God Knows

And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;  Exodus 3:7

God Knows, God sees, God hears, and God felt your sorrows.

1. Does God know what you're going through?

2. Will God help you with your  problems?

3. Does God see, hear, and know what's happening in your life?

4. Does God have the power to help you in your distress?

5. Did you know that God has been with you all the way in your life?

6. Be assured that God knows your issues and will help you?

God Knows

From: Streams in the Desert

Your heavenly Father knoweth (Matthew 6:32).

A visitor at a school for the deaf and dumb was writing questions on the blackboard for the children. By and by he wrote this sentence: “Why has God made me to hear and speak, and made you deaf and dumb?”

The awful sentence fell upon the little ones like a fierce blow in the face. They sat palsied before that dreadful “Why?” And then a little girl arose.

Her lip was trembling. Her eyes were swimming with tears. Straight to the board she walked, and, picking up the crayon, wrote with firm hand these precious words: “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight!” What a reply! It reaches up and lays hold of an eternal truth upon which the maturest believer as well as the youngest child of God may alike securely rest — the truth that God is your Father.

Do you mean that? Do you really and fully believe that? When you do, then your dove of faith will no longer wander in weary unrest, but will settle down forever in its eternal resting place of peace. “Your Father!”

I can still believe that a day comes for all of us, however far off it may be, when we shall understand; when these tragedies, that now blacken and darken the very air of heaven for us, will sink into their places in a scheme so august, so magnificent, so joyful, that we shall laugh for wonder and delight.
–Arthur Christopher Bacon

No chance hath brought this ill to me;
‘Tis God’s own hand, so let it be,
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need-be for each pain,
And He one day will make it plain
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.
Like as a piece of tapestry
Viewed from the back appears to be
Naught but threads tangled hopelessly;
But in the front a picture fair
Rewards the worker for his care,
Proving his skill and patience rare.
Thou art the Workman, I the frame.
Lord, for the glory of Thy Name,
Perfect Thine image on the same.
–Selected

Do Good Works For Jesus

1. Is giving food to the poor a good work?

2. Do good works save you?

3. Will good works appease God's wrath?

4. Is it true that if I believe in Christ as my Savior, I don't have to do good works anymore?

5. If I give a dollar tithe when I should give ten dollars is that a good work?

Good Works!

From: Get More Strength.org, By: Joe Stowell

Feb

11

2016

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16 ESV

I had promised my wife that I would bring her a cup of coffee after my morning run. So, at 6:03 a.m., breathing hard and sweaty, I walked into Starbucks to order two cups of coffee to take home.

As I waited in line, the guy in front of me was clutching a copy of the New York Times and waving a $50 bill in the face of the clerk. Obviously ticked at the clerk, he was ranting, “What do you mean you don’t have change? What kind of a place are you operating here? I’ve got the money. I want myNew York Times!”

The clerk, clearly shaken by the man’s anger, apologized, “I’m sorry, sir. We just opened, and I don’t have that much cash on hand yet. I don’t have change for a $50 bill.”

I had just been reading Jesus’ call for us to light up our world with good works so, knowing that this was an opportunity to put Jesus’ plan into gear, I stepped forward and said, “Hey, I’ll pay for your paper” and told the clerk to put it on my bill.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep,” I replied. “Put it on my bill.”

As the guy walked out he thanked me profusely and said, “All that I have is yours!” Which obviously didn’t include the $50 bill in his hand!

When the clerk handed me my two cups of coffee, he surprised me by saying, “Sir, that was a really nice thing you did. This world would be a lot better place if there were more people like you.”

Have you ever had one of those moments where you know that you should testify but the words just aren’t there? Well, I was caught so off-guard that I just muttered some self-deprecating remark and started toward home. I was tormented, wondering what I should have said! About half a block down the street, it occurred to me that I could have said, “Thanks. Actually, the world would not be a better place if more people were like me, but the world would be a better place if more people were like Jesus, because He taught me how to do that.”

I thought about going back to say that to the clerk. But then it crossed my mind that cutting in front of a long line of people to make a religious speech might not be a real good idea. Just then it struck me . . . I was wearing my Moody Bible Institute cap! I began praying that he had seen the cap. Praying that he had discovered that my buying a newspaper for a steamed customer and rescuing him is what “Bible-people” do!

I find myself praying for that server in Starbucks, praying that he will get around a lot of us Bible-people and notice that there is something consistent and compellingly different about us. That someday it will whet his appetite for the Jesus that has made us to be people of “good works.”

When we understand the power of good works our theme song will be: This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine . . . Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m going to let it shine!

Coming Home

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.   Philippians 1: 21.

  I have been  crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and  gave himself for me.    Galatians 2: 20

1. How do you feel about going home to heaven?

2. Is the thought of going home a happy one?

3. Why is it scary to go home to heaven?

4. Is there joy and happiness in going home to heaven?

5. Did you know heaven is certain through faith in Jesus Christ?

Goin’ Home!

From; Get More Strength.org, By: Joe Stowell

Feb

10

2016

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

At the age of 96, my Dad went home to be with the Lord. I have to tell you those last few days with him were precious days in many ways, but most precious was the way our hearts were drawn to Jesus and heaven. The business of life has a way of blotting out what is really important. There’s nothing like standing at death’s door to remind you that life is fast and fragile, but if you have Jesus and the assurance of going home to be with Him at the end, you really have all you need.

As he spent his last days with us, my dad wanted all of us to sing hymns about heaven and seeing Jesus. These were those old songs that he had sung since he was a boy with words like, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus,” the song said, “we’ll sing and shout the victory.” Or maybe some of you know this one: “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue . . . and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” Dad’s favorite, though, was an old hymn that concluded with these words, “And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story—saved by grace!”

Needless to say, these songs were sung with a few tears in our eyes. But underneath the tears was the solid and joyful confidence that he was moving on to a better place. Which made it easy to reply when someone said to me, “I hear you lost your dad”—“No, I know exactly where he is!”

I will never forget those last few days. They may have been the most significant hours I have ever spent with my dad. And the way he died reminded me of lessons he had tried to teach me since I was a boy. Watching my dad die stirred my heart afresh to live now for Jesus in a way that makes finally seeing him face-to-face a highly anticipated joy. Death for my dad was not a thing to be feared, but a door to all that is far better. He believed what Paul said when he wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

My heart was also stirred to think about living now for things that will last forever. I remember Dad telling me years ago, “Only one life,” he would say, “will soon be past, and only what’s done for Christ will last!” Through his life, he had invested heavily in eternal things. And now he was about ready to reap the dividends. None of his money, property, or things meant anything on his deathbed. All he had was what he had sent on ahead—and that was a lot!

And being with my dad when he died also reminded me to build relationships now that make those who will stand around my bedside grateful that they knew me. Just before he went home, my dad looked up at me and said, “Joe, we’re pals, aren’t we?” I’m going to hang on to that memory for the rest of my life!

Which reminds me of what C. S. Lewis said when he wrote, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither!”

How Great Is Your Faith?

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.  Matthew 15:28


Please answer yes or no to the following questions:

1. Do you have little faith?

2. When a person has faith can good things happen?

3. Do you have confidence in God?

4. Did God send Jesus into the world for you, and other people?'

5. Can God help your faith to increase?

Your Faith Is Great

He answered her not a word (Matthew 15:23).

He will be silent in his love (Zephaniah 3:17).

It may be a child of God is reading these words who has had some great crushing sorrow, some bitter disappointment, some heart-breaking blow from a totally unexpected quarter. You are longing for your Master’s voice bidding you “Be of good cheer,” but only silence and a sense of mystery and misery meet you –“He answered her not a word.”

God’s tender heart must often ache listening to all the sad, complaining cries which arise from our weak, impatient hearts, because we do not see that for our own sakes He answers not at all or otherwise than seems best to our tear-blinded, short-sighted eyes. The silences of Jesus are as eloquent as His speech and may be a sign, not of His disapproval, but of His approval and of a deep purpose of blessing for you.

“Why art thou cast down, O… soul?” Thou shalt yet praise Him, yes, even for His silence. Listen to an old and beautiful story of how one Christian dreamed that she saw three others at prayer. As they knelt the Master drew near to them.

As He approached the first of the three, He bent over her in tenderness and grace, with smiles full of radiant love and spoke to her in accents of purest, sweetest music. Leaving her, He came to the next, but only placed His hand upon her bowed bead, and gave her one look of loving approval. The third woman He passed almost abruptly without stopping for a word or glance.

The woman in her dream said to herself, “How greatly He must love the first one, to the second He gave His approval, but none of the special demonstrations of love He gave the first; and the third must have grieved Him deeply, for He gave her no word at all and not even a passing look.

“I wonder what she has done, and why He made so much difference between them?” As she tried to account for the action of her Lord, He Himself stood by her and said: “O woman! how wrongly hast thou interpreted Me. The first kneeling woman needs all the weight of My tenderness and care to keep her feet in My narrow way. She needs My love, thought and help every moment of the day. Without it she would fail and fall.

“The second has stronger faith and deeper love, and I can trust her to trust Me however things may go and whatever people do. The third, whom I seemed not to notice, and even to neglect, has faith and love of the finest quality, and her I am training by quick and drastic processes for the highest and holiest service.

“She knows Me so intimately, and trusts Me so utterly, that she is independent of words or looks or any outward intimation of My approval. She is not dismayed nor discouraged by any circumstances through which I arrange that she shall pass; she trusts Me when sense and reason and every finer instinct of the natural heart would rebel;–because she knows that I am working in her for eternity, and that what I do, though she knows not the explanation now, she will understand hereafter.

“I am silent in My love because I love beyond the power of words to express, or of human hearts to understand, and also for your sakes that you may learn to love and trust Me in Spirit-taught, spontaneous response to My love, without the spur of anything outward to call it forth.”

He “will do marvels” if you will learn the mystery of His silence, and praise Him, for every time He withdraws His gifts that you may better know and love the Giver.
–Selected

God Sanctifies You Through Christ

2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Please answer the questions below with yes or no:

1. Have you been made Holy through belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior?

2. Can I make myself holy through good deeds?

3. Does God have the power to declare something holy?

4. Can I help others find sanctification through Jesus?

5. Is Heaven and living with the Lord your goal?

The Cost of Sanctification

February 8, 2016

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s perspective. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God.

Are we prepared to be caught up into the full meaning of Paul’s prayer in this verse? Are we prepared to say, “Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can”? Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

God Comforts The Brokenhearted

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Matthew 11:28-30 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Please mark the following as yes or no:


1. Have you ever felt down or dejected?

2. Do you help people who appear to need encouragement?

3. Is it your practice to talk to God in prayer about the problem?

4. Have you ever sensed God being close or attentive to you?

5. Can we rise up from dejection and experience joy again?

Spiritual Dejection

From: Utmost.org

February 7, 2016

We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the  third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21

Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.

We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:8-9

Mark the following questions as true or false.

1.  Did you know there is joy in Heaven?

2. The one that rules Heaven loves you?

3. God sent His Son to die because He loves you?

4. All of this truth should bring a joyful response?

5. We love God because He first loved us?

6. Have you done a joy assessment?

7. The end result of your faith is salvation and joy?

Joy of Loving Jesus

From: Get More Jesus

Feb

06

2016

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11

Ever been in love? If so, you know what it means to be preoccupied. I met my wife Martie in the fall of our freshman year at college. It didn’t take long for me to know that my heart had become hopelessly lost to her. When summer came, she went home to Cleveland, and I went on the road for 10 weeks with a team of musicians to represent our college.

We had a great summer. Our days were filled with exciting experiences, interesting places, and chances to meet all kinds of people. But no matter how new and exciting the trip, my mind kept returning to Martie. I hoped there would be a letter from her at the next church, and that she would be at home when I called. I wondered where she was, what she was doing, and what we’d be doing if we were together. I looked forward to the joy we would experience when we were together again.

It’s like that for those of us who are developing an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus. Though busy in our daily routines, we find that He increasingly becomes the backdrop to all of life. We love to hear from Him in His Word, where we find out more about Him and about what He wants us to know. We are thrilled to learn about Him and His ways, and we listen carefully to His direction for our lives. We increasingly enjoy times of prayer, as we speak with Him and sense His communication with us. And we find ourselves longing for the day we will see him face-to-face.

Loving Jesus is not an escape from life, nor is it a brief encounter on some monastic retreat. It’s the joy of staying in touch and the pleasure of knowing that regardless of what a day may bring, the best day is still to come.

God Watches Over You

1. Do you know that God is watching over you?

2. Are you prayers full of thanks for His presence with you?

3. Is God in control?

4. Are only the people of faith aware of his presence?

5. Will we enjoy God in Heaven personally one day?



5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.  psalm 121: 5-6

From Fear to Faith

From: Get More Strength.org

Feb

05

2016

“The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. Psalm 11:4

I have a friend who says, “Through the years I have seen a lot of things change, and I have been against them all!” Change can be very unsettling. It interrupts the predictability and comfort of having things just the way we like them. But even for the most “I like it the way it has always been, thank you!” kind of people, we have to admit that there are some advantages to change. I can remember when you had to crank a handle to roll up a car window. Now you just push a button. Rather than waiting in line for a mumps immunization given by a stern-faced school nurse with what seemed like a foot-long needle, now all kids have to do is swallow something that tastes like bubble gum.

But as welcome as some changes may be, change can sometimes create serious problems. When our lives are impacted by sudden change that turns life upside down, it can be spiritually dangerous. Ending up in the ditch can easily make us feel a little shaky about our faith in God. That’s the kind of change the psalmist wrote about in Psalm 11:1-7—the kind of change that threatened everything he believed. How do we respond when the foundation of our faith begins to wobble, when our troubling circumstances make us question God?

The psalmist says that radical change can either foster debilitating fear or confident faith. Fear haunts our hearts when all we can ask is “What am I to do?” Faith cuts to the exclamation point:The Lord is in control! In the first half of Psalm 11:1-7, David wrings his hands as he describes the fear of losing everything—his kingdom, his reputation, his faith because of circumstances out of his control. You may be buckling under the weight of fear because your world is falling apart. But like David, you can turn your heart to the Lord and declare, “The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord is on His heavenly throne” (Psalm 11:4). His throne is the symbol of His sovereign oversight and authority over all things. David moved from fear to faith by focusing on the exclamation point of God’s rule in his life and not on the question marks of the devastating changes in his life.

Old silent movies often included a scene where the villain tied a beautiful heroine to the train tracks. In great fear, she kicks and screams as the chugging locomotive heads straight toward her sweet little body. But we know she won’t die there. Just in the nick of time, the hero will emerge from the forest and cut the ropes delivering her to safety as he carries her away into the sunset. You can count on it: God will be there for you, even if it’s just in the nick of time!

Psalm 42:5 declares, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” That must be why the psalmist said, “There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread” (Psalm 53:5).

In the midst of the changing circumstances of life, we have a choice. We can live in fear of all the uncertainties, or we can cling to the reality of God’s sustaining and intervening presence in our lives. When we find our strength in the fact that our Almighty God is on the throne and has everything under control, the defeating question marks are replaced with the confidence of His exclamation points, and that’s a welcome change!

Store Your Treasure In Heaven

1. Are you like a treasure to God?

2. What is the treasure you should store in Heaven?

3. Is money and gold the treasure you are storing in Heaven?

4. Why is Jesus a kind of treasure?

5. Is Jesus a priceless gift sent from God?

Hidden Treasure

From: Our Daily Bread

February 4, 2016

Read: Proverbs 2:1-5 | Bible in a Year: Exodus 34–35; Matthew 22:23-46

Search for [insight and understanding] as for hidden treasure. Proverbs 2:4

My husband and I read in different ways. Since English is a second language for Tom, he has a tendency to read slowly, word-for-word. I often speed-read by skimming. But Tom retains more than I do. He can easily quote something he read a week ago, while my retention can evaporate seconds after I turn away from the screen or book.

Skimming is also a problem when I’m reading the Bible—and not just the genealogies. I’m tempted to skim familiar passages, stories I’ve heard since I was a child, or a psalm that is part of a familiar chorus.

We come to know God and His wisdom when we search for it with our whole heart.

Proverbs 2 encourages us to make the effort to know God better by carefully seeking a heart of understanding. When we read the Bible carefully and invest time memorizing Scripture, we absorb its truths more deeply (vv. 1-2). Sometimes reading the Word aloud helps us to hear and understand the wisdom of God more fully. And when we pray the words of Scripture back to God and ask Him for “insight and understanding” (v. 3), we enjoy a conversation with the Author.

We come to know God and His wisdom when we search for it with our whole heart. We find understanding when we seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure.

Dear Lord, help me to slow down and listen to what You want to teach me through Your Word so I can be the person You want me to be.