Tuesday, May 24, 2011

PastorsPOV: "A heart for God" Jon Courson

 

 

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Daily Devotional with Jon Courson - May 24

by Calvary Dunfermline on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 1:16pm

And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

 2 Samuel 24:21-24  

 

In this passage, I think we are given understanding and insight into what made David so great. Why was he alone called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)? It certainly wasn’t because he was sinless, for he had a series of failures that I dare say match or exceed any of ours. In fact, if he were on trial before the Christian community, I suggest the Christian community would have had a tendency to write him off long ago. Saul, on the other hand, would be applauded and approved. Saul, too, made mistakes. But not as seemingly blatant as David’s. Therefore, I suggest that in the eyes of human understanding, Saul would be exalted, and David would be dismissed as one who wasted his potential. 

 

But that wasn’t God’s verdict. Why? Because God looks at the heart, and David had a heart for God.

 

“Take the property,” Araunah said. “Make your sacrifice so the plague might be stopped. It’s free. It’s yours.”

 

“I will not give the Lord that which costs me nothing,” David said. 

 

Hear the heart of David. “I won’t skimp,” he said. “I won’t cheat God. Yes, I failed Him in the past. But my heart is devoted to Him.”

 

If you want to know the heart of David, read the Psalms. Saul never wrote a single psalm because Saul didn’t have a heart for the Lord. Saul was outwardly impressive, but he used the things of God to exalt himself. David, on the other hand, used himself to exalt the things of God. When David penned the Psalms, he didn’t know they would be preserved and studied for centuries. He was simply writing love letters. He just loved God.

 

What would you have done had Araunah come to you and said, “Take the property. Here’s the wood for the sacrifice. Here’s the oxen. Just take it”?

 

Would you have said, “Great! I can save a few shekels”? Or do you have a heart like David’s, a heart that says, “I will give everything I have, everything I am to the One who gave His all for me”?

 

Many of us are skimpy and small. We give the Lord the leftovers of our time, of our energy. You might not be committing any moral sin. But God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He’s looking for men and women who say, “I’m devoted to worshipping the Lord. I’m devoted to extolling and praising Him. I’m devoted to paying the full price.”

 

Although severely chastened again - even at the end of his life - David is still to be exalted by the Lord and acknowledged throughout history as one of the very greatest of all men who ever lived. Why? Because he had a heart after God.

 

Do you?

 

 

 

 

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PopDEVO: "A Major in Discomfort" - Charles R. Swindoll

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A Major in Discomfort
Charles R. Swindoll
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
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Read Exodus 3:1Acts 7:29–30

Notice carefully how the process took place through those years of desert learning, because it is the same with you and me. God must break through several hard, exterior barriers in our lives before He can renovate our souls. His persistent goal is to break through to the inner person. As David acknowledged, "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6).

What are those resistant layers in our hearts, and how does He break through to that hidden part? First, He finds pride. And He uses the sandpaper of obscurity to remove it ever so gradually.
 
Then He finds us gripped by fear—dread of our past, anxiety over our present, and terror over what may lie ahead—and He uses the passing of time to remove that fear. We learn that things aren't out of hand at all; they're in His hand.

He next encounters the barrier of resentment—the tyranny of bitterness. He breaks down that layer with solitude. In the silence of His presence, we gain a fresh perspective, gradually release our cherished rights, and let go of the expectations that held us hostage.

Finally, He gets down to the basic habits of living, he penetrates our inner person, and there He brings discomfort and hardship to buff away that last layer of resistance. Why? So that He might renovate us at the very core of our being.

Reach for the hand of your Guide! He is Lord of the desert. Make that yourdesert. The most precious object of God's love is His child in the desert. If it were possible, you mean more to Him during this time than at any other time. You are as the pupil of His eye. You are His beloved student taking his toughest courses. While testing you, He loves you with an infinite amount of love.

Jesus walked through the desert first. He felt its heat. He endured its loneliness. He accepted its obscurity. He faced down Satan himself while the desert winds howled. And you can be sure He will never, ever forget or forsake the one who follows Him across the sand.


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When you fail, you must get up again. God promises to help you if you let him. Many inspiring sucdess stories are about people who failed many times but never gave up. It is most important to avoid failure in your relationship with God. when you succeed in trusting in him he promises you the ultimate victoryh of eternal life in the perfect world of heaven.

People are always searching for peace to help them deal with their problems, Do not be tempted to seek man made solutions, as there is only one true method of handling your life with confidence and assurance and that is in the power of Jesus Christ. He will give yhou the grace required to handle every problem. you will be blessed with tranquility and peace far beyond human understanding.

When the devil throws something at us. we need not lose hope , In fact, we can be sure that God will turn it around for ouyr greater blessing because He is for us, Greater is He who is in me then he who is in the world

When I was very young we use to play this game called hide and seek. As adults there are weaknesses in side everyone that we have carefull hidden away. We do this because as children we were taught not to express our true feelings openly. 

We hide our anger, ingnore our bitterness, hide our fears, and deny that we ha a problem. This is very unhealthy as we refuse to confront our circumstances. That is a hindrance to us because it's unpleasant. What we need to do is allow God to do His will and allow Him to search and examine our hearts, Its time to open the windows of our hearts and let His light shine

 

REPEAT AFTER ME,,Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.Is anyone happy, Let him sing a song of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer offered in faith will make the sickperson well. the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven,,,,

 

 


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ThinkAboutIt: "DE-VOTED" - Michael James Stone


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DE-VOTED

Devotionals for me are a way of life. I couldn't afford to buy them so if I got one I clung to it like it was the Word of God..... and at times...it was.  I would not be the Christian I am had I not read Streams in the Desert: Yearly, over and over again. 

The same goes for My Utmost for His Highest. Every year I try to read it thru each day for one year and in 35 plus years I never have, I get too busted and convicted that I skio it for a day or two.....or week....or year.

Same goes for A.W. Tozers.....I like em, I read em, but after a while I leave them because they "speak" directly to me. AND I don't mean always in a good way.

God Calling is always comforting and morning Spurgeon is fine, but the only one I can read and not hear God THAT much is my Daily Light which is only Scipture. 

The truth is there are many days I would rather read devotionals than scripture because if I read the Word of God I will study it and there goes my day.....stuck in a bible again.

Its almost a forgone conclusion that if I don't want to read my bible and/or my devotionals all i have to do is take a bath. No really, I do. I make sure the water is good and scalding, then I load up the sides of the tub with my devotionals, bible, paper pen, hand towels (you can't write on wet paper), and towel. I get in and after that quick HOT SHOCK that should have killed an old geezer like me........BINGO.....God starts talking.

You ever have that problem? Can't get God to shut up?

I mean it's not like some Holier than thou communion with God our Father, I mean, after all, I am naked. But really, there I am relaxed and ready to grab any number of my books to read; study; enjoy ( I have a few Christian Fiction I am always reading) and devotionals.....then .........GOD.

Of course that doesn't last long for me.....as soon as God starts and I hear even alittle bit of what he is saying I go..........OH OH OH and leap out of the tub dripping wet ....grab a towel to wrap around and thirty seconds later with wet footprints leading to the Computer........I am sharing or doing what God told me.....

You ever get like that? So excited you can't wait you just gotta share it with someone?

I do.

How do you think this piece got written just now.........wet wrapped in a towel looking like a man obsessed or possed with devotion and emotion for Jesus.

 

Is that a Bad thing?


 


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Prophecy Today Q&A: "A Rapture Of The Wicked?" -Jack Kelley


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A Rapture Of The Wicked?

Q. Media has given a lot of attention to this prediction that the world would end May 21.  Recently, they interviewed a new testament professor and minister about it. He said that Christians are wrong about the rapture,  that the wording means “taking away” and has always meant the wicked. He said God took the wicked away during Noah’s time and what Christians call “the rapture” is actually talking about taking away the wicked. He also said that the idea of a rapture is a new idea, that the early Christians didn’t believe in it. Please address this, as I have been waiting expectantly since I became a Christian.

 

A. There’s no Biblical support for what this professor says about the rapture.  His comparison to Noah’s time is misplaced.  Jesus compared Noah’s day to the 2nd Coming not the rapture (Matt. 24:37).   In John 14:2-3 Jesus said He would to come back for the Church to take us to be with Him where He is. He was not referring to the 2nd Coming, when He’ll come back with the Church, but the rapture.

He’s also ignoring the fact that Paul taught the rapture in his very first letters. In 1 Thes. 1:10 He said the Lord would rescue us from God’s Wrath.  (The Greek wording means out of both the time and place of the Wrath.)  And in 1 Thes. 4:16-17 He said the Lord would be taking us to be with Him, not taking the wicked somewhere. It’s not the rank and file believers who read the Bible as it’s written who are mistaken about the rapture.  It’s the theologians who think it’s OK to re-interpret it to suit themselves.

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PastorsPOV: "No Slackers…!!! (Proverbs 18)" - Pastor Tracy

 

 

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No Slackers…!!! (Proverbs 18)

Posted: May 18, 2011 by TETucker in Faith MattersReligion

Whenever the Bible lists negative character traits that come along with our sinful nature, laziness usually always makes the list.  We find this precept clearly stated in Proverbs 18.  There we read:

“Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.” – Proverbs 18:9

Clearly, we have to work if we are going to eat, and laziness is not acceptable (2 Thessalonians 3:10).  In the parable of the talents, Jesus tells the story of one who buried his talent in the ground, and was referred to as a “wicked and lazy servant” (Matthew 25:26).  The talent was therefore removed and given to someone who was a better steward.

On the other hand, we are told that overwork for the sake of wealth is not good either (Proverbs 23:4).  This is the other end of the spectrum, and has a tendency to make us prideful, as if we had attained our wealth on our own.  Nothing could be further from the truth, because every blessing comes from God (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).  Wealth also gives us a false sense of security.  Real security comes from the Lord, not from our bank account.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote:

“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster…!”  - Habakkuk 2:9

 Today, let us seek balance in our work, and keep things in proper perspective.  Let us pray for neither poverty nor riches, but for our daily bread (Proverbs 30:8, Matthew 6:11).  Let us work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23), with due diligence rather than over-exertion.  Let us be good stewards rather than slackers, because whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.

Written by: Tracy Edward Tucker |

Yes! Jesus is Coming!  

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