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Date Posted: 06:15:15 08/10/22 Wed
Author: c
Subject: Supplementary teachings 8/2022

intouch.org Daily devotion August 4, 2022

The Trials of Life

God wants you to trust Him when calamity strikes.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Have you ever wondered why God lets bad things happen to you or your loved ones? Hardships and suffering are a consequence of sin and the fallen condition of the world, but why is He allowing distress in your life? Though trials are painful, understanding the Lord’s purpose can bring joy and hope.

When a person is saved, he or she begins the lifelong process of becoming holy. And few things build character like sorrow. Unfortunately, our spiritual growth may be slow during pleasant times, but pain brings us to our knees in dependence upon God as we seek His help, strength, comfort, and grace.

Another reason the Father allows trials is to test and refine our faith. When we go through the fire of affliction and remain true to the Lord, we’ll come out more sure of our salvation. Not only that, but we will have greater trust in God’s character and dealings with us. Then when the next difficulty arises, we will remember His faithfulness during the previous trial and be able to rest confidently in Him. If we submit to the Lord, He’ll use our hardships to mature us, and that’s reason to rejoice.

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Turning Points devotional 8/6 - 7/22


(edited)

Above and beyond living

Love others

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." - 1 Peter 4:8


...That doesn't mean sins aren't discussed, confessed, and forgiven. Painting over sins with love isn't a way to ignore or hide them. Rather, love is the unconditional response to sin: "I love you despite of anything and everything." Of all the responses one might have to a personal offense, above all let love be the main response.

Turning Point

Love is rightly called "the Queen of Christian graces."

A.W. Pink

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Turning Points devotional 8/13 - 14/22


(edited)

Above and beyond living

Guard your heart

Solomon used a well of water as a metaphor for the human heart and advised guarding the heart as one would guard a precious well:"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (NIV). Just as physical life depends on a wellspring of water, so spiritual life depends on an abundant and pure heart. The first ten chapters of Proverbs contains instructions for wise living from a father to his son. Included are admonitions to store up wise and godly instruction (Proverbs 2). A heart full of such instruction will become a source of life in moments of testing.

Above all, guard your heart, and it will be a wellspring of life and wisdom.

Turning Point

It is not the Word hidden in the head but in the heart that keeps us from sin.

Vance Havner

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Today in the Word

9/15/22

John Koessler

Why confession works

1 John 1:1 - 10

(edited)

Don't wait for sins to stack up before you confess them. As soon as a sin comes to mind, admit your guilt and ask God to forgive you because of what Jesus Christ has done. You do not need a long and elaborate prayer. It is enough for you to say, "God forgive me for Jesus' sake."

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Today in the Word

9/18/22

Drawing on credit

Galatians 3:1 - 14

John Koessler

(edited)

The apostle bluntly warns those who try to be righteous based on their own effort that they will fall short. God's Law requires more than a good track record from us. Righteousness demands perfect obedience at all times. Although God's Law is righteous, holy, and good, its standard is not based on faith but performance (Galatians 3:10; see also Romans 7:12). Faith, on the other hand, operates on the principle of inheritance. It draws on the account reserved for us by Jesus Christ.

We can never have a high enough "credit score" to earn our salvation. We gain access to that inheritance by faith. The proof of its existence is the living presence of the Holy Spirit Who dwells "in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5).

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Today in the Word

9/25/22

Moving on

John Koessler

(edited)

Hebrews 6:1 - 12

...God's grace produces growth. When that is not the case, something is wrong. Often, however, it is because we have grown lazy (Hebrews 6:11 - 12).

Salvation is a gift of grace. We do not get it through our own effort. Spiritual growth is a gift also, but it does require a measure of cooperation from us. To grow spiritually requires both diligence and study.

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Today in the Word

9/26/22

Discipline and Righteousness

John Koessler

(edited)

Hebrews 12:1 - 13

...We should not think that God has abandoned us when difficulties enter our lives. The opposite is the case. We are training "for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness" (Hebrews 12:10). God Himself is our Personal Trainer. Even better, God is our loving Father. His only goal is to give us life and make us more like His Son Jesus Christ. We have nothing to fear from Him.

The application of verses 12 - 13 employs figurative language that encourages us to look at our hardships and struggles differently. We must endure hardship with an eye on God.

How do you see your circumstances? Can you discern the hand of God in them? As we discover things about ourselves that need to be changed, we must submit to His discipline.

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Talks for Growing Christians

https://www.growingchristians.org/talks/james3b/

Two kinds of wisdom

James 3:13 - 18


“The wisdom from below is earthly, sensual and demonic.” James 3:15

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17

Every day we make decisions. The evil one will try to trick us into making wrong decisions. The evil one makes a bad decision look right. This is wisdom from below that uses fleshly and prideful and materialistic and lustful and angry and deceitful and negative ways of viewing and analyzing things, choices, and situations to prompt us to make wrong decisions.

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intouch.org daily devotion August 9, 2022

Our Helper in Prayer

The Holy Spirit enables us to pray according to the will of God.

Romans 8:26-28

God has invited us to come to Him with our requests and concerns. Yet we don’t truly know how to pray as we should, because we have limited knowledge, faulty motives, and misplaced desires. But we have a Helper who intercedes for us according to God’s will.

The Holy Spirit knows exactly what the Father desires to do in our life, and His prayers are always answered. For example, we may ask for relief from suffering or hardship, but the Lord’s will may be to use these things to produce Christlike character within us. We may think our prayers have gone unanswered, but the Spirit has taken our desire for something good and turned it into a request for something better.

The Spirit not only prays for us according to God’s will, but He also clarifies the Father’s will to us. Scripture tells us what the Lord desires and how He works. As we renew our mind with His Word, we’ll be better able to pray effectively. Yet there is great comfort in knowing that none of our prayers fall on deaf ears. The Spirit takes each one and interprets it to fit the Father’s will.

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