Tag Archives: religion

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Wait Patiently and Confidently

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“But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently” (Romans 8:25).

During my college days, I was not a believer. Only in retrospect can I appreciate in some measure the testimony of one of my professors, who was the head of the education department.

He and his wife were devout Christians. They had a Mongoloid child, whom they took with them wherever they went, and I am sure that their motivation for doing so – at least in part – was to give a testimony of the fruit of the Spirit, patience and love.

They loved the child dearly and felt that God had given them the responsibility and privilege to rear the child personally as a testimony of His grace, rather than placing her in a home for retarded children. The Bible teaches us that God never gives us a responsibility, a load or a burden without also giving us the ability to be victorious.

This professor and his wife bore their tremendous burden with joyful hearts. Wherever they went, they waited on the child, hand and foot. Instead of being embarrassed and humiliated, trying to hide the child in the closet, they unashamedly always took her with them, as a witness for Christ and as an example of His faithfulness and sufficiency.

They demonstrated patience and love by drawing upon the supernatural resources of the Holy Spirit in their close, moment-by-moment walk with God. Because of the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they were able to bear their trials supernaturally without grumbling or complaining. This is not to suggest that every dedicated Christian couple would be led of God to respond in the same way under similar circumstances. In their case, their lives communicated patience.

Bible Reading: Romans 8:18-24

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Knowing that God’s Holy Spirit indwells me and enables me to live supernaturally, I will claim by faith the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) with special emphasis on patience for today and every day.

Previous Day: Sunday, May 26, 2013

Next Day: Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Memorial Day 2013

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Not Theirs Alone

Deployment…you know the word because so many in this nation have been affected by it. The military takes a position of readiness to aid in the battle against terrorism. Any way you look at it, it means leaving the comforts of home and family and extending themselves to serve this country.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19

In much the same way, Jesus’ disciples were deployed to tell the resurrection story – a battle of a different kind. They sacrificed much to serve the Lord. The book of Acts recounts their struggles and suffering, as well as their successes, in proclaiming that Christ had risen. They did what Jesus told them to do.

But that command was not theirs alone. Deployment is not just for today’s military or for yesterday’s apostles. It is for you…you who know that Christ died and that He rose again to save the sinner from the punishment he should receive.

Take time on this Memorial Day to remember the men and women who died fighting for the freedom you enjoy. Then thank God for those who have gone before you unafraid to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ…even to the point of death. Don’t waiver. Serve the Lord. Spread the good news!

Recommended Reading: I Thessalonians 5:4, 8-17

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Greg Laurie – The Power of a Testimony

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“And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. . . .” —Revelation 12:11

As I have often said, the best defense is a good offense. And instead of trying to just hold our ground as Christians, we should gain ground. We should move forward. We should tell others about Christ.

When you identify yourself as a Christian, that is a good way to make yourself accountable, even to nonbelievers. By saying in your workplace (without being obnoxious), “I am a Christian,” by saying to members of your family or in your neighborhood or among your friends, “I am a follower of Jesus,” you are putting that stake in the ground, and they will be watching you and evaluating you.

And frankly, they will be evaluating God, too. They are will be thinking, So that is how a Christian acts. That is how a Christian treats his wife. That is how a Christian treats her husband. I get it. That is how a Christian raises their child. That is how a Christian does thus and so. . . . They will be watching you. And nothing is worse than getting your behavior corrected by a nonbeliever, especially when they are right.

Has that ever happened to you? You did something inconsistent, and your non-Christian friend said, “I thought you were a Christian.”

“Well, I am, praise God!”

“Then why did you just do that?”

Maybe you should just say it was because you sinned and then thank them for calling you on it.

When a believer is walking in fellowship with God, he or she will want to tell others about Christ.

Everyone has a testimony, which simply is their story. You don’t have to go through adversity to have a testimony. What would people say about you? You have a testimony. The question is whether it is a good one or a poor one.

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Charles Stanley – The Cost of Uncontrolled Anger

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James 1:19-20

Anger is an extremely powerful emotion. It can destroy lives, tear relationships apart, and ruin a believer’s witness.

The apostle Paul understood the negative potential of resentment, and he offered this advice on how to deal with it: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

When we’re right in the middle of tense situations, Paul’s recommendations may seem unrealistic and impractical. But unless we apply his advice, we could easily face the devastating consequences of uncontrolled rage. For example, our anger can shut down communication with others. It can also lead to a silent but very damaging type of resentment—the “passive-aggressive” person takes out his bitterness on others in subtle ways. One of the most harmful consequences of uncontrolled anger is depression. Over time, inner turmoil and unresolved conflicts will take their toll on a person’s mental health.

But we have a choice. We can let our anger control us—which means we opt to suffer the consequences. Or we can release this debilitating emotion by forgiving those we feel have stirred our bitterness.

Try to identify causes of anger in your life, and bring them before the Lord. Trust that He will empower you to overcome these sources of strife. Read Ephesians 4:31-3 once more, and let the truth of God’s Word strengthen you.

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Our Daily Bread — A Debtor

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2 Corinthians 5:12-17

The love of Christ compels us. —2 Corinthians 5:14

As a young man, Robert Robinson (1735–1790) enjoyed getting into trouble with his friends, so the stories go. At age 17, though, he heard a sermon by George Whitefield from Matthew 3:7, and realized his need for salvation in Christ. The Lord changed Robinson’s life, and he became a preacher. He also wrote several hymns, including his best-known “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

Lately I’ve been pondering God’s amazing grace toward us and the last stanza of that hymn: “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!” The hymn brings to mind the apostle Paul’s words: “The love of Christ compels [or constrains] us . . . that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15).

We can’t earn God’s love and grace. But because He has lavished it on us, how can we help but love Him in return by living for Him! I’m not exactly sure what that looks like, but it must include drawing near to Him, listening to His Word, serving Him, and obeying Him out of gratitude and love.

As debtors, we are called to live each day for Jesus who gave Himself for us. —Anne Cetas

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise. —Robinson

Those who know God’s grace show God’s grace.

 

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Alistair Begg – Do You Care Too Much?

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Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.  Psalm 55:22

Care, even when addressed to legitimate matters, if it is carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. Again and again Jesus exhorted His followers to avoid anxious care. The apostles reiterated the call; and it is one that cannot be neglected without involving transgression: For the very essence of anxious care is imagining that we are wiser than God and putting ourselves in His place as if we could do for Him what He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of things that we imagine Him forgetting; we work to take upon ourselves a heavy burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us.

Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption that intrudes upon His province, is all sinful. But more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. If we cannot calmly leave our affairs in God’s hand but attempt to carry our own burden, we will be tempted to use wrong means to help ourselves. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counselor and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the broken well instead of to the fountain, a sin of which Israel was guilty in the past.

Anxiety makes us doubt God’s loving-kindness, and so our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and in this we grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers are hindered, our consistent example spoiled, and our life one of self-seeking. Such lack of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise we cast each burden as it comes upon Him and are “not . . . anxious about anything”1 because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him and strengthen us against temptation. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”2

1 – Philippians 4:6

2 – Isaiah 26:1

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Charles Spurgeon – The two effects of the gospel

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“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” 2 Corinthians 2:15,16

Suggested Further Reading: Acts 13:42-52

The Gospel produces different effects. It must seem a strange thing, but it is strangely true, that there is scarcely ever a good thing in the world of which some little evil is not the consequence. Let the sun shine in brilliance—it shall moisten the wax, it shall harden clay; let it pour down floods of light on the tropics—it will cause vegetation to be extremely luxuriant, the richest and choicest fruits shall ripen, and the fairest of all flowers shall bloom, but who does not know, that there the worst of reptiles and the most venomous snakes are also brought forth? So it is with the gospel. Although it is the very sun of righteousness to the world, although it is God’s best gift, although nothing can be in the least comparable to the vast amount of benefit which it bestows upon the human race, yet even of that we must confess, that sometimes it is the “savour of death unto death.” But we are not to blame the gospel for this; it is not the fault of God’s truth; it is the fault of those who do not receive it. It is the “ savour of life unto life” to every one that listens to its sound with a heart that is open to its reception. It is only “death unto death” to the man who hates the truth, despises it, scoffs at it, and tries to oppose its progress.

For meditation: There is hope for one in whom the law of God produces a sense of death (Romans 7:10); it is a fearful thing when the life-giving Gospel is rejected and hardens the dead sinner.

Sermon no. 26

26 May (Preached 27 May 1855)

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Joyce Meyer – Do Good Works

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We are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us. —Ephesians 2:10

Years ago, when I first started walking more intimately with God, I used to wait for some special confirmation from Him for everything I wanted to do—until I learned that His Spirit abides in me to do good works. In the early years of walking with God, it was in my heart to give ten dollars to a woman in need.

I carried that desire in my heart for three weeks until I finally prayed, “God, is it really You telling me to give this person the money? I’ll do it if it’s really You!” Ten dollars was a lot of money back then and I did not want to part with it unless I had clear direction from God.

He spoke to me so clearly and responded, “Joyce, even if it isn’t really Me, I won’t get mad at you if you bless somebody!”

One of the fruits of the fact that God’s Spirit lives within us is goodness (see Galatians 5:22–23). Therefore, we have desires to be good to people. God told Abraham that He was going to bless him so he could be a blessing to others (see Genesis 12:2). Imagine how awesome it would be to reach the point where we simply live to make others happy as a service to God.

The world is full of people with needs. There is always someone, somewhere, who needs a word of encouragement. Someone needs a babysitter, help with transportation, or financial help. I find that when I spend time with God I feel a strong desire to help somebody and I have learned that desire is God speaking to me. God is good and when we spend time with Him we want to do good things for others.

Ask God each day to show you whom you can bless and remember that where love is, God abides (see 1 John 4:12).

God’s word for you today: Take advantage of every opportunity you have to do something good.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Wisdom Brings Peace

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“Wisdom gives a good, long life, riches, honor, pleasure, peace” (Proverbs 3:16,17).

High up in the Andes Mountains stands a bronze statue of Christ – the base of granite, the figure fashioned from old cannons – marking the boundary between Argentina and Chile.

“Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust,” reads the Spanish engraving, “than Argentines and Chileans break the peace sworn at the feet of Christ the Redeemer.”

Peoples of these two countries had been quarreling about their boundaries for many years, and suffering from the resultant mistrust.

In 1900, with the conflict at its highest, citizens begged King Edward VII of Great Britain to mediate the dispute. On May 28, 1903, the two governments signed a treaty ending the conflict.

During the celebration that followed, Senora de Costa, a noble lady of Argentina who had done much to bring about the peace, conceived the idea of a monument. She had the statue of Christ shaped from the cannons that had been used to strike terror into Chilean hearts.

At the dedication ceremony, the statue was presented to the world as a sign of the victory of good will. “Protect, Oh Lord, our native land,” prayed Senora de Costa. “Ever give us faith and hope. May fruitful peace be our first patrimony and good example its greatest glory.”

The monument stands today as a reminder that only Christ – the Prince of Peace – can bring real peace to the world. And that refers as much to individual peace as it does to national and international peace.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 3:18-23

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Like Solomon of old, I shall seek the wisdom that brings a good, long life, riches, honor, pleasure and the lasting peace that comes from God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Five Minutes to Midnight

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Small notice was paid last month when Martyl Langsdorf died. In 1947, she designed the Doomsday Clock. In 1953, it stood just two ticks from midnight. By 1991, it retreated to 11:43pm. Today, the scientists who adjust the minute hand according to annual assessments of threats to humanity have set the clock at five minutes to midnight.

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Philippians 2:10

News of wars, famines, earthquakes, spiritual deception, increases in wickedness point toward the imminent return of the Lord. Jesus and Paul both taught Christians to wait and be watchful, ready and sober, especially as you see the day of His return approaching. There will come a time when everyone will face God – when every knee will bow. Jesus’ absolute authority over Heaven and Earth will be acknowledged. There will be no exceptions.

Christian, are you living a watchful life, fully committed in anticipation of His return? Since you may be the only Bible someone else might read, does your witness give hope at five minutes to midnight? Pray for your own closer walk with your Savior, and intercede for your fellow citizens and your leaders that they will bow their knees…not in forced surrender, but in thanksgiving.

Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

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Alistair Begg – Your Cold Prayers

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Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer.  Psalm 66:20

In looking back upon the character of our prayers, if we do it honestly, we shall be filled with wonder that God has ever answered them. There may be some who think their prayers worthy of acceptance–as the Pharisee did; but the true Christian, who sees things clearly, must surely weep over his prayers, and if he could retrace his steps he would desire to pray more earnestly.

Remember, Christian, how cold your prayers have been. When in your closet you should have wrestled as Jacob did; but instead your petitions have been faint and few–far removed from that humble, believing, persevering faith that cries, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Yet, how wonderful to know that God has heard these cold prayers of yours, and not only heard, but answered them.

Reflect also how infrequent have been your prayers unless you have been in trouble, and then you have gone often to the mercy-seat: But when deliverance has come, what happened to your constant supplication? Yet, even though you have stopped praying as you once did, God has not stopped blessing. When you have neglected the mercy-seat, God has not deserted it, but the bright light of His glory has remained visible between the wings of the cherubim. How marvelous that the Lord should pay attention to our intermittent spasms of prayerfulness that ebb and flow with our needs. What a God He is to hear the prayers of those who come to Him when they have pressing concerns but neglect Him when they have received a mercy; who approach Him when they are forced to come but who almost forget to address Him when benefits are plentiful and sorrows are few.

Let His gracious kindness in hearing such prayers touch our hearts, so that from now on we may be found “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”1

1 – Ephesians 6:18

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Charles Spurgeon – Heavenly rest

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“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 14:12-16

From Monday morning till Saturday night, many of you will not be able to lay aside your needle and your thread, except when, tired and weary, you fall back on your chair, and are lulled to sleep by your thoughts of labour! Oh! how seasonable will heaven’s rest be to you! Oh! how glad will you be, when you get there, to find that there are no Monday mornings, no more toil for you, but rest, eternal rest! Others of you have had manual labour to perform; you have reason to thank God that you are strong enough to do it, and you are not ashamed of your work; for labour is an honour to a man. But still there are times when you say, “I wish I were not so dragged to death by the business of London life.” We have but little rest in this huge city; our day is longer, and our work is harder than our friends in the country. You have sometimes sighed to go into the green fields for a breath of fresh air; you have longed to hear the song of the sweet birds that used to wake you when you were young; you have regretted the bright blue sky, the beauteous flowers, and the thousand charms of a country life. And, perhaps, you will never get beyond this smoky city; but remember, when you get up there, “sweet fields arrayed in living green,” and “rivers of delight” shall be the place where you shall rest, you shall have all the joys you can conceive of in that home of happiness.

For meditation: The Christian’s rest in heaven will be enriched by the worth of his work for Christ on earth (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). Spurgeon says:- “There, up in heaven, Luther has no more to face a thundering Vatican; Paul has no more to run from city to city, and continent to continent; there Baxter has no more to toil in his pulpit, to preach with a broken heart to hard hearted sinners; there no longer has Knox to “cry aloud and spare not” against the immoralities of the false church.” What will you be missing?

Sermon no. 133

24 May (1857)

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John MacArthur – Saluting an Unknown Soldier

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The twelve apostles included “James the son of Alphaeus” (Matt. 10:3).

Lesson: Like most Christians, James the son of Alphaeus is an unknown and unsung soldier of the cross. His distinguishing characteristic is obscurity. Nothing he did or said is recorded in Scripture–only his name.

In Mark 15:40 he is called “James the Less,” which literally means “Little James.” That could refer to his stature (he might have been short), his age (he might have been younger than James the son of Zebedee), or his influence (he might have had relatively little influence among the disciples).

In Mark 2:14 Matthew (Levi) is called the son of Alphaeus. Alphaeus was a common name, but it’s possible that James and Matthew were brothers, since their fathers had the same first name. Also, James’s mother is mentioned in Mark 15:40 as being present at Christ’s crucifixion, along with other women. She is referred to as the wife of Clopas in John 19:25. Since Clopas was a form of Alphaeus, that further supports the possibility that James and Matthew were related.

From those references we might conclude that James was a small young man whose personality was not particularly powerful. If he was Matthew’s brother, perhaps he was as humble as Matthew, willing to serve the Lord without any applause or notice. Whichever the case, be encouraged that God uses obscure people like James, and rewards them accordingly. Someday James will sit on a throne in Christ’s millennial kingdom, judging the twelve tribes of Israel– just like the other more prominent disciples (Luke 22:30).

No matter how obscure or prominent you are from a human perspective, God can use you and will reward you with a glorious eternal inheritance.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank the Lord for all those people unknown to you whom He has used to shape your life for His glory.

Seek to be more like James, serving Christ faithfully without applause or glory.

For Further Study:

Read Luke 9:23-25. What did Jesus say is necessary to be His disciple?

Read Luke 9:57-62. What were those men unwilling to give up to follow Christ?

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Joyce Meyer – A Wandering, Wondering Mind

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Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:13 KJV

In the days when Peter wrote these words, men wore long flowing robes that hindered fast progress or strenuous action. They wore broad belts (or girdles) about their waists, and when they wanted to move into action, they “girded up their loins”—that is, they shortened their robes by pulling them up inside their belts.

That term is similar to what we mean when we say, “Roll up your sleeves.” Peter’s words here are a serious call to action—a reminder that when we lose our focus, it is time for us to do some serious thinking.

I’ve already talked about how staying too busy can result in an abnormal mind as opposed to a normal mind. Now I want to point out that another way the devil attacks your normal mind is by causing your thoughts to wander. It’s a mental attack. If you do not discipline your mind to remain focused on what is important, the devil will cause it to wander aimlessly to other things.

When this inability to concentrate goes on for a while, you may begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your mind. What you often fail to realize is that when you’ve allowed your mind to wander for so long, you’re hardly aware that it’s taking place.

In some cases, there may be physical causes for not being able to concentrate, such as anemia or certain B-vitamin deficiencies. You may not be eating properly. Or you may have become excessively fatigued. It’s a good idea to consider all the potential causes as you search for a solution. I’ve learned that when I’m excessively tired, Satan tries to attack my mind because he knows it’s more difficult for me to resist him during those times.

Sometimes a lack of concentration creates a lack of comprehension. Perhaps as you are reading the Bible, you find yourself hurrying to get through so you can do something else. Out of a sense of duty, you are determined to finish reading a chapter—and you do. But when you are finished, you can’t recall anything you have read. Your eyes scanned the pages, but your mind was engaged somewhere else.

Perhaps you have even experienced this battle for your mind in church. You attend regularly—and the devil can’t always stop that—but he can cause your mind to start wandering during the sermon. Have you ever been fully engrossed in listening to a sermon, and then you suddenly realize that your mind has wandered and you have no idea what was said?

If the devil can rob you of the benefits of reading the Bible and hearing God’s Word at church, he has won some major skirmishes in the battle for your mind. This is why Peter tells us to “gird up the loins of our minds.” You must take action by confronting your wandering mind and disciplining it to focus on what’s important.

In conversation, I used to fake it when I realized my mind had wandered. Now I deal with it honestly by asking, “Would you please back up and repeat that? I let my mind wander off, and I didn’t hear a thing you said.” This kind of behavior not only interrupts the plan of the enemy but also brings victory over the problem.

It’s not easy to discipline your mind when it has been allowed to wander aimlessly, but you can do it. When you discover that your thoughts have wandered, you must exercise discipline and make the necessary corrections. The devil would like to convince you that you can’t help yourself, but when you consistently come against his bid for your mind, he is defeated, and you have won another battle.

Holy Spirit, I realize how quickly Satan distracts me and then capitalizes on my wandering mind. Forgive me for allowing him to lead me astray. I thank You for giving me a good, clear mind, and in the name of Jesus, I ask You to help me overcome every temptation to lose my focus. Amen.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Long, Satisfying Life

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“If you want a long and satisfying life, closely follow my instructions” (Proverbs 3:2).

A famous children’s specialist declared, “When it comes to a serious illness, the child who has been taught to obey has four times the chance of recovery that the spoiled and undisciplined child has.”

Every parent should consider well the implications of that statement. We have all been taught that one of the Ten Commandments was for children to obey their parents.

But it is doubtful that many of us have ever considered that obedience might mean the difference between the saving or losing of a child’s life.

The hymnwriter who said that we should “trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus” well knew what he was saying. A “long and satisfying life” certainly would be synonymous with a “happy life.”

Many Christians have every intention of following God’s instructions – without ever really knowing what those instructions are. That is why it is supremely important for every believer to spend time in God’s Word, the book of instructions for Christians.

Are you one of those who truly want a long satisfying life? Then, are you willing to follow God’s instructions for your life? Are you willing to familiarize yourself thoroughly with His instructions so that you will have no difficulty knowing and following them?

Bible Reading: Proverbs 3:1-8

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will follow closely God’s instructions in order that I may live a long and satisfying life.

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – The Dark Enemy

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Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe says this: “Every form of life has its enemies. Insects have to watch out for hungry birds, and birds must keep an eye on hungry cats and dogs. Even human beings have to dodge automobiles and fight off germs. The life that is real also has an enemy…sin.”

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. I John 2:2

Sin is the darkness in life. It is outward disobedience and inner rebellion – refusal to submit to the law of God. You can’t whitewash it; neither can you cover it up without committing more sin. And that leaves you out of fellowship with God…the Light of life (I John 1:5).

He cannot close His eyes to sin and yet because He is God, He is love and wants to save sinners (1 John 4:8). At the cross, Jesus was the propitiation for your sins, suffering the punishment fully deserved by the sinner.

Darkness vs. light is unbelief vs. belief. Set yourself right before God by confessing your sin and turning from it. Then declare this saving grace to those around you. The people of this nation need to hear the truth of the gospel.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 5:6-17

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Greg Laurie – The Importance of Conscience

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Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. —Hebrews 10:22

We have a hypersensitive smoke alarm in our house. It goes off all the time. But I think it is better to have a smoke alarm that is too sensitive than to have one that isn’t sensitive enough.

As believers, we want to have a working conscience. The apostle Paul warned, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1–2).

If your conscience is sensitive, that is good. You don’t want it seared as though a hot iron had been applied to it.

I heard a story about a man who went to see the doctor with two severely burned ears. The doctor said, “You have to tell me—how did this happen?”

The man said, “Let me explain. I was ironing a shirt when someone called me on the phone, and I answered the iron instead of the phone.”

“That is horrible!” the doctor said. “That explains one of your ears being burned. How did you burn the other?”

“They called back.”

We don’t want our consciences to be seared. We want them to be sensitive and open to the work of the Holy Spirit.

We have this promise in 1 John 1: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (verse 7).

Because Jesus died on the cross and met the righteous demands of God, you can approach the Lord at any time, no matter what you have done, if you will confess your sin and ask for His forgiveness.

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Max Lucado – At Once, Man and God

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Christ—at once, man and God.  Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Christ there is all of God in a human body.” Jesus was not a godlike man, nor a manlike God.  He was God-man. What do we do with such a person? One thing is certain, we can’t ignore Him.  He is the single most significant person who ever lived. Forget MVP; He is the entire league. The head of the parade?  Hardly.  No one else shares the street.

Dismiss Him?  We can’t.  Resist Him?  Equally difficult.

Don’t we need a God-man Savior? A just-God Jesus could make us but not understand us.  A just-man Jesus could love us but never save us. But a God-man Jesus? Near enough to touch.  Strong enough to trust.  A Savior found by millions to be irresistible.

As the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:8, nothing compares to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

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Charles Stanley – Why We Miss God’s Will

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1 John 5:13-15

The Father has provided the Holy Spirit to teach His children about His will for their lives (John 14:26). Why, then, do we have difficulty understanding what the plan is?

We make decisions based on emotion. When life presses in on us, our instinct is to move away from the source of stress or pain. At such times, our need to remove difficulties and turmoil from our life can take precedence over the Lord’s plan. We figure He could not possibly want us to feel this way, so we take action and then hope that we are in His will. Our emphasis is on ourselves rather than on God’s purposes.

We focus only on the immediate. Many times we come to the Lord troubled about the choices we or our loved ones are facing. We do not see how this situation could possibly be His will. Our short-term focus prevents us from seeing God’s long-term purposes.

We conduct a superficial search. In our desire for an answer, we can fall into a trap and treat finding God’s will like a checklist—read the Bible, pray, fast, serve, worship, give. Then, satisfied with what we have done, we press the Lord for His answer now. But we have neglected to give God the time and stillness needed for us to hear from Him (Ps. 46:10). Investing time with our Creator is a necessity, not a luxury, and listening to Him without distractions is essential.

How much Bible study is required to find out what our heavenly Father wants for us? What amount of prayer? What quantity of time? The answer is simple: Whatever it takes to hear from God. He will answer. The question is, Will we wait?

 

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Ravi Zacharias Ministry – God and Good People

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“People are basically good,” writes one poet. “It is only their behavior that lets them down.”

It is remarkable today that despite religion, creed, or practice, many believe they are good enough to get into heaven. Perhaps there is so much bad news about others that they conclude by comparison they are superior, and thus, deserving of a place in eternity. But then it is even more remarkable that when Christians claim they know they are going to heaven, they are regarded as being conceited, boastful, and arrogant. People immediately ask: How can they think that they are better than everyone else?

The fact that the same person can think of himself as superior to others, while at the same time criticizing Christians for arrogance, underlines one of the effects of living in a world comfortable with inconsistency. Though the contradiction is frustrating, we all need to be able to respond coherently to the questions at hand: Why can’t I just be a good person? Isn’t it unfair of God to say that you can’t get into heaven unless you believe, even though you have been a good person? Who does God think He is?

Jesus was once asked a similar question by a group of inquirers: “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28). Interestingly, the question was posed in plural form; it seems they were looking for a list of good things to do. But Jesus replied in the singular, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one God has sent” (6:29).

Of course, in the minds of those who feel they have lived a good life, Christ’s answer will not go unchallenged. What makes belief so special? Surely what we do is far more important than what we believe. How can a good person, who is not a Christian, be denied access to eternal life on the basis of belief?

The difficulty here lies in the assumption that is being made in each of these questions—namely, that there is such a thing as a good person. Jesus again offers further clarification in the form of question and answer. He was once asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). The theory of the questioner was clear: Jesus is a good person; good people inherit eternal life, so what must I do to be in the same group? But Jesus’s reply was surprising. “Why do you call me good?” he asked (18:19). He then answered his own question: “No one is good—except God alone.”

The simple truth is that the issue is not about good people not inheriting eternity. Alas, the problem is much worse! Jesus seems to define goodness in terms of being like God, and on that basis there are no good people anywhere. Thus, the real question is not about who is good enough to get in to heaven. The real question is how God makes it possible for anyone to know and follow and be transformed by an eternal God at all. The answer is that we need to be forgiven, and that forgiveness is won for us through the Cross.(1)

In fact, this is precisely why the Gospel is called Good News, and why Christians do well to declare it. The good news is that knowing and following God is first and foremost about forgiveness. And thus, the Christian testimony is, in fact, far from arrogant! If a Christian is sure that he is forgiven it is not because he is good, but because he has received that forgiveness by believing in Christ.

In other words, if we will trust in and rely on Jesus—his promises, his person, his life, death, and resurrection—we can be sure that we are saved and living in his presence. Christians are not good people because they live morally superior lives to everyone else. They have been made “good” in God’s eyes because Christ has made forgiveness possible—because Christ has extended his own righteousness to those who will believe.

Good people will certainly inherit eternal life. However, the path to real and eternal life today lies not in religious observances or respectable acts, but in the forgiveness of a good God, given to us through the Cross of Christ.

Michael Ramsden is European director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in the United Kingdom.

(1) For further reading on this subject, I recommend The Cross of Christ by John Stott.