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What God Has Done

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.”
Psalm 77:11–14

All Christians, and perhaps especially those of us who grew up in Christian homes and were saved at a young age, face the danger of forgetting all that God has done for us. Over time we become accustomed to His grace and greatness and take for granted the blessings from which we benefit so often. This is a tragedy for us, because when we cease to be grateful it will not be long before we turn away from following Him.
But it is also a tragedy for those who come after us. Parents, grandparents, and older believers play a powerful role in keeping the faith alive for coming generations. There are no guarantees that those who follow us will see God as a real power and presence in their lives. In fact, it was not many years after the death of Joshua that God’s power became only dimly remembered by the Israelites: “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judges 6:13).
Each time we rejoice and give thanks for God’s goodness, we build not only our own faith, but we also invest in the future. We must remind ourselves and share with others the mighty works of God in our lives so that they will never forgotten.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Our responsibility is to remember what God has done for us and pass our faith on to others.

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. --Zechariah 4:6 Have you ever suffered spiritual defeat or failure? Of course you have; so have I. But when we fail, God doesn’t want us to fall into despair and to quit serving him. No! He wants to restore us and to give us victory over defeat! Think back on the disciples just after Jesus’ crucifixion. With Jesus gone from their presence, these believers experienced a terrible loss of faith and hope. They feared for their own lives and left Jesus to die alone. In the days that followed they felt guilty and unworthy to serve their Savior. But Jesus knew they needed to be empowered. And on the Day of Pentecost, he sent them the Spirit to transform their lives from defeat to victory! Now maybe there is some reason that you feel like you have failed Jesus. Perhaps you think God cannot use you again. But he can! Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus can wash away your defeat, restore you to himself, and refit you for service! Listen! This is not something that you and I can accomplish on our own, but only through the power of Spirit-filled living. Right now he is calling you to yield yourself to him and to glorify him in your life choices in all that you do. Let the Holy Spirit transform your life and move you from defeat to victory! THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, JESUS CAN WASH AWAY YOUR DEFEAT, RESTORE YOU TO HIMSELF, AND REFIT YOU FOR SERVICE!

Day 1 - Healing

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.  --Zechariah 4:6 Have you ever suffered spiritual defeat or failure? Of course you have; so have I. But when we fail, God doesn’t want us to fall into despair and to quit serving him. No! He wants to restore us and to give us victory over defeat! Think back on the disciples just after Jesus’ crucifixion. With Jesus gone from their presence, these believers experienced a terrible loss of faith and hope. They feared for their own lives and left Jesus to die alone. In the days that followed they felt guilty and unworthy to serve their Savior. But Jesus knew they needed to be empowered. And on the Day of Pentecost, he sent them the Spirit to transform their lives from defeat to victory! Now maybe there is some reason that you feel like you have failed Jesus. Perhaps you think God cannot use you again. But he can! Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus can wash away your defeat, restore you to himself, and refit you for service! Listen! This is not something that you and I can accomplish on our own, but only through the power of Spirit-filled living. Right now he is calling you to yield yourself to him and to glorify him in your life choices in all that you do. Let the Holy Spirit transform your life and move you from defeat to victory! THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, JESUS CAN WASH AWAY YOUR DEFEAT,  RESTORE YOU TO HIMSELF, AND REFIT YOU FOR SERVICE! Taken out of the Furnace by Dr. Paul Chappell “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.” Deuteronomy 4:20–22 The popular teaching in many religious circles of our day is that life for God’s children should not have any bumps in the road—raises, promotions, better houses and cars, good health, and continued advancement should be expected. It’s easy to understand why people like to hear such teaching, but it contradicts what the Bible actually says. God’s Word reveals that God’s plan for His beloved children often includes great trials and severe testing. The reality is that often the very troubles that are so painful prepare us for the plan God has for our lives. The experiences we endure are the equipping that God knows we will need for what He has in store for us. At a very difficult time in the life of the nation of Israel, God sent this message through the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). If we refuse to remain in the fire until God’s work is done, our lives will not be refined and made more useful. But we have the wonderful promise that God never abandons or forsakes us. If His plan involves placing us into the furnace, we will find Him there with us, just as the three Hebrew children did in their day. Today’s Growth Principle:  We must be willing to endure the afflictions and trials God brings if we are to be valuable in His service.

Loved!

The Choice of Faith

The Choices of Faith

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”

Hebrews 11:23–26

The course of our lives is determined by the choices we make. It is not our wishes, our intentions, or our resolutions that shape our destiny, but the actions we choose when confronted by decision points in life. There are not a few miraculously blessed people who coast through life without any problems, never having to make a hard choice. Everyone comes to points where they must turn left or turn right—and what we do in those moments determines where we will end up in life.

Moses would not have lived to adulthood without the choice of his parents to hide him from Pharaoh’s evil decree that all the Hebrew baby boys be murdered. And Moses would not have been chosen by God to lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt had he not chosen to turn his back on the pleasures offered a young man in the palace of the king and stand with God’s people instead.

The thing about difficult choices is that we do not know how they will turn out, even if we choose what is right to the best of our knowledge. Sometimes there is great earthly reward for obedience to God. But sometimes the reward of faith is only seen later. But the correctness of our decision is not determined based on earthly outcome. It is determined by whether we act in obedience and faith.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Faith chooses to believe that what God has said is true and to act upon it with confidence.

Trusting God with the Unseen Future

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.”

Psalm 32:8–10

I read a fascinating story from the final days of World War II. An American B-29 bomber was tasked with attacking targets in Kokura, Japan. As was normal procedure, they were assigned a secondary target in case the weather kept them from reaching their primary objective. Sure enough they found the clouds over Kokura too thick to find their targets, and after an hour of circling, they diverted to their secondary objective with some frustration. It was not until weeks later that they learned that, unknown to American intelligence, the Japanese had transferred a huge number of American prisoners of war to Kokura just days before that raid. The officer who received this news said, “Thank God for that protecting cloud! If the city hadn’t been hidden from the bomber, it would have been destroyed and thousands of American boys would have died.”

Each new year we enter into territory that is shrouded and unclear to our eyes. While we may expect certain things to happen, none of us know what the future holds. When we cannot see the path, it is more important than ever that we trust in God. So many times we are tempted to take matters into our hands when God does not work as quickly as we think He should. But He never makes a mistake, and we can trust in Him no matter what seeming delays we experience. Often it is only as we look back over the years that we see how God has worked.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

You can always trust God even when you cannot see the way ahead or what He is doing.

New Year at San Francisco =)