Saturday, September 2, 2017

NKJV 365

NKJV 365 Day Reading Plan

Day 245 of 365

Jonathan and David reaffirmed their covenant of friendship. Jonathan made a covenant: This refers to the agreement Jonathan sought from David in vv. 14, 15. Let the Lord require it: Jonathan prayed that the Lord would hold David accountable to the obligations of the covenant. Out of love for David, Jonathan againrequested that David reaffirm his vow (18:1; 19:1). David and Jonathan were holding each other accountable.

Taken from NKJV Study Bible

1 Samuel 20:16-17 NASB

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the L ord require it at the hands of David's enemies." 17Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.

Loud & Clear: God Speaks Through Miracles by David Jeremiah

TODAY'S TURNING POINT WITH DR. DAVID JEREMIAH

Loud & Clear: God Speaks Through Miracles

September 2, 2017

When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, “Show a miracle for yourselves,” then you shall say to Aaron, “Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.”
Exodus 7:9

Would you like to see a true miracle? Do you think more people would come to the Lord if miracles widely occurred? Well, God can certainly do miracles; He is the God of all power. But think of this. In all of human history, few people saw the kind of miracles witnessed by Pharaoh—the Nile River turning to blood, the plague of frogs, the ghastly darkness, the angel of death—yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to believe. People who reject God’s amazing grace also reject His amazing miracles.

Recommended Reading: Exodus 7:14-25

Jesus made the same point in Luke 16, when the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers. “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,” Abraham said, “neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

The God of miracles is the God of mercy, and if we reject His mercy we cannot grasp His miracles. But when we listen to God’s voice in His Word—it’s loud and clear—we can rejoice in all His wonders, especially in the greatest miracle of all: Jesus rose from the dead for you and me!

I never have any difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.
Augustine

Don’t Run Alone / Our Daily Bread

Don’t Run Alone

September 2, 2017

Read: Exodus 17:8–13
Bible in a Year: Psalms 137–139; 1 Corinthians 13

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses . . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.—Hebrews 12:1

My husband Jack was on mile 25 out of 26 when his strength failed him.

This was his first marathon, and he was running alone. After stopping for a drink of water at an aid station, he felt exhausted and sat down on the grass beside the course. Minutes passed, and he couldn’t get up. He had resigned himself to quitting the race when two middle-aged schoolteachers from Kentucky came by. Although they were strangers, they noticed Jack and asked if he wanted to run with them. Suddenly, he found his strength restored. Jack stood and accompanied by the two women he finished the race.

Those women who encouraged Jack remind me of Aaron and Hur, two friends who helped Moses, the leader of the Israelites, at a key point (Ex. 17:8–13). The Israelites were under attack. In battle, they were winning only as long as Moses held his staff up (v. 11). So when Moses’s strength began to fail, Aaron and Hur stood on either side of him, holding up his arms for him until sunset (v. 12).

Following God is not a solo endeavor. He did not create us to run the race of life alone. Companions can help us persevere through difficulty as we do what God has called us to do. —Amy Peterson

God, thank You for relationships that encourage me to continue following You. Help me to be a source of strength for others, as well.

Who can I encourage to persevere through difficulty today?

INSIGHT: Several unique battle plans recorded in Scripture include marching around a city and blowing trumpets (Josh. 6), surrounding the camp with torches and blowing trumpets (Judg. 7), and today’s story of raising hands (Ex. 17). While we have no record of when or why the battle plan in Exodus 17 was established, Moses’s lifted hands was clearly the deciding factor in who was winning (see v. 11). However, it wasn’t just up to Moses to keep his hands raised; the result was the same when Aaron and Hur held up Moses’s hands.

The combined efforts of Moses, Aaron, and Hur allowed Joshua to win the battle. In verses 14-16 we read something interesting about Joshua: He may not have known he was being helped. Moses instructs that the events of the battle, both on the field and behind the scenes, be written in a scroll and to make sure Joshua hears it (v. 14). Perhaps Moses intended that Joshua not think the battle was won by the strength of the army or by brilliant leadership. But it’s possible that he wanted Joshua to know he wasn’t alone in the battle, just as Moses wasn’t alone in his task. J.R. Hudberg

Friday, September 1, 2017

Destined To Be Holy by Oswald Chambers

Destined To Be Holy

September 1, 2017

…it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." —1 Peter 1:16

We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.

Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.

Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

A fanatic is one who entrenches himself in invincible ignorance. Baffled to Fight Better, 59 R

Listening to God by Charles Stanley

Proverbs 2:1-5

Learning to listen to God is an essential part of following His will. The Lord regularly speaks to His children through…

Scripture. The Bible is our guidebook to God’s thoughts and actions. It is the primary source for Christians to discover His character and learn to trust Him. This means we ought to read more than just a little bit every day. Our goal should be to absorb the message and then listen for God to offer instructions on how and where to apply His Word.

Prayer. Like all real friends, the Lord desires give-and-take in His relationships. Therefore, prayer is not complete when we’re done talking. We must quiet our mouth and thoughts so that our spiritual ears can open.

Circumstances. In the Bible, the Lord often revealed His ways to men and women through their circumstances. He still works that way today. Situations differ, but our God does not change. He uses everyday life to reveal errors in thinking, to open or close doors of opportunity, and to prove His promises true.

Others. Pastors, friends, and mentors can all speak truth into a person’s life. The Lord places believers in community so they can be supported and helped by those nearby. He doesn’t hesitate to send a message from the mouth of someone we know and trust.

God does not use just one or two of these methods to reach a believer; He speaks through all four. We need to attune our spiritual ears, always remembering that a message from the Lord must agree with His holy Word. The Father is talking to you. Are you listening?

Finding Joy in All the Right Places by Adrian Rogers

Finding Joy in All the Right Places

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:8

A Christian should be filled with joy. But we can’t take any credit for it. It is Jesus who gives us joy and satisfaction. We couldn’t have found it had we been searching for it, but by finding, knowing, and growing in Christ, He has filled us with an overflowing joy.

Do you know what the devil will tell you? That holiness and happiness don’t go together. He will tell you that if you make up your mind to live a holy life, then you won’t have any fun. Friend, the devil is a liar.

You’ll never know satisfaction and joy until you find it in the right place. You’ll never enjoy the good things of life until you know Jesus. Oh, how sweet to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Is the hunger of your heart met in Christ?

September 1 / Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

I will lay thy stones with fair colors (Isa. 54:11).

The stones from the wall said, "We come from the mountains far away, from the sides of the craggy hills. Fire and water have worked on us for ages, but made us only crags. Human hands have made us into a dwelling where the children of your immortal race are born, and suffer, and rejoice, and find rest and shelter, and learn the lessons set them by our Maker and yours. But we have passed through much to fit us for this. Gunpowder has rent our very heart; pickaxes have cleaved and broken us, it seemed to us often with out design or meaning, as we lay misshapen stones in the quarry; but gradually we were cut into blocks, and some of us were chiseled with finer instruments to a sharper edge. But we are complete now, and are in our places, and are of service.

"You are in the quarry still, and not complete, and therefore to you, as once to us, much is inexplicable. But you are destined for a higher building, and one day you will be placed in it by hands not human, a living stone in a heavenly temple."

In the still air the music lies unheard;In the rough marble beauty hides unseen;
To make the music and the beauty needs
The master's touch, the sculptor's chisel keen.
Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hands;
Let not the music that is in us die!
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us; nor let,
Hidden and lost, thy form within us lie!

What About the Holy Spirit? by John MacArthur

What About the Holy Spirit?

“The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us” (1 John 3:24).

Because the Holy Spirit affects every area of the Christian life, it is vital that we have a balanced and correct view of His role.

The church’s understanding of the Spirit’s Person and ministry has been seriously distorted over the past few decades. Charismatics have given an undue emphasis to certain pentecostal gifts so that subjective experience is often elevated over objective scriptural truth.

At the same time, many non-charismatics have overreacted to charismatic excesses by almost ignoring the Holy Spirit. For most, an in-depth study of the Spirit does not fit with the pragmatic, psychological approach to solving spiritual problems.

But we can’t afford to go to either extreme; otherwise we’ll miss out on what it really means to know the Spirit and to minister by His power. He is indispensable in saving us, enabling us to obey Jesus Christ, and ultimately perfecting us in glory. Paul urged the Galatian believers not to abandon the Holy Spirit but to lean completely on Him. “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3).

Too many Christians are wasting time looking to seminars, gimmicks, counselors, and novel interpretations of old truths to uncover “the secret” to the abundant Christian life. But the key to such living is not a mystery or a secret. The sufficiency of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, as revealed through the pages of God’s fully reliable Word, is all the information and resources we’ll ever need to live fruitful and prosperous spiritual lives.

In today’s verse, the apostle John is speaking of Christ’s indwelling presence in the believer’s life, which the Holy Spirit reveals to us. Therefore the Spirit is working with the Lord Jesus in encouraging you, guiding you, enlightening you, and empowering you for every good work (see John 14:1620; 16:13). By understanding the Spirit’s role and allowing Him to work in you daily, you’ll begin to see your life becoming more like Christ each day.

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray that God would grant you and everyone in your church a proper and balanced understanding of the Spirit’s role.

For Further Study

Jesus is portrayed as the Good Shepherd in John 10. Read that chapter, and list the major characteristics He has as our Shepherd.

Flourish by David Jeremiah

Friday, September 1

Flourish

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15a

NKJV 365

NKJV 365 Day Reading Plan

Day 244 of 365

Friendship is higher than servanthood. Servants obey their masters out of fear or a sense of duty; friends obey out of love and an internal desire to do what is good and right. Abraham was called a "friend of God" (Jam 2:23) because he obeyed God out of the belief of his heart. The disciples, and indeed all the saints, are honored as friends of Christ because they freely obey His commandments out of love. Those who have this spirit of loving obedience are open to receive and understand the revelations of the Father.

Taken from The Orthodox Study Bible

John 15:14-15 NASB

14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

September 1 / Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning and Evening

Day 244 of 366

Morning - Day 244
"On mine arm shall they trust."

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as he built the heavens and the earth, glorify himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.

Evening - Day 244
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light."

As he is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as he is whom we call "Our Father," of whom it is written, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all?" Certainly, this is the model which is set before us, for the Saviour himself said, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect;" and although we may feel that we can never rival the perfection of God, yet we are to seek after it, and never to be satisfied until we attain to it. The youthful artist, as he grasps his early pencil, can hardly hope to equal Raphael or Michael Angelo, but still, if he did not have a noble beau ideal before his mind, he would only attain to something very mean and ordinary. But what is meant by the expression that the Christian is to walk in light as God is in the light? We conceive it to import likeness, but not degree. We are as truly in the light, we are as heartily in the light, we are as sincerely in the light, as honestly in the light, though we cannot be there in the same measure. I cannot dwell in the sun, it is too bright a place for my residence, but I can walk in the light of the sun; and so, though I cannot attain to that perfection of purity and truth which belongs to the Lord of hosts by nature as the infinitely good, yet I can set the Lord always before me, and strive, by the help of the indwelling Spirit, after conformity to his image. That famous old commentator, John Trapp, says, "We may be in the light as God is in the light for quality, but not for equality." We are to have the same light, and are as truly to have it and walk in it as God does, though, as for equality with God in his holiness and purity, that must be left until we cross the Jordan and enter into the perfection of the Most High. Mark that the blessings of sacred fellowship and perfect cleansing are bound up with walking in the light.

Isaiah 51:5 NASB

5 "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.

1 John 1:7 NASB

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Day By Day With Billy Graham / Hope Beyond Death

Day By Day With Billy Graham

Day 244 of 366

Hope Beyond Death

We don't like to talk about death; it's the forbidden subject of our generation. Yet it's real for all of us. Sometimes on television I see motion pictures featuring actors who are no longer living. They seem very much alive in the picture, but they are dead. Some of them were my personal friends. Death is real, and when we die, that is a battle we have to fight all alone. Nobody can be with us in that hour, but David said he had found an answer that would take the fear of death away. David said that there is an answer to death, there is a hope beyond death. That hope is centered in the risen Christ. Paul wrote that to be "absent from the body" is to be "present with the Lord." So the fear of death is removed.

Daily Prayer

Lord Jesus, with complete trust I look toward that day when my soul will be with You for eternity.

Proverbs 14:32 NASB

32 The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

The Jesus Bible Reading Plan / JUDGMENT IS COMING

The Jesus Bible Reading Plan

Day 243 of 365

JUDGMENT IS COMING

God invited the nations of the world to witness what was about to happen to his people. The impending disaster would result not from ambition in the hearts of foreign kings; rather, God himself would orchestrate the disaster. The Israelites earned God's judgment by disregarding his call to repentance and his clear warning of consequences for disobedience. Judah's rebellion altered their history. Jerusalem suffered ruin and God allowed Judah's people to be killed or captured because they chose to act as if God's decrees did not matter - as if God would not actually hold them accountable.

On a day of God's choosing, Jesus will return to earth and administer judgment over all mankind (Heb 10:30 - 31). Those who have faith in Jesus will be saved, and those who do not believe will endure everlasting punishment. Similar to Jeremiah's announcements, the world needs to know that God is real and that a coming day of judgment is certain. But Jesus promised that those who believe would not be judged (Jn 5:24).

Jesus, thank you for rescuing me from judgment. Help me to lovingly and gently warn others of what will happen if they don't turn to you. Amen.

Jeremiah 6:19 NASB

19 "Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

Hebrews 10:30-31 NASB

30 For we know Him who said, "V engeance is M ine , I will repay ." And again, "T he L ord will judge H is people ." 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

John 5:24 NASB

24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

God’s Doing Something New / Our Daily Bread

God’s Doing Something New

September 1, 2017

Read: 1 Thessalonians 3:6–13
Bible in a Year: Psalms 135–136; 1 Corinthians 12

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.—1 Thessalonians 3:12

“Is God doing something new in your life?” was the question the leader asked in a group I was in recently. My friend Mindy, who is dealing with some difficult situations, responded. She told of needing patience with aging parents, stamina for her husband’s health issues, and understanding of her children and grandchildren who have not yet chosen to follow Jesus. Then she made an insightful comment that runs contrary to what we might normally think: “I believe the new thing God is doing is He’s expanding my capacity and opportunities to love.”

That fits nicely with the apostle Paul’s prayer for new believers in Thessalonica: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thess. 3:12). He had taught them about Jesus but had to leave abruptly because of rioting (Acts 17:1–9). Now in his letter he encouraged them to continue to stand firm in their faith (1 Thess. 3:7–8). And he prayed that the Lord would increase their love for all.

During difficulties we often choose to complain and ask, Why? Or wonder, Why me? Another way to handle those times could be to ask the Lord to expand His love in our hearts and to help us take the new opportunities that come to love others. —Anne Cetas

I’ve got my own list of things I could worry about, Lord. Change my thinking. Open my eyes to love.

Our troubles can fill our prayers with love and empathy for others.

INSIGHT: Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is filled with warmth and tenderness for dear friends. He ministered in the midst of suffering, imprisonment, and persecution, but his passion for seeing people (like the Thessalonians) enter into relationship with Christ was undeterred. As a result, Paul endured these almost continuous hardships without losing his focus on the needs of people. This is clearly seen in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, where Paul catalogues the price he paid for the gospel and for them. While we may never suffer as the apostle did, how might we wisely respond to the trials we do encounter so that others can be touched by God’s love?

For more on navigating through trials check out the Discovery Series booklet Change: Following God Through Life’s Crossroads at discoveryseries.org/q0734. Bill Crowder