Verse For The Day
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18)
Short Devotional Thought
Our Daily Devotional:
Fear No Evil
Psalm 23:4 NIV: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Have you ever wondered if you have walked through the valley of the shadow of death? Perhaps you have. Perhaps you have had troubled times but are not certain you would go so far as to say you have walked through times where death seemed looming--almost imminent. David knew what it was like to be surrounded by an enemy that sought to take his life. But he knew His God watched over him like a shepherd over sheep. The knowledge that God´s protection was always present gave David peace and contentment. "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me" he said. God watches over us during the day, and He keeps watch over us by night. And even in our times when death is looming, and tragedy imminent, we do not need to fear evil--for God will take us through the most dangerous, and darkest of valleys--and faithfully bring us to the other side. AMEN!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Risks in Faith: God Multiplies
Risks in Faith: God Multiplies
by Rick Warren
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
If you give God your time, he multiplies it. If you give him your money or energy, he multiplies those too. It’s like planting seeds. Farmers know that seeds must be given away – sacrificed by being buried in the ground – to do any good. If you keep a seed in a sack, it does no good, but if you plant it, it multiplies. For example, when you plant just one watermelon seed, you get a bunch of watermelons with hundreds of seeds in them. In the same way, God multiplies whatever you give him.
What’s the key ingredient in this seed planting? Faith. But we have to understand the difference between faith and bargaining. Bargaining is when you say, “God, help me close this deal and I’ll give you part of it.” But God doesn’t work that way. God asks for faith – he wants us to sacrifice in advance, not knowing that we’ll get anything in return –then he wants us to let him figure out how to repay us.
One of the great lessons that Kay and I have learned is that you cannot out-give God. Whatever you give him, he multiplies. Three different times in our marriage, God told us to give away our entire savings. Each time we obeyed, and each time God restored our finances in greater ways than ever before.
I’ll never forget one of our church building campaigns. Kay and I prayed about how much to give, and God told us to give an amount equal to one year’s salary. I didn’t know how we would live for an entire year without a salary, but we obeyed God.
About a month later, we saw God’s plan when a publisher asked me to write a book and offered an advance of $100,000. That book became The Purpose Driven Church.
Jesus makes us this promise in Luke 18:29-30: “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (NIV).
And 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (NIV).
Remember, when you give a seed in faith to God, he will multiply it.
by Rick Warren
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
If you give God your time, he multiplies it. If you give him your money or energy, he multiplies those too. It’s like planting seeds. Farmers know that seeds must be given away – sacrificed by being buried in the ground – to do any good. If you keep a seed in a sack, it does no good, but if you plant it, it multiplies. For example, when you plant just one watermelon seed, you get a bunch of watermelons with hundreds of seeds in them. In the same way, God multiplies whatever you give him.
What’s the key ingredient in this seed planting? Faith. But we have to understand the difference between faith and bargaining. Bargaining is when you say, “God, help me close this deal and I’ll give you part of it.” But God doesn’t work that way. God asks for faith – he wants us to sacrifice in advance, not knowing that we’ll get anything in return –then he wants us to let him figure out how to repay us.
One of the great lessons that Kay and I have learned is that you cannot out-give God. Whatever you give him, he multiplies. Three different times in our marriage, God told us to give away our entire savings. Each time we obeyed, and each time God restored our finances in greater ways than ever before.
I’ll never forget one of our church building campaigns. Kay and I prayed about how much to give, and God told us to give an amount equal to one year’s salary. I didn’t know how we would live for an entire year without a salary, but we obeyed God.
About a month later, we saw God’s plan when a publisher asked me to write a book and offered an advance of $100,000. That book became The Purpose Driven Church.
Jesus makes us this promise in Luke 18:29-30: “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (NIV).
And 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (NIV).
Remember, when you give a seed in faith to God, he will multiply it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Resist Discouragement
Resist Discouragement
by Rick Warren
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:36-37 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is NOT a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come – yet – that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer, or that he’s forgotten you, or that he doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet!”
Spiritual maturity is knowing the difference between “No” and “Not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV).
The delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, anybody can be patient twice. And, just about anybody can be patient three times. So God tests you patience over and over and over.
Why? To see how patient you are?
No, he does it to show you how patient you are. So you’ll know what’s inside of you, and you’ll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed.If you’re discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience.
You may be going through difficult times right now and feel like dropping off the planet. You’re discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair.
It may seem unbearable and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!”
But you can.
You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit.
Don’t quit. Resist discouragement and finish the race God has set before you.
by Rick Warren
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:36-37 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is NOT a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come – yet – that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer, or that he’s forgotten you, or that he doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet!”
Spiritual maturity is knowing the difference between “No” and “Not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV).
The delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, anybody can be patient twice. And, just about anybody can be patient three times. So God tests you patience over and over and over.
Why? To see how patient you are?
No, he does it to show you how patient you are. So you’ll know what’s inside of you, and you’ll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed.If you’re discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience.
You may be going through difficult times right now and feel like dropping off the planet. You’re discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair.
It may seem unbearable and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!”
But you can.
You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit.
Don’t quit. Resist discouragement and finish the race God has set before you.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Resisting Discouragement
Resisting Discouragement
by Rick Warren
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.
The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).
Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.
When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.
When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said ….”
Ask yourself these questions:
· How do I handle failure?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?
· When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?
· Do I finish what I start?
· How would I rate on persistence?
If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.
When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.
And that’s true of life, too: Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.
The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.
by Rick Warren
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.
The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).
Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.
When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.
When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said ….”
Ask yourself these questions:
· How do I handle failure?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?
· When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?
· Do I finish what I start?
· How would I rate on persistence?
If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.
When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.
And that’s true of life, too: Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.
The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Keeping Fit
Verse For The Day
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Short Devotional Thought
Our Daily Devotional:
Keeping Fit
Romans 12:1 NIV: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God´s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
I have the best of intentions to stay physically fit. I sometimes set up schedules with real and reachable goals. I have a weight bench, a treadmill, and a membership to a fitness club. But for some reason, that by itself isn´t enough. I actually have to follow through with my plans and use the resources I have available. And if I don´t, it´s easy to see the results each time I step on the scale or look in the mirror. There may be a lot of drawbacks from not being physically fit, but I can think of nothing as bad as the difficulties I face when I am not spiritually fit. Just like with my body, when I don´t do what is needed for my spirit—it shows—and sometimes it´s not pretty. I cannot overemphasize our need to stay spiritually fit. We must maintain good spiritual condition for the sake of our relationships, our personal walk with God, and our effectiveness as ministers and witnesses.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Short Devotional Thought
Our Daily Devotional:
Keeping Fit
Romans 12:1 NIV: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God´s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
I have the best of intentions to stay physically fit. I sometimes set up schedules with real and reachable goals. I have a weight bench, a treadmill, and a membership to a fitness club. But for some reason, that by itself isn´t enough. I actually have to follow through with my plans and use the resources I have available. And if I don´t, it´s easy to see the results each time I step on the scale or look in the mirror. There may be a lot of drawbacks from not being physically fit, but I can think of nothing as bad as the difficulties I face when I am not spiritually fit. Just like with my body, when I don´t do what is needed for my spirit—it shows—and sometimes it´s not pretty. I cannot overemphasize our need to stay spiritually fit. We must maintain good spiritual condition for the sake of our relationships, our personal walk with God, and our effectiveness as ministers and witnesses.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Fear & Grace
Fear & Grace
by Rick Warren
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
God is watching over you.
When King David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me,” he’s not saying, “Surely only good things will happen to me!”
The fact is bad things happen to good people. What David is teaching us is that God can take bad, evil, and difficult situations and bring something good out of them.
It’s one of God’s great promises to us: we can know that all things are working for our good “if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (Romans 8:28 LB). If you’re a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good – not that all things are good, but that they work together for good. There’s no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in life that God can’t ultimately turn toward good.
When you understand God’s grace and mercy, there’s no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus shouldered the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” That’s how God’s grace and mercy work.
Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them; God is constantly picking up our messes.
Think about this:
· Christians go to the future, not with a question mark, but with an exclamation point. God will be with you no matter what happens. He will help you out.
· God’s goodness provides and protects;God’s mercy pardons and forgives. God’s goodness will supply; God’s mercy will sooth. God’s goodness will help; God’s mercy will heal.
· Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don’t deserve.Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.
by Rick Warren
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
God is watching over you.
When King David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me,” he’s not saying, “Surely only good things will happen to me!”
The fact is bad things happen to good people. What David is teaching us is that God can take bad, evil, and difficult situations and bring something good out of them.
It’s one of God’s great promises to us: we can know that all things are working for our good “if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (Romans 8:28 LB). If you’re a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good – not that all things are good, but that they work together for good. There’s no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in life that God can’t ultimately turn toward good.
When you understand God’s grace and mercy, there’s no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus shouldered the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” That’s how God’s grace and mercy work.
Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them; God is constantly picking up our messes.
Think about this:
· Christians go to the future, not with a question mark, but with an exclamation point. God will be with you no matter what happens. He will help you out.
· God’s goodness provides and protects;God’s mercy pardons and forgives. God’s goodness will supply; God’s mercy will sooth. God’s goodness will help; God’s mercy will heal.
· Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don’t deserve.Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.
Neighborly Compassion
by Jon Walker
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” Luke 10:25-28 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
If you had to boil all of the commandments of God down to no more than a sentence, Jesus confirmed it would read something like this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and also love your neighbor as yourself.
Once again, we see the connection between our love for God and our love for others. We see the connection between the compassion we receive from God and the compassion we extend to our neighbors.
But the lawyer in this exchange with Jesus pressed in like a prosecutor, drilling for a specific definition of neighbor. Luke writes, “The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (10:29, NLT)
A gentle teacher, with a gentle yoke, Jesus did not answer directly (or even crack any lawyer jokes). He told a story many of us are familiar with, about a man beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho. First, a priest walked by, and seeing the man, crossed to the other side of the road. Then, an assistant at the Temple who was in charge of purity and tithing walked by, and seeing the injured man, he crossed to the other side of the road.
Finally, a man from a despised race, a Samaritan, walked by and stopped. He treated the man’s injuries and then took him to a nearby inn, paying for his care and lodging until he could get back on his feet.
Who, Jesus asked, was the injured man’s neighbor?
The lawyer responded, “The one who showed him mercy.” “That’s right,” Jesus said, “Now go and do the same.” (based on Luke 10:37, NLT)
Compassion is as compassion does. The ones in need are our neighbors, whom we should love with the same love we have for ourselves.
What does this mean?
· Maintain a teachable heart – When the lawyer faced Jesus, he tried to justify his current behavior, instead of allowing Jesus to teach him the compassionate behavior. In other words, the lawyer was trying to bend the scriptures to match his behavior when he should have been changing his behavior to match the scriptures. Instead of defending a position, ask God to help you become teachable as you learn to receive and give compassion.
· Listen to constructive criticism – “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Fear of the Lord teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor.” (Proverbs 15:31-33, NLT)
· Relationships over religious rules – In the story of the Good Samaritan, it is the religious people who walk by, and it is the despised Samaritan who helps the injured man. It seems Jesus is less interested in religion – rituals and rules – than he is in compassionate relationships; it is compassion in relationships that reveals the heart of God, not the following of religious rules.
· How would you want to be treated? “Now go and do the same.” (Luke 10:37, NLT)
by Jon Walker
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” Luke 10:25-28 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
If you had to boil all of the commandments of God down to no more than a sentence, Jesus confirmed it would read something like this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and also love your neighbor as yourself.
Once again, we see the connection between our love for God and our love for others. We see the connection between the compassion we receive from God and the compassion we extend to our neighbors.
But the lawyer in this exchange with Jesus pressed in like a prosecutor, drilling for a specific definition of neighbor. Luke writes, “The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (10:29, NLT)
A gentle teacher, with a gentle yoke, Jesus did not answer directly (or even crack any lawyer jokes). He told a story many of us are familiar with, about a man beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho. First, a priest walked by, and seeing the man, crossed to the other side of the road. Then, an assistant at the Temple who was in charge of purity and tithing walked by, and seeing the injured man, he crossed to the other side of the road.
Finally, a man from a despised race, a Samaritan, walked by and stopped. He treated the man’s injuries and then took him to a nearby inn, paying for his care and lodging until he could get back on his feet.
Who, Jesus asked, was the injured man’s neighbor?
The lawyer responded, “The one who showed him mercy.” “That’s right,” Jesus said, “Now go and do the same.” (based on Luke 10:37, NLT)
Compassion is as compassion does. The ones in need are our neighbors, whom we should love with the same love we have for ourselves.
What does this mean?
· Maintain a teachable heart – When the lawyer faced Jesus, he tried to justify his current behavior, instead of allowing Jesus to teach him the compassionate behavior. In other words, the lawyer was trying to bend the scriptures to match his behavior when he should have been changing his behavior to match the scriptures. Instead of defending a position, ask God to help you become teachable as you learn to receive and give compassion.
· Listen to constructive criticism – “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Fear of the Lord teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor.” (Proverbs 15:31-33, NLT)
· Relationships over religious rules – In the story of the Good Samaritan, it is the religious people who walk by, and it is the despised Samaritan who helps the injured man. It seems Jesus is less interested in religion – rituals and rules – than he is in compassionate relationships; it is compassion in relationships that reveals the heart of God, not the following of religious rules.
· How would you want to be treated? “Now go and do the same.” (Luke 10:37, NLT)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Pleasing God – Practical Worship
by Rick Warren
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
Why does God want your body? Why doesn’t he say, “Offer your spirit”?
It’s because without your body you can’t do anything on this planet. In eternity, you’re going to get a new, improved, upgraded body but while you’re here on earth God says, “Give me what you’ve got!” He’s just being practical about worship.
You’ve heard people say, “I can’t make it to the meeting tonight but I’ll be with you in spirit.” Do you know what that means? Nothing. It’s worthless! As long as you’re on Earth your spirit can only be where your body is! If your body isn’t there, neither are you!
In worship we are to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” Now, we usually associate the concept of sacrifice with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. He wants you to live for him!
However, the problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, and we often do that. We sing “Onward Christian Soldiers” on Sunday, then go AWOL on Monday.
In the Old Testament, God took pleasure in the many sacrifices of worship because they foretold of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Now, God is pleased with different sacrifices of worship: thanksgiving, praise, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in need.
Real worship costs. David knew this and said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24 TEV). One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time. You don’t worship to be seen by others. You deliberately shift the focus off yourself.
When Jesus said, “Love God with all your strength” (Luke 10:27), he was pointing out that worship takes effort and energy. It is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is a sheer act of the will – a willing sacrifice.
Daily Ponder
Verse For The Day
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)
Short Devotional Thought
Our Daily Devotional:
At Hand
Matthew 4:17 KJV: From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Consider the words, "at hand." If we have a pencil at hand, we have a pencil near and in our reach. When Jesus came to us, He placed the Kingdom of Heaven in our reach. The Kingdom of Heaven was not only something near as in the future, but near as in "Stretch out thy hand." As a man seemed to grasp what Jesus was teaching, Jesus told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). As children of God, we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. We are part of His glorious and eternal Kingdom. We need not wait to enjoy the riches of our relationship with God. He is near--even within our reach. AMEN!
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)
Short Devotional Thought
Our Daily Devotional:
At Hand
Matthew 4:17 KJV: From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Consider the words, "at hand." If we have a pencil at hand, we have a pencil near and in our reach. When Jesus came to us, He placed the Kingdom of Heaven in our reach. The Kingdom of Heaven was not only something near as in the future, but near as in "Stretch out thy hand." As a man seemed to grasp what Jesus was teaching, Jesus told him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). As children of God, we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. We are part of His glorious and eternal Kingdom. We need not wait to enjoy the riches of our relationship with God. He is near--even within our reach. AMEN!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Our Witness: God’s Good News
Our Witness: God’s Good News
by Rick Warren
“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
Every Christian is called to share with others what we’ve been given from God. But, I’m often asked, what exactly are we supposed to share?
Here’s your message in two words: good news.
Mark says in our key verse today that we’re to tell the good news to everyone.
Do you like to get good news? Everybody does. Do you like to share good news? Most people do. At my house, we compete to see who gets to share the good news.
Now, many of us think, “The people I work with, my friends, they’re not interested in the good news.”
But, we’re dead wrong! They may not be interested in religion, but they are interested in the good news. The problem is not that our friends and co-workers aren’t interested; the problem is we’ve forgotten how good the good news really is.
Once you’ve been a Christian for a while, you forget how miserable it was to live without hope. You forget what it was like to worry where you would go when you die. You forget what it was like to have guilt, fear, regrets, bitterness, and boredom in your life – a life before Christ brought meaning, purpose, and significance.
What happens to most of us is that the longer you’re a Christian the more you tend to take for granted how good the good news really is. Likewise, most people who do not know Jesus don’t understand how good the good news really is.
If you go out on the street and ask people, “How do you convince God to like you?” most of them will probably say, “You’ve got to work real hard to get God’s approval and you’ve got to be really, really good. You’ve got to keep a lot of rules and you probably have to follow a lot of regulations and do some rituals. You’ve got to be religious. I’m none of those things, so I’m never going to please God or get to know him.” If that’s what some people think the good news is, it’s no wonder they don’t get too excited about discussing it.
But here’s the good news: you are able to enter into a relationship with God through an attitude of trust – trust in Jesus Christ – and not through a religion of rules, regulations, and rituals.
God says you get to know him just by trusting him. If you trust his Son with your life, you get forgiveness for your past, a purpose for living in your present, and a home in heaven in the future.
Is that good news? Do you think anybody you know would be interested in that?
The good news keeps sounding better and better because the bad news of the world keeps getting worse and worse.
by Rick Warren
“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
Every Christian is called to share with others what we’ve been given from God. But, I’m often asked, what exactly are we supposed to share?
Here’s your message in two words: good news.
Mark says in our key verse today that we’re to tell the good news to everyone.
Do you like to get good news? Everybody does. Do you like to share good news? Most people do. At my house, we compete to see who gets to share the good news.
Now, many of us think, “The people I work with, my friends, they’re not interested in the good news.”
But, we’re dead wrong! They may not be interested in religion, but they are interested in the good news. The problem is not that our friends and co-workers aren’t interested; the problem is we’ve forgotten how good the good news really is.
Once you’ve been a Christian for a while, you forget how miserable it was to live without hope. You forget what it was like to worry where you would go when you die. You forget what it was like to have guilt, fear, regrets, bitterness, and boredom in your life – a life before Christ brought meaning, purpose, and significance.
What happens to most of us is that the longer you’re a Christian the more you tend to take for granted how good the good news really is. Likewise, most people who do not know Jesus don’t understand how good the good news really is.
If you go out on the street and ask people, “How do you convince God to like you?” most of them will probably say, “You’ve got to work real hard to get God’s approval and you’ve got to be really, really good. You’ve got to keep a lot of rules and you probably have to follow a lot of regulations and do some rituals. You’ve got to be religious. I’m none of those things, so I’m never going to please God or get to know him.” If that’s what some people think the good news is, it’s no wonder they don’t get too excited about discussing it.
But here’s the good news: you are able to enter into a relationship with God through an attitude of trust – trust in Jesus Christ – and not through a religion of rules, regulations, and rituals.
God says you get to know him just by trusting him. If you trust his Son with your life, you get forgiveness for your past, a purpose for living in your present, and a home in heaven in the future.
Is that good news? Do you think anybody you know would be interested in that?
The good news keeps sounding better and better because the bad news of the world keeps getting worse and worse.
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