Worth Bragging About / Max Lucado

 

Worth Bragging About

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WORTH BRAGGING ABOUT 

God loves humility. Could that be the reason he offers so many tips on cultivating it? May I (ahem) humbly articulate a few? Do you want to be humble? Assess yourself honestly. Don’t take success too seriously. Celebrate the significance of others. Don’t demand your own parking place. Never announce your success before it occurs. Speak humbly. And one last thought: live at the foot of the cross.

Paul said in Galatians 6:14, “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging.” Do you feel a need for affirmation? Does your self-esteem need attention? You don’t need to drop names or show off. You need only pause at the base of the cross and be reminded of this: the maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. And that’s a fact. So if you need to brag, brag about that!

Bible in One Year: May 29

Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29

Untroubled Relationship / Oswald Chambers

 

Untroubled Relationship In that day you will ask in My name…for the Father Himself loves you… JOHN 16:26-27 “In that day you will ask in My name…,” that is, in My nature. Not “You will use My name as some magic word,” but— “You will be so intimate with Me that you will be one with Me.” “That day” is not a day in the next life, but a day meant for here and now. “…for the Father Himself loves you…”— the Father’s love is evidence that our union with Jesus is complete and absolute. Our Lord does not mean that our lives will be free from external difficulties and uncertainties, but that just as He knew the Father’s heart and mind, we too can be lifted by Him into heavenly places through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so that He can reveal the teachings of God to us. “…whatever you ask the Father in My name…” (John 16:23 ). “That day” is a day of peace and an untroubled relationship between God and His saint. Just as Jesus stood unblemished and pure in the presence of His Father, we too by the mighty power and effectiveness of the baptism of the Holy Spirit can be lifted into that relationship— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22). “…He will give you” (John 16:23 ). Jesus said that because of His name God will recognize and respond to our prayers. What a great challenge and invitation— to pray in His name! Through the resurrection and ascension power of Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit He has sent, we can be lifted into such a relationship. Once in that wonderful position, having been placed there by Jesus Christ, we can pray to God in Jesus’ name— in His nature. This is a gift granted to us through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus said, “…whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” The sovereign character of Jesus Christ is tested and proved by His own statements. Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS Much of the misery in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us, but because we have never understood the simple laws of our make–up. We have to treat the body as the servant of Jesus Christ: when the body says “Sit,” and He says “Go,” go! When the body says “Eat,” and He says “Fast,” fast! When the body says “Yawn,” and He says “Pray,” pray!

A Godly Response to Criticism / Charles Stanley

A Godly Response to Criticism

Proverbs 15:31-33

No one likes criticism, but encountering some is inevitable, so we need to learn how to respond in a godly way. Although you might be tempted to become defensive or angry, remain calm and listen. The words may hurt, but great benefits come to those who carefully consider what is said.

If we refuse to accept reproof, we'll limit our potential for Christlike character development and spiritual growth. Some of life's best lessons come through difficult experiences. If God allowed the situation, you can be sure that He wants to use it in transforming you into His Son's image. Whether the criticism is valid or not, whether it's delivered with kindness or harshness, your goal should always be to respond in a way that glorifies the Lord. Remember that you are responsible only for how you handle yourself, not for how the other person is acting.

When a criticism comes your way, be quiet and listen until the other person has finished. Make direct eye contact to show attentiveness and respect. When your critic finishes, thank him for bringing his concerns to your attention, and tell him that you will consider what he's said. Ask the Lord if the accusation is valid. Let Him search your heart and either affirm your innocence or convict you.

Every rebuke is an opportunity from God. It's a chance to let your Christian character shine by showing love to your critic. If he is angrily attacking you, your respect and kindness become a powerful testimony. Criticism is also an occasion to humble yourself and accept the Lord's correction. 

We Are Made to Know God / Adrian Rogers

 We Are Made to Know God

Psalm 42:1

Sermon: 1955 What’s Wrong with Animal Rights?

Pray Over This

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” Psalm 42:1 Ponder This There are many differences between man and animals. One main difference is man has a concern for destiny. No animal knows he’s going to die. He doesn’t think about dying. God gave animals instincts that He didn’t give to human beings, but He gave human beings spiritual insight and revelation that He didn’t give to animals.

A bee can build a six-sided cell in the honeycomb. Beavers can build dams. Spiders can build webs. But the spider cannot build a six-sided cell, and the bee cannot build a beaver’s dam. They have instinct; they don’t have knowledge. They don’t have logic. A man may not have instincts like this, but he knows that he is here for more. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has set eternity in the hearts of humans. We are not mere animals. We don’t believe in immortality because we prove it; we prove it because we believe in it. Immortality is instinctive in us.

Augustine, a church father, said our hearts are restless until they rest in God. You’re made in the image of God. You are made to know Him and to rest in Him.

• How would your life change if you lived like you were made for God?
• What are some areas in life where you need to rest in God?

Practice This

Take some time to rest in God today by reading Scripture and meeting with Him in prayer.

Hope That Holds / ODB

Hope That Holds I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:18 READ Habakkuk 3:11–19 “I know Daddy’s coming home because he sent me flowers.” Those were my seven-year-old sister’s words to our mother when Dad was missing in action during wartime. Before Dad left for his mission, he preordered flowers for my sister’s birthday, and they arrived while he was missing. But she was right: Dad did come home—after a harrowing combat situation. And decades later, she still keeps the vase that held the flowers as a reminder to always hold on to hope. Sometimes holding on to hope isn’t easy in a broken, sinful world. Daddies don’t always come home, and children’s wishes sometimes go unfulfilled. But God gives hope in the most difficult circumstances. In another time of war, the prophet Habakkuk predicted the Babylonian invasion of Judah (Habakkuk 1:6; see 2 Kings 24) but still affirmed that God is always good (Habakkuk 1:12–13). Remembering God’s kindness to His people in the past, Habakkuk proclaimed: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (3:17–18).   Some commentators believe Habakkuk’s name means “to cling.” We can cling to God as our ultimate hope and joy even in trials because He holds on to us and will never let go. By James Banks How does rejoicing in God help you in difficult times? What can you do to praise Him today? Father, thank You that come what may, my future is bright with You!

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT The context of Habakkuk 3:11–19 is Habakkuk’s prayer in verse 2: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.” The prophet implored God to perform such mighty acts once again. Included among these miracles for the benefit of God’s people are the plagues against Egypt (v. 5; see also Exodus 7–13), Gideon’s victory over Midian (Habakkuk 3:7; Judges 6–7), the stopping of the sun in the sky as Joshua’s army fought the Amorites (Habakkuk 3:11; Joshua 10:12–14), and the deliverance of the Israelites through the Red Sea (Habakkuk 3:15; Exodus 14). Habakkuk had an appropriate fear of his powerful God, and he knew he could trust Him to the end in any circumstance (Habakkuk 3:16–19). Tim Gustafson

 

The Gold Mine of the Psalms/ Greg Laurie

 The Gold Mine of the Psalms

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.” (Psalm 91:14 NLT)

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days is perilous and dangerous times (see 2 Timothy 3:1 NLT).

Certainly, that describes the days in which we are living. 

But in Psalm 91, which is the gold mine of the Psalms, we find wonderful promises of God’s provision and protection. In fact, next to Psalm 23, this psalm probably has brought more solace to God’s people over the centuries than any other psalm. As believers have faced times of danger, sickness, war, and death, Psalm 91 has been a great comfort to them.

It’s an excellent psalm for anyone who faces danger.

In this psalm God promises that He will deliver us, He will protect us, He will answer our prayers, and He will be with us in times of trouble.

While Psalm 91 contains great promises, it also contains conditions for activating those promises. Not every person can simply take the promises of this psalm and say, “These apply to me.” Rather, these promises are only for the children of God. They are only for those who have put their trust and faith in God through Jesus Christ.

So, to receive these promises, we must first meet the conditions. For example, the psalm begins, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (verse 1 NLT). The name “Most High” is from the Hebrew word Elohim. It speaks of God as the One who possesses everything.

Next, the word for “Almighty” comes from the Hebrew word Shaddai, which speaks of God’s provision. So not only is He the living God, but He is also the giving God. Isn’t that wonderful to know?

But to activate these promises, we must “live in the shelter of the Most High.” We must dwell in fellowship with God. We must have an intimate, close relationship with Him.

The Enduring Word / David Jeremiah

 

The Enduring Word The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. 1 Peter 1:24-25 Last year during the World Cup, businessman Karl Baxter was convinced England would win. He printed eighteen thousand beautiful shirts with the words: “ENGLAND / CUP WINNERS / 2022 / It’s Finally Home.” But England lost to France, and Baxter sold the shirts at a steep discount, suggesting people use them to clean their windows.1

Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 1:22-25

The world seems certain of its opinions, and pundits think they can guess what’s coming next. They’re almost always wrong, for no one except God knows tomorrow. We can’t trust the media, but we can trust the Master. His Word never fails. Rely on God’s truth, realizing that the Scriptures speak louder than the latest scoops by the reporters. Regardless of the trends of our culture, we must stand firm in God’s truth, never wavering. Regardless of the threats by our enemies, we must never back down from our biblical worldview. Its pages are powerful. It’s God’s personal message to His children. Let’s grasp the Bible firmly in our hands—until we are finally Home.   Christians should be grateful to God for the gift of his written Word, and conscientious in basing their faith and life entirely and exclusively on it. J. I. Packer

God Is with You / Ann Graham Lotz

 God Is with You

I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

Psalm 13:5, niv

The apostle John, suffering in exile on Patmos near the end of his life, must have prayed earnestly to be restored to his church and to his ministry. He must have begged God to get him off of the remote island so he could continue preaching and serving as a pastor and evangelist. Yet God didn’t answer his prayers. Instead, John related that it was on Patmos that God drew near to him and gave him a vision of the glory of Jesus Christ—a vision he recorded for the encouragement of every generation of believers since that time in the Book of Revelation. Jesus was with him in exile on Patmos!

What is your Patmos? A place where you are seemingly cut off and exiled from ministry and family? Is it a hospital bed? Or a small home with small children? Is it a workplace where you are surrounded by politically correct hostility to Christ?

Then look up! God is with you!

Bible in One Year: May 28

 Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42

Unquestioned Revelation / Oswald Chambers

 

Unquestioned Revelation In that day you will ask Me nothing. JOHN 16:23 When is “that day”? It is when the ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. “In that day” you will be one with the Father just as Jesus is, and He said, “In that day you will ask Me nothing.” Until the resurrection life of Jesus is fully exhibited in you, you have questions about many things. Then after a while you find that all your questions are gone— you don’t seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the point of total reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, which brings you into complete oneness with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why aren’t you? “In that day” there may be any number of things still hidden to your understanding, but they will not come between your heart and God. “In that day you will ask Me nothing”— you will not need to ask, because you will be certain that God will reveal things in accordance with His will. The faith and peace of John 14:1 has become the real attitude of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and is coming between you and God, never look for the explanation in your mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner nature— that is where the problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and you, His child, because the Lord has made you one. “In that day you will ask Me nothing.” Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS The great word of Jesus to His disciples is Abandon. When God has brought us into the relationship of disciples, we have to venture on His word; trust entirely to Him and watch that when He brings us to the venture, we take it.

God’s Love Reaches Hurting People / Adrian Rogers

 God’s Love Reaches Hurting People

John 13:34-35

Sermon: 1947 Christian World View, Part 2

Pray Over This

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

Ponder This

We need to be people of love. If we’re against abortion, and we are, we must ask ourselves, “What are we doing to help? How are we helping young, pregnant women?” Sometimes our attitudes just simply push them away. If we believe in the permanency of marriage, and we do, how are we responding to those who have experienced the trauma of divorce and broken homes, some by their own choosing and others not by their choosing? These people are hurting! They don’t need to be pushed further down. They need to be loved. Do we have open hearts and open arms to those different from us—to those who don’t know Jesus? Only then can we tell them about Jesus and His power to radically, dramatically, eternally transform people. But we must be very careful that we do not show such hostility and negativity that others would never come to us to learn about Jesus. We live in a society that is hurting, and we’ve got to bind the wounds up with salve, not with salt. They need the love of Jesus Christ, and people need to understand not only what we’re against but also what we’re for. The world is looking for answers. We need a Christian worldview that’s backed up by a Christian lifestyle. If we have all the values but none of the lifestyle, we are in trouble.

• Why is it important to have a worldview backed up by a Christ-like life of love and service?
• Who is easy for you to love? Who is difficult to love?

Practice This

Love and serve someone you find difficult to love.

What Only the Spirit Can Do / ODB

 

What Only the Spirit Can Do All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4 READ Acts 2:1–13 During the discussion of a book on the Holy Spirit written by a ninety-four-year-old German theologian named Jürgen Moltmann, an interviewer asked him: “How do you activate the Holy Spirit? Can you take a pill? Do the pharmaceutical companies [deliver the Spirit]?” Moltmann’s bushy eyebrows shot up. Shaking his head, he grinned, answering in accented English. “What can I do? Don’t do anything. Wait on the Spirit, and the Spirit will come.” Moltmann highlighted our mistaken belief that our energy and expertise make things happen. Acts reveals that God makes things happen. At the start of the church, it had nothing to do with human strategy or impressive leadership. Rather, the Spirit arrived “like the blowing of a violent wind” into a room of frightened, helpless, and bewildered disciples (2:2). Next, the Spirit shattered all ethnic superiorities by gathering people who were at odds into one new community. The disciples were as shocked as anyone to see what God was doing within them. They didn’t make anything happen; “the Spirit enabled them” (v. 4). The church—and our shared work in the world—isn’t defined by what we can do. We’re entirely dependent on what only the Spirit can do. This allows us to be both bold and restful. On this day—the day we celebrate Pentecost—may we wait for the Spirit and respond. By Winn Collier How are you tempted to rely on your own efforts or tenacity? Where do you need to wait for what the Spirit can do? God, I’ve exhausted myself by believing that I must make things happen. Holy Spirit, come and help me.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Pentecost, mentioned here in Acts 2:1, was always celebrated fifty days after the first Sunday following Passover. It served as a centerpiece of Jewish worship and occurred during the Festival of Weeks (see Leviticus 23:15–21). Elsewhere, it’s referred to as the “Festival of Harvest” (Exodus 23:16) and the “day of firstfruits” (Numbers 28:26). The Pentecost in Acts 2 occurred on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus. It’s significant that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles on this Day of Pentecost. They were the “firstfruits” of the new covenant God was implementing through His Son, Jesus (see Romans 8:23). Pentecost is a prime example of how the Old Testament points to Jesus and His work in our behalf on the cross. Tim Gustafson

Run from Temptation! / Ann Graham Lotz

 Run from Temptation!

Flee . . . evil desires . . .and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

2 Timothy 2:22, niv

Eve became dissatisfied with God’s will when Satan was able to focus her attention on the one thing God had said she could not have—the forbidden fruit. The temptation that confronted Eve intensified because she tolerated it by actually talking to the Serpent about it.

But the basic problem was not what she said; it was that she said anything at all! As she conversed with the Serpent she got into deeper trouble, because he responded, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4, niv). That was an absolute, deliberate contradiction of what God did say! Eve was confronted with Satan’s word against God’s Word. Who would she choose to believe?

Jesus said we are to cut temptation out of our lives by severing ourselves from whatever is causing us to be tempted. (Matt. 5:29–30) The apostle Paul said we should run from it. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to talk about it! Unless we do our talking with the Lord. So . . . cut it out! And pray while you run from temptation!