DEVOTION - THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

DEVOTION – THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012

“Putting Down the Weights”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” - 1 Corinthians 6:12

There are certain weights that an athlete must choose to lay aside. They are not bad for other people, but they are bad for the athlete. In the spiritual realm, it is the same for Christians.

Paul tells us, “all things are not expedient.” The word “expedient” is similar to the word “expedition.” You see, Christians are going somewhere, and if something doesn’t speed us along the way, then it is excess baggage and we need to get rid of it.

Ask God today, “Are there legitimate, lawful things in my life that are keeping me from running the race?” It might be a hobby, friendship, recreational sport, or a cabin in the mountains. It is not bad; it just keeps you from maximizing your life for the Lord Jesus Christ. You must lay it aside.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012

“A study in separation – Jonah”

BY

BOB COY

For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me...Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ Jonah 2:3-4 (NKJV)

God knows how to break us, and He will. Not so we become useless, but so we can become useful in His hands. This is what we see throughout the arc of Jonah’s life. The Lord used Jonah’s experience of being alone in the darkness of the fish to break him down. God wanted to get him to the place of total surrender, a place where he would embrace rather than resist God’s presence and call upon his life.

Somewhere from the farthest reaches of the sea, amidst the bowels of some unsuspecting creature, from the deepest place in Jonah’s heart, a prayer of repentance is offered. The reluctant prophet breaks, and the “Not thy will, but my will be done” is reversed.

Unconditional surrender to the will of God takes place. And in short order, the Lord gets Jonah back on dry land and repeats His call. This time, Jonah responds much differently:

The word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. (Jonah 3:1-3 NKJV)

As we see with Jonah, the Lord can use solitude to transform disobedience into obedience. God doesn’t override our free will, but He goes all out to help us exercise it in the right direction. When our will is dead set against what He wills and wants for us, He can put us in a position where we finally decide to surrender and submit to Him.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

DEVOTION – TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

““WINNING WALK”

BY

DR ED YOUNG

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2

“What’s your excuse?” the indignant boss demands when the project deadline is missed. Someday the Judge will ask you why you fell short of His glory. The besieged employee tells the boss she had to attend her dying mother, and is justified in the eyes of the merciful supervisor. At the Judgment Seat, all we need reply is “Jesus,” and we are instantly justified. A pastor I know preached the funeral of an evil man who had accepted Christ right before death. The pastor focused on Christ’s mercy. “What you said,” a man told him later, “is that Jesus was his excuse

DEVOTIOIN - MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012

DEVOTION – MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012

“Relationship, Not Religion”

BY

JAMES MACDONALLD

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’”—Acts 17:24-28

I read a compelling tweet by a pastor in California, which said, “Religion does not provide an opportunity to actually know God, and is therefore cruel, powerless, and boring” (Bill Johnson).

Knowing God—being in a relationship with Him—is what every human being, whether they’re aware of it or not, is longing for and searching after. What most do to achieve that relationship is to establish some sort of religious observance. The options are literally limitless when you consider all the established world religions and faith systems.

And so, they go to places of worship. Perform rituals and sacraments. They make donations, give of their time, and volunteer their talents. They meditate, read, study and memorize holy books and writings: they chant, sing, recite, and sit in silence. They dance, sway, kneel, walk. They make pilgrimages, go on missions, proselytize and teach others about their particular way of getting to “god” or whatever it is they’ve chosen to worship.

They do all this, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “That they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him” (v.27). But it is a vain hope when religion is the means of seeking.

From the beginning, God related to His creation on a personal level. Adam and God walked together in the garden and conversed as one person talks to another.

Throughout Old Testament history, prior to the coming of Christ, God was relating to His people as Father. He gathered them as a family. He loved them, watched over them and provided for them, He listened to them and gave them good gifts. It was never because of what they did (religion) but because of His faithful love for them (relationship). The incarnation of Jesus Christ as a human being was all about God relating to us; literally becoming like us, in order to save us. It was the ultimate expression of His love.

That we have taken His love and the offer of a relationship and encumbered it with religion is our own undoing. By creating a set of rules and practices by which we gain God’s attention, we actually miss out entirely. Religion is our ineffectual way of getting to God, dependent on what we do. Relationship is His way of getting to us, dependent entirely on what He did.  —Todd Dugard

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, MAY, 26, 2012

“Unshakable Faith in a Shaken World: God, What Are You Trying to Teach Me?”

BY

RON MOORE

| Job 2:7-10 | Devotional

Job 2:7-10 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s life had been a cakewalk—layers of moist blessings iced with a thick frosting of more blessings. Then the cake crumbled and he had to make a choice. It’s easy to love God when life is sweet. But can you love Him when it all tumbles in?

The spiritual life always involves a spiritual crossroads. After the verbal profession, there is normally a painful life experience that forces a decision. Are you in or out? Will you follow Christ or not? Are you a professor or a possessor? Job came to that crossroads in our passage today. He sat among the ashes of a broken body with a broken heart. Would he curse God and die? Or would he accept the blessings and the burdens?

Arthur John Gossip was the pastor at Beechgrove Church in Aberdeen Scotland. In 1927, he was 54 years old and things could not have been going better in his life or in the life of the church. Then very suddenly and unexpectedly his wife died. The Sunday after her death he preached a sermon, trying to reconcile his faith with such a sudden and tragic loss. These are his words:

I do not understand this life of ours. But still less can I comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God’s name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?

Father thank you for the example of Job and Arthur John Gossip who clung to You in the difficult times of their lives. Lord, give us the strength to do the same. Thank You when blessings flow. Help us to thank you when trouble comes. In Christ’s Name. Amen.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, MAY 252, 2012

“The Place of Blessing”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

In Genesis 12:1-3 we read,

Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Notice how God says to Abram, "Abram, I'm going to bless you, and you will be a blessing."  But here is what I want you to see:  Abram's being a blessing was tied to being in God's purpose.  He could only become a great blessing if he followed God's calling.

You will never be the blessing God intends for you to be if you are not flowing in your purpose.

Was there risk involved for Abram?  You bet!  He had to leave everything that was familiar to him, all of his security, everything that was comfortable and familiar.

He left Ur of the Chaldeans, which history tells us was one of the most highly developed cities of the ancient world.  They had cobblestone streets, an underground sewage system, and it was a place of world trade.

Abram left all of that and went out on an adventure by faith, pursuing the purpose that God had for his life.  And in pursuing that purpose, God blessed him, and he became a blessing.

But think about this. What if he had stayed back? What if he had said, "I'm secure here; I have it made; I have a nice house and everything I need.  I think I will stay put."  We would not even know his name.

Pursue your purpose. That is the place of God's blessing.

DEVOTIONAL, THURSDAY, MAY24, 2012

DEVOTION – THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012

“Someone Loves You Perfectly”

BY

ADRIAN  ROGERS

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” - 1 John 4:18

Are you gripped with fear about something? Do not give in to despair. There is hope. Love is the answer to overcoming your fear because love is the Christian’s security blanket.

When you were a child, did you have a teddy bear or a blanket that gave you a sense of security—something you wanted to hold close to you and get wrapped up in? Well, dear friend, the Holy Spirit of God is the believer’s warm, loving security blanket.

Have you read the verse, “Perfect love casteth out fear”? It may not have rung true to you because you are thinking, “I can never manage to achieve “perfect love.” But this is not the way to look at this verse. Listen to it in The Living Bible, which says, “We have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly.” God’s perfect love can eliminate all dread. It is not our love for Him, but His perfect love for us that will cast out our fears.

The question isn’t “Am I brave enough?” The question is “Do I trust His love enough?

DEVOTIONAL - WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

“A study in separation”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

Moses, part 3

When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian…. Exodus 2:15 (NKJV)

Things had taken a radical turn in Moses’ life. With his murder of an Egyptian out in the open, and with Pharaoh in hot pursuit, he left everything he had come to know over the past forty years. His prestige, his power, his possessions…he left it all behind and fled to Midian.

It’s here, away from the epicenter of activity in Egypt and within the Midian wilderness, that Moses enters into a place of prolonged separation. He marries a woman named Zipporah, and they begin a family together. But as you read the scriptures, you can’t help but sense that Moses is now a man who is defined by that which is missing.

He becomes a herder of his father-in-law’s flocks, which means most of his time was spent apart from any human interaction. In Stephen’s sermon we find out that Moses toils away at this task for forty years! That’s a long time of being alone in the wilderness with one’s flocks...and thoughts.

We can’t help but wonder what went through Moses’ mind during that season of separation: “How did I get here of all places? I used to be a real somebody. I once thought that God was going to use my life for something important. Why did I throw everything away like that? What a wasted existence!”

But there was nothing wasteful about this time in his life. Although it appeared that he had come to the end of the line and his best years were behind him, a refining process was taking place underneath his once-proud exterior.

Separation has a way of humbling us, and humility was being actively formed in Moses…humility that would ultimately make him much more useful in the Lord’s hands. Away from Egypt, in the solitude of Midian, Moses was becoming someone God could really use.

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 - TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012

DEVOTION – TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012

“Impossible Love Made Possible”

BY

DR CHARLES STANLEY

Galatians 5:22-23

When a lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and “the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt. 22:37, 39). What an overwhelming assignment!

In our own strength, none of us can live up to this obligation, but the Lord has provided a way for Christians to do the impossible. The indwelling Holy Spirit works to produce His fruit in us, and first on the list is love (Gal. 5:22). In fact, the other eight qualities are really just descriptions of its expression.

Whenever we demonstrate kindness, patience, or gentleness, we see the Lord’s love at work through us, especially when the other person has been unkind and doesn’t deserve such pleasant treatment. This fruit is not produced by trying harder to muster good will toward someone who is irritating or hard to get along with. Instead, think of the process more like sap running through a branch on a grape-vine. The branch doesn’t make grapes; the sap does. In the same way, the Spirit flows through us, producing God’s love in us, so that we can pass it on to Him and others.

Agapelove is the reason we are able to care for someone who mistreats us—it’s God’s doing, not ours. Even the adoration we offer the Lord is not something that we can produce in our own heart apart from His assistance. Though the command to love is enormous,God’s grace makes it possible.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012

DEVOTION – MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012

“For Righteousness’ Sake”

BY

GREG LAURIE

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. - (Acts 4:1–2)

This may come as a surprise to you, but if you are a Christian and everyone likes you, then you probably aren’t doing something right. If no one is ever offended by anything you say or do, then I have to question how closely you are following Christ.

Jesus said, “What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets” (Luke 6:26). When you have been with Jesus and are, in effect, just like Him, you will be treated the same as He was.

And how did they treat Jesus? Not so well. He had temporary popularity, but the crowds turned against Him. And here is what Jesus says to us:

Do you remember what I told you? “A slave is not greater than the master.” Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. (John 15:20–21)

Our job is not to get along with everyone. Our job is to walk with God and try to reach everyone. Sometimes it will make people angry when we speak up and say something they disagree with. Now we can do that in a loving way. We can do it in a compassionate way. But we need to do it in a direct way.

What concerns me is that sometimes we are persecuted for the wrong reasons. Far too often I have seen Christians who are persecuted because they are unnecessarily offensive. So be a pleasant person. Be a friendly a person. Be a loving person. And be persecuted for righteousness’ sake because you are a follower of Christ and are a reflection of Him.

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012

DEVOTION – SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2012

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Little Faith”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

In our last devotional, we looked at the first level of faith: no faith. We learned that no faith is based on the belief that God does not care, and that such a belief is completely false. God does indeed care for you!

Today we are going to look at the second level of faith. It is found in what Jesus says in Matthew 6:30-34,

"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

This second level of faith is little faith. As we see in this passage, little faith is a worried faith, worried about tomorrow and occupied with lack instead of being occupied with God.

While people with little faith believe God cares, their focus is wrong. They are concentrating on, "What am I going to eat? What am I going to wear? How am I going to get by?"

Now, those are all legitimate things; and your Father knows you have need of those things. So rather than focusing on your lack and being worried about tomorrow, pulling tomorrow's clouds over today's sunshine, let your focus be on God and His sufficiency, His care, and His abundant love.

Do not live a life of little faith.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012

“The God of the Second Chance”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12

Have you ever felt like you have used up God’s reservoir of forgiveness? Perhaps you’ve thought, “I don’t have a right to come and ask Him to forgive me again.” Friend, it doesn’t matter how many times we have sinned.

Suppose you came back to God the 5,000^th time with the same sin. Will He forgive you? Yes indeed, He will. As far as He is concerned, it is the first time you have come to Him. Why? Because He has forgotten all the other times.

Our God doesn’t hold grudges. He does punish sin, but He doesn’t hold grudges. The God of Jonah, David, Mark, Peter, and Jacob is your God and my God. I have come to Him so many times and asked Him for a second chance. And guess what? He has given it.

If He can give Jonah, David, Jacob, etc., a second chance, He will certainly give you another chance. Failure is not final.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, MAY 18, 301

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2012

“Sensing sin”

BY PASTOR BOB COY

But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things…so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel. Joshua 7:1 (NKJV)

The seventh chapter in Joshua stands as a powerful warning of sin’s infectious effects. In short, it tells the story of a man named Achan and how his personal act of disobedience caused a national crisis.

Israel had begun its conquest of the Promised Land, and one city after another fell in their path, including Jericho. And it was there that God specifically commanded the Israelites to not touch or take any of the victory spoils, which is exactly what Achan did. He secretly snagged a few pieces of silver, a wedge of gold, and a Babylonian garment, and he buried them under his tent. God saw this and removed His hand of protection from His people.

Joshua, Israel’s commander, was unaware of what Achan had done, and went ahead with an invasion of Ai, which ended in disaster. Joshua couldn’t figure it out. Why had they been defeated like this? Had God forsaken them? Notice what happens when Joshua falls on his face and gets alone with God:

So the LORD said to Joshua… “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived…” (Joshua 7:10-11 NKJV)

In his solitude with the Lord, Joshua discovered that there was a serious sin issue in Israel. Sin was brought to light and eventually dealt with. But please note that it was one-on-one time with the Holy One that got things going in the right direction.

This example can carry over into our lives, as well. When our lives are consumed with people and relationships, it’s often hard to discern sin’s presence in our hearts. But when we are set apart and in the holy presence of God, we become more sensitive to sin that needs to be dealt with.

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

DEVOTION – THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

“Unshakable Faith in a Shaken World: God, Who are You When My World is Shake?”

BY

RON MOORE

Isaiah 6:1-5 | Devotional

Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Isaiah had never seen anything like it. Before him was the Lord seated in all majesty and might, surrounded by angels who had to cover their face (they could not look directly at God’s glory) and feet (acknowledging their lowliness) as they hovered around the throne. These heavenly creatures were calling back and forth, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his glory.” This three-fold repetition of God’s holiness indicates the strongest superlative. But what do we mean when we say that God is holy?

God’s holiness places him separate from and independent from us. He does not conform to a holy standard; He is the standard. “He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is” (Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy). While our best action is tainted by sin, all that God thinks and does is perfect and completely pure. When we begin to grasp God’s perfection, like Isaiah we come to a sudden realization of our personal sinfulness and proclaim, “Woe to me! I am ruined!”

That’s the realization that prompts our need for a Savior. Standing before the holy God there is no place to run or hide. So, as Tozer says, “We must take refuge from God in God.” We are only safe and secure in Jesus whose holy sacrifice on the cross covers and eternally protects the believers. Jesus turns our cry of despair—I am ruined!—to the glorious proclamation—I am redeemed!

Father, it is easy on this unholy earth to view unholiness as natural and normal—even in ourselves. Today give us just a glimpse of what Isaiah saw. Help us to see ourselves as you see us. Help us to be disturbed by our sin. Thank you for Jesus. May we find forgiveness and protection… and friendship with Him. Amen

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012

“Sowing Righteousness”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

The Bible says in Galatians 6:7,

Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

And in Proverbs 11:18 it says,

The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

The Bible teaches the law of the harvest, that what you sow, you will also reap.  If you treat others fairly and uprightly, it will come back to you.

We live in a world that doesn't put much stock in integrity, fairness, uprightness, and righteousness.  We must be careful to not give in to that influence. We need to be different.

How? By not cutting corners. By putting in an honest day's work. By giving people what they pay for and more. If you will pursue righteousness, it will come back to you.

You may remember a story back in the eighties about an armored car that crashed in Columbus, Ohio.  Two million dollars in cash spilled out on the highway, and the motorists helped the armored car company gather all of its money.

But, when it was all said and done, only $400,000 of the $2 million made its way back to the armored car company.  $1.6 million ended up in the pockets of the people who stopped along the highway to "help."

I'm sure they had every excuse under the sun. Some probably even said, "Well, I've been praying for God to meet my needs, and it was a miracle!" No, it was not a miracle. They were thieves!

You cannot make an excuse for that kind of thing. And yet that is the way the world thinks. There should be a difference between us and the world.  We need to pursue uprightness, integrity, honesty, and godly character. They need to be hallmarks of our lives.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012

DEVOTION – TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012

“When the Light Begins to Dim”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” - Luke 11:34

Are there times in your life when you have sensed yourself growing cold spiritually? Felt the power seeping out of your life and felt that Jesus Christ wasn’t as real as He used to be? In times like this, get alone in a quiet place and begin to give things back to God that you have subtly taken off the altar.

Give Him your physical body and your right to life. Give Him your health, your strength, and your abilities to work and make a living. Give Him your reputation and your children. Give Him your cars, your clothes, your house.

And when you have honestly, earnestly, and sincerely given all to Him, the joy will return to your heart and you will sense your relationship with God restored.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

DEVOTION – MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

“WINNING WALK”

WITH

DR ED YOUNG

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

When we were at our worst, God gave us His best. All forms of human love have some measure of self interest attached. The Greek New Testament language provides us understanding of the nuances of love. Eros-love brings the mutual satisfaction of physical love. Phileo-love enables people to share friendship affections. To describe God’s love, the Holy Spirit inspired the human Bible writers to use a term rarely employed by the Greeks—Agape, unconditional love. Nothing displays this word like Jesus dying for us on the cross while we were still in rebellion.

devoton - sunday, may 13, 2012

DEVOTION – SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012

“Don’t Trust Your Heart”

BY

GREG LAURIE

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” - (Jeremiah 17:9)

Awhile back I was talking to someone who was having an affair with a married man. That, by the way, is a sin, which I pointed out to her. She wasn’t very happy with me for saying that, so I asked her if she considered herself a Christian.

“Of course I do,” she said.

“Well, do you believe the Bible is true?”

Much to my surprise she said, “Absolutely.”

So then I quoted some verses that identified what she was doing as a sin. And she told me, “That is your opinion. That is your interpretation. You just don’t understand.”

Do what your heart tells youis a creed believed by millions today. It is one of the great cultural myths of the Western world, a gospel proclaimed in many movies and songs and television programs and stories.

But the Bible says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

We need a higher standard of authority than our heart, a higher standard of authority than mere opinion, and that is the Word of God.

The problem we have today is a watered-down gospel. And because of that, many have a watered-down Christian life. We have Christians who have become so much like the world that the world doesn’t want to become like them. And what is considered normal Christian living in the first century would be considered radical by today’s standards. But that is what we need: radical Christianity. To put it another way, we need biblical Christianity.

Instead of trying to accommodate the Word of God to our changing culture, we need to accommodate our culture to the unchanging Word of God.

Summary sentence: Believers should be accommodating their life to the unchanging Word of God!

Tags: heart, watered-down Christianity

Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

DEVOTION – SATURIDAY, MAY 12, 2012

“I1Spiritual Metamorphosis “

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Romans 12:1-2 says this,

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

First, notice that it is your responsibility to present your body to God. God will not do it for you.  You have to do it.  But Scripture doesn't leave us there.  We are shown how we are to do that in verse 2 above.

First, when it says, Do not be conformed, that word conform means to be pressed into a mold by outward pressures.  Instead of being conformed we are told to be transformed. That is actually the Greek word from which we get our English word metamorphosis. It means to let what is on the inside come to the outside.

One day many years ago, my kids came home from school with some silk worms. We were supposed to put them in a box and feed them mulberry leaves. I couldn't believe how many leaves these worms ate! They ate leaves until they turned a translucent green!

Then they wove cocoons and went through a metamorphosis. They went from being these ugly ol' fat green transparent worms, to the most beautiful fuzzy huge white moths. It was amazing to see!

My friend, you renew your mind by feeding on God's Word, the same way that those silk worms fed on the mulberry leaves.  As you are filled with His truth, it causes a metamorphosis to take place. It brings what is on the inside—God's nature—to the outside.

So feed on God's Word and watch your life be transformed.