Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Defeating the Devil's Strategies -- Dr. Charles Stanley


John 21:15-19

All of us make tracks through the valley of failure. Then the key question is, What we will do next? Sadly, many believers who stumble give up a vibrant kingdom-serving life for a defeated existence. But failure can also be a chance for a new beginning of living in Christ's strength.

In pride, Peter thought his faith was the strongest of all the disciples' and swore that even if the others left Jesus, he never would (Mark 14:29). Yet when the time of testing came, he denied even knowing Christ--and did so three times (Matt. 26:69-75). Satan hoped the disciple would be so wounded by his own disloyalty that his faith would be undermined by shame, condemnation, and despair.

Likewise, when the Enemy sifts believers today, his goal is for us to become shelved and ineffective for God's kingdom. That's why he goes after our strengths, especially the areas in which we proudly consider ourselves invincible. But if we're willing, the Lord can use our failures to do spiritual housecleaning, as He did in Peter's life. After the resurrection, Jesus met with the disciple personally and restored him, preparing him to become a great leader in the early church. He made it clear that Peter's potential to serve was defined, not by failure, but by his unwavering love for Christ.

Peter laid down his pride, received the healing Jesus offered, and put on courage with the Holy Spirit's help. He then risked his life fearlessly to further the gospel, and many came to Christ through his example. Failure was the catalyst that grew in him a stronger, more authentic faith.



P.S .Encouraging you to support Chick-Fil-A tomorrow by eating there for their stance on the Biblical definition of marriage which, by the way, I do adhere to as well.(Gen.2:18-24;  Eph.5:25 – 6:4; Col.3:18-20)


Monday, July 30, 2012

CREATING OUR OWN LIGHT – Dr. Neil Anderson


The fearful hare trembles at every cry; but the courageous lion is unmoved by the greatest clamors. Were believers to shrink back at every contrary wind that blows, they would never make their voyage to heaven.
William Secker, seventeenth-century clergyman


Isaiah 50:11

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand; and you will lie down in torment

When your way suddenly gets dark, don't light your own fire. Our natural tendency when we don't see life God's way is to do it our way. Resist the urge to create your own light.

In Isaiah 50:11, God is not talking about the fire of judgment; He's talking about fire that creates light. When we try to find our way out of the darkness by our own devices instead of waiting for God's light, God will allow it, but misery will follow.

Let me illustrate. God called Abraham out of Ur into the Promised Land. In Genesis 12, a covenant was made in which God promised Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the sands of the sea or the stars in the sky. Abraham lived his life in the light of that promise, then God turned out the light.

So many years passed that his wife Sarah could no longer bear a child by natural means. God's guidance had been so clear before, but now it looked like Abraham would have to assist God in its fulfillment. Who could blame Abraham for creating his own light? Sarah supplied the match by offering her handmaiden to Abraham. Out of that union came the Arab nation which has been in conflict with the Jewish nation ever since. Abraham created his own light, God allowed it, and misery followed.

We may not have to wait as long as Abraham did, but our darkness may last for weeks, months, and possibly for some exceptional people, even years. But God is in control and He knows exactly how big a knothole He can pull us through. When your faith is stretched to its limit and you are about to break, He will pull you through to the other side and you will never go back to the shape you were in before.

Prayer: The dark times are difficult, Lord, but I thank You for how I have grown and matured as I have trusted You through them.

Thursday, July 26, 2012


"To obtain an inheritance which is . . . reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:4-5).


When Peter wrote his first epistle, attitudes toward Christians in the Roman Empire were not at all favorable. Because they would not worship the emperor as a god, or enter into other sinful pagan practices, Christians were looked upon with suspicion and disdain. In addition, Nero had blamed them for burning Rome (an act he himself perpetrated), so anger and hatred toward them was at its peak.

Peter wrote to encourage them--and all believers--to live out their faith amid persecution, just as Jesus had done when He suffered unjustly (cf. 1 Pet. 2:21-23). He reminded them that despite the sufferings they might endure in this life, God will reward them with an inheritance that is eternally secure because it is reserved in heaven for them.

"Reserved" in 1 Peter 1:4 indicates an inheritance that already exists, is presently protected, and will continually be protected. The place of its protection is heaven, where "neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal" (Matt. 6:20), and where "nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever [enter], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 21:27). There is no safer place!

Not only is your inheritance protected for you, but also you are protected for it! That's what Peter meant when he said that it is "reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:4-5). The omnipotent, sovereign power of God will continually protect you until His work is fully accomplished in your life. Then He will grant you glorification: the fullness of the salvation for which He redeemed you.

You needn't fear the loss of your inheritance. Instead, rejoice in the protection of our gracious God.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for His protection and for the assurance of your inheritance.

For Further Study:

What do these verses teach about the security of your salvation: Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 1:6, and Jude 24?

By John MacArthur

Wednesday, July 25, 2012


"To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away" (1 Pet. 1:4).


Despite the benefits of bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and a myriad of other investment opportunities, every earthly inheritance eventually is lost. If someone doesn't steal it, or if it doesn't lose its value in a stock market crash or recession, death will separate it from you. It's inevitable! That's why Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal" (Matt. 6:19-20).

The influence of sin and corruption doesn't apply only to finances--it affects everything. Paul said, "The creation was subjected to futility . . . in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now" (Rom. 8:20-22). Nothing on earth escapes sin's corruption.

But your eternal inheritance is not like earthly treasures. It is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (1 Pet. 1:4). "Imperishable" means it is incorruptible and unable to decay. The Greek word used describes a land that had never been ravaged or plundered by an invading army. The idea is that your spiritual inheritance is secure and can never be violated by an intruder--not even Satan himself. "Undefiled" speaks of something unpolluted by sin. "Will not fade away" suggests a supernatural beauty that time cannot impair. Peter used the same word in 1 Peter 5:4 to speak of the unfading crown of glory that faithful church leaders will receive when Christ returns.

Your inheritance is unique among treasures. No one can steal it, and nothing can corrupt or diminish it in any way. It's yours to enjoy to its fullest throughout all eternity. Don't let the pursuit of perishable things distract you from the joy of eternal riches.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask the Lord to help you keep a proper perspective on what is of greatest value in His eyes.

By- John MacArthur

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Devotion


“He is not only the Shepherd but "that great shepherd," just as He is not only High Priest, but our "great High Priest," and not merely King, but the "King of Kings"
Arthur Pink


Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is your glory and defense. He is a man of war; Jehovah is His name. All the forces of heaven are at His command; legions wait at His door; cherubim and seraphim, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers are all attentive to His will. If our eyes were not blinded by the dust of sin, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord's servants. The powers of nature are all subject to the absolute control of the Creator: Stormy wind and tempest, lightning and rain, snow and hail, and the soft dews and cheering sunshine come and go at His decree.

The bands of Orion He looses, and He binds the sweet influences of the Pleiades.1 Earth, sea, and air and the places under the earth are the barracks for Jehovah's great armies; space is His camping ground, light is His banner, and flame is His sword. When He goes forth to war, famine ravages the land, pestilence smites the nations, hurricane sweeps the sea, tornado shakes the mountains, and earthquake makes the solid world to tremble.

As for animate creatures, they all own His dominion, and from the great fish that swallowed the prophet down to "all manner of flies," which plagued the field of Zoan,2 all are His servants, and even the caterpillars and the worms are squadrons of His great army, for His camp is very great. My soul, see to it that you are at peace with this mighty King. Be sure to enlist under His banner, for to war against Him is madness, and to serve Him is glory.

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is ready to receive recruits for the army of the Lord: If I am not already enlisted, let me go to Him before I sleep and beg to be accepted through His merits; and if I be already, as I hope I am, a soldier of the cross, let me be of good courage, for the enemy is powerless compared with my Lord, whose camp is very great.

1Job 38:31 2Psalm 78:43-45


Friday, July 20, 2012

PERCEPTIONS AND EMOTIONS – Dr. Neil Anderson





Lamentations 3:22, 23

The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compasssions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness

In a general sense, your emotions are a product of your thought life. If you are not thinking right, if your mind is not being renewed, if you are not perceiving God and His Word properly, it will be reflected in your emotional life.

One of the best scriptural illustrations of the relationship between perceptions and emotions is found in Lamentations 3. In verses 1-6, Jeremiah expresses despair as he wrongly perceives that God is against him and that He is the cause of his physical problems. In verses 7-11, 18, he vents his feelings of entrapment and fear. If your hope was in God, and these words were a correct portrayal of God, you would probably feel bummed out too.

What was Jeremiah's problem? His perception of God was way off center. God wasn't the cause of his affliction. God isn't a wild beast waiting to chew people up. But Jeremiah wasn't thinking right, perceiving right, or interpreting his circumstances right, so he wasn't feeling right or responding right either.

Suddenly, Jeremiah's countenance changes: "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness" (verses 21-23). What a turnaround! Did God change? Did Jeremiah's circumstances change? No. His perception of God changed and his emotions followed suit.

You are not shaped so much by your environment as you are by your perception of your environment. Life's events don't determine who you are; God determines who you are, and your interpretation of life's events determines how well you will handle the pressures of life. In reality we have very little control over our emotions, but we do have control over our thoughts, and our thoughts determine our feelings and our responses. That's why it is so important that you fill your mind with the knowledge of God and His Word. You need to see life from God's perspective and respond accordingly.

Prayer: Lord, continually adjust my perception of my environment to match Your perspective found in Your Word


Monday, July 16, 2012

Prewired for Hope – by Greg Laurie


“God saw not only what we were- He was faithful in seeing what we could become. He took away the curse of being and gave us the glorious blessing of becoming.” A. W. Tozer


For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. - (Colossians 1:4–5)

Did you know that you were prewired for hope? There is a restlessness in the human heart for something more than this world can offer.

As Augustine said, “You created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”

As believers, our hope is built on a sure foundation, and that is the hope of heaven. The apostle Paul spoke of faith that springs from this hope: “For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4).

It is a bit like the Golden Plovers. Native to Hawaii, these little birds migrate during the summer to the Aleutian Isles, some 1,200 miles away. There they mate and lay their eggs. Then, after their little fledglings are born, they return to Hawaii. Even more amazing is that their little fledglings, which are too young to return with their parents, fly to Hawaii once they have grown a little. God has given them a homing instinct that makes this possible.

In the same way, God has given us a homing instinct for a place we have never been. We have never been to heaven, but we long for it, because heaven is our home. C. S. Lewis calls it the inconsolable longing. This is what the Bible means when it says that God has set eternity in our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). Like the Golden Plovers, we have a heavenly GPS

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Seeing Adversity from God's Viewpoint – Dr. Charles Stanley



When adversity hits you like a ton of bricks, it could easily throw you into a pit of discouragement and despair. Although you may consider difficulties as setbacks, the Lord sees them as times for great advancement. His purpose for allowing them is not to destroy you but to stimulate your spiritual growth. In His great wisdom, the Lord knows how to take an awful situation and use it to transform you into the image of Christ and equip you to carry out His will.

Every adversity that comes into your life is sifted through God's permissive will. That doesn't mean the difficulty itself is His perfect will, but He's allowed the trial to touch you so that He can use it to accomplish His wonderful purposes for your life. Although some of the suffering we see and experience seems senseless or blatantly evil, we must recognize that we have a very limited perspective and cannot always understand what the Lord is doing.

Our heavenly Father sees every aspect of life, but our view is restricted to what is right before us. His plans include not only you but all of His creation, and they reach from the beginning of time to eternity future. Though we'll never grasp the infinite mind of God, we can know His faithfulness and love.

When you can't understand God's ways, focus on His perfect knowledge, wisdom, and power rather than the magnitude of your sorrow. Remember, He sees the entire picture and loves you more than you can imagine. This is a time to walk by faith, as perfect understanding comes only in heaven.


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

"Offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5).


 

"Praise the Lord" is a common expression today. Some see it as a catchy slogan, others commercialize it, still others reduce it to nothing more than "P.T.L." But despite such attempts to trivialize it, praising the Lord remains the believer's expression of love and gratitude to a God who has been abundantly gracious to him. That was the cry of David's heart when he said, "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Ps. 34:1-3). That will be the song of believers for time and eternity!

God desires and deserves your praise. That's why Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through [Christ] . . . let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." But what is praise? Is it merely saying "praise the Lord" over and over again, or is there more to it?

Two aspects of praise are obvious in Scripture. First is reciting God's attributes. That was the typical means of praise in the Old Testament. For example, Psalm 104 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Thyself with light as with a cloak" (vv. 1-2).

The second aspect of praise is reciting God's works. Psalm 107:21-22 says, "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing."

Praise involves reciting God's attributes from a heart of love, giving Him honor and reverence for who He is. It also involves reciting what He has done on behalf of His people. Your praise should follow the same pattern so it will be an acceptable spiritual sacrifice to your loving God.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Read Psalm 103 as a prayer of praise to God

By John MacArthur

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Trap of Discouragement – Dr. Charles Stanley



Habakkuk 1:2

Do you feel stuck in discouragement? If so, you are not alone.

At some point everyone experiences dashed hopes. Disappointment—an emotional response to a failed expectation—is the normal initial reaction. But allowed to linger, it can turn into discouragement, which hovers like a dense cloud. When that’s the case, there is no sense of joy or contentment, no matter what you do.

The circumstances that trigger these emotions may be unavoidable, but the way we respond is a choice. We can either let sadness overwhelm our souls or face the situation with courage and bring it before the One who can help us.

Living in discouragement will divide the mind, making it hard to focus on anything besides our pain. Then as anger becomes habitual, we’ll look for someone to blame—whether God, people around us, or ourself.

Frustration that isn’t handled well may develop into depression, which in turn can estrange us from others—people do not enjoy the company of someone who’s bitter and defeated. This isolation leads to a low self-esteem. Finally, in a fog of discouragement, we can make poor decisions based on crushed emotions instead of truth. Obviously, choosing this self-destructive path is not God’s best for our lives.

Though we’ll all face disappointment from time to time, believers are not to wallow in it. Instead, God wants us to trust Him with everything—even our unmet expectations and deepest sadnesses. Remember, there is divine purpose for everything He allows to touch His children’s lives (Rom. 8:28).

Seeing Red: A Look From the Wall by Dr. David Jeremiah



Seeing Red: A Look From the Wall

And [Rahab] sent them [the Israelite spies] away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
Joshua 2:21
Recommended Reading
Hebrews 11:30-31
When Joshua was ready to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, he chose two men and sent them to spy out the land--and especially the city of Jericho: "When you get to Jericho, find a local prostitute and spend the night in her house. You will be less conspicuous that way." No, that is definitely not what Joshua told the spies. He didn't tell them where to stay--he left that to their discretion and God's provision.
When the spies entered Jericho and met Rahab--who was, indeed, a prostitute in the city--they discovered a unique person. She had an immoral lifestyle, she lied to the officials of Jericho about the men being in her house, but she also had a striking spiritual sensibility. She knew God was going to give Jericho over to the Israelite army, and she didn't want to perish with the city, so she made a bargain with the spies and remained safe by binding a scarlet cord in the window on the city wall. For her faithfulness, the spies agreed her house and family would be spared in the attack.

We should never anticipate how God is going to accomplish His purposes. His ways are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). We should prepare to be surprised and submissive to His will.

God's ways are behind the scenes, but He moves all the scenes which He is behind.
John Nelson Darby
Read-Thru-the-Bible
Proverbs 21:1–26:28

--From Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah