Hope for Today / January 2

 LIMA, PERU: Vilma Escudero carried the title of “principal.” In her heart, she carried the burdens that weigh down large inner-city schools. Discipline was a constant challenge. Immorality was bearing its bitter fruit among the students. Her teachers were offering constant complaints about their low salaries and lack of materials. Parent trouble, teacher trouble, funding shortfalls, and a general lack of support left her carrying a tremendous load for the two thousand students at Augusto Gutierrez School.

One afternoon Pastor Elmer Zavaleta visited the school and asked for permission to distribute the Book of Hope. Vilma did not hesitate to open the door. The books were well received and Pastor Zavaleta felt great freedom to extend an invitation for salvation at the end of the presentation. Almost all of the students raised their hands, and several teachers joined them in a sinner’s prayer. Vilma Escudero raised her hand, too.

Vilma now attends an evangelical church where she is growing in faith. She boldly tells her colleagues that school problems dropped sharply after the Book of Hope was distributed.

God’s Word can make a difference in your workplace, too. Pray for open doors.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭105‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The Secret Of Real Living / Billy Graham

 

The Secret Of Real Living

Some Christians have learned little of a daily devotional life. Some time ago a policeman asked me what the secret of victorious living was. I told him that there is no magic formula that can be pronounced. If any word could describe it, I would say surrender. The second word I would say would be devotion. Nothing can take the place of a daily devotional life with Christ. Your quiet time, your prayer time, the time you spend in the Word, is absolutely essential for a happy Christian life. You cannot possibly be a happy, dynamic, and powerful Christian apart from a daily walk with Christ. Christis calling Christians today to cleansing, to dedication, to consecration, and to full surrender. It will make the difference between success and failure in your spiritual life. It will make the difference between being helped and helping others. It will make a difference in your habits, in your prayer life, in your Bible reading, in your giving, in your testimony, and in your church membership. This is the Christian hour of decision!

Daily Prayer

I long for a deeper devotional life, living Lord. May I consecrate myself completely to You.

“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Daily Encouragment / January 1

 All the glory of marriage shines in these simple words which describe God himself bringing the woman to the man. This is the justification for the married state, the supreme reason why “Marriage should be honoured by all” (Heb. 13:4), for marriage is ordained by God. The initiative is divine and provides the foundation for the relationship: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

Herein lies the true source of satisfaction in marriage. The union is secure and permanent, because it is the work of God. Husband and wife are no longer two but one, because the Lord has joined them together, (Matt. 19:6). The joys of such a relationship - physical, mental and spiritual - come from his gracious hand. Husband and wife know they were made for one another. Together they see their children as “a heritage from the Lord” (Ps. 127:3).

This word from Genesis should shape the expectations of the unmarried. “A prudent wife (or husband) is from the Lord” (Prov. 19:14). Happy is the young man who looks to the Lord’s hand for such a gift; happy is the young woman who clasps that hand in order to be led to the man of his appointing.

“The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Happy New Year, IN THE WORD!!!

 

Bible in One Year: January 1

 Bible in One Year: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

OR...

Download the one year reading plan from Bible Project, the plan I use.

Bible Project Reading Plan

Let Us Keep to the Point / Oswald Chambers

Let Us Keep to the Point "…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." PHILIPPIANS 1:20 My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone. My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death–it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably. Bible in One Year: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own.

 

Sunday Reflection: Turn Your Attention / Charles Stanley

 

Sunday Reflection: Turn Your Attention

The believer’s primary focus should be on knowing and loving God, not on merely following rules.

The Gospel of John tells us about a group of Pharisees who want to stone a woman accused of adultery (John 8:3-11). The men are so focused on the technicalities of the law that they fail to understand why the law exists in the first place: to help human beings know and experience God. If their hearts weren’t so hardened, they might have discovered that the law is fulfilled not by punishing wrongs but by love (Romans 13:8 NIV).

When Jesus tells the woman that she is free of condemnation, He does so having sympathized with her every weakness (Hebrews 4:15-16); He has compassion regarding all the trials she’s faced and knows each detail of her background (Psalm 139:1-24). He is a Savior of infinite understanding. 

When we redirect our attention from rule-following to God Himself, we discover both His true character and His will for us. And like this woman, we encounter a God full of mercy and grace—one we’re eager to love.

Think about it

• Today is a good day to focus your attention on God and remember what you love about Him. Read Psalm 139. What stands out to you?

Do You Really Believe God? / Adrian Rogers

 Do You Really Believe God?

Joshua 3:14-17

Sermon: 1387 Your Guide to the Great Unknown, Part 2

Pray Over This

“So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water…the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”

Joshua 3:14-15a, 17

Ponder This

Why is it that some of us don’t follow God? Why don’t we get into the Jordan? We don’t believe God. I’ll give you an illustration. The reason some people don’t titheis that they don’t really believe God. Malachi 3:10 says “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” Now, if a person believed that verse, would he tithe? Sure, who wouldn’t want God to open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing so great he couldn’t even receive it? Do you know why we never get into Jordan or whatever it may be that God commands us to do? It’s because we really don’t trust God. And you know why we don’t trust God? Because we don’t know God. You can’t trust someone you don’t know.

• What is difficult for you when it comes to trusting God?
• In what ways would you say you know God well? In what ways would you say you don’t know God well?

Practice This

Write out some areas where you need to place your trust in God this year.

Choose Joy / ODB

Choose Joy Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 READ Philippians 1:12–21 Keith was feeling down as he trudged through the produce aisle. His hands trembled from the first signs of Parkinson’s disease. How long before his quality of life began to slide? What would this mean for his wife and children? Keith’s gloom was shattered by laughter. Over by the potatoes, a man pushed a giggling boy in a wheelchair. The man leaned over and whispered to his son, who couldn’t stop grinning. He was noticeably worse off than Keith, yet he and his dad were finding joy where they could. Writing from prison or under house arrest as he awaited the outcome of his trial, the apostle Paul seemingly had no right to be joyful (Philippians 1:12–13). The emperor was Nero, a wicked man who had a growing reputation for violence and cruelty, so Paul had reason to be concerned. He also knew there were preachers who were taking advantage of his absence to gain glory for themselves. They thought they could “stir up trouble” for the apostle while he was imprisoned (v. 17). Yet Paul chose to rejoice (vv. 18–21), and he told the Philippians to follow his example: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (4:4). Our situation might seem bleak, yet Jesus is with us now, and He’s guaranteed our glorious future. Christ, who walked out of His tomb, will return to raise His followers to live with Him. As we begin this new year, may we rejoice! By Mike Wittmer What personal suffering or injustice causes you to languish in your sorrow? How might the truth of Jesus bring you joy? Father, please raise my eyes above my circumstances. I look to You alone for joy. For further study, read Why? Seeing God in Our Pain.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is much loved because of its emphasis on joy. Considered by many to be the apostle’s most practical letter, it nevertheless contains one of the most theological segments in the New Testament. The declaration in Philippians 2:5–11, believed by some to have been a part of an ancient hymn, explores what Christ left behind to come to earth as a human being. It also explores His ultimate mission—the cross—and the glory that will be His one day, when “every knee [will] bow” and “every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord” (vv. 10–11). Bill Crowder

 

Our Eternal God / Ann Graham Lotz

 

Our Eternal God

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1, nkjv

The glorious dawn of God’s story begins with the stunning yet profoundly simple statement that in the beginning He created everything (Gen. 1:1)—which means that in the beginning, He was already there. He is eternal.

It is impossible to comprehend eternity. It’s been defined as three stages of time: everything before Creation, everything that has taken place or will take place from Creation until the end of the world, and everything that will take place after the end of the world. It stretches back further than the human mind can reach—whether through anthropology, or geology, or archaeology.

It stretches ahead further than the human mind can imagine—whether through science fiction, or scientific observation, or telescopes.

God as Creator is eternal and therefore not bound by time. That means He is in your future, and He is in your past, and He surrounds you at present! Would you worship Him now for His eternity?

God’s faithfulness through the generations / Corrie ten Boom

God’s faithfulness through the generations

Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” 

This Psalm speaks about God’s faithfulness and loving kindness through the generations. Corrie experienced this faithfulness of God. She once said: “We have to dig up the gold from the past generations to make coins to hand out to the future generations.” The gold she referred to was the gold of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son. He came down to earth to die for our sins in order that the separation between God and men was abolished. But He also rose again to live in us through His Holy Spirit.

There was a lot of gold to dig up from the generations before Corrie.

  Corrie was born in 1892 in Amsterdam and the family moved to Haarlem when Corrie was five years old. She grew up in the house her grandfather had bought in 1837 and in which her father was born. For three generations the family Ten Boom had a watchmakers shop on the Barteljorisstraat in Haarlem. Throughout the generations they trusted in God’s goodness and faithfulness. Even when life was difficult because of sickness and poverty. Believing in God sometimes caused rejection, suffering and persecution. But in spite of all this Corrie had a very warm, safe and happy upbringing. Her parents expressed and taught the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and Corrie learned how to put into practice the great command, namely, “to love the Lord your God above all and your neighbor as yourself.” She also learnt through the generations to love God’s precious Jewish people, "the apple of His eye".

Questions  

• Can you see the gold of God’s loving kindness and faithfulness in the generations before you?  
• How can you apply this in your own life?  
• Are there stumbling stones in your life that hinder you from digging up the gold of God’s love?

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for your everlasting, loving kindness and faithfulness throughout the generations. This gives us hope. Help us to remove the stumbling stones that hinder us from digging up the gold, so that we can hand it on to the next generations.

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ 

Daily Encouragement / January 1

 This is the first word about creation, as it is the last. For the believer it is a word of great encouragement. It is an encouragement to contemplate the whole creation - everything in earth, sky and sea with eyes of wonder and with an untrammelled mind. Anchored to this foundation truth, reverent investigation, of and speculation about the methods of the Creator will have ample room in which to operate freely.

The word is an encouragement to trust in God, particularly in difficult circumstances. James Denney said, “Just because creation is an index to God’s resources it teaches us not to despair because we have come to the end of our own.” So Jeremiah cries out in a crisis hour, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you,” (Jer. 32:17). So Peter bids suffering Christians to commit themselves to “their faithful Creator,” (1 Pet. 4:19).

It is an encouragement to worship, to join our voices with the heavenly host:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
(Rev. 4:11)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Filled With Christ / Billy Graham

 

Filled With Christ

As we flick the calendar to a new year, we come face to face with the fact that our days on earth are numbered. As the Psalmist wrote, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” No thoughtful person can approach New Year’s Day without some introspection. We are reminded of the brevity of time. We also look back over our failures, mistakes, and missed opportunities, and vow that we will make better use of our time during the coming year. We should take time to be pleasant, to smile, to extend the small courtesies we often omit—to show love to our family. Psychiatrists tell us that most people are starved for love. Take time for the goodbye kiss; we shall go to work with a sweeter spirit. Let us take time to get acquainted with our families. We are not machines. We are not robots. The secret of a happy home is that members of the family learn to give and receive love. Let us take time to express our love in a thousand ways.

Daily Prayer

As I begin a new year, Lord Jesus, I pray that my walk through the days ahead will be filled with Your love for others, a love that does not count the cost.

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Hope For Today / January 1

God’s economy with words is staggering. With the first 10 words in the Bible He establishes Himself as Lord over all sciences.

“In the beginning.” There was one – a premeditated starting point and preparation for man’s immediate appearance in a lifeless universe. 
“In the beginning God.” Four words establish the eternal fact of God and His legitimate paternity. 
“In the beginning God created.” Neither we nor the universe are products of random and accidental occurrences. Creation is a divine conspiracy. 
“In the beginning God created the heaven.” Here we have a complete cosmology. 
“And the earth.” Here we have the ultimate truth of biology. 

Every emerging science is predicated on Genesis 1:1. Every truth we discover in the Bible is rooted in God’s first and foundational claim. Every “natural” process has a supernatural starting point in God’s great and sudden creation.

Stand fast on the first 10 words of the Bible. Without an unshakable faith in Genesis 1:1, we have no basis for faith at all.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬