PRAYERS TO PRAY
Enjoy the short, simple words to this Prayer, Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide, which is suitable as a daily prayer. These online, free simple words can be printed and used to create a personalised Daily Prayer book. The short, simple words of this prayer are inspirational, spiritual and joyful. Use these simple words in your short daily prayers
We hope that the following short, simple words to this daily prayer, Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide, will provide you with an online resource of short daily prayers prayers. Remember that these words can be printed and used to create a personalised Prayer Book
Willing to Bet Eternity?
ReplyDeleteBy Pastor Greg Laurie
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
—1 Corinthians 15:22
There are a lot of people who claim to have died and gone into the afterlife and specifically Heaven. Usually, they describe a beautiful, bright light and how they felt such great peace.
People find a certain measure of comfort from that, especially those who aren’t believers. It seems hopeful to them that it will be okay on the other side. But are they willing to bet eternity on that?
The concept of Heaven comes from the Bible. In fact, we wouldn’t even have the word Heaven without the Bible. The only reliable source on the afterlife is the Bible, which tells us a lot about what’s coming on the other side. I believe in Heaven because God said there is a Heaven.
Heaven is the dwelling place of God. And because of the resurrection of Jesus, if you are a Christian, you will have life after death in Heaven. But Heaven isn’t the default destination of every person; it is only the destination of the person who has put his or her faith in Christ.
If you are a Christian, you will go straight to Heaven when you die. The apostle Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8). That is what happens when a Christian dies: his or her spirit goes directly into the presence of God. As 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us, “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (NKJV).
There will be a bodily resurrection of your loved ones who have died in faith. And there will be a bodily resurrection for you, too. Jesus has overcome death at the cross.
Thus the religion of the world, with its emphasis upon the external, is ignored by God. Man fulfills his proper function only by receiving what God has done in Christ, without any need for observances or candles or form or ceremony, but by a quiet act of faith. That is the simplicity of belief in Jesus Christ. It is so uncomplicated, so simple, so available to all.
You don't have to hope you'll go to Heaven--here's how to be sure.
If you just receive Jesus into your life, accepting Him only as your personal Lord and Savior, and repent of your sins, then you have an absolute guarantee that you will enter into heaven.
If you want to receive Christ into your life, visit this important message:
http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/
Why did Jesus die on the cross?
ReplyDelete“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”
(Matthew 20:28).
“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
“He had died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first convenant” (Hebrews 9:15).
“Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
“Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people” (Hebrews 9:28).
You know, you can go and plug in to every kind of religious system that's running around the world and they might give you sympathy and they might give you understanding, but they'll never give you resurrection. They'll never take you through the grave and out the other side. They'll never give you eternal life in heaven because they don't have the power...that resides alone in Jesus Christ.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and exchange takes place. We give him our sins, and he forgives us and makes us right with God (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). There is nothing we can do to earn this. Only through Christ can we be made right in God’s eyes. What an incredible bargain this is for us! But sadly, many still choose to pass up this gift to continue “enjoying” their sin.
Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ (no one else) (Romans 1:16,17) That's why the most wretched individual or the most gross life can come to Jesus Christ, put his faith in Jesus Christ, spend forever in eternity whereas the most philanthropic charitable person in the world who turned their back on Jesus Christ will spend forever in hell.
If you were to die right now, do you think you would enter into Heaven? Would you like to have the absolute assurance that you will be welcome there? If so then:
• Admit that you are a sinner
• Acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only one who could die for you sins.
• Pray: “I’m a sinner, forgive me of my sins Lord.”
• Repent (turn away from sin and turn toward God) and be converted.
• Open your heart right now and receive Jesus into your life.
Can Anyone Be Good Enough?
ReplyDeleteFor all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
—Romans 3:23
Are people basically good? When I was a kid, I used to think so. But then my life experiences didn’t confirm that belief, because I saw so many people doing bad things.
You might be surprised to know, however, that most Americans believe people are basically good. In his book What Americans Believe, researcher George Barna revealed that 84 percent of non-Christians agree with the statement that people are basically good.
That shouldn’t be too surprising. But what is somewhat surprising is that 77 percent of self-described Christians think the same thing.
So, are people basically good? Here’s what I think. (You might be surprised.) My answer is yes and no. There are good people. There are people who do good things. Some people are good neighbors and good citizens. They’re kind and considerate.
There are people who have done good things, have made great sacrifices, or have done something heroic on behalf of others. In fact, I’ve met some nonbelievers who are nicer than some Christians. But being nice is not what gets us to Heaven, of course.
Maybe this is a better way to frame the question: Are we good enough to get to Heaven on our own merit? The answer is a resounding no. No one is good enough to reach God’s very high standards. We all fall short of them.
In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul systematically shows us that everyone falls short. In fact, if we learn nothing else from the first chapter of Romans, we discover that we’re all sinful. The bad news is that we’re sinners. The good news is there’s a Savior.
(by Pastor Greg Laurie)
Our salvation is not earned. Rather, it is given to us as a gift from God. The immoral person needs Jesus. And the moral person needs Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus.
So today, open your hearts to Jesus, and receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior, ask Him to forgive all of your sins, and acknowledge Him as God in human flesh! And you will have eternal life with him forever in heaven!
If you are reading this today and you've never committed your life to Jesus Christ, would you and confess Him as Your Savior and Lord? If so, visit this important message, that will affect your eternal destiny:
www.harvest.org/knowgod/
To learn Christ in an intimate way
ReplyDeleteBut you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus.
(Ephesians 4:20-21)
The world embraces greediness, uncleanness, and empty headedness. “But you,” said Paul, “have not learned Christ that way.” Notice Paul doesn’t say, “You haven’t learned about Christ that way.” He says, “You haven’t learned Christ that way.”
I can learn about Abraham Lincoln. I can read books about him, and I can go to Disneyland and “Meet Mr. Lincoln” 15 times in a row. That’s the way some people learn about Jesus. They read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 15 times in a row and think they know Him. But in reality, they only know about Him.
To learn Christ implies communion and intimacy with Him. How does this happen practically? As you spend time studying John’s Gospel, for example, read a verse or two, then say to the Lord, “That convicts me,” or “That confuses me,” or “That reminds me,” or “That blesses me,” for in so doing, you will be communing with Him personally rather than merely learning about Him academically.
So whether you go for a walk, lock yourself in your bathroom, or drive to a secluded spot, find a place you can talk to the Lord as you read about Him. It will make all the difference in the world, for then you will truly learn Christ.
(A Day’s Journey, Jon Courson, pgs. 291-292)
My desire is to stay dedicated to the Word of God. How do I stay true to that desire?
ReplyDeleteIf you’re dedicated to something, you’re committed to it wholly and earnestly. You’ve found something that demands your life, your soul, your all. For Christians, that cause is Christ and His Word.
First, read the Word:
The apostle Paul exhorted us to give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine (1 Timothy 4:13). The Book of Revelation promises, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy” (Revelation 1:3). If you don’t have a plan for reading the Bible, devise one for yourself today and start it at once.
Second, study the Bible. How marvelous that God gave us a Book large enough to contain all we need to know from Him, yet small enough to fit in our hands. The Bible says, “The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them” (Psalm 111:2).
Third, memorize the Scripture. Job 22:22 says, “Lay up his words in your heart” (NIV). By memorizing a verse of Scripture, you’re inscribing God’s Word on your brain. It makes the Bible portable and allows the Scripture to transform your life by the renewing of your thoughts.
Fourth, meditate on God’s Word. This is the forgotten habit of the Church. Encircled by radios, televisions, computers, and portable devices, we’re seldom quiet long enough to meditate. But try mulling over a verse of Scripture during your morning shower, your daily commute, or before falling asleep at night. According to the Bible, this is the secret of success. Joshua 1:8 says this about God’s Word. “You shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Fifth, it is important to pray the Scripture. After reading, studying, and perhaps memorizing a verse, turn it into a prayer for yourself or someone else. By doing that, you’re bringing God’s Word right back to Him. You’re claiming it before His throne. You can do this with almost any passage. You undoubtedly know someone else who needs that prayer offered on his or her behalf. Find a verse, put your name on it, or that of someone else, and claim it in prayer.
But here’s the important thing. We can read, study, memorize, meditate, and even pray the Scriptures; but unless we obey its words, it does no good.
Whenever you read a verse, as: “Is there an action I need to take, a command I need to obey, a change I need to make, or an attitude I need to adopt?” Learn to read the Bible obediently.
Finally, dedication to the Word of God creates a desire to share your faith. As you fill your heart with God’s Word, the overflow of God’s love will be seen through your life and testimony. The world will then see: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
David Jeremiah (Answers to Questions About Living in the Last Days), (Pgs. 179-182).
Born From Above
ReplyDeleteBy Pastor Ray Stedman
“Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
John 3:1-3
Notice how Jesus cuts right across Nicodemus' inquiry with a sharp and penetrating sentence that must have gone like a sword thrust right into his heart. Observe what Jesus is saying in this startling word to Nicodemus. A new birth is absolutely essential to enter the kingdom. John uses a very interesting word here that is translated anew, or again. It is the Greek word, another, which means again or to do something a second time. It often points to a radical new beginning which comes from above. It signifies God must do this. It is speaking of something radical, a new beginning. It is a second birth, but it comes from above. It is God that does it, not man; and it results in a new creation, a new beginning.
This idea appears many times in the New Testament. Paul speaks of babes in Christ, (1 Corinthians 3:1). Peter says, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow, (1 Peter 2:2). Again Peter says we are born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, (1 Peter 1:23). And he speaks of being born to a living hope, (1 Peter 1:3). Paul speaks not only of being new creatures in Christ but of a new creation; of passing from death unto life, of a new, radical start. Jesus makes clear that this is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. If you do not come this way you cannot enter. There is no way you can even see the kingdom of God without this.
To be in the kingdom of God, of course, is to belong to God; it is to be a part of his rule, his reign, his domain. Paul speaks of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness, ruled by the god of this world, into the kingdom of the Son of his love, (Colossians 1:13). Thus, Jesus was referring to a transfer of citizenship, a radical departure from what we once were.
Jesus sensed in Nicodemus a deep hunger, an emptiness. Here was a man who was doing his level best to obey what he thought God wanted, yet he had an empty and unsatisfied heart that led him to seek out Jesus by night, at the risk of the displeasure of his peers, to talk with him about the kingdom of God. Sensing this our Lord immediately puts him on the right track, saying to him, in effect, You are wasting your time if you think you can enter the kingdom of God the way you are. You cannot do it. You must be born again.
When John Wesley preached all through England, Wales and Scotland, he continually told people that they must be born again. Someone once asked Wesley why he preached so often that people must be born again. Wesley's answer was simply that it's because they must be born again! After all, that is what Jesus is saying.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the miracle of new birth which comes only from above. It is only through your great power and love that such a thing could happen to me.
Life Application
Spiritual re-birth is generated by God who is Love. How are we responding to such infinitely costly Love?
How does God speak to us?
DeleteThe first and most apparent way God speaks to us is through His Word. God has made it abundantly possible for us to hear Him through the study of His Word. Psalm 19:7-9 says that the Word of God is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous. The first place we should turn to hear God speak is through His Word.
God also speaks to us through others. He intends for the Body of Christ to be able to minister to itself through its members helping and advising one another. But remember: When we see counsel from other people, such counsel must be evaluated against Scripture. Be open to God speaking through others in your life. The more we surround ourselves with godly friends, mentors, and counselors, the more likely we will be able to hear God’s voice.
God also speaks through circumstances. Time and again, we can detect God’s guidance, receive His grace, understand His will, and hear His voice through the circumstances He arranges or allows. The Bible is filled with stories of God using “happenings” to speak to His people. We must remember our disappointments may be His appointments, and behind every “happening” is the hidden hand of heaven.
Finally, God speaks to us through silence. Our world is blanketed by so much noise that our souls are chronically stressed. We must be careful not to tune out God, only one thing will overcome the clamor of culture, and that’s the silence of meditating on God’s Word. In our loud world, we need to be still enough to hear and quiet enough to enjoy His presence.
David Jeremiah (Answers to Questions About Living in the Last Days), (Pgs. 48-49)
I want Jesus to be more than a symbol in my life; I want Him to be my Lord and Savior. What is the first step I should take?
ReplyDeleteSadly, to many people, Jesus, The Church, and Christianity are societal trappings of our culture instead of life-changing realities. They don’t realize that it is vital to know Him personally. He isn’t a “dashboard Jesus,” a symbol that you place somewhere in your car or in your life. He isn’t plastic; He’s powerful. He’s not small; He’s infinite. He’s not a good-luck token; He’s the risen and reigning Lord of time and eternity.
Perhaps there’s no Savior in your life. Perhaps you’ve never turned your life over to the real Jesus of history and Scripture. There is a Creator-God who made us and gave us eternal soul, but something went wrong in our heart. Our imperfections and iniquities have alienated us from His glory. That’s why He became a man, the God-Man, Christ Jesus, and came to earth and died on Calvary’s cross for our sins. He rose from the grave on the third day, and He offers us eternal life for the taking. The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God had raised Him from the dead, you will saved” (Romans 10:9).
You can bow your head right now, wherever you are … in your home, at a coffee shop, on an airplane, in a hospital room, or in your car, staring at the dashboard, and quietly ask the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins, redeem your life, and become your Savior. He’s waiting now to enter your heart. Why don’t you let Him come in?
Pastor David Jeremiah (Answers to Questions About Living in the Last Days), (Pgs. 130-131).
Not Religion but Relationship
ReplyDeleteby Pastor Greg Laurie
“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ “
—Genesis 3:9
If you were meeting friends somewhere but had to call them because you were lost, the first question they would ask is, “Where are you?” Before they can tell you how to get there, they need to know where you are.
God asked that very question of Adam in the Garden of Eden. After Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered the world. So he was hiding.
The Lord came walking through the garden in the cool of the day, and He called out to Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9 NKJV).
Now, do you think the Lord knew where Adam was? Of course, He did. God knows everything about us. We can’t hide anything from Him.
In effect, God was saying, “Well, Adam, you ate of the forbidden fruit. How did that go? Are you happy with the way things turned out?”
I think the Lord could ask the same of us today: Where are you? How is your life going? Is this the way you hoped it would turn out? Are you wondering if you’ve missed the whole point of what life is all about?
God loves you. He has a plan for you, and there’s hope for your future. But there’s a big difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus Christ.
It isn’t rules and regulations; it’s real freedom from the power of sin. It isn’t religion; it’s a relationship with Christ himself.
Being a Christian is asking Christ to come and live inside of you. The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12 NKJV).
Only you can do this. No one can do it for you. The way you become a child of God is by receiving Christ into your life.
What To Do?
ReplyDeleteBy Pastor Ray Stedman
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38
The Apostle Peter is answering this question, ‘What shall we do?” He acknowledges that there is something to be done. When you come to the place where you understand that Jesus is Lord, and that you are out of harmony with all his purposes and his life, then there is something to do. There are two things you need to do, Peter says, and then one thing God will do.
You need, first, to repent. “Repent” is a word that is greatly misunderstood. Most people think repentance means that you feel sorry, and you begin to cry and weep. That has nothing to do with repentance. You may feel sorry, and you may begin to weep and cry, but that is not necessary, and it does not mean that you have repented. Repent is a word which means “to change your mind,” to change your thinking. You have been thinking that everything was all right with you and all is well. You have been thinking that Jesus is nothing but a great teacher, or a great prophet, but that he is not the Son of God, and he is not the Lord of glory, the Lord of all the earth; well, think again. “Repent — change your mind, get in tune with reality, line up with things the way they really are,” is what Peter is saying. “You have been kidding yourself, you have been deluded, you have been fooled; well, change your mind.” Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God — repent and put him where he belongs in your life.
Then, the second thing, be baptized. Baptism does not add anything to your repentance. It does not make you better. It does not do anything magic for you so that you are suddenly forgiven of your sins. Baptism is the outward declaration of the change of mind that you have experienced within. Baptism is an open identification with Jesus Christ. To be baptized means that you are telling everybody, “I belong to him. I follow him. I am one of his.” It is a cutting off from the old way of thinking, and a beginning of a new life.
Finally, there is the one thing that God will do. “When you repent,” says the apostle, “you will receive the Holy Spirit.” That is, God, the third person of the Trinity, will come and live in you. His work will be to make Jesus Christ real, visible, plain, and close to you, to impart his life to your own. This is what happens when you repent. Peter did not say to these people, “When you repent you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and you will speak in tongues” He does not promise this, because that is not part of receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit initially came with this symbol, but these are not promised to every individual. The Spirit of God comes into the human heart without any demonstration or sign at all after a change of mind about the Lord Jesus and a willingness to receive him into the heart. On that basis, these 3,000 people received the promise of the Father.
Prayer
Father, thank you for bringing me to that place of repentance and faith, and thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who manifests in me and through me the life of the Lord Jesus.
Life Application
What are two actions God asks of us in order that the Holy Spirit make His home in our lives? Do we celebrate these events as the means of God's grace and power in and through us?
If You Want to Be Transformed . . .
ReplyDeleteby Pastor Greg Laurie
“The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”
—Psalm 19:7
If you don’t want God to transform your life, then don’t read the Bible.
David wrote, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7 NLT).
When you read God’s Word, it revives you. It restores you. And it transforms you.
Now, if you have it all worked out, then I guess you don’t need the Bible. But of course, you’re also delusional, because all of us need the Word of God. The Bible is the user’s manual that we’ve been looking for. Someone has pointed out that the word Bible is an acronym for “basic instructions before leaving Earth.”
The Bible is for people who have a sense of desperation about where they are in life. It’s for people who don’t know the purpose of life and want to know what that purpose should be. The Bible is for people who aren’t really sure where they came from, and they’re not really sure where they’re going.
In addition, the Bible is for people who want to change. It is for people who wish they could control their passions, who don’t want to be mere victims of their circumstances, and who wish there wasn’t so much pain in life. The Bible is for people who want better relationships with others.
Yet some people say things like this: “Well, I tried the whole Christianity thing, and it didn’t work for me.” If it didn’t work for them, then that isn’t on Jesus; that’s on them. Jesus Christ will change any person who comes to Him.
If you want to be a growing Christian, then you need to spend time in God’s Word because it will transform you. So read, love, study, and memorize the Word of God.
Why People Stumble
ReplyDeleteBy Pastor Ray Stedman
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 1
Romans 9:30-33
God says there is a way you can tell whether you are being drawn by the Spirit unto salvation or whether you are being permitted by God to remain where you already were, lost and condemned: The way you can tell is by what you do with Jesus. God has planted a stone in the midst of society. When you walk down a path and come to a big flat rock in the middle of the path, there are two things you can do. You can stumble over it, or you can stand on it, one or the other. That is what Jesus is — a stone planted by God.
The Jews, who determined to work out their salvation on the basis of their own behavior, their own good works before God, stumbled over the stone. That is why the Jews rejected Jesus, and why they reject him to this day. They don't want to admit that they need a Savior, that they are not able to save themselves. No man is able to do this. But for those who see that they need a Savior, these people have already been drawn by the Spirit of God, and awakened by his grace, and made to understand what is going on in their lives. Therefore, their very desire to be saved, the very expression of their need for a Savior causes them to accept Jesus. They stand upon that stone. Anyone who comes to God on that basis will never be put to shame. God says that is the testing point. The crisis of humanity is Jesus: You can be very religious, you can spend hours and days or an entire lifetime of following religious pursuits and apparently honoring God, but the test will always come: What will you do with Jesus? God put him in the midst of human society to reveal those who he has called, and those who he has not. Jesus taught this very plainly: “No man can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him,” (John 6:44); and “all that my Father has given me shall come to me. Him that comes to me I will never, never cast out,” (John 6:37 KJV).
So what is left for us? To respond to Jesus, that is all. And to thank God that, in doing so, we are not only doing what our own hearts and consciences urge us to do, but we are responding in obedience to the drawing of the elective Spirit of God, who, in mercy, has chosen to bring us out of a lost humanity.
Prayer
Father, how this makes me realize afresh how desperately dependent I am upon your saving grace. I did not save myself — I could not. I did not even initiate the desire to be saved — that comes from you. But I thank you that you have called me and redeemed me and brought me to yourself, at infinite cost to yourself, and thus, Lord, I give myself afresh to you today.
Life Application
Are we investing our lives in short-term approval from performance? The Person and saving grace of the Lord Jesus is our personal crisis. Have we consented to His reign, the redeeming power of His Presence?
Note:
1. Isaiah 8:14; 28:16