DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

DEVOTION,   WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

“Pointing Beyond”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matthew 10:28 (NKJV)

Throughout His ministry, Jesus made it a point to point people beyond this world. He was constantly sounding an alarm about the eternal realities they needed to be ready for: that earth wasn’t “it,” that there was a Heaven and a Hell, and that their current life was best spent preparing for the next one.

For example, on the point of fearing man, Jesus taught that we shouldn’t be afraid of those who can only punish in this life, but instead we should fear God, who can punish us in eternity.

What’s He saying here? He isn’t just telling His audience to be afraid of God. He’s telling them to recognize the fact that eternal reality should take priority over the earthly reality.

How foolish it would be to live your temporal life in a way that only sets you up to suffer eternal consequences. No one wants to sign up for that. But the reality is that the daily grind of life on earth can dull people’s sensitivity to eternity. So Jesus reminds them to look past man and to look to God. If you’re going to fear someone, fear Him!

His warning to them is His warning to us, as well. We’re also in danger of making the same mistake they made…the mistake of not having an eternal perspective on our existence. When that happens, our judgments, convictions, and actions become based on the short-term.

Wisdom dictates that we base these things in view of eternity. So, receive Christ’s warning, and recognize that this life is best spent preparing for the next one.

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14 (NKJV)

DEVOTIOIN - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

DEVOTION,   TUESDAY,   SEPTEMBER  25, 2012

“A Right to Lead”

BY

ALISTAIR BEGG

John 10:27

We should follow our Lord as unhesitatingly as sheep follow their shepherd, for He has a right to lead us wherever He pleases. We are not our own, we are bought with a price—let us recognize the rights of the redeeming blood. The soldier follows his captain, the servant obeys his master, and so we must follow our Redeemer, to whom we are a purchased possession. We are not true to our profession of being Christians if we question the summons of our Leader and Commander.

Submission is our duty; quibbling is our folly. Our Lord may say to us what he said to Peter, "What is that to you? You follow Me!"¹ Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us. If we do not know where we go, we know with whom we go. With such a companion, who will dread the dangers of the journey? The road may be long, but His everlasting arms will carry us to the end. The presence of Jesus is the assurance of eternal salvation; because He lives, we will live also. We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality. It is true that they may not be smooth paths—they may be covered with sharp, flinty trials; but they lead to "the city that has foundations, whose designer and maker is God."² All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant.

Let us put our complete trust in our Leader, since we know that in prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or contempt, His purpose will be worked out, and that purpose will be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy. We will find it sweet to go up the bleak side of the hill with Christ; and when rain and snow blow into our faces, His dear love will make us far more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world's fire. When Jesus draws us, we will run after Him. No matter where He leads us, we follow the Shepherd.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

DEVOTION,  MONDAY,  SEPTEMBER  24, 2012

“An ABC Culture”

BY

GREG LAURIE

“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.” (Acts 20:32)

I think our culture today could be described as an ABC culture: Anything But Christ. It is not unlike ancient Ephesus, which believed in pretty much anything and everything. People would come to Ephesus from around the world to follow a path of false worship that led to nowhere.

When Paul met with the elders in Ephesus for the final time, he reminded them they had to be vigilant. They were like watchmen on a wall. He told them, “Guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. . . . Watch out!” (Acts 20:28, 31).

Paul was saying, “We have to be vigilant. We have to be alert, because the only way to turn back darkness is to let the radiant light of the gospel shine.”

It is amazing to me how some 2,000 years have passed since Paul brought the gospel to Ephesus, yet things haven’t changed all that much. People still believe in false gods. People still put other things in the place of the true and living God. They want to find some worship system that will accommodate the lifestyle they have chosen.

But as believers, we can’t back off. We are the watchmen on the wall. We are the stewards of the message. We are the witnesses. And we need to bring the message of the gospel to our culture, because it is the only thing that can turn it around.

Because of Paul’s preaching, Ephesus was turned upside down. But because the people of Ephesus forgot his preaching, the city lies in ruins today.

It has been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. So let’s remember to bring the gospel to our culture.

Summary sentence: Do you consider yourself a vigilant watchman?

Tags: Ephesus, gospel, watchman

Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

DEVOTION,   SUNDAY,  SEPTEMBER  23, 2012

“A DEVOTIONAL”

WITH

DR ED YOUNG

My people will be satisfied with My goodness," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:14

A friend visited the home of the president of a Central American country. The political leader collected ancient Indian art. Six-foot stone spheres, carved by Aztecs, rested in his garden. My friend marveled at the perfect roundness. That was something satisfying to his soul about sublime roundedness. Humans have a passion for completeness ranging from a resolution of disagreements to the completion of a musical chord. This points to the deeper need for spiritual satisfaction. The human psyche cannot rest until that need is met. The human spirit yearns for God’s goodness, and He promises to satisfy us with it.

Devotion - Saturday, September 22, 2012

DEVOTION,   SATURDAY,  SEPTEMBER  22, 2012

“Prayer of Personal Edification”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Today's devotional brings us to the prayer of personal edification.  In 1 Corinthians 14:4, Paul writes,

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

In verse 14, Paul says, If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays.  Coupled together with his statement in verse 4, we can see that praying in tongues edifies our spirit.

Edifies is actually an old English word.  It means to build an edifice or building higher and higher.  The closest modern way to say that would be "charges himself with energy," just like you would recharge a battery.

When I pray in other tongues, I charge my spirit with energy.  I build myself up.  It is like my cell phone.  It needs to be recharged, or before long it will cease to work.

Sometimes I keep my phone on and talk on it while it is recharging, but when I do that it takes a whole lot longer to recharge.  If I turn it off and plug it in, the charging process happens much quicker.

Sometimes you just need to shut everything down, turn everything off, and go get away with God and pray.  Build yourself up in the Holy Spirit, especially praying in other tongues.

Sometimes after a long day I will come home just drained, tired inside and out.  Eating a good meal and getting some rest takes care of my physical tiredness, but in order to replenish my inner resources, I need to do something else.

For me, reading His Word is food for my spirit, and praying in tongues brings inward rest and rejuvenation.

Even as the Scripture declares in Isaiah 28:11-12, For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, "This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest," and, "This is the refreshing."

Take the time to get away and recharge your spiritual batteries.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

DEVOTION,   FRIDAY,  SEPTEMBER  21, 2012

“You were Custom Made”

BY

TONY EVANS

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:1-6

There's nothing quite like having a custom-made shirt.  On one shirt that I had custom made - cut especially for me - I even had my initials embroidered on the cuff.  When you get something custom-made, it is fitted to your uniqueness, crafted with you in mind, and you are proud of it.

Now think about this: YOU have been custom-made by Almighty God, and your days were ordained before time into being.  When you read Psalm 139:15-16, I want you to pay close attention to how God has placed all the parts of your life in order.  He's got your whole life in His hands.  This means you can stop trying to be somebody else and be satisfied with the unique person God made you to be.

You are custom-made!  When you live in that realization, you will shine brighter than ever.  Walking in God's purpose for you will turn out to be the greatest adventure you've ever jumped into!

Watch Online Videos of Dr. Tony Evans and The Urban Alternative at LightSource.com

EVOTION - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

DEVOTION,   THURSDAY,  SEPTEMBER  20, 2012

“Do You Have Only A “Prayer Life”?

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“Pray without ceasing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17

You are to pray when you are adding up prices in the grocery store line. You are to pray when you are changing a tire. You are to pray when you are singing a song. You are to pray when you are teaching a little one how to read.

We are commanded to pray all the time. But how do we do this? Think of a mother who has a child who is ill with a fever. Finally, the fever breaks and the mother and child settle down for some much-needed sleep. Not a noise from the television, from the street, or from the phone could awaken that mother. But one whimper from her child and she’s awake, right? That’s because even when she is asleep, she is in tune with that child—just as we are to be with God…constantly communing and attuned to His voice.

Prayer to us should be as natural and continual as breathing. Jennifer Kennedy Dean asks an important question: “Do you ‘have a prayer life’—or are you living a praying life?” Think about the difference.

For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.