“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17

Thoughts on today’s verse:

How do you view God? Is he someone looking for a way to condemn you? Is he an out-of-touch old man who doesn’t really know what it’s like in our modern world? Is he too holy to soil himself with the concerns of mere mortals and has left it up to us to work everything out for ourselves? No. NO. NO! God chose to enter our world and experience it from the side of mortality. God chose to enter our world, not to condemn us, or it, but to redeem it. Jesus is the great reminder that God longs to save us, not judge us. Thank God for God! Thank God for Jesus who was God with us.

Prayer:
Holy and Heavenly God, thank you that you live with those who are contrite and repentant and who long for your presence. You know we are only mortal, but you love us. You know that we are flawed, but you redeemed us. You know that we are not perfect, but you sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to save us. Thank you. Through my Savior I offer my sincerest gratitude and praise. Amen.

By Phil Ware
used by permission

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

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FURTHER READING

Getting Life Back on Track by Marvin Kehler

Where Your Choices Can Lead You – Frank Krause talks about what he learned from experience

Unrequited Love

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But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” Luke 18:16

Sherry and Jimmie met at a hard rock Black Sabbath concert.
Both were serious substance abusers.
Sherry became pregnant and a few months later, they got married.  But it was awful!
A divorce ended years of abuse.
Strangely enough, God drew them back together.  He had a plan for this family!
What did God use?
Little three-year-old Jason told the pastor, “I want Jesus to bring my daddy home.”

Months later, the couple asked the pastor to marry them.
He agreed if Jimmie would receive Jesus into his life as Sherry had done previously.
So Jimmie said yes.
Now he says,
“Jesus invaded our world that night.  We got up from there and were completely different.”

Now Sherry and blues artist Jimmie Bratcher are sharing Christ’s life-changing story with others.

Friend, your experience might be less dramatic, but God WILL change your life!

By Vonette Bright
used by permission

~~~~~~~

If you don’t know God and his forgiveness and would like to start living a life where he is at your centre, you can start that journey today with a prayer:

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I want to trust you from now on. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Thank you for enabling me to trust you in these uncertain times. Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~

FURTHER READING

The Gift of Forgiveness – by John William Smith

A Moving Mountain

Searching for a Higher Purpose – Betty Lau shares her story

The post Completely Different appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”  1 Peter 2:23

Deep within us resides a longing for justice. We want evil punished and good rewarded. Yet, all around us we see evil celebrated and good penalized. When society blurs the lines between right and wrong, truth stumbles and justice fails (Isaiah 59:14).

When wrongly accused, Jesus didn’t fight back. He suffered the ultimate injustice. Although Jesus was completely innocent, He was put to death. As Jesus entrusted Himself to God, we should strive to do the same.

Peter tells believers how to handle injustice against them, particularly when it results from their faith in Jesus. Peter repeats the idea of entrusting ourselves to God later in the same letter. “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4:19).

God is our faithful Creator. God is the One who judges justly. When we rely on God’s faithfulness, His goodness, and His justice, we can keep on doing good even though we are treated unjustly. We can keep on living for the truth and trust God to look after us.

Put yourself in God’s hands. Know that you can trust Him to care for you, regardless of what people say or do to you.

Heavenly Father, it is so hard to not demand my rights or defend myself when someone takes advantage of me. Demonstrate your power in my life by giving me the strength to act as Jesus did. I submit myself to you. Amen.

By Suzanne Benner
Used by Permission

Suzanne also has devotionals on:  https://thelife.com/devotionals/

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FURTHER READING

Justice, Mercy and Grace

Judging Vs. Justice

Yearning for Justice

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“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

It’s crazy how easily we can talk ourselves into wanting to be more, have more, and do more. And for me, it happens most when I let the world creep in where Jesus should reside.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Taking delight in the Lord means that our hearts truly find peace and fulfillment in Him. If we truly find satisfaction and worth in Christ, Scripture says He will give us the longings of our hearts. The idea behind this verse and others like it is that, when we truly rejoice or “delight” in the eternal things of God, our desires will begin to parallel His, and we will never go unfulfilled.

Many delight in wealth, status, material possessions, and other temporary things of this world, but they are never satisfied. They never truly get what they want, which is why they are always wanting more.

Everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father, but from the world which seeks pleasure. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

We will never be deeply fulfilled or “happy” with the things this world has to offer. But if we place our joy and hope in God first, He will meet all of our needs.

Have you trusted God first in your life? If not, do so today and receive the desires of your heart.

THOUGHT: What gives you pleasure in life? Does it come from the world or from Jesus?

PRAYER: Father God, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you and look to you and to you alone for true delight and pleasure in life.

By John Grant
Used by Permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

FURTHER READING

Our Heart’s Desires

Delight Yourself in the Lord

God is My Delight

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“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7

Recently, I toured a tulip farm. It was the peak of blooming season, and what a wonderful sight it was to see hundreds of acres in full tulip bloom, displaying as many colors as in the rainbow.

I was shocked to learn that they were about to trim the flowers, and then I learned why. It seems that the goal in the field is not to grow flowers, but to grow bulbs and when the flowers are trimmed and the stalk remains, it allows the nutrients to go down to the bulbs and make them stronger and more hearty. It gives the bulbs more vitality.

There is a spiritual parallel here. Sometimes God cuts out the beautiful things in our life to allow us to grow.

Since God is the source of all goodness, his glory is the wellspring of all joy. What God does for his own sake benefits us. Therefore whatever glorifies him is good for us. And that includes the suffering he allows or brings into our lives. God refines us in our suffering.

Some consider God egotistical or cruel to test us for his sake. But the testing he does for his sake accrues to our eternal benefit.

How often have you heard people say, “I grew closest to God when my life was free from pain and suffering”? Just as the tulip farmer snips the flowers from the plant, God often walks with us through hardship and despair to deepen our roots in Him and make us all the better for it.

By John Grant
used by permission

FURTHER READING

Roots That Grow

Keep Training

What can You Expect?

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“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 2:26

God often speaks at the most unexpected times. One day I was casually talking with a friend about a situation at my job. In the middle of the conversation I said, “This is driving me crazy.” My friend simply looked at me and said, “Only if you let it.”

In five words, my friend had summed up one of the major issues I have been struggling with for years: how do I keep from giving away the peace I have in Christ?

I confess that I am a perfectionist. If something doesn’t go the way I want it to go, I get anxious and upset. I feel out of control.

I have to remember that the peace of God is with me because the Spirit of God is with me. I must keep my mind on the person and promises of God instead of letting circumstances lead me into thoughts of anxiousness. To me, this means remembering some important truths:

•    I am a child of God (Romans 8:14).
•    God is for me, not against me (Romans 8:31).
•    I have the favor of God (Proverbs 8:35).
•    God’s love for me surpasses my understanding of it (Ephesians 3:19).

It takes practice to keep my mind on Jesus and not on the turmoil around me. But when I can do it, I have His perfect peace in the middle of the storm

Lord, help me cooperate with You to keep my peace. Help me focus my mind on You. Amen.

By Debbie West
used by permission

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FURTHER READING

Finding Perfect Peace by Kathy Cheek

Perfect Peace by Phil Ware

Perfect Peace

The post Work For Peace appeared first on Thoughts About God.

There are places and times when we feel we need extra wisdom, insight, guidance and strength. We long for understanding in situations that seem confusing. We need revelation when truth is being hidden or skewed.

God provides all these things to His children through the Holy Spirit. Paul the apostle, prayed for believers to receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so they could know God better. This prayer is still for us today. It reflects what is available to believers… to you and me.

Why do we allow ourselves to live in confusion and even chaos when we can be equipped by the Holy Spirit of God. Do we miss the wisdom and revelation we can have from God because we drown out that quiet voice of the Spirit by our busy lives? In so doing we are actually choosing the chaos and confusion. Think about it. This is not God’s plan for you. Know He wants to equip you to walk in wisdom, revelation, strength and power right where you are. He wants you to know Him better.

Heavenly Father, Thank you that Your Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Thank you that Your Spirit will lead me to know You better. Fill my spirit afresh today with the wisdom and revelation, the strength and comfort I need to walk in the areas that perplex me. Quiet my heart to hear Your Spirit specifically in (name your own perplexing circumstance) . Thank you that You equip me by Your Spirit. I pray these things in the name of Jesus, amen.

Thought: Think of one area where you are experiencing perplexity, confusion or chaos and invite God right now to begin to show You His wisdom in this situation.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”  Ephesians 1:17-20

By Gail Rodgers
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

FURTHER READING

Praying the 23rd Psalm for Yourself and Others

The Supernatural Power of Praise

Hearing God’s Voice

The post Are You Choosing Chaos? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”
1 Peter 2:2 (KJV).

Sam was very impatient with himself. Though he was a new Christian, he could not understand why he was not as spiritual as some of the other students who had walked with the Lord for several years.

I explained to him the Christian life, like physical life, involves a process of growth. A person begins as a baby and goes through various stages of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood to reach Christian maturity. Very few, if any, Christians, I explained to him, become spiritually mature overnight.

Lane Adams, a beloved colleague, gifted teacher, preacher and author, said, “I shrink inside when I think of the times I have mounted the pulpit, recited the conversion experience of the apostle Paul, and then indicated that he went out and turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ immediately.”

He continued, “This simply was not the case. There is a difference of opinion among scholars concerning New Testament dating, but it seems rather plain that many years went by before the Holy Spirit laid the dramatic burden on Paul as a missionary of the cross.”

If you strongly desire to serve the Lord in some particular way, such as teaching, ask the Holy Spirit in faith to empower you to become an effective teacher. Now, it may be that the Holy Spirit will see fit to make you a great teacher overnight, but this is most unlikely. So if it does not happen, do not be discouraged. Have faith!

Continue to ask and believe that the Holy Spirit will make you an effective teacher of the Word of God and be willing to work hard and long to develop your natural ability. The Bible reminds us that “faith without works is useless.”

If we are unique members of the Body of Christ, and we are, if we possess special tasks to accomplish, and we do, then the Holy Spirit will empower us to carry out those tasks. God does indeed have a plan for each of our lives. And He gives us the direction and power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish that plan as we continue to trust and obey Him.

Bible Reading: 2 Peter 3:14-18

Action Point: Recognizing that I am in the process of maturing spiritually, I shall seek to accelerate my spiritual growth by hiding the Word of God in my heart, spending time in prayer, walking in the Spirit and sharing my faith in Christ with others as a way of life.

by Dr. Bill Bright
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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FURTHER READING

Seek God and Not an Experience

Holy Cravings

Abuse Survivor – One Woman’s Story

The post Recipe for Growth appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” — Matthew 6:25

Thought

God gives beauty to the flowers and life to grass. In the grand scheme of things, these are transitory and insignificant. He sent his Son from Heaven to save us. So, he most definitely is going to give us what we need until we go home to live with him!

Prayer

Loving Father and Almighty God, forgive my distraction over temporal things. I do believe that you have given me everything I need in Jesus and in the gracious abundance of your blessings. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen

By Phil Ware
Used by Permission

From: https://www.verseoftheday.com

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Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

FURTHER READING

Fast Of Words: A Different Kind of Fast

Praying the 23rd Psalm for Yourself and Others

The Supernatural Power of Praise

The post Worry about Your Life appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Two hikers, bone weary from trudging toward the peak of a majestic mountain, pause when one says, “I think we’re on the wrong path; we’ve stopped making progress. Maybe it’s time to turn back.” Instead of agreeing with her companion, instead of berating her fellow hiker with condemnation and shame, she simply says, “Let’s rest for a while and study the map.”

Walking the Christian path is much like climbing a mountain. Vistas ahead are breathtaking, companions along the way encourage, unexpected bubbling streams refresh. But the way is long and often fraught with danger.

When the way is long, when we doubt that God is leading—when we doubt that God cares—it’s time to rest awhile and study the map, God’s words from the Bible. Past experiences of God’s faithfulness, knowledge of God’s will and way will not always eliminate doubt. Faith is almost sure to waver as we climb the mountain, but God’s promise to “never leave nor forsake” is like a cup of cold water as we traverse through thorns that leave us bloody, blinding lightning and soul searing thunder, gnashing teeth of wild animals called despair.

After misunderstanding from friends and family, after the never-ending neediness of people, after heart rending grief, Jesus says to his weary friends,

“Come with me to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31).

Whatever thorny path you now travel, whatever doubt plagues your soul, whatever mountain peak is unseen through the clouds, Jesus’ invitation can be heard: “Sit down on the path with me and get some rest.”

Lord, I’m weary. Are you listening to my cry? Do you care? I need your comfort, please fill me again with your endurance and strength. Thank you that you are a God of mercy and grace.

By Marilyn Ehle
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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FURTHER READING

Importance of Knowing God
I Want to Know Him
The Christian and the Bible – do you believe it is the infallible truth?

The post Walking on the Mountain appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).

Where do you get your standard for living?

On what do you base your value system?

Do you go to the Bible to weigh your decisions?

When I was in my early 30s I made the decision to serve and follow the Lord wholeheartedly, He, through the power of the Holy Spirit, began to change my life. I began to have an insatiable craving for the Word of God. I couldn’t get enough of it. My spiritual life had been starving and now I was being fed. I began to soak up the wonderful promises of God and also became aware of the commands (not suggestions) of God.

Before that, I had always attended church; although, over the years I tended to choose what parts of the Bible I would believe and what parts I would ignore. If someone had asked me, I would have said that I believed the whole Bible as the authority of God, but I wasn’t living that way (what you do is the fruit of what you believe). I sure didn’t read the Bible everyday, nor did I ask God to direct my daily decisions and actions.

But that changed. One day, while making dinner, I was listening to a message by Dr. Henry Brandt, a Christian psychologist who gave lectures at some of the conferences we attended. He mentioned that at a point in his life he had to make the decision about what he was going to use as his standard for making decisions and giving advice. He chose the Bible.

I had never made that decision. That afternoon, in my kitchen, I made the decision that from that moment on, the Bible would become my standard for life. Anything I read or heard that was contrary to what the Bible taught, I would reject. And with that decision, I had a stability that hadn’t been there before.

Of course, in order to make decisions based on the Word of God, you have to know what is in the Bible. You have to know God’s directions. I began to study the Bible. I started by working through a series of Bible Study books, called Ten Basic Steps to Christian Maturity https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/10-basic-steps.html  About the same time, I began to read through the Bible every year.

My mind was (and still is) being renewed.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

As my mind was being renewed, my values and standards began to line up with God’s will.

How about you? Is your life – your value system – based on the Bible? Are you sure? Have you ever consciously made a decision to make the Bible your authority for life? If not, why not do it today – right now.

Father, I need You. I recognize I have allowed the world to conform me into its mold. I have been deceived. From this day forward, I will use the Bible as my standard for life. I will read the Bible each day so my mind (and life) can be renewed by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Thank you that You are delighted with my decision, because You want the best for me. Amen.

By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

FURTHER READING

The Christian and the Bible – do you believe it is the infallible truth?

Heart Fully Committed to Him

We Plan, God Directs

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God moves us forward by healing our past!   Can he really? 

Can God heal this ancient hurt in my heart?  Of course He can.  In fact, God cares about justice more than we do.  We’re reminded in Romans 12:17-19, “Never pay back evil for evil…never avenge yourselves.  Leave that to God, for He has said that He will repay those who deserve it.”

We fear the evildoer will slip into the night, unknown and unpunished.  Escape to Fiji and sip mai tais on the beach.  Not to worry.  Scripture says, “God will repay,” not “God might repay.”  God will execute justice on behalf of truth and fairness.  Unlike us, God never gives up on a person.  Never!  Long after we’ve moved on, God is still there– probing the conscience; stirring conviction; always orchestrating redemption.  Think you need to fix your enemies?  That’s God’s job.

By Mas Lucado
Used by permission

From:  You’ll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Turbulent Times
learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://maxlucado.com/about-max/

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

FURTHER READING

Why Worry Yourself Sick? – by Muriel Larson

Did You Know that You are Someone Special?

A Poem of Hope

Reasons to be Thankful

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