It's Never Too Late
As we wrap up our series of devotionals on how to break a spiritual drought, I want to focus our attention on Psalm 72:6 This verse contains a very powerful truth that I want to leave with you. It says,
He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass. (KJV)
I remember when I was first saved and read this passage, I would picture somebody out there with a lawnmower. But of course, they didn't have lawnmowers back then!
This verse refers to a field that has been eaten over by locusts, a plague of locusts that has come through and just devoured a field. And God gives a wonderful promise: He will come down like the rain on the mown grass, to revive and to restore that which the locusts have eaten.
Today, as you read this devotional, you may feel like a swarm of locusts has come over your life and eaten your blessing. I think if you seek God and earnestly pray and ask Him to send the rain, you will have an encounter with God beyond anything you could have imagined.
He can restore what the enemy has stolen in your life. You can indeed experience the freshness and revival and fruitfulness in your life again. It is never too late to pray for God's blessing.
No matter the situation, seek God today. Ask, and He will send the rain down on whatever part of your life has been mowed over by the locusts. And you will experience the blessing God desires for you.
Remember, it is never too late.
~Bayless Conley~
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Every Failure—Is a Prayer Failure!
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.”Ephesians 3:12
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
One of the grandest privileges you and I have is the privilege of prayer. I believe when we get to heaven, one of the things that will amaze us is that we prayed so poorly, and we prayed so little, while we were here on earth.
I want to tell you: you do not have a failure in your life but what it is a prayer failure. You do not have a need in your life but what prayer could supply that need. There’s not a sin in your life that a proper prayer life couldn’t overcome.
Hymn writer Joseph M. Scriven penned these words, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
ACTION POINT:
Friend, rather than wringing our hands, we ought to be bending our knees.
“In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.”Ephesians 3:12
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
One of the grandest privileges you and I have is the privilege of prayer. I believe when we get to heaven, one of the things that will amaze us is that we prayed so poorly, and we prayed so little, while we were here on earth.
I want to tell you: you do not have a failure in your life but what it is a prayer failure. You do not have a need in your life but what prayer could supply that need. There’s not a sin in your life that a proper prayer life couldn’t overcome.
Hymn writer Joseph M. Scriven penned these words, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
ACTION POINT:
Friend, rather than wringing our hands, we ought to be bending our knees.
~Adrian Rogers~
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Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside, of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Exod. 3:1,2).
The vision came in the midst of common toil, and that is where the Lord delights to give His revelations. He seeks a man who is on the ordinary road, and the Divine fire leaps out at his feet. The mystic ladder can rise from the market place to Heaven. It can connect the realm of drudgery with the realms of grace.
My Father God, help me to expect Thee on the ordinary road. I do not ask for sensational happenings. Commune with me through ordinary work and duty. Be my Companion when I take the common journey. Let the humble life be transfigured by Thy presence.
Some Christians think they must be always up to mounts of extraordinary joy and revelation; this is not after God's method. Those spiritual visits to high places, and that wonderful intercourse with the unseen world, are not in the promises; the daily life of communion is. And it is enough. We shall have the exceptional revelation if it be right for us.
There were but three disciples allowed to see the transfiguration, and those three entered the gloom of Gethsemane. No one can stay on the mount of privilege. There are duties in the valley. Christ found His life-work, not in the glory, but in the valley and was there truly and fully the Messiah.
The value of the vision and glory is but their gift of fitness for work and endurance.
~L. B. Cowman~
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Learning From Your Haircut
“I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts” - Isaiah 65:2
I went to a new hair stylist this past week. Have you ever had that feeling of vulnerability when meeting someone new who has scissors in his or her hands? I was anxious, but this stylist's reputation put my fears a little more at ease as I waited to get in the chair. To break the ice, he joked that he wanted to cut my hair really short. Everyone in the salon laughed including me, the "first time visitor" joke. However, by the time he was finished trimming my hair, he told me that my hair should be cut really short. It is a terrible feeling to get your hair cut just the way you requested, then have the person who cut it tell you that your hair would look better another way.
I left relieved and confused at the same time. Relieved that he did what I asked of him but confused that he did not like what he did. After talking and praying to the Lord about this experience, I came to the conclusion that it is a matter of professional opinion and training on the part of the hair stylist, but more of a matter of convenience and comfort on my part. There is no right or wrong answer, just preference.
With our issues in life, we pray and ask God for His guidance, but then, we go and do what we want. That works fine when you sit in a salon but not when dealing with the ways of God. We need to listen and obey what He says. God addresses many of these issues very clearly in the Bible. God's ways are not a matter of opinion or a strong suggestion; they are commands. We have to remember that those commands are written for our protection. Our Lord cares about everything we do and every detail of our lives (even how we get our hair cut). Regardless of the issues in your life, big or small, read God's Word every day for clear instruction and ask Him for guidance. You may not always agree with your hair stylist but that is okay. Agreeing with the Lord, however, brings a peace and joy that cannot even begin to compare to the best of haircuts.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
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Avoiding Compromise
“I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts” - Isaiah 65:2
I went to a new hair stylist this past week. Have you ever had that feeling of vulnerability when meeting someone new who has scissors in his or her hands? I was anxious, but this stylist's reputation put my fears a little more at ease as I waited to get in the chair. To break the ice, he joked that he wanted to cut my hair really short. Everyone in the salon laughed including me, the "first time visitor" joke. However, by the time he was finished trimming my hair, he told me that my hair should be cut really short. It is a terrible feeling to get your hair cut just the way you requested, then have the person who cut it tell you that your hair would look better another way.
I left relieved and confused at the same time. Relieved that he did what I asked of him but confused that he did not like what he did. After talking and praying to the Lord about this experience, I came to the conclusion that it is a matter of professional opinion and training on the part of the hair stylist, but more of a matter of convenience and comfort on my part. There is no right or wrong answer, just preference.
With our issues in life, we pray and ask God for His guidance, but then, we go and do what we want. That works fine when you sit in a salon but not when dealing with the ways of God. We need to listen and obey what He says. God addresses many of these issues very clearly in the Bible. God's ways are not a matter of opinion or a strong suggestion; they are commands. We have to remember that those commands are written for our protection. Our Lord cares about everything we do and every detail of our lives (even how we get our hair cut). Regardless of the issues in your life, big or small, read God's Word every day for clear instruction and ask Him for guidance. You may not always agree with your hair stylist but that is okay. Agreeing with the Lord, however, brings a peace and joy that cannot even begin to compare to the best of haircuts.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
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Avoiding Compromise
Although the temptation to compromise threatens every believer, we don't have to give in. If we're aware of the danger and understand the downward progression and ultimate consequences, we can determine to be vigilant in obedience to the Lord.
The first step in learning how to avoid compromise is understanding why it is so tempting. When others pressure us to take part in in what we know God has forbidden, it's easy to give in because we don't want to feel rejected. But anyone who's committed to living a godly life must be willing to stand alone and face ridicule or even persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). At other times, we consent to activities that violate our conscience just to avoid conflict, but peace at any price means we have to sacrifice obedience to God.
However, the temptation to compromise doesn't always originate with others. In fact, James 1:14 says we are tempted when we're carried away by our own lusts. How many Christians have fallen into sexual immorality or pornography by desiring a second look? Greed is another motivation that drives us to compromise. If you fudge on your income tax or take a few things home from the office, you've stepped over the line of obedience to God. Our choices should be based on scriptural truth, not on our feelings and desires.
In order to stand firm against compromise, we must make God's Word the standard for our conduct. If you begin each day with the Lord in His Word, He will guide your way. Then when the Spirit gives a warning, obey immediately, because giving consideration to the temptation opens a door for Satan.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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Should We Make the Gospel Easier to Accept?by Jack Graham | ||||||
| There are many today who suggest that the church would be better off if we watered down the message of the Gospel for the sake of our witness. These people say things like, "You're too hard on people. Don't be so dogmatic regarding Christ's teaching. You're going to run people off." Well, you know what? The very opposite is true. You and I have been given clear instruction and teaching in the Scripture on how we should behave and how we are to perpetuate Christ's teachings in the world. So what is our message and how do we present it to a hostile world?
So when you engage those whose opinions are diametrically opposed to yours, be respectful. But remember who you represent. We aren't here to champion our own opinion, but to lift up Christ and his Truth! Treasure and defend the hope and love that Christ has deposited within you! Never deny your faith but be faithful to lift up Christ Jesus! And when you do, he will draw men to himself! | ||||||
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