“Need Some Help?” / David Jeremiah

 

“Need Some Help?” Are [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14   “Need some help?” How encouraging it is to hear those words! They may come from a neighbor who sees we could use an extra set of hands. Or they may come from a complete stranger when we’ve had to pull to the side of the road with a flat tire. We all need help at times—and one of the missions of God’s angels is to help us in ways no one else can.

Recommended Reading: Luke 22:41-43

Even Jesus needed the help of an angel in the most difficult moment of His life. He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to the Father about the path ahead of Him—a path leading to a cross on Calvary. And “an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.” So great was His anguish that He sweat drops of blood as He prayed (Luke 22:43-44). If Jesus needed strength and support in a trying moment of His life, how much more might we need the same? Live a life of awareness of angels when you need help. Don’t project how they will help; just believe that they may be God’s way to meet your need.   Angels are the dispensers and administrators of the divine beneficence towards us. John Calvin

It’s How You Finish / Greg Laurie

It’s How You Finish

Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. (Philippians 2:16 NLT)

The most important part of the race is the finish line. Yes, the start is important, but you can have a bad start and still finish well. However, if you finish badly, it doesn’t matter how well you started. You’re simply tired, and it was all for nothing. Finishing is everything.

In Acts 20, the apostle Paul talked about finishing the race of life well. He said, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (verse 24 NLT).

When we’re young, we may think that we’re just starting our race. But we don’t know how long our lives will be. That is why we want to run the race of life well. And the objective is to finish well too.

In the New Kings James Version of this verse, Paul says that he wants to finish his race “with joy.” Some Christians have lost their joy. They may have started off their race with joy, but then something happened to them.

Maybe they lost interest in the things of God or other things crowded out their relationship with the Lord. They still do the things that they should as a Christian, but they’re simply going through the motions. And they’re not happy about it.

They need to pray, like the psalmist David, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:12 NLT).

For the Christian, the race of life is not a sprint; it’s a long-distance run.

As Hebrews encourages us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (12:1-2 NLT).

Paul warned about looking back in this race. He said, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT).

You can’t run a good race if you’re looking over your shoulder. You can trip and fall. Don’t look wistfully at the sinful things you used to do. Put it behind you.

Here’s how to run the race well and finish it well: Run it for Jesus. Don’t run it for people. Don’t run it out of mere duty. You have an audience of one. Jesus Christ Himself is watching you. So run for Him.

Don’t just start your race well. Finish it well. And finish it with joy.

 

Homecoming Day / Ann Graham Lotz

Homecoming Day

Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

Luke 10:20, nkjv

When I know that my loved ones are coming home, especially my son who is now married and living away from me, I begin to prepare for them. My son, Jonathan, loves barbecued spareribs on the grill, a homemade apple pie, and time to play tennis with his dad. I prepare those things for him, so that when he walks through the door of the house he will know he was expected and welcome, because this is his home!

Considering how I prepare for my children when I know they are coming home, I love to think of the preparations God is making for my homecoming one day. He knows the colors I love, the scenery I enjoy, the things that make me happy. All these personal details will let me know when I walk into My Father’s House that I am expected and welcome because He has prepared it for me! And in the same way, He is preparing a glorious homecoming for you!

 

Workshop of the Heavens / Max Lucado

 

Workshop of the Heavens

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WORKSHOP OF THE HEAVENS

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

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

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

Verse of the Day / November 1

 Quiet Time...

"Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, 

and one who waters will himself be watered." 

Proverbs 11:25 ESV

*****

Bible in One Year: November 1

 Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 24-26; Titus 2

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth / Oswald Chambers

 

Individual Discouragement and Personal Growth Do you not know that…you are not your own? 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19 There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block. The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours? Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 24-26; Titus 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.

Obeying God / Charles Stanley

Obeying God

Acts 5:27-32

The high priest ordered Peter and the apostles to stop teaching about Jesus, but they ignored the order. When questioned about their actions, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men” (v. 29). What motivated them to follow the Lord with such conviction?

God’s Sovereignty. Peter and the other disciples recognized that God had carried out His divine plan of redemption in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Convinced that salvation was found in Christ alone, they had the courage to speak boldly about their faith. They didn’t alter their words, even in front of a powerful authority. Instead, they gave allegiance to God and obeyed Him.

Thankfulness. Their obedience was also motivated by gratitude. After betraying the Lord, Peter had wept over his failure (Mark 14:72). Think of the disciple’s joy to realize that Christ had forgiven him for his mistakes and restored him to a right relationship with God (Mark 16:7; John 21:15-17). With his past behind him, Peter became a leader of the Jerusalem church, with a passion to obey fueled by a thankful heart.

God is in charge of our lives. He has rescued us from the bondage of sin, forgiven us, and brought us into His family. Grateful obedience should be our response too.

Each day we have a choice. We can acknowledge God’s sovereignty and trust Him, or we can turn away and follow our own plan. Cultivating a thankful spirit will motivate us to stay the course and obey the Lord. Like Peter, let’s commit to following our heavenly Father wherever He leads. 

Has God Given You a Dream? / Adrian Rogers

 Has God Given You a Dream?

Genesis 37:5-7
Sermon: 2247 Practicing the Presence of God, Part 1

Pray Over

This Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Genesis 37:5-7

Ponder This

Let God put a dream in your heart. I was about Joseph’s age when God called me into the ministry. I was in high school, and my pastor told me that God had a plan for everybody’s life. And I wanted to know God’s plan for my life. So, I said, “Lord, I don’t know what You want me to do, but whatever it is, I want You to show me Your will, and whatever it is, I want to do it.”

Now, God spoke to Joseph through a dream. He may speak to you some other way. But the point is this: God has a plan for your life. Would you like to know what God’s plan for your life is? Remember, Joseph just had a vision. He had a hint, but that’s all. God didn’t give him a road map. I think Joseph would have been perturbed had God told him about the pit, the prison, the accusations, and everything else. But he had a dream—something he aspired to. Romans 12:1-2 is such a wonderful verse for formulating our God-given dreams. It says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Do you want to know the will of God? There’s the formula: presentation plus transformation equals realization.

• What is a dream God has given you?
• When have you desired a road map of God’s will for you? How have you learned to trust God with the details of your life?

Practice This

Pray and then write down some of the dreams you have for the future. Consider how these might bring God glory.

Worth It to Follow Jesus / ODB

 

Worth It to Follow Jesus Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33 READ Luke 14:25–33 Ronit came from a religious but non-Christian family. Their discussions about spiritual matters were dry and academic. “I kept praying all the prayers,” she said, “but I wasn’t hearing [from God].” She began to study the Bible. Slowly, steadily, she inched toward faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Ronit describes the defining moment: “I heard a clear voice in my heart saying, ‘You’ve heard enough. You’ve seen enough. It’s time to just believe.’ ” But Ronit faced a problem: her father. “My dad responded as if Mount Vesuvius erupted,” she recalls. When Jesus walked this earth, crowds followed Him (Luke 14:25). We don’t know exactly what they were looking for, but He was looking for disciples. And that comes with a cost. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple,” Jesus said (v. 26). He told a story about building a tower. “Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost . . . ?” He asked (v. 28). Jesus’ point wasn’t that we’re to literally hate family; rather, it’s that we must choose Him over everything else. He said, “You who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (v. 33). Ronit loves her family deeply, yet she concluded, “Whatever the cost, I figured it’s worth it.” What might you need to give up to follow Jesus as He guides you? By Tim Gustafson What’s your story of the moment Jesus became real to you? What has it cost you to follow Him? Father, please help me choose Your Son over everything this world has to offer.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT We can miss the strength of Jesus’ words and the shock the crowd would have felt when Christ said, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). You only carried a cross for one reason—to be crucified on it—and that was the most terrifying death imaginable. As you read these words, imagine the crowd physically recoiling in horror at the thought that somehow following Jesus would be required to bear a personalcross. This is at least the second time Luke has recorded Christ using this disturbing imagery (see 9:23). These words are understood in the context of Jesus Himself bearing a literal Roman cross. Bill Crowder

Learning About Angels / David Jeremiah

Learning About Angels Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. Psalm 119:18   Angels figure into the teachings and practice of every major religion. Thus the world is filled with ideas, definitions, and depictions of angels ranging from chubby cherubs to warriors to messengers—and they can’t all be accurate. So, as with all questions theological and practical, we turn first for answers to the authoritative Word of God.

Recommended Reading: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

As with the existence of God Himself, the Bible doesn’t spend time defining angels. Instead, the Bible takes the existence of angels for granted. That is, we learn about angels by noticing their roles and relationships with God and with people. The authors of Scripture may be surprised by the appearance of angels at times. But they are never surprised by their existence. Perhaps the best example of the assumption that angels exist is in Hebrews 13:2 where we are told that angels, appearing as humans, may walk among us. Only the Bible gives us such practical advice and examples about the reality of angels. The Bible is not a book about angels, but it gives ample evidence concerning who and what they are. If you want to learn about angels, start with Scripture.   The Bible assumes, rather than asserts, the existence of angels, as it does the fact of God Himself.  C. T. Cook

 

Move in the Right Direction / Greg Laurie

 Move in the Right Direction

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” (Acts 20:24 NLT)

Corrie ten Boom said, “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation.”

It’s important to think about what kind of donation our lives are making. In Acts 20, the apostle Paul identified what the measure of a person ought to be and the qualities we should see in the life of a leader.

In a way, every Christian is a leader. We may be leading our children. Or, we may be examples to younger believers. But we need to take to heart what Paul says. 

This was an emotional moment for the apostle. He was giving his final words to the leaders of the church of Ephesus. Paul had spent time ministering to them, helping them, praying for them, and caring for them. But he was going away.

In effect Paul was saying, “This is what I want you to remember. These are things that should describe your walk with God.”

He told them, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God” (verse 24 NLT).

The New King James Version puts it this way: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Paul compared himself to a runner in a race. Using the same analogy in 1 Corinthians, he said, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” (9:24 NLT). We can get off track in the race of life. That’s why it’s important to focus on our own race and not on the race others are running.

It’s also important for us to understand that our times are in God’s hands. Our lives are a gift to us from God. God decides when they begin. And God decides when they end.

Paul wasn’t saying that life wasn’t important, because he wrote to the believers in Philippi, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better” (Philippians 1:21 NLT). Paul was simply saying that he knew his life was a gift from God.

In his book Nearing Home, Billy Graham wrote, “I often wonder if God, in His sovereignty, allows the eyesight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so that we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.”[1]

As we see the frailty of life, especially when we’ve lost a loved one, eternity becomes more tangible and important to us.

The length of our lives is determined by God, not by us. So, we want to make sure that we’re moving in the right direction now. The evening of our life is determined by the morning of it. The end is determined by the beginning.

Faith in the God of Creation! / Ann Graham Lotz

 Faith in the God of Creation!

Sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth.

Psalm 147:7–8, nkjv

Although God was actively involved throughout the Creation process, in the beginning the “earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Gen. 1:2, niv). If you and I had been present at that time to view the earth, we might have had the impression that because we could not see any evidence of God’s activity, He was not doing anything. Yet at that very time, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Gen. 1:2, niv). He was actively preparing Planet Earth to receive His Word and be transformed into a place of beauty and purpose.

Are you concerned for a friend whose life is like “the surface of the deep”—undulating, unstable, always changing, and moody? Even though you have prayed without ceasing, have you seen no evidence of God’s activity in that person’s life? Have you therefore concluded that God is not active? Place your faith in the God of Creation and be encouraged! He is active whether or not you and I can see evidence of His activity.

Pure Grace / Max Lucado

 

Pure Grace

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PURE GRACE 

Each review of Jacob’s story leaves me amazed at his seeming inability to shape up, clean up, and stand up for everything decent and moral. He tricked and was tricked. His name was changed, but his heart seemed less so. Why couldn’t God replace him with someone more polished, more refined?

Yet, on the other hand, I’m so grateful God didn’t. I’ve wrestled with God, daring to think my might and muscles would impress him. I can be smarmy, wormy, and less than straightforward. I identify with Jacob – I limp.

Jacob’s story exists for the times that the Jacob within us wonders, “Can God use a person like me?” The reassuring and resounding answer is “Yes.”

Pure grace. Grace is God’s greatest idea. That he would treat us according to his heart and not ours. Amazing grace!