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| Heart Pain: God's Word Will Bring Healing by Christine Caine, from Living Life Undaunted | |
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. — Psalm 147:3
I had to tackle many challenges from my past in order to step into my God-given destiny. I was left in a hospital unnamed and unwanted when I was born and am living proof that no matter how you start in life, you can take charge of your life and run to win. We do not need to live like victims; rather we can appropriate the truth of the Word of God in every area of our lives and experience complete healing and wholeness. If I had not allowed God’s Word to bring healing into my life, I would not be fulfilling my destiny now. Despite having the God-given gifts and talents that I needed, I was so weak emotionally that my soul would not allow me to go where my gifts could take me. It was crucial that I dealt with all the areas of brokenness in my heart. Our inner world totally affects our outer world. If there is a disparity between what’s going on inside our hearts and what’s happening in our external world, we will eventually implode; our lives will break down or blow up. The Bible is full of examples of people who did not run their race and finish their course because they did not deal with issues of their soul. Ensure that you allow God to work deeply in you so that he is able to work powerfully through you. Moment of Reflection
Is your inner world affecting your outer world in positive or negative ways?
Excerpted with permission from Living Life Undaunted by Christine Caine, copyright Christine Caine. Published by Zondervan.
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Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Heart Pain: God's Word Will Bring Healing by Christine Caine
Living as God's Child by Max Lucado
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"My Joy...Your Joy" by Oswald Chambers
“My Joy…Your Joy”
What was the joy that Jesus had? Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2). “I delight to do Your will, O my God…” (Psalm 40:8). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?
Living a full and overflowing life does not rest in bodily health, in circumstances, nor even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the same fellowship and oneness with Him that Jesus Himself enjoyed. But the first thing that will hinder this joy is the subtle irritability caused by giving too much thought to our circumstances. Jesus said, “…the cares of this world,…choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). And before we even realize what has happened, we are caught up in our cares. All that God has done for us is merely the threshold— He wants us to come to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim who Jesus is.
Have the right relationship with God, finding your joy there, and out of you “will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Be a fountain through which Jesus can pour His “living water.” Stop being hypocritical and proud, aware only of yourself, and live “your life…hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great thing about faith in God is that it keeps a man undisturbed in the midst of disturbance. Notes on Isaiah, 1376 R
August 31 / Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman
Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 20:29).
How strong is the snare of the things that are seen, and how necessary for God to keep us in the things that are unseen! If Peter is to walk on the water he must walk; if he is going to swim, he must swim, but he cannot do both. If the bird is going to fly it must keep away from fences and the trees, and trust to its buoyant wings. But if it tries to keep within easy reach of the ground, it will make poor work of flying.
God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength, and to let him see that in his own body he could do nothing. He had to consider his own body as good as dead, and then take God for the whole work; and when he looked away from himself, and trusted God alone, then he became fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform.
That is what God is teaching us, and He has to keep away encouraging results until we learn to trust without them, and then He loves to make His Word real in fact as well as faith.
--A. B. Simpson
--A. B. Simpson
I do not ask that He must prove
His Word is true to me,
And that before I can believe
He first must let me see.
It is enough for me to know
'Tis true because He says 'tis so;
On His unchanging Word I'll stand
And trust till I can understand.
--E. M. Winter
His Word is true to me,
And that before I can believe
He first must let me see.
It is enough for me to know
'Tis true because He says 'tis so;
On His unchanging Word I'll stand
And trust till I can understand.
--E. M. Winter
Peace - Life in the Spirit Day 17 by Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers: Peace - Life in the Spirit |  |
Day 17 of 30Twenty centuries have passed since Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came and the angels proclaimed peace on earth. But where is peace? The New Testament does not say that the angels prophesied peace: they proclaimed peace—peace to men of goodwill toward God. Jesus Christ came to manifest that God was with man, and by Him any man can be made a son of God according to the pattern of Jesus Christ. This is the Christian revelation.Those who are in The Way have a strong family likeness to Jesus, His peace marks them in an altogether conspicuous manner. The light of the morning is on their faces, and the joy of the endless life is in their hearts. Wherever they go, men are gladdened or healed, or made conscious of a need. Reflection Questions: Is my presence marked by Christ’s peace? In what ways am I participating in the peace Christ proclaimed? In what ways am I preventing it from becoming a reality? Quotations taken from The Place of Help, © Discovery House Publishers Ephesians 5:8-10 Ephesians 5:8-10 ESV
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
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Grafted Into Christ by Charles Stanley
A vinedresser plants and tends his vines for the purpose of seeing them produce grapes. God, as our vinedresser, encourages us to bear spiritual fruit. He wants us to have a character like that of Christ—marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Our Father wants to ensure that believers will be fruitful; for this reason, they are removed from the dead tree of humanity and grafted onto the living vine, Jesus Christ.
After His baptism, Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit,” who led Him to the next step (Luke 4:1). Christ’s life and ministry were the result of the Spirit’s empowerment, and when we become believers, God sends the very same Helper to indwell us. In the language of vineyards, the sap from the vine flows into a grafted branch, giving it life and the capacity to grow the kind of fruit typical of that plant. The branch and the vine become one life. The Living Bible translation says, “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him” (Col. 2:7).
Some people run away from the Christian life because they think they cannot do it. And they’re right: They cannot, but the Holy Spirit can. When we are one with Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God lives His life through us. That doesn’t mean we are free from responsibility—the Spirit can do His work only as we wisely choose to yield to Him. When we are obediently following the Lord, our joy and peace are not dependent upon circumstances; the One in whom we are rooted is our joy and peace.
Daring to Believe God Loves Us Just As Much As He Loves Jesus
What Does Jesus Pray For Us? | |
Day 9 of 11Daring to Believe God Loves Us Just As Much As He Loves Jesus
There is no more compelling, liberating, or transforming power than the love of God. What is your response today?
Find peace, purpose, and strength with Jesus in prayer.
John 17:23 ESV
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
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The First Missionary by Billy Graham
Day By Day With Billy Graham | |
Day 245 of 366The First Missionary
Jesus Himself was the first missionary! He did not sit by passively and let those who happened to be interested in His teaching come to Him. He went out where the sick, the sorrowing, and the sad were, and expounded His message of joy, healing, and salvation. Even at a tender age, He went to the Temple and "taught" the doctors and lawyers who were entrenched in the old traditions. He found His way to the seaside and intruded upon the life of the commonest of laborers, saying, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Wherever He went He challenged, uprooted, and changed men. And at length they nailed Him to a cross because He had upset their selfish, secure, smug way of life. Not only was Jesus a missionary, but He pledged His followers to be missionaries, too!
Daily Prayer
Wherever I go, it is a mission field for You, Lord. Help me to be conscious of this, so that I may tell others the joyous message.
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Counting Sheep by David Jeremiah
Wednesday, August 31
Counting Sheep I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8
| Recommended Reading Psalm 23 |
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They slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a promise; no coverlet so warm as an assured interest in Christ.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Free Indeed / Our Daily Bread
Free Indeed
August 31, 2016
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If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. —John 8:36
Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745-1796) was only 11 years old when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He made the harrowing journey from West Africa to the West Indies, then to the colony of Virgina, and then to England. By the age of 20 he purchased his own freedom, still bearing the emotional and physical scars of the inhumane treatment he had experienced.
Unable to enjoy his own freedom while others were still enslaved, Equiano became active in the movement to abolish slavery in England. He wrote his autobiography (an unheard of achievement for a former slave in that era) in which he described the horrific treatment of the enslaved.
When Jesus came, He fought a battle for all of us who are enslaved and unable to fight for ourselves. Our slavery is not one of outward chains. We are held by our own brokenness and sin. Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
Wherever such a freedom seems unheard of, His words need to be declared. We can be liberated from our guilt, shame, and hopelessness. By trusting Jesus, we can be free indeed! —Bill Crowder
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for making the sacrifice that has secured my freedom and eternal life. May I learn to love You in a way that honors the love You have shown me.
The price of our freedom from sin was paid by Jesus’s blood.
INSIGHT: Our Lord’s conversation with religious leaders who opposed Him reveals the contrast between man-made legalism and God’s truth. Christ says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Human beings were made to have fellowship with God, but our rebellion resulted in our being enslaved by sin. Accepting the truth of God’s Word and yielding to Him breaks this bondage. The religious people who opposed Christ clung to their heritage as descendants of Abraham for their spiritual foundation, but only Christ can free us from our sinful, self-centered preoccupation. Dennis Fisher
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Who's Pushing Your Swing? by Max Lucado
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The Perseverance of the Saints by D. James Kennedy
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| The Perseverance of the Saints | |||||
I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them from My hand.
—John 10:28 Devotion: We believe that God will enable us to persevere to the end. He began a good work in our lives and will continue that work until the end. Jesus Christ is perfectly able to care for His own. Under His wings, the saints can rest secure. We have all heard stories of people who have been kept safe in the midst of horrible danger. We might never see the car that almost hit us or the angel that kept us from violence, or the temptation God steered us away from. We do know that God is protecting us and that His hand will lead us home. He protects us from spiritual as well as physical danger. We should never presume upon God’s grace, but we can count on His faithfulness. In Philippians 1, Paul tells us that He who began a good work in us will complete that work until the day of Christ Jesus. What a great promise! Question to ponder: Does it comfort to know that no one can snatch you out of the hand of Christ? | |||||
Usefulness or Relationship? by Oswald Chambers
Usefulness or Relationship?
Jesus Christ is saying here, “Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me, but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me.” The trap you may fall into in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service— rejoicing in the fact that God has used you. Yet you will never be able to measure fully what God will do through you if you do not have a right-standing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you keep your relationship right with Him, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour “rivers of living water” through you (John 7:38). And it is actually by His mercy that He does not let you know it. Once you have the right relationship with God through salvation and sanctification, remember that whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose, as long as you continue to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7).
Our tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make their request for help on the basis of someone’s usefulness. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived. For the saint, direction and guidance come from God Himself, not some measure of that saint’s usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God— something of great value to His Father. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory…” (Hebrews 2:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come. Shade of His Hand, 1226 L
Peace - Life in the Spirit Day 16 by Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers: Peace - Life in the Spirit | |
Day 16 of 30Immediately the Spirit of God comes in we begin to realize what it means—everything that is not of God has to be cleaned out. People are surprised and say, “I asked for the Holy Spirit and expected that He would bring me joy and peace, but I have had a terrible time ever since.” That is the sign He has come, He is turning out the “money-changers,” that is, the things that make the temple into a trafficking place for self-realization.Be diplomatic. Be wise. Compromise in a shrewd way and you will get everything under your own control. That is the kind of thing the peace of the world is based on. We call it “diplomacy.” Jesus maintained His faith in God’s methods in spite of the temptations which were so wise from every standpoint except the standpoint of the Spirit of God. Reflection Questions: What disruption does Jesus cause in my life? What is He determined to clean out and throw out? What confidence do I place in diplomacy? Quotations taken from Servant as His Lord, © Discovery House Publishers 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 ESV
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
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Experiencing God's Love by Charles Stanley
In today’s passage, Paul prays that the Ephesians will grasp the depth of Christ’s love. Though divine care is beyond human comprehension, the apostle says God will give spiritual understanding so we can experience Him more fully. But there are four things that keep us from getting a handle on His love and resting in it.
1. We think God’s acceptance is imperfect and conditional like ours. Yet the Bible tells us that His compassion comes from His character and is not dependent upon our morality, choices, or thoughts. (See Rom. 5:8.)
2. When we recognize our sin, we often experience guilt. Sometimes this leads to feeling unworthy of the Father’s ultimate love. Instead, let a guilty conscience lead you back to God so that you can repent. Realize that His love and forgiveness are greater than any sin. He promises that there is no condemnation for His followers (Rom. 8:1).
3. There are some teachers who encourage legalism. This traps a person into feeling he or she must earn God’s favor. It also contradicts the divine truth that our Father loves His children without condition.
4. Some of us have a difficult time reconciling God’s love with His discipline.These can exist together, however. His correction flows from compassion, just as loving parents must redirect their children.
Recognizing God’s love will bring peace and joy to your life. At the same time, it doesn’t give license to sin. Like any caring father, the Lord will use discipline to bring you back to Him. Instead, why not let His love motivate you to walk in a holy and obedient manner before Him?
Enjoying Greater Intimacy with Jesus and Our Father
What Does Jesus Pray For Us? | |
Day 8 of 11Enjoying Greater Intimacy with Jesus and Our Father
Find peace, purpose, and strength with Jesus in prayer.
John 17:21 ESV
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
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What Do You Love More than Jesus? by Adrian Rogers
August 30
What Do You Love More than Jesus?
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” -1 John 3:16
The rich man asked Jesus, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). Then Jesus asked him if he had kept the law. He said yes. In love Jesus responded, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me” (Mark 10:21b). But the rich man was “sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22).
Jesus let him go. Jesus didn’t run after him. And there’s another thing I want you to notice: Jesus didn’t lower His standards.
Is there anything you love more than Jesus? You must willingly lay it down to be saved.
August 30 / Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep (Ps. 107:23, 24).
He is but an apprentice and no master in the art, who has not learned that every wind that blows is fair for Heaven. The only thing that helps nobody, is a dead calm. North or south, east or west, it matters not, every wind may help towards that blessed port. Seek one thing only: keep well out to sea, and then have no fear of stormy winds. Let our prayer be that of an old Cornishman: "O Lord, send us out to sea--out in the deep water. Here we are so close to the rocks that the first bit of breeze with the devil, we are all knocked to pieces. Lord, send us out to sea--out in the deep water, where we shall have room enough to get a glorious victory."
--Mark Guy Pearse
--Mark Guy Pearse
Remember that we have no more faith at any time than we have in the hour of trial. All that will not bear to be tested is mere carnal confidence. Fair-weather faith is no faith.
--C. H. Spurgeon
--C. H. Spurgeon
Hope Beyond Death by Billy Graham
Day By Day With Billy Graham | |
Day 244 of 366Hope Beyond Death
We don't like to talk about death; it's the forbidden subject of our generation. Yet it's real for all of us. Sometimes on television I see motion pictures featuring actors who are no longer living. They seem very much alive in the picture, but they are dead. Some of them were my personal friends. Death is real, and when we die, that is a battle we have to fight all alone. Nobody can be with us in that hour, but David said he had found an answer that would take the fear of death away. David said that there is an answer to death, there is a hope beyond death. That hope is centered in the risen Christ. Paul wrote that to be "absent from the body" is to be "present with the Lord." So the fear of death is removed.
Daily Prayer
Lord Jesus, with complete trust I look toward that day when my soul will be with You for eternity.
Proverbs 14:32 KJV
32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
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NIV 365 / An Articulate Creation
The NIV 365-Day Devotional Reading Plan |
Day 243 of 365An Articulate Creation
We live in tumultuous times of natural disaster. The news carries stories of devastating earthquakes, floods and tropical storms that careen along coastlines and cause massive losses of property and life in the cities, towns and individual households they invade. Amidst screaming natural forces, it may be easy to forget that even the winds and rains submit to God's voice. Although the natural world does not glorify itself, the booming truths pounding in the surf and soaring through the skies fall on many a deaf ear. But nature's voice "goes out into all the earth" proclaiming the articulate truth that God is in his heaven and watching over his creation.
In an urban setting, where smog blankets the sky and artificial light dulls the stars, seeing God's imprint may be difficult. Natural disasters may strike us more as an example of nature's random savagery than the handiwork of our all-powerful God. Certainly the creation groans under the curse of sin, just as we do. We cannot pretend to understand the reasons for earthquakes, floods or fires, but we do know the One who controls the universe, and we can cling to him amidst the rising waters.
The next time you witness a flower growing between the sidewalk cracks, a raging thunderstorm or a magnificent sunset, remember that creation acts as a signpost, pointing to Someone greater than "Mother Nature." It reveals the God who wants all people of all nations to recognize his majesty, to worship the One whose infinite creativity and power produced the spectacular displays found in the natural world.
The natural world is a testimony to God's magnificent creatorship and also should be the object of our diligent stewardship. However, we must flee the two extremes - either fearing nature's power or worshiping creation and not the Creator. Even today, the creation is God's universal proclamation of his nature, underpinning his special revelation through Christ and the Scriptures. As women who love and appreciate the beauty of the world, may we always remember to listen closely to the deeper truths of God's goodness and grandeur that whisper from the rushing stream or shout from the thunderclap.
Taken from NIV Women's Devotional Bible
Psalms 19:1-9 KJV
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. |
Starting Point by David Jeremiah
Tuesday, August 30
Starting Point Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered.
Job 36:26
| Recommended Reading Numbers 13:25-33 |
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While we may not be conquering a land, we have the same choice when faced with problems and obstacles. Will we start with God’s faithfulness and power in mind?
I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.
Martin Luther
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