Remembering God's Blessings..... Dr. Charles Stanley

Remembering God's Blessings

Dr. Charles Stanley

Psalms 9:1-2

We are given amazing privileges when we trust in Jesus. Recalling these promises is a good way to maintain a thankful heart, even when facing challenges in other areas. Consider four such blessings:

1. Christ’s gift of salvation. No matter what trial we’re facing, it is microscopic next to the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. The cross was a steep price to pay, but the Savior willingly took our place in order to offer us forgiveness and eternal life.
2. Assurance of God’s love. The Lord cares for us unconditionally—that is His very character (1 John 4:16). Unfortunately, the storms of life can cause us to question this, but Romans 8:31–39 unequivocally tells us that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
3. Answered prayer. We have the awesome privilege of talking to the Father about anything burdening us—and He never grows tired of listening to His children. Our omnipotent, omniscient God is not only able to help us in any situation; He also knows the best possible way to do so.
4. A personalized plan. The Lord has a will, plan, and purpose for our lives that He will accomplish if we obey Him. No one is exempt from adversity, but we can trust God to bring good from everything He permits to come our way.

Hardships, temptations, and tests will touch us all, but the Lord allows difficulty for a reason—even when we don’t understand why (Rom. 8:28). Therefore, submit yourself to the Father, thank Him for His wisdom, and be confident that He will accomplish His purposes for you.

How to Live Low..... Craig Denison

 

How to Live Low

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

The biblical concept of being poor in spirit is foundational to every aspect of the Christian life. Foundational to salvation is a heart-level acknowledgment of our need for a Savior. Foundational to experiencing God’s love is acknowledging our great need of love. Foundational to heavenly peace and joy is an acknowledgment that this world truly offers us neither. If we want all that God in his grace offers, we must pursue a lifestyle of being poor in spirit. May you experience more of the depth of God’s love this week as you discover God’s heart to minister to those desperate for him.

Scripture:“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4

Devotional:

All throughout Scripture God paints a clear picture of what it looks like to live poor in spirit—to live low. As we dive into the depths of God’s word, I pray our lives will begin to be molded and shaped by the capable, loving hands of our Potter. I pray that we will look to the grace of God as our source and strength to pursue a lifestyle of humility. And I pray our lives will be enriched and blessed by the loving, powerful presence of a God who dwells with those who live low. 

Philippians 2:3-7 says,

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Living low always begins by looking at the life of Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the example of what it looks like to live perfectly by the grace of the Father in a lifestyle of humble surrender. And Scripture makes it clear that he is our standard. A life like his is the goal.

Jesus, although King of kings and Lord of lords, did everything out of total love for God and man. The only man to ever live a perfect life looked to the interests of others above his own. One of the most powerful depictions of his commitment to loving those in need at all costs is found in Mark 2:13-17, where Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus loved others at the continual sacrifice of his reputation. He lived without a care of how he was perceived by man because his life was continually laid down to the will of his heavenly Father alone. To live in the will of God will always cost us our pride. Pride and God’s will are in direct opposition.

God is calling us to a lifestyle of love. To be poor in spirit is to “count others more significant than yourselves.” A common misconception in living low is that we must try and find ways that we are worse than others. God is not about comparison. His ways are not like ours. Rather, he is calling us to stop looking to ourselves at all and solely look to the significance of others. Jesus knew he was sinless. He knew he was God. Still, he counted others more significant because of his love and grace. We don’t have to pursue false humility to love others well. Rather, by the grace of God we must stop looking to our own needs, our own sense of pride and reputation, lay down our lives at the cross of Christ, and love as he has called us to love.

To live low is to look at the life of Jesus, look at our own lives, and acknowledge the differences, as well as obeying the command of Scripture to live like him. And in our inability we must come before our heavenly Father in full knowledge that we’ll never be like Jesus on our own. We must seek to abide in him and receive his wealth of affection, love, and grace that we might bear fruit. If we seek to live low by ceasing to look to ourselves and instead look to God and others, we will always, unfailingly be empowered by God.

Take time in guided prayer to look at the life of Jesus, look at your own life, and receive the power of the Holy Spirit that comes from abiding in the love of your heavenly Father.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on Jesus’ commitment to humility and living low. Allow his life to be the example by which you live yours.

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:3-7

2. In what ways are you living in pride? In what ways are you looking to your own interests above the interests of others? Where do you need to count others as more significant than yourself?

3. Take time to abide in God’s love. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you yield your life to him that you might bear the fruit of his dwelling within you. Look to God as your source and supply rather than your own strength. And live today in a constant pursuit of living low.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” John 15:9

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Colossians 3:12-13

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Romans 12:3

Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” When you humble yourself before God and man, the pressure of finding your own joy, success, provision, and worth falls off and is replaced with the peace, love, security, and grace of your heavenly Father. Living low does not mean you will be without joy, peace, or possessions. Rather, it positions you to receive all the incredible fullness of heaven your good Father longs to give. Live low today and rid yourself of the weight of pride so that the foundation for your emotions, thoughts, and actions would be the love of a good, present, and powerful God.

Extended Reading: Philippians 2

Praise Is Due..... NANCY DEMOSS WOLGEMUTH

 Praise Is Due

NANCY DEMOSS WOLGEMUTH 

“For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” Luke 1:44 (ESV)

Christmas, I realize, can whip itself up into a whirlwind of activities and get-togethers, of food to be baked and presents to be bought.

Church becomes busy. Family life is busy; friends are busy, and airports and highways are busy. And you may find that, in the busyness — having done all these things for so many years as part of celebrating the holiday — you’ve lost some of the wonder and worship for what Christmas is all about.

This is why we need to spend today in our key verse, Luke 1:44 — this private little moment, which God preserved for us in Scripture, when a tiny baby in utero “leaped” upon finding himself in close proximity to God incarnate: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” 

The leaping that Elizabeth, the speaker in Luke 1:44, felt in her womb brings to mind the Old Testament description of Jacob and Esau struggling together in the womb of their mother, Rebekah. (Genesis 25:22) An even stronger parallel is found in Psalm 114:3-4 (ESV), where the writer captured the joy of Israel’s release from Egypt: “The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.”

Skipping, leaping — that’s what the arrival of Jesus made Elizabeth’s yet unborn son, John the Baptist, feel like doing.

He “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44) — joy because of what God was doing to bring about the redemption of His people. Darkness was turning to light. Death was being brought to life. Despair was being turned into hope. After 400 years of silence, the voice of God would finally be heard again. The great and glorious God, before whom angels covered their faces, was coming to earth as a man.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV)

That’s something to leap for joy about — as the familiar hymn proclaims:

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing.”

Your temperament may or may not be one that naturally lends itself to ecstatic, spontaneous expressions of excitement. But if we pause to contemplate what all this frantic holiday motion of ours is supposed to be celebrating, shouldn’t joy well up in each of our hearts at what God did for the world that first Christmas?

The angel had said to Zechariah, in reference to the birth of John the Baptist, “… you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth” (Luke 1:14, ESV). But John would later say of Jesus, “… he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry” (Matthew 3:11a, ESV).

The real birth, the great birth, is the birth of Jesus Christ.

And that should cause us all to leap for joy.

Lord, restore to me the joy of my salvation. Let me be more excited at the demonstration of Your extreme love for sinners like me than at anything else that feels important about my day. Receive my heartfelt worship this day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

 

Walking with God..... By OnePlace.com

 Walking with God

By OnePlace.com

When I hear of Hollywood couples who get together and then divorce rather quickly, I have to wonder what people are looking for in marriage.

Do they understand that it's a commitment? Do they understand that feelings will come and go, and that you must get on with the very real business of loving a person and all that it means?

The same can be said of a relationship with God. There are times when you feel great joy, passion, and excitement about being a Christian. And there are times when you don't feel it. But that doesn't mean you say, "Well, that's it. I'm not going to follow Christ anymore."

The Bible doesn't say, "The just shall live by feelings." Rather, it says, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17 NKJV).

Feelings change, but walking with God takes faith. It takes commitment. And it takes consistency.

The Bible tells us about a man who walked with God for many years. His name was Enoch, and I want to look at some secrets from his life that we can apply in our lives as well.

In the whole of the Bible, only five passages refer to Enoch, two of which are genealogies. Although we don't find a lot written about Enoch, what we do have is significant.

Genesis tells us, "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:21-24 NKJV).

Enoch lived during a unique time in human history, just before God's judgment of the world by the flood. Against this very dark backdrop was a man who walked with God and was spared death. Enoch is a prototype of the last-days believer, showing us how to live as we await the Lord's return.

So what set Enoch apart? How was he able to live a godly life in an ungodly world, in a time that was characterized by sexual perversion and uncontrolled violence? We find three important principles at work in Enoch's life that we can apply in our own lives today.

Principle one: Enoch walked with God. The analogy of walking and the Christian life is used throughout Scripture. But what does it mean to walk with God? It is not merely living by rules and regulations or making daily resolutions that we quickly break. It is much more than that.

The prophet Amos revealed an important truth about what it means to walk with God when he asked, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3 nkjv). The word he used for "together" gives the idea of two people moving in rhythm together, as in riding a tandem bicycle. But it is not about getting God into rhythm with us; it is getting ourselves into rhythm with Him. That is what it means to walk with God.

Principle two: Enoch was well-pleasing to God. Hebrews 11:5 says, "He had this testimony, that he pleased God" (nkjv). Sometimes we have the mistaken notion that God is very hard to please. Yet God knows our weaknesses and frailties better than anyone, and He is not as hard to please as we might think.

So how do we please God? God is pleased when, in spite of the fact that we are in the right, we patiently endure when misunderstood (see 1 Peter 2:19-20). When you do what is right and patiently endure suffering for it, that is called meekness, and it pleases God.

God is also pleased when children obey their parents (see Colossians 3:20); when we worship Him and help others (see Hebrews 13:15-16); and when we give financially to the work of the kingdom (see Philippians 4:17-18).

Principle three: Enoch was a witness for God. Enoch walked with God, he was well-pleasing to God, and lastly, he was a witness for God. As Enoch walked with God and pleased Him, he had a testimony and a witness.

Every Christian has a testimony. People are watching us. They are observing us. And we should give a lot of thought to that. Before we can effectively witness for God, we must first walk with Him.

Because Enoch walked with God, he saw this world for what it was. Do you?