DEVOTION - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2011

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2011

“WINNING WALK”

BY DR ED YOUNG

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26

A house moving company was asked to transfer a three-story brick building from one location to another. The workers split the structure from its foundations, then inserted girders. But the steel beams couldn’t do the lifting without massive jacks that hoisted the building. Our physical structure wasn’t designed for “heavy lifting.” But God is the power supporting us, and through His strength we can bear heavy loads. Sometimes His people look back and say, “Only through God could I have made it through that!”

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011

“God, Our Refuge”

BY

ALISTAIR BEGG

Deuteronomy 33:27

Dwelling place" may be translated "refuge" or "abiding-place" and provides the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fullness and sweetness in the metaphor, for our home is dear to our hearts, although it may be the humblest cottage or the tiniest loft; and dearer still is our blessed God, in whom we live and move and have our being.

It is at home that we feel safe: We shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with our God we fear no evil.

He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge. At home we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God when, wearied with life's conflict, we turn to Him, and our soul dwells secure.

At home also we relax; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can commune freely with Him, laying open all our hidden desires; for if the Lord gives favor to the humble, then they may share their secrets with Him, confident in His love.

Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: And it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in Him that far outweighs all other joy.

It is also for home that we work and labor. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens the hands to perform the task; and in this sense we may also say that God is our home.

Love for Him strengthens us. We think of Him in the person of His dear Son, and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer constrains us to work in His cause. We feel that we must work, for there are many still to be saved, and we desire to gladden our Father's heart by bringing home His wandering sons; we would fill with holy laughter the sacred family among whom we dwell. Happy then are those who have the God of Jacob for their refuge!

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10. 2011

DEVOTION – THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2011

“Carefully and Prayerfully”

BY

GREG LAURIE

"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"—Matthew 6:27

Worry will not make your life longer; it will just make it more miserable. In fact, worry can shorten your life—or at least make it harder. In addition to being obsessed with the outward appearance, our culture is obsessed with trying to lengthen life. We exercise regularly. We eat the right foods. We supplement our diets with vitamins and minerals. We get our physical check-ups in the hope of extending our lives for a few more years.

I am not making light of this; I think it is really a good thing to take care of your body, because you want to live as long as you can, and be as healthy as you can. But Jesus said, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:27). The Greek word used here for "stature" means "length or duration of life." Effectively Jesus was saying, "How many of you, through worry and anxiety, can extend the length of your life?" The answer is no one.

There is a place for taking care of ourselves physically. We don't want to neglect that. But you can put too much emphasis on the physical, neglecting the spiritual. You can also put so much emphasis on the spiritual that you completely neglect the physical. God has put your soul in a human body. So take care of it.

Even so, understand that you will live as long as God wants you to live. Not less or more. You don't determine your date of birth, and you don't determine the date of your death. You do, however, have a lot to say about that time in the middle. That is why Psalm 90:12 says, "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Live your life carefully and prayerfully, and recognize that anxiety and worry will not lengthen your life.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2011

DEVOTION – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2011

“God Leads from Within”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

In our last devotional, we talked about the new covenant being better than the old covenant. One reason is found in Hebrews 8:8-11 which says,

…"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them."

In the Old Testament, God had to lead His people externally. When fleeing Egypt, God led them by night with a pillar of fire and by day with a pillar of cloud. They did not intuitively know where God wanted them to go or what God wanted them to do.

But under the new covenant, God leads His people from within because He has now taken up residence within. I believe that is why on the Day of Pentecost God chose to manifest the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire that sat upon each person individually.

God was saying that while under the old covenant, He led His people by a pillar of fire, and now He is coming to dwell and lead from the inside of each believer!

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

“Faithful in Your Words”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” James 5:12

In talking with teenagers, I’ve discovered many who harbor bitterness and resentment. And much of that resentment is directed toward their fathers over a serious matter of broken promises.

If you’re a dad who wants to restore your relationship with your teenager, one of the best things you can do is to remember those broken promises. Then go to him with a remorseful spirit and say, “I’ve asked God to forgive me and I want you to forgive me.” And then ask him this question, “Have I ever made a promise to you that I’ve failed to keep? If so, I want you to tell me, because I want to repent. I want you to believe that your dad is a faithful man.”

Are you a man of your word? A woman of her word? Turn over a new leaf today that you will stand behind your word.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4. 2011

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2011

“Don’t divide”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” Mark 9:38 (NKJV)

Over the course of their adventures, the disciples ran into a man using the Lord’s name to drive demons out of people. Jesus wasn’t with them at the time, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. Predictably, they did the wrong thing. In essence, they claimed the copyright on Christ’s name and told this man to stop using it to deliver people.

It’s obvious that the disciples felt they had done the right thing here, because John goes out of his way to bring it up. They were probably expecting a pat on the back. They thought Jesus would say, “Well done! Way to protect our brand!” So imagine the surprise of Christ’s response:

“Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me…he who is not against us is on our side.” Mark 9:39-40 (NKJV)

Jesus told His disciples this wasn’t something worth dividing over. This man was different to a certain degree in that he wasn’t physically following them. But this difference wasn’t worthy of division. Ultimately, he was working toward the same goal they had, and they should have encouraged instead of discouraged him in this work.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011

“WINNING WALK”

BY

DR ED YOUNG

… all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Numbers 14:21

God delights in filling things. He filled the void with His word, and created the universes. He breathed into a clay-lump, and it became a human being. God fills a fallen person with His Holy Spirit, and the man or woman becomes a new creation. The devil tries to fill things with his presence, believing he can block the habitation of God’s Spirit. But with the flick of a finger, Jesus banishes the demons. When God’s glory fills the earth, the devil and his demonic host will be displaced, and the whole world will reflect God’s pure character.