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Today’s 5/3/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

The Fight Within (Romans 6:15–23)

In his book of semi-philosophical and satirical stories titled Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes: “There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. But then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons. But then the karate lesson guy said I had to start paying him five dollars a lesson. So I just went back to paying the bully.”

Isn’t that like most of us? We figure it’s easier to pay the bully than to learn how to defeat him. Sadly, in the same way, we often continue to live in sin rather than to wage war to destroy it. We allow sin to reign rather than dethroning it. We succumb to defeat rather than learning the countermeasures that lead to victory. Before we beat ourselves up too much, we can find comfort in the apostle Paul’s confession that he too struggled with sin. He recognized that he couldn’t escape being a sinner. Yet because sin ultimately leads to death, if he didn’t deal with it his sin would destroy him. He had a fight on his hands, one he waged daily.

How can we win the fight and defeat the power of sin? Honestly, we can’t. We possess neither the strength nor the moral completeness to win such a monumental battle. For victory we must, like Paul, rely solely on Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross, bearing the sins of all human beings, provides our only hope for dethroning the power of sin. Sin is too serious to face alone. Victory over sin requires calling on Jesus, the Victor, all day and every day.

Taken from NIV Men’s Devotional Bible

johnpiper

God Demonstrates His Love

God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Notice that “demonstrates” is present tense and “died” is past tense.

The present tense implies that this demonstrating is an ongoing act that keeps happening in today’s present and tomorrow’s present.

The past tense “died” implies that the death of Christ happened once for all and will not be repeated. “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Why did Paul use the present tense (“God demonstrates”)? I would have expected Paul to say, “God demonstrated (past tense) his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Was not the death of Christ the demonstration of God’s love? And did not that demonstration happen in the past?

I think the clue is given a few verses earlier. Paul has just said that “tribulations work patient endurance, and patient endurance works proven character, and proven character works hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (vv. 3–5).

In other words, the goal of everything God takes us through is hope. He wants us to feel unwaveringly hopeful through all tribulations.

But how can we?

Paul answers in the next line: “Because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (v. 5). God’s love “has been poured out in our hearts.” The tense of this verb means that God’s love was poured out in our hearts in the past (at our conversion) and is still present and active.

God did demonstrate his love for us in giving his own Son to die once for all in the past for our sins (v. 8). But he also knows that this past love must be experienced as a present reality (today and tomorrow) if we are to have patience and character and hope.

Therefore he not only demonstrated it on Calvary, he goes on demonstrating it now by the Spirit. He does this by opening the eyes of our hearts to “taste and see” the glory of the cross and the guarantee that it gives that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

Gods story

Genesis 20:1-18

Abraham experiences déjà vu when he introduces his beautiful wife to the local king. In a situation similar to his experience in Egypt, Abraham is faced with the same decision as before.

Stuck in a Rut

Read

Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.
Genesis 20:1-2

Reflect

Although Abraham is one of our heroes of faith, even he repeated the same mistakes. Abraham had used this lie to protect himself before (Genesis 12:11-13). By giving in to this temptation again, he risked creating a pattern. Sin is often a rut created over time. He risked making a habit of lying whenever he suspected his life was in danger. Abraham had his own selfish priorities at heart.

No matter how much we love God, some ruts are especially difficult to resist. These are worn into our hearts with a lifetime of behavior. As we struggle with these sins, we can be encouraged to know that God is breaking up the ground of our hearts just as he did for Abraham (see Jeremiah 4:3-4). But this can be painful. It certainly was for Abraham.

God later tested Abraham when he asked him to sacrifice Isaac. God did not want to watch Abraham fail. He wanted to deepen Abraham’s capacity to obey and thus to develop his character. God wanted to rearrange Abraham’s priorities.

Respond

What situation is requiring you to have faith right now? When we are tested, we can complain about the pain, or we can rejoice that God is at work in our hearts. Are you willing to believe that God is at work?

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Streams in the Desert – May 3

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (Joel 2:32).

Why do not I call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans? Why not at once roll myself and my burden upon the Lord?

Straightforward is the best runner–why do not I run at once to the living God? In vain shall I look for “deliverance anywhere else; but with God I shall find it; for here I have His royal shall to make it sure. I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word “Whosoever” is a very wide and comprehensive one. Whosoever means me, for it means anybody and everybody who calls upon God. I will therefore follow the leading of the text, and at once call upon the glorious Lord who has made so large a promise.

My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver.
–C. H. Spurgeon

Today’s 5/2/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

How Can We Gain Victory Over Our Secret Sins? (Colossians 3:8–9)

It would be wonderful if our relationship with Jesus eradicated the allure of the darkness so prevalent in this world, but that won’t happen in this life. And whether it comes through the internet, television, purse, tongue or stomach, most of us are intimately familiar with the relentless persistence of secret sins.

The conquest of these persistent sins can only begin when we decide that we want to change. We are quick to say we want to be free. But we may derive “benefits”—pleasure, power, influence, ego—from these sins. Do we really want to live without these “friends”? Do we really want to be healed? We will never break free until we believe life without our secret sins is better, in every way, than life with them.

The other ingredient to victory is inviting others into the struggle. The sin cycle is fueled by secrecy. We may have confessed these sins to God countless times, but we hide them from others because we are afraid to risk people’s esteem. But transparency and humility before others is an opportunity to put teeth to our belief that God has forgiven us. It provides accountability in our spiritual growth. And perhaps we need to care more about offending God with our perpetual disobedience and less about our friends’ opinions.

Sin grows in the dark. The psalmist said, “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Ps 90:8). The light destroys the darkness. The way to strike a fatal blow against secret sins is to finally decide we want to be free and then invite a trusted friend into our battle.

Taken from NIV Essentials Study Bible

johnpiper

Dirty Rags No More

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. (Isaiah 64:6)
It is true that any shortcoming of God’s law offends against his perfect holiness and makes us liable to judgment, since God cannot look with favor on any sin (Habakkuk 1:13; James 2:10–11).

But what brought a person to ruin in the Old Testament (and it is the same for us today) was not the failure to have the righteousness of sinless perfection. What brought them to ruin was the failure to trust in the merciful promises of God, especially the hope that he would one day provide a redeemer who would be a perfect righteousness for his people (“the Lord is our righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16). The saints knew that this is how they were saved, and that this faith was the key to obedience, and that obedience was the evidence of this faith.

It is terribly confusing when people say that the only righteousness that has any value is the imputed righteousness of Christ. Clearly, justification is not grounded on any of our righteousness, but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. But sometimes people are careless and speak disparagingly of all human righteousness, as if there were no such thing that pleased God.

They often cite Isaiah 64:6, which says our righteousness is as filthy rags, or “a polluted garment.” “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

But in the context, Isaiah 64:6 does not mean that all righteousness performed by God’s people is unacceptable to God. Isaiah is referring to people whose righteousness is in fact hypocritical. It is no longer righteousness. But in the verse just before this, Isaiah says that God approvingly meets “him who joyfully works righteousness” (verse 5).

It’s true — gloriously true — that none of God’s people, before or after the cross, would be accepted by an immaculately holy God if the perfect righteousness of Christ were not imputed to us (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But that does not mean God does not produce in those “justified” people an experiential righteousness that is not a “polluted garment.”

In fact, he does, and this righteousness is precious to God and is, in fact, required — not as the ground of our justification (which is the righteousness of Christ only), but as an evidence of our being truly justified children of God.

Gods story

Genesis 19:1-29

God tells Abraham that he will destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s home, so Abraham pleads for mercy. But the destruction will not be stalled any longer, so God sends angels to warn Lot and his family.

Fair Warning

Read

The angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.” . . .

When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.
(Genesis 19:12-13, 16)

Reflect

God promised to save Sodom if only ten innocent people lived there (Genesis 18:32). Apparently not even ten could be found, because the angels soon arrived to destroy the city.

Lot hesitated to leave the city, so the angel seized his hand and rushed him to safety. Lot did not want to abandon the wealth, position, and comfort he enjoyed in Sodom.

The story of Sodom reveals that the people of Lot’s day had to deal with the same kinds of sins the world faces today. Lot was so content to live among ungodly people that he was no longer a believable witness for God. Instead of shaping his environment, he had allowed his environment to shape him. Do those who know you see you as a witness for God, or do you just blend into the crowd? Lot had compromised to the point that he was almost useless to God.

Respond

We can easily criticize Lot for being hypnotized by Sodom when the choice seems so clear to us. To be wiser than Lot, we must look out for the ways our culture attracts us and causes us to hesitate in following God.

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Streams in the Desert – May 2

 

The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom rules over all (Ps. 103:19).

Some time since, in the early spring, I was going out at my door when round the corner came a blast of east wind–defiant and  pitiless, fierce and withering–sending a cloud of dust before it. I was just taking the latchkey from the door as I said, half impatiently, “I wish the wind would”–I was going to say change;  but the word was checked, and the sentence was never finished.

As I went on my way, the incident became a parable to me. There came an angel holding out a key; and he said: “My Master sends thee His love, and bids me give you this.” “What is it?” I asked, wondering. “The key of the winds,” said the angel, and disappeared.

Now indeed should I be happy. I hurried away up into the heights whence the winds came, and stood amongst the caves. “I will have done with the east wind at any rate–and that shall plague us no more,” I cried; and calling in that friendless wind, I closed the door, and heard the echoes ringing in the hollow places. I turned the key triumphantly. “There,” I said, now we have done with that.”

“What shall I choose in its place?” I asked myself, looking about me. “The south wind is pleasant”; and I thought of the lambs, and the young life on every hand, and the flowers that had begun to deck the hedgerows. But as I set the key within the door, it began to burn my hand. “What am I doing?” I cried; “who knows what mischief I may bring about? How do I know what the fields want! Ten thousand things of ill may come of this foolish wish of mine.”

Bewildered and ashamed, I looked up and prayed that the Lord would send His angel yet again to take the key; and for my part I promised that I would never want to have it any more. But lo, the Lord Himself stood by me. He reached His hand to take the key; and as I laid it down, I saw that it rested against the sacred wound-print.

It hurt me indeed that I could ever have murmured against anything wrought by Him who bare such sacred tokens of His love. Then He took the key and hung it on His girdle. “Dost THOU keep the key of the winds?” I asked. “I do, my child,” He answered graciously. And lo, I looked again and there hung all the keys of all my life. He saw my look of amazement, and asked, “Didst thou not know, my child, that my kingdom rules over all?

“Over all, my Lord!” I answered; “then it is not safe for me to murmur at anything?” Then did He lay His hand upon me tenderly. “My child,” He said, “thy only safety is, in everything, to love and trust and praise.”
–Mark Guy Pearse

Today’s 5/1/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

God Gives Success in Fighting Satan (James 4:7)

Someone has quipped that temptations are like stray cats: if you treat one nice, it’ll be back shortly with a whole bunch of its friends. There’s a lot of truth in that old joke. The more we yield to sin, the more enticements to sin we seem to encounter. But the opposite is also true. The more firmly and consistently we resist temptation, the stronger our resolve becomes. Sin becomes less attractive. Holiness becomes more desirable.

It’s worth noting that when Jesus bluntly rejected Satan’s overtures in the wilderness (see Luke 4:1–13), the devil departed in a huff. He didn’t leave for good, and he didn’t give up his diabolical fight. But Satan did get a small taste of his ultimate defeat and humiliation, which is the same thing he gets whenever we tell him to take a hike (see Romans 16:20).

God’s Promise to Me

  • If you firmly resist Satan, he will flee from you.

My Prayer to God

O God, my enemy is strong and sinister. But you are stronger. Give me the grace to recognize the attacks of the enemy and the strength to spurn his sinful offers.

Taken from Once a Day Bible Promises

johnpiper

Fifteen Tactics for Joy

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

How shall we fight for joy?

  1. Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift.
  2. Realize that joy must be fought for relentlessly.
  3. Resolve to attack all known sin in your life.
  4. Learn the secret of gutsy guilt — how to fight like a justified sinner.
  5. Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who he is.
  6. Meditate on the Word of God day and night.
  7. Pray earnestly and continually for open heart-eyes and an inclination for God.
  8. Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.
  9. Spend time with God-saturated people who help you see God and fight the fight.
  10. Be patient in the night of God’s seeming absence.
  11. Get the rest, exercise, and proper diet that your body was designed by God to have.
  12. Make a proper use of God’s revelation in nature.
  13. Read great books about God and biographies of great saints.
  14. Do the hard and loving thing for the sake of others (witness and mercy).
  15. Get a global vision for the cause of Christ and pour yourself out for the unreached.

Gods story

Genesis 18:1-15

After God reaffirms the covenant to Abraham, heavenly visitors repeat his promise that Sarah will bear a son, but Sarah cannot believe it.

Punch Line

Read

He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. . . .

Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”
(Genesis 18:2, 10-15)

Reflect

Abraham eagerly welcomed these visitors, as did Lot (Genesis 19:2). In Abraham’s day, a person’s reputation largely depended on his or her hospitality—the sharing of home and goods. Even strangers were to be treated as highly honored guests. Meeting another’s need for food or shelter was and still is one of the most immediate and practical ways to obey God. It is also a time-honored relationship builder.

These visitors brought specific news about Sarah and a baby boy. Because Sarah was over ninety, she thought the prediction was laughable. But when confronted about her response, she responded, “I didn’t laugh.”

Sarah lied because she was afraid of being discovered. Fear is a common motive for lying. We are afraid that our inner thoughts and emotions will be exposed or our wrongdoings discovered. In response to Sarah’s unbelief (and laughter), God says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The obvious answer is, “Of course not!”

Respond

Nothing is too difficult for God. Make it a habit to insert your specific needs into God’s question. “Is this day in my life too hard for the Lord?” “Is this habit I’m trying to break too hard for him?” “Is the communication problem I’m having too hard for him?” Asking the question this way can remind you that God is personally involved in your life and nudges you to ask for his power to help you.

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Streams in the Desert – May 1

God that cannot lie promised (Titus 1:2).

Faith is not working up by will power a sort of certainty that something is coming to pass, but it is seeing as an actual fact that God has said that this thing shall come to pass, and that it is true, and then rejoicing to know that it is true, and just resting because God has said it.

Faith turns the promise into a prophecy. While it is merely a promise it is contingent upon our cooperation. But when faith claims it, it becomes a prophecy, and we go forth feeling that it is something that must be done because God cannot lie.
–Days of Heaven upon Earth

I hear men praying everywhere for more faith, but when I listen to them carefully, and get at the real heart of their prayer, very often it is not more faith at all that they are wanting, but a change from faith to sight.

Faith says not, “I see that it is good for me, so God must have sent it,” but, “God sent it, and so it must be good for me.”

Faith, walking in the dark with God, only prays Him to clasp its hand more closely.
–Phillips Brooks

The Shepherd does not ask of thee
Faith in thy faith, but only faith in Him;
And this He meant in saying, ‘Come to me.’
In light or darkness seek to do His will,
And leave the work of faith to Jesus still.

Today’s 4/30/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

The Real Battle (Ephesians 6:12)

It’s hard to believe your struggles aren’t against flesh and blood when your two year old is screaming and you can’t get them to stop. When your teenager is belligerent and you’re getting nowhere. That’s not your real battle.

Although these are obvious flesh and blood issues we tackle, the point of Ephesians 6:12 is that it’s the inner fight against the evil of darkness that’s causing all these struggles. Don’t diminish this. Don’t pretend it doesn’t exist. But don’t overdramatize it either.

More importantly, find a balance in recognizing where evil comes from and how it’s affecting your family. Pray for God’s protection over your family. Remember, the power of Christ is far greater than the power of Satan. That battle has already been won. Christ defeated the grave and evil has lost. Claim that promise over your family and seek to honor God in all you do as a parent. God will provide, bless, protect and defend you as you seek him.

Parenting Principle

Know that Satan is your real enemy, not your children.

Points to Ponder

  • How much time do you spend fighting flesh and blood?
  • How could you get a better understanding of who the real enemy is in your house?
  • How are you seeking God to grow in victories?

Taken from Once a Day Nurturing Great Kids

johnpiper

The Day Is at Hand

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. (Romans 13:12)

This is a word of hope to suffering Christians. It’s a word of hope to Christians who hate their own sin and long to be done with sinning. It’s a word of hope to Christians who long for the last enemy death to be overcome and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).

How is it a word of hope for all these?

“The night” stands for this age of darkness and all its sin and misery and death. And what does Paul say about it? “The night is far gone.” The age of sin and misery and death is almost spent.

You might say that 2,000 years after Paul seems like a long dawn. From one standpoint it is. And we cry, How long, O Lord, how long will you let it go on? But the biblical way to think is different.

The key way it is different is that the day has dawned in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the end of this fallen age. He defeated sin and pain and death and Satan. The decisive battle is over. The kingdom has come. Eternal life has come.

And when dawn happens — as it did in the coming of Jesus — no one should doubt the coming of day. Not even if the dawn draws out 2,000 years. It is certain. The day has arrived. Nothing can stop the rising sun.

Gods story

Genesis 17:1-14

Several years have passed and still no child for Abram and Sarai. But God reassures Abram of his covenant promise, gives him circumcision as its mark, and changes his name to Abraham.

What’s in a Name?

Read

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!”
(Genesis 17:1-6)

Reflect

Why did God repeat his covenant to Abram? He had already mentioned this agreement twice (Genesis 12 and 15). Here, however, God was clarifying it and preparing to carry it out.

He revealed to Abram several specific parts of his covenant: (1) God would give Abram many descendants; (2) many nations would descend from him; (3) God would maintain his covenant with Abram’s descendants; (4) God would give Abram’s descendants the land of Canaan.

The terms were simple: Abraham would obey God and circumcise all the males in his household; God would give Abraham heirs, property, power, and wealth. Most contracts are balanced exchanges: We give something and receive something of equal value in return. But when we become part of God’s covenant family, the blessings we receive far outweigh what we must give up.

To reaffirm these promises, God changed Abram’s name (which means “exalted father”) to Abraham (which means “father of many”). From this point on, the Bible calls him Abraham. Abraham’s name served as a reminder of God’s promises.

Respond

The Lord told Abram, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.” God has the same message for us today. We are to obey the Lord in every aspect because he is God—that is reason enough. If you don’t think the benefits of obedience are worth it, consider who God is—the only one with the power and ability to meet your every need.

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Streams in the Desert – April 30

And the ill favored and lean-fleshed kine did Eat up the seven well favored and fat kin…and the thin, ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears (Gen. 41:4, 7).

There is a warning for us in that dream, just as it stands: It is possible for the best years of our life, the best experiences, the best victories won, the best service rendered, to be swallowed up by times of failure, defeat, dishonor, uselessness in the kingdom. Some men’s lives of rare promise and rare achievement have ended so. It is awful to think of, but it is true. Yet it is never necessary.

  1. D. Gordon has said that the only assurance of safety against this tragedy is “fresh touch with God,” daily, hourly. The blessed, fruitful, victorious experiences of yesterday are not only of no value to me today, but they will actually be eaten up or reversed by today’s failures, unless they serve as incentives to still better, richer experiences today.

“Fresh touch with God,” by abiding in Christ, alone will keep the lean kine and the ill favored grain out of my life.
–Messages for the Morning Watch

Today’s 4/29/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

Matthew 13:24–30

In this short story, Jesus tells why God allows evil to continue in the world. According to Jesus, if God uprooted all the evil people (the weeds) now, others (the wheat) might be uprooted along with them.

For now, God’s allowing evil doesn’t mean he condones it. Rather, God is waiting for people to turn to him and accept his leadership in their lives. After all, if tonight at midnight God wiped out all the people who hadn’t yet trusted in him, where would you be in the morning?

Verse 30 gives us an image of the final separation that God will initiate at the end of time. On that day, God wants to gather you, as one of his people, into his heaven. Won’t you accept that gracious offer?

Taken from NIV The Journey Bible

johnpiper

The Great Exchange

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (Romans 1:16–17)

We need righteousness to be acceptable to God. But we don’t have it. What we have is sin.

So God has what we need and don’t deserve — righteousness; and we have what God hates and rejects — sin. What is God’s answer to this situation?

His answer is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died in our place. God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ’s obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us. Our sin on Christ, his righteousness on us.

We can hardly stress too much that Christ is God’s answer. It is all owing to Christ.

You can’t love Christ too much. You can’t think about him too much or thank him too much or depend upon him too much. All our justification, all our righteousness, is in Christ.

This is the gospel — the good news that our sins are laid on Christ and his righteousness is laid on us, and that this great exchange happens for us not by works but by faith alone.

Here is the good news that lifts burdens and gives joy and makes strong.

Gods story

Genesis 16:1-16

God has promised a child to Abram, but both Abram and Sarai become convinced they must figure out how to make this happen.

Waiting for God

Read

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
(Genesis 16:1-3)

Reflect

Sarai was following a common practice of that time when she gave Hagar to Abram as a substitute wife. But at the same time, Sarai took matters into her own hands by doing this.

Abram was also acting in line with the custom of the day, but his action showed a lack of faith that God would fulfill his promise.

When we take over God’s role, we don’t give faith the chance to grow. Waiting on God can take a long time. In Abram and Sarai’s case, time was the greatest test of their faith and willingness to let God work in their lives on his schedule. Sometimes we, too, must simply wait. When we ask God for something and have to wait, we can be tempted to take matters into our own hands and interfere with God’s purposes. Like Abram and Sarai, we might fail along the way. But God is patient with us like he was with Abram and Sarai.

Respond

What situation have you been trying to control? How can you wait for God’s timing?

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6).

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Streams in the Desert – April 29

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are (James 5:17).

Thank God for that! He got under a juniper tree, as you and I have often done; he complained and murmured, as we have often done; was unbelieving, as we have often been. But that was not the case when he really got into touch with God. Though “a man subject to like passions as we are,” “he prayed praying.”  It is sublime in the original–not “earnestly,” but “he prayed in prayer.” He kept on praying. What is the lesson here? You must keep praying.

Come up on the top of Carmel, and see that remarkable parable of Faith and Sight. It was not the descent of the fire that now was necessary, but the descent of the flood; and the man that can command the fire can command the flood by the same means and methods. We are told that he bowed himself to the ground with his face between his knees; that is, shutting out all sights and sounds. He was putting himself in a position where, beneath his mantle, he could neither see nor hear what was going forward.

He said to his servant, “Go and take an observation.” He went and came back, and said–how sublimely brief! one  word–“Nothing!”

What do we do under such circumstances?

We say, “It is just as I expected!” and we give up praying. Did Elijah? No, he said, “Go again.” His servant again came back and said, “Nothing!” “Go again.” “Nothing!”

By and by he came back, and said, “There is a little cloud like a man’s hand.” A man’s hand had been raised in supplication, and presently down came the rain; and Ahab had not time to get back to the gate of Samaria with all his fast steeds. This is a parable of Faith and Sight–faith shutting itself up with God; sight taking observations and seeing nothing; faith going right on, and “praying in prayer,” with utterly hopeless reports from sight.

Do you know how to pray that way, how to pray prevailingly? Let sight give as discouraging reports as it may, but pay no attention to these. The living God is still in the heavens and even to delay is part of His goodness.
–Arthur T. Pierson

Each of three boys gave a definition of faith which is an illustration of the tenacity of faith. The first boy said, “It is taking hold of Christ”; the second, “Keeping hold”; and the third, “Not letting go.”

Today’s 4/28/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

Reflection (Matthew 16:24–25)

Morning Verses

Genesis 48:15–16,21

  • The Lord is like a shepherd to us. He watches over us, and he calls each of us by name (see also John 10:1–11).
  • Jacob knew that he was a sojourner on earth and that God’s purposes for him were complete.

Evening Verses

Matthew 16:24–25; Proverbs 3:5–7

  • Only when we lose—or give up the ownership of—our life for Jesus’ sake will we find it; as we take up our cross and follow him, we become his authentic disciples.
  • When we trust in the Lord entirely, exclusively and extensively, he guides us toward righteousness.

Taken from Once a Day Morning & Evening

johnpiper

Children of a Singing God

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:26)

Can you hear Jesus singing?

Was he a bass or a tenor? Was there a down-home twang to his voice? Or was there an unwavering crystal pitch?

Did he close his eyes and sing to his Father? Or did he look into his disciples’ eyes and smile at their deep camaraderie?

Did he usually start the song?

O, I can hardly wait to hear Jesus sing! I think the planets would be jolted out of orbit if he lifted his native voice in our universe. But we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken; so, Lord, come on and sing.

It could not be otherwise but that Christianity be a singing faith. The founder sang. He learned to sing from his Father. Surely they have been singing together from all eternity.

The Bible says the aim of song is “to raise the sound of joy” (1 Chronicles 15:16). No one in the universe has more joy than God. He is infinitely joyful. He has rejoiced from eternity in the panorama of his own perfections reflected perfectly in the deity of his Son.

God’s joy is unimaginably powerful. He is God. When he speaks galaxies come into being. And when he sings for joy more energy is released than exists in all the matter and motion of the universe.

If he appointed song for us to release our heart’s delight in him, is this not because he also knows the joy of releasing his own heart’s delight in himself in song? We are a singing people because we are the children of a singing God.

Gods story

Genesis 15:1-21

The Lord renews his covenant promise to Abram.

Stars and Sand

Read

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
(Genesis 15:1-6)

Reflect

God told Abram, “Do not be afraid.” Why would Abram be afraid? Perhaps he feared revenge from the kings he had just defeated (Genesis 14:15). God gave him two reasons for courage: (1) He promised to protect Abram, and (2) he promised a great reward to Abram.

Abram was not promised wealth or fame; he already had that. Instead, God promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17), too numerous to count. Just when Abram was despairing of ever having an heir, God promised descendants too numerous to imagine. God’s blessings are beyond our imaginations!

Abram had been demonstrating his faith in God through his actions. It was his faith in the Lord that made Abram right with God, not his actions (Romans 4:1-5). His actions were the product of his faith. We, too, can have a right relationship with God by trusting him. Outward actions without faith—church attendance, prayer, good deeds—will not by themselves make us right with God. A right relationship is based on faith—the trust that God is who he says he is and does what he says he will do. Right actions will follow naturally as by-products.

Respond

When you fear what lies ahead, remember that God promises to stay with you through difficult times and that he has promised you great blessings. Thank God for his protection and his promises, and ask him to remove your fears about the future.

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God Prepares Heroes – Streams in the Desert – April 28

When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Lord’s spirit empowered him and he led Israel. When he went to do battle, the Lord handed over to him King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram and he overpowered him (Judg 3:9-10)

 

God is preparing His heroes; and when opportunity comes, He can fit them into their place in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from.

Let the Holy Ghost prepare you, dear friend, by the discipline of life; and when the last finishing touch has been given to the marble, it will be easy for God to put it on the pedestal, and fit it into its niche.

There is a day coming when, like Othniel, we, too, shall judge the nations, and rule and reign with Christ on the millennial earth. But ere that glorious day can be we must let God prepare us, as He did Othniel at Kirjath-sepher, amid the trials of our present life, and the little victories, the significance of which, perhaps, we little dream. At least, let us be sure of this, and if the Holy Ghost has an Othniel ready, the Lord of Heaven and earth has a throne prepared for him.
—A. B. Simpson

“Human strength and human greatness
Spring not from life’s sunny side,
Heroes must be more than driftwood
Floating on a waveless tide.”

“Every highway of human life dips in the dale now and then. Every man must go through the tunnel of tribulation before he can travel on the elevated road of triumph.”

Today’s 4/27/2015 Daily Devotionals

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365 devotional

Miracles Aren’t Enough (Matthew 11:20)

Surprisingly, observing supernatural miracles didn’t typically lead people to repent and follow Jesus’ teaching. Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed annoyance with crowds who flocked to see a popular leader do something supernatural. He wanted from the spectators not applause, but commitment. Gradually, he relied more and more on parables, which he explained to his disciples in private (13:11–17).

Taken from NIV Student Bible

johnpiper

You Were Made for God

For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. (1 Samuel 12:22)

The name of God often refers to his reputation, his fame, his renown. This is the way we use the word name when we say someone is making a name for himself. Or we sometimes say, that’s a “name” brand. We mean a brand with a big reputation. This is what I think Samuel means in 1 Samuel 12:22 when he says that God made Israel a people “for himself” and that he would not cast Israel off “for his great name’s sake.”

This way of thinking about God’s zeal for his name is confirmed in many other passages.

For example, in Jeremiah 13:11 God describes Israel as a waistcloth, or belt, God chose to highlight his glory, but which turned out to be temporarily unusable. “For as the waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.” Why was Israel chosen and made the garment of God? That it might be a “name, a praise, and a glory.”

The words praise and glory in this context tell us that name means “fame” or “renown” or “reputation.” God chose Israel so that the people would make a reputation for him.

God says in Isaiah 43:21 that Israel is “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” And when the church came to see itself in the New Testament as the true Israel, Peter described God’s purpose for us like this: “You are a chosen race . . . that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

In other words, Israel and the church are chosen by God to make a name for him in the world.

Gods story

Genesis 14:1-16

After they settle in different regions, Abram rescues Lot when he is captured during an attack on the city of Sodom.

Rescue Mission

Read

When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.
(Genesis 14:14-16)

Reflect

Lot’s greedy desire for the best of everything led him into sinful surroundings. His burning desire for possessions and success cost him his freedom and enjoyment of life. As a captive of Kedorlaomer, he faced torture, slavery, and possibly death. In much the same way, we can be enticed into doing things or going places we shouldn’t. The prosperity we long for is captivating; it can both entice us and enslave us if our motives are not in line with God’s desires.

When Abram learned that Lot was a captive, he immediately tried to rescue his nephew. A much easier and safer route would have been to not become involved. Abram could have just dismissed Lot with, “That’s what he gets for being so selfish.” But with Lot in serious trouble, Abram acted at once.

These incidents portray three of Abram’s characteristics: (1) He loved and cared for his nephew, not allowing Lot’s previous behavior to keep him from acting. (2) He had courage that came from God; facing a powerful foe, he attacked. (3) He was prepared; he had taken time to train his men for a potential conflict. We never know when we will be called upon to complete difficult tasks. Like Abram, we should prepare for those times and take courage from God when they come.

Respond

Sometimes we must get involved in a messy or painful situation in order to help others, even those whom we may not like very much or who have hurt us in the past. We should respond immediately when others need our help. Who is God calling you to help today?

04/27/2015

K-love Digging Deeper: Stay Connected Through Serving

Loving Without Getting Tired by Joyce Myer

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry…and sustains the fatherless and the widow…
PSALM 146:7-9 (NIV)

God speaks frequently in the Bible of our responsibility to the oppressed, hungry, widows, orphans, fatherless and foreigners. He mentions those who are lonely, neglected, forgotten and devalued. He cares deeply for the oppressed and the hungry.

People can be hungry in many ways. They may have plenty of food to eat but still be starving to feel valuable and loved. God lifts up those who are bowed down with sorrow; He protects the stranger and upholds the fatherless and the widow. How does He do this? He works through people. He needs committed, submitted, dedicated people who live to meet the needs of others.

LET’S LOVE WITHOUT GETTING TIRED

Mother Teresa once said, “Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.” I have come to understand that many people we encounter daily are just trying to survive until someone rescues them—and that someone could be you or me.

Let’s allow God’s love for the hurting and broken to work through us, meeting the needs of those who are hurting spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Let’s love without getting tired.

Prayer Starter: Holy Spirit, empower me to love without getting tired. Give me Your heart for the hurting and the needy and show me how to meet their needs.

By
Joyce Meyer

 

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365 devotional

Reaping What You Sow (Matthew 13:1–9)

In this haunting parable, Jesus depicts four different groups of people exposed to the Word of God. First come the insensitive. They hear the Word, but it does not speak to them interiorly. The unseen world does not exist for the thinking man. The tales of the Bible are nice for children but not for mature adults. Faith is an outdated conception for those behind the times, a relic of the Middle Ages. After all, you can’t pay the rent with religion . . .

Next, Jesus describes the superficial.

These are the open people—too much so. They are ready to receive everything, but nothing takes root. You meet them at every level of the church’s life, exponents of change for the sake of change. Ardent champions of renewal and reform with a lusty contempt for anything written before 1963. These are the butterfly types who sip on a thousand different blossom cups . . .

The third group are the defeated. They may have fought long and struggled honorably for their faith. They had principles they wanted to live by. A Christian ethic was presumed, a week without worship unthinkable. Their high ideals, however, ran into competition from “the real world.” Love of God got swallowed up in mundane concerns. The thorny preoccupations are many—career, romance, military induction, geographical displacement, progeny, security . . .

Finally, Jesus speaks of the victorious—the seeds that fell on rich soil. But even here Jesus distinguishes three levels of productivity for the kingdom, three different degrees of faith commitment among genuine hearers of the Word of God.

Taken from NIV Ragamuffin Bible

https://meetmyfriend.com/1187/

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365 devotional

Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables? (Matthew 13:10–13)

On one level, parables were not difficult to understand. Jesus masterfully taught moral principles by using simple, down-to-earth illustrations about everyday objects familiar to farmers, fishermen, merchants and others in his audience. At the same time, the spiritual significance of Jesus’ parables seemed obscure (even incomprehensible) to those who opposed Jesus or who simply were not attuned to his mission and message.

People with “ears to hear” (Mk 4:9), that is, those seriously seeking the truth, could dig deeper and find profound spiritual insight. For others, Jesus’ parables were little more than fascinating but puzzling riddles. Those who were resistant to his message did not have the interest or the energy to pursue the deeper truths found in his parables.

Jesus frequently used parables when speaking to large crowds, but in private he provided his disciples with more detailed explanations (see Mk 4:33–34). At this point in Jesus’ ministry, it was God’s intent that certain secrets of the kingdom be kept somewhat hidden from the many casual observers, from the overzealous but poorly informed supporters and from outright opponents. Sometimes, however, Jesus did use more direct teaching methods (cf. Mt 5:1—7:27).

Taken from NIV Essentials Study Bible

https://meetmyfriend.com/1181/

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365 devotional

Luke 15:7

If Jesus were to tell the parable of the lost sheep today, he might make it the parable of the lost dog. The idea is the same. If your dog runs off, you search for it until you find it. And when you bring it home, your family celebrates.

The next story is better understood with a bit of historical explanation. Palestinian women traditionally received a set of 10 coins as a wedding gift. These coins were carried around in a purse or on a chain and held a significance similar to a modern-day wedding ring. As such, these coins held sentimental value that went well beyond their monetary value. No wonder this woman would search so fervently to find the lost coin, and no wonder she would want to celebrate after finding it!

We might even be able relate to the third story. Imagine that you’re a parent and your son leaves home with as much money as he can pull together. He sets out for a big city like New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco. He is on his own. But instead of working and being responsible, he blows every cent on drugs, sex and alcohol and ends up on the street, homeless and hungry.

As his parent, you worry about him. Every time the phone rings, you hope it’s him. One day you open the front door, and there he stands! Relief is immediate. You throw your arms around him. Words can’t express the joy you feel. Your son who was lost is home!

These three stories express how God feels about every spiritual explorer. And it’s how he feels about you. He’s looking for you because he loves you. God is eager to forgive you, and all of heaven is ready to celebrate your return. But, like the son in the third story, you must decide to come home to his waiting arms.

Taken from NIV The Journey Bible

https://meetmyfriend.com/1176/