“Do You Now Believe?” by Oswald Chambers

 

“Do You Now Believe?”

"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" —John 16:30-31 “Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return. We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.

Sunday Reflection: Facing Challenges by Charles Stanley

 

Sunday Reflection: Facing Challenges

To get the most out of this devotion, set aside time to read the Scripture referenced throughout.

A few thousand years ago, the young shepherd David stepped forward to fight Goliath. We often speak of this story as a reminder of the young man’s bravery, even when the odds were against him. But David’s bravery—and success—came from His deep faith in God. (See 1 Samuel 17). And this faith helped him go on to become a successful warrior and king. 

The Lord gave David many responsibilities during his reign, and he endured numerous trials—some due to his own sin. Through it all, the king returned to God again and again in humble dependence and repeatedly proclaimed his trust in the Lord’s faithfulness. 

God calls us to abide in this kind of relationship with Him. In seasons of trial or abundance—and we’ll likely experience both, even simultaneously—we can cling to Him and trust that He is the source of all courage, perseverance, and abiding joy. 

THINK ABOUT IT 
• What do you do when you’re facing a challenge? How does your relationship with God factor into the choices you make? 

• Does your faith in Christ help you to feel courageous when facing something new, challenging, uncomfortable, or intimidating? Why or why not?

Should You Clean Up before Coming to Jesus? by Adrian Rogers

Should You Clean Up before Coming to Jesus?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Some people want to get everything in their life straightened out before they come to Christ. But you'll wake up in hell and still not have it straightened out. 

It’s like trees that don’t lose their leaves in the fall. The leaves wither and turn brown but hold on until the spring. But when the new leaf comes, it pushes the old leaf off. 

That's exactly what happens to your old habits, your old life, when you find the Lord Jesus. The new life pushes your old life off. It’s not a matter of plucking off this leaf and knocking off that one. You'll never do it that way. Let the new life within you do its work. 

Have you come to grips yet with the fact that your “old nature” is dead and you are a new creature in Christ? You can’t “kill” your old nature on your own. You have to consider him as dead and allow the “new nature”—the new creature you are in Christ—to come alive and be fed and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.

You’ve heard the saying, “If you want something to grow, feed it.” As you commit time each day to reading the Word of God and to having a meaningful quiet time, you are cooperating with the Holy Spirit in feeding and nurturing you new nature.

For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org. 

You can also listen to Adrian Rogers at OnePlace.com.

Watch Adrian Rogers and Love Worth Finding Video Online. 

February 28 / Daily Blessings

 Daily Blessings

“And enlarge my coast.” - 1 Chr 4:10

A coast means a boundary line such as divides one territory from another, or terminates a country, as the sea coast is the boundary of our island. Every quickened soul has a coast; that is, a territory of inward experience, which is limited and bounded by the line that the Holy Spirit has drawn in his conscience. As the Lord divided the tribes, to cast their inheritance by line (Psalm 78:55), so has he cast the lot for every vessel of mercy, and his hand has divided it unto them by line (Isaiah 34:17). This is as it were the tether which fastens down every quickened soul to his own appointed portion of inward experience. Within this tether he may walk, feed, and lie down. It is “the food convenient for him,” the strip of pasture allotted him. He cannot, he dare not break this tether, which is fastened round a tender conscience, and every stretching forth beyond his measure to boast in another man’s line of things, cuts into and galls this tender conscience. But the living soul cannot but earnestly desire to have his coast enlarged. He wants more light, more life, more feeling, more liberty, more knowledge of God in Christ, more faith, hope, and love, and to have his narrow, contracted, shut-up heart enlarged in prayer, in meditation, in communion, in affection to the people of God.

He is not satisfied with the scanty pasture allotted him, but wants a larger measure of heavenly teaching, to be indulged with more filial confidence in, and access unto God, and be more delivered from that fear which has torment. “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem” (Gen. 9:27). “I will run the way of your commandments, when you shall enlarge my heart” (Psalm 119:32).

This enlargement of their border the Lord had sworn to Israel, and to give them all the land which he had promised unto their fathers; and therefore when he had said, “Sing, O barren, you that did not bear,” he adds, “enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations; spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:1, 2).

Have you any of these fervent desires after light, love, and liberty, that the world, pride, lust, unbelief, covetousness, and carnality may not shut up your heart, but that you may know the love of Christ that passes knowledge, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God? These are good desires, and very different from rushing presumptuously forward, and chattering about liberty while you are slaves of corruption. It is one thing to look through the park gates, and another to enjoy the estate; but it is far better to look through the gates with wishful desires, than to break down the fence as a trespasser. To look upon the coffer is not to be put into possession of the writings, but it is better to wait and cry for the key of David than break it open, and steal the deeds. And he that is kept in the narrow, narrow path between sloth and presumption will be at solemn seasons crying out with Jabez, “O that you would enlarge my coast!”

Praise in the Midst of Trouble / Streams

 Praise in the Midst of Trouble

Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually - Heb 13:15

A city missionary, stumbling through the dirt of a dark entry, heard a voice say, “Who’s there, Honey?” Striking a match, he caught a vision of earthly want and suffering, of saintly trust and peace, “cut in ebony”—calm, appealing eyes set amid the wrinkles of a pinched, black face that lay on a tattered bed. It was a bitter night in February, and she had no fire, no fuel, no light. She had had no supper, no dinner, no breakfast. She seemed to have nothing at all but rheumatism and faith in God. One could not well be more completely exiled from all pleasantness of circumstances, yet the favorite song of this old creature ran:

“Nobody knows de trouble I see,  
Nobody knows but Jesus;  
Nobody knows de trouble I see—  
Sing Glory Hallelu!  

“Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down,  
Sometimes I’m level on the groun’,  
Sometimes the glory shines aroun’  
Sing Glory Hallelu!”  

And so it went on: “Nobody knows de work I does, Nobody knows de griefs I has,” the constant refrain being the “Glory Hallelu!” until the last verse rose:

“Nobody knows de joys I has,  
Nobody knows but Jesus!”

“Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” It takes great Bible words to tell the cheer of that old negro auntie.

Remember Luther on his sick-bed. Between his groans he managed to preach on this wise: “These pains and trouble here are like the type which the printers set; as they look now, we have to read them backwards, and they seem to have no sense or meaning in them; but up yonder, when the Lord God prints us off in the life to come, we shall find they make brave reading.” Only we do not need to wait till then. Remember Paul walking the hurricane deck amid a boiling sea, bidding the frightened crew “Be of good cheer,” Luther, the old negro auntie—all of them human sun-flowers. —Wm. G. Garnett

New Every Morning by Amy Boucher Pye

 My brother Paul grew up battling severe epilepsy, and when he entered his teenage years it became even worse. Nighttime was excruciating for him and my parents, as he’d experience continuous seizures for often more than six hours at a time. Doctors couldn’t find a treatment that would alleviate the symptoms while also keeping him conscious for at least part of the day. My parents cried out in prayer: “God, oh God, help us!”

Although their emotions were battered and their bodies exhausted, Paul and my parents received enough strength from God for each new day. In addition, my parents found comfort in the words of the Bible, including the book of Lamentations. Here Jeremiah voiced his grief over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, remembering “the bitterness and the gall” (3:19). Yet Jeremiah didn’t lose hope. He called to mind the mercies of God, that His compassions “are new every morning” (v. 23). So too did my parents.

Whatever you’re facing, know that God is faithful every morning. He renews our strength day by day and gives us hope. And sometimes, as with my family, He brings relief. After several years, a new medication became available that stopped Paul’s continuous nighttime seizures, giving my family restorative sleep and hope for the future.

When our souls are downcast within us (v. 20), may we call to mind the promises of God that His mercies are new every morning.

By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How has God sustained you through the trials you’ve faced? How could you support someone who’s enduring a challenging time?

God, Your love will never leave me. When I feel spent and without hope, remind me of Your mercies and compassion.

He gave me eternal life! by Billy Graham

 

He gave me eternal life!

Recently I read that it will cost this country a hundred billion dollars to get one man safely to Mars. It cost God the priceless blood of His only Son to get us sinners to heaven. By tasting death for every man, Jesus took over our penalty as He erased our guilt. Now God can forgive. In a moment of thanksgiving, Paul once exclaimed, “He loved me and gave Himself for me!” Will you repeat these words right now, even as you read? If you do, I believe you will have cause to be thankful too, and that you will experience the love of God in your heart. Try it and see. The Bible teaches that you can be absolutely sure that you are saved.

Daily Prayer

Father, although my finite mind cannot understand all the wonders of the Gospel, I thank You for the assurance of my salvation through Christ.

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:13

To Capture the Promise / NKJV 365

 

To Capture the Promise

An important part of the covenant promises to Abraham was the promise of the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1, 7). On several occasions after the original call of Abraham, God continued to assure him of the promise of the land. The mysterious covenant ceremony in which the Lord passed between pieces of the dismembered sacrifice concluded with a strong affirmation that the land was to be given by the Lord to Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 15:18).

Though the land was promised to the nation as a gift, it did not come into the possession of the people without their involvement. Israel had to drive out the inhabitants. Also, when the land was given there was to be no sinful participation in the false religious practices of those people; their “engraved stones” and “molded images” were to be destroyed and their high places demolished. Still, the land was God’s gracious benevolence to His people. We are thus reminded, in all our striving, that we have only what we receive from the hand of the Lord.

Taken from The Devotional Daily Bible

“and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭33:53‬

Where Is Your Hope? by Alistair Begg

 

Where Is Your Hope? 

My hope is from him. 

Psalm 62:5

It is the believer’s privilege to use this language. If he is looking for anything from the world, it is a poor hope indeed. But if he looks to God for the supply of his needs, whether temporal or spiritual blessings, his hope will not be in vain. He may constantly draw from the bank of faith and get his need supplied out of the riches of God’s loving-kindness. I know this: I would rather have God for my banker than all the Rothschilds.

My Lord never fails to honor His promises; and when we bring them to His throne, He never sends them back unanswered. Therefore I will wait only at His door, for He always opens it with the hand of abundant grace. At this hour I will turn to Him afresh.

But we have “hope” beyond this life. We will die soon; and still our “hope is from him.” May we not expect that when we face illness He will send angels to carry us to His bosom? We believe that when the pulse is faint and the heart is weak, some angelic messenger shall stand and look with loving eyes upon us and whisper, “Come away!” As we approach the heavenly gate, we expect to hear the welcome invitation, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”1 We are expecting harps of gold and crowns of glory; we are hoping soon to be among the company of shining ones before the throne; we are looking forward and longing for the time when we shall be like our glorious Lord—for “We shall see him as he is.”2

Then if these are your hopes, O my soul, live for God; live with the desire and resolve to glorify Him from whose grace in your election, redemption, and calling you safely ”hope” for the coming glory.

1) Matthew 25:34
2) 1 John 3:2

Potholes by Anna Kuta

 Potholes

by Anna Kuta

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.”Joshua 1:5b

I was driving home late the other night, rolling down the winding, two-lane country road I’ve been down so many thousands of times I could probably drive it in my sleep. I had the radio turned up and one hand on the wheel, and then — CLUNK!Before I knew what was happening, my front right tire thudded through a gigantic pothole that came out of nowhere. The whole car jolted and I just knew a noise like that had to have done some damage.

“Oh, please don’t let me have a flat tire,” I said out loud. Cringing, I pulled over at the next road and worked up the courage to get out and look … and to my surprise, my tire was still intact. I stared at it for a few minutes, waiting until I was sufficiently assured that it wasn’t going to deflate in front of my eyes, and then I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my drive, albeit a good bit slower and more cautious this time.

Isn’t life just like that? You’re going along smoothly, and all of a sudden something turns your world upside down. A loved one gets a cancer diagnosis. You lose your job. Your best friend moves halfway across the country. Someone dies too young. You’re making your way down the road just fine and then you crash into a pothole that almost derails you. We all know the feeling all too well.

I was having one of those weeks where every single thing seemed to be going wrong, and then I heard a sermon illustration that stuck with me. It was the story of a gravel lane leading to a farm and a huge pothole that appeared after a rainstorm. Before anyone had a chance to fill it in, though, a bird laid her eggs in the pothole. She hatched her chicks there and stayed with them until they left the nest. All the locals warned their families and friends to avoid the pothole, and everyone drove slowly by to see for themselves the little birds thriving in a place that no one would expect.

How often do we look at the potholes in our lives and curse them? Yet, from a rocky, ugly place, little birds sang and took flight.

God did not promise that our Christian walk would be easy, but he did promise he would never leave us. His presence, His love and His peace are the only things that can fill in the holes in our lives. He smoothes out the roughest of roads with His strength and comfort. And above all, He grants us grace sufficient to make it through whatever may come. The Lord will never leave our side.

If not for the pothole on that gravel farm lane, the travelers would never have been able to witness a small miracle taking place there. If not for the pothole on my drive home the other night, I probably wouldn’t have slowed down and I might have had an even worse encounter around the next bend – with a herd of deer in the middle of the road.

In the midst of a week where I thought my world might crash down, I cried out to God to help me through, and it was only when I had nothing left to rely on but Him that I felt His presence more clearly than I had in a long time – and it was exactly what my heart had been yearning for. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,” as James 4:8 says. Only God can fill our potholes, and he fills them with Himself. May we never miss the little blessings hidden along a bumpy road.

Intersecting Faith and Life

When you hit a pothole, pray for God to give you strength and remind you of His presence. Seek a closer relationship with Him and remember that He is your refuge and strength.

Further Reading

Deuteronomy 31:5-6

Psalm 46:1

Psalm 55:22

Psalm 73:23-24

Isaiah 43:2

February 28 / Wisdom from the Psalms

 Psalms 22:14 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

I had a friend who thought some boys were trying to mug him. In his efforts to run away, he fell down a flight of stairs and landed in a pile of garbage. He suffered many broken bones and scrapes, and required a large number of stitches. As he lay in pain and refuse, he heard the boys draw close. He prayed to God for help. He heard the boys getting steadily closer, and as his prayers increased, the boys moved out of the alley and across to the top of the steps. IN the light that shined there, the man saw that the boys were scouts. IN a wave of relief and embarrassment, my friend sank back into the garbage and passed out.

 

It is good to know that even in our own foolishness we can turn to the Lord for help. Often we are our own worst enemies, but that doesn't matter to the Lord. In our brokenness, God reaches out to us and love us.

 

Prayer: Lord, I often am guilty of doing foolish things. I hurt myself in so many needless ways. Protect me from myself, and in my times of greatest suffering and pain, be the source of my comfort. Amen.

The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus by Oswald Chambers

 

The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus

Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11 “The well is deep” — and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God. The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.

Resurrection: Our New Body by Charles Stanley

 

Resurrection: Our New Body

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Scripture uses beautiful imagery to describe the return of Christ. Today’s passage, for example, says at the Lord’s shout and the sounding of a trumpet, the “dead in Christ” will emerge from their resting places and soar into the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Close behind them will be believers who haven’t yet departed this life. They’ll be changed as they are “caught up ... to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). 

Earthly flesh and bones age, lose vitality, and succumb to sin. So God promised that the body of every believer would be transformed into a glorious one like Christ’s after His resurrection. In heaven, we will no longer have to deal with temptations or limitations of our present time-bound existence. Perhaps we won’t even be restricted by space, since John 20:19 indicates that the resurrected Jesus didn’t bother with doors! Our new bodies will be suited for the environment where we are to dwell forever—an ageless eternity in which all of our needs are perfectly met. 

Each believer will still be him- or herself. Friends and family long separated will recognize one another; our personalities will be unchanged, except that we’ll be sinless. And from then on, we will each be who God intends for us to be. 

What God Wants You to Do with Your Burdens by Adrian Rogers

 What God Wants You to Do with Your Burdens   

“Yet man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” Job 5:7 

It starts almost the day we’re born. We come in crying, and from there it just goes on. We have burdens. If you don’t have burdens, you’re probably not a thinking person. But I want to tell you today what to do with your burdens. 

David wrote, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

David was a king. He was wealthy and powerful. What do we learn from this? That burdens come to the high as well as to the low. They come to saints as well as sinners. They come to the old as well as the young. What do we do with our burdens? We have to cast them upon the Lord,

Do you have a broken heart? Has one of your children ripped your heart out? Is there a husband who has forsaken you? A physical malady gnawing away at your body? Is there a problem perplexing you? Cast your burden on the Lord. He will sustain you.

For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org. 

You can also listen to Adrian Rogers at OnePlace.com.

Watch Adrian Rogers and Love Worth Finding Video Online.

Live Out Your Marriage Covenant / NKJV 365

 

Live Out Your Marriage Covenant

Since most of us were married in a ceremony that did not emphasize the marriage covenant, consider five ideas that will make a covenantal commitment a reality in your marriage:

1. Pray together every day as a couple. When Barbara and I were first married, I asked a man I highly respected for his best counsel on marriage. He told me, “I’ve prayed every day with my Sara Jo for more than twenty-five years. Nothing has built our marriage more than our prayer time together.” Barbara and I usually pray together before going to sleep, but on some nights neither of us has felt like praying. The Lord has gently reminded me, You need to pray with her. And even though on occasion I haven’t even wanted to talk to her, I have finally rolled over and said, “Let’s pray.” Our obedience to this spiritual discipline has reminded us of the real Source of strength in our marriage and has kept us connected and communicating.

2. Never use the D word. Marriage is tough, and at times every one of us probably has thought about giving up. The keyword is thought. No matter how hopeless the situation seems or how lousy you feel, I urge you not to say the D word — divorce — in your home. In Proverbs 18:21 we read, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Words have power. If you first think about divorce and then talk about it, before long what was once unthinkable becomes an option.

3. Sign a marriage covenant. Whether you are newlyweds or have been married for years, why not consider having a covenant-signing ceremony? You could do this with other couples at your church or in your home with witnesses from your family or close friends.

4. Do what you promised. It won’t make any difference ultimately if you sign a piece of paper but later break your covenant. Don’t let temptations and conflicts keep you from finishing strong in your marriage and family. Don’t let go! Fulfill your vows.

5. Urge others to keep their covenant. We need to band together in the Christian community to stand for marital commitment and to fight divorce. We serve a God who has gone on record on this topic: “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce” (Mal. 2:16). We need to combat divorce in the most positive way—by honoring our covenants and encouraging others to do the same.

Taken from FamilyLife Marriage Bible

“So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26:9

God Our Comforter by Billy Graham

 

God Our Comforter

There is also comfort in mourning, because in the midst of mourning God gives a song. His presence in our lives changes our mourning into song, and that song is a song of comfort. This kind of comfort is the kind which enabled a devout Englishman to look at a deep dark hole in the ground where his home stood before the bombing and say, “I always did want a basement. Now I can jolly well build another house, like I always wanted.” This kind of comfort is the kind which enabled a young minister’s wife in a church near us to teach her Sunday school class of girls on the very day of her husband’s funeral. Her mourning was not the kind which had no hope—it was a mourning of faith in the goodness and wisdom of God; it believed that our heavenly Father makes no mistakes.

Daily Prayer

Oh heavenly Father, who knows what agony and grief are because of the sacrifice of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ—I thank You for the comfort which embraces all those who love You.

““I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass,”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭51:12

February 27 / Daily Blessings

 Daily Blessings

“O that you would bless me indeed!” - 1 Chr 4:10

An “indeed” blessing is what the soul is seeking after which has ever felt the misery and bitterness of sin, and ever tasted the sweetness of God’s salvation. And these “indeed” blessings are seen to be spiritual and eternal. Compared with such blessings as these, it sees how vain and empty are all earthly things, what vain toys, what idle dreams, what passing shadows. It wonders at the folly of men in hunting after such vain shows, and spending time, health, money, life itself, in a pursuit of nothing but misery and destruction. Every passing funeral bell that it hears, every corpse borne slowly along to the grave that it sees, impresses it with solemn feelings as to the state of those who live and die in their sins. Thus it learns more and more to contrast time with eternity, earth with heaven, sinners with saints, and professors with possessors. By these things it is taught, with Baruch, not “to seek great things” for itself, but real things; things which will outlast time, and fit it for eternity. It is thus brought to care little for the opinion of men as to what is good or great, but much for what God has stamped his own approbation upon, such as a tender conscience, a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a humble mind, a separation from the world and everything worldly, a submission to his holy will, a meek endurance of the cross, a conformity to Christ’s suffering image, and a living to God’s glory.

As, then, the gracious Lord is pleased to indulge it with some discovery of himself, shedding abroad a sweet sense of his goodness and mercy, atoning blood, and dying love, it is made to long more and more for the manifestation of those blessings which alone are to be found in him. For his blessings are not like the mere temporal mercies which we enjoy at his hands, all of which perish in the using, but are forever and ever; and when once given are never taken away. They thus become pledges and foretastes of eternal joys, for they are absolutely irreversible.

When Isaac had once blessed Jacob in God’s name, though the blessing had been obtained by deceit, yet having been once given, it could not be recalled. He said, therefore, to Esau, “I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.” So when the Lord has blessed his people with any of those spiritual blessings which are stored up in his inexhaustible fullness, these blessings are like himself, unchanging and unchangeable; for “he is in one mind and none can turn him;” “The same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Alone With God / Streams

Alone With God

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. - Gen 32:24

Left alone! What different sensations those words conjure up to each of us. To some they spell loneliness and desolation, to others rest and quiet. To be left alone without God, would be too awful for words, but to be left alone with Him is a foretaste of Heaven! If His followers spent more time alone with Him, we should have spiritual giants again.

The Master set us an example. Note how often He went to be alone with God; and He had a mighty purpose behind the command, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray.”

The greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they were alone with God. It was alone with God that Jacob became a prince; and just there that we, too, may become princes—“men (aye, and women too!) wondered at” (Zech. 3:8). Joshua was alone when the Lord came to him. (Josh. 1:1) Gideon and Jephthah were by themselves when commissioned to save Israel. (Judges 6:11 and 11:29) Moses was by himself at the wilderness bush. (Exodus 3:1-5) Cornelius was praying by himself when the angel came to him. (Acts 10:2) No one was with Peter on the house top, when he was instructed to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:9) John the Baptist was alone in the wilderness (Luke 1:90), and John the Beloved alone in Patmos, when nearest God. (Rev. 1:9)

Covet to get alone with God. If we neglect it, we not only rob ourselves, but others too, of blessing, since when we are blessed we are able to pass on blessing to others. It may mean less outside work; it must mean more depth and power, and the consequence, too, will be “they saw no man save Jesus only.”

To be alone with God in prayer cannot be over-emphasized.

“If chosen men had never been alone,  
In deepest silence open-doored to God,  
No greatness ever had been dreamed or done.”

A Place for You in the Church by Greg Laurie

 A Place for You in the Church

“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT).

When you sprain an ankle, stub a toe, or hurt a finger, it affects you. You quickly become aware of it when some part of your body isn’t working properly.

The same is true in the church, the body of Christ. When one is affected, we’re all affected. If one is hurting, we’re all hurting. And if one is lifted up, we’re all lifted up in a sense. That’s why we all need to work together.

A mark of spiritual maturity is when we pray, “Lord, use me,” when we come to church saying, “How can I use my gifts to serve others?”

On the other hand, I think a mark of spiritual immaturity is when we’re irregular in our church attendance, and when we do show up, we think, “How can you minister to me? What more can you do for me?”

There’s nothing wrong with wanting someone to minister to you at church, but when you begin to mature, you realize that you need to get involved and help out a little. It’s very easy to critique, but are you doing anything? Are you involved?

We all should recognize there’s a place for us in the church. God is looking for people who are willing to discover their gifts and start using them. We all have a pulpit to speak from. It’s whatever platform God has given us in our lives—our sphere of influence, our neighbors, and our friends.

God said, “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30 NLT).

God is looking right now for someone He can use. So will you say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”?

Copyright © 2021 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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Our Quiet Dwelling Place by Alistair Begg

 

Our Quiet Dwelling Place 

You have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge. 

Psalm 91:9

The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar of cloud stopped, the tents were pitched; but the next day the morning sun arose, the trumpet sounded, the ark was in motion, and the fiery, cloudy pillar was leading the way through the narrow mountain passes, up the hillsides, or along the arid wastes of the wilderness. They scarcely had time to rest a little before they heard the sound of “Onward! this is not your rest; you must keep journeying onward toward Canaan!” They never stayed for long in one place. Even wells and palm trees could not detain them.

They had an abiding home in their God; His cloudy pillar was their roof, and its flame by night their fireplace. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle or to say, “Now we are secure; we will stay in this place.” Moses says, “Though we are always changing, Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.”1

The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sick today and well tomorrow; he may be happy today and sad tomorrow—but there is no change regarding his relationship to God. If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today.

My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Even when prospects are few and hopes are squashed and joy is waning, I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is “my refuge” to which I continually return. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet dwelling place.

1) Psalm 90:1

God Is a Sports Fan by Ryan Duncan

 God Is a Sports Fan

by Ryan Duncan

Back when I was in college, I witnessed a "debate" between one of my BibleProfessors and a Philosophy major. What were they "debating" about? Was it the idea of a Triune God? The infallibility of Scripture? Predestination? Actually, it was about Football.

The Super Bowl had come around again, and the Philosophy Major was arguing that sports, at their core, drew our focus away from God and should therefore be considered idols. His basis for this was that every student would be watching the game Sunday night, and would probably skip Chapel Monday morning.

I had to admit he had a point, some students made a habit of sleeping through the schools 10 am chapel services, but when there was a game of Ultimate Frisbee or Soccer they never failed to show up. I tried to imagine what Church would be like if people came the same way they did for a Super Bowl, bodies painted and ready to celebrate. Maybe we were losing our focus.

Still, did that really make sports an idol? That seemed a little extreme to me. It would be years later when I'd find the answer in a familiar story, Matthew 25:14-26, the Parable of the Talents.

14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'

21 "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22 "The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.'

23 "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24 "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26 "His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Traditionally, we are taught that this passage relates to our spiritual gifts, but I believe the talents of this parable can also be used to represent our faith in Christ.

Sometimes we Christian become afraid of God. We know God is a harsh master, asking us to stand against an entire world that has turned against him, and we fear that if we start enjoying things in this world like Football or Soccer that they'll steal our faith from us.

So, instead of interacting with the world and engaging it with our faith, we bury it in the Bible to keep it safe, like the third servant. We turn our lives into one endless Bible study. Problem is, when the Master returns, when God calls us into his service, we discover that our faith hasn't grown! We've spent our entire lives studying how to be a Christian, but never actually living as one.

Honestly, I think God wants us to be part of this world. He wants us to enjoy games of sports, to write stories and poetry, to study math and science and discover more about his creations. Yes, we need to be careful these things don't replace God, but when handled correctly, they allow us to engage the world, enjoy our faith, and understand those we are called to witness to.

Intersecting Faith and Life

Do you have an unhealthy fear of God? Take some time and study the character of Jesus.

Further Reading

Matthew 17:20