Russell Fralick: "There was a young mountaineerwho was so full of self-reliance that he believed he needed nothing and no one.
He certainly had no need of God. But one night he
stood on the edge of a sheer cliff 1,000 feet above the valley floor, rope gone, best friend missing and presumed dead, rain pouring down, and the pitch black of night engulfing him.
With everything he had relied upon gone, and with no hope of survival, he came face-to-face with the certainty that he was about to die.
Then the rock he was standing on began to collapse, and he knew he had seconds to live.
He was unprepared for death, and in his hopelessness this unbelieving, arrogant man cried out o God to save him.
He needed a God that could move heaven and earth (an all-powerful God), and a God who would move heaven and earth for someone who didn't even believe in Him (a compassionate, loving, and forgiving God).
He also needed a God who would act quickly, without him having to earn His affection. He needed a God who was zealous and passionate in His love for him, a God who was concerned about him as an individual.
I certainly would not have helped a person like that but thankfully God is not like me because He did help. I know, because that man was me. I asked a God I didn't believe in to rescue me, and as I stepped off the mountainside a rope that I could not see was in my hand.
After that, He guided me down a sheer rock wall in pitch-black darkness, negotiating rotten granite and a waterfall, until I reached the bottom—without a scratch!
That's not just improbable; it's impossible! (ask any climber). Yet my God is the God of the impossible.
Only the God of the Bible is both all-powerful and all-loving at the same time (see Job 28-39; 1 John 4:7-21). No other religion or faith system can make this claim. He is powerful enough to move heaven and earth, and He loves us so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to give His life for us.
When we ask God to forgive us, He puts all of our blame onto Jesus and He puts all the righteousness of Jesus onto us so that we can stand before a holy God clean and pure (Rom. 3:24; 5:8-9; 2 Cor. 5:21).
This is a truly remarkable event, borne out of the greatest love ever known and paid for with the greatest suffering ever imaginable."
Are you in need of rescue? Admit to the Lord that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. Then accept His free gift of salvation that promises forgiveness and life with Him forever." (Taken from ODB, Sept. '15)
Father, may I receive Your love today in a new and refreshing way, so my spirit is energized with passion for the lost. My thoughts aren't important, nor are my desires, for what You've done for us is truly unspeakable love.
I ask for discernment when speaking with others about what Jesus has done for us, to help them acknowledge their own need of His saving grace.
Open their eyes and unstop their ears to Your Voice, and draw them to Your heart. I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
I ask for discernment when speaking with others about what Jesus has done for us, to help them acknowledge their own need of His saving grace.
Open their eyes and unstop their ears to Your Voice, and draw them to Your heart. I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Today’s Bible verse: Acts 17:27 "That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of them."
Today’s quote: Bob Gass - "In order to fulfill God's will for your life, you'll have to deal with: what other people want you to be. Your boss wants you to be more productive. Your health club wants you to be more fit. Your credit card company wants you to be deeper in debt.
Seems like everybody has an agenda for you, and if you spend your life trying to meet their expectations you'll never be free. Sometimes loving people means having to disappoint them.
Seeking to become the person others want you to be is a shallow way to live. Nobody can tell you exactly how to change, because only God knows. Even you can't tell yourself how to change, because you didn't create yourself.
To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best possible version of themselves. And the one person in the entire universe who's qualified to do this is God.
Unlike people, God has no hidden agenda or unmet needs He's hoping you can help Him with. He knows what the best version of you looks like. He delights in the very idea of it, and is already working to bring it to fruition in your life.
The Bible says, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom. 8:28 NIV). That means God is at work every moment to help you become His best version of you.
And you'll only be truly free when you make up your mind to be happy about being the person God meant you to — one He's working on every day." (Taken from p.28 of Daily Devotional, the Word For You Today, in Bob Gass Ministries, Dec-Jan-Feb)
Seems like everybody has an agenda for you, and if you spend your life trying to meet their expectations you'll never be free. Sometimes loving people means having to disappoint them.
Seeking to become the person others want you to be is a shallow way to live. Nobody can tell you exactly how to change, because only God knows. Even you can't tell yourself how to change, because you didn't create yourself.
To love someone is to desire and work toward their becoming the best possible version of themselves. And the one person in the entire universe who's qualified to do this is God.
Unlike people, God has no hidden agenda or unmet needs He's hoping you can help Him with. He knows what the best version of you looks like. He delights in the very idea of it, and is already working to bring it to fruition in your life.
The Bible says, "In all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom. 8:28 NIV). That means God is at work every moment to help you become His best version of you.
And you'll only be truly free when you make up your mind to be happy about being the person God meant you to — one He's working on every day." (Taken from p.28 of Daily Devotional, the Word For You Today, in Bob Gass Ministries, Dec-Jan-Feb)
6th- Tuesday's post: #101 Rule #2: The Pastors
C. Peter Wagner
8th- Thursday's post: #102 Rule #3 The Body of Christ
C. Peter Wagner
10th- Saturday's post: Why Wait?
Jean Oathout
11th- Sunday evening's post: Gone. All Gone
Sharon Jaynes
C. Peter Wagner
8th- Thursday's post: #102 Rule #3 The Body of Christ
C. Peter Wagner
10th- Saturday's post: Why Wait?
Jean Oathout
11th- Sunday evening's post: Gone. All Gone
Sharon Jaynes
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