Video Bible Lesson - Our Caring and Able Father by Dr. Charles Stanley

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

7/21/2020

Our Caring and Able Father

by Dr. Charles Stanley

2 Chronicles 20:1-4
Everyone faces challenges in life. Whether our struggles are financial, vocational, relational, or physical, we can be certain that nobody is exempt. Fortunately, we serve a God who is both interested in our problems and able to take care of them.When trouble looms, prayer is always a good first step to take. But having a foundation upon which to build our prayers also makes a difference. Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, faced an enormous challenge. Three different tribes--the Moabites, Amonites, and Meunites--simultaneously waged war against him. Most leaders would have crumbled under such pressure, or at the very least taken drastic measures, but Jehoshaphat was a wise king. Though afraid, he did not strike out against his enemies.Instead, knowing that God was interested in his dilemma, he "turned his attention to seek the Lord" and proclaimed a fast throughout the land (2 Chron. 20:1-3).Jehoshaphat also knew that God, who was greater than any earthly problem, had done miraculous things for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Daniel. That same God would help him, too, in his hour of need. We should never underestimate the Lord's interest in our affairs. He helped our ancestors in the Bible, and He can and will help His children today.It's easy to think our problems are unimportant in the eyes of God, but He doesn't feel that way at all. Whatever concerns us concerns Him. If we, like Jehoshaphat, turn right to God and proclaim His power, He will intervene. And no matter how great our challenges are, God is greater.

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

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece (Judges 6:39).

There are degrees to faith. At one stage of Christian experience we cannot believe unless we have some sign or some great manifestation of feeling. We feel our fleece, like Gideon, and if it is wet we are willing to trust God. This may be true faith, but it is imperfect. It always looks for feeling or some token besides the Word of God. It marks quite an advance in faith when we trust God without feelings. It is blessed to believe without having any emotion.

There is a third stage of faith which even transcends that of Gideon and his fleece. The first phase of faith believes when there are favorable emotions, the second believes when there is the absence of feeling, but this third form of faith believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all urge to the contrary. Paul exercised this faith in Acts 27:20, 25, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Notwithstanding all this Paul said, "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

May God give us faith to fully trust His Word though everything else witness the other way.
--C. H. P.

When is the time to trust?
Is it when all is calm,
When waves the victor's palm,
And life is one glad psalm
Of joy and praise?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when the waves beat high,
When storm clouds fill the sky,
And prayer is one long cry,
O help and save!
When is the time to trust?
Is it when friends are true?
Is it when comforts woo,
And in all we say and do
We meet but praise?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when we stand alone,
And summer birds have flown,
And every prop is gone,
All else but God.
What is the time to trust?
Is it some future day,
When you have tried your way,
And learned to trust and pray
By bitter woe?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is in this moment's need,
Poor, broken, bruised reed!
Poor, troubled soul, make speed
To trust thy God.
What is the time to trust?
Is it when hopes beat high,
When sunshine gilds the sky,
And joy and ecstasy
Fill all the heart?
Nay! but the time to trust
Is when our joy is fled,
When sorrow bows the head,
And all is cold and dead,
All else but God.
--Selected

When Faith Wavers.....Dr. Charles Stanley

When Faith Wavers

Dr. Charles Stanley

James 1:5-8

If we believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, why do so many of us habitually waver in our prayers? Instead of exercising bold faith, we come to the Lord “hoping” He will hear us and answer our requests, but we’re just not sure He will. With this kind of thinking, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him.

One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests. He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts,
and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.

Another cause for uncertainty is ignorance. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our timetable or anticipated method, we start to doubt. But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.

To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it. Examine your past from a biblical perspective—faith will grow as you see the unexpected ways He answered your prayers.

When Faith Feels Like a Circus Act

When Faith Feels Like a Circus Act 
KAITLIN GARRISON 

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Galatians 3:2-3 (ESV)

For the last few years, I have been functioning like a Christianese acrobat. I’ve spent years jumping through hoops of holy hustle, walking tightropes of rigid spiritual discipline and contorting my body to fit into the mold of a good Christian.

My trapeze-like theology had me believing that my good works could hoist me into the air, keeping me close to God and in His favor.

But what you couldn’t see was the constant crash and burn that led to a dried-up woman who felt far from the God she wanted to please. Have you ever found yourself stuck in this “Cirque du Soleil” kind of faith?

Luckily, we are not the first people to feel like that.

In our key verse, Paul asks a soul-searching question to the Galatian church who found themselves trusting in human-made hoops to win God’s affection: “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3)

At this time in history, the Galatian church had heard the true gospel. However, some of the Jewish believers were trying to convince the gentile (non-Jewish) believers that in addition to believing in Christ, they must also abide by the Jewish laws. Instead of fully trusting in Christ for salvation, the Jewish believers claimed one must also rely on good works to be accepted by God.

Sound familiar? Friends, this trapeze-to-please kind of faith is not new. The trouble with this kind of theology is that it proclaims a different gospel than the gospel of Christ. I like to call this imposter “the gospel of grit.”

The gospel of grit might acknowledge the work of Jesus on the cross, but ultimately, the pressure is still on us to earn God’s acceptance. The most tempting thing about this false gospel is that we can easily measure our righteousness based on the spiritual boxes we check off.

While that might allow us to gloat in the good things we’ve done, it’s also a painful reminder that we will never measure up. This is not the life-giving, soul-freeing gospel Jesus intended.

Jesus came to proclaim the gospel of grace. This gospel hinges on the truth that Christ’s work on the cross makes us right before God. We don’t have to fill our lives with good works to be accepted; instead, our lives are radically changed because we already are accepted. We were never intended to spend our lives swinging from ropes to please a God who has already fully accepted us in Christ.

Dear friend, let’s step off the tightrope and rest in knowing Christ’s work is enough. The gospel of grace is a beautiful reminder that we’re not acrobats juggling our way into God’s Kingdom, but children of God who already have a place at His table.

Lord, thank You there is nothing I can do to earn Your love — it’s already mine through Christ. Help me remember the goodness of the gospel throughout my day and cling to the truth that Jesus is enough for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Galatians 2:16, “… we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (ESV)

Galatians 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (ESV)

Batman and Big Brother

Batman and Big Brother
by Alex Crain

“And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" (Matthew 21:16 NKJV)

One of the blessings of being around children is the life lessons that they often teach us. Sometimes the lessons are about deep, spiritual truths. Like the lesson my two-year-old son, Henry, recently taught me about worship.

While at the playground area of a fast-food restaurant, Henry found himself surrounded by other kids his age whom he had never met. Suddenly, my wife heard him bragging to his little audience about his two heroes: Batman and big brother.

“Batman get bad guys,” Henry said to one. Then very proudly to another, “My brudder hit bad guys ty-kon-do.”

Now, his big brother never uses Tae Kwon Do… except in practice. But I suppose that, in Henry’s imagination, those nine-year-old practice opponents must be bad guys. Whatever his motivation for saying these things, Henry couldn’t help expressing praise for things that he thinks are great. It struck me that that’s a big part of what worship is.

Yes, we’ll need to continue teaching Henry about the goodness and greatness of God, just like we need continued teaching and reminding ourselves. But I don’t think that the concept of worship is something that he, or anyone else, needs to be taught. What we need to do is un-learn some wrong-headed ideas about worship that we have picked up over the years.

C.S. Lewis points out one such wrong-headed idea when he admits that he used to mistakenly view the Bible’s demands for praising God as no different than a conceited woman seeking compliments. Every time he heard the Psalms saying “praise the Lord,” “praise God,” or “praise Him,” God sounded pathetically vain to him. In his book, Reflections on the Psalms (p. 93 ff.), Lewis explains how his perspective changed:

“…the most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or anything—strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it.”

“The world rings with praise—readers [praising] their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game... Just as men praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’ The Psalmists, in telling everyone to praise God, are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.”

“My difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment.”

Intersecting Faith and Life: If it’s true that worship springs naturally from within a person and is expressed by praising that which he or she enjoys most, then what or whom do you find yourself praising?

5 Verses to Gather from Psalm 25 When Life Gets Heavy

5 Verses to Gather from Psalm 25 When Life Gets Heavy
by Kristi Woods

God and His word are faithful – even in times of heaviness, even when we might question whether He or His word could do a single thing to help us. Psalm 25 is a place I once landed when life became heavy. It quickly became a respite and refuge, a landing pad of hope. In fact, the Psalm 25 in its entirety became a prayer, one offered to God Almighty often. But His word isn’t only for some of us. It’s for all of us.

Here are 5 verses from Psalm 25 we can gather when heaviness rears:

1. Verse 15

My eyes are ever on Yahweh, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Psa 25:15
It’s all about focus.
It’s often easy to focus on problems. If we listen closely, we can hear it in conversations often. The recount of the day’s troubles and woes slip off our lips or sit firmly in our minds without hesitation. We think about the problem and wonder why, how, and why again. But what if we changed our focus from the issues at hand to Yahweh, our God - the One who has all the wisdom of the world? What if we purposed and willed ourselves to keep the Lord, His saving ways, and past miracles in focus?

2. Verse 17

The troubles of my heart are enlarged. Oh bring me out of my distresses. Psa 25:17
It’s all in the ask.
Sometimes it’s as simple as asking. Maybe that makes it sound far too easy, and there may be a battle in the midst, but unless we ask for help, we are lost. Hoarding our need is like trusting ourselves far more than safety deems wise. We can find ourselves in the waters of daily life, flailing alone among the pounding waves, or we can ask God for help.

3. Verse 18

Consider my affliction and my travail. Forgive all my sins. Psa 25:18
Asked to be forgiven lately?
Isn’t forgiveness at the heart of much? It’s at the core of Jesus returning to earth. It’s the purpose of love, His walk with man, and our eternity. It’s at the heart of His ascension, and it’s certainly at the heart of our day-to-day. Sitting with the Lord, asking Him to consider our afflictions and troubles sits solidly with faith. Asking Jesus for forgiveness is its building place.

4. Verse 20

Oh keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you. Psa 25:20
Where do you take refuge?
Imagine a hurricane or winter storm descending on our location. What if we bounded out the front door and sat on the lawn, our legs crisscross as we watched the storm brew? Can you feel the harsh elements pelting our cheeks, causing them to grow increasingly rosy with each sting? We’d either find ourselves chilly with the frigid, northern temperatures or soaked silly in one big puddle as the army of raindrops continued to their battle. Sitting stark in the elements, choosing to withstand the conditions versus seeking shelter, seems silly, doesn’t it?

Where we take refuge is paramount – both in the natural and in the spiritual.

Choosing not to seek God’s refuge or heading to the wrong shelter, such as sin or an addiction, can cause the sting of the pelting adversary to grow worse. Our Father’s refuge is a safe haven.

5. Verse 21

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Psa 25:21

Wait lately?

It’s safe to say waiting isn’t at the top of most people’s list of favorites. Simply look at rush hour traffic or lines at the grocery store – folks don’t love to wait. Christians aren’t exempt. When God calls us to wait, we sometimes find it hard, uncomfortable even. Waiting simply doesn’t feel natural. It seems like wasted, lost effort. In reality, it might be one of the strongest “moves” of faith we ever make.

Waiting on God is righteous and overflowing with wisdom. It’s His way of guiding us faithfully, and it’s the building place of trust. Instead of reaching for our own preserver, what if we reach for His? What if we allow integrity and uprightness to preserve us as we wait on Him? What if we cling tightly, determine to simply wait on the Lord, holding hope in Him?

Yes, what if. And what if we gather Psalm 25, especially these five verses and walk solidly with God when life gets heavy.

A Prayer to Keep Doing Good

A Prayer to Keep Doing GoodBy: Meg Bucher

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” - Hebrews 13:16

Salty tears dampened my knees as I sat paralyzed in the spot I land in when things fall apart. This day, it wasn’t just my world unraveling and upending, it was the entire world. Together and all at once, everything started to come to a screeching halt, as the pandemic virus, COVID-19 began to sweep into the corners of our everyday lives. Those first days felt akin to a roller coaster ride, simultaneously rallying to carry on individually while pushing the limits of innovation to reach out to others.

Hebrews 13:16 commands us, “do not neglect to do good and share what you have.” Suddenly, the way we help each other drastically changed. The need expounded, while our ability to physically help and hug each other was rapidly stripped. When hard pressed, we can simply allow ourselves the grace to give up and hunker down, or we can embrace the impossible things God has purposed us to do.

What does it look like to help and hold people when we must stay six feet apart? We look to God’s truth as a guide, and trust in His providence, faithfulness, and goodness.

“Share what you have,” today’s verse implores. This pandemic has put the resilience of the human spirit on display. From our homes, we have utilized technology to stay connected, rally in support and raise funds for those who fuel food banks. We’ve lit up our neighborhoods with lights and donned windows with rainbows as signs of hope and togetherness.

Jesus makes it possible for us to tap into the goodness of God. Everything He does is good …because He is good. He sees us, He hears our prayers, and His heart is moved. His care is unequivocal. We can trust Him, in times of plenty, and it times of pandemic, to be all we need. He goes before us, preparing the way.

Each of us is created to glorify God with our lives, and so we must not neglect to do what is good and share what we have. This obedience brings glory and honor to God.

Let’s pray not to not grow weary in welldoing:

Father,

This is the day you have made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it. You know what today will bring, and what tomorrow’s needs will be. If we awake to breathe today, we can be assured it is with great purpose, in order to bring glory and honor to You, the One True God. Jesus, our Savior, Friend, and Redeemer, it is through You we come to the Father, and spread the love of the Gospel. Remind us, through Your Spirit who convicts and comforts us, of your truth.

In moments when we find ourselves slumped into the places we land when things unravel, we know you meet us there in comfort and to supply the strength we need to stand again.

Use our lives as vessels of love and truth. Let us see ourselves through the lens of faith, and the Father’s purposeful perspective. The author of Hebrews reminds us not to neglect to do good and share what we have, because such sacrifices are pleasing to You, Father.

We know all good things come from You, and You make good, all things. Let us share in the good works you have prepared for us, by the outflowing of our faith in Christ, to the people You have placed in our lives. We pray for Your favor, God, and Your protective embrace, as we look out into the world to do good and share what we have.

In Jesus’ Powerful Name we Pray,

Amen.