DEVOTIONAL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 2012

DEVOTION, SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 2012

“In purpose and practice”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NKJV)

Few words can capture the character of Christ as completely as the word “servant.” It really does define Him, both in purpose and in practice.

In purpose, the Lord Himself tells us the very reason He came to earth in the first place was not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. Quite literally, He was born to die on the cross for our sins. And in so doing, He was serving us in the most profound way possible. Christ was born in Bethlehem and dwelled among mankind for over thirty years for the sole purpose of serving us.

In practice, we see a steady stream of servanthood flowing from Jesus’ life. Consider this: Jesus never used His miraculous powers to help or advance Himself. When did He use them? In every instance, He used them to serve the needs of others. The sick, the possessed, the poor, and the unwanted…Jesus served them instead of Himself.

If we’re ever going to imitate Christ, being a servant is absolutely essential. No life can come close to reflecting Him apart from being others-oriented both in purpose and in practice. When we wake up each day, we ought to know our purpose is to serve the people God places around us. And as we walk through our day, we ought to seize every opportunity to put this purpose into practice.

So take stock of yourself. Is your purpose in life to serve others or yourself? And when it comes to what you actually practice, are your efforts and energies benefiting you or other people?

“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you…a servant is not greater than his master...” John 13:15-16 (NKJV)

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012

DEVOTION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2012

“A Hospital for Sinners”

BY

GREG LAURIE

“Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” - (Isaiah 56:7)

When I was in high school, I remember a day in our PE class when a guy was using unbelievable profanity. As a non-Christian, I had cussed with the best of them, but even I was shocked at the profanity coming from this guy.

So I said to one of my friends, “What’s his trip?” (That is 1960s vernacular for “What’s his problem?”)

“Oh,” my friend told me, “he’s a preacher’s kid.”

As an unbeliever, even I couldn’t understand why a person would cuss so much. That guy was the worst witness, and his father was a preacher. It is a sad thing, because someone like that can keep people away from God.

Jesus doesn’t like it when we keep people away from God. That is why He drove the moneychangers out of the temple, telling them, “It is written, ‘My house isa house of prayer,’but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’ ” (Luke 19:46). Jesus was effectively saying, “You are taking My house, a house of prayer, a house for everyone, a place for people to know God, and you are driving them away. I don’t want that, so I will drive you away so there is room for these people. Everyone should be able to come to God.”

Even in the Old Testament, we see God extending His love to non-Jews. Speaking about the Gentiles, He said, “Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7).

God has extended His love to everyone. Therefore, a church should be a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

Summary sentence: Everyone should be welcomed in church!

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012

DEVOTION, FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012

“A DEVOTIONAL”

FROM

DR ED YOUNG

But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; - Romans 10:8-9

The God-embedded catalytic Word is that of faith. The world is full of law religions, from Judaism and Islam, to secular systems of political correctness. Rituals, feasts, attendance at synagogue, mosque, temple or cathedral, following the eight steps of Buddhism or the five prayers of the Muslim, or washing in the Ganges, all are characteristics of law religion. But a Hebrew scholar named Paul declares it’s all wrong. Salvation is resting one’s eternal destiny in the One to whom all the Jewish rituals pointed—Jesus Christ. That confession of faith isn’t found at the feet of a mountain-perched guru, but it’s as close as your heart and mouth.

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

DEVOTION, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

“Search the Scriptures”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

After Paul preached the gospel to the Bereans, they did something that others had not done—they searched the Scriptures.

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:11).

According to the next verse, the result of their search was that many of them believed.

Jesus said in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."

I once heard a Jewish believer share his testimony.  His daughter, who had become a Christian, challenged him to read through the New Testament.

He began in Matthew and was astonished to find so many Old Testament references to the Messiah being fulfilled by Jesus.

His initial reason for searching the Scriptures was to prove that his daughter was wrong, but instead, he ended up giving his heart to Christ.  The Scriptures testified of Jesus!

Look for Him as you read the Holy Scriptures, and encourage others to do the same.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012

DEVOTION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2012

“Trade In: Your Weakness for His Strength”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” - Isaiah 40:31

What does it mean to “renew” your strength? It literally means “changed,” as if you changed clothes. You remove your rags of weakness and put on God’s royal robes of strength. God promises to exchange our strength with His strength.

You see, the Christian life is not just simply a changed life, it is an exchanged life.

God doesn’t just change us from what we were to something better. He exchanges His life with us. He takes our sin. We take His holiness. He takes our weakness. We take His strength. He takes our anxiety. We take His peace.

Sounds great. But, what’s the problem? We get tired of waiting for the change.

Friend, don’t give up. The wait is never too long when God is in charge.

DEVOTION MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2012

DEVOTION, MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2012

“A led Lord”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness… Matthew 4:1 (NKJV)

One of the first things Jesus did during His three-year ministry is recorded for us here. Following His baptism by John, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and He was immediately led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. Don’t miss the significance of this. Although He was the Son of God and was no less divine in nature than His Father in Heaven, Jesus submitted to the direction and leading of the Spirit. That’s instructive for us and sets an example that we’re admonished to follow throughout the New Testament.

In fact, the primary command for Christians once they’ve believed in Jesus as their Savior is to be filled and led by the Spirit just as Jesus was. Here are a few examples of that command:

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on Hisown authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13 (NKJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1 (NKJV)

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

These and many more passages in the New Testament point to our absolute need to be led by the Holy Spirit in what we know and what we do. Our best simply isn’t good enough. In order to arrive at spiritual truth, we need the Spirit’s leading. In order to walk where God wants us to walk, we need the Spirit’s leading. And in order to live the way we’re supposed to live, we need the Spirit’s leading.

Every Christian needs to be led…Spirit-led, and our Lord set the perfect example for us by allowing the Spirit to lead Him. Are we?

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

DEVOTION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

“Transformed by Grace”

BY

ALISTAIR BEGG

Mark 16:9

Mary of Magdala was the victim of a fearful evil. She was possessed not just by one demon, but by seven. These dreadful inmates caused much pain and pollution to the poor frame in which they had found a lodging. Hers was a hopeless, horrible case. She could not help herself, and no human power could set her free. But Jesus passed that way, and without being asked and probably while being resisted by the poor demoniac, He uttered the word of power, and Mary of Magdala became a trophy of the healing power of Jesus. All seven demons left her, left her never to return, forcibly ejected by the Lord of all.

What a blessed deliverance! What a happy change! From delirium to delight, from despair to peace, from hell to heaven! Immediately she became a constant follower of Jesus, listening to His every word, following His winding steps, sharing His busy life; and in all this she became His generous helper, first among that band of healed and grateful women who ministered to Him out of their means. When Jesus was lifted up in crucifixion, Mary remained the sharer of His shame: We find her first watching from a distance and then drawing near to the foot of the cross. She could not die on the cross with Jesus, but she stood as near to it as she could, and when His blessed body was taken down, she watched to see how and where it was laid.

She was the faithful and watchful believer, last at the sepulcher where Jesus slept, first at the grave where He arose. Her loyalty and love made her a favored beholder of her beloved Master, who deigned to call her by her name and to make her His messenger of good news to the trembling disciples and Peter. Grace found her useless and made her useful, cast out her demons and gave her to behold angels, delivered her from Satan and united her forever to the Lord Jesus. May we also be such miracles of grace!