Our Best Is Needed November 30, 2016

Psalm 143:6 (NIV)

6 I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land

Not long ago I visited the dean of a great American university. We looked out the window of his office and watched hundreds of students walking to their classes. I asked the dean, “What is the greatest problem at this university?” He thought a moment and answered, “Emptiness.” So many people today are bored, lonely, searching for something. You can see it in their faces.

One girl home from college told her wealthy father, “Father, I want something but I don’t know what it is.” That’s true of many people; we want something to meet the deepest problems of our lives, but we haven’t found it. David said, “I have found it. I shall not want.” The Apostle Paul expressed it, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

You don’t have to give up on life, to throw up your hands and cry, “It’s no use.” . . . You can have God’s peace, God’s joy, God’s happiness, God’s security; and yours can become the most thrilling life in the world.

Thought for today: Can I define my best?

No Compromise November 29, 2016

Ephesians 3:16 (NIV)

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Horace Pitkin, the son of a wealthy merchant, was converted and went to China as a missionary. He wrote to his friends in America, saying, “It will be but a short time till we know definitely whether we can serve Him better above or here.” Shortly afterward, a mob stormed the gate of the compound where Pitkin defended the women and children. He was beheaded and his head was offered at the shrine of a heathen god, while his body was thrown into a pit with the bodies of nine Chinese Christians.

Sherwood Eddy, writing about him, said, “Pitkin won more men by his death than he ever could have won by his life.” Christ needs people today who are made of martyr stuff! Dare to take a strong, uncompromising stand for Him.

Thought for today: Am I willing to give all to Christ?

The Origins Of Jesus November 28, 2016

John 8:58 (NIV)

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus said that He existed before the foundation of the world. He was there when the moon and stars were flung out into space from the Father’s flaming fingertips. He was there when God created this planet. He has always existed. He is “from everlasting to everlasting.”

Thought for today: Do I compartmentalize God?

The Holy Spirit November 27, 2016

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is God, just as God the Father and God the Son are also God. We speak of them as the Trinity. You ask me to explain the Trinity. Our minds can but dimly grasp these great spiritual facts, because we are finite and God is infinite.

It may help to remember that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have all existed from eternity. The work of creation was given to the Son and we are told that, “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” But when you read the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis, you will find that the Holy Spirit was also there, moving upon the face of His creation. In time, the Son of God came into the world as a man, to redeem the world which He had created. After His death on the cross, and His resurrection, He went back to the Father in heaven.

During His earthly ministry His work and life were spent within a circumscribed area in Palestine. When He went back to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to exercise a worldwide ministry. Today the Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us. All over the world the Holy Spirit is wooing men to Christ, and He lives in the hearts of believers and helps us each day. To be Spirit-filled Christians is to be the kind of Christians that God wants us to be.

Thought for today: Do I acknowledge the Holy Spirit?

You Can Preach November 26, 2016

Matthew 24:14 (NIV)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

We are stewards of the Gospel. The power to proclaim the greatest news in heaven or on earth was not given to the angels. It was given to redeemed men. This was addressed to humble laymen. Some think that only ministers are to preach, but that is wrong. Every Christian is to be a witness; every follower of Christ is to preach the Gospel.

We can preach by sharing our experience with others. We can preach by exalting Christ in our daily lives. Sermons which are seen are often more effective than those which are heard. The truth is: the best sermons are both heard and seen. They are a sort of audiovisual testimony. We can also preach by giving to others, so they may preach. Missionary gifts, church offerings, and charitable contributions all speak eloquently of your unselfishness and Christian generosity.

In all these things, we are partners with God. We are helping by His grace to redeem the world. God needs our time, our talents, our witnessing, and our money, today more than at any other time in history. Become a full, working partner with God.

Thought for today: What is my work for God?

Symptoms of Guilt November 25, 2016

Psalm 51:2 (NIV)

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Guilt is a prominent word among psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and ministers too. The dictionary calls guilt “the act or state of having done a wrong or committed an offense.” The symptoms of guilt are many, but the root cause is one.

We have broken the moral law of the universe as expressed in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. So we have a sense of guilt.

This guilt causes a variety of psychological problems such as insecurity, tension, hunger for approval, struggles for recognition. A sense of guilt, some psychiatrists point out, is as necessary as a sense of pain. We need both in order to keep us from getting hurt.

Thought for today: How do I deal with my guilt?

A Presence November 24, 2016

Luke 2:32 (NIV)

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

If we could look through mighty telescopes or listen to electronic soundings, we could hear and see the metallic stars which both Russia and America have put into space in the past years. None of these synthetic stars have brought peace to the world. But God’s star promised peace to the whole world, if man would believe and trust.

Too often man’s synthetic stars bring fear and anxiety. Our gadget-filled paradise, suspended in a hell of international insecurity, certainly does not offer us the happiness of which the last century dreamed.

But there is still a star in the sky. There is still a song in the air. And Jesus Christ is alive. He is with us, a living presence, to conquer despair, to impart hope, to forgive sins, and to take away our loneliness and reconcile us to God.

Thought for today: Do I go to God to find peace?

Handling Temptation November 23, 2016

1 Corinthians 10:13New International Version (NIV)

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

It is Satan’s purpose to steal the seed of truth from your heart by sending distracting thoughts. It should encourage you to know that the devil considers you a good enough Christian to use as a target.

The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is: though they both may have good and evil thoughts, Christ gives His followers strength to select the right rather than the wrong. You see a man going to prayer meeting with a Bible under his arm. That man was undoubtedly tempted to stay at home, go bowling, or to some other activity. But, as these diverse thoughts came to his mind, he made the right selection, and headed for the church.

Another man walks through the night to a bar. It no doubt occurred to him that he had best stay home with his family. But he yielded to the negative thought, and gave in to his lower appetites.

It is not the temptations you have, but the decision you make about them that counts.

Thought for today: Can I resist temptation?

Salvation November 22, 2016

Acts 4:12 (NIV)

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Salvation is an act of God. It is initiated by God, wrought by God, and sustained by God. The faith that saves the soul is described as faith in Christ as the Son of God-not as a good man or a great man, but as the uniquely begotten Son of the living God!

This is consistent with the witness of the entire New Testament and with the proclamations of the first preachers of the Gospel. All proclaim the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ as deity.

Thought for today:  Is my faith all that it should be?

The Mysteries Of God November 21,2016

Romans 1:20(NIV)

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

If you try to rationalize God exhaustively, you will fail. There are mysteries about God that we will never understand in this life. How can the small and finite, limited to time and space, understand an infinite God! We should not think it strange that it is impossible to explain many mysteries in the realm of matter.

Who can explain why objects are always attracted to the center of the earth? Who can fathom the law of gravity? Newton discovered it, but he could not explain it. Who can explain the miracle of reproduction? . . . Thus many evidences and many arguments could be advanced to indicate there is a God.

Yet the plain truth is this: God cannot be proved by mere rationalization. He cannot be contained in a tiny man-made test tube or confined to an algebraic formula. If God can be fully proved by the human mind, then He is no greater than the mind that proves Him.

Thought for today: Is God limited to the span of your thoughts?

Surrender November 20, 2016

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Happiness and all of the unlimited benefits which flow from the storehouse of heaven are contingent upon our relationship to God. Absolute dependency and absolute yieldedness are the conditions of being His child. Only His children are entitled to receive those things that lend themselves to happiness; and in order to be His child, there must be surrender of the will to Him.

We must admit we are poor before we can be made rich. We must admit we are destitute before we can become children of adoption. When we realize that all our own goodness is as filthy rags in God’s sight, and become aware of the destructive power of our stubborn wills; when we realize our absolute dependence upon the grace of God through faith and nothing more, then we have started on the road to happiness.

Man does not come to know God through works—he comes to know God by faith through grace. You cannot work your way toward happiness and heaven, you cannot moralize your way, you cannot reform your way, you cannot buy your way. It comes as a gift of God through Christ.

Thought for today: Can I yield to the will of God?

Change You And Change The World November 19, 2016

Romans 14:12 (NIV)

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

I do not quarrel with Karl Marx’s statement that “religion is the opiate of the people.” I never try to defend religion. Religion has spawned wars. Many so-called religious people have been characterized by prejudice, pride, bickering, and even tolerance for slavery. However, I would call you to a simple faith in Jesus, who said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Are you really concerned? Are you disappointed with society? If you are, I challenge you to take the first step. I challenge you to look at yourself.

Though for today: Does my life speak love?

Finite and Infinite November 18, 2016

Hebrews 13:14 (NIV)

14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

One of the basic desires of the soul is to live on and on. Self-preservation is the first law of nature. People may grow tired of aches and pains and the decrepitude of old age, but they do not grow tired of life itself. God has arranged to satisfy this yearning of the soul to live forever, and the desire to be free from pain and sickness and trouble. People are little creatures with big capacities, finite beings with infinite desires, deserving nothing but demanding all. God made people with this huge capacity and desire in order that He might come in and completely satisfy that desire. God made the human heart so big that only He can fill it. He made it demand so much that only He can supply that demand . . . Jesus Christ is the only one who holds the keys of death. In His death and resurrection He took the sting out of death, and now God offers eternal life to every person who puts his trust and faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Thought for today: Do I trust God to fill my heart?

Words With Power November 17, 2016

James 3:5 (NIV)

5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

There is a story of a woman in England who came to her vicar with a troubled conscience. The vicar knew her to be a habitual gossip—she had maligned nearly everyone in the village. “How can I make amends?” she pleaded. The vicar said, “If you want to make peace with your conscience, take a bag of goose feathers and drop one on the porch of each one you have slandered.” When she had done so, she came back to the vicar and said, “Is that all?” “No,” said the wise old minister, “you must go now and gather up every feather and bring them all back to me.” After a long time the woman returned without a single feather. “The wind has blown them all away,” she said. “My good woman,” said the vicar, “so it is with gossip. Unkind words are easily dropped, but we can never take them back again.”

Thought for today: Do I speak in love?

That Crazy Gospel November 16, 2016

1 Corinthians 1:23 (NIV)

23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

One of the great needs in the church today is for every Christian to become enthusiastic about his faith in Jesus Christ. This is the essence of vital spiritual experience. The apostles had been with Christ, and they could not help but testify to that which they had seen and heard. Every Christian should become an ambassador of Christ with the splendid abandon of Francis of Assisi. Every Christian should be so intoxicated with Christ and so filled with holy fervor that nothing could ever quench his ardor. The Gospel that Paul preached seemed madness to the world of his day. Let us have this madness! Let us capture some of the magnificent obsession that these early Christians had! Let us go forth as men and women filled with the Spirit of God!

Thought for today: Do I and can I worship without restriction?

Is it Well ? November 15, 2016

Mark 8:36New International Version (NIV)

36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

In the world in which we live, we give most attention to satisfying the appetites of the body and practically none to the soul. Consequently, we are one-sided. We become fat physically and materially, while spiritually we are lean, weak and anemic. The soul actually demands as much attention as the body. It demands fellowship and communion with God. It demands worship, quietness, and meditation. Unless the soul is fed and exercised daily, it becomes weak and shriveled. It remains discontented, confused, restless. Many people turn to alcohol to try to drown the cryings and longings of the soul. Some turn to a new sex experience. Others attempt to quiet the longings of their souls in other ways. But nothing but God ever completely satisfies, because the soul was made for God, and without God it is restless and in secret torment.

Thought for today: Do I seek to feed my soul? Do I recognize what it is crying out for?

True Friendship November 14, 2016

John 13:35 (NIV)

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The human soul is a lonely thing. It must have the assurance of companionship. Left entirely to itself, it cannot enjoy anything. God said in the beginning, “It is not good that man should dwell alone” (Genesis 2:18). The creation of Eve was the beginning of human companionship. God’s people are a body, not intended to function separately, not intended to be unconcerned for one another. The only true body in the world is the Church. The world may talk grandly of brotherhood, but in reality its philosophy is “each man for himself.” God’s children are guaranteed the richest and truest friendship, both here and hereafter. Only in a true friendship and a true love do we find a genuine basis for peace. Only God can break down the national and racial barriers that divide men today. Only God can supply that love that we must have for our fellowman. We will never build brotherhood of man upon earth until we are believers in Christ Jesus. The only true cohesive power in the world is Christ. He alone can bind human hearts together in genuine love.

Thought for today: Do I seek to unify or divide?

Where is Jesus November 13, 2016

Philippians 3:8 (NIV)

8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

“Where is Jesus Christ?” Innumerable students are studying Him and deciding whether or not Christ and the Gospel really matter-whether He is relevant in this modern age. C.S. Lewis, a professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Oxford and later at Cambridge, had to do the same thing. He spent his life exploring the great literature of centuries. In his remarkable autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he tells of his pilgrimage from atheism to Christianity. His turning point came with the realization that the writing with the deepest meaning and greatest content was based on a deep, personal faith in God, by men like Augustine, Blaise Pascal, George Macdonald.

Thought for today:  Do I strive to walk closer to God?

The Meek, The Happy November 12, 2016

Matthew 5:5(NIV)

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

In His characteristic way Jesus was saying something quite shocking and revolutionary to His listener with these words, “Happy are the meek.” He was saying something quite the opposite of our modern concept of the way to happiness. We say, “Happy are the clever, for they shall inherit the admiration of their friends”; “Happy are the aggressive, for they shall inherit a career”; “Happy are the rich, for they shall inherit a world of friends and a house full of modern gadgets.” Jesus did not say, “Be meek and you shall inherit the earth.” He, more than anyone else, knew that meekness was a gift of God, a result of rebirth. Jesus was not issuing a command in this Beatitude nor saying, “You ought to be meek, that is the way to live.” No! He was saying that if we want to find the secret of happiness, that if we want to enjoy living, then “meekness” is a basic key.

Thought for today:  Do I know demonstrate meekness?

Only Jesus November 11, 2016

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The question remains, “How can God be just-that is, true to Himself in nature and true to Himself in holiness-and yet justify the sinner?” Because each man had to bear his own sins, all mankind was excluded from helping, since each was contaminated with the same disease. The only solution was for an innocent party to volunteer to die physically and spiritually as a substitution before God. This innocent party would have to take man’s judgment, penalty, and death. But where was such an individual? Certainly, there was none on earth. There was only one possibility. God’s own Son was the only personality in the universe who had the capacity to bear in His own body the sins of the world. Only God’s Son was infinite and thus able to die for all.

Thought for today: Do I acknowledge the sacrifices made for me?

Dream Big November 10, 2016

Revelation 2:10 (NIV)

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

In our day much of the world believes little or nothing. People are broad but shallow. Agnosticism, anxiety, emptiness, meaninglessness, have gripped much of the world—and even the church. Our youth are desperately searching for a purpose and a meaning in their lives. They are searching for fulfillment which they are not finding in sex and drugs. By contrast, our Pilgrim forebears stand as shining examples of men who were narrow but deep, certain of what they believed, unswerving in their loyalty, and passionately dedicated to the God they trusted, and for whom they would willingly have died. I say to you, more than 350 years after the Pilgrim Fathers landed in the New World: Dream great dreams, embrace great principles, renew your hope, but above all, like them, believe in the Christ who alone can give total meaning and an ultimate goal to your life. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

Thought for today: Do I take the opportunity to be the voice of hope?

Science & Faith November 9, 2016

1 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV)

5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge

There is never any conflict between true science and our Christian faith. It is my own feeling that when all of the truth is known, it will be found that the Genesis story is a wonderfully accurate record of what took place when the world was created. This may be a telescoped record, giving only major points, but I believe it is scientifically accurate. To discard the Bible because we do not understand everything in it, or in the world, would be a foolish thing to do. Let me also suggest that teachers should confine themselves to those areas in which they are qualified. I have known unbelievers to attack the Christian faith through their teaching, even when they did not have the remotest idea of what true Christianity is. For instance, one does not send an art critic to write up a football game, or a sports writer to evaluate a painting. Ask God to give you the wisdom to keep things in their proper perspective, and—above all—faithfully read your Bible and pray every day. If you do, God will give you the faith and wisdom you need to meet any problem.

Thought for today: Do I find refuge and delight in the word?

Being Honest With God November 8, 2016

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)

7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The greatest blessing of giving is not on the financial side of the ledger but on the spiritual side. You receive a sense of being honest with God. You receive a consciousness that you are in partnership with God—that you are doing something constructive—that you are working with Him to reach the world for Jesus Christ. You are also enabled to hold on to this world’s goods loosely because the eternal values are always in view. How do you give? Is it liberally and cheerfully? Or is it sparingly and grudgingly? If you have been giving God the leftovers of your substance and your life, you have been missing the true joy and blessing of Christian giving and living.

Thought for today: Do I try to hold back on what I give God?

The Mystery Of Heaven November 7, 2016

Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What will heaven be like? Just as there is a mystery to hell, so there is a mystery to heaven. Yet I believe the Bible teaches that heaven is a literal place. Is it one of the stars? I don’t know, I can’t even speculate. The Bible doesn’t inform us. I believe that out there in space where there are one thousand million galaxies, each a hundred thousand light years or more in diameter, God can find some place to put us in heaven. I’m not worried about where it is. I know it will be where Jesus is. Christians don’t have to go around discouraged and despondent, with their shoulders bent. Think of it-the joy, the peace, the sense of forgiveness that He gives you, and then heaven, too.

Thought for today:  Do I rejoice in all things?

Born Again November 6, 2016

Ephesians 4:24 (NIV)

24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

In Texas they tell a story about a man who used to hitch his horse every morning in front of the saloon. One morning the saloonkeeper came out and found that the horse was hitched in front of the Methodist church. He saw the man walking down the street and called out, “Say, why is your horse hitched in front of the Methodist church this morning?” The man turned around and said, “Well, last night I was converted in the revival meeting, and I’ve changed hitching posts.” That’s what it means to be born again. That’s what it means to be converted. It means that you changed hitching posts.

Thought for today: Do people know I am committed to Christ?

The Truth Will Set You Free November 5, 2016

Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

The mark of a true Christian is found in his personal relationship to the Person of Jesus Christ. Christianity is Christ. Christ is Christianity. I speak reverently when I say that Jesus is more than His ideas. All that He said was true, but without Him even the truth would have been powerless. Men know the power of truth, and truth is that which sets men free. Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

Thought for today:  Do I know my freedoms in Christ?

The Greatest Work Of Christ November 4, 2016

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Jesus worked all His life. But the greatest work that Jesus did was not in the carpenter’s shop, nor even at the marriage feast of Cana where He turned the water into wine. The greatest work that Jesus did was not when He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, nor even the dead to rise. The greatest work that Jesus did was not when He taught as One having authority, or when He scathingly denounced the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. The greatest work that Jesus did was not in the great ethical program He presented to mankind—that program which has become the foundation for Western culture. What, then, was His greatest work? His greatest work was achieved in those three dark hours on Calvary. Christ’s greatest work was His dying for us.

Thought for today: Do I allow God to fight my battles of do I seek revenge?

The Cost Of Discipleship November 3, 2016

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)

10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

One of the Christian’s responsibilities in following Christ is to have a new attitude toward work. So many young people want Christ without responsibility. Jesus was not a drop-out. As a carpenter, He worked hard with His hands. The Apostle Paul made tents for a living while he carried on the work that God assigned him. Whatever work a Christian does is done unto the Lord. He should do his best at whatever his trade or vocation. He should be faithful, clean, and honest.

Thought for today: Do I do my job as unto the glory of God or do I see it as drudgery?

The Struggles Of Life November 2, 2016

1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)

24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

All life is a struggle—that is the nature of things. Even within our physical bodies, doctors tell us, a conflict for supremacy is going on. The bacteria in our bloodstream are waging a constant war against alien germs. The red corpuscles fight the white corpuscles constantly in an effort to maintain life within the body. A battle is also raging in the spiritual realm. “We fight,” the Bible says, “against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Darkness hates light. I have a dog that would rather dig up a moldy carcass to chew on than to have the finest, cleanest meal. He can’t help it—that is his nature. Men cannot help that it is their nature to respond to the lewd, the salacious, and the vile. They will have difficulty doing otherwise until they are born again. And until they are changed by the power of Christ, they will likely be at enmity against those who are associated with Christ.

Thought for today: Does what I do in life honor Christ?

The First Missionary November 1, 2016

Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Jesus Himself was the first missionary! He did not sit by passively and let those who happened to be interested in His teaching come to Him. He went out where the sick, the sorrowing, and the sad were, and expounded His message of joy, healing, and salvation. Even at a tender age, He went to the Temple and “taught” the doctors and lawyers who were entrenched in the old traditions. He found His way to the seaside and intruded upon the life of the commonest of laborers, saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Wherever He went He challenged, uprooted, and changed men. And at length they nailed Him to a cross because He had upset their selfish, secure, smug way of life. Not only was Jesus a missionary, but He pledged His followers to be missionaries, too!

Thought for today: Do I make following Christ look appealing?