My Beloved Son (and Daughter)

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He Gave Himself

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
Luke 10:33–34
There is an ancient Persian legend about a great ruler who loved to disguise himself and wander among his people unrecognized. One night, dressed as a beggar, Shah Abbas met a poor workman who invited him to share his meager food. As they talked, the shah was impressed with the man’s attitude and character. Night after night he returned to meet with the worker, until at least he determined to reveal himself. When he told the man that he was the ruler of the entire land, he expected a request for wealth or promotion. But the poor worker replied, “You have left your palace and glory to sit with me in the dark and share my poverty. You have given me your presence, and even you can give nothing more precious.”
Salvation is freely offered to all who believe, but it was certainly not free for Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan in the parable, Jesus gave up what was rightly His in order to rescue and deliver us. While Jesus hung on the cross, the Pharisees mocked Him saying, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matthew 27:42). Though they were intending to deride and mock Jesus, they unknowingly expressed a profound truth. Jesus faced the choice of saving Himself or saving us—He could not do both. And He chose to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Only the gift of the Saviour made it possible for us to receive salvation.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Jesus owed us nothing, yet in mercy and love He gave Himself to be the ransom for our sins.

My Beloved Son (and Daughter)

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 26, 2016

And all of us...are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another....
—2 Corinthians 3:18
We all make mistakes every day of our lives. But if we love God and want to do what is right, He keeps working with us and loving us into wholeness. We don't have to feel rejected in the meantime. God sees the end from the beginning. He knows where we are now and is fully aware of every one of our faults, but He also knows where we can be if He keeps loving us and encouraging us to go forward. God changes us from one degree of glory to another, according to 2 Corinthians 3:18, but He also keeps loving, accepting, and approving of us while we are making the journey.
The Scripture tells us that a voice came from heaven two different times and said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Why was this necessary? I believe that Jesus needed to hear these words, and I believe we need to hear the same expression of love and affirmation. Knowing that God is on our side gives us confidence. Jesus received God's encouragement, and we need to do the same. Don't concentrate on everything that is wrong with you. That will distract you from proper fellowship with God. Thank God for your strengths and turn your weaknesses over to Him.
When God finished all of His creation, including man, He looked at it and said, "It is good!" God intends to work in and through you, so relax and believe that God approves of you!
Love Yourself Today: Say out loud, "I am God's beloved child. He approves of me and will finish the good work He started!"

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If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.   2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) The passage above, one so close to my heart, encapsulates the reason to pray, how to pray, and what to pray. Notice, the verse is directed to "my people;" God, our Heavenly Father, surely listens to the cries of His children. Our Lord then asks us to humble ourselves before him. He is our sovereign; we are his servants. Almighty God then commands us to pray, seek Him, and repent from our sinful selves.  Then, there is the wonderful promise, that if we do those things, then we will be forgiven and He will heal our land. Absent the Civil War, I know of no other time when our nation needs more healing than now. Our beloved nation is hurting and deeply wounded.  The institutions that are the foundation of our society are under attack.  Over the next seven days, I urge you to continue with these devotions and pray with me for these institutions­—families, educators, media and entertainment, the military, businesses and workers, churches, and our government. However, before healing and restoration can occur, it must start with those of us who call ourselves by His name. We must humble ourselves.  We must pray and seek His will, not our own.  We must turn from our wicked ways.  We must end complacency in our churches.  Then and only then can this great nation experience the spiritual awakening which it so desperately needs. Refusing to Help by Dr. Paul Chappell “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.” Luke 10:30–32 In March of 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked on her way home from work in New York City. Though many people saw or heard at least part of the attack (various news reports and investigations put the number between thirty-six and forty-nine), no one intervened, and only a few people called the police. The attack was carried out over the space of half an hour, and it is quite likely that Genovese’s death could have been prevented if only someone had been willing to intervene. But no one was willing to do what it took to save her life. One of the bystanders even admitted to a reporter, “I didn’t want to get involved.” All around us there are people who are facing far worse than physical death. The lost have no hope of salvation unless someone loves and cares for them enough to reach out to them with the gospel. Yet too often, like the priest and the Levite in the parable Jesus told, those who should be the first to help find reasons not to do so. We are not told what motivated those two men to cross to the other side of the road. Perhaps they feared for their safety, or perhaps they simply didn’t want to get their hands dirty. But whatever the case, they failed to step up and answer the challenge of helping someone in desperate need. Today’s Growth Principle:  If those of us who are saved do not do our part to reach them, the lost have no hope for eternity.

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How to Make Things Right with God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
Luke 10:29
The man whose question sparked perhaps the most famous of all of Jesus’ parables—the story of the Good Samaritan—was not asking out of a sincere desire to know the truth. Instead, the Bible reveals that his motive was to make himself look better. So often we yield to the temptation to think that we can handle things without God just fine on our own, unlike some others. I read a story about a children’s Sunday school teacher who taught her pupils from the parable of the Pharisee and the publican praying in the Temple. When she finished her lesson she called on one of her students to pray. The little boy said, “God, thank You that I’m not like that Pharisee!”
If we set out to justify ourselves, we can always find some reason that will show why what we have done is not as bad as others, or some excuse that will rationalize away or explain our behavior. But God doesn’t grade on a curve. He does not compare us to what others are doing, but rather to the perfect standard of His Son. And He is not deceived by our attempts to make ourselves look better. He sees us as we really are, and He will not accept any attempt to avoid responsibility on our part.
The only hope we have is to abandon our efforts to justify ourselves and instead rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is sufficient for everything that we lack, and because of grace we have already received God’s stamp of approval: “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). When in our pride and self confidence we attempt to make things right with God, we always fail.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Since God sees through all our excuses, we should humbly confess our sins rather than justifying ourselves.

 

The Written Word

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 24, 2016

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
—Psalm 119:105
The Bible is written as a personal letter to you. God speaks to you, ministers to your needs, and directs you in the way you should go in His written Word. He tells you what you should do and how you should live.
It is a mistake to think we can hear clearly from God without spending time in the Word. Knowing the written Word protects you from deception. Listening for God's voice without being dedicated to spending time in the Word on a regular basis opens you up to hearing voices that are not from God. There may be times when God speaks something to you that is outside a specific chapter and verse of the Bible, but it will always be in agreement with His Word.
Tonight, spend time reading a portion of God's personal letter to you and allow Him to speak to your heart. God’s Word is one of the most precious gifts we have. Treasure it.

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But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."-Matthew 19:26 As a Christian, your lifeline to God is prayer. It’s how you grow more intimate with God and develop a deeper and more personal relationship with Him. But prayer is also how you face the enemy of your soul head-on with courage and hope! God tells us to not be afraid of Satan and his forces. Because as a Christian, you have authority in Jesus Christ who has conquered all the spiritual forces of darkness. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, He won the victory. And He wants you and me to live in that victory! How? It starts with prayer… passionate, even presumptuous prayer… to a God who you know can overcome anything. So often we forget to pray boldly, thinking that God can’t do what we are asking. But that is far from the truth, as today’s verse tells us. Now, it’s important to remember that doesn’t mean we have a blank check to ask God to do anything and everything we want Him to do. There is a powerful connection to God’s Word and prayer. Scripture will guide you and teach you what things you should pray for. And God will always come through in His response based on what His Word says. Let me put it this way: There is nothing that lies outside the reach of prayer except that which may lie outside the will of God. If you are facing a battle with the enemy today, know that God is fighting for you… and your victory is sure in Jesus Christ. You best weapon is prayer. Claim the promises God has for you in His Word, accept the victory, and live a life that exemplifies the power of our great God!

Dealing with Sin

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
Luke 10:25–28
In 1944, during a massive storm, the SS Richard Montgomery, a ship loaded with thousands of tons of aerial fragmentation bombs, broke up and sank not far from the English coast. Despite the danger posed by the unexploded ordinance, the decision was made to leave it in place for fear of setting off a massive explosion. It would be more dangerous to try to remove the bombs than it was to leave them in place. For more than seventy years, the wreckage of that ship has been home to a lethal danger.
Every human being is born with a lethal danger within—a sin nature that we inherit passed down from Adam. But we are not just sinners by nature. We are also sinners by choice. When presented with the opportunity to do right or wrong, our inclination is toward the evil rather than the good. And because of the punishment for sin that God has decreed, our sin problem requires a solution. We cannot just hope it sinks out of sight under the water and stays there.
Sin must be dealt with, but we have no way to do that. The very best that we can do falls short of the perfection God demands. There has never been anyone apart from Jesus Christ who has completely and perfectly obeyed the law of God. Only by accepting His sacrifice on our behalf can we have salvation.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

There is no hope for us to deal with sin, unless we accept the provision God has made for salvation.

Be Positive

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A Blessing Ignored?

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
Luke 10:23–24
For much of history in many parts of the world, the Word of God was only available on a limited basis. Even today there are groups of people who do not have the Bible available in their own language. Yet in our nation with the Scriptures in bookstores, online, on mobile devices, and easy to find, far too many Christians ignore the blessing of the Bible, rarely reading and heeding what it says. King George V of England once wrote, “It is my confident hope that my subjects will never cease to cherish their noble inheritance in the English Bible, which is the first of national treasures. Its spiritual significance is the most valuable thing the world affords.”
The wisdom of God that is meant to guide and direct our lives is found in the pages of the Bible. King Artaxerxes told Ezra, “And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not” (Ezra 7:25). When we open that blessed Book, we hold in our hands what God has revealed.
It is sad not to have a copy of the Bible, but it is tragic to have the very Word of God and ignore it. If we do not know what God has decreed, or if we are not willing to do as He says, there is no possibility that we will walk in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

It is tragic for God’s children not to fill their hearts and minds with His Word to guide their daily lives.

Be Positive

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 22, 2016

We have thought of Your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of Your temple.
—Psalm 48:9
Positive minds—minds full of faith and hope—produce positive lives. Negative minds—minds full of fear and doubt—produce negative lives. In Matthew 8:13, Jesus tells us that it will be done for us as we have believed. This doesn’t mean that you and I can get anything we want by just thinking about it. God has a perfect plan for each of us, and we can’t control Him with our thoughts and words, but if we want His plan, we should think and speak in agreement with His will and plan for us.
I encourage you to think positively about your life and be thankful for the good things God is doing and going to do. Practice staying positive in every situation that arises; even if you’re going through a difficult situation, stand in faith, believing God will bring good out of it as He has promised in His Word.
Prayer of Thanks: Father, help me to keep my thoughts and my words focused on You. I thank You that You have good things in store for my life. I trust You today.

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Hidden from the Wise

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”
Luke 10:21–22
On his twenty-fifth birthday, Ford Porter prayed that God would do something special in his life, giving him a ministry that would bring people to Jesus. In 1933, Porter wrote a tract called “God’s Simple Plan of Salvation” that has been used around the world in many languages. To date, over half a billion of these tracts have been printed, all with the message that God’s plan of salvation is by grace through faith without anything else.
No one gets saved on the strength of their intellect or reasoning. No one gets saved on the basis of their merit or worth. Everyone who comes to God for salvation must come in simple faith, believing the promises of our Heavenly Father just as a child believes the promises of his earthly father. There is no other way of salvation, and those who insist on doing it according to their own wisdom find the only true door to Heaven hidden from their sight.
Those of us who have received the gift of eternal life have also received the command to take the good news to others. When we lay aside our self-reliance and rely instead on the power of God, our witnessing becomes effective in revealing the truth to those who need to receive it. God has devised both the plan for our salvation and the plan for people to hear it, and we must follow it.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Having received the gift of salvation through God’s grace, we have the privilege of sharing it with others.

Decide to Believe

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 21, 2016

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.
—James 1:2-4
Too often people stare at me with a blank look when I urge them to decide to believe. It’s as if I’m asking them to do something they can’t do. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God (see Romans 10:17), but it also involves a decision.
We enter into a relationship with God through believing in Jesus Christ, but that’s only the beginning.
Believing doesn’t end there. As I understand the realm of the Spirit, if we follow the Lord, we live with a growing faith. That means we learn to believe for bigger things. We learn to trust God for things we would never have thought of in our earliest Christian days.
When we become Christians, the Bible says we are adopted into the family of God: . . . but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in . . . which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! (Romans 8:15b).
That’s the beginning. That’s also where too many Christians stop. The Spirit keeps reaching for your hands so He can pull you forward. That’s when you must decide to believe—or you resist and stay exactly where you are in your Christian experience.
Read the verse at the beginning of this topic. It says your faith will be tested, but you must hold onto it and move forward. The testing may come when the devil attempts to make you doubt the promises God has given you.
There is never a stopping place in your spiritual growth—God wants to take you onward. But you have to make the choice to believe. Sometimes that takes courage, but that’s how the Christian life functions. We grow by taking steps of faith.
When God speaks to your heart—to your inner being—you need to learn to say without hesitation, “Let it be so, Lord.” You have to learn to agree with whatever the Spirit of God says or wants.
Instead, many tend to resist. They don’t say no. Satan is too subtle to nudge them to do that. He puts questions in their minds, urging them to ask, “How can that be?” They start asking God to help them understand. If your boss wants you to do a task, you can ask, “Why?” or ask for an ¬explanation.
But that is not how the Holy Spirit works. You say, “Lord, if You’ll help me understand, I will believe and obey.” God says, “Just obey. If I want you to understand, I’ll make it clear to you.” God doesn’t have to explain anything to us.
It frequently happens that believers know something down deep in their hearts—in their inner beings—but their minds fight against it. They may consider themselves unworthy. They may ask, “Who am I that You would use me to change lives?” They waste a lot of energy by telling God why they can’t do what He wants them to do. God already knows everything that is wrong with us or ever will be wrong with us, and He is willing to work through us anyway. God requires availability not ability.
God asks you to do something quite simple: Believe. That’s all. If God speaks, you need to learn to say, “Even though I don’t understand, I’ll do it.” One of the best examples I can think of in Scripture is the story of Ananias of Damascus. God told him that Saul (later called Paul) was blind and in a particular house. He was to go and lay hands on him, and God would heal him (see Acts 9:10-19).
Ananias was afraid. Saul was the great persecutor of Christians, but God told him to go because the blinded man was a chosen vessel. Despite his fear and inability to understand why God would choose a great persecutor to be a chosen vessel, Ananias went and prayed for Saul, and the future apostle was healed.
That’s how God wants us to behave. He wants us to choose to believe Him even if what He’s asking us to do doesn’t compute in our thoughts.
Holy Spirit of God, help me always to believe Your promises, even when I don’t understand Your purpose. I want to learn to trust You more, as I move forward in faith to accomplish what You have for me to do. Help me always to be obedient, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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…I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.   --Nehemiah 1:4 Faithful, everyday prayer is absolutely critical for Christians. It’s our communication with the One and only God that helps us learn His will for us. Unfortunately, though, prayer is a last resort, even for many believers! Prayer is not a magic trick. It’s communication with God that should go hand in hand with our actions to honor Him. Prayer is not a substitute for work but a preparation for work! Prayer focuses our attention and demands our discipline. Prayers do not need to be great public spectacles because it’s our personal and private prayers that truly move God and make a difference. Prayer is surrender to the Lord’s will. It’s not trying to pull God into our plans, but rather it’s putting our plans in line with His will.  It’s in prayer that we experience God and are exposed to His greatness. It’s in prayer that we make ourselves available to God. I challenge you today to spend some time alone with God in prayer…making yourself available to Him! The National Day of Prayer is on May 5, 2016, prepare your heart to intercede for our nation. PRAYER FOCUSES OUR ATTENTION AND IT DEMANDS OUR DISCIPLINE.     Why Rejoice? by Dr. Paul Chappell “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17–20 When His disciples rejoiced at the victories they had seen in their work, Jesus pointed out to them that they were rejoicing in the wrong thing. The great reason we have for joy in our lives is not found in this world but in the next. Because of the gift of salvation we have received, we have the hope of eternal life that can never be taken away. Matthew Henry said, “Joy and peace as believers arises chiefly from our hopes. What is laid out upon us is but little, compared with what is laid up for us (in glory); therefore the more hope we have the more joy and peace we have.” Victories in this world are good, but at best they are only temporary. Each sick person Jesus or the disciples healed still eventually died. But each person who heard and received the gospel received eternal life that could never be taken away. The main reason for our rejoicing should not be the short-term blessings we receive in this world. We should be thankful and give God praise when we see Him at work in our lives, but we must maintain our focus on the great gift of salvation. Any temporal blessing we receive has a limited impact on our lives. But our names are written in Heaven forever, and our eternal destiny has already been sealed by God. Today’s Growth Principle:  One of the biggest reasons for a lack of joy is a focus on this world rather than on eternity.