When God Shakes a Nation By Anne Graham Lotz

 Our nation is being shaken by COVID-19, an economic collapse and violent unrest in our streets. There are endless conversations, discussions and opinions voiced by friends and family, educators and scientists, politicians and pundits—discussions about all the causes as well as the effects. At the same time, many people are being shaken by job loss, isolation, loneliness and the stress from all of the above.

But I wonder … Is God using this time of great unsettledness to shake our nation? Is God trying to get our attention? 

When God shakes a nation, what should His people do?

I. LOOK AHEAD

• What are some reasons that God shakes a nation? See Haggai 2:6-9; Psalm 18:7; Isaiah 2:17-19.
• How does the Bible describe the days immediately preceding the return of Jesus? See Mark 13:24-26; Luke 21:25-28.
• As you look ahead, what encouragement do you receive from Hebrews 12:25-29?

II. LOOK ABOVE, ISAIAH 6:1-4

• How was Isaiah’s nation shaken in verse 1? Describe it in a contemporary setting.
• When his nation was shaken, what unique revelation did Isaiah have? See verse 1.
• Who specifically did Isaiah see seated on the throne? See John 12:41.
• Put into your own words each phrase that describes the Lord in verses 1-3. 
• Match the following verses with a phrase from verses 1-3: Ezekiel 1:25-28; Revelation 4:2; 5:13; Genesis 14:19-20; Numbers 24:16; Job 22:12; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Exodus 15:1; Acts 5:31; Ephesians 4:8; 2 Chronicles 6:18-21; Revelation 4:8; 15:4; 1 Peter 1:15-16. 
• Do you think Isaiah would have looked up if his nation had not been shaken?
• How are you being shaken? What difference has it made in your life?

III. LOOK WITHIN, ISAIAH 6:5

A. REPENT OF YOUR SIN

• What impact did the vision of the Lord have on Isaiah? Read verse 5.
• Give phrases that indicate a similar impact from Job 42:5-6; Luke 5:4-8; Revelation 1:17; Ephesians 5:13-14.
• How is this impact affirmed in Psalm 51:17? Isaiah 57:15? 2 Corinthians 7:8-11? Revelation 3:19?
• Rending your heart is a Biblical phrase for repentance. Is it an option according to Joel 2:13? Matthew 4:17? Luke 13:3? Acts 3:19? 
• Use the following references to pinpoint possible sin in your own life from which you need to repent: Romans 1:21; Hebrews 3:19; Matthew 23:28; 1 John 2:16; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Malachi 3:8. 
• Is anyone exempt from the need to repent, according to James 2:10; 4:17; Romans 3:10, 23; 2 Peter 3:9? 
• When was the last time you wept in grief over your own sin? 

B. RETURN TO THE CROSS, ISAIAH 6:6-7 

• When the seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with the burning coal, what did this represent? See John 16:8. 
• What did the altar illustrate in verse 6? See Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:14, 22; 1 John 1:9. 
• What hope does God offer ruined sinners like you and me? See Isaiah 1:18; Acts 10:43; 26:18; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Romans 8:1. 
• What is hindering you from returning to the cross and repenting of your sin? Whatever it is, what do you need to do to overcome it? Would you do it now? 

C. RECOMMIT TO SERVING GOD, ISAIAH 6:8 

• What bearing do you think Isaiah’s repentance and return to the cross had on his experience in verse 8? 
• How were the calls in the following Scriptures the same? How were they different? Isaiah 6:8; Nehemiah 1:1-4; Exodus 3:1-10; Luke 5:4-11; John 21:16-18; Acts 9:1-6; 13:2. 
• What is your calling, according to Romans 1:6; 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 9; 7:15; Galatians 5:13; Philippians 3:14; Colossians 3:15; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 2:9, 20-21; 3:9; Revelation 1:5-6; 17:14; John 21:19-22? 
• How does your response to God’s call compare with Isaiah’s in verse 8? Simon Peter’s in Luke 5:10-11? Matthew’s (or Levi’s) in Luke 5:27-28?
•  Is it possible that God is shaking our nation as a means of getting your attention? Is He even now recalling you to serve Him at this critical time?

As God shakes not only our own lives, but also our nation and our world, look ahead! Jesus is coming! Look up. He is in control, seated on the throne! Look within. Make sure everything in your life is right with God. ©2020 ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ

 

This article is adapted from a study originally published in March 2006 titled “Wake-up Call.” 

Anne Graham Lotz has proclaimed God’s Word worldwide for more than 40 years. Her newest book, “Jesus in Me: Experiencing the Holy Spirit as a Constant Companion,” is available from major booksellers online. 

Photo: Joel Marklund/Bildbyran via Zuma Press

The Assigning of the Call by Oswald Chambers

 

The Assigning of the Call I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church…  COLOSSIANS 1:24 We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8). This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, “If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!” But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed. I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children. From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS We begin our Christian life by believing what we are told to believe, then we have to go on to so assimilate our beliefs that they work out in a way that redounds to the glory of God. The danger is in multiplying the acceptation of beliefs we do not make our own. from Conformed to His Image, 381 L

Wait Upon the Lord by Charles Stanley

 Psalm 40:1-3

Patience is hard work! This is especially true when we are waiting on God, who keeps to His own timetable. But believers who trust Him to deliver can look forward to rich blessing.

A person’s willingness to be patient reveals the value of what he or she desires. No one goes wrong waiting for the Lord to send His best in His perfect timing. Of course, believers don’t receive everything they ask for. At times, God simply says no. Other times, He adjusts our desires to match His. In our humanness, we can’t possibly know all the details of a situation. So we ask for what we think we need, based on our limited information. A submissive heart accepts the Father’s gentle redirection. When the awaited object of desire comes, it may not look like what we originally requested, but it will be exactly what we need.

Another benefit is that waiting patiently on the Lord is an awesome witness. When He responds, others see the reality of God, His faithfulness, and the wisdom of our commitment. In addition, our own faith is strengthened. Fools rush to seize their prize, but wise believers know that blessing will come in God’s good time.

Rooted in Love by Amy Peterson

 

Rooted in Love

Amy Peterson

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power . . . to grasp . . . the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:17–18

Ephesians 3:14–21

“That’s all it takes!” Megan said. She had clipped a stem from her geranium plant, dipped the cut end into honey, and stuck it into a pot filled with compost. Megan was teaching me how to propagate geraniums: how to turn one healthy plant into many plants, so I would have flowers to share with others. The honey, she said, was to help the young plant establish roots.

Watching her work, I wondered what kinds of things help us establish spiritual roots. What helps us mature into strong, flourishing people of faith? What keeps us from withering up or failing to grow? Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says that we are “rooted and established in love” (Ephesians 3:17). This love comes from God, who strengthens us by giving us the Holy Spirit. Christ dwells in our hearts. And as we begin to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (v. 18), we can have a rich experience of God’s presence as we’re “completely filled and flooded with God Himself” (v. 19 amp). 

Growing spiritually requires rooting into the love of God—meditating on the truth that we are beloved by the God who is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (v. 20). What an incredible basis for our faith!

How can you cultivate a habit of meditating on God’s love? Who could you share the truth of God’s love with today?

God, thank You for Your love for me. Help me to meditate on the truth of that love. May Your love grow in my heart, bringing beauty to my life and to a world in need.

September 30 / Streams in the Desert

 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him" (Deut. 32:11-12).

Our Almighty Parent delights to conduct the tender nestlings of His care to the very edge of the precipice, and even to thrust them off into the steeps of air, that they may learn their possession of unrealized power of flight, to be forever a luxury; and if, in the attempt, they be exposed to unwonted peril, He is prepared to swoop beneath them, and to bear them upward on His mighty pinions. When God brings any of His children into a position of unparalleled difficulty, they may always count upon Him to deliver them.
--The Song of Victory

"When God puts a burden upon you He puts His own arm underneath."

There is a little plant, small and stunted, growing under the shade of a broad-spreading oak; and this little plant values the shade which covers it, and greatly does it esteem the quiet rest which its noble friend affords. But a blessing is designed for this little plant.

Once upon a time there comes along the woodman, and with his sharp axe he fells the oak. The plant weeps and cries, "My shelter is departed; every rough wind will blow upon me, and every storm will seek to uproot me!"

"No, no," saith the angel of that flower; "now will the sun get at thee; now will the shower fall on thee in more copious abundance than before; now thy stunted form shall spring up into loveliness, and thy flower, which could never have expanded itself to perfection shall now laugh in the sunshine, and men shall say, 'How greatly hath that plant increased! How glorious hath become its beauty, through the removal of that which was its shade and its delight!'"

See you not, then, that God may take away your comforts and your privileges, to make you the better Christians? Why, the Lord always trains His soldiers, not by letting them lie on feather-beds, but by turning them out, and using them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers, and climb mountains, and walk many a long march with heavy knapsacks of sorrow on their backs. This is the way in which He makes them soldiers--not by dressing them up in fine uniforms, to swagger at the barrack gates, and to be fine gentlemen in the eyes of the loungers in the park. God knows that soldiers are only to be made in battle; they are not to be grown in peaceful times. We may grow the stuff of which soldiers are made; but warriors are really educated by the smell of powder, in the midst of whizzing bullets and roaring cannonades, not in soft and peaceful times.

Well, Christian, may not this account for it all? Is not thy Lord bringing out thy graces and making them grow? Is He not developing in you the qualities of the soldier by throwing you into the heat of battle, and should you not use every appliance to come off conqueror?
--Spurgeon

Our Greatest Need by Billy Graham

 

Our Greatest Need

Not long ago I visited the dean of a great American university. We looked out the window of his office and watched hundreds of students walking to their classes. I asked the dean, “What is the greatest problem at this university?” He thought a moment and answered, “Emptiness.” So many people today are bored, lonely, searching for something. You can see it in their faces. 

One girl home from college told her wealthy father, “Father, I want something but I don’t know what it is.” That’s true of many people; we want something to meet the deepest problems of our lives, but we haven’t found it. David said, “I have found it. I shall not want.” The Apostle Paul expressed it, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” 

You don’t have to give up on life, to throw up your hands and cry, “It’s no use.” . . . You can have God’s peace, God’s joy, God’s happiness, God’s security; and yours can become the most thrilling life in the world.

Daily Prayer

Lord Jesus, You quench the thirst and longing of my soul. Praise Your blessed name.

“I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭143:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

THE THIRD PERSON / Draw Near Bible App

 THE THIRD PERSON

Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other writer. Although a Gentile, God used this unique man to record the life of our Lord and the only history of the early church. The Acts of the Apostles carries the historical narrative from the ascension of Christ to the Roman jail in which Paul was imprisoned. In this famous diary written by Paul's traveling companion, Luke shows how the early believers fulfilled the Great Commission. The first seven chapters tell of the witness in Jerusalem. The next five deal with witnessing in Judea and Samaria, while the last sixteen chapters deal with taking the Gospel to the Gentile world.

More than merely a missionary account, the book of Acts reveals the work and Person of the Holy Spirit. In it, we learn how God's Spirit empowers His people for witness and comforts them in trial. The Holy Ghost also commissions for service and instructs for decision. This book displays the glory and work of the Holy Spirit in His relationship to the other Persons of the Trinity and to the church.

Prayer plays a prominent role in the book of Acts. Here we find believers praying during times of great crisis. God hears their prayer and brings deliverance. However, the believers prayed more than "crisis prayers." Prayer was a vital part of their daily spiritual life. So powerful were their prayers that often the places where they prayed were "shaken." In these, the last days, may God give us a baptism of prayer power so that we, too, can shake our world for Christ.

“After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4:31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What’s on Both Sides of Your Valley? by Adrian Rogers

 What’s on Both Sides of Your Valley?

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Psalm 23 is perched between Psalm 22, which tells about the crucifixion of Jesus, and Psalm 24, a prophecy of the coronation of Jesus. It is a beautiful trilogy about the Savior’s cross, the Shepherd’s crook, and the Sovereign’s crown.

Psalm 23 is the valley between the blood-drenched slopes of Mount Calvary and the sunlit peaks of Mount Zion. Thank God for every valley, because there must be a mountain.

If you are in the valley today, remember that you wouldn’t be there had there not been mountains to cross. There is vision in the valley and hope in the hills.

How’s Your Vision? by Greg Laurie

 How’s Your Vision?

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 nkjv).

Experts tell us that we have 90,000 to 100,000 thoughts every day. That’s a lot, isn’t it?

Our thoughts are important because what we think is what we’ll do. Someone wisely said, “Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Are you where you want to be as a Christian? I hope your answer is no because a growing believer will always see his or her need to continue to grow. And when you think you don’t need to grow anymore, something isn’t right.

After years of walking with the Lord, the apostle Paul put it this way: “Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back” (Philippians 3:13–14 msg).

Paul continued, “If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet!” (verse 15 msg).

Sometimes we can have blurred vision. When someone has 20/20 vision, it means they have good eyesight. They see things with clarity. We need that kind of vision as followers of Christ because the Bible says that “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 kjv).

I have found that where I look is where I’ll walk. In other words, if I’m looking in a certain direction, then that is the direction I’m walking. We don’t generally look one way and walk another way (unless we’re looking down at our cell phones).

Where you look is where you’ll walk. And what you think is what you’ll do.

Copyright © 2020 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Least Within or Greatest Without by Alistair Begg

 

Least Within or Greatest Without 

A living dog is better than a dead lion. 

Ecclesiastes 9:4

Life is a precious thing, and in even its humblest form it is superior to death. This is eminently true in spiritual matters. It is better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest out of it. The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest development of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Spirit implants divine life in the soul, there is a precious deposit that none of the refinements of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels Caesar on his throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero among the senators; and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight of God superior to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of spiritual things, and men without it are only coarser or finer specimens of the same lifeless material, needing to be made alive, for they are dead in trespasses and sins.

A living, loving gospel sermon, however unlearned in matter and lacking in style, is better than the finest discourse devoid of unction and power. A living dog keeps better watch than a dead lion and is of more service to his master; and so the poorest spiritual preacher is infinitely to be preferred to the exquisite orator who has no wisdom but that of words, no energy but that of self.

The same holds true of our prayers and other religious exercises: If we are quickened in them by the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, though we may think them to be worthless things, while our grand performances in which our hearts were absent, like dead lions, are mere carcasses in the sight of the living God. We need living groans, living sighs, living despondencies rather than lifeless songs and dead calms. Anything is better than death. The snarlings of the dog of hell will at least keep us awake, but dead faith and dead profession—what greater curses can a man have? Quicken us, quicken us, O Lord!

God’s Workshop by Max Lucado

 God’s Workshop

by Max Lucado

I remember knowing kids whose fathers were quite successful. One was a judge. The other a prominent physician. I attended church with the son of the mayor. “My father has an office at the courthouse,” he could claim. Guess what you can claim? “My Father rules the universe!””

Scripture says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies announce what his hands have made.”  (Psalms 19:1) Nature is God’s workshop. The sky is his resume. You want to know who God is? See what he has done. You want to know his power? Take a look at his creation.

How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the heavens. Seeing what God has done—seeing what your Father has done and watch how your prayers are energized!

How You Can Help Combat Spiritual Ignorance / Senior Living

 How You Can Help Combat Spiritual Ignorance

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -  Matthew 28:18-20

In 1883 in Allentown, New Jersey, a wooden Indian – the kind you’d see in front of a cigar shop – was placed on the ballot for Justice of the Peace under the fictitious name of Abner Robbins. When the ballots were counted, Abner won over the incumbent by seven votes.

Similarly in 1938, the name Boston Curtis appeared on the ballot for a Republican Precinct Committeeman position in Wilton, Washington. Boston Curtis, however, was a mule, sponsored by the town mayor to demonstrate how little people knew about the candidates. The mayor’s point was proven when the mule won!

In much the same way, many people say they know what they believe spiritually, even casting their “votes” by attending worship services. Yet, among those who attend those services, there is often a very real lack of understanding about some of the fundamental aspects of their faith.

What’s deeply needed among Christians today is a renewed commitment to becoming disciples, rather than church-goers. So get into God’s Word, explore biblical resources, and learn more about what you believe. When you immerse yourself in God’s teachings, you’ll help combat spiritual ignorance!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you be a disciple of Jesus Christ and have the discipline to understand the fundamental aspects of your faith.

Questions for Thought

Think of one person whom you regard as well-versed in biblical knowledge. What did he or she do to reach that level?

Who are some people to whom you can reach out and ask for help in better understanding what you believe?

Patient and Prayerful by David Jeremiah

 

Patient and Prayerful  Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5    The number one desire of Christians is to live in God’s will. And the number one question is, “How do I know His will?” The answer is two-fold. First, God’s general will for all Christians is revealed in the pages of Scripture—instructions in righteous living for God’s glory. But then there is the specific will of God for one’s life.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 139:16

Psalm 139:16 suggests that God has a plan for everyone’s life, and the Bible is filled with examples. Jeremiah was told that God set him aside as a prophet. David was told he was to be Israel’s king. Paul was commissioned as an apostle to the Gentiles. Moses was appointed to deliver the Hebrews from slavery to nationhood. Samuel was called as a child to be a prophet. Barnabas was confirmed by the Church to be a servant-leader, an encourager, to others. Solomon was commissioned to build the temple and rule over Israel. All these callings share one thing: They came in the process of time. Don’t doubt that God has a specific purpose for your life. Just be patient and prayerful as you see it unfold. Obedience is the end of our calling. John Calvin

September 30 / Wisdom from the Psalms

 Psalm 119:53

Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

 

No one had seen Edna for weeks. They had talked to her on the phone, and she insisted that she was all right, but she had dropped her social life altogether. A group of her friends dropped by to see her, and found her terribly distraught. Weeks before, Edna had been the victim of a purse snatcher, and ever since she was afraid to go out. Television and newspapers only fueled her fears. With the way the world was moving, Edna feared she would never leave her house again.

 

Our world is filled with horrors. Sometimes the answer seems to be to lock the doors and wait for all that is wrong to just go away. Unfortunately, that is no way to live. In such a horrifying time, we need to draw upon the courage of the Lord to meet the world head-on. God will instill in us the power to conquer our fears and enjoy this life as the gift it was meant to be. He will also lead us in ways that we can work together to change this world for the better.

 

Prayer: I cannot believe the things I see and hear in the world today. Everything is so crazy. Be the source of sanity in this mixed-up world, Lord. Se my feet upon the solid rock of Your salvation. Amen.

The Awareness of the Call by Oswald Chambers

 

The Awareness of the Call …for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!  1 CORINTHIANS 9:16 We are inclined to forget the deeply spiritual and supernatural touch of God. If you are able to tell exactly where you were when you received the call of God and can explain all about it, I question whether you have truly been called. The call of God does not come like that; it is much more supernatural. The realization of the call in a person’s life may come like a clap of thunder or it may dawn gradually. But however quickly or slowly this awareness comes, it is always accompanied with an undercurrent of the supernatural— something that is inexpressible and produces a “glow.” At any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising call that has taken hold of your life may break through— “I chose you…” (John 15:16). The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel because you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him. If you have ignored, and thereby removed, the great supernatural call of God in your life, take a review of your circumstances. See where you have put your own ideas of service or your particular abilities ahead of the call of God. Paul said, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” He had become aware of the call of God, and his compulsion to “preach the gospel” was so strong that nothing else was any longer even a competitor for his strength. If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony. From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them. from The Place of Help

God Acts on Our Behalf by Charles Stanley

 Lamentations 3:19-26

We’re so used to a hurried world that we sometimes expect speed in our spiritual life, too. However, God “acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4 NIV). Let’s look at three reasons believers are called upon to wait.

God may be preparing us to receive His blessings. Perhaps we need new skills, maturity, or a particular spiritual insight before we’re ready for God’s plan. For example, David waited years to sit on his appointed throne. But when he did, he was stronger, wiser, and a battle-tested king.

Our Father is often teaching us to have confidence in Him. How would we learn faith if He immediately fulfilled our every request? In my own life, the Lord has often said two words: “Trust Me.” And He has never been late to meet my needs. No matter how we justify rushing ahead of God, doing so amounts to saying, “I don’t trust You.”

The Lord will sometimes withhold blessing to protect us. We may never find out why, but be assured that God carefully decides whether to place the object of our desire in our hands.

Waiting isn’t easy, but rushing ahead of the Lord can short-circuit His plan. When that happens, believers are left unsatisfied, and they often live with the consequences. Be patient while God works out details. His best is on the way.

Is What You Do for Jesus Keeping You from Jesus? by Adrian Rogers

 Is What You Do for Jesus Keeping You from Jesus?

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Psalm 19:12

I believe in church attendance, but if your relationship with the Lord and with others is suffering, then you need to stay at home and get on your face before God.

Sometimes a businessman will get very prosperous in his business—and at first it seems a good thing. He tells his wife, “Honey, you know how I couldn’t give you much when we got married? Well, now I can.” But soon the pursuit of a nice home and nice things consume him. A sadness descends upon his wife and children, and they lament, “Oh, Daddy. … Oh, husband … what we would give to just have you spend time with us.”

What tragedy it would be if what you do for Jesus keeps you from Jesus. Stop the cycle today. If you know you’re a workaholic, stop it. If you know your walk is far from God, get it right.

Eyes to See by Sheridan Voysey

 

Eyes to See

Sheridan Voysey

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Psalm 119:18

Psalm 119:97–104

I recently discovered the wonder of anamorphic art. Appearing at first as an assortment of random parts, an anamorphic sculpture only makes sense when viewed from the correct angle. In one piece, a series of vertical poles align to reveal a famous leader’s face. In another, a mass of cable becomes the outline of an elephant. Another artwork, made of hundreds of black dots suspended by wire, becomes a woman’s eye when seen correctly. The key to anamorphic art is viewing it from different angles until its meaning is revealed.

With thousands of verses of history, poetry, and more, the Bible can sometimes be hard to understand. But Scripture itself tells us how to unlock its meaning. Treat it like an anamorphic sculpture: view it from different angles and meditate on it deeply.

Christ’s parables work this way. Those who care enough to ponder them gain “eyes to see” their meaning (Matthew 13:10–16). Paul told Timothy to “reflect” on his words so God would give him insight (2 Timothy 2:7). And the repeated refrain of Psalm 119 is how meditating on Scripture brings wisdom and insight, opening our eyes to see its meaning (119:18, 97–99).

How about pondering a single parable for a week or reading a gospel in one sitting? Spend some time viewing a verse from all angles. Go deep. Biblical insight comes from meditating on Scripture, not just reading it.

Oh, God, give us eyes to see.

What do you think the difference is between reading Scripture and meditating on it? How will you spend time meditating on today’s verse?

God, open my eyes to see each wonderful thing within the Scriptures. Guide me down the paths connecting each one.

Worthy of Praise by Alistair Begg

 

Worthy of Praise 

I found him whom my soul loves.
I held him, and would not let him go. 

Song of Songs 3:4

Does Christ receive us when we come to Him despite all our past sinfulness? Does He never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like Him? Is He the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Then let us praise Him! Daughters of Jerusalem, extol Him with tambourine and harp! Down with your idols; up with the Lord Jesus. Let the standards of pomp and pride be trampled underfoot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high.

O for a throne of ivory for our King. Let Him be set on high forever, and let my soul sit at His footstool and kiss His feet and wash them with my tears. How precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of Him? How is it I can go anywhere else for joy or comfort when He is so full, so rich, so satisfying? Fellow believer, make a covenant with your heart that you will never depart from Him, and ask the Lord to ratify it. Bid Him set you as a ring on His finger and as a bracelet on His arm.

Ask Him to bind you to Him as the bride adorns herself with ornaments and as the bridegroom puts on his jewels. I would live in Christ’s heart; in the hollow of that rock my soul would eternally abide. The sparrow has made a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. And in the same way I would make my nest, my home, in You, and may this soul never leave again, but let me nestle close to You, Lord Jesus, my true and only rest.

When my precious Lord I find,
All my ardent passions glow;
Him with cords of love I bind,
Hold and will not let Him go.

God’s GPS by Greg Laurie

 God’s GPS

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 nlt).

I have a love-hate relationship with my GPS because sometimes I think it takes me the wrong way. In fact, I’ve read some interesting stories about people who followed a GPS and ended up in some pretty strange places.

When the Israelites left Egypt, their GPS system was very simple: they moved when the Lord told them to move, and they went where the Lord told them to go.

Today, God directs us through His Word. It’s our GPS system, so to speak, confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We can find everything we need to know about God and about life in the pages of the Bible.

Psalm 1 summarizes this for us: “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers” (verse 1 nlt).

If you want to be happy, according to Psalm 1, then don’t hang out with ungodly people, go to ungodly places, and do ungodly things.

The psalmist goes on to say, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (verses 2–3 nlt).

God has laid out His parameters for our own protection, for our own good. And as we get older, we start seeing the repercussions of the decisions people made when they were younger.

Solomon, the king of Israel, was renowned for his wisdom. With his unlimited resources, he decided to see for himself everything this world had to offer. Eventually, he came to this conclusion: “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 nlt).

It comes down to this: God’s way is the right way.

September 29 / Streams in the Desert

 I will give myself unto prayer (Ps. 109:4).

We are often in a religious hurry in our devotions. How much time do we spend in them daily? Can it not be easily reckoned in minutes? Who ever knew an eminently holy man who did not spend much of his time in prayer? Did ever a man exhibit much of the spirit of prayer, who did not devote much time in his closet?

Whitefield says, "Whole days and weeks have I spent prostrate on the ground, in silent or vocal prayer." "Fall upon your knees and grow there," is the language of another, who knew whereof he affirmed.

It has been said that no great work in literature or science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often, and long, alone with God.
--The Still Hour

'Come, come,' He saith, 'O soul oppressed and weary,
Come to the shadows of my desert rest;
Come walk with Me far from life's babbling discords,
And peace shall breathe like music in thy breast.''

Don't Compromise by Billy Graham

 

Don't Compromise

Horace Pitkin, the son of a wealthy merchant, was converted and went to China as a missionary. He wrote to his friends in America, saying, “It will be but a short time till we know definitely whether we can serve Him better above or here.” Shortly afterward, a mob stormed the gate of the compound where Pitkin defended the women and children. He was beheaded and his head was offered at the shrine of a heathen god, while his body was thrown into a pit with the bodies of nine Chinese Christians. 

Sherwood Eddy, writing about him, said, “Pitkin won more men by his death than he ever could have won by his life.” Christ needs people today who are made of martyr stuff! Dare to take a strong, uncompromising stand for Him.

Daily Prayer

Thank You, Lord, for the examples of those who have gone before us. Help me to take hold of Your unlimited strength, too.

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

METAMORPHOSIS / Draw Near Bible App

 METAMORPHOSIS

Youngest of all the disciples, John probably changed more than any of the others. On our side of the cross, we see him as a tender and loving person who admonishes believers to always love one another. However, before Calvary, he was a loud and unruly youth. Nicknamed "Son of Thunder," John wanted to call fire down from heaven on those who opposed Jesus. He also sought to forbid strangers from using Christ's name to cast out demons, and he wanted the first place for himself. Thus John changed from a selfish youth to a mature believer because of the impact of the living Christ.

John wrote a "spiritual" Gospel. Matthew, Mark, and Luke deal with events in the Lord's life in narrative form, but John talks to the believers about the eternal position of Christ. Emphasizing our personal relationship with God, John uses the word "Father" 140 times and the name "Jesus" 242 times (99 times more often than does Matthew and 158 times more than Luke). The object of John's writing is the Person of Jesus. This Gospel is more doctrinal than the other three and forms the spiritual foundation for the growing church. He gives more of Christ's discourse on the Holy Spirit than any other writer. Also, he uses much symbolism to illustrate truth. The keyword of John's books is "witness."

The change that comes into the lives of believers is a major theme of John's Gospel. He tells how Christ looked deeply into Peter's eyes and, in essence, said it did not so much matter what he was at the moment but what he could become through Christ. This is the hope of every believer. As we live in close contact with the Master, we continue to grow into His image. We, like John, can move from selfishness to Christ-likeness.

“Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter” ).”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:42‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Heaven's Tribunal by Max Lucado

 Heaven's Tribunal

by Max Lucado

Some people will stand before God on the judgement day who didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him.  They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. They spent a lifetime dishonoring God and hurting his people. They mocked his name and made life miserable for their neighbors.

Even our judicial system forces no defense on the accused. The defendant is offered an advocate, but if he chooses to stand before the judge alone, the system permits it.  So does God.  He offers his Son as an advocate.  At the judgment Jesus will stand at the side of every person except those who refuse him.  When their deeds are read, heaven’s tribunal will hear nothing—but silence!  It’s a sobering truth in Acts 17:31, “The day is coming when God will judge the world.”