Video Bible Lesson - God's Grand Plan by Dr. Charles Stanley

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

3/31/2020

God's Grand Plan
Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
It's amazing but true that God's grand plan for your life is far greater than you can imagine. In fact, this earth-bound existence has us so preoccupied with the demands of life that most of us give little thought to what it will mean to be completely sanctified.
In the Christian life, sanctification is a three-stage process. At the moment of salvation, God sets us apart for Himself. Then throughout the rest of our earthly life, He works to transform us into the image of His Son. One day, however, there will be a glorious culmination to our sanctification. Presently, we all struggle with sin, but when we die, our spirits and souls will ascend to heaven and be completely sinless. Then we'll see our Savior face to face and experience unimaginable joy. No longer will we struggle with the pride of life or the lusts of the flesh and the eyes (1 John 2:16).
However, as great as this will be, it's not yet the final step. Some day in the future, Jesus will descend from heaven, bringing with Him the souls of those who have died in Christ. They will be united with their resurrected bodies, and believers who are still alive on the earth will be changed (1 Thess. 4:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-54). Then sanctification will be complete--spirit, soul, and body.
This is not a fairy tale, but the believer appointed destiny. God Himself promises to bring it to pass. We'll walk in His presence, spotless and without blame, for all eternity. Knowing this, how will you live today? The promise of salvation isn’t meant just to give hope, but to spur us on to holy living.

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

Acquiring Great Faith.....

Acquiring Great Faith

Dr. Charles Stanley

Hebrews 11:17-19

I’ve had people tell me, “I wish that I had great faith.” While most of us would like God to just drop that kind of confidence into our laps, it’s not the way He operates. Faith increases as a result of our obedience in little things. We all marvel at Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac at the Lord’s command. But have you ever stopped to consider all of his smaller steps of submission that prepared the way for this enormous test?

Throughout his lifetime, Abraham obeyed God. At the Lord’s command, he left his country (Gen 12:1-4), was circumcised (17:10, 26), conceived Isaac in his old age (21:1-3), and sent his son Ishmael away (21:9-14). By the time he was asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, he already knew that his God would always be faithful to His promises. His previous experiences had taught Him to trust the Lord.

In the same way, each small step of obedience solidifies our confidence in God. Then, when He challenges us with a more difficult assignment, a firm foundation of assurance enables us to trust and obey Him. Great acts of faith flow from our past interactions with the Lord. By neglecting His simple commands, we miss priceless opportunities to witness His faithfulness.

Having trouble trusting God for something big? Maybe it’s because you’ve ignored those “small” and “insignificant” promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Lord considers each of His commands important and promises to reward every act of obedience, regardless of size. Great faith begins with little steps.

Searching for God’s Most Intimate Blessings

Searching for God’s Most Intimate Blessings
CRAIG GROESCHEL

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” Luke 22:19 (NIV)

One cold night in January, Amy and I sat in a cozy room with several other couples talking about dangerous prayers. I was struck by the contrast of our discussion. Despite the miserably cold evening outside, we sat in a comfortable living room with a warm fire blazing in the corner. With stomachs full of chili and cornbread, we turned to what it would mean to pray one dangerous prayer in particular: “Lord, break me.”

By saying this, we were basically asking God to break us of our sin, help us die to self, and totally surrender to Him.

We agreed we all wanted to pray it, but we couldn’t deny being afraid of the consequences.

The first woman who spoke acknowledged her struggle. A loving wife and mother, she’d followed Jesus faithfully since high school. She served in the kids’ ministry at church, tithed faithfully, helped foster children and attended a weekly Bible study.

But when confronted with the option of asking God to break her, she refused.

“I’ve got to be honest,” she said. “I don’t want to ask God to break me. I’m afraid of what will happen. I have four kids. I love them too much. Asking God to break me is too scary for me to pray. What if I get sick or I’m pulled away from my family?” Other people in the group nodded in agreement. We all understood her struggle.

Looking back, I see why we reacted the way we did — the way most of us do when we consider praying something as bold as “break me.” But I also suspect most of us don’t realize that by playing it safe, we also risk missing something far more precious than our security and comfort. I know I’ve found this true in my life when I simply don’t realize what blessings might be on the other side of God’s breaking.

In the Gospels, Jesus Himself broke something.

At the Last Supper, Jesus offered His disciples bread, using the grain to foreshadow His imminent suffering and death, the breaking of His own body. He explained to His disciples that He must offer His life. He shared, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NLT).

When Luke described the same meal in his Gospel, he noted one phrase in his account the other three Gospels don’t mention. Luke said, “And [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19).

Many believe Jesus’ instruction to “do this” goes beyond taking communion. It also refers to how we are to live. Because Jesus’ body was broken, because His blood was poured out for us, we too should live daily for Him, broken and poured out.

Jesus isn’t inviting us to a life of comfort and ease but one of surrender and sacrifice. Our highest desire shouldn’t be for our will to be done, but for His will to be done. And Jesus is inviting us to die to our own lives so we can live moment by moment, day by day — for Him. To leave our cozy living rooms and safe prayers in order to know what it means to be broken for the sake of others.

It makes me wonder: What if when Jesus said, “do this,” He was inviting us to a life of humility, sacrifice, generosity and joy? What if, instead of praying, “God protect me and bless me,” we invite God to do something deeper? What if we embrace the truth that trials can strengthen our faith? That hurting can make us more compassionate? That suffering can draw us closer to Christ?

And what if I had the courage, the audacity, the faith to pray, Dear God, break me …? What if I, too, lived a broken and poured‐out life for Christ?

It takes faith. It’s not a safe prayer. There is no question it’s dangerous.

But God’s most intimate blessings await on the other side.

Dear Lord, give me courage. Help me trust You so much that I’m willing to pray the words, “God, break me,” because I know You will always work for my ultimate good. Make me more like Your Son each day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Jeremiah 17:7-8, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (NIV)

A Prayer for Rejection

A Prayer for RejectionBy Lysa Terkeurst

“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” Psalm 34:19 (NIV)

The enemy loves to take our rejection and twist it into a raw, irrational fear that God really doesn’t have a good plan for us.

This fear is a corrupting companion. It replaces the truths we’ve trusted with hopeless lies. Satan knows what consumes us controls us. Therefore the more consumed we are with rejection, the more he can control our emotions, our thinking and our actions.

So what’s a brokenhearted person to do? We must take back control from something or someone that was never meant to have it and declare God as Lord. To help us see how we can practice this when the worries of rejection try to control us, here are three things to remember and proclaim.

1. One Rejection is Not a Projection of Future Failures

It’s good to acknowledge the hurt, but don’t see it as a permanent hindrance. Move on from the source of the rejection, and don’t let it shut you down in that arena of life. It has already stolen enough from your present. Don’t let it reach into your future. Replace the negative talk that will hinder you. Replace it with praises for God, who will deliver you.

2. There is Usually Some Element of Protection Wrapped in Every Rejection

This is a hard one to process at the time of the rejection. But for many of my past rejections, I can look back and see how God was allowing things to unfold the way they did for my protection. In His mercy, He allowed this.

3. This is a Short-Term Setback, Not a Permanent Condition

The emotions that feel so intense today will ease up over time as long as we let them. We just have to watch how we think and talk about this rejection. If we give it the power to define us, it will haunt us long-term. But if we only allow it enough power to refine us, the hurt will give way to healing.

Father God, I don’t understand this situation. But I do understand Your goodness to me. Help me replace the fears threatening to consume me with truth. I know You love me, You are for me, and I absolutely can trust You with all of my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Is Satan Behind Your Facebook Page?

Is Satan Behind Your Facebook Page?
By Topher Haddox

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

I believe that social media can be an effective platform for the spread of the gospel. There are plenty of Christ-centered resources in the online community that I use on a daily basis to help me grow spiritually. But if we’re honest, we probably spend a small portion of our time advancing our spiritual growth, while the rest is spent on aimless scrolling. We spend hours a day consuming endless information, pictures, and videos without any safeguard for our minds. For Christians, I’ve found that this is dangerous territory. This potentially turns the mind into an open plain, with Satan prowling through the grass like a lion, waiting to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Here are four ways the enemy tries to devour you through social media:

Satan wants your marriage.

It starts with a like here, and a like there. She’s only a friend. You justify the innocent interaction of the like button because it doesn’t cross any solid lines. You gradually push the boundary line further and further back. Maybe the likes and comments lead to private conversations. Remember, sin is never satisfied with the amount of you it has.

Sooner or later you are hiding conversations from your spouse. Before you know it, you’re involved in a mental, perhaps even a physical affair.

Satan wants your pure thoughts.

We live in a pornographic culture and it is almost impossible to avoid while scrolling. Couple that with the ease of giving into lustful thoughts and it’s a disaster for holy living.

Satan will whisper that it’s okay to look because there’s no harm. Who’s going to know? It can be your little pet sin. But it won’t stop there.

Keep your heart pure and fixed on the Father. Get rid of anything that might hinder that. It’s absolutely worth it, and deadly if you don’t.

Satan wants your time.

Psalm 1 tells us the blessed man meditates day and night on the Word of God. How can we know what to pray unless we meditate on His Word? How can we read the Word, much less meditate on it day and night if we’re constantly scrolling through social media? We’re simply choosing the pleasures of this world rather than spending time with the God of the universe. It’s that simple.

Because we’re not pursuing God like we should, we get bored and are attempting to fill the void with constant entertainment.

Satan wants your worship.

Social media can train us to worship the idol of self. We essentially create mini shrines of ourselves, striving for praise via the almighty like.

You can’t be self-absorbed and have compassion for others. If the enemy can keep us distracted by keeping our faces buried in a screen, then we won’t be able to see the hurting world around us. We certainly won’t be missions-minded if we’re consumed with our own lives.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul tells us to glorify God in whatever we do. This includes social media. We can either wield Facebook for God’s glory, or Satan’s.

Good News

Good News

Jack Graham

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
--1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Doesn't it seem that bad news is all around us? It's always the top story on the news or the main headline in the paper.

But as believers, we know the best news we could ever hear… and we celebrate it this month.

Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the grave. This is the event that conquered sin… it conquered death… and it made it possible for you and me to have a personal relationship with God!

Perhaps, today, this is the first time you've ever heard or understood this Good News. 

If so, I want to tell you something: Jesus died on the cross for you. He wore a crown of thorns and was nailed to a tree because He loves you… and He wants to have a personal relationship with you today.