DEVOTION - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1. 2011

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

“The Consequences of Sin”

By

Charles R. Swindoll

Read 2 Samuel 11:1–12:13

Nathan didn't come on his own; he was sent by God: "Then the LORD sent Nathan to David." I think the most important word in that sentence is the first one, "then." God's timing is absolutely incredible.

When was he sent? Right after the act of adultery? No. Right after Bathsheba said, "I am pregnant"? No. Right after he murdered Uriah? No. Right after he married Uriah's pregnant widow? No. Right after the birth of the baby? No. It's believed by some Old Testament scholars that there was at least a twelve-month interval that passed before Nathan paid the visit. God waited until just the right time. He let the grinding wheels of sin do their full work, and then He stepped in.

To be totally honest with you, there are times when I really question the timing of God. Times when I just don't know why He's so slow to carry out what I think He ought to do. But every time I have looked back in retrospect, I have seen how beautifully He worked out His plan, how perfectly it had come to pass. God not only does the right thing; He does the right thing at the right time.

In confronting someone in his sin, the timing is as important as the wording. Most importantly, you need to be sure that you're sent by God. Nathan was.

In his sin, David had despised the God he served. Now, as a result of that sin, in days and years to come, David would experience grief within his own household.

Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun." (2 Samuel 12:11–12)

Whew! Talk about the consequences of sin. David sits there with his mouth still open, leaning back, perhaps staring at the ceiling, listening to the voice of God from Nathan.

David, realizing he was absolutely guilty, admitted without hesitation, "I have sinned. I've sinned against the Lord." With that admission, restoration began.

Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2011

“THE PRAYER OF INTERCESSION”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Today I want to help you understand the prayer of intercession--

1 Timothy 2:1 points us to this type of prayer,

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

Intercession, as we find it here, is a technical term for approaching a king on behalf of another. In a general sense, related to prayer, intercession is seeking God on the behalf of others. But, more specifically, it is coming to God for one who has no standing with Him.

A number of years ago, I was ministering in Nigeria, speaking at a large conference in the city of Onitsha. While there, we were invited to go meet the king of Onitsha.

It was pretty exciting driving in a motorcade with little flags on all the cars. I felt like a big shot! But when we got to the palace, we had to have someone go on our behalf in order to meet with the king. I had no standing with the king, and neither did anyone else in our party.

The person who brought us to the king of Onitsha was an intercessor. And that is the idea of this word intercession. You are coming to the King of kings on the behalf of someone who presently has no standing with Him.

Do you remember when Abraham went before God for the city of Sodom—desiring that God would spare Sodom? What was Abraham doing? He was acting as an intercessor. He was coming between God and someone who had no standing with God.

We all should be praying prayers of intercession. You and I are to make intercession for the lost.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2011

BY TONY EVANS

“Do You Need to Change Your Expectations?”

In His Presence: Acts 3:1-9; 16

As a pastor, I witness people accepting their circumstances with a "crippling" mindset rather than believing God for something better in life.

They are like the lame man in Acts 3 who sat by the gate, Beautiful, begging for money. His only expectation was that a passerby will take pity on him and toss a coin his way. He never expected anything better. He was crippled in his body and his mind.

That's the mindset of those who don't expect things can change in their lives. We all face bad days, but we don't have to let them turn into a bad life.

Do you know anyone like that? Is that you? Jesus' disciples offered the lame man miraculous healing in both his body and his mind. You too can move forward no matter what you face in life.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

“THE PRAYER OF AGREEMENT”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Today I want to help you understand the prayer of agreement.

This prayer is found in Matthew 18:19, where Jesus says,

, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."

When I pray with other people, nine times out of ten this is the prayer that I pray with them. And most of the time I will quote this verse to them.

I remember working for a ministry years ago and praying with the folks who called on the phone. When I prayed with someone, I would walk them through this verse before we prayed.

The steps I pointed out were simple:

• There needs to be at least two of us praying.

• We need to agree.

• We need to be on earth (I usually got a laugh out of this one).

• What we are asking God for needs to come under the category of "anything" (which their request always did).

• God will do it.

The only part people ever got hung up on was the agreement. "What does it mean to agree?" they would ask. I would say, "Simple, to agree means to agree." Don't over-spiritualize it. If we decide to get lunch together at a certain time at a certain place, and you say, "Ok, see you there," we have just agreed.

To agree in prayer is no different.

Read this verse again. Look at it step by step, and follow it—in all its simplicity. If we do our part, God will do His.

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011

“We All Have Expectations”

BY TONY EVANS

In His Presence: Psalm 40:1-17

Life is filled with expectations. Look at our everyday lives. Some of us wake up expecting the best in our work day or with our family or in our health or in our finances. Others dread the day, or at best, never expect anything to change for the better.

Childhood dreams and hopes might be crushed by comments that discourage rather than encourage. Disillusionments or disappointments can stop any positive expectations.

What are you expecting in life? Whatever your expectations, there's a good chance you're going to get it. In other words, you get whatever you expect out of life.

Please know that God is still ABLE to deliver you from low expectations. Start believing for something better in your life. The Word tells us that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Expect it!

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

“Take It to the Lord in Prayer”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.” Job 22:27

Have you ever disagreed with someone and felt you were in the right? I have. What started out as a conversation turns into a confrontation. And the tension becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife. At that point, it’s time to separate before things disintegrate.

And when you separate, it’s time to communicate with the Lord. It’s when you get alone with God that the communion of conviction comes, and what seemed to be confusion becomes crystal clear in His light. More often than not, the Holy Spirit has shown me that I was in the wrong and needed to ask forgiveness.

Have you had a disagreement with someone lately? It’s time to retreat, reflect, and receive what the Lord wants to tell you. Enter your prayer closet today.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011

“DAY AND NIGHT”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4 (NKJV)

John Chapter 9 begins with Jesus and His disciples making their way through Jerusalem. As they walk, they come across a man who was born blind. Because of his disability, this man was forced to beg on the city streets for alms. When the disciples see him, they assume—as most did in that day—that his blindness was God’s punishment for some sin he or his parents had committed. So they ask the Lord whether it was the man or his parents who were to blame.

Jesus says that neither is to blame and explains that the man’s affliction isn’t punishment but was ordained as a backdrop for God’s glory to shine. And as Jesus proceeds to bring light to this man’s darkness, the glory of the Lord does indeed shine!

But Jesus says something before He performs the miracle that gives us insight into His outlook on life. He says that He must do the works of God while it’s day because night is coming. What does that mean? Christ was saying there was a certain window of time (day) where He was going to walk this earth and do His Father’s work. But once He was crucified (night), that window would close.

To put it another way, Jesus understood His life on earth was temporary, and He was going to make the most of the time He had. He didn’t procrastinate or spin his wheels aimlessly. He knew He needed to accomplish the work at hand while there was time.

That’s the same perspective we need to have. When it comes to this life, there’s day and there’s night. There’s time now for us to do certain things. Like Jesus, we need to be wise stewards of the daytime. The window to work is now open, so let’s be faithfully active before it closes

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011

“A GOOD THING - COMFORT”

FROM THE

BAPTIST BIBLE HOUR

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted– Matthew 5:4

Jesus is clearly not speaking here of every kind of mourning, some of which is due to the natural consequences of sinful living in a sinful world. Rather, he speaks of those who mourn for their sins, in repentance, recognizing their wickedness before a holy and good God.

It is the “broken and contrite heart” that God will not despise (Psalm 51:17).

Remember the tax collector in Jesus’ parable? (Luke 18:9-14). He could not even look up to heaven, the burden of his own sin and guilt weighed so heavily on him. He smote his own breast and cried “God be merciful to me, the sinner.” This man, Jesus said, went to his home justified before God.

True, spiritual grief is God—not man—centered. People often “mourn” for their mistakes, but only because they are caught in a crime, or suffer themselves, or see loved ones suffer. But all sin (not just “big” sins) should cause the penitent heart to mourn, knowing that it grieves and dishonors God.

True spiritual mourning also leads to true spiritual repentance, a turning away from the old way of life and to the way of Christ (2 Corinthians 7:10). Mourning that is only outward and temporary will not be comforted.

But how will those who truly mourn for sin will be comforted? How will they be consoled when they are mourning because of real sin, real burdens, and real repentance? They will be comforted because, through Christ, the source of their grief will be removed.

In Christ, they find forgiveness, healing, and the power to overcome sin. Ultimately, they will be comforted when they are removed from even the very presence of sin, in heaven. Blessed, they are, indeed who mourn for their sin.

WEDNESDAY - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

“NINE FILTERS”

BY

DR ED YOUNG

August 24

Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.

Psalm 119:11

There are nine filters through which decisions and actions should be run, executive coach Brad Hays tells leaders. The first is God Himself, and the second is God’s Word. If the action doesn’t glorify God and line up with what Jesus would do, it should be screened out. If there is no biblical support for the intended behavior, then it should be eliminated. That requires that a man or woman have God’s Word stored up inside, and treasured as the most valuable standard for decisions and behaviors.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011

SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011

“A Final Act of Mercy”

BY

GREG LAURIE

And one of them struck at the high priest’s slave, slashing off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this.” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. —Luke 22:50–51

Before His death and resurrection, the last miracle of Jesus was not something big and showy like raising someone from the dead or walking on water. It was something that very easily could have been missed.

As the scene was unfolding in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas had betrayed Jesus with a kiss as soldiers came to arrest Him. Peter, taking all of this in, was freaking out. No doubt he was thinking, What is going on here? They can’t take Jesus! So Peter unsheathed his sword and began swinging away. Peter, however, was a fisherman, not a swordsman, so trouble inevitably followed. Malchus, a slave of the high priest who probably was leading the charge toward Jesus, had his ear sliced off.

But Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). In Matthew’s Gospel, we also read that Jesus told him, “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” (Matthew 26:52–54).

Then Jesus touched the man’s ear—an ear that had been severed—and healed him. Why would Jesus even do that? Malchus had it coming, after all. Yet Jesus cared about people, even His enemies. And it wasn’t long after this that Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Malchus deserved everything that happened to him. But Jesus, in one final act of mercy, healed him.

Summary sentence: Is there someone in need of your mercy today?

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2011

“Your full inheritance as God’s child”

BY

PETE BRISCOE

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
I could sing you a tune or promise you the moon,
But if that's what it takes to hold you,
I'd just as soon let you go.
—Lynn Anderson (and maybe the Father too?)

Normally, when we hear the word inheritance, we immediately think of money, cars, houses, and businesses passed on to us by a relative. Cool! It's free stuff given because we just happen to be part of the family. Scripture says we are co-heirs with Christ in God's Kingdom. That's just nothing but awesome, too… right? Well, yes and no.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. —Romans 8:16-18

Somewhere along the line, Christianity was injected with the idea that if we give our lives to Jesus, “everything is going to turn up roses.” Yes, the blessings of being one of God's children are beyond our comprehension. But no, those blessings don't always come as we want them to. He never promised us a rose garden, and if that’s what it takes to hold us, I think He would just as soon let us go. As brothers and sisters of Christ, we don't just share the "good" stuff with Christ; we share all of it.

Jesus, You promised me that I would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). Give me the faith to embrace my sufferings on this Earth as part of the full inheritance of the Father just as You did. Give me just a glimpse of the glory that will be revealed in me so that my suffering can be accepted from an eternal perspective.

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011

“A Very Present Help"

by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Samuel 30:1–6

David had reached the point in life where some people think of taking their own lives. He was so far down the ladder of despair that he'd reached the bottom rung. The last stop. The place where you either jump off into oblivion or you cry out to God for His forgiveness. For rescue. The wonderful thing is that we do have that choice, because God never gives up on His children.

David made the right choice. "David was greatly distressed . . . But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God" (1 Samuel 30:6).

Now you're talking, David. That's the way to endure the Slough of Despond. The pits may seem bottomless, but there's hope above. Reach up! Help is there.

For the first time in months, David looks up, and he says, "Oh, God, help me." And He does. He always will. He is "a very present help" when needed.

Dark days call for right thinking and vertical focus. That's what David learns at this moment in his life. He finds that the test isn't designed to throw him on his back and suck him under, it's designed to bring him to his knees so he will look up.

Perhaps you have known the joys and ecstasies of walking with Christ, but in a moment of despondency, you've opted for the wrong fork in the road, and you're now living in the wrong camp . . . you're living in the "carnal corral." In the words of the prophet, you've been like those who "sow the wind and . . . reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7).

But, like David, you've gotten tired of feeling displaced. The disillusionment has bred distrust, and the depression is killing you.

Reach up. Come home. The Father is waiting at the door, ready to forgive and willing to restore. It's time to return and strengthen yourself, yet again, in the Lord your God.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2011

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2011

“No Unbelievers in Hell “

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

In Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a very sobering story,

"The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom… Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment'" (Luke 16:22b-23 and 27-28).

Everyone in hell believes in evangelism. They are crying out lest their loved ones end up with them.

Two thousand years have passed and this rich man has had no relief. A billion years from now he will just be getting started in his torment and pain. Listen to his cry, "My brothers! Send someone to my family!"

Hell is for unbelievers but there are no unbelievers in hell!

Several years ago a man came weeping to the altar of our church. A message had been preached that night from these very Scriptures. After giving his heart to Christ (and after a long time of almost uncontrollable weeping), he told us this story:

He said, "I died twice on the operating table during heart surgery. Each time I died, I left my body and went to hell. It was so horrifying that I tried to put it out of my mind. As the message was preached tonight, all the details of my experience came flooding back into my mind."

He did not need to be convinced that hell was real. That night he accepted Christ and was liberated from the fear of returning to that place of torment.

Jesus alone can rescue us from the terrors of hell and bring us safely to heaven. Shouldn't we be telling people there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun? Shouldn't we be warning them and encouraging them to accept Christ—while there is still time?!

DEVOTION - MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011

“Hardened Hearts”

In His Presence: Proverbs 19:20-21

BY

TONY EVANS

“Just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the days of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me . . . I was angry with this generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways”; As I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest” ’ ’’(Hebrews 3:7-11).

For many years the sons of Israel lived in the land of Egypt. Eventually the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and forced them to make buildings of bricks. They suffered terribly until finally God raised up a leader to guide them back to the Promised Land, where God had taken Abraham hundreds of years before. Moses led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness of Sinai. There they began to complain bitterly about the lack of food and water and tried God’s patience. God said their hearts were hardened.

The Hebrews’ hearts were hardened because they were tricked by sin. Sin leads us to stop believing God. We believe the sin instead. One of the reasons why many of us are in our present dilemma is because we have stopped believing God. We have developed hearts of unbelief.

How do we know that we have been taken in by the deceitfulness of sin? Does the sin bother us less often? When evil doesn’t anger and upset us—when we have gotten used to it—our hearts have been hardened.

One Minute Please
Sin provides short-term gratification leading to long-term disaster.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2011

“KNOWING JESUS

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9

Years ago my wife gave me a little card to carry in my billfold. On it she had written her dress size, shoe size, glove size and more. That was nice to have so I could know all about her when I went to do some shopping. But it didn’t provide much companionship or encouragement when I was away from her.

It’s one thing to have the facts about Jesus, it’s another thing to have a relationship with Jesus.

Do you know Jesus...really know Him?

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2011

“Courting controversy?

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” Matthew 17:24 (NKJV)

Christ caused a lot of controversy when He walked this earth. However, we need to understand that He didn’t go around looking for opportunities to be controversial. When Christ caused controversy, it was because of His commitment to fulfill His divine directive to declare God-inspired truth. But there were other times when He diffused potential controversies.

For example, at one point the religious rulers approached Peter and asked him why Jesus hadn’t paid the temple tax. This particular tax was to be paid each year by every Jewish male to support the upkeep of the Temple. It didn’t take Jesus’ critics long to recognize He hadn’t done so. Controversy was brewing.

But Jesus went on to explain to Peter that the Temple itself, along with all the tax money it brought in, belonged to God. And as God’s Son, He wasn’t obligated to pay for something that was already His! For that reason, Christ hadn’t paid the temple tax. However, we can’t miss the next thing Jesus says:

“Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.” Matthew 17:27 (NKJV)

Jesus wasn’t obligated to pay this tax, yet He understood that by not paying He was only creating more controversy than was necessary. So even though He didn’t have to, He makes provision to pay it in a miraculous way. Why? Because He understood a controversy like this wasn’t worth the offense it would create.

Our Lord didn’t court controversy. He wasn’t looking for opportunities to offend people. Every believer ought to take note of this and follow His example. Do what you can to steer clear of controversy. When it comes to non-essential issues, don’t fan the flames but do your part to put them out.

Think About It…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011

“CROSS OF CHRIST”

BY

BAPTIST BIBLE HOUR

That he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby– Ephesians 2:16

What a strange phrase! Slaying enmity, putting to death hostility, slaughtering antagonism. But this is the paradox of the cross. By being put to death for us, Christ put to death the hostility that existed between us and God.

The point that Paul is making in this particular passage is that Christ has reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to God — there was no one who did not need Christ’s peacemaking work on their behalf.

No one, not even the most devout Jew, was at peace with God’s perfect standard. God’s anger, His just wrath, hangs over every human being, demanding punishment for our rebellion against His good law. Simultaneously, humanity, by nature, is opposed to God and to His demands on us.

This is the mutual enmity, the cosmic tension, that Paul speaks of. A good God against a sinful world, and a sinful world against a good God. This is the enmity which Christ died to slay, to put to death forever. And when enmity is slain, peace is all that is left standing.

Because Jesus Christ took our sins in His own body, on the cross, all hostility is gone and God is now at peace with those whose sins were paid for by Christ. And through the reconciling work of the Holy Spirit, we are made to be at peace with God in our hearts.

We now embrace His good commands and rejoice in the purity of His Word. While we still continue to sin, the desire of our hearts is now to know and love our Savior and God better, not to run away or avoid Him.

Does this describe you? Are you at peace with God?

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

“HEALING”

BY

DR ED YOUNG

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. - Psalm 30:5

There was evening and there was morning, says Genesis, and so the sequence has been for eons. There is an evening of our lives as well as a day, announced by sparkling mornings. In the dark nights, vision is overwhelmed with sorrow and crisis, but the sunshine of the morning drives away the haunting torments of the night, and there is the shout of joy. God’s promise to His covenant people is that morning will always follow night. And the time will come when night no longer drags morning into its dark pit. The great eternal morning will prevail, and the joy-shouting will be the music of the spheres.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2011

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2011

“A Spider’s Web”

BY

ALISTAIR BEGG

Isaiah 59:5

Observe the spider's web and find in it a most suggestive picture of the hypocrite's religion. It is meant to catch his prey: The spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has his reward. Foolish people are easily trapped by the loud professions of pretenders, and even the more discerning cannot always escape. Philip baptized Simon Magus, whose deceitful declaration of faith was so quickly exposed by the stern rebuke of Peter. Routine and reputation, praise and promotion, along with other flies, are the small game that hypocrites take in their nets.

A spider's web is a marvel of skill: Look at it and admire the tricks of this cunning hunter. The deceiver's religion is equally seductive. How does he make so barefaced a lie appear to be a truth? How can he make his tinsel look so much like gold?

A spider's web emerges all from the creature itself. The bee gathers her wax from flowers; the spider doesn't, but still she spins her material to great length. In the same way hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves; their anchor was forged on their own anvil, and their rope twisted by their own hands. They rest upon their own foundation and carve out the pillars from their own house, scorning the thought of being debtors to the sovereign grace of God.

But a spider's web is very frail. It is curiously constructed, but not enduringly manufactured. It is no match for the servant's broom or the traveler's staff. The hypocrite does not need a battery of cannons to blow his hope to pieces; a mere puff of wind will do it. Hypocritical cobwebs will soon come down when the broom of destruction begins its purifying work. Which reminds us of one more thought-namely, that such cobwebs are not to be tolerated in the Lord's house: He will see to it that the webs and those who spin them will be utterly destroyed. My soul, make sure to rest on something better than a spider's web. Take the Lord Jesus as your eternal hiding-place.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

“Living in light of the Good News”

BY

DR JACK GRAHAM

August 5, 2011

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:8-11

Everyone loves some good news, right? But interestingly, it’s often bad news that makes the good news the Good News. Suppose that you were to go to the doctor and he finds a lump or a spot on your skin, and says, “I think it would be wise to remove that and take a biopsy.” And you, of course, begin to fear the worse.

Bad news.

So that spot is taken off and you wait that seemingly unending period of time until the report comes back. You go to the doctor’s office and he looks at you and then a smile breaks across his face and he says, “I’ve got some good news for you. No cancer!”

Good news!

But you see, it took bad news to make the good news good. If someone had just randomly walked up to you on the street and said, “You don’t have cancer,” that would’ve meant nothing. It’s the circumstance that makes the good news good.

The Good News of Christ is only good if you know the bad news: you’re a sinner. But when Christ reaches down and saves you out of the pit of your sinfulness, that’s the best news anyone could ever hear. And the best way you can respond is by living your life fully for Him!

CHRIST SAVING YOU FROM YOUR SINS IS THE GREATEST NEWS YOU COULD EVER HEAR. SO LIVE IN LIGHT OF THAT TRUTH BY FULLY DEVOTING YOURSELF TO HIM EACH DAY!