Renew Your Strength through God / Charles Spurgeon

Renew Your Strength through God

Let the peoples renew their strength. Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself. “You renew the face of the ground,”1 was the psalmist’s utterance. Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap freshly drawn from the earth. Neither can man’s life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starving souls they are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon Him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strife within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that has not sucked up fresh sap and grasped the rock with many inter-twisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and as a result a painful desolation and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfillment of the promise, “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.”2

 

Lay the Foundation Well / Greg Laurie

 Lay the Foundation Well

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8 NLT)

When we think of Daniel in the Bible, the story of the lions’ den usually comes to mind (see Daniel 6). It certainly was a heroic moment in the life of this great man of God.

And when we think of Daniel’s friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—our minds go to the story of the fiery furnace (see Daniel 3).

These four men were resolute in character. And the foundation for that kind of character and the kind of stand they took was laid early in their lives. As young men, they made resolutions they were able to keep when they were older.

It’s like building a house. The most important time is not when you paint the walls and decorate it. The most important time is when you lay the foundation that will support everything else that is to come.

In life, the most important time is at the beginning when the foundation is being laid. It’s there, in the time of our youth, that we set our course. We develop our habits and form our attitudes. We make decisions that affect us for the rest of our lives, such as our choice of career and whom we will marry. We sow seeds that we will reap in the years ahead.

Let’s say that early in life you got into the habit of regular prayer and Bible study. You got into the habit of regular church attendance and faithfully giving to the Lord, as well as other spiritual disciplines that you still practice to this day.

You decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. You decide the end of your life by the beginning. The stand you make today will determine what kind of stand you will make tomorrow. It isn’t some mystical thing that you have nothing to say about.

You decide what principles you will live by and what road you will take, because every day you make decisions as to whether you will sow to the flesh or sow to the Spirit.

The Bible tells us to lay the foundation properly when we’re young. And that is what Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel did.

Youth is a relative term. If you’re fifty, someone who is fifteen might think of you as old. But to someone who is ninety, you’re rather young. Everyone will be a year older next year. And we’re making decisions today, in January, that will play out by next Christmas.

The Bible says, “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:8 NLT).

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to have habits. It’s only bad if they’re bad habits. But it’s a good thing if they’re good habits.

Maybe you’ve come through a fiery trial in the past year, or maybe you will have a fiery trial in the coming year. But know this: Jesus will walk with you through it. You will not be alone.

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?

One Version of You / Max Lucado

 

One Version of You

Click below to listen to today's devotional

ONE VERSION OF YOU

Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one 5^th Symphony. And God made one version of you!

God custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment, “to each according to each one’s unique ability” (Matthew 25:15). “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others” (1 Corinthians 12:7 CEV). Did the apostle Paul say, “The Spirit has given some of us…” or “a few of us…”? No! “The Spirit has given eachof us a special way of serving others.”

You don’t have to do everything. You’re not God’s solution to society, you are a solution in society. Don’t worry about the skills you don’t have. Don’t covet strength others do have. Just extract your uniqueness to God’s glory.

Verse of the Day / January 1

 

Quiet Time...

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 

Genesis 1:1 KJV

*****

Bible in One Year: January 1

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

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.

Experience Freedom and Truth in the New Year! / Adrian Rogers

 Experience Freedom and Truth in the New Year!

John 8:31-32
Sermon: 2242 Treasuring Truth, Part 1

Pray Over This

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
John 8:31-32

Ponder This

When you believe in Jesus and you continue in the Word, you know the truth and you become liberated. Many today believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are going to Heaven. But you are not a liberated person because you have never really absorbed the truth. You have never taken to the truth; you’ve never taken time to buy the truth. Do you know the word in that sentence that is key? Disciple. Do you know another word kin to disciple? Discipline. People don’t like discipline because they want to be free. They see truth and discipline as restrictive.

I read a quote somewhere. I don’t know who said it, but it stuck in my heart. “He who is a slave to the compass is the master of the oceans; the rest have to sail close to the shore.” The compass is what the ancient mariners used to guide their ships. That restriction gives them freedom and mastery of so much more than they could decipher on their own. Truth liberates you. Truth makes you free.

• What are some guiding principles you want to take into this new year?
• What is the difference between hearing the truth and absorbing the truth?

Practice This

Spend time writing down some verses from God’s Word and consider how these truths apply to your life.

New Identity in Jesus / ODB

 

New Identity in Jesus See what great love the Father has lavished on us. 1 John 3:1 READ 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 “I’m not who I once was. I’m a new person.” Those simple words from my son, spoken to students at a school assembly, describe the change God made in his life. Once addicted to heroin, Geoffrey previously saw himself through his sins and mistakes. But now he sees himself as a child of God. The Bible encourages us with this promise: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). No matter who we’ve been or what we’ve done in our past, when we trust Jesus for our salvation and receive the forgiveness offered through His cross, we become someone new. Since the garden of Eden, the guilt of our sins has separated us from God, but He has now “reconciled us to himself through Christ,” “not counting” our sins against us (vv. 18–19). We are His dearly loved children (1 John 3:1–2), washed clean and made new in the likeness of His Son. Jesus liberates us from sin and its dominating power and restores us into a new relationship with God—where we’re free to no longer live for ourselves but “for him who died for [us] and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). On this New Year’s Day, let’s remember that His transforming love compels us to live with new identity and purpose. It helps us point others to our Savior, the One who can make them new people too! By James Banks What does it mean to you that a new beginning is possible with God? How can you live as His “new creation”? Abba, Father, thank You for sending Your Son to save me. Please send me to someone who needs You too.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Second Corinthians 5:21 describes the very heart of the gospel message: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” In this great divine exchange, known as substitutionary or vicarious atonement, God took our sins and placed them on the sinless Christ and attributed His righteousness to us. Jesus took the full punishment that we deserved. The apostle Peter describes this exchange as “the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring [us] to God” (1 Peter 3:18). When we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we take on His righteousness (Romans 3:22) and receive a right standing before God (see 4:3-4). Paul says of this gift: “Even greater is God’s . . . gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ” (5:17 nlt). K. T. Sim

It's 2024! / David Jeremiah

 

It's 2024!  A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. Proverbs 20:24, NIV Let’s start 2024 with Proverbs 20:24—one of the Bible’s great verses about God’s guidance. Sometimes we fret when a new year dawns because we don’t know what’s coming our way—either personally or globally. But our fretting is banished by our faith. The Bible promises that as we acknowledge God over all our ways and days, He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.”

Recommended Reading: Psalm 32:8-11

Our days belong to the Lord—every hour, every second, every moment. And moment by moment we’re kept in His care. Our gracious Heavenly Father knows the way He takes. He goes before us as an ever-caring God, and underneath are His everlasting arms. As 2024 dawns, claim Proverbs 20:24, and know that God will direct your steps as you yield them to Him in believing obedience. There’s no telling what blessings He has in store for you, and only the unfolding of the year will show you His great plan for the months ahead.   Moment by moment I’m kept in His love. Moment by moment I’ve life from above. Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine; moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine. Daniel Whittle

King of Creation / Alistair Begg

 

King of Creation

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

There was never a time when God did not exist. Before there was time, before there was anything, there was God. And since His nature is unchanging, so He has also always existed in the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When reading the Bible, we discover that each member of the Trinity was involved in creation: God the Father took the initiative, God the Spirit is described as “hovering over” the proceedings, and God the Son was the agent of creation in all that was made (Genesis 1:2-3; John 1:3). “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small”[1] should leave us in awe; they were all fashioned by God’s command. And He is not only the Creator of all; He is also the Lord of all that He has created. All of nature is in His hands, under His control. As we see waves crashing against the shoreline, it’s wonderfully encouraging to know that each one is there as a result of God’s sovereign rule. He hasn’t stepped away from His creation, nor will He ever. It’s important to remember that God is also transcendent. He is on His throne, above, beyond, and distinct from all that He has made. This is what distinguishes Christianity from pantheism, the idea that the natural world is a manifestation of God and therefore everything is somehow a part of Him. With this belief, we dare not kill a fly or step on an ant because those insects are divine. Similarly, we should not chop down a tree or eat meat, because these too are “parts of God.” Teachings like these are mistaken and misguided and tend to lead to idolatry. Scripture makes it clear that time and time again that people will choose to worship “the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). When we see a great painting, we rightly admire and enjoy the painting, and then we praise the painter. All of creation is God’s canvas, and all of it speaks of “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (v 20). Only God is to be worshiped, for creation exists by His power and for His glory. His existence knows no beginning or end, and He will reign forever. He is the King. Today, exalt Him as He alone deserves. Go for a walk or look out of the window and praise Him as you see His beauty displayed in what He has made. Praise Him as He continues to rule over His creation, holding you in His sovereign hand.

Exult and Rejoice / Charles Spurgeon

 

Exult and Rejoice

We will exult and rejoice in you. Song of Songs 1:4

We will be glad and rejoice in You. We will not open the gates of the year to the sorrowful notes of the organ, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy and the high-sounding cymbals of gladness. “O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”1 We, the called and faithful and chosen, will drive away our griefs and set up our banners of confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles; we with joy will magnify the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in which You dwell will never cease from adoring and blessing the name of Jesus. Jesus must have the crown of our heart’s delight; we will not dishonor our Bridegroom by mourning in His presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies; let us rehearse our everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will exult and rejoice: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? Do not men of grace find their Lord to be the sweetest of incense even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will be glad and rejoice in You. That last word is the meat in the dish, the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, aye, and every drop of their fullness in Him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, You are the present portion of Your people, favor us this year with such a sense of Your preciousness that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in You. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

Eyes Forward / Greg Laurie

 Eyes Forward

“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.” (Job 23:10 NLT)

One of the top New Year’s resolutions that people make every year, no matter what year it is, is to lose weight. Other resolutions include getting in better shape physically, getting more organized, reading more good books, and spending more time with family and friends.

But how about resolving to have a stronger spiritual commitment? Yes, we need goals. We need objectives. We need things to aim for in life. But we also need to be growing as Christians and deepening our walk with the Lord.

Here are the words of the apostle Paul after he had walked with God for years: “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).

We must realize that we have a long way to go spiritually. We are but works in progress, and we have so far to go. If the apostle Paul saw that about himself, then certainly we need to see that about ourselves, because Paul truly was a man of God.

We also must realize that we cannot live in the past. We cannot be controlled by past mistakes or live in past victories. If you messed up last year, learn from it and don’t do it again. Make changes in your behavior, in your habits, and in your choices that will prevent you from going down that road again.

At the same time, don’t live in past victories. If God did something wonderful in your life last year, be thankful for that. But remember that a new year is before you with many new opportunities. Therefore, press on toward what God has for you.

Runners recognize there is pain involved in running a race, especially if you’re running a marathon. You start off with a burst of energy, then you get a bit numb, then it becomes painful, and after a while, it becomes difficult to put one foot in front of the other.

This is also true of the Christian life. It’s a walk of faith. It’s a battle. There are challenges, difficulties, and obstacles that we will face. Yet Paul was saying, “I’m straining to move forward.”

Paul wasn’t addressing his words to a group of spiritually elite Christians. They are given for every follower of Jesus Christ. God calls every one of us to press on.

Maybe you went through something difficult last year. Or, maybe you will go through something difficult in the coming year. But know this: Jesus will be with you through it. 

He said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). He also has promised, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5 NLT). You are not running this race alone.

Change Is Possible / Ann Graham Lotz

 Change Is Possible

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.

Psalm 63:3, nkjv

No means of measure can define God’s limitless love . . .

No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply . . .

No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings . . .

He forgives and He forgets.

He creates and He cleanses.

He restores and He rebuilds.

He heals and He helps.

He reconciles and He redeems.

He comforts and He carries.

He lifts and He loves.

He is the God of the second chance,

                         the fat chance,

                         the slim chance . . .

Just give me Jesus! He makes change possible!