Monday, October 31, 2016

Night Light for Couples - Love in the Mirror

Night Light for Couples, the couples' devotional from Focus on the Family ministry founder Dr. James Dobson and his wife, Shirley, brings spouses together each evening, helping them stay connected with each other and their Lord.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.” 1 Samuel 16:7

The overemphasis on physical attractiveness in our society is frequently damaging to self‐confidence. A case in point is the story of Peter Foster, a Royal Air Force pilot in World War II.

During an air battle, Foster was the victim of a terrible fire. He survived, but his face was burned beyond recognition. He spent many anxious moments in the hospital wondering if his family—and especially his fiancée—would still accept him. They did. His fiancée assured him that nothing had changed except a few millimeters of skin. Two years later they were married.

Foster said of his wife, “She became my mirror. She gave me a new image of myself. When I look at her, she gives me a warm, loving smile that tells me I’m okay.”

That’s the way marriage ought to work, too—it should be a mutual admiration society that overlooks a million flaws and builds the self‐esteem of both partners. Let’s become each other’s mirrors, reflecting back love and affirmation every chance we get.

Just between us…
  • When was the last time I complimented you on your appearance?
  • Is our marriage a “mutual admiration society”?
  • Would you still love me if I became disfigured like Peter Foster?
  • What do you think the Lord sees in me?
  • How can I be a better “mirror” for you?
Lord Jesus, You came to bring Your presence and Your love to all—regardless of looks or ability, of health or condition. Thank You so much! May we reflect that same enthusiastic and unconditional love to each other in our marriage. Amen.
  • From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
    Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - IN CHAINS FOR CHRIST


As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Philippians 1:13

Authorities in Afghanistan arrested Said Musa on May 31, 2010, days after the local TV station broadcast images of Afghan Christians being baptised and worshipping the Lord. A Christian for eight years, he is married and the father of six. Before release from prison he wrote:

Hello my dear brothers and sisters, lovely and strong in faith. On Saturday I went to court, but my session was not held. I met then two persons. I became very happy when they introduced themselves [as my] defence attorneys…I immediately felt joy in my heart, like somebody gave me comfort, like stars, like lights. I one hundred percent believe it was the Holy Spirit healing my heart.

On Thursday some high officials came from the Attorney General’s office. They asked me, “What is your name?” I introduced myself to them. After that they asked me, “Are you truly a Christian?” I replied to them, I am one hundred percent Christian. I believe in the Son of God Almighty, He is my Savior and Lord. I told them the only way to come to God is to have faith in Jesus Christ, He’s the way, He’s eternal life, He’s truth, He’s love, He’s really God.

After that they asked me, “What is wrong with being a Muslim that you converted to the Christian religion?” I told them, it’s the plan of God. God chose his people to complete his work on the earth. Muslim is not bad. The Christian people are never against any religion in the world. Our fight is just with Satan. We love our enemies, like ourselves. They joked and mocked me. “You want to make us Christians now?”

Today a new person came. He asked me, “Why do you not accept Islam; why is this religion better?” I replied to him, the golden thing is this; love your enemy as yourself. In which religion do you find this word? Just in Christianity.

He told me, “You know your punishment. It’s death.” I told him, I am one hundred percent ready for the sake of my faith. My Saviour gave his life for me. I am not afraid of a human; he just kills my body, but does not hurt my soul. I am afraid of my Lord and Savior; He will be able to punish my soul too. I told him I am holding on to my faith. I will never betray my faith. Without Jesus, what does the life in this world or the afterlife mean? Nothing!

RESPONSE: Today I will pray for those like Said Musa who are truly in prison for their faith.

PRAYER: Lord, may I have the strength and courage to confess You even under severe pressure.

Women of the Bible - Martha


Her name means: "Lady" (the feminine form of "Lord")

Her character: Active and pragmatic, she seemed never at a loss for words. Though Jesus chastened her for allowing herself to become worried and upset by small things, she remained his close friend and follower.
Her sorrow: To have waited, seemingly in vain, for Jesus to return in time to heal her brother, Lazarus.
Her joy: To watch as Jesus restored her brother to life.
Key Scriptures: Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-12:3

Her Story

Martha, Mary, and their brother, Lazarus, lived together in Bethany, a village just two miles from Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. All three were intimate friends of Jesus.

During one of his frequent stays in their home, Martha became annoyed with Mary, her indignation spilling over like water from a boiling pot. Instead of helping with the considerable chore of feeding and housing Jesus and his retinue of disciples, Mary had been spending her time sitting happily at his feet. Feeling ignored and unappreciated, Martha marched over to Jesus and demanded: "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

But Jesus wouldn't oblige. Instead, he chided her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her."

Jesus' tender rebuke must have embarrassed and startled her, calculated as it was to break the grip of her self-pity and reveal what was really taking place under her own roof and in her own heart. Perhaps this competent woman realized for the first time just how much she had been missing. Distracted by the need to serve Jesus, she had not taken time to enjoy him, to listen and learn from him. Her anger at Mary may have stemmed more from envy than from any concern about being overworked, for her sister had made her way into the circle of men to sit at the feet of the Teacher and learn from him.

Martha's story, of course, points to what is really important in life. She seemed confused and distracted, conned into believing her ceaseless activity would produce something of lasting importance. But Martha does more than simply instruct through her mistakes. She shows what it is like to have a relationship with Jesus so solid and close that no posturing or hiding is necessary. Martha seemed free to be herself in his presence. Where else should she have taken her frustration and anger, after all, but to Jesus?

Martha seems to have worked out her faith directly and actively, questioning, challenging, asking Jesus to rectify whatever had gone wrong. Her spirituality was like that of Jacob, who wrestled all night with an angel, or Job, who questioned God in the midst of his suffering, or Peter, who stumbled brashly forward into faith despite his mistakes.

In a later scene, after her brother died, we see Martha running to meet Jesus as soon as she heard he was near. Her greeting to Jesus was tinged with complaint: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." But faith, too, was present: "I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

"Your brother will rise again," Jesus assured her.

"I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day, " Martha replied.

"I am the resurrection and the life, " Jesus said. "Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord, " she told him. "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

But right after her tremendous expression of faith, Martha's practical side reasserted itself. When Jesus asked for the stone to be removed from Lazarus's tomb, she objected, raising the concern on everyone's mind: "But, Lord, there will be a terrible stink. Lazarus has been there four days!" How amazed she must have been when instead of the stench of death, Lazarus himself emerged from the tomb.

The more we delve into Martha's story, the more familiar it seems—as familiar as the face gazing at us in the bathroom mirror. A woman who placed too much importance on her own activity and not enough on sitting quietly before Jesus, she pleaded for fairness without realizing that her version of fairness was itself unfair. Her commonsensical approach to life made faith difficult. But she also loved Jesus and was confident of his love for her. How else could she have found the courage to keep pressing him for answers to her many questions? Martha offers a warmly human portrait of what it means to have Jesus as a friend, allowing him to stretch her faith, rebuke her small vision of the world, and show her what the power of God can do.

Her Promise

Martha meets Jesus again in John 11 after the death of her brother, Lazarus. With characteristic forthrightness, she tells Jesus that if he had come earlier, Lazarus would not have died. Her statements open the way for Jesus to declare for all to hear—including us today—that he alone is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in him, even if we die, we live. What a promise! What a comfort! Through Jesus, death no longer has any power over us.

Girlfriends in God - When You Just Need to Breathe

by Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers (Psalm 1:1-3 NIV)

Friend to Friend

It was one of my favorite trees. And it was dying.

We live on a lake, and my dying tree was truly a “tree planted by streams of water.” So how could it be dying? How could branches right in the smack dab middle of the bushy green be turning into kindling? It didn’t make sense.

I called an arborist to come out and take a look. He saw the problem right away.

“Ma’am, see how that tree looks like a telephone pole stuck in the ground? That’s not the way a tree should be planted. You should be able to see some of the roots spreading out from the trunk. Those roots are covered up with dirt, grass, and these pretty perennials you’ve planted at the base. The tree can’t breathe.”
“It can’t breathe?” I asked.

“Yep. You see a tree is a living organism that needs to breathe just like you do. If the roots are smothered, then it can’t. Trees need sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nutrients from the soil. Those flowers you have planted around it are actually stealing the nutrients. The dirt covering the roots is suffocating it. It has water, but it needs more than that.

“Bottom line, your tree is stressed out.”

Ah, words I understood. “Stressed out.”

So, the arborist cleared away some of the dirt from around the roots to allow the tree to breathe and cut away the dead limbs. Then he dug up the flowers and tossed them aside. I could almost hear the tree take a deep breath as if to say, “Ah, thank you!”

Three months later, it looks like the tree is going to make it after all.

All this thinking about my tree planted by the water made me think about my schedule…my life. And of course, that led me to your schedule…your life.

I like to think of myself as a tree planted by the water similar to the one mentioned in the first psalm. I get up every morning and soak in God’s Word before jumping into my day. That’s my water. My living water.

But it’s not enough to drink in the morning and then smother my day with too many activities, commitments, and deadlines. I need more than water to thrive. I need to be able to breathe.

I can plant “beautiful” activities in my life like those flowers, but they may be sucking the nutrients right out of my soul. Those activities might look nice on my calendar, but they might not be soul nice. I can smother my roots with commitments and pile on the soil so that I look more like a non-living thing stuck in the ground—a telephone pole—rather than a fruit-bearing tree.

So as I begin this fall season with its activities left and right, I need to stop and examine if they are exactly what God wants me to do, or if they are just “pretty flowers ” that are keeping me from being that tree that yields fruit in due season.

As I think about my fall schedule with its commitments and deadlines, I need to ask myself if I am covering up the roots of my heart—smothering it from the very air I need to breathe.

And that’s what I want you to consider today. Let’s do more than survive. Let’s thrive! Clear away what needs to be cleared away. Toss out what needs to be tossed (even if it looks pretty on your schedule). Make room to breathe.

Let’s Pray

Lord, I want to be a tree planted by streams of living water that bears fruit in its season. As I move into the fall season, open my eyes to unnecessary activities and commitments, and help me to know when to say “no”. Show me what I need to dig up and toss. Help me to do what I need to do to avoid stressing out my roots and suffocating my soul.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.


Now It’s Your Turn

I want you to keep this devotion in mind as you head into fall. Before putting something on your schedule, ask yourself these three questions that Liz Higgs asks herself in her book Only Angels Can Wing It.
  1. Will this activity matter one week from today? One month? One year?
  2. Is there someone who does this task better than I do, to whom I might delegate it?
  3. Does it satisfy a heart need for me or someone I love very much?
  4. What are the ramifications if I don’t do it?
  5. What are the outcomes if I do?
More From the Girlfriends

When it come to all the activities that scream for your attention, one of the best ways to know when to say “no” and when to say “yes” is to become a woman who listens to God. This book, Becoming a Woman who Listens to God, includes a Bible Study guide that is a perfect resource for Bible study groups and individual study. Learn how to see God’s fingerprints on the pages of your life and experience His presence on a daily basis.

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.


Un Dia a la Vez - Jesús y la limosna


Cuando ores, entra en tu aposento, y cerrada la puerta, ora a tu Padre que está en secreto; y tu Padre que ve en lo secreto te recompensará en público. Mateo 6:6, rv-60

Fíjense bien que lo que Dios nos ha exhortado durante estos últimos devocionales es a que todo lo que hagamos para Él sea en silencio, pues es un Dios de intimidad. Es evidente que le molesta la gente ruidosa y que les dicen a todos lo que diezman, lo que ofrendan y hoy, en este devocional, lo que oran.

Una vez más Jesús dice que si vas a orar, lo hagas solo, que no seas como los hipócritas que oran de pie en las sinagogas y en la calle para que los vean. ¡Cuánto le choca esto a nuestro Dios!

Ahora bien, esto no quiere decir que no podamos orar en grupo o en familia de una manera audible. Tampoco se trata de que no podamos ir a las misiones, pues a lo que Dios se refiere es a la intención de nuestro corazón.

También nos enseña que no seamos repetitivos en la oración como los loros, sino tengamos una conversación natural y sincera de nuestro corazón con Él.

Aprendemos, entonces, que todo lo que hagamos en secreto, Él nos lo recompensara en público. Y aun si no se nos reconociera, es bueno hacerlo en silencio.

Verse of the Day - October 31, 2016


1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV) Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Read all of 1 Peter 5