Tag Archives: religion

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Elements

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Most people cannot name the three most abundant elements found in the Earth’s crust. Can you? You may logically guess the first one: oxygen (47 percent); but silicon (28 percent) and aluminum (eight percent) are less obvious and, unless you’re a geologist, wouldn’t even come to mind.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find.  Matthew 7:7

In the Bible, Daniel, one of God’s faithful people, was in dire circumstances. He was living in a debauched era of history in a land where daily prayers became a punishable offense. With no regard for his own safety, Daniel prayed anyway. He stood with courage against those seeking to stop him. In boldness, he asked for God’s power and presence…and because of Daniel’s prayers, significant changes occurred in his nation and to its king.

What are the most common elements found in your prayer life? It’s easy to “pray lite” with a mild concern for what’s happening in your country, but if you long to see God move in America, you must go deeper. With boldness, seek the heart of Christ and the will of God. Pursue His presence with prayerful purpose and passion, and when you do, like Daniel, you will see a change…to His glory!

Recommended Reading: Daniel 9:17-23

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Prevailing Faith

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Charles Stanley

Romans 4:18-25

Continuing yesterday’s study of faith that conquers, let’s look at other elements of this type of godly trust.

• Confession of Faith. David declared, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Sam. 17:45) and stated his trust in God’s deliverance. Whenever we face difficulties, we, too, must proclaim our faith, expressing thanks to the Lord for who He is, who we are in Christ, and what we have through His Spirit.

• Reliance on the Lord’s power. Not once did David claim he was going to defeat the enemy. Instead, he pointed out that the battle was the Lord’s; it was by the power of the Almighty that victory would be gained. In the hand of God’s servant, a simple stone was mightier than the weapons of the Philistine army.

• Assumption of Victory. Prevailing faith reckons the victory before the battle even begins. When the young shepherd looked at Goliath, he saw him as a dead man. In fact, because of David’s relationship with the Lord, he understood that all giants— whether bears, lions, or Goliaths—were the same.

How does this reckoning take place? First, we fight the “battle before the battle.” Through prayer and meditation on Scripture, we work through any uncertainties and fears. We reaffirm in our heart that this is the Lord’s battle, declare He has won the victory, and wait for His timing. When we act, we do it God’s way, with trust in His presence and provision.

For what area of your life do you need prevailing faith? Approach the throne of grace with faith to receive what you need (Heb. 4:16).

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Standoff

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Our Daily Bread

1 John 4:1-6

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. —1 John 4:4

When a local bookstore rearranged its shelves, I noticed an increase in the number of titles relating to sorcery and witchcraft. In fact, the religion section had become a virtual “standoff” between light and darkness. Christian titles flanked one side of the aisle, while roughly the same number of occult books lined the other side.

Sometimes we may think of God and Satan in the same way I thought of the books in that bookstore. We see them as opposing but equal forces with the same unlimited power. However, God is God and Satan is not. God is stronger than any force of darkness. He does what He pleases (Ps. 135:6), while Satan’s power is limited to what God allows. When Satan supposed that misfortune would make Job curse God, God told Satan, “Behold, all that [Job] has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person” (Job 1:12). Satan had to play by God’s rules.

Because God is in charge over everything, as Christ’s followers we don’t need to be paralyzed by fear of Satan’s power over our lives or the lives of the believers around us. He tempts us and tries to influence us, but the Bible assures us, “He who is in [us] is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name!

Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown Him Lord of all! —Perronet

The powers of evil around you are no match for the power of Jesus within you.

Bible in a year: Psalms 70-71; Romans 8:22-39

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Answer to Prayer

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Ravi Z

Just type the word “prayer” into an internet search engine as I did the other day and you’ll find almost 100 million different articles, sites, books, and periodicals on prayer! Discussions about prayer are as ubiquitous as the praying football player in the end zone after a touchdown. Every major world religion has some form of prayer, and Christians are exhorted to pray “without ceasing” in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

And yet if we’re honest, prayer is often a source of confusion and deep mystery. Confusion comes not only with questions concerning what to pray and how to pray unceasingly, but also with wondering whether or not prayers make a difference or are being heard at all. Phillip Yancey’s book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? attempts to address many of these questions about prayer. Why does God seem silent so much of the time to our prayers? Why does God seem to answer prayers for some and not for others? And when we receive one after another ‘no’ responses to our prayers, how are we to understand both its efficacy, and the God who loves us?(1)

If these questions aren’t difficult enough, Jesus’s own bold statements about prayer make us all the more confused.  After all, wasn’t it Jesus who proclaimed, “I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and the one who knocks, it shall be opened.” Likewise, Jesus promises that like our earthly fathers, God longs to give us what is good in response to the asking, seeking, and knocking of prayer.(2)

Luke’s gospel narrative makes explicit what Matthew’s gospel keeps implicit about God’s gift given in response to prayer. Jesus tells his disciples, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:11-13). According to Jesus, the goal of all prayer is the Holy Spirit at work in our lives and in the world. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate “good gift” that God gives in response to our asking, seeking, and knocking.

So, too, prayer is about relationship with God. The more a relationship grows and develops, the more one wants of it.   Hence, God promises to give us more of the Holy Spirit-in and through all the circumstances of life-as the deep answer and the good gift in response to prayer.

The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as the “comforter,” and the one who comes alongside. This is the same Spirit the apostle Paul suggests “intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” and “intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”(3) Therefore, when difficulties come, when our prayers seemingly go unanswered, there is the assurance that we are not alone. God longs to come near to us and to come alongside us with the comforting presence of God’s Spirit.

M. Craig Barnes former pastor of the National Presbyterian Church adds:

“Sometimes life gets overwhelming, and we realize we could use a little help. So we pray for our health to get better, for our marriage to work out, for success in our work that has taken a turn for the worse. There is nothing wrong in praying for these things, but they are not what our salvation is about. Don’t expect Jesus to save us by teaching us to depend on the things we are afraid of losing! He loves us too much to let our health, marriage, or work become the savior of our lives. He will abandon every crusade that searches for salvation from anything or anyone other than God. So he delays, he watches as we race down dead-end streets, he lets our mission du jour crash and burn. To receive Jesus as Savior means recognizing him as our only help. Not our only help for getting what we want. But our only true help.”(2)

 

In God’s promise to be present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit, God suggests that God’s presence with us is the deepest answer to prayer. It is God’s “yes” even if God answers our specific requests with “no.” Ultimately, God desires to bring comfort, not from dependence on the things of this world, but in God’s presence with us and alongside us through the Spirit.

Through the power and presence of the Spirit, God longs to be the very answer to our prayers. Ask, and the Holy Spirit will be given to you. Seek, and you will find the Holy Spirit with you. Knock, and the door of God’s kingdom will be opened to you. For how much more will our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.

(1) Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

(2) Matthew 7:7-11.

(3) See John 14:16, 26; Romans 8:26b-27.

(4) M. Craig Barnes, When God Interrupts (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 124-125.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Know Your Enemies

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Alistair Begg

Watchman, what time of the night? Isaiah 21:11

What enemies are around? Errors abound, and new ones appear every hour: Against what heresy am I to be on my guard? Sins creep from their lurking places when the darkness reigns; I need to climb the watchtower and give myself to prayer. Our heavenly Protector anticipated all the attacks that are about to be made upon us, and when the evil designed for us is still in the desire of Satan, He prays for us that our faith will not fail when we are sifted as wheat. Continue then, gracious Watchman, to warn us of our foes, and for Zion’s sake do not remain silent.

“Watchman, what time of the night?” What weather is coming for the Church? Are the clouds rolling in, or is it all clear and fair overhead? We must care for the Church of God with sincere and thoughtful love; and now that empty religion and irreligion both threaten, let us observe the signs of the times and prepare for conflict.

“Watchman, what time of the night?” What stars are visible? What precious promises are relevant to our circumstances? You sound the alarm and also give us the consolation. Christ, like the North Star, is always fixed in His place, and all the stars are secure in the right hand of their Lord.

But, watchman, when comes the morning? The Bridegroom delays. Are there no signs of His appearing as the Sun of Righteousness? Hasn’t the morning star arisen as the pledge of day? When will the day dawn and the shadows flee away? O Jesus, if You don’t come in person to Your waiting Church today, still come in Spirit to my sighing heart, and make it sing for joy.

Now all the earth is bright and glad

With the fresh morn;

But all my heart is cold, and dark and sad:

Sun of the soul, let me behold Thy dawn!

Come, Jesus, Lord,

O quickly come, according to Thy word.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Vessels of mercy—a sermon of self-examination

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“And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” Romans 9:23,24

Suggested Further Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-6

Like every potter he first of all makes the outlines in the clay. You may have seen a man at work executing designs in glass. Perhaps at the very first moment you may form a rough guess of what the whole thing is to be, though the ornament and elaboration which constitute the main part of the beauty you cannot yet discover. Certain it is, that the moment a man begins to be prepared for heaven by the grace of God in his soul, you may see the outlines of what he is to be, although it is but the bare outlines. Shall I tell you what those outlines are? There is first of all in him—faith in Christ; a simple, child-like trust in him that did hang upon the tree. There is next in him another mark of the potter’s hand—that is love to Christ—a love that is strong as death, though sometimes it seems to be feeble as a worm. There is in him also a hope that makes not ashamed, and a joy which makes glad his countenance. It is but the bare outline, as I have said, for the glory which excels is not there. The vase is only in its embryo, but yet sufficiently developed to give prophecy of its finished form; as for the pictures that shall be inlaid, as for all the many colours that shall be used on it, you cannot guess as yet, nor could you, unless you could climb to the potter’s seat and see the plan upon which he looks as the clay revolves upon the wheel. Dear brothers and sisters, have you anything in you as yet of the great outlines? Can you say in truth, “I believe on the Lord Jesus?” Fear not then, my hearer, you are a vessel of mercy.

For meditation: We have no right to talk rebelliously against our Maker (Isaiah 45:9), but the Christian has the right to pray to “Our Father and Potter in Heaven” (Isaiah 64:8).

Sermon no. 327

6 August (Preached 5 August 1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Prophecy Without Love

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John MacArthur

“If I have the gift of prophecy . . . but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).

The word prophecy as used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is the ability to publicly proclaim God’s truth accurately and authoritatively. It’s a greater gift than tongues because tongues were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel in the first century (1 Cor. 14:21-22), whereas prophecy instructs and edifies believers throughout the centuries. Paul said, “one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation [and] edifies the church (1 Cor. 14:3-4).

Prophecy has two aspects: revelation and reiteration. When an Old or New Testament prophet received new information directly from God, that was revelation. Whenever that information was repeated through preaching or teaching, it was reiteration. For example, the sermons of Peter and Paul combine new revelation with a reiteration of Old Testament truth. That’s a common element in New Testament preaching.

With the close of the New Testament canon, direct revelation from God ceased. All preaching and teaching today is reiteration. New Testament prophets policed one another to ensure that every prophecy was truly from God (1 Cor. 14:32). Today, Scripture itself is the standard by which we test someone’s message. As the prophet Isaiah said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no [light]” (Isa. 8:20).

Paul is saying 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the ability to speak direct revelation from God, or to reiterate divine truth forcefully and dramatically, but lack love, my ministry is meaningless.” In its broadest sense, that principle applies to every believer because we all are proclaimers of God’s Word. You might not teach a class or preach a sermon, but whenever you tell someone about Christ or share a biblical principle, you’re reiterating divine truth. That’s why you must always speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Then the Holy Spirit can empower your words to minister to others.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to help you guard your words so that everything you say will be clothed in His love.

For Further Study:

Read Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20-22.

What tests did Moses give for determining false prophets?

What punishment did false prophets receive?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Live with Purpose

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Joyce meyer

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Life without purpose is vanity. Webster’s definition of purpose is “something set up as an object or end to be attained.” Christians ought to be people with purpose. We are all purposed to seek the kingdom of God, which is His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (See Romans 14:17).

Today is an opportunity to willfully and deliberately seek God with the intent to know Him better than we knew Him yesterday. Today we can deliberately move forward with the intent to accomplish good things for the kingdom.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Break Time

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Fitness gurus know you don’t build muscles by lifting weights alone. Heavy workouts actually tear down muscle. The strength comes through rest. A period of inactivity is necessary to allow muscles to rebuild – and become stronger than before.

In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.  Exodus 34:21

God, the Creator of the all things including the human body, was well aware of the benefits of taking a break. Rest isn’t just beneficial; it’s vital. When God gave the commandment to rest, He knew what was best. A respite is not only good for muscles, it helps you lose weight, stay focused, improve memory, increase creativity and even live longer. Your Heavenly Father knew busyness would abound and, therefore, the tendency to skip a day off would surface. So He specifically pointed out, even during the busiest times (plowing and harvest during biblical times), you need to rest.

At least once each week, make time for break time. Stop and observe God’s beautiful creation. List His attributes. But most of all, be still and know that He is God and will be “exalted among the nations.” (Psalm 46:10) Pray today for Christians across the nation – as well as your nation’s leaders – to regularly rest and reflect on the one true God and exalt Him only.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 46

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Power in United Prayer

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“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” —Matthew 18:19–20

Did you know there is power in united prayer? It is good to pray with other people. Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). This doesn’t mean that if people get together and pray for something ridiculous, they are going to get it. Rather, it is two people being led by the Spirit, with the same God-given burden, praying for something. There is power as we pray together.

That is why, when a Harvest Crusade is approaching, we encourage people to begin thinking of someone they could be praying for by name. At HarvestAmerica.com we have a Prayer Cloud where people can enter the names of those whom they want to see come to Christ. When they enter the names of people they are praying for, others will pray for those people as well. We do this because we recognize there is power in united prayer. So we pray together for things.

One of the things we should be praying for is that God would send revival to our nation. Will a revival come to the United States? No one can say with certainty. I hope it will. God gives the prescription for the healing of a nation in 2 Chronicles 7:14, where He 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.” That is what we want: for God to heal our land and turn our nation back toward Him.

Prevailing prayer, prayer that matters, and prayer that gets results is prayer that is lifted up together

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Such a Friend

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Max Lucado

In Proverbs 18:24 we read, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” David found such a friend in the son of Saul.

Oh to have a friend like Jonathan. A soul mate who protects you, who seeks nothing but your interests, wants nothing but your happiness. An ally who lets you be you. No need to weigh thoughts or measure words. God gave David such a friend.

And God gave you one as well. David found a companion in a prince of Israel; you can find a friend in the King of Israel, Jesus Christ. He has made a covenant with you. Among His final words were these, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus also said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from Me!”

Do you long for one true friend? You have One!

from Facing Your Giants

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Looks at the Heart

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Max Lucado

First Samuel 16:7 says:  “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Those words were written for misfits and outcasts.  God uses them all.  Moses ran from justice, but God used him.  Jonah ran from God, but God used him.  Rahab ran a brothel. Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all.

And David?  God saw a teenage boy serving him in the backwoods of Bethlehem.  Human eyes saw a gangly teenager, smelling like sheep. Yet, “the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.”  God saw what no one else saw:  a God-seeking heart.

Others measure your waist size or wallet.  Not God.  He examines hearts.  When He finds one set on Him, he calls it and claims it.Your Father knows your heart, and because He does, He has a place reserved—just for you!

from Facing Your Giants

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Right View of Repentance

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Charles Stanley

Luke 3:1-14

If you have ever watched soldiers doing close-order drill on a parade field, you know how quickly they can reverse themselves and head in the opposite direction. If they attempt this while standing still, the command is “about face.” If they want to reverse while marching, the command is “to the rear, march.” In either case, there is an abrupt change leading in an entirely different direction. This is a good picture of what genuine repentance looks like. It means to change one’s mind and start moving the opposite way.

One of the Bible’s greatest preachers of repentance was John the Baptist, who called his hearers to a complete “about face.” He had seen too many shallow gestures where people pretended to repent but were not willing to change their behavior. John insisted that those who exhibited only superficial contrition should instead “bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8). When his listeners asked what he meant by that, they were told to share their food and clothing, to be fair in their business practices, and to be content with their wages. In other words, they were to change their ways and leave their old patterns of behavior behind.

Repentance includes something else: a willingness to make restitution to anyone whom we have wronged. When Zaccheus the tax collector received Jesus into his house, he showed the true nature of his repentance when he said, “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8). Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any amends you may need to make.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Corine

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Our Daily Bread

1 Peter 4:7-11

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. —1 Peter 4:9

A group of us were helping to put together packets of material at an Our Daily Bread event in Orlando last winter when Corine greeted us. It was mid-morning, and she was sure we must be hungry and thirsty. I told her we were “fine,” and she replied, “I know you’re fine, but you need something to eat.” A few minutes later she came back with cold water and snacks.

Throughout the 2 days we were there, Corine came by to check on us, bring us food or water, and take away our trash. On one occasion, I thanked her and said, “You have the gift of hospitality, don’t you, Corine!” She looked down and replied, “I don’t know. But you write the devotional articles, and I’ll clean up. And God will be glorified.”

Corine’s desire is to bring God glory by helping people. She definitely has the gift of hospitality and practices it well. God has graced each of His children with skills and abilities so that He can minister to others through us. You can find those gifts listed in Romans 12:4-13, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, Ephesians 4:7-12, and 1 Peter 4:9-11.

The Lord has gifted us “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever” (1 Peter 4:11). —Anne Cetas

All Christians have been gifted

By grace from God above,

Equipped to build and strengthen

The church in faith and love. —Fitzhugh

You are one of a kind— designed to glorify God as only you can.

Bible in a year: Psalms 63-65; Romans 6

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Restoring Faith

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Ravi Z

Psychologists have long noted the “Consistency Principle” as a central motivator of human behavior. Research shows that our desire to be consistent with what we have previously done or decided, quietly but powerfully directs our actions. And while consistency is a good and valued trait, our longing for it can just as easily be detrimental. As professor of psychology Robert Cialdini notes, “Sealed within the fortress walls of rigid consistency, we can be impervious to the sieges of reason.”(1)

What might this mean in terms of outlook and belief? It is natural to want to be right. We want to remain unswerving in thought and deed with the things we have already done or said. We want to remain consistent and appear consistent. The fearsome thing is when we want to be consistent more than we want an honest reasoning of truth.

When I look at the agonized questions of Job in his unimaginable suffering, I am reminded of the difficult choice we face when contradicting information comes our way. Every principle and mindset that governed Job’s life was suddenly pulled out from under him by contradicting information. I remember the first time my worldview was challenged by moving outside of the world my teenage mind knew. Living in another country, experiencing a different culture and mindset and religions, the longing to hold on to all that I thought I knew was potent. At times all I wanted was to cling to some sense of consistency in my mind.

Job’s anguish shows his longing for what he thought he knew. The temptation to hold the pieces together was certainly present. Yet, even as the foundations of Job’s worldview cracked and crumbled, he refused to soothe the gaping wounds of his soul with theological fillers or compromising explanations. He remained utterly resistant to the easy answers, turning away from the superficial pieties and formulaic answers of his friends. Despite his pain, maybe even because of it, Job held fast to a sincere reasoning, hoping that God was still with him, longing for faith to be restored, demanding to know why life was crumbling even if it meant challenging notions formerly embraced.

His friends were not so willing. Their only goal was to remain consistent with the knowledge they neatly possessed, which meant countless attempts to argue away Job’s situation. Vigorously driven by their desire for self-exoneration, they overestimated and misused their understanding of the truth, turned a deaf ear to contradicting information, and blinded their eyes from the truth itself—and sadly their friend as well.

The prevalence of great skepticism beside so many explanations for life’s suffering be can also be blinding. For some the Socratic observation begins to sound comforting: All I know is that I know nothing. But this approach can be as unreasonable as clinging to religious formulas if it is simply a way a living with one’s eyes closed.

Job cast the inconsistencies of his experience upon the God he believed he knew—even when it meant shaking his sorrow and anger at God as well. What he found was God remaining in the midst of all of it. In the end, the story reports that Job is restored, mentioning more children and livestock. And while anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one might cringe at the suggestion that this loss can be restored, perhaps the true miracle of restoration here was that Job would be able to open himself to the possibility of life again.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Robert Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice (Needham Heights, MA:  Allyn & Bacon, 2001), 55.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Light of Heaven

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Alistair Begg

Its lamp is the lamb.   Revelation 21:23

Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in Scripture is the emblem of joy. The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this: Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: We are here entirely through the Lord Jesus. Each one of these thoughts shall be as sweet as a cluster of grapes.

Light is also the cause of beauty. Nothing of beauty is left when the light is gone. Without light no radiance flashes from the sapphire, no peaceful ray proceeds from the pearl; and so all the beauty of the saints above comes from Jesus. As planets, they reflect the light of the Sun of Righteousness; they live as beams proceeding from the central orb. If He withdrew, they must die; if His glory were veiled, their glory must expire.

Light is also the emblem of knowledge. In heaven our knowledge will be perfect, but the Lord Jesus Himself will be the fountain of it. Dark providences we’ve never understood will then be clearly seen, and all that puzzles us now will become plain to us in the light of the Lamb. Oh, what discoveries there will be, and what glorifying of the God of love!

Light also means manifestation. Light manifests. In this world it does not yet appear what we shall be. God’s people are a hidden people, but when Christ receives His people into heaven, He will touch them with the wand of His own love and change them into the image of His manifested glory. They were poor and wretched, but what a transformation! They were stained with sin, but one touch of His finger, and they are as bright as the sun and as clear as crystal. What a display! All this proceeds from the exalted Lamb. Whatever there may be of transcendent splendor, Jesus will be the center and soul of it all. Plan on being present to see Him in His own light, the King of kings and Lord of lords!

 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – God in the covenant

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CharlesSpurgeon

“I will be their God.” Jeremiah 31:33

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Samuel 22:1-7

Child of God, let me urge thee to make use of thy God. Make use of him in prayer; I beseech thee, go to him often, because he is thy God. If he were another man’s God, thou mightest weary him; but he is thy God. If he were my God and not thine, thou wouldst have no right to approach him; but he is thy God; he has made himself over to thee, if we may use such an expression, (and I think we may) he has become the positive property of all his children, so that all he has, and all he is, is theirs. O child, wilt thou let thy treasury lie idle, when thou wantest it? No; go and draw from it by prayer.

“To him in every trouble flee,

Thy best, thy only friend.”

Fly to him, tell him all thy wants. Use him constantly by faith, at all times. Oh! I beseech thee, if some dark providence has come over thee, use thy God as a sun, for he is a sun. If some strong enemy has come out against thee, use thy God for a shield, for he is a shield to protect thee. If thou hast lost thy way in the mazes of life, use him for a guide, for the great Jehovah will direct thee. If thou art in storms, use him, for he is the God who stilleth the raging of the sea, and saith unto the waves, “Be still.” If thou art a poor thing, knowing not which way to turn, use him for a shepherd, for the Lord is thy Shepherd, and thou shalt not want. Whate’er thou art, where’er thou art, remember God is just what thou wantest, and he is just where thou wantest . I beseech thee, then, make use of thy God.

For meditation: The false gods of the Greeks and Romans were given specific individual roles; the one true God is a glorious all-rounder—omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent—the complete opposite of the false god (1 Kings 18:27,37).

Sermon no. 93

3 August (1856)

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – How Do We Find Favor with God?

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Charles Stanley

Psalm 101:1-4

Once we have the favor of God through salvation, does it matter how we act? The Bible responds with an emphatic “Yes!” and gives us numerous examples of godly lives to consider.

• Noah responded to God by walking with Him daily. And our Father responds positively to those who walk closely with Him, live by His Word, and listen carefully to His Holy Spirit. For those of us who believe, that means not only making Scripture a vital part of our lives but also learning who God is and what He likes. How well do you know Him?

• Moses, despite initial protests, chose to obey the divine call and live life God’s way. The Lord favors followers who choose His preferences over their own—that is, those who think about their life in terms of pleasing Him. This requires learning to think as He does. How closely do your thoughts align with His?

• Paul, after his conversion, lived with the single-minded focus of serving Jesus. He sought to do his best by means of inward and outward obedience. The Lord favors those whose hearts are bent toward Him. Do others see that your life is centered around Christ?

• Mary responded with trust and did not doubt when the angel announced that she would give birth to the Messiah. God extends His blessings to those who choose to believe even when evidence says otherwise. How much do you trust the Lord?

We find favor with our heavenly Father through believing minds, responsive hearts, and obedient spirits. Won’t you let this increasingly describe you?

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Pass It On

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Our Daily Bread

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

As you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. —2 Corinthians 1:7

I’ve noticed through the years that those who have suffered are quick to comfort other sufferers. When a young couple suffers the loss of a child, another couple who also lost a child in the past asks if they can help. If a couple loses their main income, almost immediately another couple steps forward to offer their aid, remembering their own journey through foreclosure years earlier. Again and again we see the body of Christ supporting and encouraging one another. These Christians have learned that they can use the trials they’ve been through to reach out to others going through similar difficulties.

Have you been sick? Lost a loved one? Been imprisoned? Unfairly treated? In all of our trials, God promises to bring something good out of even our darkest moments (James 1:2-4). One key way this takes place is when we share the comfort He offered us with those who are now going through trials.

As Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, we are comforted by a Savior who knows our suffering, and we honor Him when we pass His comfort on to still others.

May we never leave someone to suffer alone. If we know the trail another is on, God will help us to guide that person to His presence—the surest comfort of all. —Randy Kilgore

Dear Lord, help us to step forward when

others around us are suffering trials similar to

what we’ve been through. Enable us to be a

comfort, as You have been to us in the past.

God comforts us so that we can comfort others.

Bible in a year: Psalms 60-62; Romans 5

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – If Only

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Ravi Z

Hindsight is 20/20. We know the truth of the expression all too painfully. A recent break-in into my car left me full of the tortured exercise. “If only I would have taken my purse into the gym…” “If only I would have been more careful choosing a parking spot…” “If only I had left my jewelry on…” Such thoughts are unending: If I would have paid closer attention, if I would have left a little sooner, if I would have left later… if only I knew then what I know now, things would have turned out differently.

Quite probably in many cases that is true. If we knew beforehand what we know after the fact, things could have very well turned out differently. Yet equally wrapped up somewhere within this “if only” mindset is the thought that things would not only have turned out differently, but that they would also have turned out better. Knowing this would take much more than 20/20 vision. While it is true that a slight variation of events might have saved me from filling out police reports and peering into my broken car window, it is equally true that a slight variation of events might have meant I was in the car when the thief approached—or that my son was with me. Standing on the other side of knowing gives us a different perspective, to be sure. But to assume that because of that perspective we now see perfectly is likely a perilous oversight.

The ancient Israelites often cried out to God in the belief that they were seeing perfectly. The shackles that bound them to Egypt and misery were broken off before their eyes. God moved them from slavery to freedom via the floor of the Red Sea, putting before his people a sign momentous enough to make an impression upon each day ahead of them. Yet walking through the adversities of the desert, they cried out as if never having seen the hand that was leading them. “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”(1)

It seems the view from hindsight can be as misleading as it is insightful. The Israelite’s mistreatment at the hands of the Egyptians was overlooked in their perception of the other side of the Red Sea. Moreover, their deliverance at the hands of God in hindsight was seen as unremarkable and unrelated to their need for God in the present.

The cry of “if only” is all too often a cry of distrust. The seemingly harmless expression insists that we know best, that we know what is better, that we know what we need. Like the Israelites in their forgetful wailing we are often certain that we not only know what will make our situations better, but what will finally make us content. We always seem to know just the thing our lives are missing. “If only we had meat to eat” the Israelites insisted, “we would be satisfied.” But they were not, and we are no more successful. In reality, what we need is often a far cry from what we think we need. For good reason many Christians can look back to a prayer and thank God that it wasn’t answered.

G.K. Chesterton speaks in a poem of the posture we often forget when the cry to change the past or achieve the perfect future emerges from our lips. He writes,

Thank God the stars are set beyond my power,

If I must travail in a night of wrath,

Thank God my tears will never vex a moth,

Nor any curse of mine cut down a flower.

Instead, the Christian is given the freedom of thankfulness that the one listening to her prayers sits with wisdom far greater than her own. Even Job who despairingly cried with good reason, “If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave” found in the end that he had spoken out of turn. But we can thank God that God’s thoughts are beyond our own, that God knows the longings we express and the ones we do not know to express. We can thank God for the promise and the mystery that things can somehow work for good—our trials, our mistakes, our past, our future.

God is at work even in the moments when we would cry “if only.” And his own “if only’s” are far more sobering. As Christ approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace…”(2)

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Numbers 14:2-3.

(2) Luke 19:41.