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Post by Parker on Apr 27, 2023 6:17:29 GMT -8
April 27
STRENGTHEN ONE ANOTHER
1 CORINTHIANS 10:23–24
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.
You and I are called to build up and strengthen one another. I am called to build you up. You are called to build me up. I must be very careful not to tear you down by my actions, inaction, or words.
Tearing down is the polar opposite of our calling in Scripture. Edifying one another doesn’t happen accidentally. Be on your knees before God, asking Him to fill you with His Spirit and show you opportunities. Be filled with the Word of God and begin to see people as individuals who need to be built up. Fight off the inevitable distractions and interruptions.
Paul is saying, “There are many things I might do and many things I might say. But my first concern ought to be, will this build up or tear down my brother or sister in the body?”
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on Apr 28, 2023 4:36:59 GMT -8
APRIL 28
LOOK TO THE PAST
PSALM 143:5
I remember the days of old, I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.
One thing we can do as we stand at the threshold of transition is to remember how God has helped us in the past. Has He not been good to you? I know there has been some heartache, hurt, and tragedy in the last year. That’s true for all of us; more true for some. As we survey all of what God has done, especially in perspective, God has been good to us. He has met our needs. As God has helped us in the past, He will help us in the future.
I have witnessed how God has time and again helped our church. Sometimes we too have been at the Red Sea, the enemy has been right on our heels, the wall has been right in front of us, and at the last moment God has opened the way. That’s the God we serve. God will lead us into the future. We have no need to fear since the God of the past is the God of the present.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on Apr 29, 2023 4:01:33 GMT -8
APRIL 29
THE GREATER WORKS
He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. JOHN 14:12
It is exciting to me to understand what begins to happen as we pray. It’s not that we pray in order that we might do the work. Take another look at the verse: “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do.” If you ask anything in His name, He will do it.
That is no small distinction! Sometimes Christians get weary because we forget. We think God wants us to do His work for Him. That will make you tired very, very quickly. You can’t do it! I can’t do it! Our legs are too short to run with God! What Jesus is saying is this: When we pray, God is going to do His work through us, and we will be channels for His work.
I remember hearing about a preacher who said he could build a great church even if there was no God. I’m not sure that’s a compliment. Sometimes we do commendable, praiseworthy things in the energy of our flesh. But when God begins to do the work through us, it is an entirely different proposition altogether. Incredible things begin to happen.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on Apr 30, 2023 4:47:28 GMT -8
APRIL 30
OUR HOPE FOR NEW BODIES
PHILIPPIANS 3:21–22
The Lord Jesus Christ … will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.
While we don’t know exactly how our bodies are going to be changed in that glorious day, we do know that the limitations and pain and suffering and death will be forever gone! To the Corinthians Paul said that our bodies will be buried in decay and raised without decay; they will be sown in humiliation and raised in splendor; they will be sown in weakness and raised in strength; they will be sown a physical body and raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15).
Our new bodies will be like the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from the resurrection of Jesus Himself, there are only three resurrections recorded in the Gospels: the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus. All of these situations began in mourning until Jesus came; then that sorrow was turned into joy and gladness. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Whenever the life of Jesus meets death, death is always defeated. When He comes again, death will be dealt its final blow. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (15:54).
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 1, 2023 4:38:29 GMT -8
MAY 1
EVERY DAY WITH GOD
PSALM 145:2
Every day I will bless you, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.
A good way to think of eternity in the future is to think of it in terms of today. Has God provided for you and cared for you today? Not yesterday or tomorrow, but today? Wherever you are today, as you are reading this, has the Lord sustained you today?
Things aren’t perfect, I realize. They never will be on earth. But, regardless of today’s imperfections, we can still confess that God has blessed us and is watching over us today.
Well, with God, every day is today. He is eternal. Do you think God is sitting up in heaven wringing His hands over what might happen to me tomorrow or the next day? God sees the end from the beginning. God lives in the eternal now. And if I am okay with God in the now, I have nothing to fear from the future, for every day with God is today, and He can be trusted.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 2, 2023 4:32:27 GMT -8
MAY 2
GOD NEVER SLEEPS
PSALM 121:4
Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
It is one of the most amazing facts about our God that He never slumbers or sleeps. What good is a God who is not there when you need Him? Elijah caught the idola-trous prophets of Baal on this very point in 1 Kings 18.
Elijah arranged a contest on the top of Mount Carmel to demonstrate to the prophets of Baal that the God of Israel was the only real and true God. They set up an altar with sacrifices on it, and whichever “god”—either Baal or Yahweh—could consume the sacrifices with fire from heaven would be the true God.
Just when the prophets needed Baal to prove his existence, he’s taking a nap. Elijah seized the moment and called out to the true God, who sent down fire from heaven that licked up the sacrifices on the altar in a mighty display of His existence and His power. Think of yourself in your time of need on your journey through this life. Which “god” would you rather call upon to help you? The God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is there at all hours of the day for you.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 3, 2023 3:55:11 GMT -8
MAY 3
WHATEVER HE CHOOSES
PSALM 89:6
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?
A young boy was waiting after church for his family, and the pastor struck up a conversation with him. Since the boy had just come from Sunday school, the clergyman decided to ask a little question to see how much he was learning. He said, “Young man, if you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you this apple.” The boy thoughtfully replied, “Sir, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole box of apples.”
There really isn’t anything God can’t do. The Bible speaks of God’s almighty power by using the word omnipotent. To be almighty is to have all the power. Only God has all the power. A theologian has defined the omnipotence of God like this: It is the power of God, or His ability and strength, whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever His purity of will may resolve. In other words, God is able to do whatever He chooses to do.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 4, 2023 4:21:53 GMT -8
MAY 4
ANGELS REJOICE AT OUR SALVATION
LUKE 15:10
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
The Bible tells us that angels are aware of the moment each person repents of his sin and becomes a Christian. According to Luke 15:10, they rejoice. One writer says that “they set the bells of heaven to ringing with their rejoicing before the Lamb of God.”
Although the angels rejoice when people are saved and glorify God who has saved them, they cannot do one thing: They cannot testify personally to something they have not experienced. Angels have not been redeemed. They can only point to the experiences of the redeemed and rejoice that God has saved them.
This means that throughout eternity we humans alone will give our personal witness to the salvation that God achieved by grace and that we received through faith in Jesus Christ. As great as they are, angels cannot testify to salvation the same way as those who have experienced it.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 5, 2023 6:53:49 GMT -8
MAY 5
VICTORY AND FRUITFUL LABOR
1 CORINTHIANS 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The greatest encouragement man will ever know is the giving of Jesus Christ to our world. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus has written the word hope in every heart. Because He lives, we too shall live. Because He was victorious over death, our future is bright.
As we consider the encouragement of Christ’s resurrection, we should respond in two definite acts of love. Both of these responses are illustrated for each of us by the great apostle Paul. They are recorded in the last two verses of 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible’s great resurrection chapter.
First, we should express our gratitude to our Father in heaven: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
And second, we should do as Paul did—use the truth of Christ’s resurrection to encourage others: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 6, 2023 3:34:31 GMT -8
MAY 6
THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN
JOHN 8:11
Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.
Men have no right to judge others. No story better illustrates this than Jesus’ encounter with the adulterous woman (John 8:3–11): “As [Jesus] was speaking, the Jewish leaders and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and placed her out in front of the staring crowd. “ ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. Moses’ law says to kill her. What about it?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.
They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up and said, ‘All right, hurl the stones at her until she dies. But only he who never sinned may throw the first!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote some more in the dust. And the Jewish leaders slipped away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until only Jesus was left in front of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No sir,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’ ”
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 7, 2023 4:18:58 GMT -8
MAY 7
BE HUMBLE, BE WISE
PROVERBS 11:2
When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.
On December 6, 2001, American evangelist Billy Graham received a singular honor from the British Empire. He was given an honorary knighthood in recognition of his Christian service benefiting England and the world. When given his award by the British ambassador to the United States, the evangelist’s remarks were characteristic: “I accept it with humility and unworthiness.” He went on to say that he looked forward to laying his honorary knighthood, along with any other recognition he has ever received, at the feet of Jesus Christ, who deserves all the honor and praise.
One has to wonder if the impact of Billy Graham and his ministry around the world is in any way connected with his personal spirit of “humility and unworthiness.” In light of biblical testimony concerning humility, the answer has to be “Yes.” God gives skill and advancement to the humble and actively resists (stands in the way of) the proud. If you have a destination in view, you can remove at least one serious roadblock by being humble on the way.
Skills for living are not acquired as much as they are received in the form of grace—given by God as wisdom to the humble.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 8, 2023 4:13:51 GMT -8
MAY 8
THE SPIRIT’S TRANSLATION
ROMANS 8:26
The Spirit helps in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
I heard a story about a pastor who frequently visited a woman who was dying from cancer. One day she told him, “I’m so often racked with pain that it’s hard for me to gather my thoughts to pray. Even when I rally a little from the influence of the medication, my mind is still so dull I can’t concentrate for any length of time.”
He looked at her a moment and said, “Well, you can groan, can’t you?”
“Oh yes,” she replied, “My days are spent doing that.”
“Well, never mind that you can’t formulate prayers,” the pastor told her. “The Holy Spirit translates your groans into eloquent petitions and presents them to the Father!”
Can you remember moments in your life when your heart was so heavy or your thoughts seemed so confused that you couldn’t even find words to speak to God? Sometimes, even though we’re on our knees in an attitude of prayer, we can only manage to sigh or groan or whisper the Lord’s name. And in those moments, according to Paul, the indwelling Holy Spirit takes our sighs and our groans and brings those prayers to God. He understands the inward turmoil in our life. He is the searcher of our hearts, and He knows us better than we know ourselves.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 9, 2023 4:27:28 GMT -8
MAY 9
WHEN GOD DELAYS
ISAIAH 49:15
Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will never forget you.
Let’s be honest. Sometimes, when God delays, we feel forgotten. Someone has said that it is the length of the trial, not the severity of it, that is most threatening to us. When a painful trial begins, we rally our resolve, we call our comrades, and we determine to defeat our “enemy.” But as the days wear on and nothing changes, we lose heart and begin to grow weary. We never imagined God would let us suffer so long!
God says it is as likely that He would forget us as it is that a mother would forget her nursing child (Isaiah 49:15–16)—though it doesn’t seem like it in the midst of our trials. Not only can we feel forgotten—we can feel forsaken as well.
So when you pray to God in your hour of seeming abandonment, just remember: God has heard that prayer before, even from His own Son. He knows what you are going through. In fact, He deliberately turned His back on His own Son so that He would never have to turn His back on us. He tells us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 10, 2023 6:49:43 GMT -8
MAY 10
HOW TO VALUE ANYTHING
PROVERBS 12:11
He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.
Many men of the world have understood the necessity of commitment when trying to accomplish great things. Spanish explorer Cortez landed at Vera Cruz in 1519 to begin his conquest of Mexico with a small force of seven hundred men. It is said that when his entire crew came ashore, he purposely set fire to his fleet of eleven ships. Presumably, his men on the shore watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. There was now only one direction to move—forward into the Mexican interior to meet whatever might come their way.
This illustration of diligence is a stark rebuke to those who believe that all of life’s fruits can be had instantly and with little or no sacrifice. But in God’s economy, the germination-cultivation-harvest cycle remains. And it is based on the application of diligence and commitment. Are you facing the temptation to give up on something important? What does your level of commitment say about the importance of the cause you have committed to?
The value we place on a relationship or project or opportunity can be measured directly by the degree of diligence we apply in working at it
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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Post by Parker on May 11, 2023 7:07:37 GMT -8
MAY 11
THE GOD OF ALL GRACE
1 PETER 5:10
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
God took Jacob through one experience after another to teach him to submit. Jacob even wrestled with God once, but his vow afterward rang hollow. Jacob didn’t deserve any more chances, but God’s grace stayed in effect. The Lord loved Jacob and disciplined him until he surrendered his life to God.
God is more forgiving than we can imagine. His continuing grace can take the sorry elements of a human life and use them for His blessed purposes. There is nothing more marvelous in all the world than the power of God’s grace. He forgives, He lifts up, and He transforms.
The great love of God’s grace can heal broken hearts and mend broken lives. The gospel comes to hearts that are broken by sin and despairing of redemption, and it offers peace, pardon, and purity. Only a God of grace could take a rebellious man like Judah and a wicked woman like Tamar and somehow use them in the line of our Blessed Redeemer. But that’s what God does—redeem people. He came to reclaim the broken lives of His children. He is the God of all grace, and His grace abounds to you and me.
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God
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