Post by mommadee48 on Mar 11, 2023 15:43:21 GMT -5
There's 4 different reads.
1)AN INHERITANCE of FAITH;BY CHARLES STANLEY.
WHERE DOES FAITH COME FROM?
For some people, trust in Jesus almost seems genetic---like red hair, a distaste for cilantro, or a quick wit. For others, following the Lord was an unexpected detour from family expectations or cultural traditions.
Salvation is solely the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, but for most Christians, being born again came about with the help of spiritual "midwives." These are the Sunday school teachers, parents, evangelists, pastors, friends, and strangers who helped usher unbelievers from death to life.
Write down your spiritual family tree, listing the people who shaped your walk with God. In what ways does your faith look like theirs?
What beliefs and behaviors did you inherit from them?
Repeat this process, going back as many "generations" as you can, to sketch the fullest picture of your spiritual DNA.
THINK ABOUT IT:
In 2 Timothy 1:2-6, the apostle Paul is writing to a young pastor, but imagine him writing a similar letter to one of your descendants.
How would he describe your faith?
2)INTO ALL the WORLD: BY CHARLES STANLEY.
PAUL DESCRIBED THE CHURCH as "the pillar and support of the truth" (1Timothy 3:15). The truth is guards, however, cannot stay within its four walls but must be proclaimed to an unbelieving world. Jesus considered this so important that His last words to the apostles were, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." (MARK 16:15).
Do you understand how important it is that we obey this command?
Many institutions do the important work feeding the hungry and helping the needy. But the church has the additional, unique calling to share the gospel of Christ. It is the single most important message anyone can hear---God uses the good news of salvation to rescue people from eternal condemnation and transfer them into His kingdom.
The gospel is relevant to every age, need, and season of life. It contains simple truths that the youngest or most uneducated can understand, and it's superior to all other philosophies and religions. Our message is absolutely sure, with eternal truths that need no correction or alteration. What's more, it reveals the only path that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine the message that your life and words proclaim. Only the gospel of Christ saves. (MARK 16:15-16).
3)ABRAHAM's LESSON on PATIENT. BY CHARLES STANLEY.
ABRAHAM IS SOMEONE FROM WHOM WE CAN LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS. Over the course of his life, his faith grew. He came to understand how important trusting God is ---and how costly impatience can be.
Abraham learned the hard way that manipulating circumstances can bring heartache. When he and his wife tried to help God out, the immediate result was jealousy, anger, and family strife. There was also a long-term consequence: a bloody conflict that still rages today between the descendants of Hagar's son Ishmeal and Sarah's son Isaac.
The Lord promised Abraham and Sarah a baby, but they ended up waiting for the fulfillment until childbearing was humanly impossible. When Isaac was finally conceived and born, all the glory went to God.
Have you considered that delays in your life can also glorify God?
Waiting is difficult, but it's the only way we learn patience, which is precious to the Lord. When you experience a delay, use it as an opportunity to build your trust in God and your confidence in His wisdom and perfect plan. (GENESIS 16).
4)ABRAHAM's SACRIFICE. BY CHARLES STANLEY.
YESTERDAY WE LEARNED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUSTING GOD's PLAN. But sometimes obeying Him isn't easy. Whenever you face a difficult call, remember Abraham. In today's passage, he was given one of the greatest tests recorded in the Bible, yet he obeyed willingly and promptly. His response teaches important lessons about yielding to God.
SOMETIMES OBEDIENCE COLLIDES WITH HUMAN REASON. The covenant God set up with Abraham and his descendants (GENISIS 17:7) would pass down to Isaac, the child of promise (GALATIONS 4:28). Yet now the Lord was telling Abraham to sacrifice the boy.
OBEDIENCE ALWAYS REQUIRES TRUST IN GOD. Abraham trusted the Lord to fulfill the promise even if that meant his child would be raised from the dead (HEBREWS 11:17-19). He told his servants, "I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you," indicating they'd both return (GENISIS 22:5).
OBEDIENCE LEAVES THE OUTCOME TO GOD. Abraham fully expected the Lord to preserve Isaac in order to keep His promise. But it was unexpected that God would provide a ram as a substitute sacrifice (vv.12-14).
The Lord tests us in order to increase our obedience and faith in Him.
Will you count God as trustworthy and yield to Him, or will you rely on your own imperfect human reasoning? (GENISIS22).
1)AN INHERITANCE of FAITH;BY CHARLES STANLEY.
WHERE DOES FAITH COME FROM?
For some people, trust in Jesus almost seems genetic---like red hair, a distaste for cilantro, or a quick wit. For others, following the Lord was an unexpected detour from family expectations or cultural traditions.
Salvation is solely the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, but for most Christians, being born again came about with the help of spiritual "midwives." These are the Sunday school teachers, parents, evangelists, pastors, friends, and strangers who helped usher unbelievers from death to life.
Write down your spiritual family tree, listing the people who shaped your walk with God. In what ways does your faith look like theirs?
What beliefs and behaviors did you inherit from them?
Repeat this process, going back as many "generations" as you can, to sketch the fullest picture of your spiritual DNA.
THINK ABOUT IT:
In 2 Timothy 1:2-6, the apostle Paul is writing to a young pastor, but imagine him writing a similar letter to one of your descendants.
How would he describe your faith?
2)INTO ALL the WORLD: BY CHARLES STANLEY.
PAUL DESCRIBED THE CHURCH as "the pillar and support of the truth" (1Timothy 3:15). The truth is guards, however, cannot stay within its four walls but must be proclaimed to an unbelieving world. Jesus considered this so important that His last words to the apostles were, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." (MARK 16:15).
Do you understand how important it is that we obey this command?
Many institutions do the important work feeding the hungry and helping the needy. But the church has the additional, unique calling to share the gospel of Christ. It is the single most important message anyone can hear---God uses the good news of salvation to rescue people from eternal condemnation and transfer them into His kingdom.
The gospel is relevant to every age, need, and season of life. It contains simple truths that the youngest or most uneducated can understand, and it's superior to all other philosophies and religions. Our message is absolutely sure, with eternal truths that need no correction or alteration. What's more, it reveals the only path that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine the message that your life and words proclaim. Only the gospel of Christ saves. (MARK 16:15-16).
3)ABRAHAM's LESSON on PATIENT. BY CHARLES STANLEY.
ABRAHAM IS SOMEONE FROM WHOM WE CAN LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS. Over the course of his life, his faith grew. He came to understand how important trusting God is ---and how costly impatience can be.
Abraham learned the hard way that manipulating circumstances can bring heartache. When he and his wife tried to help God out, the immediate result was jealousy, anger, and family strife. There was also a long-term consequence: a bloody conflict that still rages today between the descendants of Hagar's son Ishmeal and Sarah's son Isaac.
The Lord promised Abraham and Sarah a baby, but they ended up waiting for the fulfillment until childbearing was humanly impossible. When Isaac was finally conceived and born, all the glory went to God.
Have you considered that delays in your life can also glorify God?
Waiting is difficult, but it's the only way we learn patience, which is precious to the Lord. When you experience a delay, use it as an opportunity to build your trust in God and your confidence in His wisdom and perfect plan. (GENESIS 16).
4)ABRAHAM's SACRIFICE. BY CHARLES STANLEY.
YESTERDAY WE LEARNED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUSTING GOD's PLAN. But sometimes obeying Him isn't easy. Whenever you face a difficult call, remember Abraham. In today's passage, he was given one of the greatest tests recorded in the Bible, yet he obeyed willingly and promptly. His response teaches important lessons about yielding to God.
SOMETIMES OBEDIENCE COLLIDES WITH HUMAN REASON. The covenant God set up with Abraham and his descendants (GENISIS 17:7) would pass down to Isaac, the child of promise (GALATIONS 4:28). Yet now the Lord was telling Abraham to sacrifice the boy.
OBEDIENCE ALWAYS REQUIRES TRUST IN GOD. Abraham trusted the Lord to fulfill the promise even if that meant his child would be raised from the dead (HEBREWS 11:17-19). He told his servants, "I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you," indicating they'd both return (GENISIS 22:5).
OBEDIENCE LEAVES THE OUTCOME TO GOD. Abraham fully expected the Lord to preserve Isaac in order to keep His promise. But it was unexpected that God would provide a ram as a substitute sacrifice (vv.12-14).
The Lord tests us in order to increase our obedience and faith in Him.
Will you count God as trustworthy and yield to Him, or will you rely on your own imperfect human reasoning? (GENISIS22).