Video Bible Lesson - Where Does the Conviction to Follow Christ Come From? By Meg Bucher

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

7/17/2020

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.

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

Marvelous God 

Streams in the Desert

I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling place (Isaiah 18:4, RV).

Assyria was marching against Ethiopia, the people of which are described as tall and smooth. And as the armies advance, God makes no effort to arrest them; it seems as though they will be allowed to work their will. He is still watching them from His dwelling place, the sun still shines on them; but before the harvest, the whole of the proud army of Assyria is smitten as easily as when sprigs are cut off by the pruning hook of the husbandman.

Is not this a marvelous conception of God--being still and watching? His stillness is not acquiescence. His silence is not consent. He is only biding His time, and will arise, in the most opportune moment, and when the designs of the wicked seem on the point of success, to overwhelm them with disaster. As we look out on the evil of the world; as we think of the apparent success of wrong-doing; as we wince beneath the oppression of those that hate us, let us remember these marvelous words about God being still and beholding.

There is another side to this. Jesus beheld His disciples toiling at the oars through the stormy night; and watched though unseen, the successive steps of the anguish of Bethany, when Lazarus slowly passed through the stages of mortal sickness, until he succumbed and was borne to the rocky tomb. But He was only waiting the moment when He could interpose most effectually.

Is He still to thee? He is not unobservant; He is beholding all things; He has His finger on thy pulse, keenly sensitive to all its fluctuations. He will come to save thee when the precise moment has arrived.
--Daily Devotional Commentary

Whatever His questions or His reticences, we may be absolutely sure of an unperplexed and undismayed Saviour.

O troubled soul, beneath the rod,
Thy Father speaks, be still, be still;
Learn to be silent unto God,
And let Him mould thee to His will.
O praying soul, be still, be still,
He cannot break His plighted Word;
Sink down into His blessed will,
And wait in patience on the Lord.
O waiting soul, be still, be strong,
And though He tarry, trust and wait;
Doubt not, He will not wait too long,
Fear not, He will not come too late.

Getting Back on Course....Dr. Charles Stanley.

Getting Back on Course

Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Peter 3:17-18

No matter how far away from God you have drifted, you're always welcome back. That's the lesson from Jesus' parable about the prodigal son--the foolish boy who followed a pleasure-filled path to ruin before returning to his father and finding redemption (Luke 15:11-32). Perhaps ruin has not yet come to you, but you know that your heart has grown cool to the things of God. Whatever your drifting story, make this the day that you point yourself back to the Lord.

As with any sin, the first motion toward getting back on course is to acknowledge that you have slipped away from the Lord. Then you confess and repent, which is like turning your boat in the opposite direction and paddling toward God with all your strength. If you're wondering exactly how to do that, I suggest a strategy I use every morning. Before I step out of bed, I give myself to God by acknowledging, I surrender my entire life to You for this day. When something comes up that runs counter to His plan and I consider pursuing it, the Holy Spirit reminds me that I am not my own. Only God's way will do for me.

Every day we choose whether to row or drift. As for me, I choose to vigorously pursue God.

Peter gives a warning to be on guard against attitudes and ideologies that would carry you away from truth (2 Peter 3:17). Instead, choose to paddle your lifeboat toward the Lord by meditating on Scripture, praying, and living obediently. Practicing the spiritual disciplines keeps a heart warm toward God.

What Good Thing Are You Known For?

What Good Thing Are You Known For?
AMY CARROLL 

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.” Colossians 1:3-5 (NIV)

It started as an average night in the college cafeteria with my usual posse, the group of students I always ate dinner with. We were a group of young men and women who loved Jesus and adored each other. We thought everybody was just friends.

But then Charles stood to speak. “Everyone, Angie and I have something to tell you.”

Wait … what?! When did it become “Angie and I?” I wondered.

Charles paused for a moment, and then with a huge grin, he announced, “We’re engaged!”

That was all it took. With a shriek so loud the whole room turned to look, I jumped up and threw my hands in the air, followed by running, hugging and happy dancing. I was quite the spectacle.

Charles beamed at Angie and then back at me before he said, “And that is why we wanted to tell you first.”

There are lots of things I’m not known for:

• Yummy food coming out of my kitchen.
• Making a long story short.
• Keeping a happy secret.

Truthfully, it’s more comfortable to share my list of negatives than to tell you the good things I’m known for. Along the way, many of us have bought the lie that it’s selfish to develop our strengths, or that it’s virtuous to downplay the delightful traits we bring to the world, but God never meant for that to be so.

I’m known for joy and celebration. That’s a good thing since God Himself, my Creator, hard-wired me that way.

Before Paul’s encounter with Jesus, he was known for his education, his orthodoxy and his zeal for persecuting the church. But after he was transformed by his Savior, there was another trifecta that took over.

Faith. Love. Hope.

Over and over again in his letters, Paul refers to these three traits as valuable in God’s Kingdom. They are traits he both develops in himself and commends in others.

To the church at Colossae — a group he never met in person — Paul says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5, emphasis added).

Paul wasn’t overly emotional. Yet he exudes joy when writing about the beautiful traits found in this group of believers: their faith, love and hope.

Most of our positive traits can fall into one of these categories. I believe my joy-filled heart and passion for celebrating are gifts God has given me to show love.

My friend Lynn prays the house down. She’s known for responding in faith and building it in others.

Suzie is a picture of God’s redemption and healing. She communicates hope to everyone who meets her. It’s what she’s known for.

Everyone’s known for something good. Today is the day to identify what you’re known for and leverage it!

Lord, You created me in Your image, weaving good traits into my being. Show me how I can leverage them in ways that bring You glory and bless the people around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (NIV)

When 'Good Morning' Is a Bad Word

When 'Good Morning' Is a Bad Wordby Katherine Britton

If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. - Proverbs 27:14

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. - Ephesians 4:29

I am not a morning person.

My college friends and I still joke about the semester our intrepid Bible study (we were studying Romans with just about every denominational background represented) decided it was a good idea to change our meeting time to Saturday mornings. My nocturnal habits often made me the least inclined to drag myself from repose, and I confess that I used the "I think I'm coming down with a cold" excuse more than once. On one such morning, another member of the group decided she would jumpstart my lethargic spirituality. While I was groggily ignoring my roommate's gentle encouragement to come to Bible study, she walked the dorm room, threw open the curtains to the sunshine, and loudly proclaimed, "GOOD MORNING, KATHERINE!"

I have no idea what I said in response, but I'm sure it wasn't Christian.

I respect my friend's abiding faith in early bird philosophy, but I was delighted a few months later when I discovered Proverbs 27:14. The Message clarifies the verse by putting it this way: "If you wake your friend in the early morning by shouting ‘Rise and shine!' It will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing."

I immediately told my friends that my discovery. I had found concrete evidence that God was not a morning person.

Of course, the verse's real point deals less with God's waking hours and more with speaking wisely. Proverbs once again brings the focus back to the power and timing of our words when we relate to other. The funny illustration demonstrates that wisdom is more than a wholesome word or truth. Wisdom is also a truth aptly spoken.

Sunday School has drilled the catchphrase "Speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) into our heads, but even this approach can lack grace. Paul himself encouraged his readers to consider that not every word is fit for every occasion. Even the comforting promise of Romans 8:28 - that God works all things for good of those who love him - should sometimes give way to grieving when the cancer diagnosis is first announced or a loved one dies. Those are obvious examples, and the more subtle situations are myriad. But here's the lesson I take away from this verse: We're supposed to consider the impact on our hearers. Wise words do more than offer the right word and expect our friends to recognize its truth even if we choose an inopportune moment. Instead, I have to recognize that the right word offered at the wrong time might as well be a curse instead of a blessing.

I take comfort in knowing that I don't have to spew every nugget of knowledge at every pertinent encounter. We're not supposed to be somebody else's Holy Spirit, convicting them of every errant or off-color word. Nor are we supposed to be perpetually perky saints, walking around singing hallelujahs all the time. There's a place for bold ministry, but too often I confuse boldness with my very human need to "say something" - and the results are rarely "good for building up" or "as fits the occasion."

Intersecting Faith & Life: Don't be the neighbor who yells, "Good morning" too loudly. Let's encourage each other with words that "will give grace to those who hear" this week. Our goal is not to make others see our point of view or our wisdom, but to build each other up with the love of Christ.

Further Reading

Ecclesiastes 3

8 Reasons We Don't Read the Bible

8 Reasons We Don't Read the Bible
by Jeff Anderson

It’s no secret biblical literacy is on decline. Every major researcher on faith trends seems to be reporting it. But why? The Bible is our only unchanging lifeline to our faith. Its words are the truest, and most transferable expression of God. In many ways, the words are the closest we can get to our Creator, and the only way faith transfers from one generation to the next.

The Bible text is alive. So why do we settle for being once-removed from the source? Why aren’t we meeting God through His Word?

1. The Bible is optional
After all, we have TV, internet, and plenty of “wise” voices touting answers. The faith message has been oversimplified with trite expressions: Love God, love people.

Why do I need to read that dusty book when I have a four-word synopsis? Many people see more verses of scripture on Facebook memes than in their Bible. And to them, Facebook replaces the Bible.

2. Many church leaders don’t expect us to read the Bible
I didn’t say leaders don’t want people to read the Bible, but that they don’t expect it. When our kids were babies and toddlers, we didn’t expect them to feed themselves, or even know how. So we fed them little bites of baby food.

Eventually, we expected them to feed themselves, and even make their own meals. Shouldn't we be encouraged (and expected) to do some self-feeding on the Word at home?

3. All we hear is mission and vision
An unintended consequence of church branding and mission statements is constant preaching of vision, and funding for the mission. In a growing number of churches, vision has replaced discipleship. The A-B-C's (Attendance, Baptisms, Cash) are measurable… spiritual growth (and Bible literacy) is difficult to assess. Even when “discipleship” is programmed, there’s not an emphasis on personal Bible reading.

4. Google faith
We can google a Bible verse, or blog about a verse, any time we want. So why read what's around it? 100 million people have downloaded the YouVersion Bible app. I celebrate that fact. My question is, with accessibility to Scripture climbing by the day, why is faith and Bible engagement declining? Since we can always google the Bible when we “need” it, we rarely read the book.

5. Failure
For some, even thinking about that leather-bound book triggers memories of personal failure. And who wants to be reminded of that?! If you've ever tried a 365-day read, you know what I'm talking about. For others, disappointing and confusing experiences reading the Bible have triggered resignation (keep that book away from me).

6. Your parents don’t read the Bible
I’m talking to your kids, now. If you don’t read it, your kids won’t, statistically speaking. If you’ve given up, they may never begin.

7. Bible bullies
Sincere believers are often told, overtly and covertly, that they are not smart or educated enough to truly understand the Bible. Sounds like something Martin Luther railed against 500 years ago! Like others before and after, he was persecuted for giving such a “lofty” book to lowly people. Today, some bestselling authors actually tell their followers that without the benefit of their education and knowledge of “historical context” they can’t possibly understand the Bible.

8. Paul predicted you wouldn’t read it.
Okay, the Apostle Paul didn’t predict you wouldn’t read it. But he predicted many would find more entertaining alternatives.

If any of these 8 reasons for not reading the Bible apply to you, maybe you need a faith restart. Joshua triggered a restart reading as soon as they crossed the Jordan River. (Joshua 8) King Josiah ordered a restart when the dust-covered book of the law was discovered in the temple. (2 Kings 22) Ezra and Nehemiah instituted some restart reading sessions when they rebuilt the temple and the walls. (Nehemiah 8)

We all need faith restarts - fresh opportunities to recharge our faith batteries.

A Prayer for Fulfillment

A Prayer for FulfillmentBy Jack Graham

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” - Psalm 16:11

As a pastor, I have people come up to me all the time and ask me about how to overcome this or that temptation. And one conclusion I’ve come to after speaking with so many people is that every temptation is a solicitation to fulfill a God-given desire in a God-forbidden way. Let me explain…

Take food, for example. There’s nothing wrong with eating food. In fact, hunger is a God-given desire for life and sustenance. But the temptation can be to fulfill that desire through gluttony, which is obviously a sin.

This can also be applied to less tangible desires, like the desire to be loved and accepted. A God-honoring way to fulfill that desire would be to find love and acceptance in Him. But sadly, many people try to find love and acceptance solely in the things of the world and become enamored with searching and searching for something they’ll never find.

Desires are normal. Search God’s Word and discover what glorifies Him. Understand He’s created you with desires. And ask God for His leading in showing you how you can find your ultimate need and satisfaction in Him alone!

Heavenly Father, please help us find fulfillment in your presence. Help us to live in such a way that our actions serve as a reflection of your own grace and mercy. Teach us to seek first your Kingdom, in a life that brings glory to your name. Amen.