SEX

Proverbs 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
 

Many people have had their reputation, their career, and even their lives destroyed by sex outside of marriage. God's word is true, “ he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.”

 

We all know of circumstances and people so selfish that they want what others have. They envy and desire what ever others have, and, many times it is their good friend's.

 

In today's culture, we are overwhelmed by sex. It's on most every commercial, bill board, and printed matter. Sex is used to sell every thing from cars, to furniture, to even young children's clothes. Those advertising executives and Holly wood types know that the naked body will get the attention for their product. They know this and still disregard any sense of morality. In the eye of this world any thing goes as long as you can get away with it.

 

Christian friends, this should not be. We must keep our self respect, our honesty, our commit to our Lord. Remember, God made clothes for the first sinners

 

Clothes serve two purposes. First, clothes keep our body protected from the weather. Second, clothes cover up any imperfection of our body such as any blemish, mole, or defect we might have.

 

God created the human body in his own likeness. It is beautiful and to be appreciated. BUT, don't allow appreciation turn to lust!

 

Ain't God good?

 

God Bless;
Walter D. Hill D. Min.
e-mail= hill.walter19@yahoo.com

He Wants To Prove His Power In Your Life ~The Best Is Yet To Come

2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of God may rest upon me.

Have you done all you can, taken all you can and feel as though this morning you just can’t do it any more? Are you struggling in relationships or maybe with an addiction, what is it this morning that is just more than you handle?

Stop trying to “handle” it or fix it and let go, give it totally to God. God’s grace is sufficient! That means it is sufficient for all you have done right or all you have done wrong! Stop trying to handle everything on your own and allow God’s grace to fill you with His peace, grace and understanding. It is our areas of greatest weakness that God loves to show His power in our lives. If we never needed Him, how would the world see Him work in our lives. If we were just self sufficient instead of “grace sufficient” why would we need Him?

God’s grace covers more than just our sins it covers our hurts and our abilities to handle horrifying situations that we may face. Have you ever watched as someone else goes through something just awful and you wonder how on earth they can get through and yet there seems to be a strength about them that is beyond comprehension “my power is made perfect in weakness”. You don’t understand their strength because God hasn’t given you the grace He is giving them for their situation! God’s grace covers us where we are and how we need it - it isn’t just a blanket covering that smothers us all whether we need it or not and we don’t all just get the same dose, based on our weight or something. I have watched as friends and loved ones on Facebook have lost loved ones or one couple’s young son was hit by a car and some have had children drift from God and some have faced divorce, some have struggled and have been hurting from the rejection of Christian friends or the church because they made a sinful choice and through it all I have seen how when each one has turned to God and gave their situation to Him how He has moved in their lives and circumstances. Has it made every day great and easy through their situation? No, but it is more bearable and there is a strength that fills you as you give it all to Him that is beyond understanding!

I don’t know what you are facing this morning, I know I have a few Giants of my own today, but I do know this: I woke up this morning with God saying over and over, “my Grace is Sufficient Janet”, and I need them to know this morning that I am waiting to prove my power in their lives this morning just as I will yours! Give it to Him, don’t spend one more day fretting over it, give Him your struggle and allow Him to give you the grace and power you need for it all today! God’s love for you is beyond anything you can comprehend and He cares about everything you are faced with, nothing is too big for Him!

I am praying we will all find peace and grace as we face today and the days to come! Draw from His strength today and take one day at a time as He fills you with His grace and power!

Live In Christ

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Have you ever asked yourself why I am here? Wouldn’t it be great that the Lord save us and take us on home with Him! What a thought. We would have no trouble, sorrow, aches and pains.

 

But, think of all the blessings we would miss. We would miss seeing our loved ones saved, our friends and their fellowship, and, yes, the Lord helping us thru hard times. So yes,”for me to live is Christ”.

 

Now it gets really good,

” and to die is gain”. Wow!!

 

What a blessed hope! This life is not all there is. We saved folks have something to look forward to.

 

How about you? Are you looking forward to heaven? I sure hope so. I would love to walk around heaven with you.

God Bless;

Walter D. Hill D. Min.

e-mail= hill.walter19@yahoo.com

It's a relationship that lasts forever

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5.

Do you share your innermost thoughts with anyone?

Who really knows you and the thoughts of your heart and the secret things you intentionally keep hidden from others?

Some may say it's their spouse or a best friend.
Yet, I suggest that even though you may think you know yourself well and that others see the real you, no one knows you more completely than the One who created you.

God says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."

It only makes sense that to know and understand ourselves-
- we need a personal relationship with the One who knows us best.

The good news is that God knows us best-
- and loves us more than anyone else.

He knows our failings and our shortcomings and loves us anyway.

Through Jesus Christ-
- we have the privilege of having a personal relationship with our Creator.

That relationship begins when we accept God's love through faith.
It's a relationship that lasts forever, and that's incredibly good news.

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gospelfromindia

SEEK THE LORD NOT RELIGIOUS PLACES

“This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: ‘Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.’ Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it” (Amos 5: 4-6 NIV).

The Israelites loved religious activities. They had many places consecrated for religious services (places like Bethel, Gilgal, Beersheba, not to talk of Jerusalem), and they were ready to travel many kilometers to these places to perform religious activities in these consecrated places. However, they were not ready to be in right standing with God. They were not really seeking Him. Therefore, God warned them not to rely on their religious activities or religious places, but that they should rather seek Him if they want to live. He promised to destroy all the religious places and even send them to exile if they do not repent.

It is interesting that there are many religious places today – prayer mountains, camp grounds, churches, mosques, and the likes. These places of worship are full to the brim on Sundays and other worship times with many so-called men of God leading them, but the religious activities of most of these people do not correspond to their right standing with God they claim they are serving. Many of these people are just paying lip service to God. They are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. They are only going to these religious places for their ulterior selfish motives. In fact, our society is getting worse every day. While the Samaritan woman was trying to argue about the right religious place with Jesus Christ, He declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.... Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24 NIV).

Why are you going to religious places? Are you really seeking God there or you are just performing religious activities probably because of what you can get from God? Genuinely seek God if you want Him to really bless you.

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

 

Prayer Point: Lord, help me to genuinely seek you, and not religious places.

Sin in general

"It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins . . . He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him." John 9:3.
The Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004 is-
- one of the most horrific natural disasters in recorded history.

In times like these, the question often asked isL
"Why?" More specifically, "Why did God let this happen?"

The disciples asked Jesus a similar question in John 9.

After seeing a man who had been blind from birth, the disciples asked one of the big questions in life, "Why?" They asked, " 'Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?' " v. 2.

But Jesus dismissed the idea out of hand, saying, " 'It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins . . . He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him' " v. 3.

So why was this man in the condition that he was in?

Even more so, why is there suffering and natural disasters like the tsunami that killed over 150,000 people in at least 11 countries in Southeast Asia?

Why do we have war, and terrorism, and tragedy?

First of all, this man's blindness was not a result of personal sin.
His blindness was the result of sin in general.

For that matter, natural disasters, disease, and suffering are the result of sin in general.

God told our first parents, Adam and Eve, that if they eat of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden they would surely die. Genesis 2:17.

Despite God's warnings, they ate of it.

Since that moment-
- death has spread through the human race like wildfire.

But God has offered a solution to death through His Son Jesus Christ.

God loves us so much that-
He reached out to us by sending His own son, Jesus Christ,
- to this earth to die for our sins. 

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gospelfromindia

HE WALKS ON WATER

Isaiah 55:8

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."

 

Whenever water is in contact with air, one of the most delicate structures in the universe is created. That structure is called surface tension. Surface tension is created because water molecules touching the air move just a little bit closer to one another, forming a delicate "skin" on the water.

The water strider is one of the very few insects that can actually walk upon this delicate and extremely thin "skin" formed by surface tension. However, should he need to, he can dive right through it. Each of his six legs ends in a foot looking something like a snowshoe that spreads his weight on the water surface. The bottom of each foot is covered with sensitive hairs and a tiny oil gland to prevent the hairs from getting wet. Those hairs are also very sensitive to vibrations so that the water strider knows who is beneath him as he skates across the surface. Unlike most other insects, the strider is actually covered with hairs, and these provide for flotation when he dives for food.

Only the Creator of all things could have known about surface tension and design a creature that can literally walk on water. Doesn't He deserve our worship and praise, especially since He did not even spare the life of His only Son to save us when we were lost to Him?

Dear Father in heaven, You can do all things, and with You nothing in or out of this world is impossible. Help me to remember that Your thoughts are far above ours, and that with Your unlimited creativity, power, and wisdom, You also love me and will take care of me, for my Savior's sake. Amen.

Michael Ford <jonsquillministries@yahoo.com>

DO YOU LOVE ME?

“The third time [Jesus Christ] said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep’” (John 21:17 NIV).

 

As a matter of fact, most of the followers of Jesus Christ were following Him because of what they could get from Him (see John 6:26). No wonder, when it seemed to them that His teaching was hard, many of them no longer followed Him (see John 6:60-66). From that incident, it seemed His twelve disciples were different because they stood by Him (verses 67-69). However, as Jesus Christ predicted, one of the Twelve - Judas Iscariot - betrayed Him (verse 70; 13:21-30; Luke 22:1-6, 47-48) and Simon Peter - the spokesperson of the disciples - denied Him trice (see Luke 22:54-62). This same Peter led some of the disciples to go back to their old profession after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see John 21:1-3). When Jesus Christ appeared to them, He asked Peter that important question three times: “Do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus could ask him this question three times. Then, Jesus told him what was required of him if he truly loved Him: he should act in favour of Jesus Christ, NOT in his (Peter’s) favour.

 

The Valentine’s Day for this year has just been celebrated. Many people (especially men) asserted that they love some ladies. Most of such ladies have been used and dumped after such assertion. The real meaning of the day (that is, sacrificial love as demonstrated by some people that were coincidentally named Valentine between third and fourth centuries AD that were killed because of their love-related actions) has been defeated. If anybody asserts that he or she loves you, you should ask him or her again and again, “Do you really love me?” If he or she answers in the affirmative, then let him or her prove it by acting in YOUR favour. 

 

Jesus Christ demonstrated the real love by laying down His life for us. We also ought to do likewise for our fellow human beings (cf. 1 John 3:16). Why are you following Jesus Christ? Is it not to get something from Him? Are you ready to really surrender your whole being to Him and do His biddings? Why do you love that person that you claim to love? True love is rooted in what a man or woman can give, not what he or she can get from the object of his or her love.

 

Do you really love me? 

 

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

When We Belong to Jesus

Renee Swope

"For your Maker is your husband — the LORD Almighty is his name — the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit — a wife who married young, only to be rejected,' says your God." Isaiah 54:5-6 (NIV)

We had what felt like a storybook Christian romance. Mike was tall, dark and handsome. He had a successful business and he loved Jesus. But to top it all off, instead of asking me for a date, Mike asked if we could "court."

Our lives were connected on so many levels. We lived on the same floor of the same apartment complex. We attended the same church. And we had several mutual friends. We loved when people told us we made a great couple, in life and in ministry.

Eventually we started praying about marriage and talked to our pastor. Not long after, Mike proposed.

But two weeks into our engagement he looked into my eyes and said: "I've made a horrible mistake. You are not the one God wants me to marry."

I was devastated and wondered what I'd done to make God change His mind.

After counseling and walking through a painful process of forgiveness, I eventually recovered. Much to my surprise, Mike showed back up in my life and asked me to consider rebuilding our friendship.

I was shocked and hesitant. But I also wondered if God wanted to redeem our story. Eventually I gave Mike a second chance. We spent time with friends and took things slowly. But in time, the topic of marriage came up. He proposed again. And he dumped me again!

That time I got smart and kept the ring, holding it as collateral to get Mike to counseling with me. In our first session, the counselor explained that Mike had a fear of commitment. Having a name for it helped me feel better, but Mike felt embarrassed and ashamed.

One night I woke up with a deep sense of concern for him, so I drove to his apartment. Sitting in the parking lot, I felt compelled to get in his van and pray for him. Afterwards I opened my eyes and noticed his journal sitting on the console.

Though I shouldn't have opened it, I turned to the entries he had written when he called off our engagement. I came face-to-face with why he didn't want to marry. There were many things about me he wished were different.

After reading Mike's journal, every time I stood in front of a mirror, doubt whispered: No man will ever want you. You'll never be good enough.

Rejection. Betrayal. Abandonment. Our greatest fears can become reality. Maybe your father abandoned you, or your husband betrayed you. Maybe your best friend broke your trust, or your teenager has shut you out.

The deep pain from broken relationships can make us doubt our value. We begin to see ourselves as disposable. Easily replaced. Not good enough.

One morning, I woke up and felt the heavy weight of rejection. Opening my Bible, I read through the book of Isaiah and landed in chapter 54. There, God showed me He is my Maker, Husband and Redeemer - the One who bestows the honor and acceptance I long for.

As devastating as it was, I learned two life-changing lessons from the pain:

• I have to choose to separate myself, and my worth, from a man's decision to want me or not.

• I have to hold others' words and preferences up to God's Word and choose which one I will rely on.

Although people's preferences will change, God's desire for us won't. Others might not think we're good enough, but God always will. And even if someone decides they don't desire us anymore, God most certainly does!

The truth is, when we belong to Jesus we are loved and accepted forever. We are covered in His goodness, and His goodness makes us good enough!

Lord, I want to know and rely on the love You have for me and live in Your love. Remind me each day that Your goodness makes me good enough! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Good News From Renee's Profile:

Although Renee wears a lot of hats, her favorite and most important are the ones she wears at home. She and her husband JJ have been married for over twenty-one years and have three children: Joshua (19), Andrew (17) and Aster (6) who their family adopted from Ethiopia in 2009.

Make God Flesh and Blood

from KenBible.com

What an amazing concept! Our loving God, an infinite Spirit being, holy, unseen, and transcendent, made Himself a real human being. He longed for us to know Him. He wanted us to trust Him. He wanted to assure us that He understood us. He became like us in every way, sharing our existence, our life, our temptation, our pain, even our death. He became like us so that we could become like Him.

That is incarnation: God made flesh…God become human. God became incarnate in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is no longer with us in physical form. But God’s deep longing to be incarnate has not cooled. He still burns to be seeable and touchable. He still desires to be flesh and blood here on this earth, among the human beings who need to know Him and come to Him. Incarnation is still what He wants.

How can He be incarnate here? We, His children, His Church, are His incarnation. As soon as Jesus returned to the Father, He poured out His own Spirit on all who trusted Him. By the Spirit of God we make God flesh and blood, here and now. We make Him real to needy people. We are His face, His hands, His feet, His heart. We are His love, His compassion, His holiness, His peace, and His unconquerable joy.

Our wonderful God become seeable and touchable. What an amazing possibility! And each of us and all of us can play a part.

Seek Those Things Which Are Above

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

 

People who play sports learn very quickly to keep their eyes on the ball. It does not matter what the spectators are shouting or doing. It doesn't not matter even what the opposing players are doing. What really matters is who has the ball, and, in which direction is that ball going!

Folks that are saved, folks that have overcome this world by the faith in the blood of the LAMB, folks that are waiting for Jesus to come again and take us to live with him; WE must stay focused with uplifted eyes and “seek those things which are above”. We need to stay focused on what things are permanent and important, NOT, on things that just get attention and are temporary.

I would never pay a hundred dollars for some ice cream cone, but, I would pay that amount for a one caret flawless diamond.

The lesson in our verse today seems to tell us to set our priorities correctly.In other words, we need to get our head on straight, know what our goal is, and, commit our ways to getting to that goal.

Keep looking up Christian, our redemption draweth nigh!

 

God Bless;

Walter D. Hill D. Min.

e-mail= hill.walter19@yahoo.com

Jesus, the Savior

BIBLE MEDITATION: 
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 
One day I drove my car off the hot pavement out into a grassy area because I knew where there was a persimmon tree. I love persimmons and I thought, “Well, this is about the time those persimmons would be ripe.” But I got impossibly stuck in the mud. I got a board and tried to dig myself out. I found a piece of carpet there in the woods and put that under the tires. My tires only sunk deeper.

I prayed, “Lord, I’m in the mud. I need your help. I’m helpless here. Lord, get me out.” And almost at the same time, a man came by in a four-wheel vehicle. With that mighty truck, he pulled me slowly out of the mud. I was back on solid ground.

I was so grateful. I hadn’t known what to do, but God sent someone in a four-wheel truck with a cable. That’s so much like salvation. We’re looking for the things of this world and sinking in the mud. We say, “Well, I can get myself out of this.” And the more we try to handle it, the deeper and deeper we sink. We need somebody who will see us, care for us, come to us, and get us out. Jesus is a Savior. He has what it takes to extricate us from the mud we’ve gotten in.

When I got home, my car was covered with mud. I got out the hose and began to get the mud off. That man got me out of the mud, but it was up to me to deal with the mud that was still on there. When I got saved, I was covered with mud. But since then, I’ve been letting Jesus, the Water of Life, clean me up.

ACTION POINT: You can struggle all you want, but all you’re going to do is sink deeper. Stop the struggle. Surrender to Christ. You don’t have what it takes to get out unless someone takes you out. And that one is Jesus. His name is wonderful. He is the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Discover Jesus

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

Christians-- We Aren't Promised Success

by Rachel Dawson

It’s no secret that the American dream is rooted and established on the idea of personal success. Our whole culture is centered upon personal achievement, and it’s become an obsession. We hear endless chatter of success in all different forms-- box office hits, viral blog posts, bestselling books, massive social media followings, promotions at work, big deals signed, showy purchases made, awards and trophies for kids at school or in sports, fame found and status gained… it’s everywhere we look.
For American Christians especially, we run the risk of success becoming an idol we put in higher priority than God in our lives.
“Where did this idea of ‘Christian success’ come from, and why have we equated influence with notoriety?” Rachael Graf asks in her trending article “God Doesn’t Promise You’ll Be Successful” for Relevant.
The irony in all of this for us Christians is that Jesus was the total opposite of what we today would call “successful.” He didn’t have a home, he didn’t have a wife, he didn’t have the label of a king or the security of a stacked bank account, and he wasn’t even very well-liked. “If we really think about it,” Graf says, “Jesus, from the perspective of his culture, was a failure.”
Why do we expect to be successful when our Lord and Savior was anything but?
He never promised us a glamorous, glorified lifestyle if we chose to follow Him. Luke 21:17 says “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” Graf gives even more examples of this: “He told his disciples to take up their crosses and follow him (Matthew 16:24-26). He told them that the gate is narrow and the way is hard (Matt. 7:13-14). He told them that whoever wanted to be the greatest had to be a servant (Mark 10:43-45). He told them that he was going to the cross (Matthew 17:22-23). And he did.”
Not all of the disciples stayed with Jesus. Not surprising, when we consider the challenges guaranteed to face those who associate themselves with such a radical man. It’s not surprising that many Americans haven’t stayed with Jesus either, for the same reason. We want the fame, the fortune, the family, the followers online, the friends in high places, the fancy car in the garage, the fabulous vacations around the world… we don’t necessarily want to give that all up to follow the footsteps of Jesus.
It seems like setting ourselves up for failure in a way, doesn’t it?
Jesus was familiar with failure, Graf says, but He also claimed a truly victorious success over all sin and death through his crucifixion and resurrection.
“We serve a paradoxical God, one who says that worldly gain is loss if it costs you your soul. That in foolishness there is wisdom and that in dying we live. That in failure there is redemption. Jesus does not promise us earthly success if we choose to follow him, because earthly success was never his aim. What he does promise us is a future so glorious that it cannot be fully described in human language (1 Cor. 2:9). Success is not inherently wrong, and achievement is good cause for celebration. But we must remember that if we succeed—at anything—it is only because our abundantly gracious God has allowed us, for His glory. When we let the world define our success instead of Jesus, we fall into idolatry.”
Dr. James Emery White, a Crosswalk.com contributor, shares a striking contrast between worldly success and Biblical success that is helpful for us to keep in mind: “But doesn't the Bible say to judge people by their fruit?  Yes, but not as defined by the world, such as money, success, numbers, buildings, publications, position, title, speaking engagements, notoriety, rankings, sales or press coverage. That is the world's standard of success, not the Bible's. The fruit the Bible has in mind is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  Is that person loving, joyful and a peacemaker?  How do they handle adversity - with faith or despair?  Would they be considered kind, good and faithful?  Is there a gentleness that surrounds them; are they self-controlled? And interestingly, the qualifications of leadership as outlined by the apostle Paul say nothing of the ability to speak, market yourself, write or inspire.  But it says much about a spirit of humility and a godly character.”
So while it may seem like setting yourself up for failure to focus on things the world doesn’t prioritize, we best live like Jesus when we follow His footsteps and seek to glorify Him above ourselves through all that we say and do. He promises a far greater reward than anything this earth or the American dream could offer us!
What does it look like for you to be successful in your life and faith? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Rachel Dawson is the editor of BibleStudyTools.com
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The Bible's Authority

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - (Hebrews 4:12)

The Bible holds supreme authority by virtue of its Author, who is the King of creation and thus Ruler over all the earth. The Bible’s authority is inherent in its every word. Scripture is God’s revelation in history. Just as there is no higher authority in an earthly kingdom than a king, there is no higher authority you and I can appeal to than the Word of God in God’s kingdom.

The Bible’s authority is timeless. For example, when we read in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me,”this command has the very same force behind it today that it had when God first thundered these words to Moses more than three thousand years ago. Unfortunately one problem I see as a pastor today is that people disregard God’s Word because to them, it’s just ink on a page.

Our problem is that we weren’t there when God first spoke His Word—because if we had been there, we wouldn’t be so casual about it. To get an idea of the terror that gripped Moses and all of Israel when God gave His commandments, read Hebrews 12:18–21. Even Moses said, “I’m so scared that I can barely even stand” (loosely translated).

The Bible is not simply words about God, it is the Word of God. Many people learn about God from the Bible, which is good—but that is not where you are to stop. The Word of God is the voice of God in print. It is active and alive and sharper than a two-edged sword, able to reach and instruct the deepest recesses and core of who you are (Hebrews 4:12).

Reflection: Do you find yourself convicted by the thought that you, too, take the Word of God too casually? Read and meditate on Hebrews 4:12. Spend some time in prayer thanking God for the Bible—and spend some time reading it. Your Word, God, is powerful. Your authority is all-inclusive. Grant me grace as I study Your Word to understand and apply it in my life each day.

Watch Online Videos of Dr. Tony Evans and The Urban Alternative at LightSource.com and Listen to Dr. Tony Evans Online Broadcasts at OnePlace.com.

God’s Faithfulness

by Max Lucado

Life has many unanswered questions, but be settled about God’s faithfulness to you! Romans 8:32 declares, If God “did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all,” will he not also give you all you need for a Promised Land life? God’s Word is sure!

And 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is the reminder that Scripture is powerful and a useful weapon against any stronghold. “All Scripture is God-breathed…useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I invite you to join me in a Scripture Memory Challenge. Let’s memorize together the verses in 2 Timothy 3:16-17!  I’ll show you how easy it is at GloryDaysToday.com.

Happiness Habit: Get to Know God Better

By Rick Warren

“For my determined purpose is that I may ... progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.” (Philippians 3:10 AMP)

You were made to live in relationship with God, and if you think you can be joyful without getting to know him better, you’re just fooling yourself. Happiness is found in getting to know God a little bit better every day.

Paul discovered that. He says in Philippians 3:10, “For my determined purpose is that I may ... progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly” (AMP).

There is a difference in knowing about someone and knowing someone. I know more about Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian than I want to, but I don’t really know them. I know my wife and I know my kids because I spend time with them. I have a relationship with them.

Paul became “deeply and intimately acquainted” with God because he had a relationship with him and took the time to get to know him.

You don’t get to know God by accident. It’s a “determined purpose.” It’s something you have to do something about. You have to invest your time in it.

But, we get too busy, and busyness destroys relationships. It destroys your relationship with your family, and it destroys your relationship with God.

To get to know Jesus, you’ve got to spend time with him. If you want to spend time with him, you’ve got to make time for him. Just set aside 10 or 15 minutes of focused time with God in the morning, and make sure you and your mind are not busy. Just be still, and it will make all the difference in the world.

Talk It Over

• What is something you do every day for at least 15 minutes? Is it more important than spending time with God?
• How do you need to adjust your schedule so that you can make time to spend with God?
• What are the distractions that keep you too busy to spend time with God?

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit rickwarren.org

Our Only Boast

by Pastor C.R. Stam
 
 “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal.6:14).

St. Paul was once a proud Pharisee, smug in his self-righteousness. In Philippians 3:5,6, he lists some of the things in which he took great pride:

“Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

But everything was changed since that day when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Suddenly he had seen himself a lost, condemned sinner in the sight of a holy God and had tasted the matchless grace that could reach down from heaven and save even him. He knew now that he could not stand before God in himself, or “on his own two feet,” as we say. His only safety before the bar of God was to take refuge in Christ,as he says in Verse 9:

“And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

Now he knew, as we all should know, that he really had nothing to boast of as far as his own standing before God was concerned. For the rest of his life, however, he did constantly boast of one thing: the cross,where the Christ he had so bitterly persecuted had died for his sins that he (Paul) might be justified before God. All else of which Paul boasted was embraced in the cross of Christ. This too is really the only thing we have to boast of and the most godly saint will enthusiastically join Paul in saying:

“BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND UNTO THE WORLD.”

Enough Love for Two

Author: Unknown

When Kerri was almost two, we found we were expecting another baby. We wanted to get Kerri used to having another child around, hoping she would learn to share and be good to other kids. So, our friend, Millie, brought their little boy over to play with Kerri and she loved Andy a whole lot. They played together and she didn't have trouble sharing her things with him, at all. Andy was about a year old, I guess, and was such a contented little boy.

The day, finally, arrived and we had another baby girl, named Sherri. She was called 'Peanut' all her life, and still is.

On the day we were to go home from the hospital, I had asked my mom to get Kerri dressed for the coming home ride, so that Kerri would feel like this was her baby, too ~ as we had said, all along, to her, "This is your baby, too."

It was mid November and there was a blizzard going on that day. So, Peanut had been wrapped in two big blankets, for the ride home.

As we got into the car, Kerri stood between me and her daddy. (That was back before the days of car seats and children seeing the babies before they came home.) During the ride, Kerri kept looking around the car and seemed sort of confused.

"What's the matter honey?" I asked. "What are you looking for?"

"Where's my baby?" she asked me. I opened the blankets to expose the little tiny face of her sister, to which she replied, "Oh," and looked very disappointed.

We tried to make conversation, with Kerri, on the ride home; fearful, already, that she didn't like her new sibling. Then I realized, to her, a baby was Andy and he was much bigger, and able to play. This little thing was not her idea of a baby.

During the early days of 'welcome home, baby' there were adjustments and I had the job of sorting through some of Kerri's clothes; some to keep, some to pass on, some to get rid of, and some to give back to the people that had loaned them.

One day, while setting to this task, again, Peanut began to fuss and I needed another hand, for sure. Picking up the baby, then I grabbed a diaper and a washcloth (before the days of Pampers and wipes) and settled on the couch to change her. I must have been grumbling about everything needing attention at the same time. I was so frazzled, trying to be a good mom and not to let Kerri feel left out. I had serious doubts that Kerri would ever like Peanut, her new baby.

I must have been near tears, myself, in my frustration, as Kerri approached us. She was very quiet and subdued. (Though, Kerri was never a noisy child and demanded very little of my time.) She had a tear in her eye. So, I asked "What's the matter, honey?"

Then came the answer to my prayers, "Mommy, can we keep her?"

I guess my sorting clothes had been quietly observed by this little girl, full of questions on who stays and who goes; just like with the clothes.

What a day of blessing that was! There have been many times since then that they have fought and wanted to give each other away. But, for today, there was enough love to keep them both.


"Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied." - Jude 1:2

You Ask Why I Follow This Jesus?

Author Unknown

 

You ask why I follow this Jesus?

Why I love Him the way I do?

When the world’s turned away from His teachings

And the people who serve Him are few.

 

It’s not the rewards I’m after

Or gifts I hope to receive

It’s the Presence that calls for commitment

It’s the Spirit I trust and believe.

 

The Lord doesn’t shelter His faithful

Or spare them all suffering and pain,

Like everyone else I have burdens,

And walk through my share of rain.

 

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,

And that joy only Christians have known,

I never know what comes tomorrow,

But I do know I’m never alone.

 

It’s the love always there when you need it;

It’s the words that redeem and inspire,

It’s the longing to ever be with Him

That burns in my heart like a fire.

 

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?

Well, Friend, that’s so easy to see,

But the one thing that fills me with wonder is

Why Jesus loves someone like me.

 

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” - John 10:27 

Choose Wisely

by shani4jc

"You can't shack up with the devil and expect God to pay your rent."

I'm not sure who originally came up with this saying, but there is a lot of truth in those 14 words.  There may be a lot of truth in those words, but do we live our lives as if we believe that truth?  Speaking for myself, as much as I hate to admit it, I have been known to have a housewarming party or two (who am I kidding...it's too many to count) with Satan and then expect God to pick up the tab.  However, it simply doesn't work that way.  We cannot live a life controlled by Satan and expect God to turn a blind eye to it.  We cannot expect to do God a favor by going to church on Sunday and then live the rest of the week however we choose to and still have Him provide for us, protect us, and give us the best He has to offer us.  Even in our deepest sin, God blesses us, but it is not going to be the way He intended to bless us.  When we settle for a life of sin, we choose to settle for a life of just a trickle of His blessings when what He planned for us was a life of a tsunami of blessings.  Nothing we have ever done and nothing we will ever do will cause God to stop loving us, but when we live a life driven by sin, we limit how much we will experience this love.  It's so easy to live the way we want to and then say God doesn't love us when He doesn't do exactly what we want Him to do.  It's so easy to blame Him for not coming through for us when, in reality, our sin is what has kept Him a bay.  We can say that God isn't who He says He is and that He can't do what He says He can do, but the truth is, our sin keeps us from knowing Him as He really is and from experiencing what He really can do.  The Bible is clear...we cannot serve two masters.  We are either for God or we are not for God. There is no middle ground.  There is no straddling the fence on this issue.  Either God is your master or Satan is your master...the choice is yours.  Choose wisely!

No One Knows the Day or the Hour

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Anybody who sets a date for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ may be crossing the line of blasphemy. The Bible teaches very clearly and plainly, and our Lord taught, that no one knows the time—no one.

Just before our Lord was taken up into glory the disciples asked Him, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power” (Acts 1:6-7). No one knows the day when Jesus Christ is coming again, but what a glorious day that will be!

ACTION POINT:

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. What encouragement do you need to share with someone today?

A Merciful Delay

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever wondered why Jesus has not yet returned? I’ll tell you why. Because our Lord is waiting on people to be saved. He’s waiting on your family member, your neighbor, your co-worker, or maybe you, but one of these days soon, and very soon perhaps, Jesus will come.

You see, it is the mercy of God that holds back the Second Coming of Jesus, but the justice of God and the judgment of God require that one day He will come.

Even now, the raging waters of God’s wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of His mercy. And one of these days, the dam of God’s mercy will give way to God’s judgment, and the day of the Lord will come. Our Lord is coming!

ACTION POINT:
Does the Lord’s return make your heart beat faster because you anticipate His coming or dread His coming?

Devotions taken from the messages of Adrian Rogers.