Meet My Friend

He is the Best Friend you will ever have!

Archives for March 2015

Free “Blood Moons 101 eBook” Just in Time

by

b65b647e-bloodmoons101-3dcover_0990bm0990bm000000

BLOOD MOONS 101

An Introduction to God’s Signs and Wonders of 2015

Plus: Historic Prayer for Jerusalem During April 4 Eclipse

What is a Blood Moon?

We are now in the midst of an exceedingly rare celestial phenomenon that has massive historical significance.

On April 4th, a total lunar eclipse (known as a “Blood Moon”) will coincide with the first night of Passover.

Learn what this means for the Jewish People and the entire world in this free eBook.

“The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”   (Joel 2:31)

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW

Streams in the Desert – March 31

by

4628-StreamsInDesert_2011Header.600w.tn.jpg

The wind was contrary (Matt. 14:24).

Rude and blustering the winds of March often are. Do they not typify the tempestuous seasons of my life? But, indeed, I ought to be glad that I make acquaintance with these seasons. Better it is that the rains descend and the floods come than that I should stay perpetually in the Lotus Land where it seems always afternoon, or in that deep meadowed Valley of Avilion where never wind blows loudly. Storms of temptation appear cruel, but do they not give intenser earnestness to prayer? Do they not compel me to seize the promises with a tighter hand grip? Do they not leave me with a character refined?

Storms of bereavement are keen; but, then, they are one of the Father’s ways of driving me to Himself, that in the secret of His presence His voice may speak to my heart, soft and low. There is a glory of the Master which can be seen only when the wind is contrary and the ship tossed with waves.

“Jesus Christ is no security against storms, but He is perfect security in storms. He has never promised you an easy passage, only a safe landing.”

Oh, set your sail to the heavenly gale,
And then, no matter what winds prevail,
No reef can wreck you, no calm delay;
No mist shall hinder, no storm shall stay;
Though far you wander and long you roam
Through salt sea sprays and o’er white sea foam,
No wind that can blow but shall speed you Home.
–Annie Johnson Flint

God’s Story… For My Life – A New Agreement

by

Gods story

A New Agreement

Read Hebrews 10:1-18

Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
(Hebrews 10:9-14)

Reflect

Canceling the first covenant in order to put into effect a far better one meant doing away with the system of sacrifices contained in the ceremonial law. It didn’t mean eliminating God’s moral law (the Ten Commandments). The ceremonial law prepared people for Christ’s coming. With Christ’s death and resurrection, that system was no longer needed. A new agreement—God’s provision of salvation through Jesus—is now in place. And through Christ we can fulfill the moral law as we let him live in us.

If the Jewish readers of this book were to return to the old Jewish system, they would be implying that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough to forgive their sins. Adding anything to his sacrifice or taking anything from it denies its validity. Any system to gain salvation through good deeds is essentially rejecting the significance of Christ’s death and spurning the Holy Spirit’s work.

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus made believers perfect in God’s sight. We have been made perfect, yet we are “being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). At the same time, he is making all believers holy (progressively cleansed and set apart for his special use) in their daily pilgrimage here.

Respond

We should not be surprised, ashamed, or shocked that we still need to grow. God is not finished with us. We can encourage this growth process by deliberately applying Scripture to all areas of our lives, by accepting the discipline and guidance Christ provides, and by giving him control of our desires and goals. What excites you or frustrates you about your spiritual growth?

by

365 devotional

Who Can Be Saved? (Isaiah 55:1)

God, through Isaiah, issues an open invitation to “all . . . who are thirsty.” Anyone can eat and drink this meal, free of charge. The only requirement is that they come. In verse 6, Isaiah urges everyone to take this opportunity for forgiveness while it is so freely available.

Taken from NIV Student Bible

https://meetmyfriend.com/985/

An Encouraging Word – Max Lucado – Speaking in Silence

by

max lucado

Speaking in Silence

My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak.
– James 1:19

You don’t have to speak to encourage. The Bible says, “It is best to listen much, speak little” (James 1:19 TLB). We tend to speak much and listen little. There is a time to speak. But there is also a time to be quiet. That’s what my father did. Dropping a fly ball may not be a big deal to most people, but if you are thirteen years old and have aspirations of the big leagues, it is a big deal. Not only was it my second error of the game, it allowed the winning run to score.

I didn’t even go back to the dugout. I turned around in the middle of left field and climbed over the fence. I was halfway home when my dad found me. He didn’t say a word. Just pulled over to the side of the road, leaned across the seat, and opened the passenger door. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. We both knew the world had come to an end. When we got home, I went straight to my room, and he went straight to the kitchen. Presently he appeared in front of me with cookies and milk. He took a seat on the bed, and we broke bread together.

Somewhere in the dunking of the cookies I began to realize that life and my father’s love would go on. In the economy of male adolescence, if you love the guy who drops the ball, then you really love him. My skill as a baseball player didn’t improve, but my confidence in Dad’s love did. Dad never said a word. But he did show up. He did listen up. That’s what your Father God does. His presence may be quiet, but he’ll show up. And hell listen.

K-LOVE Digging Deeper Project HOPE: HOPE Restored for Each Day

by

klove

prayer

Excerpt from “ Hope for Each Day: Morning and Evening Devotions ” by Billy Graham

Pray Anywhere, Anytime

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–17

Prayer is an essential part of a healthy Christian life. Just as omitting an essential vitamin
from our diet will make us physically weak, so a lack of prayer will make us spiritually anemic.

The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing.” It isn’t enough to get out of bed in the morning, quickly bow our head, and repeat a few sentences. Instead, we need to set aside specific times to be alone with God, speaking to Him in prayer and listening to Him speak through His Word. If you set aside special times for prayer, your unconscious mind will be saturated with prayer all day long.

Pray without ceasing

For the overworked mother or other busy person, this may seem impossible (although even a few minutes alone with God can reap rich rewards). But even when we are busy, we can “pray without ceasing” in our hearts and minds. We can pray anywhere, anytime and God will hear us. Today let prayer saturate your life “without ceasing.”

Streams in the Desert – March 30

by

4628-StreamsInDesert_2011Header.600w.tn.jpg
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow” (Isa. 50:11).

What a solemn warning to those who walk in darkness and yet who try to help themselves out into the light. They are represented as kindling a fire, and compassing themselves with sparks. What does this mean?

Why, it means that when we are in darkness the temptation is to find a way without trusting in the Lord and relying upon Him. Instead of letting Him help us out, we try to help ourselves out. We seek the light of nature, and get the advice of our friends. We try the conclusions of our reason, and might almost be tempted to accept a way of deliverance which would not be of God at all.

All these are fires of our own kindling; rushlights that will surely lead us onto the shoals. And God will let us walk in the light of those sparks, but the end will be sorrow.

Beloved, do not try to get out of a dark place, except, in God’s time and in God’s way. The time of trouble is meant to teach you lessons that you sorely need. Premature deliverance may frustrate God’s work of grace in your life. Just commit the whole situation to Him. Be willing to abide in darkness so long as you have His presence.

Remember that it is better to walk in the dark with God than to walk alone in the light.
–The Still Small Voice

Cease meddling with God’s plans and will. You touch anything of His, and you mar the work. You may move the hands of a clock to suit you, but you do not change the time; so you may hurry the unfolding of God’s will, but you harm and do not help the work. You can open a rosebud but you spoil the flower. Leave all to Him. Hands down. Thy will, not mine.
–Stephen Merritt

HIS WAY

God bade me go when I would stay
(‘Twas cool within the wood);
I did not know the reason why.
I heard a boulder crashing by
Across the path where I stood.
He bade me stay when I would go;
“Thy will be done,” I said.
They found one day at early dawn,
Across the way I would have gone,
A serpent with a mangled head.
No more I ask the reason why,
Although I may not see
The path ahead, His way I go;
For though I know not, He doth know,
And He will choose safe paths for me.
–The Sunday School Times

God’s Story… For My Life – Once for All

by

Gods story

Once for All

Read Hebrews 9:11-28

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
(Hebrews 9:11-15)

Reflect

The high priest could enter the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 9:3), the innermost room of the Tabernacle, one day each year to atone for the nation’s sins. Their only access to God was through the high priest, who would offer a sacrifice and use the animal’s blood to atone first for his own sins and then for the people’s sins (see also Hebrews 10:19).

When the people in Bible times sacrificed animals, God considered the people’s faith and obedience, cleansed them from sin, and made them ceremonially acceptable according to Old Testament law. But the sacrifice of Jesus—the ultimate High Priest—transforms our lives and hearts and makes us clean on the inside. His sacrifice—once for all—is infinitely more effective than animal sacrifices. No barrier of sin or weakness on our part can stifle his forgiveness.

Respond

Though you know Christ, perhaps you sometimes believe that you have to work hard to make yourself good enough for God. But rules and rituals have never cleansed people’s hearts. By Jesus’ blood alone (1) we have our consciences cleansed, (2) we are freed from death’s sting and can live to serve God, and (3) we are freed from sin’s power. If you are carrying a load of guilt because you are finding that you can’t be good enough for God, take another look at Jesus’ death and what it means for you. Christ can heal your conscience and deliver you from the frustration of trying to earn God’s favor.

by

365 devotional

How Does Jesus’ Gift of Salvation Benefit Believers? (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10)

When humans sin, they create a barrier between themselves and God. The price for sin is death (see Romans 6:23); however, 1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 indicates that by his grace God provided a substitute for us: Jesus, who “died for us” to pay the penalty for our sin.

To better understand the salvation Jesus provides, we must view it in the broader context of the story of the Bible. Genesis details the creation and rebellion of the human species. Humankind’s rejection of God and God’s response is the theme of the remaining narrative of the Bible—it colors every page. Old Testament prophecies point to a time when the world as we know it will end and judgment will take place. However, these prophecies also point to the coming Messiah who will redeem the lives of those who trust in him.

Salvation is not only a future reality but also a present one. Jesus rewarded the faith of the bleeding woman and of the blind man and literally saved them from their afflictions, as the Greek word translated “healed” actually means “saved” (see Mark 5:34; 10:52). Faith has a reward dimension in this life, sometimes in tangible benefits like physical healing and sometimes in intangibles such as comfort, peace, security and freedom.

Salvation also has a spiritual quality that benefits believers—both now and in eternity. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 that believers will live with Christ in this world (when we are “awake”) and in the next (when we are “asleep”). Because of Jesus’ salvation, believers can be confident about both the present and the future.

Taken from The Case for Christ Study Bible

https://meetmyfriend.com/972/

Streams in the Desert – March 29

by

4628-StreamsInDesert_2011Header.600w.tn.jpg
Consider the lilies, how they grow (Matt. 6:28).

I need oil,” said an ancient monk; so he planted an olive sapling. “Lord,” he prayed, “it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gentle showers.” And the Lord sent gentle showers. “Lord,” prayed the monk, “my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray Thee.” And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds. “Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues,” cried the monk. And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience. “I, too, planted a little tree,” he said, “and see! it thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means. ‘Lord, send what it needs,’ I prayed, ‘storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'”

Yes, leave it with Him,
The lilies all do,
And they grow–
They grow in the rain,
And they grow in the, dew–
Yes, they grow:
They grow in the darkness, all hid in the night–
They grow in the sunshine, revealed by the light–
Still they grow.
Yes, leave it with Him
‘Tis more dear to His heart,
You will know,
Than the lilies that bloom,
Or the flowers that start
‘Neath the snow:
Whatever you need, if you seek it in prayer,
You can leave it with Him–for you are His care.
You, you know.
–Selected