Video Bible Lesson - God Is at Work by Dr. Charles Stanley

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

4/15/2020

God Is at Work
by Dr. Charles Stanley

John 5:16-19
Throughout the Bible, we observe God at work in people's lives. Sometimes He acts in dramatic fashion, as in parting the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape the Egyptian army. At other times it may appear as if He's not taking any action. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother needed His help, but Christ delayed before traveling to their home (John 11:3-6).
Our Father has given us the Holy Spirit to help us recognize His presence and handiwork. The Spirit cultivates spiritual discernment in us so we can understand when and where He's at work.
In addition to spiritual discernment, we must develop patience because the Lord operates according to His timetable, not ours. After being promised numerous descendants, Abraham had to wait until he and Sarah were beyond childbearing years before she conceived. Impatience can cause us to take matters into our own hands and make mistakes.
The Lord's efforts can bring delight, as was the case when Hannah bore a child (1 Sam. 1:27-2:1). His plan can also lead through painful times, which was Joseph's experience. Before the Lord elevated him to a position of authority to help his family, Joseph was sold into slavery and unjustly imprisoned.
Jesus told the disciples that His Father was always at work and so was He. We will be encouraged and strengthened in our faith when we recognize the ways in which God is operating. These glimpses of His handiwork will motivate us to stay the course and help us maintain a godly perspective on life.

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

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

I trust in thy word" (Ps. 119:42).

Just in proportion in which we believe that God will do just what He has said, is our faith strong or weak. Faith has nothing to do with feelings, or with impressions, with improbabilities, or with outward appearances. If we desire to couple them with faith, then we are no longer resting on the Word of God because faith needs nothing of the kind. Faith rests on the naked Word of God. When we take Him at His Word, the heart is at peace.

 

God delights to exercise faith, first for blessing in our own souls, then for blessing in the Church at large, and also for those without. But this exercise we shrink from instead of welcoming. When trials come, we should say: "My Heavenly Father puts this cup of trial into my hands, that I may have something sweet afterwards."

 

Trials are the food of faith. Oh, let us leave ourselves in the hands of our Heavenly Father! It is the joy of His heart to do good to all His children.

 

But trials and difficulties are not the only means by which faith is exercised and thereby increased. There is the reading of the Scriptures, that we may by them acquaint ourselves with God as He has revealed Himself in His Word.

 

Are you able to say, from the acquaintance you have made with God, that He is a lovely Being? If not, let me affectionately entreat you to ask God to bring you to this, that you may admire His gentleness and kindness, that you may be able to say how good He is, and what a delight it is to the heart of God to do good to His children.

 

Now the nearer we come to this in our inmost souls, the more ready we are to leave ourselves in His hands, satisfied with all His dealings with us. And when trial comes, we shall say:

 

"I will wait and see what good God will do to me by it, assured He will do it." Thus we shall bear an honorable testimony before the world, and thus we shall strengthen the hands of others.
--George Mueller

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What Is Your True Purpose.....Dr. Charles Stanley

What Is Your True Purpose

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Samuel 16:6-13

What do you live for each day? A pay raise? Retirement? Then perhaps you've discovered the reality that basing aspirations on getting ahead in this world typically ends in disappointment. People with a misguided sense of direction often wonder why they feel unfulfilled.

Maybe you've already realized a goal of saving for the future or moving up the corporate ladder. You give to charity and volunteer at church, but somehow still feel a sense of insignificance or aimlessness. If so, there is a truth you need to hear: God gives each of us life for a very specific reason: to serve Him. Nobody finds inner peace without reconciling this fact. Our society teaches us that pleasure, prosperity, position, and popularity will make us happy--but living in the service of self always leaves an emptiness no earthly reward can fill.

Besides, worldly philosophy won't stand the test of time. Few of us are going to live even 100 years. So whatever we'll become in this life, we're in the process of becoming that right now. Consider David: he was anointed king long before actually assuming the role (1 Sam. 16:12). He spent many years serving the purpose of God in insignificant places while developing into a great man. As his story shows, discovering God's purpose for your life is the surest path to success.

Our heavenly Father's purpose for our lives comes from His heart of love--which is perfect. None of us can foretell the great things He has in store for us, but we can trust His plan completely. Surrender to Him today and say, "Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done."

A Thousand Small Steps

A Thousand Small Steps
AMY SEIFFERT

“In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, ‘Who touched me?’” Luke 8:43-45a (MSG) 

A small band of beautiful women had gathered for a retreat. After driving the two hours from my house early that morning, watching the sun rise as I came into town and praying for God to move in their hearts, I felt ready.

But what I wasn’t ready for was one woman’s humble introduction to me. She walked through the door, damp from the morning rain, and registered for the event. Suddenly, cool and casual was about to disappear. This woman came right over to me, held out her hand, and with a proud smile said, “Hi. I’m Sarah, and today I’m 16 weeks sober.”

Yes. You. Are. Girl.

I reached out and shook her hand with likely too much vigor, but I couldn’t help it. This was one of the best introductions I’d heard in years. Her story in a sentence. She was unashamed. She was clearly resilient. And she showed up.

She explained how her daughter was in the foster care system, the dad was nowhere to be found, and she hoped to be reunited with her daughter soon. She had been sober before, but this time she got it. It had been a long and dirty fight, and she was glad to be here — at this church and here in her story.

I told her I’d just step aside, and she could teach instead of me. She certainly had learned much and persevered beautifully. Not perfectly, of course, but resiliently. She laughed, declined and went to find her seat.

I couldn’t help but be reminded in this moment of the woman in the Bible who’d been hemorrhaging for 12 years.

Luke 8:43-45a tells us that “In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, ‘Who touched me?’”

This woman had suffered year after year with treatments that only made her condition worse. But she had heard of Jesus and how He’d brought hope and healing to many. She knew if she could just muster the courage to bravely reach out and touch His robe as He passed by in a crowd, she would find the healing, hope and help she longed for. And she did! The moment she grazed her fingers along the hem of His robe, her bleeding stopped. Her years of suffering were over. A new life had begun for her. Her trust in God had made her well.

Of course, it wasn’t just one amazing silver-bullet step for either my new friend Sarah or the woman in the story. It was a thousand daily steps — a million small choices — that added up to healing. That added up to Sarah’s 16th week sober.

Friend, grace looks like one step at a time. It looks like perseverance in the middle of pushback. Grace looks like 16 weeks sober.

Dear God, I thank You for the small steps that add up to coming to You. Thank You that even just one step, the pivotal step that turns me around, is the most precious. Thank You for being so very ready to have me come to You, touch You, be with You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (ESV)

A Prayer to Keep the Enemy from Stealing Your Joy

A Prayer to Keep the Enemy from Stealing Your JoyBy Debbie McDaniel

"The joy of the Lord is my strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

Don't let the enemy steal your joy today. He'll try you know. You may not even realize it until it's too late.

From the moment your feet hit the floor, he'll do all that he can to distract you, to overwhelm you, to frustrate you, and to stir up worry and strife. Often his ways are subtle, other times they're clearer. It’s what he does best. Stealing. Killing. Destroying.

Just say "no." Don't let him win.

We have a choice of who we listen to and what we believe. Recognize who is at the root of it all, and push past his lies; step over his traps.

God gives us the power through His Holy Spirit to live free from the entanglement of sin. He gives us the power to live strong. He gives wisdom and discernment to make the right choices. He gives joy deep inside. He offers the assurance, that no matter what we face, He is with us.

May His grace, peace, and joy cover your day. He is with you.

Prayer:

 Dear God, at the start of each day, help us to recognize you above all else. Enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see you, and notice how you're at work through our lives. Give us wisdom to make the best choices, fill us with a desire to seek after you more than anything else in this world. Let your Spirit and power breathe in us, through us, again, fresh and new. Thank you that you are greater than anything we may face in our day. Thank you that your presence goes with us, and that your joy is never dependent on our circumstances, but it is our true and lasting strength, no matter what we're up against. We ask that your peace lead us, that it would guard our hearts and minds in you. We ask for your grace to cover our lives this day. We love you Lord...we need you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Faith Needed in the Storm

Faith Needed in the Storm
By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. - Matthew 8:26-28 (ESV)

One thing I often forget when reading the Bible is that the chapter and sections breaks weren’t originally there. It’s common for people to consider those various breaks a “stopping point” when reading the Word and come back to it later as if the next section is a completely different story. But many treasures can be mined when we consider larger portions before and after these breaks and apply proper context.

One such example is found in Matthew 8. Verses 23-27 of this chapter are titled in many translations as “Jesus calms a storm”. Verse 28 picks up in a “new” story, with the title “Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons.” But when you read these verses as one continuous account, you might realize something crucial.

When Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, he was coming off interacting with a large crowd, where a lot of healings took place, along with the interaction with the scribe who hesitated in wanting to follow Christ.

Jesus was tired. It’d been a long day. So, when he got in the boat, he went to sleep.

Queue storm.

Now, Matthew uses a word for storm here that far surpasses a meek summer rain shower. Commentaries go so far as to say that even a “furious storm” isn’t a true depiction. The Greek translation comes to “megas seismos” which can be literally translated to “megas – exceedingly great, high, large, loud, mighty, strong” and “seismos – earthquake”.

That was not a good time to be in a boat. Understandably, the disciples were, shall we say, concerned. And yet, Jesus asked why they were afraid! He proceeded to rebuke the storm, calm the lake, and remind the disciples of their lack of faith.

This is where most people stop reading and call it a day. But read one verse further, and you realize that Jesus and the disciples were approaching the country of Gadarenes (vs 28) where two demon-possessed men met them as they docked the boat. Men so fierce, no one could walk past them. Men possessed by not just one or two demons, but an entire legion of them.

It’s not a reach to consider that this incredibly violent storm that “came out of nowhere” on this lake was connected to the spiritual conditions they were about to discover on Gadarenes.

Now, we see how these two stories and section breaks connect and provide additional application regarding spiritual warfare and spiritual fortitude. Jesus called the disciples “you of little faith”. He knew what they were coming up against. He knew why the storm had come. And He also knew there was nothing to worry about.

Just as he calmed the storm on the lake, He calmed the storm in these men. He didn’t even have to cast the demons out—His very presence stirred them up to where the demons requested permission to enter a nearby herd of pigs instead. They knew they had no rights in the presence of the Son of God. Jesus granted their request, and they left the men. They were free. Healed, finally in their right mind, and a breathing testimony to the glory of God.

Sometimes, like the disciples, we need what we learned during the violent storm for what’s coming on the other side. There are lessons to be learned, faith to be stretched, and miracles to witness. We need faith in the storm, but we also need it afterward. That’s where there is always the biggest potential for revival, victory and healing.

As frightening as they can be, the storms have purpose. So fear not. The One who controls the wind and waves and has the power to cast out entire legions of demons is the One who died for you, knows the hairs on your head, and considers you of far greater worth than sparrows. Have faith! This storm will pass—and there is much to take with you to the other side.

Human Logic vs. Spiritual Wisdom: How God Changes Our Hearts

Human Logic vs. Spiritual Wisdom: How God Changes Our Hearts
by Kelly-Jayne McGlynn

Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Ah, my own understanding… How I love thee. So limited, and yet seemingly so inviting to lean on as I attempt to take charge of my own repentance. 

When I was in college, I double-majored in English and Philosophy. Every paper I wrote--and there were a lot of them--would end in a clear conclusion neatly supported by every line of the rest of my argument. I could always back up my opinion in class. I even used to do Logic homework problems for fun. The truth is, I love my brain.

What God has been teaching me recently, though, is that when it comes to matters of my heart, I cannot rely on my own brain… even if my brain is telling me the truth.

Even when our ‘own understanding’ is based on Scripture, and the step-by-step process of repentance is clear in our minds—it is still the hand of God that we must rely on transform our hearts. In all our ways we must submit to him, because he will be the one to make our paths straight!

Last week, I was on the phone with one of my Moms-in-the-Faith. You know, the type of woman in your life who knows how to ask you just the right question. I was expressing frustration to her about a situation with my friend, who is a new follower of Christ. As her sister, I had been trying to get her to fully understand an aspect of her life in which in order to please God, she would have to give something up. I was frustrated because to me, it seemed so simple.

The scriptures about it were right there. As I would have done in Philosophy class, I had stated Premise 1, then Premise 2, which led to the Conclusion. Boom. Why wasn’t she getting it?

But my Spiritual Mom reminded me, “Kelly-Jayne…sometimes it isn’t that easy. If [last year] someone had tried to get you to fully believe in God’s love and protection for you that same way, would that have been helpful? Would that have really convinced you?” She, of course, was right.

You see, two years ago, my apartment was broken into in the middle of the night. It was very difficult for me to trust in God’s protection following that. Nearly impossible, really. At that time, when I would read scriptures about God’s protection, they just felt hollow and untrue. If anyone shared one with me, I typically just became angry instead of encouraged. It took months and months of prayer, experience, and God changing my heart for me to actually believe in that truth.

Even if someone had blatantly stated “Read Psalm 91:9-10. Premise 1: The Lord is your refuge. Premise 2: The Bible says that if the Lord is our refuge, no harm will overtake us. Conclusion: God protected you that night from harm--whether or not you think so,” that would not have been helpful to my heart. At all. Instead, what really changed my heart was sitting at God’s feet, hearing his voice through the scriptures.

Jesus reminds us of this in John 5:39: “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” (NLT). Jacob physically wrestled with God. David struggled in prayer. He begged God to create in him a pure heart, instead of trying to logically think his way there. These men submitted their ways to God—which was really an invitation to see him face-to-face. And God blessed them for it.

Sometimes we want a quick fix with Devotionals. We want to Google a scripture, write it on a post-it, and magically have our hearts renewed. We want a change of heart, and in our fast-paced society, we want it now.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe that there is power in the word of God. But if we rely on our own brains to make ourselves accept the truth found in Scriptures, we miss out on the chance to truly meet with God!

God invites us to rest on his power, not our own. Even when our understanding is based on truth, God calls us to lean on his understanding, to walk with him, to sit at his feet. Today, as you read his powerful word, seek God through his scriptures and not just solutions. Hear his voice speaking to your heart.