The Heart's Desires by Dr. Charles Stanley

The Heart's Desires by Dr. Charles Stanley  "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will hear their cry and save them.The Lord preserves will who love Him, but the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and all the flesh shall bless His holy name forever and ever."  - Psalms 145:17-21 If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? Your answer reveals a lot about you. The psalmist writes, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). There is nothing wrong with desires—they motivate us to achieve great things. But not all of our yearnings come from God. Consider your aspirations and what they say about who you are: • Do you hope for a position of authority in order to be in control? Longing for personal advancement in order to manipulate others reveals a lack of integrity, whereas a godly person craves righteousness. • Do you dream about wealth and fame? Perhaps there's a void in your spirit that you're trying to fill. But only God can meet the insatiable needs of the human heart. • Are you afraid to ask the Lord for what you want? Maybe you think He won't listen, but God tells us to approach His throne with boldness and confidence (Heb. 4:16). If the Lord doesn't respond affirmatively to your prayers, ask Him to make your desires conform to His will. Whatever you do, don't take matters into your own hands and go after what you want. There is always a high price to pay for rebelling against God. God cares for us bountifully, but that doesn't mean we can expect Him to deliver whatever we want, whenever we want it. Only when our dreams align with His plan for our life will He fulfill them. The thoughts that preoccupy us are an accurate barometer of the state of our relationship with Christ. The greatest desire of your heart will reveal a lot about you.  Do you hope for a position of authority, dream of wealth and fame or are you afraid to ask the Lord  for what you want? There is nothing wrong with desires for they motivate us to do great things, but our dreams must conform with His will.  Are you guided by your will or God's? Bible in One Year: Luke 1

While We Wait by Pastor Greg Laurie

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone." —Matthew 25:14

Jesus told a story about a man who went on a journey and left his money with his servants. This was not an uncommon practice in those days. A wealthy man or king would have many servants in his household, from those who would do basic labor to those who would oversee the financial affairs of his home, even managing his business. In many cases, some of the man's slaves would be better educated and skilled than he was.

Highly trusted slaves had a virtual free hand within prescribed areas of responsibility while the owner was at home. And when the owner would go on a journey, he would leave full authority in the hands of these key servants who would have the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney.

Jesus said the man "gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities" (Matthew 25:15).

Jesus is like that wealthy man who went on a journey, and we are the servants in which He has made an investment. This story, like so many in the Scriptures, reminds us to take advantage of opportunity while it is available. Ecclesiastes says, "Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. . . . Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don't know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both" (11:1, 6).

The emphasis of this parable is to be productive with your life. Be productive with your time. Seize the opportunities that God has given. We are to take what He has given us and use it for His glory while we await His return.

God Chose Marriage by Greg Laurie

God Chose Marriage "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." —Romans 5:8 Of all of the pictures that God could have chosen to show His love for us, He chose marriage.  Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Wives are told to be submissive to their husbands as unto the Lord. Here is what the Lord is essentially saying: "Hey world, want to know how much I love My people? Check out the way that Christian husband loves His wife. Hey nonbelievers, want to see how much My people love Me? Check out the way that Christian wife loves her husband." From that perspective, can't you see how bad it is when Christians divorce? It devastates our witness. We tell the world how to live—how to be changed by Jesus—but then we can't work out our problems in our own marriages. It should not be so.  God has chosen marriage as a representation to a lost world. Therefore, when you have a strong marriage, you are a powerful witness. How did God show His love for His bride, the church? By sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. Talk is cheap. Words are easy to say. But God put His own Son on the cross to die in our place, in order to demonstrate how much He loves us. "But Greg," you might say, "Those are tall orders! There's no way we can love like that on our own!" That's true; we can't.  We need the Holy Spirit's power to be the husbands God has called us to be. We need the Holy Spirit's power to be the wives God has called us to be. We need the Holy Spirit's power to be the parents God has called us to be. We need His help. So be filled with the Spirit, walking thought by thought, decision by decision, act by act under His control.

Simple Acts of Obedience

Simple Acts of Obedience

by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

Obeying God in small matters can bring blessing to many. Today’s passage illustrates this principle.

Today's Scripture - Luke 5:1-2 

 "On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.."

Simon Peter, a fisherman, had worked hard all night without catching anything. He was on the shore finishing his work when Jesus approached him. The Lord wanted to speak from the boat to the crowd on the beach. Despite a long, fruitless night of work, Peter agreed to take Jesus in the vessel. The crowd was blessed by listening to Christ. God’s requests can come to us at unexpected moments. We may be tempted to let someone else respond to His call, thinking it will not matter who is the one to comply. But remember, His plans are designed for our benefit (Jer. 29:11). Later, Jesus made a second request to Peter—to move the boat into deeper water and let down the nets. The fisherman commented about the unlikelihood of catching anything but nevertheless did as Christ asked. Peter’s cooperation resulted in an abundance for the crowd, the other fishermen, their families, and himself. Peter didn’t obey in order to be rewarded, yet that is precisely what happened. His simple acts of obedience led to greater opportunities for service and occasions for abundant blessing. Some of us act as if obedience in the little things is unimportant. Peter’s story teaches us the opposite. Let’s commit to carrying out the Lord’s instructions in small matters as well as large ones, trusting that He will bring good from all obedience. Following God is always the right choice to make. Obedience is key to abundant blessing.  Obedience in little things lead to obedience in big things.  The lesson today illustrates this principle..Simon, later called Peter did as the Lord commanded and was blessed. We all love to be blessed, but we need to turn that key to receive it.  Will you? Bible in One Year: Zephaniah 1-3, Haggai 1-2