Video Bible Lesson - Jesus Our Intimate Friend by Dr. Charles Stanley

Jesus Our Intimate Friend 

by Dr. Charles Stanley

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

1/19/2020

Positive Note/Lesson for Today;

01/19/2020

Jesus Our Intimate Friend
Dr. Charles Stanley
Matthew 26:47-50
I’ve counseled plenty of folks who argue that they are not worthy of God’s love. Of all the passages I could point to that describe the Lord’s devotion, today’s is the one I think best showcases the unqualified friendship He offers His followers.
As Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion, Judas Iscariot approached him with a band of men. The betrayer stepped forward and kissed the Lord’s cheek. And what was Jesus’ response? According to another disciple, Matthew, He called the man “Friend” (Matt. 26:50).
Judas expected Jesus to establish His kingdom on earth and drive the Romans out of Israel—anyone who could calm a storm at sea could easily remove an oppressive government! But Judas’s interest in Jesus was more personal and political than spiritual. In fact, John reported that his fellow disciple stole from the money box (12:6). Today the man’s name is synonymous with those who betray others for personal gain.
In spite of Judas’ greed, blind ambition, and betrayal, Jesus never stopped loving him; He still used the word “friend” to address the one-time disciple. The Lord does not place conditions on His love or reject people who fail to meet certain standards. He simply cares for us as we are.
People cannot earn Jesus Christ’s love and friendship. He takes the initiative, reaches out, and draws into fellowship those who are willing. We are not worthy, but we are privileged to live in His love anyway. In the Lord, we find a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24).

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Persistence, Persistence, Persistence

Persistence, Persistence, Persistence
Streams in the Desert

Men ought always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1).

"Go to the ant." Tammerlane used to relate to his friends an anecdote of his early life. "I once," he said, "was forced to take shelter from my enemies in a ruined building, where I sat alone many hours. Desiring to divert my mind from my hopeless condition, I fixed my eyes on an ant that was carrying a grain of corn larger than itself up a high wall. I numbered the efforts it made to accomplish this object. The grain fell sixty-nine times to the ground; but the insect persevered, and the seventieth time it reached the top. This sight gave me courage at the moment, and I never forgot the lesson.
--The King's Business

Prayer which takes the fact that past prayers have not been answered as a reason for languor, has already ceased to be the prayer of faith. To the prayer of faith the fact that prayers remain unanswered is only evidence that the moment of the answer is so much nearer. From first to last, the lessons and examples of our Lord all tell us that prayer which cannot persevere and urge its plea importunately, and renew, and renew itself again, and gather strength from every past petition, is not the prayer that will prevail.
--William Arthur

Rubenstein, the great musician, once said, "If I omit practice one day, I notice it; if two days, my friends notice it; if three days, the public notice it." It is the old doctrine, "Practice makes perfect." We must continue believing, continue praying, continue doing His will. Suppose along any line of art, one should cease practicing, we know what the result would be. If we would only use the same quality of common sense in our religion that we use in our everyday life, we should go on to perfection.

The motto of David Livingstone was in these words, "I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose." By unfaltering persistence and faith in God he conquered.

New Creations

New Creations
by Ryan Duncan

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” – 1 Peter 1:23

Have you ever done something embarrassing? I know I have. In fact you could say my entire childhood (and a good portion of my adult life) has been one long string of embarrassing moments. I am still haunted by the memory of when I threw up during my English final, or the time I tripped while skiing and caused a massive, ten-man pile-up in front of the ski lift. The worst part is you’re brain never lets you forget it.

The difficult news is it’s not just embarrassing moments we seem unable to forget, it’s our mistakes. Many of us have done things in our lives that we regret. We’ve acted selfishly, or violently, and other people have been hurt because of it. The Devil loves to use our past mistakes against us; they are by far his favorite weapons. He will always wait until we’re vulnerable, then take our dirty laundry and rub it in our face.       

It’s at moments like these that I always turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 and reminded myself about the truth behind Christ’s ministry.      

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” – 2 Corinthians 5: 17-19

When we choose to follow Christ, our slates are instantly wiped clean. All the mistakes we’ve made all the stupid things we’ve done, embarrassing or otherwise, no longer matter to God. We may still have to accept the consequences of our actions, but we can take comfort in knowing that it God’s sight we are new creations. So do not allow Satan to guilt you with past mistakes, you are a child of God and he will never see you as anything less.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Take a moment to read your Bible and reflect on God’s words.

3 Lessons We Learn Following God

3 Lessons We Learn Following God
By: Jennifer Heeren

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

God didn’t give Abram (later to be called Abraham) a detailed map or even show him the exact final destination. He basically said, “Abram, leave your comfort zone and go where I will show you.” However, God also added that he would bless Abram and his descendants if Abram obeyed him. Abram didn’t know where he would end up, but he knew and trusted God’s character, so he obeyed anyway. Abram’s obedience happened one step at a time. With each step, Abram heard a little more from God.

I feel that this is what God requires of me as well. In November, I lost my job. I don’t know exactly where God is taking me next but I am trusting that it will be a good place—a place of blessing. Each day since, I have been doing what I know to do within each day. I’ve been looking, applying, and networking. I’ve also been taking advantage of the time and learning some new skills. All the while remembering that God is a good God who loves to give good gifts to his children. Each day I feel like I’m a little closer to knowing where he is taking me next and this brings me peace even in the not knowing.

Like Abram, I am learning lessons as I walk through my journey. Three lessons that God is teaching me are:

1. Step Out of My Comfort Zone

God wants me to continually step out of my comfort zone and trust him with the unknowns. I have to leave room for God to guide me. If God were to come show me step-by-step his exact will for my life, it wouldn’t require faith for me to follow him. Moreover, if I know exactly where I’m going beforehand, the idea probably isn’t from God. It probably came out of my own head and ideals. God likes me to follow him in faith and trust—not in knowing. This frees me from getting stuck in my own ideas, which often can take me away from God’s will, because let’s face it, my own ideas can be very flawed as well as limited. God sees everything—past, present and future. He is not limited.

2. Take One Step at a Time

There’s also another reason God doesn’t want me to know too much too soon. If I know too quickly, I might get overwhelmed and give up because it seems too hard. I might know where I’ll end up but I won’t necessarily know how. And, this not knowing how would cause me to have all kinds of anxious and worried thoughts. Nobody can do their best work under stress. God doesn’t ask me to take a step that is five miles up the road. Each step of this step-by-step approach is made under the daylight of the present moment. Everyone can take one step at a time.

3. Action Lessens Worry

I tend to overanalyze everything and overanalyzing causes me to worry and even become paralyzed. Taking action erases a lot of these worries because the act of doing something takes on a life of its own. I concentrate on the task at hand, not the results that will come later. Worry about future results usually happens before I ever take an action to complete something. Taking actions regularly is a way of living in the moment and often deletes some of the fears of the future and regrets of the past.

God is with You as You Go

Abram was able to trust God in the not knowing because he believed that God was with him. I also have this assurance because Jesus said, “…be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

A Prayer for Reassurance

A Prayer for ReassuranceBy Mary Southerland

“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” - Isaiah 43:2, NLT

In a bookstore, I spotted one of my friends, Carol, who was asking an employee where she could find a new suspense novel that had just been released. The young man quickly handed Carol the book from his personal stash behind the counter and went back to work. I watched a smile spread across Carol’s face as she examined her new treasure while gently turning the book over in her hands and flipping through pages. Carol then did something I absolutely could not believe. She turned to the last several pages of the book and began reading. I could not help myself.

“Okay. I have to confess that I saw you reading the last few pages of the book. Why in the world did you read the ending? Won’t that spoil the story for you?” I asked.

“Not at all,” Carol quickly responded. “Before I buy a book, I always read the ending to make sure I really want that particular book,” she explained.

It was worse than I thought.

Seeing the look of disbelief on my face, she laughed and admitted, “I know. It sounds crazy, but I have to know that everything turns out okay before I commit to reading the book.”

The more I thought about Carol’s words, the more I realize that, as followers of God, we need to do the same. We need to live every minute of every day knowing that no matter what we face, we can truly say, “God’s got it!”

When we focus only on what we can see and understand or explain, we will worry.

Fear and doubt will become familiar companions if we live each day against the backdrop of this broken world and our desperate circumstances. Our only hope is God.

Father, I am tempted to worry about so many things. Our world is a mess! Forgive me for focusing on anything or anyone but You. Thank You for the Bible that equips and empowers me to live each day. Right now, I declare that You are my only Hope. Please help me remember that You really are in control.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Courage for the Days Ahead

Courage for the Days Ahead

Senior Living Ministries

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. --Joshua 1:9

Each year, at the first of the year, thousands of them stand in the cold in Times Square, New York. No big event beckons them. No ballgame is being played. No rock concert is getting underway. It's simply a huge, lighted ball that drops from a tall building. And within a few seconds, hardly worth fighting traffic and crowd pushing for, it descends marking a new year.

Why has this nonevent turned into a huge, money-making holiday? Most other holidays celebrate a reputable person, famous birthdays, document signings, or a noted event. But New Year's Eve only celebrates the passage of time—something that most of us would rather not recognize. We make a huge deal out of it because it signals the end of an old era and the start of a new one.

The old year's problems, heartaches, and struggles seem to vanish and become a faded memory when we think of getting the chance of a new year and a new start. It must have been the same way for the Israelites when they stood with Joshua looking forward to a new era ahead of them. They had wandered for 40 years in the desert, and finally they could see land flowing with milk and honey ahead. Better yet, they had God's promise that He would never leave or forsake them.

As you stand with your back to the old year and look forward to the new one, you can have hope in the promises of God. You will certainly face both trying and joyful times ahead, but you can rest assure that He "will never leave you nor forsake you" (Joshua 1:5). That promise is enough to celebrate the new year ahead!

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to give you courage, strength, and faith in Him to face the days ahead. Thank Him for being faithful and for never leaving your side.