Daily Prayer for Encouragement

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Father, Thank you for people who have encouraged us. Help us to be encouraging to our families and friends. Amen.

Source: Faithful Grannies - Christian Working From Home Moms

Words To Live By

Originally Aired On: Friday, September 05, 2008
Kim's Story - Faith, God's Provision

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Isaiah 42:16; Jeremiah 33:3
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Kim learned that God can turn what we consider a curse, into an incredible blessing. Blind since the age of three, Kim trusted God with her disability and watched Him open doors of immense opportunity for ministry.

Source:RBC Words to Live By

Why did Jesus condemn the self-righteousness of the Pharisees

Why did Jesus condemn the self-righteousness of the Pharisees more strongly than the transgressions of "public sinners"?

Jesus condemned the Pharisees' self-righteous hypocrisy because it blinded them from seeing their need for repentance and a Savior.

Many Pharisees prided themselves in their strict avoidance of obvious, outward sin. But they refused to look inside themselves and acknowledge the presence of inner sin that didn't fall within the boundaries of their man-made rules. Jesus knew that in spite of their obsession with outward perfection, they willfully resisted consciousness of their inner corruption and need for grace:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:25-28 NKJV).

Jesus didn't associate with "known sinners" like tax collectors because He minimized their sin ( Luke 19:1-10 ). He freely associated with them because He knew that they were more open to repentance.

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:10-13 NKJV).

"Known sinners" weren't full of self-righteous pride, deliberately concealing their hidden sins behind a legalistic façade of "righteousness." Jesus was keenly ironic when He said, "I didn't come to call the righteous to repentance." He knew that the Pharisees weren't righteous, but their pretense of righteousness kept them from accepting the only remedy for their condition -- repentance and faith in Him. The obvious sins of "public sinners" made them more likely to repent and look to Jesus for the answers they needed.

We are all sinners, both inwardly and outwardly. Although we may not be notorious "public sinners," we all share a fallen nature and are often controlled by the "flesh" -- the "sin principle" -- within us (Romans 8). Jesus' stern warnings to the hypocritical Pharisees make it clear that sin we ignore and deny is no less serious in its effects than the sin of the public sinner.

Dan Vander Lugt
RBC

I Choose Grace

Original Air Date: Sunday, June 10, 2007
I Choose Grace

We all encounter hardships in life and ask the question “Why me?” Injured in a diving accident that left her a quadriplegic, Joni Eareckson Tada has asked the same questions we all ask. Join Joni as she shares her journey from heartache and anger to peace and contentment.

The Lion Tree

The Lion Tree - An Exciting Children's Novel with a Message!

When Dr. and Mrs. Stalwart decide to leave Haiti to work in Afghanistan, they send their four children to stay with their grandparents in Canada, where the Stalwart siblings face exciting adventures and big problems.

Then, the unimaginable happens. Dr. Stalwart's airplane disappears over Afghanistan, and it's up to Darian to bring his dad home safely.

Alone, and in a strange country, Darian and Cassidy find hope and an ally in an unexpected place - The Lion Tree.

Recommended for Ages 8 - 12, 117 pages. The Lion Tree is a fantasy fiction novel, based on sound biblical principles. Written by Christian children's author and speaker, Ruth Willms

"My book, The Lion Tree, began as a bedtime story I told
my grandchildren - the real Darian and Cassidy."

As her grandchildren, Darian and Cassidy, began elementary school, Ruth was challenged to create more intriguing, on-going stories. The bedtime stories began to revolve around her imaginary Lion Tree. Eventually, these stories became the basis of her book, The Lion Tree

The Lion Tree, released in 2007, is a Christian children's fantasy story. Ruth lives in Calgary, Alberta with her husband Ed.

God, God's Character

Answers to Tough Questions

The Answers To Tough Questions site provides a variety of answers to commonly asked questions covering numerous topics. By no means do we provide all the answers, but we do our best to provide you with biblically based answers to the questions you may be struggling with. We also hope to provide you with information that you can use to help others who are struggling to find answers to tough questions.


God God's Character
Did God create evil?
Why would God allow bad things to happen to "good" people?
Why would an all-powerful God permit evil?
I can understand why God wants us to love Him, but how can it be consistent with His character to demand our worship?

Friends in High Places

Joe Casual
Today's Text: John 15:15

Friends in High Places“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

Most of us would like to be known by someone important—to have friends in high places. So being invited to the White House to meet President George W. Bush was a pretty exciting moment for me. As I waited for my turn to greet him, my mind raced to think of what I would say.

Since no one had clued me in to the protocol and with no one there to introduce me, I thought it would be right to introduce myself and tell him what I did for a living. So, I decided my opening line would be something like, “Mr. President, my name is Joe Stowell and I serve as the President of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.” I must admit, secretly I was hoping that his eyes would light up and he’d say, “Oh yes, Moody Bible Institute. I’ve heard about that place” and that we just might have the small spark of commonality—the feeling of a fledgling friendship.

Suddenly, it was my turn. I walked up, shook his hand, and said my opening line. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Well, there you go, Joe!”

That was it. It was over! I had wanted to say that I was praying for him but there wasn’t even time for my last line. Admittedly, the encounter was a little less than I had expected.

Reflecting on that brief and awkward moment, I have often thought that while you might get brushed off by the President of the United States, God—the Almighty One, the Creator of the glorious universe—actually wants to be your friend! Jesus welcomed us to this privileged level of relationship when He said to His disciples on the night before He died, “I no longer call you servants . . . I have called you friends.”

As His friends, we are welcomed to enjoy open communication with Him and to be privy to insider information. “Everything,” Jesus says, “that I have learned from the Father I have made known to you.” It would be thrilling enough to be servants of God, participating in His work, but Jesus adds an entirely new dimension by saying that as friends He will tell us everything we need to know about God’s will and His ways for our lives.

And, as you probably know, friendship is not just about open communication. It’s about sharing things in common. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus would say in verse 14, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” When we obey Him we move our lives onto common ground with Him. We love what He loves and hate what He hates. We forgive because he forgives, and we show mercy to the undeserving because He is a God of mercy. The more I share in common with Him the better the friendship! Obedience is the way that I bring my life into commonality with Him.

What a stunning thing it is that Jesus says to us: “Let’s be friends”! And like good friends, He wants to talk with you and to share things in common. You might be brushed off by people you wish would be your friends, but that’s okay if you know that God calls you His friend!

OUR JOURNEY…

One of the things Jesus did to let you know that He desires friendship with you is to die for you—to give you the assurance of sins forgiven and the promise of life eternal. Have you accepted that gift of friendship? If not, why deny God the relationship that He so deeply desires with you?
Friends communicate by talking and listening to each other. Do you spend more time talking to earth-side friends than you do listening to God talk to you through His Word and the indwelling Spirit?
If there were a commonality scale that measured how much you shared in common with God, how would you rate? What things in your life tend to distance you from God? How would obedience to Him in those areas spark a new sense of intimacy and friendship?

Source: Strenght For The Journey

The Patience To Wait for the Vision

May 2, 2009
The Patience To Wait for the Vision

READ:
Though it tarries, wait for it . . . —Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is not the same as indifference; patience conveys the idea of someone who is tremendously strong and able to withstand all assaults. Having the vision of God is the source of patience because it gives us God’s true and proper inspiration. Moses endured, not because of his devotion to his principles of what was right, nor because of his sense of duty to God, but because he had a vision of God. ". . . he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27 ). A person who has the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue— he is devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is of God because of the inspiration that comes with it. Things come to you with greatness and add vitality to your life because everything is energized by God. He may give you a time spiritually, with no word from Himself at all, just as His Son experienced during His time of temptation in the wilderness. When God does that, simply endure, and the power to endure will be there because you see God.

"Though it tarries, wait for it . . . ." The proof that we have the vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have already grasped. It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. The psalmist said, "What shall I render to the Lord . . . ? I will take up the cup of salvation . . ." (Psalm 116:12-13 ). We are apt to look for satisfaction within ourselves and say, "Now I’ve got it! Now I am completely sanctified. Now I can endure." Instantly we are on the road to ruin. Our reach must exceed our grasp. Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on . . ." ( Philippians 3:12 ). If we have only what we have experienced, we have nothing. But if we have the inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can experience. Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.

Christian Quote of the Day

Christian Quote of the Day - May 2, 2009
Topic for Today: Christ: His Coming Kingdom

Christ hath told us He will come, but not when, that we might never put off our clothes, or put out the candle.

Gurnall, William

When You Don't Know What To Say

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All of us, at some point in our lives, will be confronted with a situation in which a friend or loved one is suffering. It could be caused by death, disease, divorce, or devastating news of any kind. When people we care about are hurting, our natural inclination is to help—to offer words of comfort and encouragement. But what do we say? In this study of Job 1–6, longtime pastor Roy Clark examines how Job’s three friends responded to his suffering. This booklet will help us to learn what to say—and what not to say—in those moments when an encouraging word is so desperately needed.

This was a great book to review for me. Please read it.It provides you with common manners and tack of when we want to speak and unsure of what and how to say it.
Marcia Chumbley,CMOM and Faithful Grannies-

Christian Parents

Sources:
Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo:Terry Bidgood

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.

© 2007 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

To order multiple booklets, please order a Discovery Series catalog.