May 22, 2009
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This devotion was written by Dr. Charles Stanley, InTouch
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THE PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION
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11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV
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Many modern-day inventions are designed to help us accomplish tasks more quickly. The microwave, for example, shortens cooking time drastically, while washing machines and computers speed up other chores. New technology has the added effect of increasing our already-fast pace as well as our desire for instant solutions.
Not every process, however, lends itself to acceleration. Consider our growth in Christ, which is known as sanctification. Being a Christian is neither an event nor a quick fix. Rather, it is a journey. There are things for us to learn along the way, and while we may unwisely choose a longer path than necessary, there really are no shortcuts.
Sadly, certain people grow little after salvation. Some are not encouraged in their faith or discipled well. Others fail to pursue maturity through prayer, meditation on Scripture, and fellowship within the body of believers. God is not pleased when His children opt for comfort and complacency. That’s why His Word tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:17).
Consider how spiritual development benefits believers. By learning God’s ways, we can walk in obedience and live content, purposeful lives for His glory. We also gain the ability to discern truth from distortion.
Do you notice any change in your life and character since the day you were saved? Can you detect spiritual growth over the last year? Your heavenly Father wants to mature you. So make a continuous effort to cooperate with Him by reading Scripture, praying, fellowshipping, and repenting of all known sin in your life.
May 20, 2009
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This devotion was written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
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YOUR CROWN OF GLORY
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“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb . . . and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 12:11).
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When James and John came to Christ with their mother, asking Him to give them the best place in the kingdom, He did not refuse their request, but told them it would be given to them if they could do His work, drink His cup, and be baptized with His baptism.
Do we want the competition? The greatest things are always hedged about by the hardest things, and we, too, shall find mountains and forests and chariots of iron. Hardship is the price of coronation. Triumphal arches are not woven out of rose blossoms and silken cords, but of hard blows and bloody scars. The very hardships that you are enduring in your life today are given by the Master for the explicit purpose of enabling you to win your crown.
Do not wait for some ideal situation, some romantic difficulty, some far-away emergency; but rise to meet the actual conditions which the Providence of God has placed around you today. Your crown of glory lies embedded in the very heart of these things–those hardships and trials that are pressing you this very hour, week and month of your life. The hardest things are not those that the world knows of. Down in your secret soul unseen and unknown by any but Jesus, there is a little trial that you would not dare to mention that is harder for you to bear than martyrdom.
There, beloved, lies your crown. God help you to overcome, and sometime wear it. –Selected
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“It matters not how the battle goes,
The day how long;
Faint not! Fight on!
Tomorrow comes the song.”
May 19, 2009
WANTED!
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This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
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WANTED!
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Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” –Luke 9:23-26
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MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. ?SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.
What do you think? Would you sign up for this? Sir Ernest Shackleton, an Irish-born explorer, reportedly ran this advertisement to recruit men for an expedition across the Antarctic Continent in 1914. With no promise of success, twenty-seven signed up to join Shackleton on this journey.
Reread Luke 9:23-26. Jesus has asked us follow Him on a journey we call the Christian life. What does it mean to pick up your cross? Are you ready to be persecuted, mocked, ridiculed, spit upon? Christians are not promised great rewards on earth…but crowns in heaven. Like Shackleton’s journey, the Christian life doesn’t pay well, nor does it promise safety. You’ll experience darkness and danger. However, in the end, if you are willing to pick up your cross and persevere throughout the journey, there is eternal glory
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GOING DEEPER:
- What are ways you can push through the hard times as a believer?
- What are the promises Christians can grasp onto during this life?
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FURTHER READING:
Romans 8:28; Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 12:1-4
May 18, 2009
“ONE FEAR-OBJECT”
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This devotion was written by Neil T. Anderson, Daily in Christ
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ONE FEAR-OBJECT
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It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread . Isaiah 8:13
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A severe storm hit the East Coast, and the Coast Guard was summoned to respond to a ship in crisis. A young sailor, new on board, was terrorized by the prospect and proclaimed, “We can’t go out. We’ll never come back!” The seasoned captain responded, “We must go out. We don’t have to come back.” Duty called and responsibility overcame fear.
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If we’re going to walk by faith, there can be only one fear-object in our lives, and that’s God. We are responsible to Him. He is the ultimate fear-object because He is omnipotent and omnipresent. The fear of the Lord is healthy because it is the one fear that expels all other fears (Isaiah 8:11-14). All other fear-objects pale in comparison to our holy God. We need to be like David who proclaimed before Goliath, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). The Hebrew army saw Goliath in relation to themselves and cowered in defeat. David saw Goliath in relation to God and conquered in His strength.
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When the 12 spies checked out the Promised Land, 10 of them came back and responded, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Numbers 13:31). They didn’t see God in the land; they saw giants (verse 33). With that perspective, “all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night” (Numbers 14:1).
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Joshua and Caleb responded, “Do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them” (Numbers 14:9). The people did rebel. They accepted the majority report instead of listening to Caleb and Joshua. By accepting the Canaanites’ will over God’s will, they elevated the power and eminence of the Canaanites over the omnipotence and omnipresence of God. To honor God as the ultimate fear-object is to worship Him. To be controlled by any other fear-object is to allow it to usurp God’s place in our lives.
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Prayer:
Lord, I want to be a God-pleaser in all I do today, not a man-pleaser or a coward.
May 15, 2009
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This devotion was written by Dennis & Barbara Rainey, Moments together for Couples
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Running to Win (Part One)
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Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1 Corinthians 9:24
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I had lunch once with a serious runner, an ultra-marathoner. Max Hooper has a unique will to win. After surgery on both knees, Max was told he would never run again. Three months later he ran a 2:47 marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon.
But Max’s ultimate race was completed years earlier in some of the most hostile environments our planet could offer a runner. The start: Badwater, California, in the oven of Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in the United States. The finish: the refrigerated summit of Mount Whitney at 14,494 feet, the highest altitude in the contiguous United States. Total distance: 146 miles.
Max and a marine buddy completed the task in 63 hours, 12 minutes. Max wore out three pairs of running shoes and his feet swelled two sizes by the time he reached the summit.
You and I run in a similar race. It’s a race that God has set before each of us, and it takes place on a course of extremes. Life is a race for every Christian. It is a race you and I must finish…and win.
In the Christian life, there are at least five kinds of runners:
The Casual Runner. He runs when he feels like it. For this Christian, the sacrifice demanded by the race is just too high.
The Cautious Runner. He thinks a lot about the race, but he plays it safe and seldom leaves the starting blocks.
The Compromised Runner. Unwilling to lay aside present pleasures, he has given into temptations to run outside his prescribed lane. He has few convictions and takes no costly stands in life.
The Callous Runner. This veteran runner is a cynic and is critical of people. Preoccupied with his injuries, his heart contains layers of thick, tough tissue made of bitterness, envy or apathy.
The Committed Runner. This person is determined to win and knows where the finish line is. “In training” at all times, he knows victory is never achieved by the fainthearted.
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Prayer: Ask God for the strength to finish the race that is set before you, and that as you run you will “feel His pleasure.”
Discuss: What kind of runner best describes you? Why?
May 14, 2009
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This devotion was written by Os Hillman, Today God Is First
David Fulfilled His Purpose
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“For David…served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36 NASB)
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Imagine for a moment that you have just died and you are about to come before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Jesus is speaking to his angel about you. He then says these words: “Janice served the purpose of my Heavenly Father for her generation.”
Will God be able to say you served your purpose in your generation? Imagine being able to say that. God was able to say this about the life of David, even though David made some incredibly bad choices in his life that led to long term consequences. However, because David repented each time he erred, his purpose was accomplished on earth as God had designed it.
One of the prayers I often pray for people whenever I’m asked to pray for them is this; “Lord, may you fulfill every purpose for which you made them. May there be no inheritance left on the table that he/she is entitled to.”
That is really the definition of success. Success is fulfilling the complete purpose for which God made you. It has nothing to do with wealth, accomplishments, stature in life, or standard of living. It has to do with living a life of obedience to the Father. And when we live a life of obedience to the Father, we will fulfill the purposes that God had in mind when he made you and me.
In 1924, Eric Liddle, a Scottish Olympic runner who’s life was chronicled in a movie entitled Chariots of Fire, was challenged by his missionary sister to forego running in the Olympics in lieu of going to China with her as a missionary. He responded by saying, “When I run I feel His (God’s) pleasure. I was made to run and I was made to be a missionary too.” Eric understood his complete purpose for his generation. As a result, he brought glory to the Father through his running and his missionary service.
Today, ask God to fulfill His purposes for your life in your generation.
May 13, 2009
“THE DELIGHT OF DESPAIR”
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This devotion was written by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
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THE DELIGHT OF DESPAIR
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“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” Revelation 1:17
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It may be that like the apostle John you know Jesus Christ intimately, when suddenly He appears with no familiar characteristic at all, and the only thing you can do is to fall at His feet as dead. There are times when God cannot reveal Himself in any other way than in His majesty, and it is the awfulness of the vision which brings you to the delight of despair; if you are ever to be raised up, it must be by the hand of God.
“He laid His right hand upon me.” In the midst of the awfulness, a touch comes, and you know it is the right hand of Jesus Christ. The right hand not of restraint nor of correction nor of chastisement, but the right hand of the Everlasting Father. Whenever His hand is laid upon you, it is ineffable peace and comfort, the sense that “underneath are the everlasting arms,” full of sustaining and comfort and strength. When once His touch comes, nothing at all can cast you into fear again. In the midst of all His ascended glory the Lord Jesus comes to speak to an insignificant disciple, and to say – “Fear not.” His tenderness is ineffably sweet. Do I know Him like that?
Watch some of the things that strike despair. There is despair in which there is no delight, no horizon, no hope of anything brighter; but the delight of despair comes when I know that “in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.” I delight to know that there is that in me which must fall prostrate before God when He manifests Himself, and if I am ever to be raised up it must be by the hand of God. God can do nothing for me until I get to the limit of the possible.
May 12, 2009
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This devotion was written by Charles R. Swindoll, Day by Day
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Resting Our Minds, Part Two
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3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
(Isa 26:3-4 NIV)
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How could Joseph forgive his brothers who had mistreated him so badly? We saw it yesterday: plain and simple, he left all vengeance to the Lord. To use our terms, Josephrested and relaxed, trusting in His God.
At the climax of this great story, we read the secret of Joseph’s life:
His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Genesis 50:18-20)
Question: How could Joseph respond like that? Why didn’t he feel angry and seek to have them punished? Answer: He could forgive them because his mind focused on the sovereignty of God. Rather than nursing hatred and plans for revenge, he deliberately took the long view and realized that God, who “causes all things to work together for good” (Romans 8:28), had a plan for saving Joseph’s own family—and that would never have happened had Joseph not been in Egypt where he was promoted to a role of leadership that gave him authority of that vast food supply.
To use our terms, he mentally rested and relaxed. Because he made the Lord his God the center of his focus, good resulted from all that evil. And in the meantime, Joseph enjoyed an inner peace rather than inner torment. It’s exactly as the prophet Isaiah once wrote:
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For in God the LORD , we have an everlasting Rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)
So much for Joseph—now it’s your turn. For you to have that kind of “perfect peace,” for you to enjoy a life of mental rest and relaxation, you need to lay aside the hatchet, erase your mental hit list, and forgive all those who have done you wrong. Start that process today.
Like, NOW.
May 11, 2009
” WHY ARE PEOPLE RELUCTANT TO GO INTO MISSIONS?”
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This devotion was written by John Piper, Desiring God Ministries.
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WHY ARE PEOPLE RELUCTANT TO GO INTO MISSIONS?
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When I spoke at Missions in the Main Hall Sunday night, I tried to give a biblical response to possible obstacles that are in the way for some people that may keep them from moving forward toward missions. My prayer is that God would use these responses to call more of you to go. Here are eight objections and a biblical response.
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1. “I am not smart enough.”
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21)
“Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)
2. “My body and my personality are not strong enough.”
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
“[Christ] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
3. “I am not a good speaker.”
“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:17)
“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:10-12)
4. “I am afraid of the horrors I read about in the newspapers.”
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore (katartisei–”mend” or “repair” your horribly disfigured body when the lions in the coliseum are through with you), confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:8-10)
5. “I am afraid I won’t be fruitful”
Your responsibility is not to be fruitful but to be faithful. “And said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
6. “There is plenty to do here.”
True, but there is a division of labor and God calls some to MISSIONS, not just evangelism. The difference is seen in Romans 15:19-24: “So that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I [Christ] have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named. . . Now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions . . . I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain.”
How could Paul say there was no room for work when there were millions in that region to be evangelized? Because evangelism is not missions.
7. “I am not married.”
The best spouse is found on the path of obedience. “An excellent wife [or husband!] who can find? She [and he!] is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10). The finding is exceedingly hard. It will happen on the road of obedience.
8. “I fear that when I get there it might turn out I made a mistake and will come home with shame.”
Which is worse, shame for having endeavored to follow Christ in missions, or fear to venture? Shame before others for making a mistake will not hurt you; it will humble you and can make you more useful in a new situation. But fear will make you useless everywhere.
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Consider Ecclesiastes 11:4 and what it says about risk: “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” Meaning: without taking the risk of sowing when the seed might be blown away and reaping when the rain might ruin the harvest, you will starve.
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Oh, how precious is the freeing word of God,
Pastor John
May 8, 2009
“THE GREATEST PAINS”
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This devotion is written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
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THE GREATEST PAINS
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“As many as I love I rebuke and chasten” (Rev. 3:19).
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God takes the most eminent and choicest of His servants for the choicest and most eminent afflictions. They who have received most grace from God are able to bear most afflictions from God. Affliction does not hit the saint by chance, but by direction. God does not draw His bow at a venture. Every one of His arrows goes upon a special errand and touches no breast but his against whom it is sent. It is not only the grace, but the glory of a believer when we can stand and take affliction quietly. –Joseph Caryl
If all my days were sunny, could I say,
“In His fair land He wipes all tears away”?
If I were never weary, could I keep
Close to my heart, “He gives His loved ones sleep”?
Were no graves mine, might I not come to deem
The Life Eternal but a baseless dream?
My winter, and my tears, and weariness,
Even my graves, may be His way to bless.
I call them ills; yet that can surely be Nothing but love that shows my Lord to me! –Selected
“The most deeply taught Christians are generally those who have been brought into the searching fires of deep soul-anguish. If you have been praying to know more of Christ, do not be surprised if He takes you aside into a desert place, or leads you into a furnace of pain.”
Do not punish me, Lord, by taking my cross from me, but comfort me by submitting me to Thy will, and by making me to love the cross. Give me that by which Thou shalt be best served . . . and let me hold it for the greatest of all Thy mercies, that Thou shouldst glorify Thy name in me, according to Thy will. –A Captive’s Prayer
