A Time-Tested Warning
June 27, 2007 on 7:28 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsAnd don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment. -Jude 1:7
It may seem like a bit of a stretch to use Sodom and Gomorrah as an example and warning to us in the church today, but that is exactly what Jude did. One of the most obvious reasons that we are to put into remembrance this biblical account of sin and judgment is that it is prophetic of the condition of the last days. I cannot think of a time in my years of following the Lord when I have seen greater immorality among those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. I cannot personally think of a time when I have seen more open and blatant sin taking place on the part of those who profess to be Christians. When we hear the names Sodom and Gomorrah, we immediately think of immorality. But there were other things at the root of these sins. Ezekiel 16:49 offers God’s assessment: “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” These people were proud, they had more food than they needed, and they had too much time on their hands. What an accurate description of our nation today. The pride of those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah was a nationalistic pride. They felt strong and indestructible. And many feel that way today in the U.S. The problem is that we have forgotten God. We have done our level best to push Him out of our schools, out of our courtrooms, and out of our culture, and we are now seeing the results of it with the moral breakdown in our society.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
The Result of Rebellion
June 26, 2007 on 6:06 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsAnd I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. -Jude 1:6
Sometimes the question arises as to how a God of love could create someone as wicked as Lucifer. The answer is that God did not create Lucifer as we know Him today. In fact, he was once a high-ranking angel and, according to Ezekiel 28, was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. So what happened? What was his specific sin? It was that his heart became prideful because of his incredible beauty. He was not satisfied with worshiping God. He instead wanted to be worshiped. So Lucifer, once a high-ranking, beautiful angel of God, lost his exalted position in Heaven. Lucifer became Satan when he fell to the earth. Lucifer means “star of the morning,” which he once was. Satan means accuser, which he now is. And when Satan fell, he took one-third of the angels with him, who are now in rebellion against God. It is amazing to think that angels turned against God. After all, apart from humanity, who has greater privilege than angels? Certainly they have been given a wonderful privilege to have access to the very throne of God and worship before Him. Yet there was a major angelic rebellion. Here is the warning for us today: Even the angels are facing judgment because they rebelled against God, reminding us of the danger of thinking we can use the grace of God as a license for sin. The Bible cautions us that just because we know what is right and just because we have been taught in the truth does not mean that we are incapable of rebelling against God. The angels rebelled and faced God’s judgment. And if we rebel, we will face His judgment as well.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Building and Defending
June 21, 2007 on 9:54 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsThe leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. -Nehemiah 4:16-17
When God called Nehemiah, the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah was living in the lap of luxury. He was in a position of power and prestige. But Nehemiah was stirred in his heart, because he knew that while he lived in comfort, his fellow Jews were basically living in ruin. The once-high walls of Jerusalem lay in rubble, burned-out and charred. God told Nehemiah to use his position of influence for Him. Nehemiah prayed and then went to the king and asked for permission to rebuild the walls. Permission was granted, and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and went about the task of getting the people to rebuild the wall. At first, they weren’t all that interested, but eventually Nehemiah rallied the troops. Everyone began to work together. And as soon as the Israelites began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, there was opposition. It is a reminder to us that whenever God’s people say, “Let’s rise up and build” the devil and his cohorts are going to say, “Let’s rise up and oppose.” One of the greatest challenges when we go into a community to hold a Harvest Crusade is not booking the venue or printing the materials or doing the other things that are so visible. The hardest thing is getting the churches to wake up to the need of getting the gospel out in their own community. That is what Nehemiah had to do, and that is what we need to do. On one hand, we are to be building ourselves up in the faith. And on the other hand, we are to be contending for the faith. We build and defend, and it all goes together.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Contend for the Faith
June 19, 2007 on 9:37 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsBeloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. -Jude 3
Without question, the gospel is under attack today. And I believe that most Americans, not to mention the rest of the world, have not really heard the gospel message. The fact is that when a lot of people are supposedly preaching the gospel, they are not really preaching it at all. That is why Jude 3 says that we need to contend for the faith. We need to do this in the proper way. We don’t want to do it in a sloppy manner. We want to make sure that we know what the essential gospel is, because there are certain elements that must be in place for the gospel to be the gospel. I often hear people oversimplify or overcomplicate the gospel. Either they load it down with a bunch of rules and regulations that have nothing to do with the essential gospel, or they strip it of its essential meaning by offering forgiveness without mentioning repentance or by telling people about a wonderful place called heaven without mentioning a very real place called hell. We need to find that balance and do it properly.What would you think of a surgeon who just opened you up and started cutting away? It would be frightening for him or her to say, “I don’t know where to start.” We want to make sure that what we do, we do properly, because what we are up to in sharing the gospel has far greater, eternal ramifications. So let’s contend for the faith. Let’s live it. Let’s defend it. And let’s proclaim the essential gospel.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
A Vision of Heaven
June 16, 2007 on 5:35 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsAnd God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. -Revelation 21:4
Have you ever tried to explain something to someone and could not quite find the words? Have you ever tried to describe something complex to a child? For God to describe heaven to us in a way we could understand would be like trying to describe the beauty of Hawaii to a three-month-old child. We are not going to be able to comprehend, in our human bodies, all the glories of heaven. In fact, the apostle Paul, who had the unique experience of dying and going to heaven, said that he heard things so astounding that they could not be told (see 2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Paul was essentially saying that he couldn’t put his experience into words. Heaven is beyond our comprehension. It is difficult to describe. While there are not many verses in the Bible that tell us about it, the Bible does tell us a few things. It says that in heaven there will be no night. There will be no fear. There will be no suffering or death. All of the pain and disabilities that we face in this life will be gone in heaven. But the glory of heaven is even more than having new bodies, even more than the absence of darkness and sorrow and pain and death. The fact that Jesus Christ will be there is better than all the beauty and all the answers to our questions.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
In Search of Biblical Literacy
June 15, 2007 on 12:31 pm | In devotionals | No Comments“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. . . . ” -Hosea 4:6
Whenever I am invited to speak somewhere, I can discern the biblical IQ of the group I’m addressing in the first few minutes of my message. I observe the way they track, the way they listen, what interests them, and what doesn’t interest them. I note how they will come alive when an illustration is rolled out. But as soon as I get back to the biblical text, they go into a daze, as if to say, Wake me when the next illustration or joke is coming. This is because they have never learned to love the Bible. They have never developed a hunger for it. This is what I want my congregation,and all believers,to have. I want them to love the Word of God. We love worship at our services. We love having various artists coming in and sharing their music with us. We love all the other things we can do. But I believe the main event is the teaching and the preaching of the Word of God. That is what I want believers to care for. Yet tragically, so many people in the church today are biblically illiterate. They don’t have a biblical worldview. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to a church as a guest speaker and said, “Turn in your Bibles to . . . ” and no one has a Bible. When I will refer to certain biblical passages or a biblical story, they will look at me with blank expressions. This is not a good sign. I believe the cry of Hosea 4:6 rings true for many in the church today: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Watching and Waiting
June 13, 2007 on 6:12 pm | In devotionals | 1 CommentFor the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. -1 Thessalonians 4:16
The Bible says that God has loved us so that in the ages to come, He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2:4-7). In other words, God is saying, “I can hardly wait until you get home so I can show you how much I love you.” So we don’t need to be stressed out. Jesus is coming again. And some day, in the not-too-distant future, He will set foot back on planet Earth and say, “I have returned.” As a student of Bible prophecy for many years, I can say that I know of no prophecy in Scripture that needs to be fulfilled before the Lord returns. In my understanding of what the Bible teaches, Jesus Christ could come back for His people today. And it will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) It could happen at any time. He might return today for those who are watching. Do you want Him to come back? Are you ready for His return?
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Love is Patient and Kind
June 10, 2007 on 1:23 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsLove suffers long and is kind. -1 Corinthians 13:4
Can you imagine the world we would live in if people operated by the principle that says, “Don’t look out for your own needs and interests, but for the needs of others?” Yet we live in a culture that tells us to forget about others and to look out for number-one. But we should remember that God’s love is patient. And as the body of Christ, the love we have should be patient. Another way to translate the phrase, “Love suffers long” from 1 Corinthians 13 is “Love is long-tempered.” This common New Testament term is used almost exclusively in speaking of being patient with people rather than being patient with circumstances or events. Love’s patience is the ability to be inconvenienced again and again. The last words of Stephen, the first martyr of the church, were those of patient forgiveness: “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60). As he was dying, he prayed for his murderers rather than for himself. This is the same kind of love Jesus spoke of that turns the other cheek. It is the kind of love that has as its primary concern not its own welfare, but the welfare of others. And love is kind. Just as patience will take anything from others, kindness will give anything to others. To be kind means to be useful, serving, and gracious. It is active goodwill. Love not only feels generous; it is generous. Love not only desires the welfare of others; love works for it. However, if you wait for this emotion to come, you may never experience kindness. Remember, love is active. Love is kind. So just be kind, even if you don’t feel kind. That’s what God’s love is: patient and kind.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Called Together
June 2, 2007 on 7:17 pm | In devotionals | No CommentsNow all who believed were together, and had all things in common. -Acts 2:44
There is nothing in this world quite like Christian fellowship. We know that the early church worshipped and prayed together. They studied the Scriptures together. They ate together. They gave their tithes and offerings together. They shared the gospel together. They helped one another and stuck together. In short, they loved one another. The word that describes this phenomenon is the Greek word koinonia, which is usually translated “fellowship.” But it is also translated into the words “communion,” “distribution,” “contribution,” or “partnership.” This means there is something wonderful and supernatural that people in the church experience. It’s the bond that we have in which we love one another. God has a unique purpose and place for the church in the world today. Paul tells us that we Christians are “the called of Jesus Christ” (see Romans 1:6). God’s people are called out of a world system that is hostile to the teachings of Scripture. As Jesus said, “You are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). This doesn’t mean we are to isolate ourselves from the world, because Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (see Matthew 5:16). We are to be salt and light in this culture. But at the same time, we are called out of it and warned that we are not to love it. And not only are we as the church called out of the world, but we are also called together.
C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside CA 92514
Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^
