Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer for Peace During Hard Times by Lysa Terkeurst

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

6/25/2020

A Prayer for Peace During Hard Times
By Lysa Terkeurst

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)
Have you ever been there? Have you ever had a big situation in your life where you just couldn’t process why God would allow this to happen? Maybe it's one of your young children having behavioral issues that seems crazy complicated and daunting. Or one of your older children having issues with addictions and devastating life choices. Or your husband being distant or possibly even destructive in making choices that are harming your marriage. Or another year of singleness that brings you wave after wave of grief, while watching others celebrating the gift of true love.
It’s so tempting to wallow in the "why."
Asking why is perfectly normal. Asking why isn’t unspiritual. However, if asking this question pushes us further from God rather than drawing us closer to Him, it is the wrong question.
If asking the why question doesn’t offer hope, what will? The what question. In other words: "Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?"
Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
I like to call this verse, "Directions on Where to Park My Mind." Switching from the why to the what questions paves the road to parking our minds in a much better place. Is it always easy? No. But is it a way to find a perspective beyond situations where we feel God has allowed something in our lives we don’t understand and we absolutely don’t like? Yes, it is, and I pray this helps you today. Because even if our circumstances aren’t good, we can trust God’s purpose always is.
Dear Lord, I want to process everything I face in life through the filter of Your love. I know You love me. But sometimes it’s just hard to understand the circumstances that come my way. I find myself consumed with trying to figure things out rather than looking for Your perspective and trusting You. Thank You for this new way to look at things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exod. 14:15).

Imagine, O child of God, if you can, that triumphal march! The excited children restrained from ejaculations of wonder by the perpetual hush of their parents; the most uncontrollable excitement of the women as they found themselves suddenly saved from a fate worse than death; while the men followed or accompanied them ashamed or confounded that they had ever mistrusted God or murmured against Moses; and as you see those mighty walls of water piled by the outstretched hand of the Eternal, in response to the faith of a single man, learn what God will do for His own.

Dread not any result of implicit obedience to His command; fear not the angry waters which, in their proud insolence, forbid your progress. Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, "the Lord sitteth King for ever."

A storm is only as the outskirts of His robe, the symptom of His advent, the environment of His presence.

Dare to trust Him; dare to follow Him! And discover that the very forces which barred your progress and threatened your life, at His bidding become the materials of which an avenue is made to liberty. 
--F. B. Meyer

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where, in spite of all you can do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind,
He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul, "Go on."
And His hand will lead you through—clear through--
Ere the watery walls roll down,
No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can drown;
The tossing billows may rear their crests,
Their foam at your feet may break,
But over their bed you shall walk dry shod
In the path that your Lord will make.
In the morning watch, 'beneath the lifted cloud,
You shall see but the Lord alone,
When He leads you on from the place of the sea
To a land that you have not known;
And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed,
You shall be no more afraid;
You shall sing His praise in a better place,
A place that His hand has made.
--Annie Johnson Flint

The Reason We Serve.....Dr. Charles Stanley

The Reason We Serve

Dr. Charles Stanley

Colossians 3:23-24

In His Word, God commands us to serve one another. However, there will inevitably be difficult people in life who make this mandate challenging.

Thankfully, a biblical definition of service can help us obey the Lord's instruction, no matter who the recipient may be. And the reason is that God is actually the One whom we serve.

When we have this motivation underlying everything we do, it will impact the quality of our work and keep us from becoming discouraged. Then, whatever our task--whether we lead a country, teach children, or do something that seems unattractive--if our goal is to glorify God, we will do our best in His strength. And we trust Him to use us for His purposes, even if our labor should appear fruitless to us or to others.

When I was a child, I had to wake up before daylight to deliver newspapers. Even in rain or snow, I still had to complete the job. This was hard for me to do. Then the Lord impressed upon my heart that I was not merely bringing papers to people in my town; I was serving Jesus. As I understood this truth more, waking up and working was purposeful and doable. Truthfully, I still did not always feel like facing the work, but feelings were no longer relevant. I was serving my Maker.

Whomever God calls us to serve, and whatever He tells us to do, we can obey with joyful hearts when it's done for Jesus. If this is our motivation, we won't need worldly approval or evidence of impact. We need to know only that God is pleased and promises to reward those who serve Him (Heb. 11:6).

God Sees, God Knows, God Cares

God Sees, God Knows, God Cares
LYSA TERKEURST

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)

Trying to control your own life is exhausting.

Ask me how I know.

I say I trust God with my mouth, but in reality, I get overwhelmed trying to fix and control things myself. My trust in God becomes nothing but a statement I feel I should say rather than what I’m actually living out.

Distrust settles in. Self-reliance becomes my go-to. And then I wonder why I feel more and more exhausted.

If you can relate to these confessions, there are specific passages of Scripture I want us to look at together today.

Second Chronicles 16 is the last of three chapters detailing the story of Asa, king of Judah. Sadly, though, this chapter stands in sharp contrast to the two just before it.

In 2 Chronicles 14 and 15, we learn that God had given Asa “rest on every side” because of his dependence on the Lord (NIV). God even gave Asa victory in the face of a massive army. Yet in Chapter 16, when King Asa finds himself in a border conflict with King Baasha of Israel, Asa has a sudden and surprising shift in behavior. Instead of crying out to God as he has before, Asa immediately turns to his own means of addressing the situation — misusing the treasures of the temple and placing his hope in an unwise military alliance.

The ultimate result? Unrest for Asa and his people. This king whose faith meant victory in the past invites battles into his future because he refuses to trust God in the present.

I find his story convicting, sobering and so very important to pay attention to. Just like Asa, our past declarations of faith are no guarantee that we will rely on God in the future. Faith is a present, ongoing choice for every believer.

That’s why I want us to look at two truths from 2 Chronicles 16 that will help us keep choosing to trust God, not just with our words but also with our actions:

 1) God is not blind to our circumstances or our choices to trust Him.

When life gets hard, we can sometimes wonder if God is blind to all we’re facing.

But there’s a beautiful reminder tucked into the words the prophet Hanani speaks to Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:9a, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.”

We serve a God who sees. He is an all-knowing, ever-present God who is continually aware of every detail of our lives. And not only is God aware, but He’s also looking to strengthen individuals who are willing to wholeheartedly place their trust in Him.

 2) God has been faithful before, and He will be faithful again.

I wonder how differently Asa’s future would have turned out if he had stopped to remember God’s faithfulness to him in the past?

Fear makes us forgetful. This is why we must purposefully look back and trace God’s hand of faithfulness in our lives. God’s faithfulness before assures us He will be faithful again. (Hebrews 10:35-36) We see this truth not only as we look back at our own lives, but also as we read the story of God’s faithfulness woven throughout all of Scripture.

Oh, friends, are there any areas where we’re inviting not only exhaustion but possibly destruction because we’re refusing to rely on God? Do our frantic and controlling actions fail to match our faith-filled declarations?

Let’s not just declare we have faith. Let’s live out loud that we believe God is good, faithful and trustworthy.

Let’s stop running to fix things our way so we can stop and fix our eyes on God. (Isaiah 26:3)

He sees. He knows. He cares. We can rest assured.

Father God, I confess that sometimes I forget to remember Your faithfulness from the past, especially when I am overwhelmed with unpredictable things today. Keep reminding me that not only do You see me, but You love me. I don’t know exactly what tomorrow will look like, but I do know who I’ll be looking to — You, Lord — whose love is unfailing and whose hand is the safest place to entrust my hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 111:7, “The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.” (NIV)

Psalm 71:3, “Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” (NIV)

Where Does the Conviction to Follow Christ Come From?

Where Does the Conviction to Follow Christ Come From?
By Meg Bucher

“Where’s my Jesus emoji when I need it?” my fingers sent via text…

That’s truly how I feel most days. He’s the reason for all of my smiley-faced messages and sunshiny stature. The reason I get up in the dark and seek Him in quiet with my warm cup of coffee. Belief blossoms into a beautiful friendship of saving faith.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him…”

God’s love requires faith, and faith is so much deeper than what we can see or understand. Faith gives feet to trust in what God has planned for our lives. Not being able to see God …not being able to witness Jesus’ miracles …doesn’t make Him any less real. Whether we believe or not, He is still in control of the universe, still sitting at the right hand of God, and loving us with a perfect love that we are incapable of understanding.

What causes us to love God though we’ve never met?

He is in us.

The moment we accept Jesus He seals us as His and the Spirit dwells in us from that day forward. It’s a love that we don’t have to see, feel, or hear. It’s a love we know. A love we believe. A Cross we point to.

“…and though you do not see him now, you believe in him…”

We don’t see Him now, but there is something in us from the very beginning that seeks Him. That seeks God’s presence. That seeks to abide with our Father, our Creator, and His Son. And once the Spirit begins to move in our hearts …our lives are never the same. We can’t go back. We know too much.

“…and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Inexpressible. That accurately describes the feeling of being saved from ourselves and this world. Inexpressible. How do we thank Jesus for dying on the cross for us when He didn’t have to? For coming down from heaven to show us the way …and to make a way for us to be with Him? Kind of makes us feel … convicted.

A Prayer for Your Prodigal

A Prayer for Your ProdigalBy: Chelsey DeMatteis

“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."So they began to celebrate. - Luke 15:24

I write this from a place of once being a prodigal daughter. Raised in the church from a young age I knew the way I should go, but the world had a firm grip on me. I confused chaos for fun and disobedience for being a confident girl. My heart was emotionally thrown to and fro, from choices I made that did nothing but leave me broken. I longed to feel whole, but I couldn’t find wholeness - I was blind to needing Jesus.

My mom had her morning routine of sitting in the front room on the couch each and every morning in prayer. She had done this for years but as the years went on, I know her prayers changed. As I began wandering the world, she became my frontline prayer warrior. She gave at least one hour of her prayer time each morning dedicated specifically for me to know the Lord.

As years went on, her days were laced with worry and wonder of how God was going to stop me in my tracks and turn my life around for Him. She wrestled, she invited others to pray, and she never gave up on me coming to know Jesus. Her powerful prayers of fighting for me consisted of this, “Lord I don’t know how you’ll do it, please don’t let it be too harsh, but let it be enough to get her attention.”

My mom’s prayers and the countless prayers of others who stood alongside her to pray couldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams what God was going to do with me, how He’d get my attention, and then what he’d call me to do in my life. But his grace and their powerful prayers made the most beautiful backdrop to the testimony God has given me. Prayer, trust, and his timing led me to the moment I came to the end of myself and surrendered my life to him.

If you’re walking in that season of desperately asking the Lord to bring your child back to him, don’t stop. Keep praying and keep inviting others to come alongside you to cover that precious soul in His word. There is power in the name of Jesus and in Jesus, there is the gift of reconciliation which we see in the beautiful story of the Prodigal Son.

This father not only celebrated that his son came home to his earthly house but he celebrated that his son was now alive and found eternally. “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate (Luke 15:24). So while you pray and await the day for your child to surrender their life to Christ, continue clinging to this story of hope and praying it over your prodigal.

Pray with me:

Heavenly Father, for all of those praying for their prodigal child, I ask that you give them peace at this moment. I pray Lord that you would bring others alongside them to pray for their child in this season of wandering. God, I ask that you would do something in their child’s life to get their attention, not too harsh, but boldly enough they notice it’s you. Lord, help this prodigal to see their deep need for you and the life you have waiting for them that can only be found in you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.