Tag Archives: religion

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God Is Faithful to Care for Us

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“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

God is completely faithful to do what He has promised.

We live in a day of unfaithfulness, don’t we? Some husbands and wives are unfaithful to their marriage vows. Children are often unfaithful to the principles taught by their parents. Parents are often unfaithful to meet the needs of their children. And all too frequently we are unfaithful to God.

Only God is always faithful, a fact often celebrated in Scripture: “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deut. 7:9). “Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Ps. 36:5). “Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23).

Let’s look at several areas in which God is faithful to us. First, He’s faithful in taking care of us. Peter says, “Let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Peter 4:19). The word translated “entrust” is a banking term that speaks of a deposit for safekeeping. We’re to give our lives to our “faithful Creator,” who is best able to care for us because He created us. “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Should You Be Passionate? 

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Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.   Galatians 5:24

“Passion” often gets mixed reviews. On the one hand, we have many verses in Scripture that tell us to put to death the passions and desires of the flesh. In fact, we’re told to flee worldly passions! Yet, on the other hand, Scripture seems to encourage in us passionate living. In the Psalms we see passion on great display, with the psalmist longing for the Lord “more than sentries long for the dawn” (Ps. 130:6).

The secret to understanding passion in Scripture is to focus on the object of our desire. Desire in and of itself is not a bad thing! When we’re told to put to death the desires of the flesh, this doesn’t mean we’re meant to live passionless and emotionless lives! The Christian life is never simply the turning away from sin and death, but is always at the same time the call to turn towards that which is good, holy, and true.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Spiritual Power

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Do not quench the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Recommended Reading

Galatians 4:1-7

The Bible says, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). It says, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Romans 8:14 tells us to be “led by the Spirit of God.” When Jesus ascended to heaven, He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell His people and to empower us in our work for Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit who lives the life of Christ through us and who achieves the work of Christ through us.

The Spirit of God has been given to us to empower us in our walk.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Get Alone With God

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But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open. —Matthew 6:6

Jesus rose early to be alone with God, but Peter pursued Him to let Him know that everyone was looking for Him (see Mark 1:35-36). When you get alone to pray, it may seem that everybody tries to hunt you down. But Jesus sought time alone with God so He could focus on His purpose.

We see the scenario of Jesus praying alone and then meeting the needs of others again and again. Jesus went throughout Galilee preaching and driving out demons. When a leper begged to be clean, Jesus touched him, and the leprosy completely left him (see Mark 1:39-42). If Jesus needed to be alone with the Father before He ministered to others, so do we.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – When Worry Weakens Your Soul

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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:34

Friend to Friend

My husband, Steve, and I sat anxiously in our seats. I wondered if I was going to be able to endure the ride, especially knowing my propensity for motion sickness. But we began nonetheless.

The guide strapped all passengers into the tiny boats and gave last minute instructions. Of course there were life preservers, but what good would they do in the fierce rapids that threatened to suck its prey below the surface?

The crew boarded and began the journey down the mysterious Amazon. The calm meandering waters quickly gave way to fierce torrents, rushing rapids, and rocky crags protruding from the foaming waters. Alternating between plunging into the water and flying into the air, the boat made its way through the first set of rapids. My body relaxed, thankful that was over. Several times along the journey calm gave way to chaos as passengers maneuvered to keep the boats afloat. Often, I closed my eyes and waited for the turbulence to pass.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Anything You Ask

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“You can get anything – anything you ask for in prayer – if you believe” (Matthew 21:22).

God’s Word reminds us that we have not because we ask not (James 4:2). Jesus said, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7, KJV).

A godly widow with six children was facing great stress. The family had eaten their last loaf of bread at the evening meal. The next morning, with no food in the house, the trusting mother set seven plates on the table.

“Now, children,” she said, gathering them around her, “we must ask God to supply our need.”

Just as she finished her prayer, one of the children shouted, “There’s the baker at the door.”

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – An Astonishing Impact

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Read: Isaiah 52:13-15

Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men—so shall he startle many nations… (Isaiah 52:13-15a RSV)

This section, which describes the remarkable impact that the Messiah would make upon mankind, opens with a declaration that he would be successful in all that he did: Behold, my servant shall prosper. That success would be accomplished in three specific stages, described here: He shall be exalted; he shall be lifted up; he shall be very high.

First, in the words, He shall be exalted, there is a reference to the resurrection. Jesus was brought back from the dead, stepping into a condition of life that no man had ever entered before. Lazarus had been resurrected, in a sense, but he merely returned to this earthly life. Jesus, however, became the firstborn from the dead, (Colossians 1:18). He was thus exalted to a higher dimension of existence.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Riddler

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Read: Judges 13:3-5, 14:1-19

Let me now put a riddle to you. (14:12)

The story of Samson not only contains riddles, it is a riddle. Although some think of him as a Hebrew folk hero, I prefer the words of one commentator who called Samson “an oversexed buffoon.” His story is the longest in the Book of Judges, and he is the final judge mentioned in the book. Rather than being the wonderful culmination of the story, he is more of a puzzling disappointment. Samson’s life was chaotic, and chaos follows for Israel throughout the rest of Judges.

Samson was consecrated by his mother to be a Nazirite, someone set apart to serve God. The rules for Nazirites are spelled out in Numbers 6, all of which have to do with ceremonial cleanliness. Usually someone kept a Nazirite vow for a short period of time. Samson was supposed to be a Nazirite for life.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M. – Rainbow Promise

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Tyler Perry, an American actor, producer and director, was spending time in prayer with the Lord on New Year’s Day. Then Perry looked up and saw a rainbow in the sky, reminding him of God’s promise to Noah in Genesis 9:13. He took a photo and posted it online. “I had just finished praying and thanking God for all that He had done for me over all these years. I was so full as I came out of the room,” Perry said. “I was thanking Him and praying for a great 2016, and then I saw this right off the balcony!”

To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 123:1

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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Unforgiveness and Unanswered Prayer

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“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”—Mark 11:25–26

Prayer is a wonderful privilege. We can pray anytime or anywhere. Daniel prayed in a cave filled with hungry lions. The apostle Paul prayed when he was in a dungeon in chains. Peter prayed on the surface of the water. And Jonah prayed under the water. So wherever you are, you can pray.

I hope that you are praying for Harvest America. It has the potential to be the largest evangelistic outreach in American history! No matter where you are, you can be a part of this historic event through prayer.

But maybe you have you been praying about something for a long time, and nothing has happened. Maybe it is a legitimate request—you are asking God for His wisdom or provision—yet it seems your prayer is going unanswered.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Omnipresent

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“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I fell from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7)

Did you ever want to be in two places at once? Well, it is actually possible to say you have been in two places at once. You could travel to Colorado and stop at the Colorado and Wyoming state line. You could put your left foot on the Colorado state side and your right foot on the Wyoming state side. Then you would be standing in two places at once!

OK, so technically that is cheating a little. Truly, it is impossible for us human beings to be in more than two places at once. We have only one body, and only two feet! Being everywhere at once would be even more difficult for us than being only two places at once. What truly is amazing is that God has no problem being two places at once, or five, or thirty, or thirty-five thousand places at once. Why? Because God is God, it is more than possible for Him to be present in every possible place at once. He is everywhere!

The dictionary defines “omnipresent” as “present everywhere simultaneously.” That means God is everywhere, all the time, at the same time. He is with you when you are sleeping, when you are at school, and when you are outside playing. How can that be? Because He is everywhere, all at once. At the same time that He is with you at your house, He is also present in your best friend’s home.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional –Work or Trust?

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 62:8

“Trust in him at all times.”

We often speak of “letting the Lord live his life through me.” I’m personally uncomfortable with this expression because it suggests a passivity on our part. He doesn’t live his life through me. Rather, as I depend on him, he enables me to live a life pleasing to him.

Some years ago when I was following this more passive approach, which seemed more spiritual to me at the time, I was struggling to love a Christian brother. One evening God really dealt with me about my lack of love, and I sensed God saying to me, “If I love him, can you?” I responded, “Lord, I can’t, but I’m willing for you to love him through me.”

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – A Heart After God

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Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 16-19

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16

Most of us put a lot of stock in outward appearance. While there’s nothing wrong with combing our hair and smelling good, it says a lot about our basic orientation to life. We are most concerned with how other people see us.

Not so with God. When the Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king, Samuel was impressed with Eliab, but God said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Does that mean that a big, good-looking guy cannot be a spiritual leader? No, of course not. It just means that God looks for something deeper than that: a heart that is given to Him.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – A Heart After God →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – ELIJAH’S MUCH-NEEDED REST

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Read 1 Kings 19:1-18

We are sleeping less than ever before. One study showed that over the past five decades average sleep duration on work nights has decreased by an hour and a half, down from eight and a half to just under seven. Thirty-one percent of us sleep fewer than six hours a night, and 69 percent report insufficient sleep.

The Bible has a theology of sleep. According to the psalms, sleep is God’s gift (Ps. 3:5; 4:8; 127:2). In today’s passage, sleep was part of God’s prescription for Elijah’s exhaustion and depression. After his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Jezebel swore to kill Elijah. The prophet fled for his life, running 120 miles to Beersheba. After leaving his servant behind, he traveled another day’s journey into the wilderness and asked God to let him die.

Instead of dealing with Elijah’s discouragement immediately, the Lord prescribed a regimen of rest and diet. Strengthened by this, Elijah traveled forty more days to Mount Sinai (referred to as Horeb in v. 8). After he was rested, refreshed, and relocated, he was ready to hear God’s perspective on his situation and receive instructions on what to do next.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – THE BACHELOR IS A STRONG CHRISTIAN—WHY NOT ON THE SHOW?

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Ben Higgins is the most famous software salesman in America. The six-foot-five graduate of Indiana University loves children and the Chicago Cubs. He also stars on this season’s The Bachelor. And he is a strong evangelical Christian.

You wouldn’t know the last fact from watching the show, however.

According to Slate’s Ruth Graham, Higgins makes his faith clear—he blogs about Jesus, quotes Christians on his Instagram, and wears a tattoo of Proverbs 16:3. But the show’s producers blur or minimize his commitment to Christ, so viewers get only a glimpse of generic religion as they follow his story. And they don’t know that Ben plans to abstain from sex until he is married.

Why is his faith so secret on the show? I could not find any information about the personal faith of Mike Fleiss, the show’s producer. But his goal for The Bachelor is clear: to attract as many viewers as possible. Fleiss says the average Bachelor sleeps with three women each season. This is clearly part of the show’s allure.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Pursuit of Humility

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Read | Ephesians 4:1-3

To accomplish anything in life, we must set a goal and devote our energy and time to achieving it. When people don’t realize that God has objectives in mind for their lives, they just float aimlessly. Not only does God have specific aims for each of us individually, but He also has goals that apply universally to all believers, such as a relentless, lifelong pursuit of humility.

Humility is more than a healthy view of our merit; it is a servant’s attitude that acknowledges total dependence on God. Few people are excited about pursuing humility because it’s considered a weakness. But if we understand God’s view of it, we’ll realize that humility is an extremely significant quality. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” In order of priority, Jesus comes first, others are second, and we are last.

We speak emphatically about loving others, forgiving unconditionally, and acting with kindness. But the root of these actions is humility. To be able to love and forgive others, we must be willing to recognize their great worth in God’s eyes and the magnitude of His compassion and forgiveness toward mankind. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

If we think only of how we feel, what’s convenient for us, or how we can profit from a situation, we won’t be demonstrating Jesus’ love. However, when humility is our goal, then love, forgiveness, and kindness will grow out of it.

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 9-11

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Forward Look

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Read: Luke 2:21-35

Bible in a Year: Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20

Simeon . . . was righteous and devout . . . and the Holy Spirit was on him. —Luke 2:25

When the great Dutch painter Rembrandt died unexpectedly at age 63, an unfinished painting was found on his easel. It focuses on Simeon’s emotion in holding the baby Jesus when He was brought to the temple in Jerusalem, 40 days after His birth. Yet the background and normal detail remain unfinished. Some art experts believe that Rembrandt knew the end of his life was near and—like Simeon—was ready to “be dismissed” (Luke 2:29).

The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon (v. 25), so it was no coincidence that he was in the temple when Mary and Joseph presented their firstborn son to God. Simeon, who had been looking for the promised Messiah, took the baby in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (vv. 29-32).

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Time Given

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In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, the young hobbit, has been given the burden of bearing the one ring of power. It is a ring that has the potential to put all of Middle Earth under terror and shadow, and the darkness is already spreading. With a fellowship of friends, Frodo determines he must start the long, dark journey to destroy the ring by throwing it into the volcano from which it was forged. It is a journey that will take him on fearful paths through enemy territory and overwhelming temptation to the ends of himself. Seeing the road ahead of him, he laments to Gandalf the Wise that the burden of the ring should have come to him in the first place.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”(1)

A fan of Tolkien’s epic fantasy once wrote the author to say that he preferred to read The Lord of the Rings particularly during the season of Lent. Though I don’t know all this reader had in mind with such a statement, Tolkien’s portrayal of a journey into darkness with the weight of a great burden and a motley fellowship of companions certainly holds similarities to the journey of the church toward the cross. The forty-day period that leads to Easter is both an invitation and a quest for any who would be willing, albeit a difficult one. The deliberate and wearisome journey with Christ to the cross is a crushing burden, even with the jarring recognition that we are not the one carrying it. On the path to Holy Week, the fellowship of the church far and wide is given time to focus in detail on what it means that Jesus came into this world that he might go the fearful way of the Cross. It is time set apart for pilgrimage and preparation, forty days with which we decide what to do with the time that is given us.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – God Is Truth

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“‘He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true’” (John 3:33).

Since God is true in everything He does, we can trust Him and His Word.

God’s truthfulness is taught often in Scripture. Balaam, though no righteous man, got this right: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it?” (Num. 23:19). Samuel said to King Saul that God “will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (1 Sam. 15:29). Paul tells us, “God . . . cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), and “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom. 3:4). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).

Because God is true, and “all Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Tim. 3:16), it follows that His Word is completely true. The psalmist says, “The sum of Thy word is truth” (Ps. 119:160), and Jesus says, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

The Bible, and therefore God Himself, is constantly under attack by critics. They say God doesn’t exist. But the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 14:1; 53:1). They say the world came into being by itself. But Scripture says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). They say the miracles in the Bible never happened. But God’s Word says that Jesus came “with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him” (Acts 2:22).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Motivation From Revelation 

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Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. Revelation 1:19

Sometimes I scratch my head while seeking to understand practical applications for my life from the prophetic Book of Revelation. The figurative imagery and symbolism can be confusing, even overwhelming. But the more I interpret Scripture with Scripture—and the more I pray over the futurist words in this last book of the Bible—the more I take to heart God’s promises for my life with Jesus. Just to reflect on the perseverance and love of the exiled and elderly disciple John challenges me to endure hardships and love radically. Revelation inspires a godly motivation!

Verse 19 of chapter one gives us a three part outline of the entire book of Revelation. The first section is defined as “what John has seen”, which is the exalted Christ described in chapter one. The second section is “what is now”, where John addresses the condition of the seven churches of Asia in chapters two and three. The third and last section of Revelation are chapters four to twenty-two which covers “what will take place later”—the second coming of Jesus and His millennial reign. Revelation is motivation to focus on Christ glorified and His bride the church.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).

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