but he was alive! He began praising God for saving him and his family. He praised Him for the love He showed toward His creation. God had brought him through this flood safely.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God’s Love Saved Noah and His Family →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Sufficiency of Grace

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Today’s Scripture: Ephesians 6:10

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

Before we can learn the sufficiency of God’s grace, we must learn the insufficiency of ourselves. As I have said, the more we see our sinfulness, the more we appreciate grace in its basic meaning of God’s undeserved favor. In a similar manner, the more we see our frailty, weakness, and dependence, the more we appreciate God’s grace in its dimension of his divine assistance. Just as grace shines more brilliantly against the dark background of our sin, so it also shines more brilliantly against the background of our human weakness.

Paul said in Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” In 2 Corinthians 12, he could have just as aptly said, “But where human weakness increased, grace abounded all the more.” That is essentially what he said in different words in verse 9: “But he said to me, ‘my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” On this Philip Hughes wrote, “Indeed, the abject weakness of the human instrument serves to magnify and throw into relief the perfection of the divine power in a way that any suggestion of human adequacy could never do. The greater the servant’s weakness, the more conspicuous is the power of his Master’s all-sufficient grace.”

God’s power infusing our weakness is a concrete expression of his grace, coming to our aid through the ministry of his Spirit in our lives. This is the mysterious operation of the Holy Spirit on our human spirit through which he strengthens us and enables us to meet in a godly fashion whatever circumstances we encounter.

 

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