God With Us

Keeping the Law
Pastor Adrian Rogers

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Suppose you are driving down the road and a police officer stops you for running a red light.

You say to the officer, "I ran a red light, but you have no right to give me a ticket because I have stopped at all the other streets, and I have obeyed the speed limit."

He responds, "Don't tell me about all the things that you've done good. You've broken the law."

If you think that you're going to be saved by keeping the law, then you must keep all of it because God demands perfection. No amount of obedience can make up for one act of disobedience.

If you keep the whole law and yet offend in one point you are guilty of it all.

Read Romans 7:1 - 8:4. Can you relate to Paul's quandary about keeping the law and the war within his members concerning its requirement of absolute obedience?

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





God's Provision
Dr. Charles Stanley

Matthew 14:22-34

No one gets through life without trials. Realistically, you are either in a storm, just getting out of a one, or about to enter a turbulent time. That is the bad news. Thankfully, we serve a good God who provides beautifully—especially during the dark periods of life.

Today's passage tells of a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus provides for us today just as He did for His disciples in that unsettling situation. Today, we will focus on ways that He does this.

First, the Father gives Christians His presence and the promise that He will never leave (Heb. 13:5-6). This is, perhaps, the greatest gift because from this awareness, He offers a sense of comfort, courage, and confidence.

Second, the Lord blesses His children with a pathway through trouble. He is in total control of our storm and will use the trial for His purpose. We may not understand, but we can trust His hand to guide us and accomplish good. Sometimes the reason and benefit of a difficulty will becomes obvious, while in other cases, it may never be clear.

Third, the Father offers believers the potential to grow. Hardships are exercises in trust and times to learn more fully who God is and how great His power and love are.

No one enjoys trials. But remember to express gratitude for God's hand in your life and the way He will use the adversity. Hardships are chances to trust your Creator and to know Him better. Of course, they are painful, but don't waste the opportunity to become all the Lord has planned for you.

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








Visions and Dreams
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
09-29-2010

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions; your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:17

"I need to meet with you," said the man from England during a break at a conference overseas. We walked outside to have a coffee break and sat down. "God wants you to know that He removed your finances in order to reserve His reward for you in Heaven. He has done you a great service."

I was shocked. I'd never met this gentleman before. How would he have known I had lost a half million dollars in the previous few years, virtually all of my financial net worth, to some unusual calamities? We shared for the next several minutes.

That week, during our lunch and dinner times, I had been enjoying wonderful, juicy oranges from this island in the Mediterranean Sea. It came time for the gentleman and I to conclude our coffee break. We bowed in prayer. As we prayed, the man began to describe a picture he was seeing in his mind.

"I see a picture of a large orange tree. The tree is full of large, ripened oranges. They are beginning to fall to the ground. You are the tree!"

Again, I looked at the man with shock and amazement, and now tears in my eyes.

"You are the third person in three years that has had a similar vision during a prayer time like this. The first two people were also strangers to me."

I went back into the meeting rejoicing that God could be so personal in my life. He used a servant who had gone through similar trials to supernaturally speak a word of encouragement in a way that I would know it was God who was speaking.

There are times when God supernaturally speaks into our lives. He does this to demonstrate His power, His love, and His intimacy with us. Do not be surprised if God sends one of His messengers to speak into your life when you need it most. Be open to how God might want to speak into your life today.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:3).


Today's Prayer


Dear Father in Heaven, You know how hard it is to see your children and families hurting when they do not communicate with you and one another, when they are self-centered, out of your will, and following the wrong paths. Maybe they get too busy to nourish the really important relationships in their lives. I pray right now for my own family, for all of the families around the world, for husbands and wives who have grown apart or are on the verge of divorce, for children who are rebellious and angry, for parents who are too busy and irritated, for those who are bitter or hurt. God please reach down and tug on their hearts, speak to their minds, and show them the way. I pray that the root of their problems will be exposed and that through the Holy Spirit, through Your Word, through a caring friend or a concerned Christian, or whatever way you know is best, that you will turn around those lives that are headed the wrong direction and put them back together. I pray that these families will become healthy, happy, God-honoring, communicating and loving families. And God, for the families that are doing well, I pray that you would protect them from the evil one; surround them with guardian angels; and keep that family under your wings of love and guidance. Thank you, in Jesus' name, Amen.


Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders


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