Daily Spiritual Meditations - 10/13 [Archive] - Cyber Recovery Social Network Forums

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10-13-2008, 06:13 PM

Today I will ...tell someone who is lost the good news of Jesus.

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A Hymn of Faith
17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The LORD God [c] is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments. Habakkuk 3:17-19

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You Have A Purpose

2 TIMOTHY 1:9 NKJ
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to

His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

You have a purpose in life, a job to do, a mission to fulfill.

You are here for a reason.

What is it?

Ask God. He knows.

EPHESIANS 1:11 NIV
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out

everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

Of course, I can only answer that question in general terms.

If you are a parent, raising your child is important. Helping a friend is important. You never know how

your actions may affect the world -- even through helping just one person.

Don't just wait around for some "big purpose" -- for with God all the details are important -- even the

"small" ones.

If you don't know your purpose, just do whatever you can to help the people around you. Through

that, and walking with God, you will accomplish your purpose.

SAY THIS: I was born for a purpose. God has a plan for me.

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Live Victoriously Through Moderation
October 13

Let your moderation be known unto all men.
—Philippians 4:5 KJV

God demonstrates our need for balance through the great varieties of foods He made available to us. We need some of all of it, but not all of any of it. If we overdo anything, it is just as bad as underdoing it.

Some people think, If it is a good thing, then more of a good thing ought to be better. But that is not necessarily true. Too much or too little can both be big problems. Balance is the key to powerful, victorious living. Ask God to show you how to stay in balance today.

From the book Starting Your Day Right: Devotions for Each Morning of the Year by Joyce Meyer.

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Daily Thoughts

A Time to Think One of the sanest, surest and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others. —John Rutledge
To Act Be ready to find joy where and when it surfaces.
To Pray Lord, help me to be humble messenger of Your hope.

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Feed Your Mind.

For a healthy mind, underscore every sentence about faith in the New Testament. Continue doing this until you have marked every passage in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Particularly note Mark 11, verses 22-24. They will serve as samples of the verses you are to underscore and fix deeply in your consciousness.

No. 87 in a series of 100 Power Thoughts from The Power of Positive Thinking, the All-Time inspirational Best-Selling Book by Norman Vincent Peale.

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My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:5
One of the most serious and powerful facts in human nature is that you are likely to get what you are basically expecting. Spend years developing the mental attitude of expecting that things are not going to turn out well, and you are likely to get that result. You create a mental condition slanted to an unhappy outcome. If, on the contrary, you develop and maintain a mental attitude of faith and expectancy—hoping, dreaming, believing, praying, working—you will create conditions in which every good thing can and will grow. Fill your mind with the positive power of spiritual expectancy, and God and His good will flow toward you.
Courtesy of PealeCenterforPositiveThinking.com

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Walls to Climb
October 13th, 2008

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”…

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

John 6:60, 66 (NIV)

Sometimes God’s teachings are just plain hard! OK, we may start laughing but if there is any Believer out there who has not thrown up their hands and thought, “I just can’t get this!” or “I don’t want to get this!” …please write me and let me know!

First let’s notice that in both of these verses, John tells us that it is disciples who have determined that Jesus’ teachings are hard and are now going to travel a different path than the one that Jesus is walking. They are not just fringe, hanger-on’s or what we might say are ‘nominal Christians’. They have been around Jesus long enough to be identified as with Him. They are more than Believers. They are His Followers. They have seen some ‘stuff’. They saw Jesus miraculously feed 5,000. They probably heard the rumor of how He walked on the water.

Now…now they have hit the Believer Wall!

Each of us has been given a race…a journey…to complete. Each of us has a path. It is a path that Jesus will lead us if we allow Him to have the lead! Now the path has valleys and mountains. There are times when is flat and long. It has deserts. It has lush, beautiful gardens. Getting the picture? And then there is the Wall. It is that place that some might call a ‘faith crisis’.

I have had two Walls. One, not surprisingly, was on the path of my life marked ‘James’. It was that moment on the path when I realized that despite my prayers, and the prayers of literally thousands of others, it was God’s plan for James to die sooner than later. “Sometimes God’s teachings are just plain hard!” I think this is when I ‘got’ my first glimpse of looking with Kingdom Eyes. What I do and how I live is about more than me and the ‘moment’ of this world. It’s about living as a doer of God’s Kingdom Work. James has a legacy of Kingdom Work. But that’s for another time to discuss. The second Wall had a big $$$ on it. I’m not proud of the fact that I have had trouble learning this lesson. I have searched the Scriptures with a fair amount of diligence to find God’s truth about money. What I have found is that very few of God’s anointed and blessed servants were wealthy. Most of them seem to have little interest in money and great interest in obeying God and completing the mission He had given them. The mission wasn’t about making money! Jesus’ definition of ‘treasure’ did not include gold or the U.S. Mint. When I looked up from what I ‘lacked’ and began to count His blessings – I started to SEE my wealth! Going over a Wall may involve sweat and some skinned knuckles and knees – but I can do all things with Jesus who gives me the strength!

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:67-69 (NIV)

And there is the Truth that brings us over the Walls we encounter. God’s Words are words of Life. Eternal Life. When we choose to Believe and Know that He is God – then we know that there are no insurmountable Walls. Jody's Devotion

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NACR Daily Meditation

Monday 13th of October 2008

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face
to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.
1 Corinthians 13:12

As we open ourselves to see and know God in new ways, we will need to guard
against using our relationship with God as a new arena for expressing our
perfectionism. We cannot now see God except in a ‘poor reflection’. We cannot
perfectly know God. We are not yet face to face with God. We see partially.
We know partially. There is much that remains a mystery to us.

It is not easy for us to live with partial vision. It is difficult to tolerate
the ambiguities and unknowns. Sometimes the imperfections in our understanding
of God make us anxious. We feel that God expects more of us than that. We
feel that we should have answers to every conceivable question, that we
should never experience doubts, that we should have clarity at all times.

But this text makes it clear that 20:20 vision is not a realistic expectation
in our relationship with God. Perfection is not an option for us. Accepting
limits in our capacity to see and know God is part of getting to know God
better.

The list of things I don’t understand goes on and on, Lord.
What I don’t know makes me anxious.
I am afraid of my doubts.
I want to see and know you so well that I no longer experience doubt.
I want to understand things so thoroughly, that I no longer experience anxiety.
But I cannot see you face to face. I only see and know in part.
Help me, Lord,
to find a way to live with uncertainty,
with doubts,
with anxiety.
Help me to embrace what you have revealed of your love and goodness.
And to live in anticipation of one day knowing you more fully.
Amen.

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Change and Relapse

Matthew 12:43-45: “And the final condition of that man is worse than the first” (v.45).

When we stop listening to the obsessive thoughts, and start believing the truth about ourselves, we begin to have the courage to change our compulsive behaviors. But often we feel uncomfortable and empty within. Everything is so unfamiliar. We may be tempted to retreat into our old habits. Jesus explained this relapse process. We decide to turn our backs on the destructive lifestyles — we clean up our acts. But if we do not fill up the clean empty spaces with new healthy attitudes, beliefs and actions the old patterns rush back in.

It is normal for a familiar fear-producing situation to trigger former thinking and behavior. However, our commitment to growth and healing helps us stay alert and continue trusting God even when we experience confusion and emptiness. We may need to repeat our newly-gained truth about God, others and ourselves for weeks before we really believe it. The new freedom-filled person we are becoming is worth the process. God helps us replace the obsession and pain with joy and gratefulness.

Lord, some days I’m so empty
I feel like the air is blowing through me.
But I’m committed to walking through this confusion to freedom.
Please fill up my empty spaces
with your love and help me
to become the person you made me to be.

2008 Joan C. Webb

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Answers for Each Day - Oct. 13, 2008

The Blessing of God’s Spiritual Influence

In the beginning of Isaiah 55, God invites His people to come to Him and fellowship with Him. In verses 3 and 6 God says,

“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…. Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”

In verses 10-11, we are told what happens to those who respond to this invitation, to God’s call to come and seek Him and listen to Him,

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

In the same way rain brings blessing when it waters the earth (causing it to bring a bountiful harvest and fruitfulness into the lives of the people), so God’s spiritual influence brings refreshment and fruitfulness to our lives.

What is God’s spiritual influence? It is the impact of His Word and His Spirit upon the hearts of His children.

When you come to God, when you respond to His call to seek Him and incline your ear, He will speak to you. And the effect His Word has when He speaks it into your life, into your heart, is the same effect that rain has on the earth.

His Word, as it penetrates your heart, will bring refreshment, enlightenment, and ultimately, fruitfulness. It will bring revival into your heart causing spiritual growth and progress.

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A Woman’s Hands
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth
“She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” (Proverbs 31:20 NIV)

Friend to Friend
On a shelf in my living room sits a black and white photograph of a young girl that was taken in the early 1900’s. Her hair is pulled back with an oversized bow peeking from behind the edges of her head. Her dress is typical of the times with puffed sleeves and a brimming lace collar resting on her shoulders. She isn’t smiling and she appears to be somewhat awkward, timid, and I dare say, even afraid. This is a picture of my grandmother Anderson on her wedding day. She was fourteen-years-old.

As I gaze at this amazing woman who bore twelve children and then miscarried eleven others, I am always drawn to her hands. Hanging uncomfortably at her side, are hands that seem much too large for her petite frame. “Anderson hands,” my mother calls them. I surmise that God must have known this little lady would need a big heart and big hands to embrace all that life would send her way.

Like my Grandmother Anderson, all of us mothers need big hearts and big hands. Our hands grip the bed rail in pain in the delivery room; then gently caress a newborn for the first time. Before long, those hands are changing diapers, washing bottoms and faces, cleaning spit-up, wiping tears, rocking sleepy heads and placing babies in a crib. Then they are holding a toddler’s chubby hand and grabbing him to keep him out of harm’s way. Tossing a ball, preparing holiday dinners, setting a festive table, tying packages for birthday parties and Christmas presents. Coloring and cutting out shapes in workbooks. Picking up leaves and bugs for collections. Pushing a swing and letting go of a bike as a child first learns to peddle on his own. Sewing party dresses and mending torn baseball jerseys, washing scraped knees and spooning out medicine. Holding the sweaty palm of an awkward adolescent while dancing around the den, tying the knot of a neck tie and pinning on a boutonniere for a first party. Writing letters to children away at camp or folding hands in prayer asking for the Lord’s protection while they’re away. Tightly grasping the steering wheel while chauffeuring children from one place to the next or gripping the seat as a teen learns how to drive herself. Hands that wave goodbye as a son drives off to college and hands that adjust a cherished daughter’s wedding veil. A mother’s hands are loving hands, disciplining hands, grieving hands, protecting hands and providing hands. They embrace the child and then, when the child is ready, she opens them and lets them go.

Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, thank You for holding me always in the palm of Your hands. I pray that today, I will use my hands for good: to help a child, to give a hug, to pat a back, to cook a meal, to touch with kindness, to caress with love. I lift up my hands to praise you and fold them in prayer to intercede.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Go back and think of all your hands have done over the past week. Make a list of how you have used your hands to love others.

Make a list of how the touch of other people has encouraged you over the past week.

Proverbs 14:1 says that the wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. What are some ways that we can tear our house down with our own hands? Are there any destructive uses of your hands that need to be eliminated?

Think back to all the ways your own mother loved you through her hands. You may even want to write a list or even write her a letter of thanks.

More From The Girlfriends
It is truly amazing all that a mom does on any given day. Being a mom is one of the greatest responsibilities and privileges we will ever have. If you’re a mom and need a bit of encouragement today, you’ll want to read Sharon’s book, Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids. It’s packed with encouraging words, helpful tips and Biblical advice.

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Living Free Every Day®

Today's Scripture
"Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty. If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again." Proverbs 19:19 NLT

Thoughts for Today
When someone we care about is struggling with a life-controlling problem, we naturally want to help. But sometimes, even though we have the best intentions, our efforts hurt more than they help … and we end up enabling our loved one to continue in the destructive behavior.

Negative consequences naturally flow from wrong behaviors. When we intervene and prevent someone from experiencing those consequences, they have no reason to change their behavior. We enable them to continue.

Consider this…
Enabling is progressive. It begins by making small allowances for someone's irresponsible behavior and gradually progresses until our lives are dominated by trying to cure and control our loved one. A line must be drawn to avoid the progression. The first time you bail someone out, that's mercy. The second time, it is enabling.

Prayer
Father, I want so much to help my loved one. I've tried to take care of him, to "fix" things, to keep him from suffering. But I see now that continually rescuing him is just prolonging the problem and even making it worse. Help me to trust you more. Help me stand back and allow him to learn. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from…
Living Free by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. and Dan Strickland, M.Div. Using Living Free training, your church or ministry can unleash a new kind of group leader—one who understands how tough life can be, but also knows the hope and freedom found in Christ.

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Parenting by Design - Oct. 13, 2008

Perspective on suffering

Ps 9:9-10: The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you (NIV).

There is a unique vulnerability that comes with parenting. We long to protect our kids from hardship and pain. But when we see suffering as something to be feared, we have a harder time understanding why God allows difficult and sometimes unfair circumstances into our lives and the lives of our children.

God has a different perspective on suffering. He calls us to seek refuge in Him during these times and to trust in His goodness. When we fully grasp His love, we can rest in the security that our circumstances, no matter how painful, have eternal value. God may not always deliver us from those circumstances, but He promises to walk with us through them and never forsake us. When we look at trials through eternal eyes, we may be more willing to be perfected because we know we have not yet reached our final destination.

Trust the Lord; even in suffering.

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Barometer For Spiritual Growth

by Charles Stanley

** Are you experiencing depression or difficulty regarding your spiritual walk or spiritual growth?
Please open your Bible and read 2 Peter 3:14-18

There will be times when life has a stagnant feel to it. We can even become depressed in our thoughts as we wonder what God is doing.

Just as there are seasons of immense growth, there are times when we feel as though we are standing still spiritually. Seasons like these can be restful, especially when we make up our minds to allow God to do His perfect work in our lives. Even when you feel as though nothing major is happening, God is at work.

We need times of spiritual rest in order to be refreshed by God’s Spirit. Take advantage of the quiet seasons of life by committing yourself to prayer, keeping up with your spiritual journal, and studying God’s Word.

The secret to the deeper life is not found in activity but more often in restfulness, where we concentrate on the goodness and richness of the Lord and where we are taught by Him how to live each day according to His will.

It is only in times of quietness that you are able to hear God’s most intimate words. Have you learned to listen for His voice? Can you rest right where you are even as the world continues its fitful turning around you?

Seasons of quietness teach us how to find healing solitude in times of great activity. This is why Jesus told the disciples to abide in Him. When we abide, we rest, and when we rest, we experience great peace.

Permanent devotional link: http://thelife.com/experience/devotionalformen/barometer-for-spiritual-growth/

Question: Have you learned to listen to His voice? What does that even mean?

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Paul &Silas: Beaten, Chained and Determined

Because of Paul and Silas' faith, they were chained and put in prison. (Acts 16:16-40, Hebrews 11:36)

It was midnight. At a time when most people are sleeping, or trying to dream life away, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God. Their focus wasn't on getting out of prison, but making the most of their current environment. Their attitudes and actions affected people. The other prisoners listened to the two men's voices.

Paul, along with Silas, another servant for the Lord, were beaten and then chained in prison on the fraudulent grounds they were disturbing the peace. (Acts 16:21)

Suddenly an earthquake shook the jail. The jailer felt sure all the prisoners escaped, and was ready to end his life, when Paul shouted to him that all the prisoners were accounted for. The astonished jailer asked Paul and Silas how he could be saved. Paul and Silas had the opportunity to share God's plan of salvation while other prisoners listened. The jailer and his family were baptized, and later Paul and Silas were released. Despite their surroundings, Paul and Silas did not give up on the Christian walk.

We may never know who is watching and listening when we are faced with incredible situations. It is in these special moments when we have to trust in God and not waver. For He is our help and shield. (Psalm 115:11)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Lord, I will stay positive and not just base things on what I see with my physical eyes. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Lisa

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LIVING THE SOLUTION WITH DAILY INSPIRATION
It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit. (Hebrews 2:1-4 — The Message)

The author of Hebrews makes it clear why we need to keep a firm grip on the message, God’s forgiveness of our sins, through Jesus’ death, and the promise of new life and life with Him in Heaven, through Jesus resurrection and ascension and His desire to have an intimate love relationship with us, which is the reason He created humans in the first place, so that we do not for get it. But how do we keep a firm grip on this message?

We do this by reading it (the Word of God), by reading it daily, and by communicating with the Father daily and connecting our hearts with His daily. Why do you think it is so hard to do this? Because it is so effective that the enemy does everything he can to keep us from doing it. He knows that if we keep the message fresh in our minds and our hearts connected with God’s and refreshed daily by Him that he, the enemy, will have no power or influence over us and that we then become a threat to him. You say, I am too busy to spend time reading the Bible and connecting my heart with God’s, but the truth is you are too busy not to be spending time doing those things. The cost to you and your family is too great not to be spending the time for there is nothing more important in this life than having your heart connected with God’s, having it healed and made whole by God.

Out of your heart comes the wellspring of life. If your heart is not healthy then neither will your life be healthy. Keeping a firm grip on the message is a matter of life and death, spiritually speaking, for your life and the lives of those around you. Take it seriously and get and keep a firm grip on the message.

Live intentionally, purposely, free and with passion,

Pete Reinbold

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No Secrets
Day-by-Day

"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." (Luke 8:17)

One of Satan’s subtle deceptions is that you can do things in secret that will never be revealed. This is simply not so. The Bible stresses that everything done in darkness will one day be brought to light. So before you commit yourself to do anything questionable, seriously ask yourself, “Am I willing for those around me to know what I am about to do? Am I willing for God to watch me participate in this activity?”

The knowledge that God sees what we do, the certainty that we are accountable for every word and action, ought to dissuade us from sin (2 Cor. 5:10). But we can become so alienated from God that even this knowledge does not deter us. God promises that He will publicly expose our sin so that we must give an account to others for our actions. Ultimately, everything we do will be exposed on judgment day.

Still, some people believe they can sin against God, their families, their employers, or their friends and never be discovered. God has provided a safeguard against sin: the certainty of disclosure. Scripture commands us to expose the deeds of darkness as we become aware of them (Eph. 5:11). As Christians we are to be the light that dispels darkness in our world. Sin cannot continue in the Christian’s experience, for light cannot dwell with darkness. The only insurance against having your sins exposed is living a blameless life.

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THE PRESENT

Today is a gift, that is why we call it the present.
Right now,
somebody is very proud of you;
somebody is thinking of you;
somebody is caring about you;
somebody misses you;
somebody hopes you are not in trouble;
somebody is thankful for the support you have provided;
somebody wants you to be happy.
- School Assembly, 23 May 2002

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

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\ / WHAT JESUS DID! -- http://www.heartlight.org/
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Monday, October 13, 2008

The Wrong Thing at the Right Time

Then one of the twelve apostles went to talk to the leading
priests. This was the follower named Judas Iscariot. Judas
wanted to give Jesus to them. The leading priests were very
happy about this. They promised to pay Judas for doing this.
So Judas waited for the best time to give Jesus to them.

-- Mark 14:10-11 (ERV)

KEY THOUGHT:
This section of Mark began (in 14:1) with the enemies of Jesus plotting
his death. It now ends with one of Jesus' own close followers offering
to betray him to death. How sad! Rather than looking closely at Jesus'
ministry and hearing what he had to say, his enemies were looking for
the right time and place to kill him while Judas was looking for a way
to betray Jesus. Jealousy and hate blind us to the truth about other
people. That is why Jesus is so critical of the religious leaders.
Let's remember that hate always blinds us to the truth about others and
closes down our hearts about their true identities and value.

TODAY'S PRAYER:
O Father, forgive me when I've judged the actions of others' actions
negatively because of my ill feelings toward them. Lead me gently to
love them more generously and fully. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.