Praise Him with Every Part

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:1-5

After years of quadriplegia, my bones are feeling tired. But whenever I struggle with pain, I pray, "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name." I force all parts of me to bless the Lord, even my lower back when it's aching - it's one way of making certain God receives glory during physically agonizing times.

“From Empty to Full” – Part 2 “The Fullness of Time”

“A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God I’m thirsty for God-alive.”

Psalm 42:1
The Message

EXPLORATION:

“From Empty to Full” – Part 2

“The Fullness of Time”

“Fullness” – Containing all that is possible. Complete in every detail.

What am I “waiting” for God to do in His “fullness of time” in my life?

INSPIRATION:

“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son to redeem us.”

Galatians 4:4- 5
K.J.V.
The Message

I want to begin our devotional today with a thought-provoking prayer I read several years ago in one of my treasured books, Laughter, Silence and Shouting by Kathy Keay. This prayer is entitled, “Waiting” and it was written by women who found themselves in a time of “postponement” or “expectancy.” A time when the answer didn’t come, immediately! A time when God’s help didn’t arrive as fast as necessary.

Living by Faith-- It's a Lifestyle

"Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3)

Times of hardness are inevitable. You need to know that. It's true that we've been redeemed from the curse, and there's nothing Satan can do to reverse that, but he is going to challenge you on it.

So don't be surprised when things get tough. Times will come when you have to stand strictly by faith, when you'll have to speak and act as though what God says is true even when you can't feel it or see it happening around you. There will be times when everything looks terrible. That's when you must endure hardness as a good soldier.

The Top 10 Most-Searched Bible Verses: What’s Missing?

After watching many National Football League games growing up, I finally grew curious enough to walk into my parents’ office and pick up the family Bible. It seemed every football broadcast included shots of someone standing in the end zone, behind and between the goal posts, holding up a simple sign: JOHN 3:16. I knew enough about the Bible to locate the Book of John in the New Testament.
When I read John 3:16, I wasn’t impressed. Turns out the verse was familiar, thanks to Sunday school. I guess I expected to read some sort of decoded message that would unlock a valuable secret. In some sense that’s exactly what I read, but I didn’t yet have the eyes of faith to behold the beauty of what God has done in Jesus Christ.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that John 3:16 is the most-searched Bible verse, according to Bible Gateway’s statistical analysis. We reviewed the behavior of some of the 8 million visitors who stop by the site each month, many of them chasing results provided by Google. I was intrigued to review the top 10 results, which I’ve listed in reverse order.

Introducing the Eternal God

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them.”—Exodus 6:3

This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2—9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.

This week’s Torah portion is called Vaeira, meaning ‘and I appeared.’ But it isn’t a reference to something happening in this week’s portion; it is speaking about God appearing in the past – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It’s as if God were saying to Moses, “In the past I appeared to the forefathers in one way, but you will have a completely different experience. To the Patriarchs I was ‘God Almighty,’ but to you, I am ‘the LORD.’”

What was God trying to tell Moses?

The Sages explain that every name of God – and there are many of them – has a different meaning. Each name describes a different way in which we can experience God. The name revealed to Moses, “the LORD,” is the four-letter name, YHVH, which comes from these three terms: He was, He is, and He will be. This implies that any promise that God has made in the past is remembered in the present and will be fulfilled in the future.

Attitude of Gratitude

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.” Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.’”—Exodus 7:19

This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2—9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.

Moses and Aaron had clearly defined roles. Moses would be the leader of the children of Israel, but Aaron would be his mouthpiece since Moses felt limited by his speech impediment. Aaron would speak; Moses would take action. Aaron would make promises; Moses would deliver. The two brothers were a team bringing their strengths to the table and compensating for each other’s weaknesses.

This being the case, the Sages are puzzled when Aaron, not Moses, is commanded to bring about the first three plagues after warning Pharaoh. Wasn’t this Moses’ arena? Moses brought about the remainder of the plagues, so why not the first three?

Our Daily Bread -- Spiritual Sight

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Ephesians 1:15-21

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. —Ephesians 1:7

A prisoner who survived 14 years in a Cuban jail told how he kept his spirits up and his hope alive: “I had no window in my cell, and so I mentally constructed one on the door. I ‘saw’ in my mind a beautiful scene from the mountains, with water tumbling down a ravine over rocks. It became so real to me that I would visualize it without effort every time I looked at the cell door.”

Make Advent More than "The Christmas Season"

Many of us make the four
weeks leading up to Christmas
into something it's not.

For the longest time, I thought "Advent" was just a fancy word for "the Christmas season," a holier, maybe more spiritual-sounding word for an otherwise hectic and overly-commercialized holiday stretch between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. What I've discovered in the past few years of observing Advent is it's not just a different word; it's an entirely different approach.

Let me explain. Advent as a season is meant to make the journey toward Christmas full of meaning; it's meant to put us in touch with our deepest longings and greatest hopes; it's meant to teach us to bring all our desires together on one object: Christ. While "Christmas" as a season (properly) begins on Dec. 25 and goes 12 days (yes, there's a song about that!) until Jan. 6, Advent is all about the build-up to it. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and takes us right up to the glorious celebration of the incarnation.

Receiving A Miracle

Dear friends and partners,

   This week I finish part 2 of the study, "Receiving a miracle from God."  The prophet Isaiah asked the question in chapter 53, "Who will believe the report of the Lord?"  The report of the Lord is the final word on your life no matter what the world has to say.  Through the years I have learned to trust God in the most difficult situations imagined.  I know many of you have done the same.  The same God that miraculously brought you out of the matter is the same God who will do it again!

   The doctors report may be against you, but the word of the Lord is for you.  Sickness and disease cannot win against a victorious Believer in Jesus Christ!  Debt, lack and poverty cannot take your life because Jesus paid the price for your sins and He has redeemed you from the curse of the law that was against you.  I encourage you today to walk in the promise of the word of God and receive your miracle now!

Ruth: Romance and Redemption

Ruth meets Boaz: Ruth 2

In Israel, the barley harvest began in the spring. The community in Bethlehem observed God’s law concerning harvesting: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest…. Leave them for the poor and the alien” (Leviticus 19:9-10).

"And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor’" (Ruth 2:2). Illustration above by Dan Andreason; below by James Tissot

Ruth was both poor and an alien. She had few prospects in Judah, as Naomi had warned her. However, she was able to provide for Naomi and herself by working hard gleaning the grain left by the harvesters (Ruth 2:2).

There is an almost idyllic quality to the Bethlehem community described in Ruth, which — especially when one considers it existed during the turbulent period of the judges — testifies powerfully to the difference a few people living God’s way can make. Bethlehem would later become famous, first as the “town of David” and later as the birthplace of the Messiah (Luke 2:4-7).

“As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3). Boaz was a “man of standing [Hebrew: ‘ish gibbor chail, implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character]” (verse 1).

Boaz asked his foreman who the stranger gleaning in the field was. The foreman replied that she was the young woman who had accompanied Naomi back from Moab. Boaz then told Ruth to continue gleaning in his field, and helped her far beyond the demands of the law. He even ordered his harvesters to make Ruth especially welcome, enabling her to gather extra barley.

Ruth then asked Boaz, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?” (verse 10). Ruth’s expression about finding favor in Boaz’s eyes, used by her on three occasions (verses 2, 10, 13), was a culturally appropriate way of showing respect. Ruth thus displayed the type of attitude the apostle Paul later taught Christians to have, when he said, “In humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

Healing -- A Forever-Settled Subject

By Kenneth W. Hagin

One of the paramount questions believers ask today is not whether God is able to heal, but whether He is willing to heal. Is it always God’s will to heal? The answer is, “Most assuredly, yes!”

When we want to understand God’s will about a subject, we go to God’s Word, because God’s Word is God’s will. And the Bible tells us that healing is the will of God. The Bible also tells us, “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119: 89) and “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my [Jesus’] words shall not pass away” (Luke 21:33). Healing is a forever-settled subject because God’s Word is forever settled!

Some Call it Communion, Some Lord’s Supper, Some Eucharist

By Fred Liggin

Luke 22:14-23 “When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you. But look, the hand of the one betraying Me is at the table with Me!

In Jesus’ last meal He instituted what some call “Communion,” some “Eucharist” and some “Lord’s Supper.” Whatever one calls it, its important to remember not only why He did this, but also with whom He shared this table meal. But first, a very brief background sketch is probably necessary (if you know it already, skip to next paragraph):

This New Covenant meal was instituted during an Old Covenant meal called Passover. Passover was a meal practiced by the Jews that reminded them of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. This was a meal designed by the LORD to engage all five senses as well as heart, mind and soul. In their deliverance the LORD saved them by requiring each Hebrew family to cover the doorposts and lintels of their houses with the blood of a pure, innocent, sacrificial lamb, which they are to eat as a special dinner before the Lord. In a terrible moment of judgement under the cover of darkness, the LORD would send a deadly plague throughout the land of Egypt in judgment of their oppression, idolatry and disobedience. This plague would kill the firstborn male of every Egyptian family, as well as the firstborn of all livestock. The only way for a Hebrew to escape the judgment aimed at Egypt was to do as the LORD commanded through Moses: cover the doorpost and lintels with the blood of the lamb. The LORD would see the blood and “pass-over” them, resulting in their salvation. It was this terrible yet redemptive act of God that convinced the Egyptian Pharaoh to set His people free to live and worship Him.

Jack Hayford: Developing Christlike Character

JIM DAILEY / BILLYGRAHAM.ORG

 

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Jack Hayford, founding pastor at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, Calif. and the founder and chancellor of The King’s College and Seminary, is known for his keen insights on living for Jesus Christ. His seminar at The Cove, "A New Time and Place" will be streamed free of charge Friday at 7:15 p.m. on The Cove's website.

How do you define Christian character?

Hayford: The thing that makes the difference in Christian character is that we are answering to God foremost. Christian character is character lived out in the reverence for and respect for God, as opposed to simply honoring man. The “fear of God” is the biblical terminology for it. The fear of God is the starting place, but what it boils down to is the willingness to die to our own agendas, to die to our own conveniences.

Genuine Christian character involves sacrifice, and that is something that the culture will not require of us. That is something that only faith will bring us to. We are called to be servants—not just honest people, but servants. Jesus cast it in the most severe terms. He said, “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10, NIV).

The Expanse of Redemption

Zechariah 14:20–21

The book of Zechariah ends with a remarkable statement about the expanse of redemption (see Zec 14:21). Above and beyond God’s ownership as Creator stands his ownership as the Re-creator who extends redemption “far as the curse is found.” 

God cares even for the little things that were spoiled by the fall, and he wants to restore it all. By affirming God’s redemptive interest in minuscule details like cooking pots, Zechariah reveals the enormity of God’s victory. Not only has Christ’s finished work secured salvation for sinners; it also has cleansed every nook and cranny of creation from sin’s decay.

But the last day—the culmination of God’s ultimate re-creation—isn’t here yet, we may argue. From the very moment of our conception, we’ve been living in eternity. Granted, the best is yet to come, but the here and now already is replete with foretastes. The trouble is, we’re eternal beings with a finite mentality, and we tend at times to get confused.

The Sufferings of Jesus

In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Revelation 5:12

In heaven, not only will our sufferings win us merit, the sufferings of Jesus will have an eternal perspective, too. Our Lord will be honored as the slain Lamb. His sufferings will never be forgotten. Unlike us, he will always visibly bare his wounds to the universe, and for that, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will enjoy praise as never before! If any dark demon in the corner of the universe ever doubted the righteousness of God in stooping to rescue debased sinners, he'll be set straight. No evil spirit will dare accuse God of having defiled His purity in order to redeem wicked men. No one will question God's righteous reputation for having condescended to save sinners.

How is Jesus Our Substitute?

John Barnett

On the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe. 

Did you get that? God treated Him as if He committed, personally, every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe though the fact is He committed none of them. 

That’s the great doctrine of substitution. And that’s the first side of imputation. God imputed our sins to Him. He was guilty of none of them. God treated Him as if He committed all of them. And He just unloaded His fury for all the sins of all the people who would ever believe in Him in the history of the world. He unloaded all His fury against all their sins on Christ.

To borrow the language of Leviticus 16, Jesus became the “scapegoat.” The scapegoat was guilty of nothing. But the High Priest, as it were, laid all the sins of the people on the scapegoat and sent him away. He was without sin. But sin was credited to His account as if He had personally committed it and then God punished Him though the fact is He never committed any of it. That’s imputation.

The Father of Spirits

 "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Hebrews 12:9)

Human parents transmit physical characteristics to their offspring, but our spiritual attributes come from God, for He is "the Father of spirits." Paul recognized that all men are "the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29), and that each man is still "the image and glory of God" (1 Corinthians 11:7).

Thus our spirit/soul nature, as distinct from our body of physical/mental flesh, has come from God, who created it and united it with our body, evidently at the moment of physical conception in the womb. It is obvious that the "image of God," man's spirit/soul nature, could not be transmitted genetically via the "genetic code" and the DNA molecules, for these are simply complex chemicals programmed to transmit only the physical and mental attributes of the ancestors to the children. 

What Can We Learn From Mary, Jesus' Mom?

by Jeff Baxter

The Gospel of Matthew and Luke teach us many things about the Savior's mom.  Mary's life is worthy for us to look at this Christmas season.  What can we learn from her?

First, God found favor in Mary, not because Mary was perfect and sinless, but because God's grace was on her.  We might assume that she was close to God in her fellowship, but this was not the reason for her finding favor.  Verse 28 says, ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Although Mary played a special role in the redemptive plan of God, if you know God, you are highly favored too and you can have the same kind of relationship and fellowship with God that Mary must have had.  Ephesians 1:6 uses the same word here for “favored” when it says that “his glorious grace…which he has freely given.”  Mary was a recipient of the same grace that you have received!  That is why you are highly favored. Because of God’s great grace! 

Free From the Curse

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3:13)

You know the story. Satan came to Adam's wife in the form of a serpent and deceived her into disobeying God. Adam, although he was not deceived, followed suit.

When Satan came into the Garden that day, he didn't have any power at all. He had to come in like a sneak, not even talking to Adam directly but talking to his wife.

Now Adam was standing there, and he should have kicked him out right then. But he didn't. Instead, he set aside the command God had given him and did what Satan told him to do instead...and when he did that, he made Satan his lord.

In bowing his knee to Satan, Adam gave Satan the authority that God had given man. He made Satan the illegitimate ruler of the earth. Immediately things changed. Through one man's trespass, death passed to all men (Rom. 5:12).

The earth and everything in it was suddenly cursed.

Earth Day Thoughts for Christians

From Dean Ohlman

Sunday, April 22, will be the 42nd Earth Day. I celebrated the 1st one in 1970 with the then typical “conservative” scoffing. I celebrated the 20th one in 1990 manning a booth for my fledgling organization, the Christian Nature Federation, at Knott’s Berry Farm in Orange County, California. And Providence placed us right next to the Captain Planet “Save the Earth” stage show developed and funded by Ted Turner; so parents and grandparents who took their kids and grandkids to that crassly humanistic theatrical production had only to look a little to the left to see our huge banner: “Save the Earth: Honor its Creator.”