DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

DEVOTION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER  11, 2012

“Is Courtesy a Way of Life for You?”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Psalm 18:35

Do you know what our churches could use a little bit more of? Courtesy among the brethren—love in the little things, love that says “please” and “thank you,” love that steps back and gives the other person first place. The gentleness of our Lord.

It never ceases to amaze me how people so quickly lose their religion when they leave church on Sunday morning. They go to their cars in the parking lot, then cut people off in traffic. And don’t ever take someone’s “regular” seat in church. You’re seen as stealing their “rightful” place in the worship service!

May God cleanse our churches of self-righteousness and pride. May He purify us from anything that seeks to elevate self over others.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2012

DEVOTION, MONDAY,  SEPTEMBER  10, 2012

“Salvation”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

The Lord is…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

What is God's will for our lives? Over the next few days, we'll be looking at some specific declarations about His will from His Word. These are what we might call "givens." They tell us pointblank what the Lord wants in and for our lives.

The first "given" centers on the subject of salvation. Notice what 2 Peter 3:9 says: "The Lord is…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

In the context of this particular passage, Peter is speaking about God's judgment towards man's sin. As it was in the days of Noah, the human race is infected with a sinful condition that actually demands punishment…punishment that will come as the Lord pronounces His just judgment.

Repentance, which literally means to turn in the other direction, is our only hope of escaping this judgment. We repent when we confess our sinfulness and look to Jesus,  who sacrificially died on the cross on our behalf, as our Savior. By doing so, we change course, we turn toward God, and receive His gift of forgiveness and salvation. Those who repent will be saved and experience eternal life and joy with God. Those who don't will perish, which means they'll be eternally destroyed.

Now, how does God's will factor into all of this? Look closely. It says He is "not willing that any should perish." In other words, it is God's will for everyone to escape judgment and to experience His salvation. He never looks at a person and says, "I just can't wait to judge them for their sin!" It's just the opposite. His heart actually breaks for the fact that people choose not to repent and receive His gift of eternal life.

Without question or exception, God's will is for every man and woman to be saved. But the question is whether or not we want His salvation for ourselves.

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2012

DEVOTION, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER  9, 2012

“HEARTLIGHT”

BY

PHIL WARE

Matthew 28:18-20
[Jesus said,] "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to very end of the age."

Thoughts on today's verse

Last words. The last words of a parent to a child leaving for college. The last words of a loved one at the bedside of someone dying. The last words of a friend before moving to a distant place. These last words are chosen with care because they leave a lasting impact. Jesus' last words are our marching orders. "Go make disciples of all peoples! To do this," he emphasized, "you must go where they are, baptize them, and then teach them to do what I taught you to do." Not hard to understand, so what are we doing about obeying those last commands?

Prayer:

Father from whom all peoples derive their hope, use yo! ur Spirit to rouse within me a passion to share your grace with all peoples. Nudge me out of my safety zone and call me into your empowering and sacrificial grace so that I help others come to know you. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.'

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

DEVOTION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

“Danger in the Home “

BY

SELWYN HUGHES
For reading & meditation - Matthew 11:25-30
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me ... and you will find rest ..." (v. 29)

Another area of life where many are broken is through troubles in the home. "Life " as Hemingway put it, "breaks us all " but perhaps nothing is quite as painful as being broken by difficulties in one's home. Have you been broken by problems within your family circle? Then take heart - out of the brokenness God can bring strength. What kind of troubles bring us to a breaking point in the home? These are just some of them: incompatibility, disagreements, separation, threats or the action of divorce, insensitivity, bickering, quarrels, misunderstandings and violence, not to mention such things as alcoholism, drug abuse, mental and emotional breakdowns, child and adolescent rebellion, or gross neglect of the aged members of the family. Even in some Christian homes, things can get pretty desperate. A study completed at the University of Rhode Island described the American home as the most dangerous place to be - apart from a war or a riot. It's also getting like this in Britain. All of us have experienced some hurt through broken relationships in the home. Many, out of loyalty to their families, face the world with a smile, but inwardly they are bleeding. I know a woman who was heartbroken by her husband?s adultery and the rebellion of her children, but today she has recovered and is busy staunching the bleeding wounds in other people's hearts. So it can be done. To those of you broken by troubles in the home, our Lord says, "Learn from Me: I will make you so strong at the broken places of your life that you shall minister to others out of that hidden strength."

Prayer: O God, You know how easy it is to blunder in this delicate and difficult business of relationships. I needsomeone to lead me in the right way. You lead me, Father - I will follow. Amen.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

DEVOTION, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

A DEVOTIONAL

WITH

NEIL ANDERSON

“GOD'S INDICATORS”

Proverbs 4:23 
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life

I played sports as a young man and I have the scars on my knees to prove it. The incision of my first knee surgery cut across a nerve and I had no feeling around that area of my leg for several months. Sometimes I would sit down to watch TV and, without thinking, rest a cup of hot coffee on my numb knee. I couldn't feel anything, but before long I could sure smell something: my skin burning! For awhile I had a neat little brown ring on the top of my knee.

Your emotions are to your soul what your physical feelings are to your body. Nobody in their right mind enjoys pain. But if you didn't feel pain, you would be in danger of serious injury and infection. And if you didn't feel anger, sorrow, joy, etc. your soul would be in trouble. Emotions are God's indicators to let you know what is going on inside. They are neither good nor bad; they're amoral, just part of your humanity. Just like you respond to the warnings of physical pain, so you need to learn to respond to your emotional indicators.

Someone has likened emotions to the red light on the dashboard of a car which indicates an engine problem. There are several ways you can respond to the red light's warning. You can cover it with a piece of duct tape, "I can't see the light now," you say, "so I don't have to think about the problem." You can smash out the light with a hammer. "That'll teach you for glaring in my face!" Or you can respond to the light as the manufacturers intended for you to respond by looking under the hood and fixing the problem.

You have the same three options in responding to your emotions. You can respond by covering over them, ignoring them, stifling them. That's called suppression . You can respond by thoughtlessly lashing out, giving someone a piece of your mind, flying off at the handle. I call that indiscriminate expression . Or you can peer inside to see what's going on. That's called acknowledgment.

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

DEVOTION, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

“DIVISION”

WITH

DAVID MCGEE

Romans 16:17-18

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple."
NKJV

David's son, Absalom used to sit at the city gate and pitch malcontent about his father's leadership. Under the guise of juicy news or the old Christian standby, "won't you join with me in prayer about...," Absalom cast division to the people. The accusations were twisted misrepresentations of truth meant to fuel anger and discontentment. In the harvest of his contempt, a lot of people were hurt and the perseverance of the state was tested.

Later, and only thirty years into the creation of the church, Paul would spend a lot of time battling those who sought to cause division and disruption in the church. Today, church leaders have to spend time preventing or fixing the damage of division. This is valuable time not spent reaching people with the Good News of Jesus Christ, and that is just what Satan wants. If the enemy of our souls can inspire division among the Body, he can distract servants of the Lord from what they should be doing.

People who cause division are never acting on behalf of God. Gossip and division only hurt the Work of God. Note the people you know who are divisive, and avoid them. It's not often we are told in the Bible to avoid specific individuals, but we are told to avoid those who cause division. Friend, in doing so, you will save a lot of heartache and a lot of pain.

Life Lesson: Stay away from divisive people.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

DEVOTION, WEDNESDAY,   SEPTEMBER  5, 2012

“Obedience or Knowledge?”

WITH

ALISTAIR BEGG

Some things in nature remain a mystery even to the most intelligent and enterprising investigators. Human knowledge has boundaries beyond which it cannot pass. Universal knowledge is for God alone. If this is true in the things that are seen and temporal, I can be certain that it is even more so in spiritual and eternal matters. Why, then, have I been torturing my brain with speculations about divine sovereignty and human responsibility? These deep and dark truths I am no more able to comprehend than to discover the source from which the ocean draws her watery supplies.

Why am I so curious to know the reason for my Lord's providences, the motive of His actions, the design of His visitations? Will I ever be able to clasp the sun in my fist or hold the universe in my palm? Yet these are as a drop in a bucket compared with the Lord my God. Do not let me strive to understand the infinite, but spend my strength in love. What I cannot gain by intellect I can possess by affection, and that should be enough for me. I cannot penetrate the heart of the sea, but I can enjoy the healthy breezes that sweep across it, and I can sail over its blue waves with propitious winds.

If I could enter the springs of the sea, the feat would serve no useful purpose either to myself or to others; it would not save the sinking ship or restore the drowned sailor to his weeping wife and children. Neither would my solving deep mysteries avail me a single whit. The simplest act of obedience to Him is better than the profoundest knowledge. My Lord, I leave the infinite to You and ask You to put far from me a love for the tree of knowledge that would keep me from the tree of life.