Reasons to Trust

PROVERBS 3:5-6

We often find it easy to trust the Lord when circumstances are pleasant. In difficult times, though, resting in Him can be challenging. Yet that is precisely what God told David to do: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall deliver you” (Ps. 50:15).

As we saw yesterday, trusting the Lord is possible because of His love for us. In the Bible, we see this divine love clearly demonstrated through the Father’s character, the Savior’s atoning death, and the believer’s adoption as a child of God.

Another reason we can rely upon our heavenly Father is His infinite wisdom (Rom. 11:33). He always knows what is best for us, and His judgments are perfect. We don’t understand all that goes into God’s plan–compared to the full, clear view He has of our lives, we see just a limited picture of reality. Therefore, what He chooses for us may not make sense at the time.

We can also depend upon the Lord because He is sovereign. In other words, whatever He–in His wisdom and love–chooses to do, He is able to accomplish. Nothing stands in the way of our God. He is in complete control of all things; even Satan must obtain His permission before taking action (Job 1:9-12).

We understandably dislike adversity intensely and may feel tempted to ask, “Why, Lord?” Yet by recognizing that God acts in love, wisdom, and sovereignty, we can know that He’s allowed the situation and has our long-term best in mind. So we can replace “why?” with gratitude and trust.

 

 

Can You Trust God??

ROMANS 4:16-21

As we all know too well, life often confronts us with unexpected or painful circumstances. Sometimes these situations leave us feeling fearful, discouraged, and frustrated. Consequently, we may question whether the Lord truly is reliable.

During such troubling moments, we can rest on this essential truth: The Lord is perfect in His love. Consider verse 5 from 1 John 1: “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In other words, everything our heavenly Father does is righteous. And if He is a God of love, then it is impossible for Him to mistreat any of His children. We can be assured that whatever He places or permits in our lives is good and that His motives are perfectly pure.

Jesus demonstrated this deep care for us when He offered His blood on the cross–there exists no greater display of love than giving one’s life for someone else (John 15:13). Our sin debt could be paid only with a flawless sacrifice (Deut. 17:1). Christ, the perfect lamb, was willing to die in our place so that we could have an eternal relationship with the Father. If God gave us His Son–the most precious and amazing gift possible–to take care of our greatest need, then we can trust Him to provide for all areas of our life.

When difficulty arises, remember how much God loves you. He proved this by willingly giving His Son to take the penalty for your sin. Even when circumstances are painful, you can be confident that you are held in the capable and caring hands of your heavenly Father, because of His love.

DR. CHARLES STANLEY

 

 

Emergency Kit

October 28, 2010

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Ephesians 6:10-18

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. —Ephesians 6:13

For a dozen years, I took an auto emergency kit on every long driving trip but never had to use it. It became such a familiar item that on the night we really needed it, I forgot it was there. But fortunately my wife remembered.

After hitting a deer on a dark rural highway, our van was completely disabled. While I fumbled with a small flashlight to assess the damage and call a tow truck, my wife opened the emergency kit, set out a reflective warning marker, then turned on the bright flashlight, much to my surprise. Later we talked about how a crisis can cause us to forget the resources we have, just when we need them most.

Paul urged the Ephesians to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand ag! ainst the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). This protective covering includes truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and prayer (vv.14-18). Although these spiritual resources guard us each day, we need to remember them when disaster strikes and the enemy tries to undermine our confidence in God’s love and care.

Use the kit. “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (v.13). —David McCasland

When Satan launches his attack,
We must take heart and pray;
If we submit ourselves to God,
He’ll be our strength and stay. —Sper

God provides the armor, but we must put it on.

FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

Responding to God’s Discipline

HEBREWS 12:5-7

Sin always leads us away from God and hinders His work in our lives. The Lord will not allow sinful patterns of behavior to continue without divine correction. The purpose of His discipline is to train us in personal holiness (Heb. 12:10).

Some Christians equate the word discipline with punishment. But Scripture tells us that Jesus took our punishment upon Himself at the cross. He paid the required price for all sin and experienced God’s wrath on our behalf so that we might be forgiven. Once we receive Christ as Savior, we are a new creation and no longer under condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

Discipline by our heavenly Father is corrective, not punitive. He uses trials and circumstances to turn us away from unholy practices and teach us the way of godliness (1 Tim. 4:8). So when experiencing His discipline, we should understand that we have sinned, examine our wrongdoing with the Holy Spirit‘s help, and take His correction seriously. Instead of losing heart, recognize that the Lord is treating us as a loving Father would–looking out for our best interests and disciplining us for our own good. Instead of fighting the process, we are wise to cooperate with God and keep our eyes fixed on the promised harvest of righteousness and peace.

Not all hardships are a result of sin; they can also derive from natural disasters, mental or physical illnesses, or someone else’s actions. But if your troubles are a result of your own ungodly actions, then confess them and accept the discipline of a loving Father to His precious child (Isa. 43:4).

FROM DR. CHARLES STANLEY

 

 

THE BURDEN of FALSE GUILT

JOHN 14:26-27

Guilt is an emotional response to wrongdoing. We experience it when we break man’s civil law or God‘s commandments. But what about those times when no law was broken, and yet we feel as if we did something wrong? That is false guilt, an unnecessary and often crippling emotion.

False guilt may come from a traumatic childhood in which the young person blames himself for problems over which he had no control. This pattern of blaming oneself can carry over into adulthood. Perhaps we face criticism for failing to meet the expectations of employers or family. Their verbal abuse can wear us down until we see ourselves as unworthy or useless. We end up feeling guilty for not meeting someone else’s expectations.

Some of us are perfectionists who try to do everything right the first time. Since no one can always do things flawlessly, guilt is a frequent companion. Yet we have not violated any scriptural law. If we find ourselves thinking, I should have done more or I could have performed better, we may be falling into the perfectionism trap. There are instances when our efforts are not what they should be, but that isn’t a reason for guilt. If there is no breaking of God’s law, then our negative feelings are not based in fact.

Christians will make errors in judgment and experience conviction as a result. First John 1:9 tells us to turn to God and confess our sin. If there’s no biblical or civil basis for guilt, then ask the Lord to help you disconnect from the feeling of false guilt and replace it with the peace Jesus promised.

DR. CHARLES STANLEY

 

 

DEALING with GUILTY FEELINGS

Image by Caro's Lines via Flickr

JOHN 5:24-26

Believers in Christ often wrestle with discouragement and shame over things they have done wrong. Some may be especially grieved about mistakes made prior to receiving Jesus as Savior. But what does Scripture say about God‘s view of our guilt?

Until we were saved, our fleshly nature led us to rebel against the Lord and choose our own way. This sinful state separated us from Him and placed us under His wrath (Rom. 2:5-8). All of mankind was guilty before God (Rom. 3:23), but when we trusted Jesus as Savior, we were cleansed by His blood (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:14). He took us from a state of guilt and separation from God to one of forgiveness and acceptance by the Father. Our shame was removed, and Christ’s righteousness was credited to our account (Rom. 5:17). Though we may have to bear the consequences of our action, we are no longer guilty before God.

If we allow shame over previous deeds to continue, we will experience a divided mind, one that focuses too much on the past. Some of us may doubt God’s love and ask, How could He care for someone like me? Others may feel unworthy to be His child–and as a result, draw away from Him. Guilty feelings can weigh us down, sapping our energy for today’s tasks and dampening our enthusiasm for the future.

We have all made mistakes that we regret. But we have a heavenly Father who has completely forgiven our sins and removed our guilt through His Son Jesus. If you are still dealing with feelings of shame, meditate on what was accomplished at the cross, and let God’s truth set you free.

THE DANGER of ANGER

EPHESIANS 4:26-27
Yesterday we learned how to deal with lingering anger in our lives. Today we’ll discover God‘s principle for preventing long-term resentment. The key is to deal with this dangerous emotion promptly.
It’s important to realize that believers can have moments of anger and still remain right with God. Yet anger that is allowed to linger and fester is an opportunity for Satan.
He quickly plants justifications in our mind: That person deserves to be yelled at. You shouldn’t be treated that way! God understands that you’re frustrated. By handing people excuses to build a defense for harboring fury, Satan creates a stronghold in their lives. It is a foolish man or woman who hides behind that wall (Eccl. 7:9).
We are not to lay even one brick for the Devil‘s stronghold. Instead, believers must respond to provocation by forgiving others as God forgives. His mercy is unconditional; there’s no wrong that He does not pardon. Believers cannot stand before God and justify harboring long-term anger. So we must release it at once through forgiveness.
We can further protect ourselves by identifying frequent irritants. When those situations (or people) loom, we should pray that God makes us quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). That is the spiritual fruit of self-control in action.
Anger produces only rotten fruit–sour relationships, a poor witness, etc. The wise believer takes a two-fold approach to dealing with it. First, heed the Bible‘s 300-plus warnings about this dangerous emotion and be vigilant against it. And second, forsake your anger in favor of forgiveness.

FROM: DR. CHARLES STANLEY A DOWN TO EARTH GOOD PREACHER,WONDERFUL ENCOURAGING WORDS.

FORSAKING ANGER

EPHESIANS 4:30-32
A righteous life has no room for lingering anger, whether in the form of rage or resentment. Fury that hardens in our hearts becomes a stronghold for Satan.
The fleshly method for “curing” wrath is to either let it out (rage) or suppress it (resentment). Neither is effective for solving problems or making an angry person feel better. God‘s way of dealing with this dangerous emotion dissolves it and sets the believer free. As today’s passage reminds us, we are to “let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from [us], along with all malice” (v. 31). But to do so requires that we recognize it’s there.
Whether we are annoyed at ourselves, another person, or God, we have to own that feeling. Pretending that the emotion doesn’t exist or that we’ve somehow risen above anger is useless. If you’re angry, admit it and then identify the source. Knowing who or what ignited the initial fury can prevent people from misdirecting irritation onto the innocent.
Here are some questions to help in identifying a source of anger:
Why am I angry?
At whom am I angry?
What caused me to feel/act this way?
Where or when did this feeling start?
Have I been angry a long time?
Once we know the source of our anger, it’s time to forgive, no matter what. Fury and unforgiveness often go together, and they’re heavy baggage that will drag you down. God calls us to set them aside and take up love and kindness instead. Forsaking anger means walking in His will with a light step.

ONE BIG REQUEST

Image by (V)oluntary (∀)mputation via Flickr

JOHN 15:16

Yesterday we looked at God’s promise in John 14:14. Too often people take the verse to imply, “If you ask anything, I will do it.” They overlook the most essential phrase: “in My name.”

Asking in Christ’s name has two meanings. First, believers are welcome to make requests that align with God’s purpose and plan. To do that, we need to ask Him if our prayers match His will. God has several ways of assuring followers that they are on the correct path. For instance, He may increase right desires or decrease wrong ones. Another possibility is that He will use His Word to redirect a Christian’s steps or confirm that he is going the right way. God always makes His will plain to the man or woman who seeks to know it.

Second, invoking Christ’s name means that we desire to glorify Him instead of ourselves. James gives this warning: “You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). To understand that, let’s consider those who are trying to pray their way out of a financial hole. The question is, Does a person want to get out of debt so that he has more for himself or so that he can use the excess in God-honoring ways? Motives are apparent to God. He will not offer help until our heart is right.

In the name Jesus Christ, there is abundant power. However, calling upon Him in prayer is not a magic charm to get what we want. Rather, it is a signal that we are laying down our personal desires and our own way of getting things done. In so doing, we commit to follow God and bring honor to Him.

 

 

HOARDING or HELPING?

READ: Isaiah 58:6-12

If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness. —Isaiah 58:10

In August 1914, when Britain entered World War I, Oswald Chambers was 40 years old with a wife and a 1-year-old daughter. It wasn’t long before men were joining the army at the rate of 30,000 a day, people were asked to sell their automobiles and farm horses to the government, and lists of the dead and wounded began appearing in daily newspapers. The nation faced economic uncertainty and peril.

A month into the war, Chambers spoke of the spiritual challenge facing followers of Christ: “We must take heed that in the present calamities, when war and devastation and heart-break are abroad in the world, we do not shut ourselves up in a world of our own and ignore the demand made on us by our Lord and our fellowmen for the service of intercessory prayer and hospitality and care.”

God’s call to His people rings true in every age: “If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday” (Isa. 58:10).

Fear causes us to grasp what we have; faith in God opens our hands and hearts to others. We walk in His light when we help others, not hoard for ourselves. —David McCasland

Give me a heart sympathetic and tender—
Jesus, like Thine, Jesus, like Thine—
Touched by the needs that are surging around me,
And filled with compassion divine. —Anon.

As Christ’s love grows in us, His love flows from us.