RAUL RIES: "The Carnal Man"
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The Carnal Man
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness… envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19, 21
Paul spoke strong words to the Christians in Galatia. He said if you are a child of God, and you are walking like in previous times, in your old life, in the same sins, you might not be a Christian. Why? You are supposed to bring your sins to the cross and leave them there. You are not supposed to be walking the same way you were in the world, but you are to be changed. You are to be a different kind of a person, through the power and the work of the Holy Spirit.
When Paul the Apostle spoke to the church in Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 3, he said you have the natural man and the spiritual man, but in the middle you have the carnal man. The carnal man is a person who has accepted Christ, they have been born again, but they are walking in the flesh — in carnality, feeding the appetites of the flesh.
They have one foot in the world and one foot in Christ. They are divided. They are not fully and wholly committed to the walk of Jesus Christ. Carnal people are never happy. They do not experience the joy of God, the peace of God, the love of God or the mercies of God, because they are miserable in their divided mind. They grieve the Holy Spirit of God. According to Paul, they will be in danger of not inheriting the kingdom of God.
Our eyes, when gazing on sinful objects, are out of their calling and God’s keeping.
Thomas Fuller-
Thomas Fuller-
RAY STEADMAN: "A Place To Settle"
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A Place To Settle
A daily devotion for October 7th
Read the Scripture: Psalm 107:1-32
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away (Psalm 107:4-5).
Who are these wanderers? They are what we might call the restless ones. They are the ones who wander about from place to place, from job to job, or from marriage to marriage, filled with questions and seeking to find where the answer lies. There are a lot of them today. They cannot find the answers. They are looking for something, but they cannot find it. They keep wandering from place to place and from experience to experience, trying to find something to satisfy.
The psalmist says they are looking for
a city where they could settle.Those of us who live in a city and are choked with fumes; crowded on the freeways; and exhausted with fighting taxes, crime, and crabgrass wonder why anyone would want to live in a city; it is the country that is attractive to us. But the Bible indicates that God has designed that humans should ultimately live in cities. Hebrews 11:10 says that Abraham was looking for the city
with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.Why? A city is always characterized by two qualities: excitement and security. Excitement is created whenever people gather together. There things are happening; that is where the action is. Cities are also a place of security. If you are going to experience trouble, it is better to have others around. Defense is more easily possible in a city if an attack comes. So the people described in this verse are looking for the things you can find in a city: excitement and security.
We are told how they find satisfaction:
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle(Psalm 107:6-7). Some of you have had this experience. You too were restless; you were uncertain, wandering, hungry, and thirsty for life, but you could never find it. You tried everything. Finally, when you reached the bottom, you cried to the Lord in your trouble. When you did, He heard you. Not suddenly or instantaneously, but gradually, He began to set you free. He began to lead you
by a straight way.God delivers those in this condition by leading them in a straight way. They have been wandering circuitously, deviously; now they start going straight. That is the way described in the Scripture. It is a straight way, right through the middle of life. God leads them until they find a city to dwell in, until they reach the place of excitement and security.
Lord, thank You for hearing my cry for help. Thank You for Your steadfast love, which rescues me from my restless wandering and leads me in the straight way.
Life Application: Being at home with Christ is the joyful expectation of His people. Are we on the straight path that leads to that home, or have we settled for the wastelands?
We hope you were blessed by this daily devotion.
JOYCE MEYER: "Only God Knows the Future"
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Only God Knows the Future
by Joyce Meyer - posted October 07, 2013
There shall not be found among you anyone who…uses divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.
—Deuteronomy 18:10-12
—Deuteronomy 18:10-12
Today many people go to fortunetellers or psychics, or consult horoscopes, or watch movies and read books that make casting spells and other occult activities seem attractive. These activities were once geared mostly to adults, but have now become extremely popular with children.
The Bible has much to say about witchcraft, consulting mediums and other activities that offend God and that He considers off-limits.
God’s Word has been attacked more than any other book in history, and it is still around. It is actually a compilation of 66 books written by different authors, yet it all coincides and makes sense. That couldn’t have “just happened.”
I know from personal experience and decades of ministry that God’s Word is powerful. It cancompletely change, heal, restore and set free people who will live according to it.
The Bible tells us God is the only one who knows the future and that His Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into truth (see John 16:13). If you want to know what’s ahead for you, read the Book by the one who can tell you and cultivate an intimate relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. I can’t say what all God will tell you about your future, but I guarantee that seeking to know it any other way will cause problems. God will tell you what you need to know, but in His mercy He will conceal what He knows is best to reveal at a later time.
People who have sought to know the future using means that God deems “an abomination” often find themselves tormented. But when you trust God with your future and believe He will tell you what you need to know at the proper time, you can live in peace.
Love God Today: Seek God for your future and trust Him to bring it about in His timing.
RICK WARREN: "Let Go, and Know God Is in Control"
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by Rick Warren
“Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 GW)
Every day, you have to decide who’s going to be in control of your life — you or God.
That choice is a battle. There are things in your life that you want to control. You want to make your own rules. But stress relief always starts with letting God be God. It always starts with saying, “God, I’m giving up control, because you can control the things that are out of control in my life.”
Psalm 46:10 says, “Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth” (GW).
I don’t know what you’re going to face this week. You don’t, either. But I can already tell you what God wants you to do: Let go, and know. Let go of control, and know that God is in control. Let go, and know! This is the first step to serenity in your life.
Whenever we face out-of-control situations, we tend to go to one of two extremes. For some of you, the more out-of-control your life gets, the harder you try to control it. Some of you do the exact opposite: You just give up! You have a pity party and invite yourself to it.
Both of those reactions to stress are foolish. They don’t work. Instead of being a victim or becoming hyper controlling, you need to pray the prayer of surrender.
The number one reason you’re under stress is because you’re in conflict with God. You’re trying to control things that only God can control. You can’t control your husband or your kids or your wife or your job or your future or your past or any of that stuff. The more you do it, the more you’re trying to play God, and that puts you in opposition to God. Not only are you going to lose that conflict, but you’re also going to be tired.
Millions of people pray the Serenity Prayer, which is based on the Lord’s Prayer, but most have never read the last eight lines to the prayer: “Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the next. Amen.”
That’s where the power is! There is power when you surrender to God the very things you’ve been trying to take control of from him.
Talk It Over
What does it mean to practically “live one day at a time”?
What is the result — physical, emotional, and spiritual — when you surrender to God the things you want to control?
GREG LAURIE: "Built to Last"
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Built to Last
Previous
Why Going to Church Is Important, Part 1
Why Going to Church Is Important, Part 1
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Spending time on the beach, I have watched people construct some very elaborate sandcastles that took hours and hours to build. I have admired their work. But I also knew those impressive structures wouldn't be around for very long. It was only a matter of time until either a tide came in and swept them away or a toddler appeared out of nowhere and demolished them.
Some couples will build a marriage on sand, like those momentary sandcastles. They build it on fleeting emotions or sex or some other thing. But a marriage must be built on something stronger that will sustain it.
Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with an illustration of what we should build our lives on—and it is also a perfect picture of what to build a marriage on:
Notice that Jesus did not say if a storm comes but when a storm comes. Marriages go through changes. They go through trials. So build your marriage on the right foundation. If you do, then you will come to know the truth of Proverbs 18:22: "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD."
Is your marriage on the Rock or on the rocks? If it is built on the Rock, then it will stand the test of time. If it is built on the Rock, then it will weather the storms. If it is built on the Rock, then it is built to last.
Some couples will build a marriage on sand, like those momentary sandcastles. They build it on fleeting emotions or sex or some other thing. But a marriage must be built on something stronger that will sustain it.
Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with an illustration of what we should build our lives on—and it is also a perfect picture of what to build a marriage on:
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24–25)
Notice that Jesus did not say if a storm comes but when a storm comes. Marriages go through changes. They go through trials. So build your marriage on the right foundation. If you do, then you will come to know the truth of Proverbs 18:22: "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD."
Is your marriage on the Rock or on the rocks? If it is built on the Rock, then it will stand the test of time. If it is built on the Rock, then it will weather the storms. If it is built on the Rock, then it is built to last.
MIKE MACINTOSH: "If anyone desires to come after Me"
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Today's Devotion
From Mike MacIntosh
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
Matthew 16:24
Matthew 16:24
I like the cartoon strip where Charlie Brown is doing woodwork in a shop when Lucy comes by and asks, "How's the birdhouse coming, Charlie Brown?" "Well," he sighs, "I'm a lousy carpenter, I can't nail straight, I can't saw straight, and I always split the wood. I'm nervous, I lack confidence, I'm stupid, I have poor taste, and absolutely no sense of design. So, all things considered… it's coming along okay."
You know, we're all a little like Charlie Brown. We fiddle with life, but at the end of the day, we see our frailties; we have insecurities. And marketers today know it. Entire industries thrive on exploiting our insecurities. Self-help authors promise to help you become the "champion within you." Skin products are promised to make you look and feel "younger," and exercise products will make you more "attractive." Everyone seems to be after that priceless gem of "self-esteem." ButJesus says that "if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself.
It's not self-esteem that the Lord requires -- it's self-denial.
The apostle Paul was quick to admit that when it came to self-denial, he was the worst. "If anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh," he wrote, "I more so" (Philippians 3:4). That's coming from a man who was stoned, imprisoned and persecuted for his unyielding faith in Jesus. No doubt, self-denial does not come naturally. As humans, we tend to value "self" more than anything -- otherwise, self-denial would be easy! But how can we follow Jesus if our eyes are fixed on ourselves? How can we be obedient to His will if we put value in our own?
You see, our insecurities and our frailties are not caused by a lack of self-esteem. We esteem ourselves naturally. And the longer you look at yourself, the more insecure you will become. The higher the pedestal you build for yourself, the less stable your footing will become, and the further you will fall. No, our frailties are caused by our lack of self-denial to the One by whom all things were created, and in whom is all power, wisdom, and strength! (Revelation 5:12) Jesus is able to do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think," according to His "power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20) -- but we must give Him full control. We must deny ourselves.
Today, don't fall for the myth that says you need more "self-esteem." Esteem the Lord in your life, and He will "supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
JON COURSON: "Moses’ position of authority"
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BILLY GRAHAM: "Forever Linked"
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Forever Linked
OCTOBER 7, 2013
. . . this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.
–John 4:42
–John 4:42
History, philosophy, theology, and—in many centers of learning—even the sciences are being studied to discover what they have to say about Jesus Christ. The records of the Early Church are being reexamined for their testimony to Him. Archaeologists are digging to discover new evidence.
Some say that Jesus Christ is a myth, and He never existed in history. Others say that He was merely a man, that there was nothing supernatural about His birth, and that His resurrection was a hallucination. Others talk about a Christless Christianity. Some say that no matter what one thinks about Christ, it does not affect Christianity. They are wrong!
Christianity is forever linked with the Person of Christ. Carlyle recognized this when he said, “Had this doctrine of the deity of Christ been lost, Christianity would have vanished like a dream.” The historian Lecky remarks, “Christianity is not a system of morals, it is the worship of a Person.”
Some say that Jesus Christ is a myth, and He never existed in history. Others say that He was merely a man, that there was nothing supernatural about His birth, and that His resurrection was a hallucination. Others talk about a Christless Christianity. Some say that no matter what one thinks about Christ, it does not affect Christianity. They are wrong!
Christianity is forever linked with the Person of Christ. Carlyle recognized this when he said, “Had this doctrine of the deity of Christ been lost, Christianity would have vanished like a dream.” The historian Lecky remarks, “Christianity is not a system of morals, it is the worship of a Person.”
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, You are the living Christ whom I love and revere.
LEADERSHIP: "Do your actions show inner strength? (85-5)"
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Do your actions show inner strength? (85-5)
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