DEVOTION - FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011

“The Consequences of Sin"

BY

DR CHARLES STANLEY

Genesis 3:14-19

Christians tend to categorize sins, rating some as small and inconsequential, but others as huge and far-reaching in the damage they cause. In reality, no one sins in isolation. Each disobedience to God affects not only the sinner but also countless others in both the present and the future.

If we were to separate Adam and Eve's sin from its context, few of us would convict them of great transgression. All they did was swallow some fruit from a tree with a "do not eat" sign. Today people think nothing of ignoring commands—even biblical ones.

But God has a totally different view of our sins. Each one is followed by negative consequences. Adam and Eve's disobedience led to pain and frustration in two basic areas of fulfillment—relationships and meaningful work. The whole earth fell under sin's curse, and every person born since then has entered the world with a sin nature that alienates each one from the Lord.

That first rebellion plunged humanity into a terrible condition. Civilization is now plagued by countless ramifications of the innumerable sins committed by human beings throughout the ages. Is it any wonder the world is in such sad shape? Sin not only causes suffering; it robs us of God's best. The Garden of Eden is closed and locked to sinful mankind.

The good news of Christ's grace and forgiveness is our only real hope in this fallen world. Though unpleasant, focusing on sin's consequences is necessary at times to remind us of the greatness of our salvation and to move us to obey God, even in the small things. Each obedience is huge to Him.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011

“TAKING THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD”

BY

GREG LAURIE

But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” —Mark 1:38

Jesus went and met the woman at the well in Samaria because she had an appointment with God. In Jesus’ detour into enemy territory, we see two important concerns as we bring the message of the gospel today.

First, we have to go to where people are. Jesus did not say that the whole world should go to church; He said the church should go into the whole world. As Mark’s Gospel tells us, “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’ ” (Mark 16:15).

When Harvest Ministries was doing an outreach in Disneyland a number of years ago, I was asked, “Why are you doing this in a place like Disneyland? Why would you come and hold an event in a place like this?”

I said, “Because Jesus said, ‘Go into all the world,’ and He did not exempt Disneyland. There are people there. And we want to reach people.” The glorious thing is that many people came into the kingdom through that outreach. We need to go to where people are.

Second, we need to care about the people we speak to. Jesus needed to go to Samaria because He cared about this woman (see John 4:4). When the apostle Paul was in Athens, he saw the city that was given over to idolatry, and his spirit was stirred within him (see Acts 17:16–17). He felt righteous indignation as he saw so many turning to false gods.

In the same way, any effective sharing of the gospel must always begin with a God-given burden. We have to care. Jesus cared. Do you? Do you want to reach out to perishing people?

Summary sentence: We should go to where people are. We should care about them and reach out to them.

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

“EXPERIENCING LIFE”

BY

PETE BRISCOE

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts. —Author Unknown

“If you don't believe in ghosts, you've never been to a family reunion.” —Ashleigh Brilliant

Leave it to brothers and sisters to bring on plenty of embarrassment. When our daughter Annika was in middle school, her older brother would yell out of the van, shortly after she was dropped off at school, “I love you Annika, and Jesus does too!” He was trying to embarrass her, and, each morning, it worked.

God’s family is no different—partly because we are all so different, partly because we really pull some swift ones sometimes… legit mess-ups that give plenty of reason to hang our heads and walk away in shame. Yeah, families can be embarrassing, but only if we look at each other from an earthly perspective. When we see ourselves and each other from God’s perspective, it’s totally different.

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.—Hebrews 2:10-11

Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and never for an instant is He embarrassed by us.

Is that an act of God’s grace or what? No doubt about it: Every family has its share of nuts and its share of ghosts. God’s family is no different—and God never hid that fact throughout Scripture. The requirement for belonging has never been our performance. We have been perfected through His suffering; we are holy because of who we are in Him.

Oh God, check my heart on this one. Am I embarrassed by my brothers and sisters? Have I done things to embarrass them? Lord, by Your grace and the power of Your Spirit in my spirit, give me the willingness and ability to boldly embrace my siblings in Christ, calling them “brothers and sisters” (no matter how many ghosts they have). And thanks for forgiving me of those times when I’m the “nut” who does the embarrassing stuff around my family. Amen.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2011

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2011

“Trust Me”
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Samuel 17:48–51

All David had was a sling and a stone as he took on a giant wearing two hundred pounds of armor. It may seem silly, but that's the way God operates. In the final analysis, there was a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—one stone flew through the air, and that's all there was to it. Goliath fell like a sack full of sand. Got any more giants?

I don't know what your intimidating giant is today. It may relate to your job, your roommate, or your school. Maybe it is a person, a lawsuit, unemployment, a disaster . . . maybe even your own partner in life. Perhaps it is some fear that is lurking around the corner, sucking your energy and draining your faith. God is saying to you right now, "All I ask of you is five smooth stones and a sling of faith. I'll take it from there. You don't have to wear somebody else's armor. You just trust Me. And I'll strip you down to nothing but faith, and then I'll accomplish a victory where I'll get the glory. But as for you . . . you trust Me."

Perhaps you don't know what lies across the valley. Maybe you can't get a handle on what that giant is; but it's there, haunting you. That uncertainty alone is a giant. But look at that worry in comparison to the Lord God Himself, and say, by faith, "The battle is Yours, Lord. It is Your battle. I lean on You. I give You all my weapons, all my skills, and I stand before You, trusting You."

It is God's love for us that causes Him to bring us to an end of our own strength. He sees our need to trust Him, and His love is so great that He will not let us live another day without surrendering our arms to Him, giving Him our fears, our worries, even our confusion, so that nothing becomes more significant to us than our Father.

Never, ever forget it: the battle is the Lord's!

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011

“FORGETTING THE PAST”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Philippians 3:13.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

The key word I want to have you focus on today is forgetting. I want you to understand the importance of forgetting the past so you can move forward.

Some people—perhaps you—cannot reach forward because they are continually looking backwards. Their focus is on their past sins, their past mistakes, their past failures, their past hurts.

God does not want you to live in the past, but rather focus on the future.

A while back I was visiting a friend who had a great impact on my life as a young believer. As I was sitting at a meal with him and his wife, he began to share with me a great personal failure.

About ten years earlier, when he was pioneering a church, he fell into an adulterous relationship. It rocked the foundation of his marriage; but he repented, got out of the relationship, and over time, God healed his marriage. But he has not been in ministry since.

As he told me, tears began to stream down his face. He got up from the table, went to the bathroom, and his wife looked at me and said, "Bayless, if you can help him, please do. My husband has lived a holy life for the last ten years. God has forgiven him, I have forgiven him, but he hasn't forgiven himself."

This man chained himself to this one past failure, and he can't get on with what God had called him to do.

Bury your past so you can uncover your future.

DEVOTION - SATURIDAY, JULY 30, 2011

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

“Carnality by Choice”

BY

TONY EVANS

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”(Hebrews 3:12-13).

When God saved us, He saved us to serve Christ. Occasional lapses into sin do not imply carnality. Everyone sins. Carnality is the state where the person has the mindset of seeking to gratify themselves rather than please Christ.

No Christian has to be carnal. Being carnal is a decision of the will. Carnal Christians have grown up physically and should be able to feed themselves. But they can’t. That is because a carnal Christian is a person who has developed a mindset of disobedience. They willfully live in sin, controlled by the old person they used to be. They are saved and the Holy Spirit is in them, but they are not allowing the Holy Spirit to grow them.

There is a difference between a baby Christian and a carnal Christian. Baby Christians are young in the Lord and do not yet have the capacity to eat on their own. Someone else has to feed them—to give them the Word. A young Christian desires the milk of the Word of God. “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

One Minute Please

Have you become hardened to sin in your life? Are you a carnal Christian?

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

“ONE Burning Focus”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

Do you know what the problem with many of us is? Our faith is something tacked onto our lives. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters…” (Matthew 6:24). Do you believe that? You are to have but one goal in your life, and that is to know Jesus Christ personally, powerfully, passionately, and preeminently. Everything else will flow out of that.

You say, “But wait a minute. I’ve got other things to do! I’ve got a job. I’ve got to rest. I’ve got to have recreation. I’ve got to have friends. I can’t just narrow my interests to one.” When you bring your life into a burning focus, all of these other things will contribute to the main thing.

What is the burning focus of your life? Make it Jesus, and you’ve made it!