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Unity in God's Family

by Dr. Paul Chappell

"And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub."<\em>
Luke 11:16-18
In 1858, accepting his nomination as a candidate for the US Senate, Abraham Lincoln sounded a theme that two years later would see him elected to the White House—the pressing need for national unity. Lincoln said, “‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”
What is true for nations is true for churches and families as well. If we allow ourselves to be divided, the future is dark. While we may limp along for a little while, eventually the foundations will be undermined, and it will fall. Knowing this truth, we must recognize that a large part of the reason for divisions between people in God's family who should be getting along is that we are not willing to put forth the effort and invest the work required to keep unity intact.
One of the strongest of all the New Testament churches was the church at Ephesus. And one of the primary reasons for their effectiveness was that they followed the admonition of Paul to keep their unity intact: “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”<\em> (Ephesians 4:3). The word used here is the Greek word for diligent exertion—serious, continued, careful effort put forth over a period of time. Unity does not come naturally. It requires effort on our part.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Unity does not just happen—it requires our investment and sacrifice, but it is worth it.

Pray at All Times

by Joyce Meyer - posted May 06, 2016

Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.…
—Ephesians 6:18
In the verse for today, Paul is basically saying that we are to pray in every circumstance, following the Holy Spirit's direction, using different types of prayer in different situations. But how do we "pray at all times," as the Bible instructs? We do it by keeping an attitude of thanksgiving and total dependence upon God as we go about our everyday lives, turning our thoughts toward Him in the midst of doing all the things we have to do and listening for His voice in every situation.
I believe God really wants us to live a lifestyle of prayer and that He wants to help us stop thinking about prayer as an event and begin to see it as a way of life, as an internal activity that undergirds everything else we do. He wants us to talk to Him and listen to Him continually—to pray our way through every day with our hearts connected to His and our ears attuned to His voice.
We often hear about a prayer need or think about a situation and say to ourselves, I need to pray about that later when I pray. That thought is a stall tactic of the enemy. Why not pray right that minute? We do not pray right away because of the wrong mind-sets we have about prayer. It would be easy if we just followed our hearts, but Satan wants to complicate prayer. He wants us to procrastinate in the hope that we will forget the matter entirely.
Praying as we sense the desire or need to pray is simple, and it is the way we can pray continually and stay connected to God in every situation throughout the day.

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Belief and Unbelief   CURRENT TV SERIES LifeWorks

Join Believers around our nation in prayer today! Today, believers throughout the country - whether at home, at work, at a park, at church, or even while driving - will pray in unison at noon (EDT) that Almighty God would bless our nation. Dr. Tony Evans, my dear friend, is serving as the Honorary Chairman for the 2016 National Day of Prayer, and he will deliver this powerful prayer for our nation at the Capital.  I encourage you to join with us at noon (EDT) as we humbly seek God’s forgiveness, blessings, and favor by meditating on this powerful prayer Dr. Evans will deliver: Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You today as a humble people desperate for Your supernatural intervention on behalf of our beloved nation. First, we thank You for all the blessings You have bestowed on our land, blessings that have allowed us to bring so much good and benefit to not only our own citizens but also to the rest of the world. The very ideals upon which this country was founded were based on biblical truths, no matter how some try to rewrite history to deny that very fact today. This is why our hearts are so broken over how You continue to be marginalized and dismissed by both our people and our institutions. We are also saddened by the fact that Your people have contributed greatly to the spiritual apathy that now engulfs us. Our satisfaction in remaining religious without being fully committed to living out the truths of Your Word has caused us to become co-conspirators with the forces of evil that are destroying us as a society. It is for this reason that we personally and collectively repent of our carnality and recommit ourselves to becoming visible and verbal disciples of Jesus Christ. Enable us, by Your Spirit, to no longer be secret-agent Christians but rather to publicly declare and live out Your truth in a spirit of love so that You feel welcome in our country once again. Thank You for Your promise to hear our prayers when we call to You with hearts of repentance and obedience, which is how we are appealing to You today, Father. On behalf of Your church, we affirm afresh the priority You are to us that You would fill every dimension of our lives as we seek to bring You glory through the advancement of Your kingdom in our personal lives, our family lives, and in the lives of our churches and our government leaders. We confidently invite heaven’s intervention into all the affairs of our nation and we praise You in advance for Your answer.   In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Rejecting God by Dr. Paul Chappell “And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.” Luke 11:14–15 Despite all the evidence available from astronomy, the space program and history, the Flat Earth Society still exists, claiming hundreds of members. The group, which traces its roots back to the 1800s continues to promote the flat disk model of the earth that posits a world ringed by a wall of ice. No matter how many astronauts they talk to, no matter how many moon rocks they see, no matter how many pictures taken from space they are shown, they deny the reality in favor of clinging to their beliefs. While we may be amused by people who believe the world is flat, many people in our world take the same approach to God. There is no shortage of evidence for His existence, because the very creation speaks to the need for a Creator. But people realize that acknowledging creation requires an accountability, so instead they cling to anything else, no matter how far-fetched it may be, rather than admitting that God is real. This is not a new thing. Peter dealt with people who refused to acknowledge God. “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water” (2 Peter 3:5). To willingly be ignorant is preferable to these people to admitting the existence of God and facing the fact that they will one day have to face Him and be judged. As Christians we have experienced the reality of God at work in our lives, and we should be not just telling but also showing those around us that He is real. Today’s Growth Principle:  God is real whether people acknowledge Him or not, and our lives should give testimony to His work.

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Belief and Unbelief   CURRENT TV SERIES LifeWorks

Tomorrow is The National Day Of Prayer: Pray For Our Local, State and Federal Governments First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.   1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV) We are facing a clear and present danger in our generation.  Our nation is in turmoil … unstable … full of pressures and uncertainties. There is rioting in the street.  Christian believers and businesses are under attack.  Our election process looks like a bad reality show. The institutions that support our society's framework are being destroyed by legal fiat.  Our politicians seem to care for nothing, except their own self-interest or agendas that are contrary to God's laws.  The problems our beloved country faces seem so overwhelming that we wonder if there are any answers to the needs, troubles and tribulations we face.  But there is an answer.  And that answer can be found in prayer. God is looking for people like you and me who will so connect with Him in prayer that He can unleash His power through us. It is a power to overcome any trial, any difficulty and any challenge our nation is experiencing. It’s a power that can change our nation and our world. Our theme for the National Day of Prayer in 2015 was “Lord, Hear Our Cry,” inspired by 1 Kings 8:28: “Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day” (NIV). Scripture tells us that we should be in prayer for those who have been appointed to lead the government: that they have the wisdom and knowledge that is necessary to carry out their responsibilities. With our ultimate goal of sharing the gospel, we should pray that these leaders would lead in such a way that our mission becomes easier with fewer barriers and our ability to spread the Word becomes greater. Our local and national leaders have been placed in their positions for a reason and we must pray that God would use them for His kingdom purposes regardless of how we personally feel about them. Pray this day for your local, state, and national leaders.  Pray that they will be open to being used by God for His purposes. In this desperate hour, may our hearts cry out to God for the healing of our nation’s spiritual brokenness. May Jesus be exalted and may our beloved nation's wounds be healed. PRAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT Trusting God’s Love for Us by Dr. Paul Chappell “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:11–13 The evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman told of a man who had been converted in one of his meetings who gave a wonderful illustration of God’s love for us. The man had left home long before, turning his back on his family and the God they loved. His path led downward until he ended up as a beggar on the streets. The man said that he was begging at the Philadelphia train depot when he touched a man on the shoulder and asked for a dime. It was his own father, and the man cried out, “I have found you. I have found you! All that I have is yours.” He said, “I stood there a tramp, begging my father for ten cents when for eighteen years he had been looking for me to give me all he was worth.” We did not get saved because we were worthy, but because God loved us enough to provide salvation for us through the sacrifice of His Son. And not only does He save us, but He places us in His family and gives us access to all of the privileges and benefits that come with being a child of God. Yet too often we focus on our shortcomings rather than on His love and grace. Because of the relationship He has given us, we have every right to go to Him for help, just as a child would to an earthly father. Today’s Growth Principle:  Faith rests on the foundation of God’s love for us—He will never abandon His children.

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Belief and Unbelief   CURRENT TV SERIES LifeWorks

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.   Colossians 2:6-8 (ESV) Paul is reminding us believers that because we have professed Christ as our Lord and Savior our duty and obligation don’t end there.  We are to "walk" in Him; notice this is an action verb.  We are to be constantly moving forward in our relationship with Christ—not stagnant or bored. It’s also interesting to think about the phrase “rooted and built up.” As a mighty oak or even a fortress, not only are we supposed to be deeply grounded and have a firm foundation, but also we are to be built up in our faith in Christ.  Only this will allow us to be free from the attacks of the secular world and the destruction it offers. This strength will come from our personal time in God’s Word, prayerful communion with him, and from our community of believers. It is vital to our walk with Christ to know and breath God’s Word.  As we have discussed these last several weeks, prayer is our daily, critical conversation with our Heavenly Father. The third prong, active fellowship and support of a local church that glorifies God is just as paramount as the other two.  For a believer to truly be built up in their faith, they must by being actively involved in their local church or community of believers. Such fellowship is imperative as it challenges us, holds us accountable in our own faith, but also strengthens others. As you know, the church and its leaders are under attack in our nation like never before. There is truly an orchestrated effort to destroy the church's moral influence upon our nation. I also believe that if our nation is to heal its wounds and correct the course, it has taken, the local church will be the vanguard.  If a true spiritual renewal and awakening is going to occur in our hurt and bleeding land, then the local community of believers will lead Pray this day for your church and its leaders and also for churches across the nation.  Pray today that the Church honor God, equip people to share the Gospel with the world around them, and be the center of a great revival in our beloved nation. PRAY FOR THE CHURCH TODAY Asking, Seeking, and Knocking by Dr. Paul Chappell “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Luke 11:9–10 The Bible frequently uses the lives of Old Testament characters to teach and illustrate a New Testament truth. When it comes to the topic of being serious about our prayers, the prophet Elijah is given to us as an example. He was called to minister in a time of great spiritual darkness in the land. Under the wicked rule of Ahab and Jezebel, the people had turned away from God and were worshiping Baal. As a result, Elijah pronounced a judgment from God—a judgment that came in response to the prayers of the prophet. Although we tend to think of the answers to Elijah’s prayers as being exceptional, James 5:17 emphasizes that Elijah was a man just like us—with the same struggles we face. Yet he was faithful in earnest prayer, and it made a difference. “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5:17). Earnest praying is like asking, seeking, and knocking—you don’t do it once and give up; you keep at it. It is not always asking once that gets the answer, but continued asking. It is not always seeking once that finds, but continued seeking. It is not always knocking once that gets the door opened, but continued knocking. Many times our prayers fail to be answered, not because we are asking for the wrong things, but because we stop praying. When our faith is not immediately rewarded with an answer, it is not time to give up on God and on our prayer, but to keep on praying until the answer comes. Today’s Growth Principle:  Unless God clearly closes a door and leads you in a different direction, never give up on your prayers.

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Belief and Unbelief   CURRENT TV SERIES LifeWorks

[A]nd I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze….   Exodus 31:3-4 (ESV) In Exodus 31, we see God giving Moses the final commands as to how the tabernacle is to be built. In chapters 25-30, God gives Moses very specific demands as to using only the finest materials to construct the tabernacle. However in Chapter 31, the focus turns from the fine materials that are to be used to the people whom will physically construct the tabernacle. Just as only the finest materials were to be used, only the most skilled craftsmen would be the ones to work on the tabernacle. In fact, it was a humbly born craftsman named Bezalel that God blessed with ability, intelligence, and natural craftsmanship to be his chief contractor and bring forth his earthly dwelling. God uses all people to build His kingdom. It is not just the ministers that He uses, but also everyone who confesses Jesus as Savior. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a minister. In my opinion, the greatest opportunity for ministry we have, outside our family, is at our place at work.  After all, this is where we spend a substantial majority of our time.  Let your light shine at work.   Let your coworkers, bosses, and employees know by your labors that you are different from nonbelievers.  Be diligent in your work.  Be Christ-like in your behavior and speech. We are at a serious crossroads in our nation’s business sector.  Our nation’s economy is perilously close to collapse. Workers are unhappy and dissatisfied in their work, if they even have work.  Christians and especially Christians in business are being targeted for their core faith and beliefs.  Pray this day that God rise up godly business leaders and create industry to provide honest employment and generous provision for individuals and families in each community.  Pray this day that God protect businesses and their employees that take a stand for their Christian principals. PRAY FOR OUR NATION'S BUSINESSES AND WORKERS TODAY

Importunity

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”
Luke 11:5–8
Speaking on the importance of not giving up in prayer, R. A. Torrey said, “I prayed fifteen long years for the conversion of my oldest brother. When he seemed to be getting farther and farther away from any hope of conversion, I prayed on. My first winter in Chicago, after fifteen years of praying, never missing a single day, one morning God said to me as I knelt, ‘I have heard your prayer.’ Within two weeks he was in my home, shut in with sickness which made it impossible for him to leave my home for two weeks. Then the day he left he accepted Christ over in the Bible Institute in Mr. Moody’s office, where he and I went to talk and pray together.”
The Lord could answer our prayers that are in line with His will immediately, and sometimes He does just that. But often we must pray over and over, sometimes even for years, before the answer arrives. This is not because God does not love us, but because He knows our need for character and consistency. When we continue to trust Him and pray faithfully even though we do not see Him at work, it strengthens our walk and our relationship with Him.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Many of our prayers are not answered simply because we give up before the answer comes.

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A Pattern for Prayer

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”
Luke 11:2-4
I heard of a preacher who used the analogy of a boat coming up to a dock for prayer. He described the process of pulling on a rope that is moored to the dock, and he pointed out that the person on the boat is pulling on the rope, but he isn’t moving the dock or the shore—he is moving the boat to align itself with the fixed point. In the same way, prayer requires that we surrender and submit ourselves and our will to God’s will. There is no legitimate prayer that does not begin with a commitment to God’s will rather than our own.
It is not by accident that Jesus began His instruction on prayer with a focus on God and His will. Our tendency is to focus on ourselves. The problem is that our knowledge and understanding is limited. Many times the things we want most from God are the opposite of what we actually need. If we insist on having our way, we do not allow God to do the work He wants to do in and through us. There is nothing wrong with asking God for what we want, but there is a great deal wrong with demanding and insisting on having our way.
Jesus did not just teach this theoretically—He practiced it. In His moment of greatest need, He prayed just as He taught us to pray. “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Today’s Growth Principle: 

When we pray the way Jesus instructed, we are positioned for God to work great things in our lives.

Use the Keys

by Joyce Meyer - posted May 01, 2016

…They who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on the authority of His Word], none of them shall lack any beneficial thing.
—Psalm 34:10
Jesus said, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19).
As a believer, you have authority to live a life of victory and to forbid the devil to torment you. It is not lawful for him to destroy you in heaven, so it is not lawful for him to destroy you during your days on earth. Use the keys of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus has passed to you. Loose God’s blessings upon your efforts and bind the evil works that come against the fruit of your labors today.

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God’s Boundaries

by Joyce Meyer - posted April 30, 2016

Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The word stress was originally an engineering term used to refer to the amount of force a beam or other physical support could bear without collapsing under strain.
In our time, the word has been expanded to refer not only to physical pressure but also to mental and emotional tension. As human beings, you and I are built to handle a normal amount of stress. God has created us to withstand a certain amount of pressure and tension. The problem comes when we push ourselves beyond our limitations, beyond what we were intended to bear without permanent damage. But like so many people, because I have things to do, I just keep pushing myself even though it is causing me physical damage.
Of course, when sickness tries to come on Dave or me, we immediately pray for healing. But if you become sick as a result of running your body down by pushing it beyond the limits God set for you to operate in good health, you need rest as well as prayer to restore your health. The boundaries He has set for us are for our own good.

A Unique Request

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1
Dr. John Rice told a story about prayer that highlights a trap many of us fall into. When their oldest daughter Grace was a little girl, the custom of their family was to gather at the table and pray before their meal. Dr. Rice said that he noticed a peculiar trait in his daughter. Just before he would finish his praying, she would begin saying, “Amen, Amen.” He then said, “As I thought, I realized that I was just saying the same words day after day, and she said ‘Amen’ because she knew I was almost finished.” Prayer is not just a ritual featuring meaningless repetition of words we say with our eyes closed. Prayer is pouring out our hearts before God.
Though Jesus taught the disciples many things during the three years they shared together, the only thing recorded in Scripture that they asked Him to teach them was to pray. As they traveled and ministered across the land, they watched Jesus pray again and again. Early in the morning, throughout the day, and late at night, they saw Jesus seeking His Father’s face, and eventually they asked Him for instruction in the matter of prayer.
One of the greatest tragedies of our day is the lack of prayer on the part of Christians. While many people wouldn’t think of eating without praying first and we routinely pray at the beginning of church services, Sunday school classes, and meetings, there is a great lack of serious, intense, and fervent prayer. The power and provision of God flow into our lives in response to our prayers. And if we have not prayed as we should, we should not be surprised to find ourselves lacking those things.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The Christian life requires serious, continual, habitual prayer as a foundation for all that we do.