"Through," Not Engulfed ( and other devotionals)

"Through," Not Engulfed 
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee"   (Isaiah 43:2).

Bridge there is none: we must go through the waters and feel the rush of the rivers. The presence of God in the flood is better than a ferryboat. Tried we must be, but triumphant we shall be; for Jehovah Himself, who is mightier than many waters, shall be with us. Whenever else He may be away from His people, the LORD will surely be with them in difficulties and dangers. The sorrows of life may rise to an extraordinary height, but the LORD is equal to every occasion. The enemies of God can put in our way dangers of their own making, namely, persecutions and cruel mockings, which are like a burning, fiery furnace. What then? We shall walk through the fires. God being with us, we shall not be burned; nay, not even the smell of fire shall remain upon us. Oh, the wonderful security of the heaven-born and heaven-bound pilgrim! Floods cannot drown him, nor fires burn him. Thy presence, O LORD, is the protection of Thy saints from the varied perils of the road. Be-hold, in faith I commit myself unto Thee, and my spirit enters into rest.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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It is God which worketh in you.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. - A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. - No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. - And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever.

Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

PHI. 2:13. II Cor. 3:5. John 3:27. -John 6:44. Jer. 32:39. Jas. 1:16-18. Eph. 2:10. Isa. 26:12.

EVENING

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

In the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.

I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. - The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. - Our sufficiency is of God. - My grace is sufficient for thee.

MATT. 26:41 Isa. 26:8,9. Rom. 7:18,22,23. -Gal. 5:17. Phi. 4:13. II Cor. 3:5. II Cor. 12:9.

~Samuel Bagster~

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Christ's Calling 

“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.  Matthew 4:19–20

Disciples of Jesus are called by the Lord to minister in their homes and in the marketplace. However, Christ does call some of His followers to vocational ministry. It is a calling that often comes to ordinary men and women who accomplish extraordinary results. Whom does He call? Christ’s call comes to those who have a hungry heart for God.

Like Paul, you might have been suddenly smitten by a revelation of Jesus as Lord, or perhaps you were like David, who gradually went from feeding sheep what was perishable to feeding God’s people the imperishable. Wherever Christ calls, His first command is to love God and people. A calling without love is like a car without gasoline. It may be attractive on the outside, but it is not going anywhere. Thus, love large where the Lord has called you.

Furthermore, He has called you to endure hardship. “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary”(Revelation 2:3). Christians are not immune to conflict; in fact, your faith invites difficulty at times. So do not seek to shelter your life from adversity, but rather position yourself in obedience to Christ’s calling. It is out of your regular routine of serving Him that you will see what He has in store next.

Make sure you minister first to your spouse and children. Do not be like the cobbler who has no shoes for his family. Your creditability for Christ is seeing your faith lived out with those who know you the best. What does it profit a man if he saves the whole world and loses his family? A calling to family first frees you to evangelize and disciple with God’s favor. His calling aligns with His commands; so service for Him is seamless.

Above all, the Lord is looking for those already engaged in His Word, growing in their character, and active in sharing their faith. His calling comes to Christians who desire the Holy Spirit to conform them into the image of Christ. Your humble imitation of Jesus comes out of your intimate walk with Him. He calls those whom He can trust. So do not look for your calling. Look for Christ, and He will reveal His calling to you.

“I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission” (Isaiah 48:15).

Prayer: What is Christ’s calling for my life? Am I steadfast in loving the Lord and people?

~Wisdom Hunters Devotional~
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 Effective Prayer - Praying From the Heart

Today we will look at the third key to effective prayer.  This key is found in Romans 10:9-10 where it says,

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Prayer must come from the heart.  These verses in particular teach us that if a person is going to pray a prayer of salvation, the heart and the mouth must get together.  It is not good enough to just have the words.  Your heart and mouth must be in agreement.

I believe this truth applies to every kind of prayer.  It is not good enough to just use eloquent words.  There has to be heart behind them if you are going to realize results from your prayers.

I think only those things that burn brightly within our hearts truly touch the heart of God.

When I was young, I would go fishing with my cousins.  At night, the bats would come out and my cousins would take a lure, and they would cast it up in the air.  Every once in a great while one of the bats would hit the lure and get snagged.

I think when we pray, it is like casting lines up into the heavens.  But it is only the prayers that come from our heart that ever hook onto anything in heaven.

Effective prayer comes from your heart.

~Bayless Conley~

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BIBLE MEDITATION: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36. DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: Can you imagine what it meant to Mary to hear the angel say to her, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus”? Or for those Jewish shepherds the night of his birth to hear the angels say, “…born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”? What does that word “Lord” mean? What did it mean to these shepherds? It meant “Jehovah” to them. Jehovah, God Almighty. When the angel said, “a Savior which is Christ the Lord,” the angel was saying He is co-equal, co-eternal with the Almighty. Jesus Christ is called “Lord” far more than He is called “Savior.” He’s called “Lord” 747 times in the New Testament. He is Lord. Every so often someone says, “Well, I decided to make Him Lord.” Too late for that. He is Lord. ACTION POINT: You cannot “make” Him Lord; He already is. Can you receive Him as Lord? Yes. You can bow your knee to Him and say, “O Lord, You are the King. Therefore, I yield my heart to You.” Receive Him today as your Lord. Will you submit to His Lordship?” ~Adrian Rogers - Love Worth Finding Ministries~ ____________________________________ Receiving Assurance of Salvation How, then, do we receive assurance? The Scripture declares that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. This inner testimony of the Holy Spirit is as vital as it is complex. It can be subjected to severe distortions, being confused with subjectivism and self-delusion. The Spirit gives His testimony with the Word and through the Word, never against the Word or without the Word. Since it is possible to have false assurance of salvation, it is all the more urgent that we seek the Spirit's testimony in and through the Word. False assurance usually proceeds from a faulty understanding of salvation. If one fails to understand the necessary conditions for salvation, assurance would be at best a lucky guess. Therefore, we insist that right doctrine is a crucial element in acquiring a sound basis for assurance. It may even be a necessary condition, though by no means a sufficient condition. Without sound doctrine we will have an inadequate understanding of salvation. However, having a sound understanding of salvation is no guarantee we have the salvation we so soundly understand. Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God Thank God for the testimony of His Spirit and His Word, which provide assurance of your salvation. For Further Study Philippians 2:12: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Romans 10:10: "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." ~R. C. Sproul~ ______________________________ Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hands" (2 Kings 3:16-18). To human thinking it was simply impossible, but nothing is hard for God. Without a sound or sign, from sources invisible and apparently impossible, the floods came stealing in all night long; and when the morning dawned, those ditches were flooded with the crystal waters, and reflecting the rays of the morning sun from the red hills of Edom. Our unbelief is always wanting some outward sign. The religion of many is largely sensational, and they are not satisfied of its genuineness without manifestations, etc.; but the greatest triumph of faith is to be still and know that He is God. The great victory of faith is to stand before some impassable Red Sea, and hear the Master say, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord," and "Go forward!" As we step out without any sign or sound--not a wave-splash--and wetting our very feet as we take the first step into its waters, still marching on we shall see the sea divide and the pathway open through the very midst of the waters. If we have seen the miraculous workings of God in some marvelous case of healing or some extraordinary providential deliverance, I am sure the thing that has impressed us most has been the quietness with which it was all done, the absence of everything spectacular and sensational, and the utter sense of nothingness which came to us as we stood in the presence of this mighty God and felt how easy, it was for Him to do it all without the faintest effort on His part or the slightest help on ours. It is not the part of faith to question, but to obey. The ditches were made, and the water came pouring in from some supernatural source. What a lesson for our faith! Are you craving a spiritual blessing? Open the trenches, and God will fill them. And this, too, in the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected ways. Oh, for that faith that can act by faith and not by sight, and expect God to work although we see no wind or rain. --A. B. Simpson ~L. B. Cowman~