April 6, 2008 - A Peaceful Heart - Philippians 4:4-7

Here is another devotional to keep God as the center of your life by Dr. Charles Stanley:

Many of us are at war with ourselves and don't realize it. Some people experience inner turmoil because they've never made peace with God. That's corrected by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. Those of us who already believe may at times feel anxious. Inner serenity comes when we accept who God made us to be. Acts chapter 17:26 says our Father chose the time and place we would be born. He determined what we'd look like. God gave us our personality, talents, and spiritual gifts. Fussing over what He has chosen for us will keep us unsettled. Understand His purpose for our life. Proverbs chapter 3:5-6 reminds us that embracing God's unique plan for us will bring satisfaction and peace.

Know that we belong to Him. Feeling disconnected can irritate us. You should remember that adoption into God's family is permanent. It'll keep us steady. The bible says in John chapter 10:28 that nothing can change the fact that we are His.

Maintain a clean conscience. When we are headed in the wrong direction, our conscience acts as a warning signal. We feel a sense of guilt or shame that troubles our mind and keeps peace away. Once we confess our sin and turn from ungodliness, our conscience becomes clear once again. Inner turmoil is replaced with calmness.

Keep a Christ-centered focus. Taking our eyes off ourselves and steadily looking to Jesus will give us a quiet spirit. A peaceful heart will become a reality when we embrace who we are in Christ, confess our sins regularly, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

April 7, 2008 - Mediation on Psalm 16:3

"As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight." Psalm 16:3 (NASB)

Psalm 16 provides a tremendous encouragement and safety for Christians in this life and in eternity. A person who has security in God would also has security in His relationship with other believers as the above verse indicated. David thought so very highly of the saints to call them majestic ones. He loves them all. No wonder David was such a great leader throughout the account of his life from I Samuel 16 to I King 2 and I Chronicles 10 to 29. Not only he devoted to God, he also delighted in his people.

David provided a model for Christians today. You are to love one another in the Lord. (I John 4:7) Do you consider those in your spiritual family majestic ones? Do you delight in them?

If you do, then communicate with them more often. Think of some ways to encourage them rather than criticize them. Share with them some of the good things you have enjoyed. Try to work with them rather than dictate them what you already have in mind.

April 8, 2008 - Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day (Part 1)

Henry Blackaby is very well known for his most influential book, Experiencing God. Please read an interpretation of his mediation on Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day

Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day

Whitney Hopler; Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Henry & Melvin Blackaby's new book, Experiencing the Resurrection: The Everyday Encounter that Changes Your Life, (Multnomah Books, 2007).

The resurrection is more than just an event that happened once in history. It's the source of the power you can experience in your own life, every day. The same power that resurrected Jesus from death to life is available to you, and if you tap into it, you'll see amazing transformation in your own life, too.

Here's how you can experience resurrection power every day:

Use the power now, not just in heaven. Your hope of the resurrection isn't just for the future when you physically die and go to heaven; it's also for now, while you're living on earth and struggling with sin. Make use of that God-given power to help you overcome sin right now, and every day you're alive. Regularly confess your sins, repent of them, and embrace the forgiveness and grace God offers you to keep growing.

Trade religion for relationship. Instead of pursuing hope through performing religious rituals, believing right doctrines, or doing good deeds, realize that those things are valuable yet can't produce hope. Place your hope in a dynamic relationship with Jesus. As you live for Him, relying on His resurrection power at work in your life, you'll experience the fulfillment of all God's good purposes for you. Instead of focusing on what you can do for God, focus on what God can do through you.

Set eternal priorities. Ask God to help you see your life from His perspective. Look beyond the world's values (which are only temporary) to what has eternal value. Base your decisions – for all aspects of your life – on what matters most in eternity. Make the most of your time here on earth, keeping in mind that it will soon be over and you'll be accountable to God for how you used your time here.

Die to self. Remember that death must always precede resurrection. Be willing to sacrifice whatever selfish desires and agendas you have that conflict with God's purposes for your life. Decide to crucify your selfish attitudes and behaviors, so God will raise you to new life by transforming your attitudes and behaviors into healthy ones that will help you grow to be more like Jesus. Understand that, physically, you're born and live until you die, progressing toward physical death. But spiritually, you're dead until you're made alive through a relationship with Jesus, progressing toward eternal life.

Source : http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11569838/

April 9, 2008 - Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day (Part 2)

Please read Ephesians 1:17-23

Experience the Power of the Resurrection Every Day (Cont.)

Whitney Hopler; Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Expect the impossible. Just as the resurrection itself was impossible for anyone but God, the power behind the resurrection will take you into situations that are impossible for you to deal successfully with on your own. Expect God to challenge your faith when you ask for His resurrection power in your life, but know that if you trust Him, you'll experience greater adventures than you can imagine.

Experience resurrection peace. You don't have to live with guilt and shame because of the resurrection's power to forgive your sins. Ask God to flood your soul with the peace of knowing that you're in a right relationship with Him. Recognize that if you're deliberately sinning against God, you can't be in a right relationship with Him, so deal with your sin so it doesn't block the peace God wants you to experience. If you want to experience the peace Jesus offers, you must come to Him on His terms, being willing to live the way He leads you to live – the way that's best for you. Every day, repent of your sins, so you can enjoy true peace.

Experience resurrection joy. The freedom from sin and hope in Jesus that the resurrection produced brings great joy into your life. If you allow your constantly changing circumstances to control your life, you can easily lose your happiness. But if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you'll experience joy, which will remain constant despite your circumstances. Unlike happiness, joy is more than an emotion – it's the ability to see beyond your circumstances to the God who has ultimate control over them, and always acts according to what's best for you.

Use your resurrection authority. Make full use the authority you have as a Christian to lead other people to eternal life. The greatest power on earth is to see a person become born again. So, as valuable as it is to minister to people's physical needs, don't stop there. Share the Gospel message with other people as often as you can. By doing so, you'll be helping to release God's resurrection power into their lives. Stay closely connected to God so your life as a Christian will reflect the kind of character and obedience it should. Do your best to live faithfully to represent Jesus well. As other people see God at work in your life, they'll be attracted to Him. Every day, continue to pursue God passionately, and your passion for Him will spark the interest of others around you who can pursue Him themselves.

Experience resurrection confidence. Since God is on your side, you can be absolutely confident in His love and you don't need to be afraid of what the future holds. Whenever you encounter trouble in this fallen world, trust God to lead you through it and accomplish a good purpose in the process. Don't place your trust in anything lesser than God – like your family, your health, your job, your talents, or your money. Give your allegiance wholeheartedly to God, and you'll experience confidence that can't be shaken by changing circumstances.

Experience resurrection hope. Your salvation means that you don't need to fear death. Expect God to fulfill all the promises He makes in the Bible, and trust those promises in your own life. Don't little life's petty annoyances weigh you down; realize that they're irrelevant compared to your eternal reward in heaven. Live with heaven in mind – pursuing eternal values – and rejoice in the hope you can experience every day.

Adapted from Experiencing the Resurrection: The Everyday Encounter that Changes Your Life, copyright 2007 by Henry T. Blackaby and Melvin D. Blackaby. Published by Multnomah Books, a division of Random House, Inc., Colorado Springs, Co., www.randomhouse.com/waterbrook.

Henry Blackaby, Ph. D., president emeritus of Blackaby Ministries, is the author of more than a dozen books, including the best-selling classic Experiencing God. He has spent his life in ministry, serving as a music director and as a senior pastor for churches in California and Canada. Today he provides consultative leadership on prayer for revival and spiritual awakening on a global level. He and his wife make their home in Atlanta, Ga.

Mel Blackaby, Ph.D., coauthored with his father, Henry Blackaby, the Gold Medallion winner Experiencing God Together. He travels extensively as a conference speaker. He and his wife and their three children live in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, where he serves as senior pastor of Bow Valley Baptist Church.

Source : http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11569838/

April 10, 2008 - A SLAVE OF CHRIST

Colossians 3:22-24 "Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance .It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." (NASB)

One of our relationship with Christ is a Master and slave relationship. From the context of the above verse, we can clearly see that Christ expects we serve Him as slaves. The Greek word for "serve" at the end of the verse is the concept of serving as a slave. The Bible teacher, John MacArthur emphasized this aspect of our relationship with Christ in a recent Bible Conference. He lamented that Christians seldom understood that when we call Christ our Lord, we are acknowledging that we are His slaves. Romans 6:22 exemplifies the teaching throughout the New Testaments that we are God's slaves (like it or not)- "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life."(NASB)

To be a slave, means that we serve Him in a task even without knowing why for a moment.

To be His slaves means that whatever we own are owned by Him

To be His slaves means that Christ has absolute say in everything.

To be His slaves means that we do not necessary expect commendation even we have done our job. (Luke 17:7-10)

To be His slaves means that we are "called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the fresh, but through love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13) The word, "serve " here is again the word for serving as a slave. This idea of service to one another is even harder for us to practice.

But we are to be like Christ who took the form of a slave. (Philippians 2:7) Then God highly exalted Him.

April 11, 2008 - SERVICE TO GLORIFY GOD

Meditate I Peter 4:10-11- "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NASB)

Each and every believer has been granted a spiritual gift from God. When you use it to serve other Christians, you glorify God.

There are at least two kind of spiritual gifts here according to Peter: A. The kind that uses the mouth mainly. B. The kind that uses strength to help others.

Have you found out what is your spiritual gift yet? Talk to your pastor this week. The American Tract Society has a fairly comprehensive tract on "Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts" to help you evaluate yourself before God. It is not expansive at all to order a whole bunch for your church.

April 12, 2008 - Meditate on Psalm 22:3

"But thou art holy, o thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." Psalm 22:3 (KJV)

Psalm 22 by King David was a psalm of deliverance and praise. It was also a Messianic prophecy that remarkably predicted the suffering of Jesus on the cross in details.

Verse three tells us that God though holy does live in the midst of the praises of His people.

How marvelous! How wonderful! We can expect God's special presence when we worship and sing His praises together as His congregation.

Though we may be in the darkest time of our lives, we can still praise Him because we can rely on the fact that God will hear us and deliver us from affliction.(v.23-24) For God cares very much that His people can eat and worship satisfactory (V. 26, 29) and would even declare His righteousness to a future generation.(v.31)