Greg Laurie Daily Devotion-January 09

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Bad Things Happen to Good People
"Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than other people from Galilee?" he asked. "Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God."
--Luke 13:2--3

Death comes to everyone. Jesus had heard of some Galileans whom Pilate had murdered as they sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem. The common thinking among some in that day was that the tragedy was a judgment from God on the victims.
Jesus responded by asking, " 'Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than other people from Galilee?' he asked. 'Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God' " (Luke 13:2--3).
The issue Jesus addressed was the mistaken assumption that this tragic event fell upon these people because they were horrible sinners. In essence, Jesus' answer was, "No, they are not any worse than you. People die. You are a sinner as well, and someday you will die too."
Because sin exists in the world, people die. Death will eventually happen to everyone. Good people die, and bad people die. Old people die, and young people die. Death is the great equalizer.

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God Works in Every Circumstance
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
--Romans 8:28
God, in His mercy, can also take the tragedies of life and use them. God can take the most evil deed and work in spite of it.
The apostle Paul made this point in Romans 8 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Paul includes what we perceive as "good things," as well as the bad things.
It's hard for us to understand how a bad thing can ultimately work together for good. There is nothing good about what happened to the 150,000 people who died in Southeast Asia during the 2004 tsunami. It was tragic beyond belief.
But God, in His infinite wisdom and love, somehow takes all the events of our lives, both good and bad, and blends them together ultimately for good. The good He intends, that is.
After that tragedy, Christian organizations mobilized to send much needed help and resources to the hurting people of Southeast Asia. People received much needed physical and spiritual help. Back then and even now, God will work things together for good.

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The Real Thing
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
--Colossians 3:16
"You must spend a lot of time handling counterfeit money to know what it looks like," said Ruth Bell Graham to a man from Scotland Yard, who was in charge of identifying counterfeit money.
"No," he replied. "We never touch the stuff. All day long, we just handle the real thing: genuine currency. And when a counterfeit bill comes our way--we can quickly detect it."
As a Christian, you could go nuts trying to keep up with the latest heresies and counterfeit teachings people spread in this world. But if you familiarize yourself with the Word of God and become conversant with it, you will immediately recognize counterfeit teachings.
You will hear someone say something and think, This isn't right.You will know what God's Word truly says and what it doesn't say, because God will give you spiritual discernment.
Spend time today studying the real thing. If ever there was a time we needed spiritual discernment, the time is now.
In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).

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Revival--One Prayer Away
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
--Ephesians 3:16
The Holy Spirit typically uses one individual as the catalyst for revival.
The last great American revival was the Layman's Prayer Revival of 1857--1858. It began with a 48-year-old businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier.
He began a noon prayer meeting on Fulton Street in downtown New York. Jeremiah handed out flyers to downtown businessmen, saying, "Come to our prayer meeting when you are having a break for lunch."
Only a handful of people showed up. But Jeremiah persisted; and that handful of people kept meeting for prayer.
Then something dramatic took place. The stock market crashed. Suddenly, the prayer meeting grew. People fell to their knees, and then the prayer meeting exploded. Prayer meetings were popping up quickly throughout New York City.
Within six months, 10,000 people were gathering for prayer in New York City alone. They were renting venues, which Broadway normally used, and packing them out at lunch time with men and women who were calling on the name of the Lord.
Fifty thousand New Yorkers reportedly came to know the Lord from March to May. During that single year, the number of reported conversions throughout the country reached an average of 50,000 a week for about two years. Even a notorious criminal nicknamed "Awful Gardiner" shocked everyone when he came to Christ through the prayer meetings.
When it was all over, one million people had come to faith.
No one orchestrated that revival in New York. It wasn't a campaign planned by people. It was a work of God where He poured out His Spirit.
Jeremiah Lanphier was not a great preacher. He was not a famous person. Jeremiah Lanphier was an ordinary Joe--but he decided to pray.
You can do the same.

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The Three R's of Revival
"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works . . ."
--Revelation 2:5

Before we can ever talk about revival in the church, every Christian must ask themselves, Am I personally revived? Am I living as a committed, on-fire follower of Jesus Christ?
Ask yourself that question right now. If your answer is that you are not a committed, on-fire follower of Jesus Christ, you exist as part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Listen to what Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation. He says,
"I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent." (Revelation 2:2--5)
Jesus gave the church of Ephesus the three R's of revival: remember, repent, and repeat.
"Remember therefore from where you have fallen," and then He says. "Repent." In other words, turn away from your sins. And finally repeat, "Do the first works." Get back and serve God like you once did.
Remember, repent, and repeat. Put the three R's of revival into practice, because we need to be revived before God.

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The Greatest Life
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
--Galatians 2:20
If you want to be a true follower of Jesus, you need to take up your cross. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
That may sound miserable to some of us. You envision yourself carrying around some huge, wooden cross--living a miserable life, a life of selfless sacrifice.
Let me share something with you. Taking up the cross of Christ means that I come to the Lord and say, "God, I realize you know more about life than I do. You know my future and what is best for me. And Lord, I want what You want for me more than what I want for myself. I am willing to put Your will above my own. If that means letting go of something that would hold me back or hurt me spiritually, I'm willing. If that means cutting loose something that is dragging me down, I'm willing. Because I know that You love me and have my best interest in mind."
That is why the apostle Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
The greatest life is the life that has been exchanged--the life that has been given to God. And the greatest life is living in obedience to Jesus Christ.

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Monday, January 26, 2009
A Behind-the-Scenes Look
"Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come."
--Daniel 10:12--14

Our culture gravitates toward behind-the-scenes events. We become excited when we're driving down the street and see movie cameras set up for a big scene. We love that inside look to which no one else has access.
Fascinating events also transpire behind the scenes of the supernatural realm: the world in which angels and demons dwell.
Consider this: when we pray, a spiritual battle often takes place. I especially believe this occurs when we pray for the salvation of the lost.
Many times the reason God may not immediately answer our prayers is because of behind-the-scenes spiritual warfare.
Take Daniel for instance. He had been praying for weeks with no answer from the Lord (see Daniel 10). Little did Daniel know, God heard his prayers and dispatched an angel with a special answer to his prayers.
However, somewhere between heaven and earth, between the visible and the invisible, this angel found himself waged in a battle with another evil angel. After 21 days of spiritual warfare, God sent Michael, the archangel, to save the other angel.
Just as a battle raged over God's answer to Daniel's prayers, a spiritual battle often rages due to your prayers. This is why we need to keep praying, even if we go days, weeks, or even months without receiving an answer.
Jesus said, " 'And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks" (Luke 11:9).
Prayer is a continuous, ongoing process. We must never stop praying, for God's delays are not necessarily His denials.