Friday, January 8, 2010

LastCallDigest: Are you looking to others to meet your emotional needs? (102-1) - Barry Werner

Are you looking to others to meet your emotional needs? (102-1)

Discouragement can find subtle ways to enter a leader’s life. A beloved, valued teammate gets restless and moves away; you need to work extra hours on a short term project and become physically exhausted; you neglect your daily prayer and devotion time; something goes wrong at home and it seems that for months nothing has worked according to plan. You begin to evade a few responsibilities; you begin to blame others; and you blur the facts to meet your own emotional needs. Before you know it, discouragement has landmines buried in your path and all around you. Discouragement doesn’t always have to be a process and take place over time. Sometimes discouragement hits a leader after a great loss or a great victory.

Read 1 Kings 19:1-15.

Elijah became a discouraged leader following a great victory over the false prophets of the land. Emotionally drained, physically spent, full of self-pity, Elijah broke. He became discouraged after a threat from royalty and ran for his life. If you have been around leadership long you know the feeling Elijah had in his stomach and the paralysis he experienced being totally unable to fix the situation.

So what did God do to help His leader through this difficult time in his life? He allowed him to rest; He assured him that He still loved him and had a mission for him; and He gave Elijah some assignments including selecting and developing another leader, Elisha.

It was 1975 when I experienced a physical injury that would not heal and ultimately, four years later, forced me to change careers. For the first time in my life I experienced discouragement that led to depression and eventually to such a low spot in my life that there was no way out.

Similar to Elijah, I thought it might be easier to die than live.

Also, similar to Elijah, God gave grace. He allowed me a time of physical rest; He removed all responsibility other than simple tasks for a time to allow me emotional rest; and He gave me mission. The great discouragement and depression breaker for me was God’s Word and in particular the book of Psalms, and even more specifically the Psalms of praise. I found that I could not have thoughts of praise and discouragement at the same time.

Are you discouraged? Even if no one else has noticed, are you living every day with a desperation inside that threatens to destroy your effectiveness in every area of your life? Are the facts blurring and does it seem you are looking to others to meet your emotional needs? There is hope! God deals with each leader individually. Just as He had a plan for Elijah, one of his great leaders, and for me, just an average man that simply loves Him, He has a plan for you. Hang on to Him as if you are a drowning person and He is your rescuing lifeguard.

·       

Tags: Depression, Discouragement

Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

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Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

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LastCallDigest: The Young Lions -Raul Ries

The Young Lions

“Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all
their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to
take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take
booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away
livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’. . .”And
it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog
comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord
GOD, “that My fury will show in My face.”
Ezekiel 38:13, 18

When you look at the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 and 39, the United States is not mentioned. Many theologians believe the young lions is in reference to the United States, England, Australia and New Zealand. These nations stand back and do not play a part in the Last Days’ prophecy. They have become ineffective; they have no power.

While these nations stand back, the nations now controlled by radical Muslims join forces with Russia to come against Israel.

Although Israel is a small country, God made a promise in Genesis 16-17, that the land would belong to Isaac, the Hebrew nations, and not to Ishmael, the Arab nations.

In Ezekiel 38 and 39, God keeps His promise. In spite of the great number of this army, we see God intervene when the nations come against Israel and wipe out 5/6 of the Muslim world. God will defend Israel. They will be persecuted, but God will not allow His people to be destroyed.

Individually, stand with God—stand with Israel against her enemies.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper
who love you. Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
Psalm 122:6-7

Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

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Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

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LastCallDigest: When God says No - Pastor David's Devotional for Fri Jan 8th, 2010

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Friday, January 8th 2010

1 Chronicles 22:5

"Now David said, "Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it." So David made abundant preparations before his death."
NKJV

Life Lesson

We are to help others build the kingdom of God as well. Kingdom builders are not concerned with who gets to do what; just that it is getting done.


This is such an important ministry lesson. David, one of the greatest kings and one of the greatest leaders of Israel, asks God to allow him to build the temple, but God told him no.

Nobody wants to be told no.

David proves the greatness of his leadership by setting aside his wants and begins to help. Instead of complaining, David begins to prepare so Solomon can build the temple.

Sometimes, God says no.

Sometimes, though we have the grandest of plans and the purest of hearts, God says "no" to our plans. What should we do then? Should we grumble and whine? Of course not! God wants us to help one another to build His kingdom. We should take joy in helping those who God has chosen. Kingdom builder's work together in the roles God has uniquely gifted to each, and by such, live up to their God-given utmost potential ... And God smiles.

Dear Father,
Thank You for loving me. Thank You for Your Word and for giving me the opportunity to be a kingdom builder. Lord, I desire to be used in whatever capacity You would have me to serve. Help me to recognize the gifts and talents You have equipped me with and give me a boldness to put Your kingdom first. I don't want to be a spectator in the Kingdom. I want to be a world-changer. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee

Senior Pastor
Calvary Chapel of the Triad
reachthetriad.com
twitter.com/ccot

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365 W. Bodenhamer Street • Kernersville, NC 27284 • 336.996.6880

Morning

Genesis 20, 21, 22

Evening

Matthew 7

 

Peter Varghees Dennis
Gospel for Asia
India

I serve the Lord as and Evangelist in Maharashtra, India, where the majority of the people are Hindus. To win the lost with the love of Christ, I visit houses, hold home-prayer meetings, distribute Gospel tracts and organize Sunday school. I am also involved in church-planting work.

Please pray for me that I would fulfill God's plan to expand His kingdom.
 

Gift Wrapping Outreach

Many volunteers participated in the recent Gift Wrapping Outreach at the Wendover Walmart in Greensboro. This outreach is held every year and is Absolutely Free. When people ask to give donations, volunteers tell them that the debt has already been paid. This opens up doors to share the Gospel. Thirty-eight people received Jesus as their Savior as a result of this recent outreach.

Please pray for those that recently accepted Christ into their hearts. Pray for upcoming outreaches to the community.
 

Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

Last Call

Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

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LastCallDigest: Conversations with Abraham -WOW The Big Picture

January 8

Conversations with Abraham

Genesis 17:1-21; 18:1-19; Psalm 5:11-12; Proverbs 2:21-22

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"

Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year."

Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant."

They said, "Do as you have said."

 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes." And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?"
So he said, "Here, in the tent."

 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son."


(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"


And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid.
And He said, "No, but you did laugh!"

 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."

Genesis 17:1-21; 18:1-19

WORSHIP

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Psalm 5:11-12

WISDOM

For the upright will dwell in the land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
Proverbs 2:21-22

Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

Last Call

Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

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LastCallDigest: How does God speak? -- Today's Devotion from Mike MacIntosh

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
Genesis 15:1

As believers, the Lord wants to speak to you and me. You may be wondering, though, how does God speak? As we see here, one way God can speak is through visions and dreams, just as He spoke to Abram here through a vision. In fact, Joel 2:28 tells us that in the last days, the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out on all flesh, and "your old men shall dream dreams, [and] your young men shall see visions."

A vision is like a snapshot, whereas a dream is more like a movie. Many times, a vision will come in an instant -- you don't have all the details, but you have a picture of what God wants to do. When I first came to San Diego, I had a vision of what God wanted to do, and more than 35 years later, I've seen God do wonderful things here; I still work toward that vision everyday. A dream, on the other hand, tends to feel longer and have more details -- it tends to be a more complete picture. I believe that as the Lord inspires the younger, more active generation with visions, He also gives the older, more experienced generation a bigger picture so they can train up the younger generation.

But God does not just speak through dreams and visions; He can speak to us in many different ways. Sometimes the Lord may simply move you through the Scriptures. Other times, a friend may give you a note, or you'll hear something said by your pastor. However God speaks to you, it's important to realize that He will never contradict His Word. He will never lead you to do anything that counters the Bible. If you find yourself asking, "How do I know if I'm hearing from God?" then ask yourself, "What does His Word say?"

Most importantly, when we hear God speak to us, we must act. Notice the first thing the Lord says to Abram: "Do not be afraid." Even though the Lord may not give you all the details now, don't be afraid to take action. Be obedient to what you do understand. And as you step out in obedience, by faith, the Lord will be faithful to guide you. It's part of living an active faith, and there's no greater thrill!

 

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LastCallDigest: Judgment Seat Of Christ, Part 1 -Kay Arthur

PRECEPTS FOR LIFE

a Production of

Precept Ministries International

P.O. Box 182218, Chattanooga, TN 37422-7218

1-888-734-7707/ www.preceptsforlife.com

The following is an actual transcript of the PRECEPTS FOR LIFE Broadcast. For the purpose of filling transcript requests quickly, they have received only light editing. If you have questions concerning the material covered in this broadcast, Kay has published a number of books explaining the Scripture in depth. These books may be ordered by contacting the telephone number or address printed above.

 

SERIES: NWC 03 Judgment Seat Of Christ

TITLE: Program 1 – NWC 03 Judgment Seat Of Christ, Part 1

         

FRIDAY (1/8/10)

          

OPEN 

What is your ambition, Precious One? What is the driving force of your life? What do you want to be? What do you want to do? If it‟s anything less than to be pleasing to Him no matter the cost, Precious One, you are going to be so sorry. You are going to be so sorry. And do you know why? You‟re going to be so sorry because someday you‟re going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ.

 

PART ONE

If you and I are going to be alive with His life, if you and I are going to be prepared for such a time as this then you and I must live at the cross. The cross, the cross is the epicenter of all of Christianity. Everything centers around the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to give His life a ransom for many and when He came He made this statement. “If any man is going to come after Me let him,” what, “deny himself take up his cross and,” what,

“follow Me. He that will lose his life for My sake and the gospel‟s shall find it but he that saves his life will lose it.”

Now when we look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and 5 and by the way as I told you before there‟s a group of Lord books out there. Lord books where you go through particular topics like Lord, Is It Warfare?

Teach Me To Stand, Lord, I Need Grace To Make It Today, everything that the Bible teaches about grace or Lord, I Want To Know You, a study on the names of God. There‟s the newest one is Lord, Give Me a Heart For You which is on 2 Corinthians. And in this book Paul bears his soul like he doesn‟t in any other epistle. You see him.

You see his vulnerability. You see that he has conflicts without and he has fears within. And yet you see him standing fast. You see him in this letter defending his ministry and we‟re going to see it a little bit in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. But his whole point to us in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 which I said is like the epicenter of that chapter it‟s found in verse 12.

So let‟s look at it again. In verse 12 and I‟m going to go back to verse 10. “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.”

In other words he‟s saying that you and I are to live in such a way that we reflect the cross and all that it implies so that reflecting the cross we can reflect the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says, “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus‟ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death works,” where, death works, “in us and,” what, “life in you.”

So let‟s say it. Let‟s personalize it, all right. Death in me so that there‟s what? Life in you. And that‟s what the cross is all about. Jesus died so that you and I might have life. There was no other way for man ever to gain eternal life except through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All right now, I took you from that passage to Esther and I want you to go to the book of Esther again because I didn‟t make my point well and I want to make my point but I had run out of time. And I want us to go to Esther chapter 4 and I want you to see this principle lived out in Esther who had come to the

kingdom for such a time as this.  

Who was alive for such a time as this. And you remember that the Jews were going to be put to death. Every last Jew in this kingdom, in this Persian kingdom, was going to be put to death. All right, now, we know that because God is a covenant keeping God that would not happen and Mordecai knew that if Esther did not do her job that deliverance would come from another quarter but if Esther, now listen carefully.

If Esther did not do her job, if Esther was not willing to go into the king and make known this plot and petition the king then Mordecai says help will come from another place. Look at verse 13 of Esther chapter 4. “Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, „

Do not imagine that you in the king‟s palace,” you, Jewess, in the king‟s palace, you, wife, of the king, do not imagine that you in the king‟s palace, “can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place….” And that‟s because the Jews are God‟s elect nation.

And that‟s because God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and it is an everlasting covenant and it will never be revoked and it doesn‟t matter what any theologian says, if you read the Word of God it becomes very clear if you let scripture interpret scripture. God‟s covenants and gifts and promises are irrevocable. Now that gives you assurance because when He promises you salvation then you can know that He‟s going to deliver salvation. That if He genuinely saves you then when you die you are absent from the body and you are present with the Lord. That‟s called eternal security.

All right now, in verse 14 he says Jews deliverance and relief, “will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father‟s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai.” Esther had to make a decision and that was, was Esther going to remain silent or was she going to put her life on the line? Because if she went to make an appearance before the king without being bidden that king because he had supreme authority could put her to death immediately. Never hear why she

appeared. So Esther turns around and this is what she says.

She says in verse 16, “Go, and assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink these three days, or night and I and my maidens will also fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law;” and catch it, “if I,” what, “perish, I perish.” Give me another word for perish. If I heh, what? If I die then I‟m going to die. So what do we see? We see that she was alive for such a time as this to deny herself and in an essence, in picture form, take up her cross and follow God. It was going to be death in her so that it could be what?

Life in the others. So she was willing to die to spare her people, to spare her nation.

All right now, she goes in to the king. You know the story or if you don‟t know the story it‟s an awesome account to read. But she goes in to the king, the king says what do you want? He sees her standing in the court yard. She gets all dressed up. All right, fit to kill. All right or fit to seduce. Whatever you want to say but anyway the king says come on in. And he says what do you want? Ask me and I‟ll give you up to half my kingdom. And she says I just want you to come to dinner and I want you to bring Haman to dinner.

Now Haman is the one that‟s got this plot to kill these Jews. So when they find out that Haman‟s going to dinner then Haman builds this gallows and Haman is going to hang Mordecai on these gallows because he hates that Jew because listen. That is a Jew that does not compromise his covenant, his religion, his faith and he will not bow down to Haman. So Haman builds this gallows. Well, they go to this banquet and to make a long story short Esther reveals to the king Haman‟s plot. And when he (Kay means she) reveals to the king, Haman‟s plot and this is what I want you to see. He (Kay means she) reveals this and so then the king says Okay take Haman and hang him on the gallows that he just built. Now there‟s a picture here and the picture is this. The picture is that the devil holds over us our lives. He threatens us and anytime they want to get somebody to do anything or to reveal something they begin to torture them and when they can‟t torture them enough then

they threaten them with death.

Now if we understand that death works in me so that life works in you and that I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live then it doesn‟t matter if you threaten me with death if I understand that absent from the body, what?

Present with the Lord. It‟s far better to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. So what happens is this and this is the principle I want you to get and I want you to understand. That when you live a crucified life, when you follow Jesus, when you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him then the enemy has no hold on you whatsoever. He has no emotional hold or any threat that can keep you from serving Jesus Christ. Why? Because you are what heh! You are what? Dead. Death in you so life in others. So listen.

When you live this crucified life, when you live at the epicenter of Christianity which is the cross of Jesus Christ, when you do that, Beloved, then the devil is hung on his own gallows. I want you to see that. You‟re hanging the devil on his own gallows because he, listen. As long as you live at the cross, as long as you live at the cross the devil cannot touch you in anyway. He cannot touch you in anyway. Why? If he threatens to take your life it doesn‟t matter. You‟re already what? Heh!

You‟re already dead and you know that if anything happens to you that you are absent from the body and present with the Lord.

 

PART TWO

Let‟s go back to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16. He says, “Therefore we do not lose heart….” Now remember verse 1 of chapter 4, “…we do not lose heart.” All right? Because we have a ministry. Verse 16, “…we do not lose heart, for though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction….” This is what I want you to see. Whatever comes your way, whatever comes your way.

Whatever God permits to come into your life it is filtered through fingers of love. It is momentary and in the weight and in the light of eternity it is light. It is a momentary light affliction.

And so he says that momentary

light affliction would not be permitted in your life by a sovereign God who does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth it would not be permitted in your life, Precious One, if it was going to harm you. But it is producing for you an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. And listen, it is an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison if you live and stay at that cross and live in such a way that it is death in you and life in others.

So he says, (2 COR.4:18) “while we look,” now this is what he‟s saying. He‟s saying your living on earth but you are heavenly minded. And I don‟t like that saying you‟re so heavenly minded, you‟re no earthly good. Listen. You can‟t be so heavenly minded you‟re no earthly good because when your heavenly minded in the right sense and in the biblical sense then you are fit for earth and everything that comes your way.

So he says that, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are,” what, “temporal….” When Jan was teaching us about handling a crisis one of the things that she pointed out from 1 Peter is this. That it is for a season. Every trial, every affliction, every crisis has a beginning and it has an end and God holds the key to locks and unlocks that crisis because He‟s sovereign and you can trust Him. All right? He says, “…the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 COR.5:1, 2) “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house….” I‟m living in something that is temporary. I had a friend and she was just darling. And she went to Washington, D.C. and she ministered to Senate wives and things like that and God just used her. But she would always say, “When you look at me, please look at me in my resurrection body.” She says, “I am about five foot nine and I am a willowy blond.” All right? And so we have this earthly tent. But this earthly tent is going to be torn down. It is appointed unto man what? Once to die and after that the judgment. So he says our, “…earthly tent which is our house,” if it‟s, “torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house

we groan….” Like it was shown.

We look in the mirror and sometimes we groan. All right? We put our hands around our waist and sometimes we groan or we have an ache or we have a pain and we groan. “…longing to be clothed on with our dwelling from heaven.” Now I‟m afraid that that is not the attitude of many people in the church. But listen, this is the heart of a man, a man whose heart beats with the heart of God. Because for this man to live is Christ and to die is what? Gain.

And because this man is living at the cross then if he lives or dies it doesn‟t matter. If I live or die my only cry will be Jesus in me, praise the Lord. And so he says I‟m longing to get rid of this body so that I can be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. (2 COR.5:3) “inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.” Now what he‟s saying is this. Listen. When you die you‟re going to get a brand new body. I used to think that we‟d just flop around in heaven like this just as an angel or a spirit because I did not know the Word of God. I went to church. I had a religion but I didn‟t have a relationship.

Excuse me, but the Word was so boring. It was so boring. I couldn‟t understand it because what was over my face? There was a veil over my face and I couldn‟t see. All right now, he says verse 4, “For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by,” what, “by life.” All right, so it‟s death in me but what? Life in you and when I live that I want you to know that I am going to have death that is swallowed up by life. He says, (V. 5)  “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God,” here we go, all right, “who gave us,” His what? The Spirit as a,” what, “as a pledge.” In other words the Holy Spirit and we‟ll look at this later but the Holy Spirit is your ticket to heaven. Your Holy Spirit is the guarantee that when you die you are going to be absent from the body and you are going to be present with the Lord. So the Holy Spirit, have you got it?

The Holy Spirit is your ticket to heaven. You‟re guaranteed that you‟re going to get a brand new body. All right now, verse 6, “Therefore,” do you see the therefore? You

gotta find out what the therefore is there for.

So remember we do our three dots over the therefore. “Therefore,” since I‟m going to get a brand new body, since this mortals going to put on immortality, since this mortal‟s going to be swallowed up by life, “Therefore, being always of good courage,” always of good courage, “and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord…” and then he says this in parenthesis, all right.

He says, “…knowing that when we are at home in the body we‟re absent from the Lord…” and then he says, “for we walk by faith, and not by sight.” In other words we haven‟t seen it. We haven‟t seen our new bodies. The only person or persons that saw somebody in a resurrected state after being dead, a resurrected state.

A resurrected state never to die again are those disciples and followers of Jesus Christ who saw Him after He was raised from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15 tells you about that and you can look at it later. So he says in verse 8, he says, “We knowing that when we‟re at home in the body we‟re absent from the Lord,” verse 8, “we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord.” Now I want to ask you a question. Are you living that way?

Are you so in tune with the Lord? Is your heart so in tune with God‟s heart? Do they beat as one? Do they beat as one so that you rather be with Christ than you would be alive here on earth? That‟s what Paul said. I want to tell you something. I cannot say that. I cannot say that. I am begging God, I am begging God. “God, there‟s so much work. You have to do in me.

And I don‟t want to be ashamed when I see You and I have so much to learn and so much to put into practice. I‟m not everything that I need to be.” I‟m not everything that I want to be but I can tell you with every fiber of my being I want to be what He wants me to be. I want to be 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9.

Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

Last Call

Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

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LastCallDigest: Worship: Offering Yourself to God - Daily Hope -Rick Warren

Friday, January 08, 2010

So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Romans 12:1-2 (TEV)

Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about.

This act of personal surrender is called many things: consecration, making Jesus Lord, taking up your cross, dying to self, yielding to the Spirit.

What matters is that you do it, not what you call it. God wants your life. All of it -- 95% is not enough.

Our total surrender to God is blocked by several things, including -

  • Our ignorance of God - not knowing what he's really like.
  • Our sinful nature - the desire to be God ourselves, and
  • Our misunderstanding of surrender and the trust that it requires.

Can We Trust God?
Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won't surrender to God unless we trust Him, but we can't trust Him until we know Him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.

How do I know God loves me? He gives us many evidences:

  • God says he loves you (Psalm 145:9);
  • You're never out of his sight (Ps. 139:3);
  • He cares about every detail of your life (Matt. 10:30);
  • He gave you the capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure (1 Tim. 6:17b);
  • He has good plans for your life (Jer. 29:11);
  • He forgives you (Ps. 86:5);
  • He's patient with you (Ps. 145:8);
  • He sacrificed his Son for you (Rom. 5:8).

God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine -

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1, HCSB)

If you want to know how much you matter to God, look at Christ with his arms outstretched on the cross saying, "I love you this much! I'd rather die than live without you."

God is not a cruel slave driver, or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to himself, so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a Lover and a Liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage.

When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

Live the Truth
Go from knowing the truth to living the truth
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Holiday Catalog
Inspirational holiday gift ideas from SaddlebackResources.com
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Last Call Digest

This material was brought to you by Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity. Last Call Digest, is a ministry of Michael James Stone, volunteers, and people dedicated to the Love of God and Salvation of Souls. It is an aggragate of Christian Material selected to Bless you and Prepare you for each and every day you read them. May God Bless You as You Do!! Reading these Devotions will help you to prepare daily for life, living, and your Lord. You will hear God Speak To You thru them.  Jesus  is Coming Very Soon.

Last Call

Broadcast(B.C.)Christianity, operates by you, with you, and for you. “Freely you have received, freely give”  Pass this on, everywhere you can, anytime you can, anyway you can. You will be blessed if you do.LastCallDigest@michaeljamesstone.com

Posted via email from The Last Call Digest