“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am” / Oswald Chambers

 

“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am” By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… 1 CORINTHIANS 15:10 The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance. Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all. There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading.

An Introduction to Christ / Charles Stanley

 An Introduction to Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

The first chapter of Revelation gives a compact description of the Lord. In verses 4 to 8, John condenses the wonder of Jesus Christ to the bare but beautiful essentials of who He is:

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. Jesus came to earth to more fully reveal the character and ways of the Father (John 14:9). The miracles He performed validated His claim to be the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is the first-born from the dead. The Savior bore our sins and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. His resurrection proved that eternal life is possible for us, too, as Jesus taught in John 11:25: “He who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. It is the Lord who raises men to power, just as it is He who removes them (John 19:11; Rom. 13:1). Meanwhile, believers have access to a higher authority. In God’s throne room, we can beseech Him on behalf of our nations and lay claim to His promises.

Jesus Christ loves us and released us from our sins by His blood. Note the change of tense in John’s writing. The Lord’s love is ever-present, but He has freed believers from their past. Both the penalty and power of sin have been broken.

When people ask you about Jesus, introduce Him by guiding them through this mini-biography. In just a few sentences, John describes Christ’s character, divinity, and authority. The disciple was not timid about proclaiming the Lord. We shouldn’t be shy, either, when we serve so great a Savior.

When Tragedy Strikes, What Do You Do? / Adrian Rogers

 When Tragedy Strikes, What Do You Do?

And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:17

How do you enlist suffering to make it your servant?

First, you receive it as a gift from God. Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21b).

Second, rely on God’s grace, because with the gift comes His grace. 2 Corinthians 9:8 promises, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” God is going to be near you in a special way.

Finally, reflect on the glory of God. No greater Christian ever lived than the Apostle Paul. His greatest motive in all he endured was the glory of God. His pain became a platform from which he declared the glory of God.

Receive it as a gift. Rely upon God’s grace. Reflect upon God’s glory. Choose to glorify Him through it.

A Great Light / ODB

 

A Great Light The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Isaiah 9:2 READ Isaiah 9:1–3 In 2018, twelve Thai boys and their soccer coach descended into a mazelike cave, intending to enjoy an afternoon adventure. Due to unexpected rising water that forced them deeper and deeper into the cavern, it was two-and-a-half weeks before rescuers led them out. Dive teams, thwarted by rising water, attempted the rescue as the boys sat on a small rock shelf with only six flickering flashlights. They spent hours in darkness, hoping that somehow light—and help—would break through. The prophet Isaiah described a world of brooding darkness, one overrun by violence and greed, shattered by rebellion and anguish (Isaiah 8:22). Nothing but ruin; hope’s candle flickering and fading, sputtering before succumbing to dark nothingness. And yet, Isaiah insisted, this dim despair was not the end. Because of God’s mercy, soon “there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress” (9:1). God would never abandon His people in shadowy ruin. The prophet announced hope for his people then and pointed to the time when Jesus would come to dispel the darkness sin has caused. Jesus has come. And now we hear Isaiah’s words with renewed meaning: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” Isaiah says. “On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (v. 2). No matter how dark the night, no matter how despairing our circumstances, we’re never forsaken in the dark. Jesus is here. A great Light shines. By Winn Collier How are you prone to experience darkness and despair? Consider this image of Jesus as the great light—how does this light renew you with hope? God, there’s so much darkness. I fear sometimes that the darkness will overwhelm me. Be my great light. Shine on me with radiant love.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT King Ahaz of Judah, threatened by the armies of Israel and Syria (Isaiah 7:1–6), turned to Assyria for help instead of trusting in God (2 Kings 16:7–9). Because Ahaz didn’t turn to God, Isaiah warned that He’d instead use Assyria to punish Judah (Isaiah 7:17–25; 10:5–19). Of their unrepentant unfaithfulness, Isaiah warned that the people of Judah would “have no light of dawn” and be “thrust into utter darkness” (8:20, 22). But God loved them too much to leave them there. He’d bring them “a great light,” starting from Zebulun and Naphtali, lands in Israel’s far north ravaged by the Assyrians (9:1–3). Isaiah prophesied of a future time when “Galilee of the nations” (v. 1) (or “of the Gentiles”) would be honored. Seven hundred years later, Matthew tells us that this was fulfilled when Jesus, the light of the world, came into Galilee and did much of His public ministry there (Matthew 4:12–17).

Much More Than This / Alistair Begg

 

Much More Than This 

And Amaziah said to the man of God, ‘But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?’ The man of God answered, ‘The Lord is able to give you much more than this.’ 

2 Chronicles 25:9

This seemed to be a very important question for the king of Judah, and possibly it is of even more significance for the tried and tested Christian. To lose money is never pleasant, and when it involves principle, we are not always ready to make the sacrifice. “Why lose what could be put to good use? Is it not possible to pay too much for truth? Remember the children and our small income!”

All these things and a thousand more would tempt the Christian to participate in dishonest gain or prevent him from carrying out his conscientious convictions when they involve serious loss. Not everyone views these matters in the light of faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the idea that “we all have to live” carries quite a bit of weight.

“The LORD is able to give you much more than this” is a very satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the funds, and what we lose for His sake He can repay a thousandfold.

Our part is to obey His will, and we may rest assured that He will provide for us. The Lord will be no man’s debtor in the end.

Christians know that an ounce of contentment is more valuable than a ton of gold. The person wearing a threadbare coat over a good conscience has found a spiritual treasure far more desirable than any he may have lost.

God’s smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart; His frown and a palace would be hell to the trusting soul.

Let the worst become worse still, let all the talents go, we have not lost our treasure, for that is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. In the meantime, even now the Lord makes the meek to inherit the earth, and He keeps back nothing that is good from those whose walk is blameless.

November 30 / C.S. Lewis

 Where the children’s story is simply the right form for what the author has to say, then of course readers who want to hear that will read the story or re-read it, at an age. I never met The Wind in the Willows or the Bastable books till I was in my late twenties, and I do not think I have enjoyed them any the less on that account. I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last. A waltz which you can like only when you are waltzing is a bad waltz.

From On Stories

On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature. Copyright © 1982, 1966 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

How to Deal with Anger Graciously / Senior Living

 How to Deal with Anger Graciously

A hot-tempered man stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. - Proverbs 15:18

Many years ago, a senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. Everyone at the company knew the executive’s career was likely over. And most of the executives were finding various ways of avoiding the company’s president, John D. Rockefeller, lest his wrath descend on their heads.

There was one exception, however. He was Edward T. Bedford, a partner in the company who kept his appointment with Mr. Rockefeller. When he entered the office, he saw Rockefeller at his desk busily writing with a pencil on a pad of paper.

Across the top of the page was written “Points in favor of Mr. _______.” There followed a long list of the guilty executive’s virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make the right decision on three separate occasions that had earned many times the cost of his recent error.

It can sometimes be easy to lose your temper. That’s because so often, reactions to events tend to be just that—reactions—instead of responses. But if you take how you want to react, think it through, and consider the perspectives of others, you’ll be much more inclined to respond biblically than react angrily.

Prayer Challenge:

Ask God to reveal to you in times of anger how you can respond rather than react. Pray that He would help you see others with a biblical perspective and that you would have a forgiving spirit when dealing with conflict.

November 30 / Wisdom from the Psalms

 Psalms 140:7

God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

 

Larry had to face the fact: His surgery was less than three days away, and he was scared. He'd hardly been sick a day in his life, and now he was preparing to go under the knife for heart surgery. Nothing had ever prepared him for something like this. He lay back and closed his eyes and began to pray. As he did, an image came into his mind. He was dressed as a soldier, and the surgery ahead was a foe to defeat. But, Larry didn't stand alone. God was with him, and beside the awesome image of God, the foe didn't look large at all. When Larry ended his prayer, he opened his eyes with a renewed sense of hope and a heart that was strangely calm. The Lord had prepared him for battle, and Larry felt that it was already won.

 

Prayer: Lord, I put my trust in You. As I face the challenges of everyday life, help me to remember that You stand with me, supplying my strength and my courage. Amen.

Why Jesus? / David Jeremiah

 

Why Jesus? For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10    A consistent theme of the Bible is God’s desire to dwell among His people. His presence in the Garden of Eden is continued by His presence in the tabernacle, the temple, and in the “temple[s]” of Christians (1 Corinthians 6:19) and the Church (Ephesians 2:22). Most significantly, God came to earth in the Person of Christ and “tabernacled” (dwelt) among us (John 1:14).

Recommended Reading: Philippians 2: 5 – 8

But why the Incarnation of God in human flesh? What did Jesus come to earth to do? While multiple reasons could be cited, Jesus’ own words provide the simplest, and best, explanation: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”—another consistent theme through Scripture. From Eden on, God has been seeking His people. In Jesus, God came not only to dwell in our midst but to take upon Himself the full weight of sin caused by man’s rebellion against Him. To that end, Jesus “became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Have you placed your faith in the One who paid for your sin? Having died for us, our response is to live for Him. The atonement is the real reason for the Incarnation. James Montgomery Boice

God’s Reminder to Us This Christmas Season: Do Not Fear By Debbie McDaniel

 God’s Reminder to Us This Christmas Season: Do Not Fear

By Debbie McDaniel

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy the will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10

Four times in the Christmas story, angels appeared at appointed times to give a message to key individuals who were a part of Jesus' life and birth. And every time, those to whom they appeared were greatly "troubled," "afraid," or even "gripped with fear." And every time the angels said these powerful words, "Do not be afraid..."

To the shepherds: "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy the will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

To Mary: "But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus." Luke 1:30-31

To Joseph: "...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him he name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:20-21

To Zechariah: "But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid Zechariah, your prayer has been heard, Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you are to give him the name John." Luke 1:13

Just like these in the Christmas story so many years ago, we’re often people who can easily become fearful, troubled, even gripped with fear. It's a natural human emotion, but God never intends for us to stay stuck there. And His powerful words and message to us is still the same, for He never changes. He says, “Do not fear,” over and over in His Word, reminding us that He is with us. And He made sure it was part of the message given to each of those to whom an angel appeared to announce His Son's birth.

"Do not be afraid."

For perfect love casts out all fear.

Jesus came bringing peace that the world could never give.

Jesus came bringing light that the darkness could never overcome.

Jesus came bringing freedom from the barrier of sin and brought victory over death, once and for all.

The opposite of fear is not really simply "courage," but it is peace, faith, love, the assurance that we are held by a God who is Mighty and Sovereign and Strong.

Many of you have faced deep loss this year, the hurt of losing a loved one too soon, illness, cancer, financial troubles, or job loss. Others are struggling through the pain of broken relationships. Many are fighting depression and despair, facing addictions and giants that seem too big.

Whatever you might be battling this season, I pray that you will find deep peace in Him. The One who loves you so much and says, "Do not fear..."

He is greater. Always. He came to overcome it all. And He is with us.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Give God your worries and fears today, again, and afresh. Choose to leave it all in the hands that have the power to bring us deep peace and assurance, that the world can never give or take away. Be assured His Presence is with you and His love never fails.

Further Reading:
Luke 1:11-33
Luke 2:8-14
Matthew 1:20-21

Walk His Way / Greg Laurie

Walk His Way

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NKJV).

When the angel announced that Christ had been born, this was the message he delivered: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11 NLT).

The Christian faith is a happy faith and a hopeful faith. We have hope in this life and in our relationship with the Lord, and we have hope for the afterlife. But this doesn't mean that Christians are happy all the time or that we should walk around wearing fake smiles.

After all, Christians have moments of sadness, too. Christians even grapple with depression and other difficulties that everyone else deals with. We have hard times and setbacks, even if we are God’s children.

Being a Christian doesn’t mean that we’ll be exempt from facing a tragedy or a hardship. But what it does mean is that in the midst of our difficulties, we can experience happiness. It comes down to something the apostle Paul frequently referred to when he was writing to the believers in Philippi.

There are 16 references to the mind in Philippians, which tells us that the secret of Christian happiness is found in the way that we think, not in the way that we feel. So if we want to be happy, then we need to think properly.

Paul filled his heart and his mind with Jesus Christ. And why is that important? Because the way we think will affect how we live. For instance, we will walk in the direction that we’re looking. That’s why it’s hard to look over your shoulder and keep walking forward.

In the same way, when we’re looking to the Lord, we will walk in His direction. Every action starts with a thought. And what we think is what we’ll do.

 

People Problems / Chuck Swindoll

 People Problems

by Pastor Chuck SwindollScriptures: Psalm 54:1–7

For many years, I opened the daily newspaper looking forward to another dose of wisdom from the mind of Charles Schulz, the creator of the comic strip "Peanuts." In one particular scene, Lucy chides her little brother Linus, "You a doctor! HA! That's a big laugh! You could never be a doctor! You know why? Because you don't love mankind, that's why!"

Linus ponders her indictment for a moment and then shouts, "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand!!"

There are some days I have to laugh and say "Amen!" Let's face it; most problems are people problems. You can have a job that demands long hours and great physical effort, but neither the hours nor the energy drain gives you the problems difficult people do. You can have financial difficulties, physical pain, a tight schedule, and face miles of driving each day, but these things are not the cause of our major battles. It's people, as Linus said. Difficult people are perhaps the most challenging problems of all!

Psalm 54 is David's lament over the constant grind of people problems. Take a moment to observe the superscription; you'll find it worth your while. (By the way, I hope you are learning to do that when studying the ancient songs in the Bible. The words that appear before the first verse of each psalm are part of ancient text, giving the reader some helpful hints about the song.)

In the Fifty-fourth Psalm the superscription reads:

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. 
A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and 
said to Saul, "Is not David hiding himself among us?"

This unusually long superscription tells us that David wrote the song. We also learn that it is a "Maskil." All Maskil songs offer instruction and insight for dealing with certain situations. In this case, Psalm 54 provides some very practical advice on how to respond to problems created by other members of the human race who are just as ornery as we are!

According to 1 Samuel 23:14–26, David was being chased by jealous King Saul, whose murderous manhunt forced the singer to take refuge in a bleak and rugged location. He feared for his life, so he was desperate to find a place of safety. But everything backfired. The spot called "the hill of Hachilah" appears safe within Ziphite territory, supposedly neutral ground. But David found no rest there. The Ziphites turned against him and reported his location to Saul, and the chase resumed. David fled to the wilderness of Maon but soon found himself surrounded by Ziphites and Saul's soldiers.

I can just picture David. He's dirty, sweaty, hungry, thirsty, exhausted, and no doubt, discouraged. He slumps beside a leafy bush or beneath the shadow of a rock to escape the searing rays of the desert sun, and he begins to pour out his feelings in a poem. Attacked and betrayed by people, he is led by the Holy Spirit to record his feelings. Those expressions are what we have today preserved in the lyrics of this song, Psalm 54.

Satan at Work / Billy Graham

 

Satan at Work

Satan is at work in our world. The Bible is my authority. He exists and he has control over thousands of young people, whose hearts have never been captured by Jesus Christ. He has hundreds of agents writing pornographic literature and producing sex movies to pollute young minds. He has intellectuals in high positions teaching a hedonistic and permissive philosophy. 

Daily I come in contact with mixed-up people who are caught in the anguish of their own unpreparedness, intellectuals who have been seduced by false science, and rich men who are held in the grip of insecurity. They have no commitment to any goal. They lack an anchor for their real selves. And I long to take every one of them by the hand and lead them into the presence of the One who said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Daily Prayer

So many are without You, Lord! Use me to lead others from a destructive course to the one which will give them the satisfaction that only You can give.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭

Faith and Works / NKJV 365

 

Faith and Works

The great reformer Martin Luther, champion of the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, never felt good about the epistle of James. He called it an “epistle full of straw” in the preface to his 1522 edition of the New Testament, and he put the book in the appendix. He preferred Paul’s wording of the faith-works equation: “A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28).

In a sense, Luther had little choice. He was surrounded by men who said that good works could save you. He knew that God alone could save through faith alone, and his mission was to tell them.

But Luther went too far when he put James in the appendix to the New Testament. Neither faith nor works can be cut off and thrown away. James was taking aim at freeloaders, those who claimed to have no need for good deeds since they had faith. The reality is that if you have faith, works will naturally be a product. You cannot get rid of works just because they do not save you. You cannot sever the effect from the cause. Just as an apple tree will bear apples, so faith will produce good works (see Luke 6:43, 44).

Paul had the opposite problem in view when he wrote Romans. His letter targeted those who placed their faith in the Law of Moses. Their trust was in their own good works, and not in God. That is why Paul wrote a defense of faith, and that is why Luther preferred it to James’s defense of works.

Faith and works are not enemies. True faith and righteous works go hand in hand. They are two parts of God’s work in us. Faith brings a person to salvation, and works bring that person to faithfulness. Faith is the cause, works are the effect. James believed it, and so did Paul.

Taken from NKJV Study Bible

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:43-44‬ 

November 30 / Daily Blessings

 Daily Blessings

“I will overturn, overturn, overturn it—and it shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it him.” - Ezek 21:27

“Destruction! Destruction! I will surely destroy the kingdom. And it will not be restored until the one appears who has the right to judge it. Then I will hand it over to him.” Ezekiel 21:27

There is one then to come, “whose right it is;” there is a King who has a right to the throne, and to the allegiance of his subjects; a right to all that they are and to all that they have. But whence has he gained this right? “Until he comes whose right it is.” It is his right then, first, by original donation and gift, the Father having given to the Son all the elect. “Here am I,” says Jesus, “and the children that you have given me.” “All that the Father gives me shall come to me.” Then, so far as we are his, Jesus has a right to our persons; and in having a right to our persons, he has, by the same original donation of God the Father, a right to our hearts and affections.

But he has another right, and that is by purchase and redemption, he having redeemed his people with his own blood, having laid down his life for them, and thus bought and purchased them, and so established a right to them by the full and complete price which he himself paid down upon the cross for them. This twofold right he exercises every time that he lays a solemn claim to any one of the people whom he has purchased. And this claim he lays when the blessed Spirit comes into the soul to arrest and apprehend a vessel of mercy, and bring it to his feet, that he may be enthroned as King and Lord in its affections.

For be it remembered, that the possession of the heart with all its affections is his right; and “his glory he will not give to another;” his property he will not allow to pass into other hands; he is not satisfied with merely having a right to the persons of his dear people, he must have their hearts; and in exercising his right to their affections, he will reign and rule supreme, allowing no rival, admitting no co-operation with SELF in any shape or form, but he himself to be established as King and Lord there.

Then where is the soul before he comes into it in power, in sweetness, in beauty, in preciousness? What and where is it? A heap of ruins. And no man ever knew much of the preciousness of Christ, whose soul was not a heap of ruins, and in whom self had not been overturned and cast to the ground. No; no man ever ardently panted that the Lord of life and glory should visit his heart with his salvation, should come in the power of his resurrection, in the glory of his righteousness, in the preciousness of his presence; no man ever spiritually desired, sighed, cried, groaned, sued, and begged for the manifestation of Christ to his soul, who was not a ruined wretch before God, and in whom self had not been overturned so as to be a desolate heap, so overthrown that all the power of man could not put any one stone in its place, or rebuild the former edifice.

In God, Not Out of Trouble / Streams

 In God, Not Out of Trouble

And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest - Jer 45:5

A promise given for hard places, and a promise of safety and life in the midst of tremendous pressure, a life “for a prey.” It may well adjust itself to our own times, which are growing harder as we near the end of the age, and the Tribulation times.

What is the meaning of “a life for a prey”? It means a life snatched out of the jaws of the destroyer, as David snatched the lamb from the lion. It means not removal from the noise of the battle and the presence of our foes; but it means a table in the midst of our enemies, a shelter from the storm, a fortress amid the foe, a life preserved in the face of continual pressure: Paul’s healing when pressed out of measure so that he despaired of life; Paul’s Divine help when the thorn remained, but the power of Christ rested upon him and the grace of Christ was sufficient. Lord, give me my life for a prey, and in the hardest places help me today to be victorious. —Days of Heaven upon Earth

We often pray to be delivered from calamities; we even trust that we shall be; but we do not pray to be made what we should be, in the very presence of the calamities; to live amid them, as long as they last, in the consciousness that we are, held and sheltered by the Lord, and can therefore remain in the midst of them, so long as they continue, without any hurt. For forty days and nights, the Saviour was kept in the presence of Satan in the wilderness, and that, under circumstances of special trial, His human nature being weakened by want of food and rest. The furnace was heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated, but the three Hebrew children were kept a season amid its flames as calm and composed in the presence of the tyrant’s last appliances of torture, as they were in the presence of himself before their time of deliverance came. And the livelong night did Daniel sit among the lions, and when he was taken up out of the den, “no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” They dwelt in the presence of the enemy, because they dwelt in the presence of God.

God’s Sovereign Hand / Max Lucado

 

God’s Sovereign Hand

Click below to listen to today's devotional

GOD’S SOVEREIGN HAND - November 29, 2021

“The Lord directs the king’s thoughts. He turns them wherever he wants to” (Proverbs 21:1 TLB).

Who’s to say God doesn’t have a reversal in your future? Don’t be thrown off by the prosperity of the wicked. Instead, set your eyes on the author of your salvation. No individual, institution, organization, society, or country is beyond the influence of God. No one is beyond his sovereign hand.

God still hears the prayers of the exiles and still uses the faithful to reach them. Are you in need of rescue? Are you available to rescue someone else? Either way, keep praying. Keep trusting. Your story is not finished. Reversals happen.

But you have to stay in the game. Mordecai did. Esther did. And their stories took a turn for the better. So will yours, my friend. So will yours.

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ / Oswald Chambers

 

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ He will glorify Me… JOHN 16:14 The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else. The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God! Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,…He will glorify Me…” (John 16:13-14 ). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.

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.

Discovering Our True Identity / Charles Stanley

 Discovering Our True Identity

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Many Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. They know they’re saved, but they don’t really know what to think about themselves. Let’s take a little test. Do you consider yourself a sinner saved by grace or a saint who occasionally sins? Both statements are true, but the first one dwells on your past identity, whereas the second focuses on the Lord’s perception of you.

If you are a believer, God’s Word says that you are a saint (v. 2). But too many of us still see ourselves as the same old sinner, who’s been forgiven and patched up and yet is basically unchanged inside. But the Lord says anyone in Christ “is a new creature; the old things passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s what being born again is all about. We can never go back to the way we were.

The solution to this identity crisis is to change the way we think about ourselves. If we don’t, we’ll rely on how we feel, and Satan will bombard us with reminders of our failures and sins. He wants to keep us focused on being a sinner, because he knows that the recognition of our sainthood will lead us to live like saints. We’ll be motivated and empowered to obey God, and the Devil will lose his foothold in our lives.

Jesus didn’t come just to save you from hell; He wants to live His life through you. In Christ, you have a new identity which has replaced your old one. If you will focus on who you are now, your actions will follow, and you’ll experience the enjoyment of a victorious Christian life.