Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 14, 2009

God Remembers
READ: Genesis 8:1-17
God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. -Genesis 8:1

A Chinese festival called Qing Ming is a time to express grief for lost relatives. Customs include grooming gravesites and taking walks with loved ones in the countryside. Legend has it that it began when a youth's rude and foolish behavior resulted in the death of his mother. So he decided that henceforth he would visit her grave every year to remember what she had done for him. Sadly, it was only after her death that he remembered her.

How differently God deals with us! In Genesis, we read how the flood destroyed the world. Only those who were with Noah in the ark remained alive. But God remembered them (8:1) and sent a wind to dry the waters so that they could leave the ark.

God also remembered Hannah when she prayed for a son (1 Sam. 1:19). He gave her a child, Samuel.

Jesus remembered the dying thief who said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Jesus replied, "Today You will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:42-43).

God remembers us wherever we are. Our concerns are His concerns. Our pain is His pain. Commit your challenges and difficulties to Him. He is the all-seeing God who remembers us as a mother remembers her children, and He waits to meet our needs.  - C. P. Hia

There is an Arm that never tires
When human strength gives way;
There is a Love that never fails
When earthly loves decay. -Wallace


To know that God sees us brings both conviction and comfort.

Unburdened

Philippians 4:6-7 promises,

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

God is telling us not to freak out about anything.  Anything!  Can you think of anything that does not fit in "anything"? Instead of worrying-pray-about everything!

It is interesting that these verses do not promise God will answer your requests (though it is implied).  Rather, what God does promise in these verses is this:  If, when you are confronted with difficult things, you will pray rather than worry, God will give you peace.  The stress will lift.  The pressure will be broken.

In America, people spend millions of dollars visiting their therapists.  They talk over all their problems with their therapists to try and relieve the stress and worries of life.  I have a confession to make...I have a therapist.  I talk to Him every single day.  My therapist is my Father in heaven.  I bring all my problems to Him.  And I talk over everything with Him.

One of the keys in unburdening your heart when you pray is being completely honest.  God knows what you are thinking, anyway.  You may as well tell Him the truth about what is weighing you down.

It is no accident you are reading this today.  Perhaps you are so filled with anxiety and stress that you are working on an ulcer right now.  You don't sleep like you should.  Your anxieties have robbed you of the quality of life God wants you to have.

God wants you free from your burdens.  Take them to God today, and every day, and see how those burdens are lifted. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

Closed on Sunday
By Os Hillman

"Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you" (Ex 31:14).

Can a business have a Christian testimony without ever saying a word? Absolutely.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is America's second-largest quick service chicken restaurant chain. The company's stated corporate purpose is "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us, and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." The company is a great example of a business that is modeling Christian values and producing a quality product in the competitive fast-food industry. Chick-fil-A is one of the fastest-growing chains nationally, currently with over two billion dollars in annual sales.

One of the defining distinctions of Chick-fil-A is that the restaurants are not open on Sundays. From the time Truett Cathy, the company's founder, started in the restaurant business in 1946, he believed that God wanted him to honor the Sabbath by keeping the stores closed on Sundays. Although he was challenged on this idea many times by shopping mall operators, Truett always held that "we will have more sales in six days than those who are open for seven." This has proven to be true, and today it is no longer an issue to fulfill the malls' requirement to remain open on Sunday.

When you go to a Chick-fil-A restaurant, you can tell something is different about the people and the atmosphere. The messages in the company's kids' meals always reinforce education, values, and integrity. Although the employees do not wear their faith on their sleeve, the fruit of the company is known by many - especially the many young restaurant employees who receive educational scholarships each year. The company also focuses on character-building programs for kids, foster homes, and other community services. I have spoken at Chick-fil-A's corporate headquarters several times and have met with Truett and his son, Dan. The appearance of their headquarters conveys their values - a sense of quality without extravagance.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.   


Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.
Click Here To Learn More or Order

Inner Invincibility
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . -Matthew 11:29
Whom the Lord loves He chastens . . ." ( Hebrews 12:6 ). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, "Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!" Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That's why Jesus says to us, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light" ( Matthew 11:30  ). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you.

". . . to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29  ). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.

". . . the joy of the Lord is your strength" ( Nehemiah 8:10  ). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility.

If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God's strength

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 15, 2009

Check Your Attitude
READ: John 3:22-31
He must increase, but I must decrease. -John 3:30

A music professor with a well-trained voice usually sang the major male solo parts in the choir of a large church. A young man named Bob who had no training sometimes took a few shorter solos. As the choir director prepared for the Christmas cantata, she felt that Bob's voice and style made him a natural for the lead role. However, she didn't know how she could give it to him without offending the older man.

Her anxiety was unnecessary. The professor had the same thoughts as she did, and he told her that Bob should take the part. He continued to sing faithfully in the chorus and was a source of much encouragement to Bob.

People who can set aside selfish ambition and genuinely seek the good of others have an attitude that pleases God. Do you remember how John the Baptist reacted when the crowds left him and began following Jesus? He said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

What did John the Baptist and the music professor have in common? They were able to set aside "selfish ambition." They were happy to see others elevated above themselves when it was for the common good. Can the same be said about us?  - Herbert Vander Lugt

This is the highest learning,
The hardest and the best-
From self to keep still turning
And honor all the rest. -MacDonald


When we forget about ourselves, we do things others will remember.

Good...All the Time

John 10:10-11 gives us a great truth,

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Is your concept of God that He is good sometimes, but not all the time?  That sometimes He is blessing you; but other times, He is the source of your troubles?  If so, I want to put that notion out of your heart and mind today. 

Jesus came to give us abundant life, while the devil, the thief, wants to steal, kill, and destroy.  God is always a good God, and the devil is always a bad devil.

I remember, as a young Christian, I ran into another new convert in the park one day.  He looked troubled, so I asked him what was up.  He told me he was sick and had just received some bad news as well.  Then he went on to tell me that he was at a Bible study the day before and they told him that God was doing all of these things to him.

It had shaken him to think that God was the source of his troubles, and that He was responsible for all the troubles in his life.

A lot of people tend to think that way, but it is just wrong.  God is good all the time.  The Bible says in James 1:17,

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

There is not the slightest degree of variation in this.  God is good.  And the gifts He gives are good and perfect gifts.  I am glad they don't just stay in heaven.  God sees to it that they make their way down to you and me.

God is good...all the time. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

The Integrity Test
By Os Hillman

"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place" (Ps 51:6).

Integrity is often defined by what we do in secret. Are our actions the same in public as what we do behind closed doors? Kenneth Lay was the chairman and CEO of Enron, a multi-billion dollar energy corporation that went bankrupt at the hands of its executives because of mismanagement and misrepresentation of its financial practices. Many people lost their retirement life savings as a result.

In 1996, Kenneth Lay made a comment in a book entitled, Business as Mission.

"In my own case I grew up the son of a Baptist minister. From this background, I was fully exposed to not only legal behavior but moral and ethical behavior and what that means from the standpoint of leading organizations and people. I was, and am, a strong believer that one of the most satisfying things in life is to create a highly moral and ethical environment in which every individual is allowed and encouraged to realize their God-given potential. There are few things more satisfying than to see individuals reach levels of performance that they would have thought was virtually impossible for themselves."

Something went very wrong from the time Kenneth Lay wrote those words and the time he was convicted June 6, 2006. Strangely, Lay never went to prison because he died suddenly of a heart attack a few months after being convicted.

No one is immune from starting well and ending badly. The scriptures are full of men and women who did great things for God but did not finish well toward the latter part of their lives. Success can often be the breeding ground for ethical failure. Oswald Chambers said, "Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity."

Ask God today to protect you from pride that can lead to ethical failure.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.
Click Here To Learn More or Order

The Failure To Pay Close Attention
The high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days -2 Chronicles 15:17

Asa was not completely obedient in the outward, visible areas of his life. He was obedient in what he considered the most important areas, but he was not entirely right. Beware of ever thinking, "Oh, that thing in my life doesn't matter much." The fact that it doesn't matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God. How much longer are we going to prevent God from teaching us even one thing? But He keeps trying to teach us and He never loses patience. You say, "I know I am right with God"- yet the "high places" still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.

Are there some things regarding your physical or intellectual life to which you have been paying no attention at all? If so, you may think you are all correct in the important areas, but you are careless- you are failing to concentrate or to focus properly. You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit. It also takes a tremendous amount of time. Yet some of us expect to rise above all of our problems, going from one mountaintop experience to another, with only a few minutes' effort.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 17, 2009

The Bus Driver
READ: 1 John 4:7-12
Be imitators of God . . . and walk in love. -Ephesians 5:1-2
In the middle of carting 70 pieces of luggage, an electronic piano, and other equipment through airports and on and off a tour bus, it's easy to wonder, "Why are we doing this?"

Taking 28 teenagers on an 11-day ministry trip to a land across the ocean is not easy. But at the end of the trip our bus driver, who had carted us all over England and Scotland, grabbed the bus microphone and in tears thanked the kids for how wonderful they had been. Then after we got home, he e-mailed us to say how much he appreciated the thank you cards the kids had written to him-many of which contained the gospel.

Although the students ministered to hundreds through song during the trip, perhaps it was the bus driver who most benefited from their Christlikeness. In Ephesians we are told to be imitators of God and to walk in love (Eph. 5:1-2). Others see God in us when we show love to one another (1 John 4:12). The bus driver saw Jesus in the students and told them that they might just convert him to faith in Christ. Maybe it was for this man that we took that trip.

Why do you do what you do? Whose life are you affecting? Sometimes it's not our target audience that we impact most. Sometimes it's the bus drivers of the world.  - Dave Branon

Lord, may I be a shining light
For all the world to see
Your goodness and Your love displayed
As You reach out through me. -Sper

Witnessing is not just something a Christian says, but what he is.

The First Step Toward Freedom

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" (John 5:2-6).

Jesus asked this man a seemingly ridiculous question, "Do you want to be made well?"  It's obvious isn't it?  He is at the pool, isn't he?  The only reason people went there was to be healed.  What kind of a question is that to be asking?  Of course, he wanted to be healed.

But Jesus was not convinced.  This man had been stuck in his condition for a long time.  He was not only lying down on the outside, he was lying down on the inside.

Sometimes people get used to living in their problems.  While they may outwardly be going through the motions to get free (generally because they know that is what is expected of them), inwardly they have given up.

The first step toward getting free from your problems and that which binds and restricts your life is wanting it-really wanting it.

You have to stand up on the inside before you can ever stand up on the outside.

Let me be very bold and ask you:  Do you want to be made well?  Do you really want things to change?  Or have you grown accustomed to living under the devil's heel?

If you are tired of defeat, mediocrity and bondage, then stand up on the inside and say, "Enough is enough!"

It is the first step toward freedom. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

City Transformation Begins in Two Places
By Os Hillman

"While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there" (Acts 17:16-18).

In order to transform a city or nation, it must take place in two areas; the marketplace and the local church. Paul was burdened for Athens when he saw all of the idols in his city. So, he began a strategy to win back his city by preaching in both the synagogue to the religious leaders and Jews and also in the marketplace every day.

The Old Testament records reveal that even at the time of the temple construction it was clear that foundations must be built through the marketplace and the synagogue. "He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz" (Chron 3:15-17). Jakin was a priest of the Lord that represented the spiritual foundation of the Church. Boaz represented the strength of the marketplace and its role to have impact on the society through workplace ministers, or kings.

God is moving today in cities across the world through collaborative coalitions made up of priests, kings and intercessors. This is a city transformation trinity that the Holy Spirit is forming to rid our cities of idols and to restore the spiritual foundations.

When we begin to equip and release those in the workplace to fulfill their godly roles in business, government, media, arts/entertainment, and education we will begin to see the idols in our cities removed. Pray that God raises up Godly workplace leaders who will lead with a biblical worldview.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.
Click Here To Learn More or Order

All or Nothing?
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment . . . and plunged into the sea -John 21:7

Have you ever had a crisis in your life in which you deliberately, earnestly, and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of the will. You may come to that point many times externally, but it will amount to nothing. The true deep crisis of abandonment, or total surrender, is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of only external things may actually be an indication of your being in total bondage.

Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of the will, not of emotion; any positive emotion that results is simply a superficial blessing arising out of the transaction. If you focus your attention on the emotion, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make the determination to surrender your will regarding whatever you see, whether it is in the shallow or the deep, profound places internally.

If you have heard Jesus Christ's voice on the waves of the sea, you can let your convictions and your consistency take care of themselves by concentrating on maintaining your intimate relationship to Him.

GOD BLESS

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 18, 2009

What's Next?
READ: Philippians 3:7-16
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:14
In the television series The West Wing, fictional president Josiah Bartlet regularly ended staff meetings with two words-"What's next?" It was his way of signaling that he was finished with the issue at hand and ready to move on to other concerns. The pressures and responsibilities of life in the White House demanded that he not focus on what was in the rear-view mirror-he needed to keep his eyes ahead, moving forward to what was next.

In a sense, the apostle Paul had a similar perspective on life. He knew that he had not "arrived" spiritually, and that he had a long way to go in becoming like Christ. What could he do? He could either fixate on the past, with its failures, disappointments, struggles, and disputes, or he could learn from those things and move on to "what's next."

In Philippians 3, Paul tells us how he chose to live his life: "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (vv.13-14). It's a perspective that speaks of moving on-of embracing what's next. It is where we too must focus as we seek to be shaped into the image of the Savior while we look forward to eternity with Him.  - Bill Crowder

Onward and upward your course plan today,
Seeking new heights as you walk Jesus' way;
Heed not past failures, but strive for the prize,
Aiming for goals fit for His holy eyes. -Brandt


Keep your eyes fixed on the prize.

Stop Blaming and Rise Up

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in  that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me"  (John 5:6-7).

This guy was basically saying, "It's not my fault.  I'm in this condition because of what someone else won't do for me, and because of what someone else has done to me."

Think about it, "I have no man to put me in."  Paraphrased that says, "I'm stuck because of what someone won't do for me."  Or, "While I'm coming, another steps down before me," which paraphrased says, "I'm stuck because of what someone else has done to me."  Either way, "It is not my fault."

After making up our minds that we want to be free, the next step is to stop shifting the blame to others.

A friend of mine migrated from Mexico to the U.S. many years ago.  He didn't understand the culture or the language and seemed to be hopelessly locked into a dead end job.

His employer took advantage of him and it seemed like he had no way out.  But instead of blaming others for his situation (which would have been easy for him to do), he decided to get unstuck and do something with his life.

It took several years, but today he has several businesses and is quite wealthy.

Do not get caught in the trap of blaming others.  Instead, make the decision to rise up (something we will be talking about in our next devotional.) 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

Beware of Unusual Circumstances
By Os Hillman

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit?" (1 Cor 12:7-9).

Whenever something unusual happens in daily life, these are often signs that God is up to something. We must have a heightened sense of awareness of what God may want to do in these situations. My mentor once shared how he was upgraded on an airline unexpectedly. A woman sat down next to him who was very troubled. He began to quietly pray for the woman and God gave him supernatural insights that her problem related to the fact that she had not forgiven her mother in a family-related issue. He decided to politely share his insight. The woman was shocked. My mentor began to minister to her on the airplane and ultimately led her to Christ.

God is raising the spiritual bar for Christians who want to impact the world for Christ today. He wants to break through into people's lives supernaturally by giving them insights into the needs of people in order to bring them to Christ.

Jesus often spoke supernaturally into the lives of others based on the circumstance of the moment. He often spoke of their current condition in life and invited them to make a change.

As you go about your day, there are situations that we can find ourselves in that are open doors for bringing Christ into the circumstance. In fact, He is the one orchestrating the circumstance!

Next time an unusual situation develops, be aware that God may be creating such a circumstance to bring His glory into the situation.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


Faith in the Halls of Power
Faith in the Halls of Power
How are key influencers living out their faith within the seven mountains of cultural influence? Within the pages of this book is an interesting and in-depth look into the lives of evangelical business leaders, politicians, industry leaders, and others who are in places of tremendous influence within our culture. This resource is helpful for understanding where God has placed his people in positions of influence, documenting their steps for how they are living out their faith in culture, and also a resource for reclaiming our culture for God at the highest levels.

Readiness
God called to him . . . . And he said, 'Here I am' -Exodus 3:4
When God speaks, many of us are like people in a fog, and we give no answer. Moses' reply to God revealed that he knew where he was and that he was ready. Readiness means having a right relationship to God and having the knowledge of where we are. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. Yet the man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who receives the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea that some great opportunity or something sensational will be coming our way, and when it does come we are quick to cry out, "Here I am." Whenever we sense that Jesus Christ is rising up to take authority over some great task, we are there, but we are not ready for some obscure duty.

Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing- it makes no difference. It means we have no choice in what we want to do, but that whatever God's plans may be, we are there and ready. Whenever any duty presents itself, we hear God's voice as our Lord heard His Father's voice, and we are ready for it with the total readiness of our love for Him. Jesus Christ expects to do with us just as His Father did with Him. He can put us wherever He wants, in pleasant duties or in menial ones, because our union with Him is the same as His union with the Father. ". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . ." ( John 17:22 ).

Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. A ready person never needs to get ready- he is ready. Think of the time we waste trying to get ready once God has called! The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the person who is ready, and it is on fire with the presence of God Himself.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 19, 2009

The Best Eraser
READ: Luke 16:19-31
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions. -Isaiah 44:22

What is memory? What is this faculty that enables us to recall past feelings, sights, sounds, and experiences? By what process are events recorded, stored, and preserved in our brain to be brought back again and again? Much is still mystery.

We do know that memories can be blessings-full of comfort, assurance, and joy. Old age can be happy and satisfying if we have stored up memories of purity, faith, fellowship, and love. If a saint looks back on a life of Christian service and remembers the faithfulness of Him who promised: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5), his or her sunset years can be the sweetest of all.

But memory can also be a curse and a tormentor. Many people as they approach the end of life would give all they possess to erase from their minds the past sins that haunt them. What can a person do who is plagued by such remembrances? Just one thing. He can take them to the One who is able to forgive them and blot them out forever. He's the One who said, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Heb. 10:17).

You may not be able to forget your past. But the Lord offers to blot out, "like a thick cloud, your transgressions" (Isa. 44:22).  - M.R. De Haan

The deep remorse that's in the soul
No human eye may trace;
But Jesus sees the broken heart,
And can its woes erase. -Bosch


The best eraser is honest confession to God.

Obey and Get Unstuck

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk" (John 5:.

These words were spoken to a man who had been sick for 38 years!  His bed had been carrying him, and now Jesus was telling him to carry his bed!

We have discussed several keys to getting unstuck from your problems in our last devotions.  First, we must genuinely want to be free, and second, we must stop shifting the blame for our problems to others.

The final key I want to share with you is found in the above verse.  It is to obey what the Lord tells you.  Whether it makes sense or not-obey!

To a man who had been carried by his bed for 38 years, rising up and carrying his bed must have seemed crazy!  But the moment he began to obey, new life and strength began to flow into his previously paralyzed limbs.

Listen for the Lord's instructions in your heart.  Search for them in His Word. There is no faith without action.  There will be something that God will require you to do in order to release or express your faith.

It may make sense to you-or it may not.  But to quote Mary, the mother of Jesus, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5).

After pastoring the same church for several decades, I have observed that many people remain stuck in their problems.  Not because the Lord hasn't spoken to them, but because He has and they haven't obeyed.

If there is any unfilled obedience in your life, get busy and do what the Lord has told you to do.  It is the only way to get unstuck. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

Lydia, A Workplace Minister
By Os Hillman

"One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God" (Acts 16:14).

There was a business woman whom Paul encountered in Philippi named Lydia. She was an early church entrepreneur dealing in purple cloth, the most expensive type in the 1st century Middle East. Most accounts believe this was Paul's first known convert. I find it interesting that his first known convert was a woman and an entrepreneur.

"We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home" (Acts 16:13-15a).

This encounter with Lydia and her women associates ultimately opened the way for ministry in that region. God often worked in and through women in the early church. Lydia was an influential businesswoman, and the gospel was affecting all strata of society, just as it does today.

Lydia was a maker of beautiful cloth mainly used by members of the royal families and Roman senators who were required to have a purple band around the edge of their togas, or robes. Purple cloth was both valuable and expensive in the culture of the first century. It was often worn as a sign of nobility or royalty. Lydia's ministry would be to the upper class business community.

Evidence of her conversion was immediate. She told the men if they considered her a believer in the Lord, she would like for them to come and stay at her house. Evidently she had plenty of room to accommodate the four of them; Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke was with them also. She continued to urge them and they accepted her invitation and stayed at her house.

Lydia's heart was like the good soil in the parable of the sower. When she heard the word of God, she received it with joy and obeyed the words of the apostle.

Who are the "Lydias" God has placed in your circle of influence? Pray that you will be the instrument, like Paul, to bring the gospel to influential women entrepreneurs.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


When Heaven Invades Earth
God's Power Released Through You
The same supernatural power used by Jesus, the prophets, apostles, and New Testament disciples to perform signs and wonders is available to every Christian through the presence of Holy Spirit upon us. By laying a carefully-constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God and sharing many miraculous stories from his own life and others, Bill Johnson provides in this book the equipping needed to experience signs and wonders today.

"I have added this book to my all-time 'Top 10' reading list!"
-- Os Hillman 

Beware of the Least Likely Temptation
Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom -1 Kings 2:28
Joab withstood the greatest test of his life, remaining absolutely loyal to David by not turning to follow after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom. Yet toward the end of his life he turned to follow after the weak and cowardly Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one person has turned back is exactly where anyone may be tempted to turn back (see 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 ). You may have just victoriously gone through a great crisis, but now be alert about the things that may appear to be the least likely to tempt you. Beware of thinking that the areas of your life where you have experienced victory in the past are now the least likely to cause you to stumble and fall.

We are apt to say, "It is not at all likely that having been through the greatest crisis of my life I would now turn back to the things of the world." Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials- now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptations will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.

". . . kept by the power of God . . ."- that is the only safety. ( 1 Peter 1:5 ).

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 20, 2009

Faithful Gaius
READ: 3 John
Beloved [Gaius], you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers. -3 John 1:5

Third John presents a sharp contrast between the way two members of the church welcomed believers who visited them. The letter is addressed to "the beloved" Gaius, whom John loved "in truth" (v.1). The truth was in him as he walked with God (v.3). Whatever he did for his "brethren"-itinerant missionaries and teachers such as Paul-he did it faithfully and with love (vv.5-6).

Diotrephes was another story. He was proud and domineering (v.9), and he spoke against those who came in the name of Christ (v.10), probably even Paul. In addition, he drove out of the church anyone who wanted to accept them. No doubt he did this to protect his position and self-interests and to keep the focus on himself.

My wife, Shirley, and I, along with our granddaughter Bree, recently visited a country once closed to the gospel. The believers welcomed us with trust, openness, hospitality, and genuine love. Though they had little, their generosity was astounding. What an encouragement to us! They truly followed the example of faithful Gaius.

May God give us a loving and faithful spirit that enables us to treat our fellow believers in "a manner worthy of God" (v.6).  - David C. Egner

A time for fellowship that's sweet,
A time for sacred song;
But never is there time to treat
A human being wrong. -Isenhour


Christlike hospitality is an open heart and an open home.

Confounding the Wise

In 1 Corinthians 1:20, 27-29, the apostle Paul provides a very powerful word,

Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

We are often enamored with what the world considers wise and mighty, but God isn't.  In fact, He chooses things that are foolish and weak, things the world considers insignificant, and things the world even despises, to put to shame the things that people consider wise.

I really like the King James Version when it states that God does these things to confound the wise.

We need to understand that sometimes God turns human conventional wisdom on its head.  And I believe Scripture shows us three ways in which He does that. 

First, there are times that God turns conventional wisdom on its head with the people He chooses for His purposes.  Second, He will confound human wisdom with the plans He unfolds.  Whether they are for your deliverance, or plans to further His kingdom and expand His work.

And then, third, God will truly confound the wise of this world with the pardon that He provides.

Through people, plans, and pardon, God does confound the wise!

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

Can a Saint Falsely Accuse God?
All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . . -2 Corinthians 1:20

Jesus' parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 25:14-30  was a warning that it is possible for us to misjudge our capacities. This parable has nothing to do with natural gifts and abilities, but relates to the gift of the Holy Spirit as He was first given at Pentecost. We must never measure our spiritual capacity on the basis of our education or our intellect; our capacity in spiritual things is measured on the basis of the promises of God. If we get less than God wants us to have, we will falsely accuse Him as the servant falsely accused his master when he said, "You expect more of me than you gave me the power to do. You demand too much of me, and I cannot stand true to you here where you have placed me." When it is a question of God's Almighty Spirit, never say, "I can't." Never allow the limitation of your own natural ability to enter into the matter. If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be exhibited in us.

The servant justified himself, while condemning his lord on every point, as if to say, "Your demand on me is way out of proportion to what you gave to me." Have we been falsely accusing God by daring to worry after He has said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"? ( Matthew 6:33  ). Worrying means exactly what this servant implied- "I know your intent is to leave me unprotected and vulnerable." A person who is lazy in the natural realm is always critical, saying, "I haven't had a decent chance," and someone who is lazy in the spiritual realm is critical of God. Lazy people always strike out at others in an independent way.

Never forget that our capacity and capability in spiritual matters is measured by, and based on, the promises of God. Is God able to fulfill His promises? Our answer depends on whether or not we have received the Holy Spirit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting at His Feet
By Os Hillman

"So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah" (Ruth 2:17-18).

The story of Ruth provides an excellent illustration of the connection between spending time in the presence of God and receiving physical provision. Naomi was married to Elimelech. They had two married sons. Elimelech died and ten years later both of the sons also died. Ruth was married to one of the sons.

The other daughter-in-law moved back to her family, but Ruth, in spite of Naomi's encouragement, insisted on staying with Naomi. The only way for the family line to continue would have been for Ruth to marry another son or direct relative. Now, through a custom known as the kinsman redeemer, Ruth could be married to a relative in the family line. Times were tough and most people made a living by farming. Naomi had a relative named Boaz who was a prominent land owner and farmer. She sent Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz all day in hopes of picking up excess grain left behind by the harvesters.

Ruth stayed in the fields all day and yielded just one ephah of grain. It is a picture of sweat and toil for very little return. However, something happens later in the story. Naomi realized the only way Ruth was going to have any kind of future is if a kinsman redeemer came to her rescue. She instructed Ruth to go to the threshing floor where Boaz would be and to quietly sit at the feet of Boaz all night. This would be a sign of submitting her life to Boaz. He would have to exercise his right to be her kinsmen redeemer.

Later, Boaz sends Ruth home and takes the necessary steps to become her redeemer. But before he sends her home, he gives her six ephahs of barley - six times what she got spending all day in the fields.

Friend, if we are going to succeed in fulfilling God's destiny for our lives, we must have a life of intimate worship and devotion to Jesus. Why not start spending more time at the feet of Jesus.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.

When Heaven Invades Earth
God's Power Released Through You
The same supernatural power used by Jesus, the prophets, apostles, and New Testament disciples to perform signs and wonders is available to every Christian through the presence of Holy Spirit upon us. By laying a carefully-constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God and sharing many miraculous stories from his own life and others, Bill Johnson provides in this book the equipping needed to experience signs and wonders today.

"I have added this book to my all-time 'Top 10' reading list!"
-- Os Hillman

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 21, 2009


Thunderstorm Thoughts
READ: Matthew 8:23-27
The God of peace will be with you. -Philippians 4:9

I laugh every time I hear the radio commercial that has a woman shouting to her friend in conversation. She's trying to talk above the sounds of the thunderstorm in her own head. Ever since a storm damaged part of her home, that's all she hears because her insurance company isn't taking care of her claims.

I've heard thunderstorms in my head, and maybe you have too. It happens when a tragedy occurs-to us, to someone close to us, or to someone we hear about in the news. Our minds become a tempest of "what if" questions. We focus on all the possible bad outcomes. Our fear, worry, and trust in God fluctuate as we wait, we pray, we grieve, and we wonder what the Lord will do.

It's natural for us to be fearful in a storm (literal or figurative). The disciples had Jesus right there in the boat with them, yet they were afraid (Matt. 8:23-27). He used the calming of the storm as a lesson to show them who He was-a powerful God who also cares for them.

We wish that Jesus would always calm the storms of our life as He calmed the storm for the disciples that day. But we can find moments of peace when we're anchored to the truth that He's in the boat with us and He cares.  - Anne Cetas

Fierce drives the storm, but wind and waves
Within His hand are held,
And trusting His omnipotence
My fears are sweetly quelled. -Brown


To realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.

God's Choice of People

1 Corinthians 1:26 says,

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

God does not call a lot of people who our world would consider wise, noble or mighty.  He calls a few, but not many.  The fact of the matter is, God will use anyone who will yield himself or herself to Him.

The idea Paul wants us to understand is that the vast majority of people God chooses are a surprise to everyone else.  God's choices are generally not on our "A" list of people.

Think about the apostle Paul himself, who wrote these very words in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  And the next words out of his mouth are profound, But by the grace of God I am what I am.

Paul was a persecutor of Christians.  In fact, he was so filled with hatred he even went to foreign cities to have believers arrested, families split apart, Christians jailed, beaten, and at times even executed.  And yet, God chose Paul as His mouthpiece.

It was so astonishing to many in the church that they didn't want to receive Paul when he was first saved.  They thought it was a trick.  It took them a while to understand that God actually had saved him and was using him.

Paul would not have been one of their primary choices as a vessel for God.  I love that about the Lord.  He uses the unexpected and those we might pass over to carry out some of His most important work. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

What Is Your Promised Land?
By Os Hillman

"So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Josh 24:13).

God called the people of Israel to leave Egypt and come out of slavery in order to enter their own Promised Land. It meant they had to change a way of life they had known their whole lives. Instead of being told what to do everyday by a taskmaster, they were now being led by the cloud of God that led them into the desert with the ultimate goal of entering their own Promised Land.

Every believer has a Promised Land in their lives. It is the place where you receive all God intended for you to receive. However, many of us are still living in Egypt where we sweat and toil in response to the taskmaster of production dictated by our workplaces and our lifestyles of busyness.

We will know when we are beginning to experience our Promised Land when we experience God's rest at the same time we are fulfilling our work life call. We will begin to give testimony to what Joshua says in the above verse. We will begin to receive things we never built or planted. We begin to experience a level of rest in our working lives that is not characterized by sweat and toil. Things become easier because we are receiving them as a fruit of our call instead of a goal.

I began to experience this new way of living as I began to be obedient to doing things based on His direction versus my perceived outcome. Provision began to follow obedience. Projects began to get done with little sweat. God brought the people to me to get things done. There was no longer a tendency to manipulate outcomes that I wanted to have happen. God was giving me my Promised Land as I yielded to Him.

Are you living in your Promised Land? If not, release the goals of your life to the Lord and simply be obedient to His voice. Ask Him for the steps you are to take to receive your Promised Land.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.


When Heaven Invades Earth
God's Power Released Through You
The same supernatural power used by Jesus, the prophets, apostles, and New Testament disciples to perform signs and wonders is available to every Christian through the presence of Holy Spirit upon us. By laying a carefully-constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God and sharing many miraculous stories from his own life and others, Bill Johnson provides in this book the equipping needed to experience signs and wonders today.

"I have added this book to my all-time 'Top 10' reading list!"
-- Os Hillman

Don't Hurt the Lord
Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? -John 14:9

Our Lord must be repeatedly astounded at us-astounded at how "un-simple" we are. It is our own opinions that make us dense and slow to understand, but when we are simple we are never dense; we have discernment all the time. Philip expected the future revelation of a tremendous mystery, but not in Jesus, the Person he thought he already knew. The mystery of God is not in what is going to be-it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event. We have no reluctance to obey Jesus, but it is highly probable that we are hurting Him by what we ask-"Lord, show us the Father . . ." (John 14:8  ). His response immediately comes back to us as He says, "Can't you see Him? He is always right here or He is nowhere to be found." We look for God to exhibit Himself to His children, but God only exhibits Himself in His children. And while others see the evidence, the child of God does not. We want to be fully aware of what God is doing in us, but we cannot have complete awareness and expect to remain reasonable or balanced in our expectations of Him. If all we are asking God to give us is experiences, and the awareness of those experiences is blocking our way, we hurt the Lord. The very questions we ask hurt Jesus, because they are not the questions of a child.

"Let not your heart be troubled . . ." ( 14:1, 27  ). Am I then hurting Jesus by allowing my heart to be troubled? . If I believe in Jesus and His attributes, am I living up to my belief? Am I allowing anything to disturb my heart, or am I allowing any questions to come in which are unsound or unbalanced? I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him. God never guides us at some time in the future, but always here and now. Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 22, 2009

Too Old?
READ: Genesis 17:15-22
My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. -Genesis 17:4

When God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son, Abraham laughed in unbelief and replied, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" (Gen. 17:17).

Later, Sarah laughed for the same reason: "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" (18:12).

We too grow old and wonder if the Lord can fulfill His promises to us. We no longer have prominence or status. Our minds are not as nimble as they once were. We're hampered by physical problems that limit our mobility and keep us close to home. Every day we seem to lose more of the things we have spent a lifetime acquiring. Robert Frost underscores something that we sometimes ask ourselves: "The question . . . is what to make of a diminished thing."

Not much-if we are left to ourselves. But God is able to do more with us than we can imagine. He asks us, as He asked Sarah, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (18:14). Of course not!

We're never too old to be useful if we make ourselves available to God for His purposes.  - David H. Roper

Growing old but not retiring,
For the battle still is on;
Going on without relenting
Till the final victory's won. -Anon.

As God adds years to your life, ask Him to add life to your years.

A Seedbed of Faith

In Judges 6:11-15, we read this about Gideon,

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.  And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"  Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?  And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?'   But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."  Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.  Have I not sent you?"  So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel?  Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

We often think of Gideon as a great champion for Israel, and he was.  But when he was chosen, we found him cowering in the winepress.  He was hiding, he was fearful, he was negative, he was doubtful, and he was questioning. 

While we might be critical of Gideon, I have found that the only people who never question are those who have been indoctrinated.  Sometimes you need to doubt.  Sometimes you need to question.  In fact, a lot of times uncertainty is the seedbed from which faith grows.

If you are struggling with doubt today, if you have genuine questions, don't panic.  If you are sincerely looking for answers, God will meet you, and faith will spring from the answers you find. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Godly Wisdom for a Great Marriage

Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!


Hearing God on the Job
By Os Hillman

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Cor 1:26-27).

God is raising up a new kind of workplace believer who is experiencing the power of God in their daily work life. My friend, Emeka Nywankpa, was a barrister (lawyer) in Nigeria. Emeka spoke at a conference a few years ago on the subject of how the spiritual impacts the physical.

Emeka shared a story about arguing an important Supreme Court case in his country. There were five points to argue in the case. The morning the trial began, he prayed with his wife and junior lawyers in his chambers. During his prayer time, he sensed that the Holy Spirit was telling him, "Do not argue points one through four. Only argue point five." Imagine making such a change just before you are to argue a case before the Supreme Court!

In the courtroom, Emeka announced that he wished to drop points one through four and only wished to argue point five. The judge was shocked, but gave him permission to proceed. He argued point five and sat down. The other attorney got up, and then for twelve minutes stumbled around trying to defend his position, unable to get a coherent word out.

Finally, he approached the bench and said, "Your Lordship, it is unfortunate that my learned friend has dropped the first four points. I wish to yield the case." The other attorney had only prepared for the first four points. Emeka won the case. God had given him a strategy to win his case supernaturally. It made no sense to him, but he obeyed and God gave him victory in a very unusual way.

Isaiah 48:17 tells us "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.'"

When is the last time you allowed God to give you a strategy to be successful in your work life call and bring glory to His name? This is his desire for you.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.

When Heaven Invades Earth
God's Power Released Through You
The same supernatural power used by Jesus, the prophets, apostles, and New Testament disciples to perform signs and wonders is available to every Christian through the presence of Holy Spirit upon us. By laying a carefully-constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God and sharing many miraculous stories from his own life and others, Bill Johnson provides in this book the equipping needed to experience signs and wonders today.

"I have added this book to my all-time 'Top 10' reading list!"
-- Os Hillman 

The Light That Never Fails
We all, with unveiled face, beholding . . . the glory of the Lord . . . -2 Corinthians 3:18
A servant of God must stand so very much alone that he never realizes he is alone. In the early stages of the Christian life, disappointments will come- people who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us will turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize we are standing alone. Paul said, ". . . no one stood with me, but all forsook me . . . . But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me . . ." (2 Timothy 4:16-17  ). We must build our faith not on fading lights but on the Light that never fails. When "important" individuals go away we are sad, until we see that they are meant to go, so that only one thing is left for us to do- to look into the face of God for ourselves.

Allow nothing to keep you from looking with strong determination into the face of God regarding yourself and your doctrine. And every time you preach make sure you look God in the face about the message first, then the glory will remain through all of it. A Christian servant is one who perpetually looks into the face of God and then goes forth to talk to others. The ministry of Christ is characterized by an abiding glory of which the servant is totally unaware- ". . . Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him" ( Exodus 34:29  ).

We are never called on to display our doubts openly or to express the hidden joys and delights of our life with God. The secret of the servant's life is that he stays in tune with God all the time.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 23, 2009

Agreeing With God
READ: Matthew 15:1-9
These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. -Matthew 15:8

The caller to the radio program mentioned religion, so the radio talk show host began to rant about hypocrites. "I can't stand religious hypocrites," he said. "They talk about religion, but they're no better than I am. That's why I don't like all this religious stuff."

This man didn't realize it, but he was agreeing with God. God has made it clear that He can't stand hypocrisy either. It's ironic, though, that something God opposes is used by some people as an excuse not to seek Him.

Jesus said this about hypocrisy: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8-9).

Notice what Jesus said to perhaps the biggest hypocrites of His day, the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, He called them hypocrites-not once, not twice, but seven times! They were religious people who were putting on a big show, but God knew their hearts. He knew they were far from Him.

Non-Christians who point out hypocrisy in us when they see it are right in doing so. They are agreeing with God, who also despises it. Our task is to make sure our lives honor the One who deserves our total dedication.  - Dave Branon

Hypocrisy is a common sin
That grieves the Lord above;
He longs for those who'll worship Him
In faith and truth and love. -Bosch


The devil is content to let us profess Christianity as long as we do not practice it.

The Most Important Quality

In 1 Samuel 16:6-7, when Samuel came to Jesse's house to anoint the next king of Israel, we see the criteria God uses to choose people for service to Him,

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him."  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical  stature, because I have refused him.  For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

This is a fascinating story with a very strong lesson I want you to understand.  Right after these verses, Jesse parades each of his sons before Samuel...except for David.  Jesse knows why Samuel is there, but he doesn't even bother to get David.

David's own father had written him off.  His own father didn't see enough potential in him to call him before Samuel.

But David was anointed king that day.  Not based on what Jesse thought was important, but on what God thought was important...David's heart.

Maybe your own father has written you off.  Maybe your parents said you would never amount to anything.  Maybe your teacher said, "Look, you're not going to amount to much.  You just better get yourself a minimum wage job."

Only God can see things in your heart that your father can't see, that your mother can't see, that your teachers didn't see, that your family doesn't see, that the people around you don't see.

It is not that God overlooks ability or talent or training.  All of those things are important.  But God looks first at the most important quality for service, and that is the heart.

Don't let someone else write your history before it happens. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God
and
click here to listen to Bayless Conley at OnePlace.com.

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Although it's God's plan for husband and wife to flourish in their marriage, it won't happen by accident. A great marriage takes work. In this 4-part series, Bayless and Janet explore God's Word relating to marriage and share personal insight from over 25 years of experience. You will learn about the specific roles that God gives to both husbands and wives along with how God's commandments can be applied to strengthen and improve your marriage, and much more!

What's Your Brand?
By Os Hillman

"The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thess 5:24).

Coca-Cola is the number one "brand" in the world. Companies spend millions of dollars making their brands known in business. They want you to recognize their brand. When you think of their brand they hope you will have positive thoughts in hopes it will influence your next purchasing decision.

Every individual has a personal "brand" whether you want it or not. Cultures have a brand. Ethnic groups have a brand. Your brand is defined by your conduct. If you are always late, you'll soon develop a brand or reputation for being late. Others will even show up late because they know you will be late. If you are a person who exaggerates the truth, others will soon fail to take you serious.

However, the opposite can also be true. Your brand can be incredibly positive. By being a man or woman of your word, who is consistent in dealing fairly and honestly with others, your brand becomes known as someone who is faithful in all aspects of life.

One of God's most important characteristics is His faithfulness. Faithfulness means one is true to fulfilling their promises to others in the time which was committed. God is faithful to fulfill all His promises to His children.

Moses was also an example of faithfulness to his call. "Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house" (Heb 3:5-6).

What is your brand among your peers? Is it a positive brand or does it need improvement? Allowing the Lord to make us more like Jesus is the only way our brand becomes trustworthy.

Ask the Lord today to make you a faithful brand in which others can trust.

Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.
 
When Heaven Invades Earth
God's Power Released Through You
The same supernatural power used by Jesus, the prophets, apostles, and New Testament disciples to perform signs and wonders is available to every Christian through the presence of Holy Spirit upon us. By laying a carefully-constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God and sharing many miraculous stories from his own life and others, Bill Johnson provides in this book the equipping needed to experience signs and wonders today.

"I have added this book to my all-time 'Top 10' reading list!"
-- Os Hillman

Do You Worship The Work?
READ:
We are God's fellow workers . . . -1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God's blessing cannot rest on him.

But the opposite case is equally true--once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing--to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.

We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . ." (Ecclesiastes 9:10  ).

GOD BLESS!  

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotionals April 24, 2009

The Father's Faithfulness
Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. . . . Great is Your faithfulness. -Lamentations 3:22-23

Hudson Taylor, the humble servant of God to China, demonstrated extraordinary trust in God's faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:
"Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning. . . . He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all. . . . Depend on it, God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply."
We may be faint and weary, but our heavenly Father is all-powerful. Our feelings may fluctuate, but He is unchangeable. Even creation itself is a record of His steadfastness. That's why we can sing these words from a hymn by Thomas Chisholm: "Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love."
What an encouragement to live for Him! Our strength for the present and hope for the future are not based on the stability of our own perseverance but on the fidelity of God. No matter what our need, we can count on the Father's faithfulness.  - Paul Van Gorder
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! -Chisholm
© Renewal 1951 Hope Publishing.


He who abandons himself to God will never be abandoned by God.


  When God's Plan Doesn't Make Sense


In Joshua 6:1-5 we find one of the most bizarre battle plans, but one with an important lesson for you and me,
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.  And the LORD said to Joshua: "See!  I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.  You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once.  This you shall do six days.  And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark.  But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.  It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat.  And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
When you and I read that today it is easy for us to think, "Oh, that must have been pretty normal and natural to Joshua."  But it wasn't.  It did not make any more sense to him than it would have to you and me.
Imagine God taking Joshua aside and telling him that all they need to do is march around the city one time for six days.  Then on the seventh day march around seven times and shout.  It made no sense.  Naturally speaking, it was ridiculous!
All of us will face our Jerichos, and sometimes God's plans won't seem to make sense.  Our part is to listen and obey-even when God's instructions don't make sense to our natural minds.  He has had a lot more experience winning battles than we have! 
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Faith is spelled R.I.S.K.
By Os Hillman
"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'" (Matt 14:29-30).

Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat. There is always a risk when we attempt something never done before. Naysayers seem to come out of the wood work. Why? Because it's not their vision, it's yours. Sometimes we fail the first time out. It's a fact that most entrepreneurs fail before they are really successful.
"Success," said Winston Churchill, "is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Everybody fails. It's part of the process that leads us to maturity and success. Most successful entrepreneurs don't think of their failures as defeats. They think of them as lessons.
If you hope to succeed, learn everything you can from your failures. In The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar, Orlando Magic executive Pat Williams observed, "Our experiences may not all be triumphs and successes, but so what? Failure is usually a far better teacher than success - if we are willing to learn the lessons. As Houston Astros pitcher Larry Dierker observed, 'Experience is the best teacher, but a hard grader. She gives the test first, the lesson later.'"*
God never gets mired in our past failures. He is constantly viewing our lives with future success in mind. "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isa. 43:19). Someone once said, "When your memories are bigger than your dreams, you're headed for the grave." God wants to give us new dreams that are bigger than anything that has ever happened to us in the past.
Don't let past failures keep you from future successes.
*Pat Williams and Jay Strack, The Three Success Secrets of Shamgar (Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2004), p. 103.

The Warning Against Desiring Spiritual Success

Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you . . . -Luke 10:20
Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live. Never seek after anything other than the approval of God, and always be willing to go "outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:13 ). In Luke 10:20  , Jesus told the disciples not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice. We have a commercialized view- we count how many souls have been saved and sanctified, we thank God, and then we think everything is all right. Yet our work only begins where God's grace has laid the foundation. Our work is not to save souls, but to disciple them. Salvation and sanctification are the work of God's sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others' lives until they are totally yielded to God. One life totally devoted to God is of more value to Him than one hundred lives which have been simply awakened by His Spirit. As workers for God, we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and those lives will be God's testimony to us as His workers. God brings us up to a standard of life through His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that same standard in others.
Unless the worker lives a life that "is hidden with Christ in God" ( Colossians 3:3  ), he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active, living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way. Whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced His words with an "if," never with the forceful or dogmatic statement- "You must." Discipleship carries with it an option.

GOD BLESS!