The Falcon and the Songbird by Patricia Day

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (NKJV)

The song bird swooped and soared, singing as it went oblivious to hazards above. It was in territory it flew often. It felt safe.

The falcon, high in the sky, looked down. It was watching for prey, while flying the skies. There would be no safety, beneath its wings.

The song bird continued its joyful flight until suddenly, it was silenced! The falcon had spotted it, dove, struck and captured. Now the little song bird was in its talons, being deprived of freedom and fighting for its life.

Satan wanders the earth, while we continue our daily lives. We are not seeking anything in particular, just living as we know how. We are just trying to find our way in life. On the other hand, the enemy, Satan knows exactly what he wants. He wants prey! He wants to destroy anything good or beautiful! He is looking for weakness, complacency, innocence – he wants to defile and degrade, with his evil ways.

Stalking the unwary, he easily spots his victims. He strikes and attempts to destroy. The enemy cannot tolerate song for the sheer joy of it! Be on your guard and do not be tempted into unknown territory, because he will find you. He never misses an opportunity to conquer.

God, on the other hand, seeks to bring us safety, and joy beyond our comprehension. He wants us to sing and to be happy. He desires to give us more than we can ever imagine. But we have to choose Him and live His way; a way that is safe and forgiving, not destructive.

Psalm 36:7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. (NKJV)

http://devotionalchristian.com/the-falcon-and-the-songbird/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DevotionalChristian+%28Devotional+Christian%29

 

The Daily Spurgeon: His Strength is made perfect in weakness

The Daily Spurgeon: His Strength is made perfect in weakness.

Tozer Devotional-Beholding His Glory

Beholding His Glory

It is true that a select company of Christians through the centuries have testified that they were rapt into a state where for varying lengths of time they were able to experience the Beatific Vision at least to some degree while still here in their natural bodies, seeing the everblessed One not with their physical eyes but with the eye of the Spirit. Being myself extremely cautious and slow to accept the unusual, I have tended to back away from this burning bush; but the holy characters of some of those who made such claims, their salty good sense and their sound basic theology along with their devoted service to mankind, have certainly placed them above the faintest suspicion of being fanatics or impostors. I for one must accept their testimony as valid. I suppose the vast majority of us must wait for the great day of the Lord‘s coming to realize the full wonder of the vision of God Most High. In the meantime, we are, I believe, missing a great measure of radiant glory that is ours by blood-covenant and available to us in this present world if we would but believe it and press on in the way of holiness. In seeking to know God better we must keep firmly in mind that we need not try to persuade God. He is already persuaded in our favor, not by our prayers but by the generous goodness of His own heart. “It is God’s nature to give Himself to every virtuous soul,” says Meister Eckhart. “Know then that God is bound to act, to pour Himself out into thee as soon as ever He shall find thee ready.” As nature abhors a vacuum, so the Holy Spirit rushes in to fill the nature that has become empty by separating itself from the world and sin. This is not an unnatural act and need not be an unusual one, for it is in perfect accord with the nature of God. He must act as He does because He is God.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=538

Vital Intercession

Vital Intercession.

Thud!

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Interesting, isn’t it, how some childhood experiences are permanently seared into our memory banks? One of my unforgettable memories is of watching my boyhood friend Bobby getting hit by a car. After church one Sunday morning, he and I were standing on the front steps talking. Why he decided to bolt into the street between two parked cars I’ll never know. But that is exactly what he did. As Bobby ran between the cars, his mother, who could see a car coming, screamed: “Stop! Bobby, Stop!” Whether he didn’t hear her or didn’t care I’m not sure. He just kept running. What haunts me to this day is the memory of the sound of screeching brakes and the thud of his body against the car’s fender. I need to tell you that I am tired of hearing the thud of fellow followers of Jesus getting hit by Satan. Like friends who thought that the most important thing in life was career advancement, only to hear the thud of the long-term damage to their kids and spouses. Or of those who sold out to the allure of an affair—or to the addictive seduction of porn—and are now left with the regrets of the collateral damage of their choices.

It’s easy to think you can get ahead by putting other people down or that intimidation and manipulation are handy tools for staying in control. But the thud of ruined relationships and reputations is a big price to pay for doing whatever is necessary to keep yourself on top. Lying to weasel out of a problem erodes the trust factor and compromises the strength of your character. The list of thud-able choices is long and the consequences are often irreversible.

Granted, we are sometimes blindsided by our ignorance or instinctively wrong about our responses to life. But thankfully, God is never blindsided. And, He’s never wrong. From His vantage point He has a clear view of Satan’s destructive attempts to thud our lives. So, like Bobby’s mom, He warns us with clear and unmistakable shouts from His Word. God’s Word is full of warnings about things like greed, selfishness, lying, lust, gossip, hatred, bitterness, envy, argumentative attitudes, stealing, murmuring, oppression, and ignoring the needs of the poor and underprivileged. So, it’s not that there is a lack of clarity in His voice. The problem is ours. Too often, like Bobby, we either are not listening, or we just don’t care.

The warning shouts of Bobby’s mother came from a heart of love and concern for Bobby’s welfare and safety. God warns us as well because He loves us deeply and wants to rescue us from the impending disaster of that thud in our own lives. It’s easy to think of God’s warnings and prohibitions as His attempt to take all the fun out of our lives, but that’s so wrong. In fact, nothing would give Satan more joy than getting you to think like that, because the more you think like that, the easier it is for him to “devour” you. And that’s a thud that I never want to hear!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Think of a situation when you ignored God’s warnings and experienced Satan’s damage in your life. Envision what you could have done to heed the warnings. How would your life be different today if you had listened?
• Is there an area of your life where Satan has so controlled you that you habitually repeat the damage of his devouring desires for your life? Be specific.
• Look through God’s Word and memorize at least three warnings about that area of your life, and pray that every time you are tempted to fail you will remember the warning and avoid the thud of a disastrous consequence. What positive habit of righteousness could you put in its place?

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/thud/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GetMoreStrength+%28Strength+For+The+Journey%29

Come Together

“And David said to all the assembly of Israel, ‘If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel . . . that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek itin the days of Saul’.” — 1 Chronicles 13:2-3

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to visit Israel can attest that the air just feels different there. Maybe it’s the sound of Hebrew – the language of the Bible – on its citizens’ lips, or the sight of Jerusalem – the city where the holy Temple once stood. Whatever the case, even a first-time visitor can feel that Israel is more than just a country on a map. It’s a holy land steeped in centuries of biblical tradition.

But what exactly gives Israel – the Holy Land – that different feel? Was it always this way? In fact, King David asked himself this very question. As he began to solidify his reign over Israel, David wished to imbue his rule with moral, spiritual value. After much discussion, David came to the realization that the Ark of the Covenant, the centerpiece of the Tabernacle, must be brought to his capital. After all, the Ark signified God’s relationship with His people, and for David to rule Israel properly he understood that his reign must be based on the relationship between Israel and God.

David knew, however, that simply transporting the Ark to the nation’s capital would not be enough. The Bible tells us that, as a prerequisite for the arrival of the Ark, David proclaimed that all of Israel must gather together in Jerusalem and receive the Ark as a united nation. David understood that in order for Israel to prosper, both physically and spiritually, all of those who held sacred the values and traditions of Scripture must band together in support for God’s covenant with His people, Israel – a covenant represented by the Ark.

Today, Israel is beset with enemies, and threatened on all sides. Nonetheless, the people of Israel – the people of the Covenant – stand firm in their land, united in loyalty to God, and to their brethren. But God’s people must not stand alone. It is up to us – those of us who honor the biblical values of our ancestors and trust in the God of Scripture – to gather together with all the people of Israel, and show our support for their commitment.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/come-together

Breaking the Spiral of Silence DVD opportunity

Chuck Colson was speaking at his own conference which was called “Breaking the Spiral of Silence” when he grew ill and was taken to a nearby hospital near Landover, Maryland.  He was hospitalized with a brain hemorage.  This was on March 30.  Fighting for his very life, though there were moments where it looked like he may recover, he went to be with his Lord and Savior on Saturday, April 21.

 

The conference was taped for the very purposes of distributing it throughout our embattled land. Colson and others wanted to continue to motivate, stir and encourage the body of Christ to have their hearts inflamed for His great service who would then do their utmost to get others informed about the issues that confront us and our families in this embattled America.

 

We are making this DVD presentation (2 hours) available for just the cost of mailing.

Call us at 888-733-2326 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            888-733-2326     end_of_the_skype_highlighting to place your order by phone or make your order online at:

https://secure4.afo.net/ada/store2/

 

Today we face a culture in crisis. The Spiral of Silence has a stranglehold on our culture, spinning a web of lies that threaten to destroy the very fabric of society.  A handful of angry voices seem to control the message on the most fundamental issues of life, marriage and religious liberty. Christians feel threatened, alone, and helpless.

But you are not alone. The Spiral of Silence is fragile, and if one by one we stand up and speak out against the lie, against injustice, against evil, the spiral will begin to unravel, and truth and justice will prevail.

What is the Spiral of Silence?”  It is a social phenomenon where, out of a desire to avoid reprisal or rejection, people go along with what they think is the popular opinion – even if they object to that opinion personally.   Instead of voicing their objections, they remain silent.

One of the most important things we can do in obedience to Christ, as Chuck Colson stated, “is to break the spiral of silence that is pervasive in our culture.”

To help Christians be a force for light, numerous highly regarded Christian speakers, whose passion is to illuminate a biblical worldview for today’s culture, came together for a special event, “Breaking the Spiral of Silence.” This powerful presentation includes speakers Joni Eareckson Tada, Harry Jackson, Eric Metaxas (best-selling author of Bonhoeffer), and many others.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

• The Sanctity of Life • Protecting and Strengthening Marriage • Protecting Religious Liberty • Silence is Evil: Stand Up/Speak Out • Speak Out in Education • Speak Out in the Media • Speak Out in the Community and Public Square • Speak Out in Church • Take the Next Steps

We are making this DVD presentation (2 hours) available for just the cost of mailing.

Call us at 888-733-2326 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            888-733-2326     end_of_the_skype_highlighting to place your order by phone or make your order online at:

https://secure4.afo.net/ada/store2/

http://www.americandecency.org/archives/breaking-the-spiral-of-silence-dvd-opportunity/#more-6639

Personality and Property

And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay–Mar 2:4

Christ‘s Presence Brought Disturbance into the House

I propose today to cast some sidelights on this delightful and arresting miracle, and one is that when Christ is in the house we must be prepared for certain disarrangement’s. If this cottage, as seems probable, was Peter‘s, I wonder what Peter’s wife would think of things. The crowd, too, would be not a little irritated by the clouds of dust and by the falling debris. Yet all this happened in Capernaum just because the Lord was in the house, and not infrequently it happens still. I have seen houses sadly disarranged when a son or a daughter was converted to Christ. It was highly irritating, this intrusion into the ordered circumstance of worldly life. And it is very characteristic of our Lord that He foresaw this with such perfect clearness, and said “a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” That happened constantly in early days; I have reason to know that it is happening yet. The coming of Christ into a house may mean disturbance. Let all those who have to suffer so, and who are vexed about it, as Peter’s wife would be, recall that blessed morning in Capernaum.

Help Received by Others Not Mentioned

One notes again how others have been helping before these comrades brought their friend to Jesus, for before then, and in this very neighborhood, the Lord had proved Himself a universal healer (Mat 4:24). Among those healed would be this patient’s friends. He saw the change the Lord had wrought on them. Some had been mad, and they were sane again; some had been palsied, and now they were restored. And who can doubt, though it is never mentioned, that the wonderful things his eyes had seen made him eager to be brought to Jesus? We must not give all the credit to these comrades. There were unrecorded helpers besides them. There were men and women, whose names we never hear, who had encouraged him to make the venture. And I take it that could we read the story of those who have been brought to Christ we should discover that it was always so. The evangelist may do the actual bringing, but it is others who make the bringing possible–a loving mother, or a believing friend, or a diligent and faithful pastor. Nor is their part less beautiful because we never hear of them in the hour when the great transaction is completed.

The Four Demonstrated a Lofty Sense of Values

Again it strikes one how these four helping comrades were men with a very lofty sense of values. There is no hint that they ever asked permission before they began digging through that roof. There are people who would not smash a roof, though by doing it they might save a thousand souls. To them property is sacred. But to these comrades the sacred thing was life, and they were willing to destroy a hundred roofs if so doing they could save a brother. That is the spirit we want within the Church, the spirit that sees the worth of personality; the spirit ready, for the Master’s sake, to break through everything that keeps us snug and comfortable. After all, it is only a matter of values, and whenever we see the value of one soul, then many an old roof will have to go, no matter what Peter’s wife may think about it.

The Unconventional Way in Which the Paralytic Was Brought to Christ

One thinks, too, how this man was brought to Christ in a unique and unexampled fashion. Never before and never afterwards was anyone brought to Jesus through a roof. The common way is through a door; sometimes it is through a window. I have seen the heathen clustering round the windows when I have been preaching Christ in Africa. But who ever heard, in any truthful chronicle, of a sinner reaching Jesus through a roof, and yet that is what happened at Capernaum. I am pleading against convention in the Church. I am pleading against insistence on the stereotyped. When every gate is blocked a man can still reach Jesus through the roof. And all this is entirely Scriptural; if it were not I never should enforce it. For does not the prophet say in a great passage, “A highway shall be there, and a way”?–a highway, broad and strong, for the marching army of the living God, and a peculiar and single way for you.

The Perfect Confidence of Jesus

I should like lastly to insist here on the perfect confidence of Jesus. I want you to think what would have happened if this miracle had proved a failure. Every eye was watching Him. Could He heal that man or could He not? If He failed in the presence of the crowd His claims were shattered and His name dishonored. And then, in a superb and perfect confidence, He said, “Arise, take up thy bed and walk,” and the man did it. My dear reader, with such a Lord as that do not tremble for the ark of God. The only man in Scripture who so trembled was the worldly and unworthy Eli. Rise to the perfect confidence of Jesus, which never failed Him in the darkest hour.

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Doth his successive journeys run.”

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/george-h-morrison-devotional-sermons-devotional.shtml

 

Cultivating Faith in Your Daily Prayers

Cultivating Faith in Your Daily Prayers.

The Shepherd Appoints a Shepherd by Mark D. Roberts

Ezekiel 34:17-31

I will appoint for them a single shepherd, and he will feed them. My servant David will feed them. He will be their shepherd.  I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be their prince. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Ezekiel 34:23-24

In yesterday’s reflection, we saw that, after rebuking the “shepherds” of Israel for failing to care for their “flock,” God chooses to become Israel’s good shepherd. He will do what their human shepherds failed to do: seek them, rescue them, protect them, nurture them.

Yet, the Lord will not be the only shepherd of Israel. He will also appoint another shepherd, a human leader who will guide and care for them. The Lord names this person: “My servant David will feed them. He will be their shepherd” (34:23). Since Ezekiel is prophesying several centuries after King David died, he is not predicting a resurrection of the literal David, but rather a leader from the line of David who will rule over Israel as David did. The Lord alone will be the God of his people. The Davidic ruler will be the Lord’s servant and the people’s prince (34:24).

As Christians, we rightly see in this text a picture of Jesus, the Son of David, who was appointed by God as the rightful king of Israel. Jesus spoke of himself in the language of Ezekiel 34: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. I give up my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).

Yet, Jesus is not just the shepherd of Israel. As he explains, “I have other sheep that don’t belong to this sheep pen. I must lead them too. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock, with one shepherd” (John 10:16). These other sheep are the Gentiles, those who are part of Jesus’ flock even though they are not descendents of Abraham.

No matter your religious background, whether you were raised Jewish or Christian, Muslim or atheist, Jesus calls you to belong to him, to be part of his flock. He invites you to live in relationship with him, one in which he knows you and you know him deeply. He also invites you to join his “one flock,” so that you might live in relationship with your sisters and brothers in Christ. The essence of the Christian life is intimate fellowship with God through Christ and with his people.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: In what ways have you experienced Jesus as your shepherd? What does it mean to you to be part of the flock of Jesus?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, how I thank you for being my shepherd, my good shepherd. You have laid down your life for me, that I might live. You have invited me to enjoy relationship with you and your people. You guide me, protect me, and feed me. You know my voice and, by your grace, I know yours. What a wonder!

All praise be to you, my Good Shepherd! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/shepherd-appoints-shepherd?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29