Add To The Beauty

Blessed with Difficulties?
Pastor Adrian Rogers

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." Matthew 6:34

In the crucible of His wisdom and in the ecology of His grace, God has ordered some trouble for you today and everyday of your life.

We've been blessed with difficulties. Yes, you read that right—blessed!

The worst thing that could happen to us would be not to have any difficulties. If that were the case, we'd never know our need of the Lord.

So God, in essence, says, "I'm going to give you sufficient difficulty for the day." God gives you enough difficulty to draw you close to Him, but then God gives you enough grace to meet those difficulties every day.

Is there a difficult circumstance in your life? If so, thank God that He's sending it your way to make you more like Jesus. Now ask for His grace to be victorious through it!


For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.





A Lesson in Listening
Dr. Charles Stanley

Luke 6:46-49

Early in life, I learned to listen to the Lord, and this most important lesson is the foundation of my confidence in God. Moreover, because I pay attention to the Father, He has given me courage in my convictions, strength in times of trouble, and unspeakable joy.

I opened my spiritual ears because of my grandfather's words to me. Oh, he didn't say, "Now Charles, you've got to listen." Instead, he described what the Lord was saying to him and how He was speaking. The powerful evidence of Grandfather's faith gave me a burning desire to hear the Lord too.

No person can hear without actively listening. God taught me how, and it is this important lesson that I pass on to you. Heeding the Lord begins when I meditate upon His Word. I listen prayerfully for what He is saying to me through the passage, and I am expectant. The Lord is not secretive. He clarifies Scripture to those who desire to know its meaning and are willing to abide by it. Often I have to be patient. God reveals His truth when a believer is ready to hear. I continually return to a portion of the Bible until His message to me is clear. Sometimes that means going over the same passage for days at a time.

God will speak with clarity to anyone who listens prayerfully and submissively. He wants to speak to you! His great desire is for you to know Him as intimately as did Moses, David, Paul, and others like them. Dig into the Bible every day, and listen to the words the Lord impresses upon your heart.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.






Contagious!
Bayless Conley


In yesterday's devotional, I challenged you to live life with passion. Today I want to give you one other perspective on that.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 9:2 where Paul writes these words,

For I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.

Did you notice those last eight words, and your zeal has stirred up the majority? Passion is contagious.

What do you think might happen if a community saw a church that was utterly on fire? Where all the members in that church were passionate about their worship, passionate about their relationship with God, passionate about serving one another, passionate about real deal Christianity where the rubber meets the road?

I believe there is a divine attraction to that! And I believe that it would transform a community.

Sadly, most communities witness just the opposite—compromise, apathy, and boredom—not passion.

Now, rather than complain, I want to challenge you to live life with real passion. Go all out for God. It only takes one person to ignite the fire of passion in others.

I heard the story of a man who came to hear D. L. Moody preach. While sitting there the man next to him asked, "Do you come out here because you believe the things he's preaching?"

His response was, "No. I come out because he believes it."

Passion is contagious! Are people catching it from you? Is your zeal for Christ stirring up those who come in contact with you? If not, ask God to put that passion into your heart today and watch what happens!

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God.


Add To The Beauty - Sara Groves