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Date Posted: 13:10:20 12/01/22 Thu
Author: c
Subject: More teachings 11/2022 (updated)

Charles Stanley

From the Pastor's Heart

(edited)


November 2022

Dear Friend,

I've always loved reading the Bible, but it used to bother me when I'd read a short command without any instructions on how to put it into practice....I thought of a reason somewhat later: If He had, we might not follow the steps, close our Bibles, and move on with life. In fact, we might only read the Bible when we need an answer to a problem.

The Lord gave us the Scriptures primarily so we could know Him - His nature, works, ways, and thoughts....Glimpses of His identity are found in some rather unexpected places in Scripture. That's why we should read the entire Bible regularly instead of merely using it as a reference Book.

It's God's will that we grow in our understanding of Scripture. And that includes His commands. For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." So, we now know exactly what God wants us to do. But how in the world are we supposed to do it? It's easy to be thankful for good things, but what about suffering, loss, and trouble? How can we be expected to thank God in those situations?

Before you write off this command as impossible to obey, consider the apostle Paul. His life was filled with hardship....How was he able to thank God in all this? Paul loved Christ and had an unwavering passion to know Him fully. In every situation, Paul could rejoice in the Lord because his mind was shaped by Scripture. He also knew the keys that open the door to gratitude. Would you like to know them, too?

The first key is that as a believer in Christ, you are in God's hands. When describing His people, Jesus told the disciples, "My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out to be the Father's hand" (John 10:29). Furthermore, the One Who holds you is omnipotent: "The LORD has established His throne in the Heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all" (Psalms 103:19). There is no one greater than your Protector.

The second key is God's assurance that He works everything for our good....Whatever happens to us, God will use it to achieve His purpose in our lives....He also allows difficulties and suffering. Yet even from these things He'll bring positive effects, frequently in the form of our spiritual growth and learning.

God is able to take our failures and turn them for our good. When we disobey and sin against Him, His chastening hand comes upon us with painful consequences to bring us to repentance....

Here's the third key: an understanding of God's specific purpose. It's easier to give thanks when we know the purpose we are "called according to" (Romans 8:28). The purpose is found in the very next verse: "to become conformed to the image of His Son" (v. 29).

God is working through your circumstances to make you like Jesus. It's a process that begins at salvation and will be completed at the resurrection, when the Lord "will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body" (Philippians 3:21)....

When your mind is focused on God's sovereignty over all your life, you'll be able to thank Him in every situation, whether pleasant or difficult. Believing these three truths will make your trust unshakeable, bring you great comfort, keep you from bitterness, and teach you contentment. What better reasons could there be to thank the Lord for all things at all times?

Prayerfully yours,

Charles F. Stanley

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Today in the Word

December 2022

p 3


What is Peace?

(edited)


by Dr. John Koessler

"There is more to peace than a personal experience. For the Christian, peace is a Person. Jesus is our peace."

...We usually think of peace as the absence of war or the ending of conflict, but the Biblical peace is primarily relational, grounded in God....

Jesus became God's primary agent of peace by reconciling us through the offering of Himself on the cross. As Ephesians 2:14 puts it, Jesus "is our peace."....The peace of Christ does more than enable us to get along with one another. By fulfilling God's Law on our behalf and dying for our sins, Jesus makes us "fellow citizens with God's people and also members of HIs household" (Ephesians 2:19).

Those who know the peace of Christ become agents of peace themselves. When Jesus first sent His disciples to proclaim the Kingdom, He told them, "As you enter the home, give it your greeting" (Matthew 10:12) - the traditional Jewish greeting, "shalom." But this was more than a social formality. Christians are offering peace through faith in Christ to others. The shalom of Christ is more than a greeting. It is a promise. There is more to peace than a personal experience. For the Christian, peace is a Person. Jesus is our peace.

---------------------------=

intouch.org Daily devotion 11/15/22

Unwavering Faith in Trials

If we respond correctly to adversity, God will make us stronger and fill us with joy.

1 Peter 1:3-9

We all go through troubling times, and it’s easy to get disheartened when that happens. But the Bible teaches that even during periods of challenge and adversity, we can respond correctly. Today’s passage tells us to rejoice. This doesn’t mean we’re to be glad about the hardship, but we should rejoice because we’re protected by God for the eternal glory that awaits us in heaven.

Another reason for joy is that trials are designed to produce endurance and spiritual maturity in us (James 1:2-4). God wants us to hang in there so we can derive the full benefit of whatever lesson He has in mind.

Our heavenly Father also uses trials to prove to His children that their faith is genuine (1 Pet. 1:7). When we persevere through each difficulty, our faith is tested and refined, reassuring us of our salvation.

As we learn that God brings benefit from our adversities, we’ll begin to face challenging times with confidence, knowing He always has our best interest in mind. This leads to joy, because we know He is building our endurance, purifying our heart, and making us people with unshakeable trust in Him.

------------------------------=

PowerPoint by Pastor Jack Graham 11/15/22 devotion

Are you in a desert place?


You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

--Psalm 16:11

God will sometimes take us to desert places… spiritually speaking… to purify and to prepare us for the greatest seasons of our lives. You may not like it, but it’s still true.

He does his deepest works within us in the secret places. Think about Moses’ life. It was in the desert that God molded him as He could not do in the palace of Pharaoh. It was in the desert where God transformed a prince into a shepherd so He might use him to lead the children of Israel out of slavery’s captivity and to the Promised Land.

So let me ask you. Have your decisions brought you to a desert place?

If so, God will use the desert to fulfill a greater purpose in your life. It’s been said that Moses spent the first forty years of his life learning that he was something; he spent the next forty years learning he was nothing; and he spent the next forty years learning that God could make something out of nothing!

It’s time to discover what God wants to make of your life! Let Him use the desert times to prepare you for something bigger, something better in Him!

GOD WILL USE THE DESERT TO FULFILL
A GREATER PURPOSE IN your LIFE.

-------------------------=

intouch.org Daily devotion November 17, 2022

Understanding Guilt

Conviction leads us to repentance so that we can experience God's forgiveness and joy.

Psalm 32:1-11

Guilt over doing something that violates the conscience is good. The Lord designed feelings of culpability and regret to serve as a reminder that we’ve done wrong and need to repent. In fact, without a sense of guilt, we’d never recognize that we’re sinners in need of a Savior. And after salvation, guilt is the way the Lord shows us we’re on the wrong path so we can turn back to Him in obedience.

Many in our culture claim that all guilt is bad, but that’s not the case. When you feel its pangs, you probably know exactly what you did to set off your conscience. The proper response is to come to the Lord in repentance, as David did. Delay would likely mean feeling God’s heavy hand upon you. But with confession, your sins are forgiven, your guilt is gone, and the joy of your salvation returns. (See 1 John 1:9.)

An amazing side effect of confronting guilt in this way is a willingness to be open about your struggles and failures. Through your experience, you can show others who are burdened with shame how they, too, can be set free and experience God’s peace and joy.

--------------------------------------=

Our Daily Bread

1/6/23

Made for adventure

(edited)

Whether it's inventing new music, exploring new forms of evangelism, or rekindling a marriage that's grown distant, adventures of all kinds keep our hearts beating. What new task or project is tugging at you right now? Perhaps God is leading you to a new adventure.

Sheridan Vorsey

------------------------=

Our Daily Bread

1/10/23

The God Who redeems

(edited)

...Even after we've sinned, if we confess our sins and turn to God, He forgives and restores us (Isaiah 42: 5 - 7), See 1 John 1:9). We can't bring beauty out of the mess, but Jesus can....

We have a limited vision of our story. But God Who knows us "by name" (Isaiah 43:1) will make our lives more beautiful than we could ever imagine.....

Glenn Packiam

----------------------------=

Our Daily Bread

1/11/23

Out of the lion's den

(edited)

When Taher and his wife, Donya, became believers in Jesus, they knew they risked persecution in their home country. Indeed, one day Taher was blindfolded, handcuffed, imprisoned, and charged with apostasy. Before he appeared at trial, he and Donya agreed that they wouldn't betray Jesus.

What happened at the sentencing amazed him. The judge said, "I don't know why, but I want to take you out of the whale's and lion's mouths." Then Taher "knew that God was acting"; he couldn't otherwise explain the judge referencing two passages in the Bible (SEE Jonah 2; Daniel 6). Taher was released from prison and the family later found exile elsewhere.

Taher's surprising release echoes the story of Daniel...

Many believer's today suffer for following Jesus, and sometimes they even are killed, When we face persecution, we can deepen our faith when we understand that God has ways we can't even imagine. Know that He's with you in whatever battles you face.

Amy Boucher Pye

-------------------------------=

Our Daily Bread

1/30/23

(edited)

Running on empty

"I just don't think I can do this anymore," my friend said through her tears as she discussed the overwhelming sense of hopelessness she faced as a nurse in a global health crisis. ...Seeing that a cloud of exhaustion had come over her, I responded, "I know you feel helpless right now, but ask God to give you the direction you're seeking and the strength to persevere." At that moment, she decided to intentionally seek God through prayer. Soon after, my friend was invigorated with a new sense of purpose. Not only was she emboldened to continue nursing, but God gave her the strength to serve even more people by traveling to hospitals around the country.

As believers in Jesus, we can always look to God for help and encourage when we feel overburdened because "He will not grow tired or weary" (Isaiah 40:28). The prophet Isaiah states that our Father in Heaven "gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" (v. 29). Though God's strength is everlasting, He knows that we'll inevitably have days when we're physically and emotionally consumed (v. 30). But when we look to God for our strength instead of trying to sprint through life's challenges alone, He'll restore and renew us and give us the resolve to press on in faith.

Kimya Loder

--------------------------------------=

Grace to You - Pastor John MacArthur

https://www.gty.org/broadcasts/radio/recent

Radio Broadcast 11/24/22

(edited portion of a teaching sermon)

Rejoicing Always

1 Thessalonians 5:16

9:20

So we are commanded to rejoice at all times, and then we are instructed that it is not natural, it is not normal, it is supernatural - it is a ministry, it is a gift, it is a product, it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Now someone will immediately then say: "well, if it is not natural and not normal, and doesn't rise out of my own human-ness, and I have to depend upon the Spirit of God to produce it, then why am I being commanded to rejoice? If it is the Spirit's work, then why is he commanding me to rejoice?"

And the answer is the same answer you have to give in all those aspects of Scripture which involve human volition. Every command in the New Testament is a command toward holiness which can only be produced by God; every command to the believer is a command to holiness which can only be produced by God and yet my will is involved in that.

And so while joy is a product of the Spirit of God, it is not bypassing my volition. It is not bypassing my will. The Holy Spirit gives this supernatural Christian joy - it is spiritual, it is supernatural, it is divine, it is a work of God in the inner man, and yet I must exercise my will over the flesh for that Holy Spirit work to take place. I must be involved. It is a work of God but not without my will.

The experience of Christian joy flows from God through the Spirit and then it has to flow through me. So, first of all, we are commanded to unceasing joy. Secondly, we acknowledge that it is not natural - it is supernatural - the work of the Spirit. But, thirdly, it demands the cooperation of my will....

Here's the definition: Christian joy is the emotion springing from the deep down confidence of the Christian that God is in perfect control. Let me say that much again. Christian joy is the emotion springing from the deep down confidence of the Christian that God is in perfect control of everything and will bring from it our good in time and our glory in eternity....

...It is an emotional response from what I know to be true about my God. That's the substance of it. All of us should be in the habit of constantly expressing joyful wonder when we contemplate the unchanging, eternal relationship with God that we have through the Lord Jesus Christ.

----------------------------=

Discovering the Jewish Jesus - Rabbi Kirt Schneider

Qualified for Greatness | Revelations to Set You Free Season 1

11/28/22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPn9QccUf2Q


(edited portion of a teaching exposition)


1:51


Even when we're united with Him in oneness, we're still unique. And the only person that can choose to love God is you. You're not just a shadow. God isn't making you love Him. You have to choose to love Him. You're always going to be separate. You're always going to have your own will. It's always going to be up to you to give God your heart. As I said last week, no one can give your heart to God but you.

And understanding this puts a weight of responsibility on us. When we wake up in the morning, God is not going to make us love Him. And love is not a feeling - love is a choice. When we wake up in the morning, you and I have to realize that it's our responsibility to put Him first. It's our responsibility to control what we say. So that we're always placing ourselves in a position under His authority and under His Word - watching what comes out of our mouth because we want to love Him. We have to choose to be under His authority because we love Him. We have to choose to be obedient. Jesus said: "if you love Me, you'll obey Me." But this is our choice.

As I said last week, when I was a very young Christian, I couldn't handle the fact that any of it had to do with me - because I had no confidence in myself. I just said: "Lord, it's all up to You. If You don't save me, I'll be lost. If You don't save me, I'll perish. If it depends on me, I'll fail."

So all I could do is trust God in His sovereignty to complete in me what He began. And that's a right thing to do. But as I got older, I realized that God is not going to force me to love Him, I have a call, and only I can do it.

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