The Pointer

Monday, January 14, 2013

God Must Love Me More (Our Daily Bread)

A [disaster] is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; it is made ready for those whose feet slip. —Job 12:5 (Our Daily Bread)

------------

Job 12:1-10New International Version (NIV)

Job

12 Then Job replied:

²“Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
    and wisdom will die with you!
³But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know all these things?

⁴“I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
    though I called on God and he answered—
    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
⁵Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune
    as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
⁶The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
    and those who provoke God are secure—
    those God has in his hand.^[a]

⁷“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
⁸or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
⁹Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.

------------

God Must Love Me More

January 14, 2013 — by Randy Kilgore

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/14/god-must-love-me-more/

During a difficult recession, I organized a support group for fellow Christians to help them cope with unemployment. We provided resumé reviews, networking, and prayer support. One problem emerged: Whenever someone got a job, he or she almost never returned to the group to offer encouragement. That increased the loneliness and isolation of those left in the group.

Worse, though, were comments from those who had never experienced a job loss. They mirrored the accusations of Job’s friends in his suffering: “If you were pure and upright, surely now [God] would awake for you, and prosper [you]” (8:6). By chapter 12, Job is starting to express things in terms modern workers can understand. He says that he feels despised by those whose life is easy (v.5).

When things are going well for us, we may start to think that we who don’t have troubles are better somehow, or are more loved by God, than those who are struggling. We forget that the effects of this fallen world are indiscriminate.

We are all loved by the Lord and we all need Him—in good times and bad. The successes, abundance, and positions that God has given to us are tools to help us encourage others in their time of need.

Give us the humility, Lord, not to act like Job’s friends
who accused him of sin because of his trials. Show us
how to help those who are struggling so that we might
give the kind of encouragement You have given us.

Humility toward God makes us gentle toward others.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Already Settled (Our Daily Bread)

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. —1 John 5:13 (Our Daily Bread)

------------

1 John 5:10-15 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Concluding Affirmations

¹³I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

------------

Already Settled

January 13, 2013 — by Bill Crowder

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/13/already-settled/

I love watching soccer, and I am a fan of the Liverpool Football Club in England’s Premier League. When the Reds are playing, it is an anxiety-filled experience for me. Because one goal or one misplay can change the game’s outcome, I feel a constant tension as I watch. That is part of what makes the games enjoyable. Recently, though, I saw a tape-delayed replay of one of Liverpool’s games. I was surprised how much calmer I felt seeing the replay. Why? Because I already knew the outcome, and as a result I was able to relax and enjoy the action.

Life is often like observing live sporting events. There are shocks and surprises, frustrations and fears, because we are unsure of the outcome. Followers of Christ can draw comfort, however, from the fact that though many of life’s situations are uncertain, our eternal outcome is settled by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

The apostle John wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Life may present us with surprises along the way, but because of Christ’s work we can have peace. He has already settled our eternal outcome.

Faith looks beyond this transient life
With hope for all eternity—
Not with some vague and wistful hope,
But with firm trust and certainty. —D. DeHaan

Peace rules the day when Christ rules the heart.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Gift of Sleep (Our Daily Bread)

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late . . . ; for so He gives His beloved sleep. —Psalm 127:2 (Our Daily Bread)

----------

Psalm 121New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
²My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

----------

The Gift Of Sleep

January 12, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/12/the-gift-of-sleep/

Sleep is essential for good health. Scientists don’t know exactly why we need it but they know what happens when we don’t get enough. We put ourselves at risk of premature aging, weight gain, and diseases ranging from colds and flu to cancer. What God accomplishes in our bodies while we drift off to dreamland is nothing short of miraculous. While we do nothing, God replenishes our energy, rebuilds and restores our cells, and reorganizes information in our brains.

The reasons for not getting enough sleep are many, and some we can’t solve, but the Bible indicates that overwork should not be one of them (Ps. 127:2). Sleep is a gift from God that we should receive with gratitude. If we’re not getting enough, we need to find out why. Are we rising early and staying up late to earn money to acquire things we don’t need? Are we involved in ministry efforts that we think no one else is capable of doing?

I’m sometimes tempted to believe that the work I do when I’m awake is more important than the work God does while I sleep. But refusing God’s gift of sleep is like telling Him that my work is more important than His.

God does not want anyone to be a slave to work. He wants us to enjoy His gift of sleep.

The love of God is my pillow,
Soft and healing and wide,
I rest my soul in its comfort,
And in its calm I abide. —Long

If we do not come apart and rest awhile, we may just plain come apart. —Havner

Friday, January 11, 2013

Eyewitness Account (Our Daily Bread)

Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. —1 John 1:3 (Our Daily Bread)

-----------

1 John 1 New International Version (NIV)

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ²The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write this to make our^[a] joy complete.

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[b] sin.
⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

-----------

Eyewitness Account

January 11, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/11/eyewitness-account/

When the Day of Discovery television crew interviews people for a biography, we especially enjoy talking with those who knew the person whose life-story we are telling. Over the years, we’ve talked with a man who roomed with Eric Liddell in an internment camp in China; a woman who as a teenager lived in the home of C. S. Lewis during World War II; and a man who chauffeured Dr. George Washington Carver on a speaking tour throughout the southern US. They all spoke freely and openly about the special person they knew.

When John, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, was an old man, he wrote a letter in which his opening words established him as an eyewitness and close companion of Jesus: “The life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:2). His goals in writing were “that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (v.3) and “that your joy may be full” (v.4).

The eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ disciples help lead us to faith in Christ. Even though we have not seen Him as they did, we have believed.

Thank You, Father, for the reliable eyewitness
accounts of Jesus’ life that we can read in Your
Word. And thank You for people in our lives
who know Him. They help us believe too.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. —Jesus

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Spiritual Sight (Our Daily Bread)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. —Ephesians 1:7 (Our Daily Bread)

---------

Ephesians 1:15-21New International Version (NIV)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

--------

Spiritual Sight

January 10, 2013 — by Philip Yancey

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/10/spiritual-sight/

A prisoner who survived 14 years in a Cuban jail told how he kept his spirits up and his hope alive: “I had no window in my cell, and so I mentally constructed one on the door. I ‘saw’ in my mind a beautiful scene from the mountains, with water tumbling down a ravine over rocks. It became so real to me that I would visualize it without effort every time I looked at the cell door.”

Ironically, some of the most hopeful books of the Bible—Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians—come out of Paul’s house arrest in Rome. The letter to the Ephesians gives a hint as to what the apostle Paul saw when he thought about life beyond his place of confinement.

First he saw the spiritual growth in the churches he left behind. This book opens with a burst of thanksgiving for the vitality of the Ephesian church (Eph. 1:15-16). Then he sought to open the eyes of their hearts to even more exalted sights: the “exceeding riches” of God’s grace (2:7). When Paul cranks up the volume to express God’s plan of love, not one low, mournful note sneaks in.

If you feel discouraged or question whether the Christian life is worth it, Ephesians proves to be a great tonic. It prescribes the riches in Christ available to all.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the staggering
good news of the riches of Your infinite grace.
Thank You for the encouragement and hope
we find in Ephesians. Amen.

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God and His Word.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Making It Right (Our Daily Bread)

If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. —Luke 19:8 (Our Daily Bread)

---------

Luke 19:1-10 New International Version (NIV)

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

⁵When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
⁷All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

---------

Making It Right

January 9, 2013 — by Jennifer Benson Schuldt

from: http://odb.org/2013/01/09/making-it-right/

It was a perfect day for our garage sale—bright and warm. People rummaged through clothing, paperbacks, and mismatched dishes. I noticed a young woman looking at a string of white beads. A few minutes later, the necklace vanished along with its admirer. I spotted her in the street, jogged the length of my driveway, and discovered the missing jewelry nestled in her palm. As we faced each other with the knowledge of what had happened, she volunteered to pay for the stolen item.

Zacchaeus, the tree-climbing tax collector, met Jesus and was changed. He vowed to repay four times the amount of money he had dishonestly taken from others (Luke 19:8). In those days, tax collectors frequently overcharged citizens and then pocketed the extra funds. Zacchaeus’ eagerness to pay back the money and to donate half of what he owned to the poor showed a significant change of heart. He had once been a taker, but after meeting Jesus he was determined to make restoration and be a giver.

Zacchaeus’ example can inspire us to make the same kind of change. When God reminds us about items we have taken, taxes left unpaid, or ways we have wronged others, we can honor Him by making it right.

Help me, dear Lord, to be honest and true
In all that I say and all that I do;
Give me the courage to do what is right
To bring to the world a glimpse of Your light. —Fasick

A debt is never too old for an honest person to pay.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Never Give Up

God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.-Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

------------

Psalm 46 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 46^[a]For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^[b] A song.

¹God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

------------

Never Give Up

There are times in our life that we are facing a great challenge. So great that we tend to give up because no matter what we do, it seems like nothing goes to the way we want it to be. Thus, we get frustrated.

I remember a friend of mine who was declared a candidate of a severe disease called Dengue fever. The disease is so severe that it already claimed many lives. At first check-up, my friend's platelets were somewhere in 149. Then, the doctor prescribed him medicines to take. But unfortunately on his succeeding check-ups his platelets went down further. From 149 it went down to 123, until it reached 102. According to his doctor, if his platelets count goes less than 90, they will have to confine him in the hospital.

With that in mind, my friend begun to worry because he does not want to be confined. So what he did, he just prayed and committed everything to Jesus. He told me, for the entire day, he drunk a lot of liquid, and trusted Jesus that everything will be OK. And praise God!, the next day when my friend went back for his check-up, his platelets count went up from 102 to 121.

It is amazing how God works in our life, especially in times of trouble. We should also remember that God will never give us challenges that we cannot handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Thank you Jesus for all the blessings that you are giving us.

Thank you Jesus for the challenges that we are facing,

because through these challenges,

you are molding us to become better.

Help us Lord, to glorify you with our works

and fulfill your plans for us.

These we ask in Jesus name, Amen.

With Jesus, we can do anything. (Philippians 4:13)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Job 12:1-10New International Version (NIV)

Job

God Must Love Me More

Sunday, January 13, 2013

1 John 5:10-15 New International Version (NIV)

Concluding Affirmations

Already Settled

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Psalm 121New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

The Gift Of Sleep

Friday, January 11, 2013

1 John 1 New International Version (NIV)

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

Eyewitness Account

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Ephesians 1:15-21New International Version (NIV)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

Spiritual Sight

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Luke 19:1-10 New International Version (NIV)

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Making It Right

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Psalm 46 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 46[a]For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.

Never Give Up

Psalm 46^[a]For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^[b] A song.