EVERY WORD IS TRUE

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

Every word is true

Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection.

Proverbs 30:5 NLT

We must both affirm the inerrancy of Scripture and then live under it.

Francis Schaeffer

The perfect word

In a world of shifting loyalties, devious cons, and ever-evolving ideas, we need to know where to anchor our souls. We aren't diligent enough to analyze every counterfeit that comes our way, nor are we perceptive enough to expose every false philosophy. Human rationalism is not equipped to establish eternal truth. That's why we need help. Only God can point us in the right direction.

It's a comfort when we are searching for absolutes to actually find them. According to this proverb, such absolute truth will shield us. What from? Every subtle deceit, every malicious word, every doctrinal error, and every false messiah. Much to our dismay, the world is full of empty promises. If we are left to ourselves to figure them all out, we will spend our lives tossed around on tumultuous waves of competing "truths." By the time we obtain understanding by our own efforts, it's too late to settle on the foundation of God's wisdom. In short, we need to be anchored in revelation.

How do we do that? A daily time in God's Word is a good first step. It works truth into our minds on a regular basis. But is that really enough?

Here's a good pattern to follow: First, ask God every day to convince your heart of His truth and to give you discernment of lies. Second, find at least one verse a week to memorize. Chew on it, let it sink in, look at it from every angel, and come up with specific ways to apply it. Third, don't just study God's Word. Fall in love with it. Consume it as voraciously as your favorite meal. God has a way of working into our hearts the things we love. If we love the flawless Word, the flawless Word will dwell within us.

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 17.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THE WORD CONVICTS

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

The Word convicts

When the king heard what was written in the law, he tore his clothes in despair.

2 Chronicles 34:19 NLT

A rampage of revival

If Josiah, kind of Judah, had kept a journal, we might have noted this first significant entry: "Eight years old today" (2 Chronicles 34:1). At that tender age, Josiah had a scepter thrust into his hand. Yet he didn't let the super-responsibilities of those years allow him to forget his Creator. Rather, he "did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight." (34:2)

Another important entry might have been "Sixteen years old today" (2 Chronicles 34:3). That's when Josiah began to rid his country of the pagan shrines, idols, and images that had accumulated during the reigns of prior kings. After he purified the land, Josiah ordered the repair and restoration of the temple.

"Twenty-six years old" (2 Chronicles 34:8) was the midpoint of Josiah's 31-year reign. It was also Back-to-the-Word time. When Hilkiah the high priest stumbled across the "Book of the Law of the Lord as it had been given to Moses" (34:14) and had it read to Josiah, the king was devastated.

Josiah went on a rampage of revival, first making his people covenant to obey the Lord and his laws. Second, he destroyed all idols and required everyone to worship the Lord. And third, he initiated a Passover celebration on a scale that hadn't been seen since the time of the prophet Samuel.

Josiah did everything he could to bring Judah back to God and the treasury of his Word, but the clock of God's favor was running out. Sadly, because the people tired of Josiah's revival, within twenty-five years of Josiah's death, Jerusalem was destroyed and all it people taken in to captivity.

Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for April 11.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

CONSUME MY LIFE

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

Consume my life

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot, 1949

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.

Jim Elliot, 1948

Jim Elliot's prayer

When he died [at the hands of the Auca Indians], Jim left little of value, as the world regards values.…Of material things, there were few; a home in the jungle, a few well-worn clothes, books, and tools. The men who went to try to rescue the five [missionaries — all of whom died] brought back to me from Jim's body his wrist watch, and from…the beach, the blurred pages of his college prayer-notebook. There was no funeral, no tombstone for a memorial.…No legacy then? Was it "just as if he had never been"? Jim left for me, in memory, and for us all, in these letters and diaries, the testimony of a man who sought nothing but the will of God, who prayed that his life would be "an exhibit of the value of knowing God."

The interest which accrues from this legacy is yet to be realized. It is hinted at in the lives of…Indians who have determined to follow Christ, persuaded by Jim's example; in the lives of many who write to tell me of a new desire to know God as Jim did.…His death was the result of simple obedience to his Captain.

Jim Elliot and four other missionaries met their deaths trying to reach the Auca Indians for Christ.

Elizabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty

Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda, general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), p375.

Digging Deeper: End of the Spear by Steve Saint (Tyndale, 2005), son of Nate Saint, chronicles the story of the encounter with the Ecuadorian tribe, which also became a major motion picture.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

BLESSED REST

Today's promise: God's Word is powerful

Blessed rest

Blessed are those who die in the Lord…They are blessed indeed, for they will rest from all their toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them!

Revelation 14:13 NLT

From killers to converts

In January 1956 the news media told the world how five missionaries had been martyred by members of a primitive Ecuadorian tribe, the Waodani, popularly known until recently as the "Aucas." What happened to the tribe after that fateful day?

Rachel Saint, the sister of slain missionary Nate Saint, had already learned their language from Dayuma, who had fled from her tribe ten years earlier. As Rachel learned the language, Dayuma learned more and more of what Christ's love could mean for her personally. She finally confessed her faith in Christ to become the first convert. In 1957 Betty Elliot, who continued serving in Ecuador after the death of her husband, Jim, made contact with two women who had left the tribe, looking for Dayuma.

Over time, Dayuma was able to return and share the gospel with her fellow Waodani. One by one they began to put their trust in the Lord Jesus (including the five men who had murdered the missionaries).

Rachel Saint began the translation of the New Testament into Waorani, the official language of the tribe. It was completed by Catherine Peake and Rose Jung. On June 11, 1992, the Waodani finally received the New Testament in their language. The "Auca Five" did not die in vain.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for June 11.

Digging Deeper: End of the Spear by Steve Saint (Tyndale, 2005), son of Nate Saint, chronicles the story of the encounter with the Ecuadorian tribe, which also became a major motion picture. Also read Through Gates of Splendor, the original telling of the story by Elizabeth Elliot (Tyndale, 1986).

Content i s derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THE SERVANT'S REWARD

Today's promise: Christ will return

The servant's reward

If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.

Matthew 24:46 NLT

A day of reward

There are as many ways to look at the return of Jesus as there are opinions about how it will happen.…To the Romans, Paul calls is the "day of God's wrath" (Romans 2:5).…In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to it as the "day of the Lord" (1 Cor. 5:5). And in his second letter to the same church he calls it the "day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).…To the Ephesians he calls it a "day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). And he encourages the church of Philippi to stand strong until the "day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6). Jude doesn't even try to describe it — he just calls it the "great Day" (Jude 1:6).

Each of these phrases suggests a unique and different view.…But there's one I like the best. For followers of Jesus, it will be a day of reward.

James tells us, "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him: (James 1:12).…In his second letter to Timothy [Paul says], "Now the prize awaits me — the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return" (4:8).

But it is Jesus himself who puts it best: "Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven" (Matt. 5:12). As Christians, we have a lot to look forward to!

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for January 5.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THE CRASH

THE CRASH

READ:

Micah 7:8-9, 18-20

He will bring me forth to

the light; I will see His

righteousness. -Micah 7:9

For years after the Great Depression, the stock market struggled to win back investors’ confidence.  Then, in 1952, Harry Markowitz suggested that investors spread their stock holdings over several companies and industries.  He developed a theory for portfolio selection that helped investors in uncertain times.  In 1990, Markowitz and two others won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their theory.

Like those jittery investors, we followers of Jesus may also find ourselves frozen in fear after a “crash” in our personal lives, unsure how to pick up the pieces and move on.  We might even spend our remaining lives waiting for a “Markowitz moment,” when one big idea or action can help us recover from a previous failure.

We forget that Jesus has already done that on our behalf.  He covered our shame, and He set us free to fellowship with God and serve Him daily.  Because He gave His life, and rose from the dead, when we “fall,” we can “arise” with Him, for “He delights in mercy” (Micah 7:8, 18).

The moment we find Jesus, our eternity with Him begins.  He walks alongside us so He can change us into the people we long to be and were created to be. –Randy Kilgore

Father, my actions aren't adequate to fix my

Failures.  Thank You for doing that through

Your Son Jesus who gave Himself for us.

Help me to look up and walk with You.

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Look up from your failure,

And you’ll find God standing ready to receive you.

INSIGHT

Today’s reading contains a song of victory.  Israel, who has been judged for a cold heart and acts of disobedience, will one day respond gladly with obedience to God.  The nation will find light in the Lord’s presence.  Interestingly, the passage shares a similar spirit to Moses’ Song of the Sea:  “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?  Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11).

Micah underscores that God detests those leaders who unscrupulously use their position of power to fleece the helpless and to corrupt courts of justice.  But the message of hope is clear to all who repent with heartfelt sincerity and wish to return to a place of genuine obedience.

Have a blessed day.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

A VISION OF HEAVEN

Today's promise: Christ will return

A vision of heaven

Now I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war. His eyes were bright like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he knew what it meant. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God.

Revelation 19:11-13 NLT

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne; Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but is own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, and hail Him as they matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him with Many Crowns,
Matthew Bridges (1800-1894)

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Matthew Bridges became a convert to Roman Catholicism at the age of 48 and published this hymn three years later under the title "The Song of the Seraphs." Godfrey Thring, an Anglican clergyman, added several stanzas to the hymn about thirty years later, with Bridges's approval. So a Roman Catholic layman and an Anglican cleric, who probably never met, were coauthors of a hymn about heaven, where Christians of every tribe and tongue, as well as of every denomination, will crown Him Lord of all.

One of the aspects that Godfrey Thring felt was missing in the original was a stanza on the Resurrection, and so it was added. "His glories now we sing who died and rose on high, who died, eternal life to bring, and lives, that death may die."

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995), entry for May 16.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

A MESSAGE FOR ALL PEOPLE

Today's promise: Christ will return

A message for all people

With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: "There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me."

Luke 24:47 NLT

More Words of Forgiveness from the Bible

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Isaiah 43:25-26

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

Acts 3:19

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

Daniel 9:9
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

MORE THAN WE DESERVE

MORE THAN WE DESERVE

READ:

Psalm 103:6-18

He has not dealt with us

according to our sins, nor

punished us according to

our iniquities. –Psalm 103:10

Sometimes when people ask how I’m doing, I reply, “Better than I deserve.”  I remember a well-meaning person responding, “Oh no, Joe, you deserve a lot,” to which I replied, “Not really.”  I was thinking about what I truly deserve-God’s judgment.

We easily forget how sinful we are at the core of our being.  Thinking of ourselves more highly than we should diminishes our sense of deep indebtedness to God for His grace.  It discounts the price He paid to rescue us.

Time for a reality check!  As the psalmist reminds us, God “has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).  Considering who we are in light of a holy and just God, the only thing we truly deserve is hell.  And heaven is an absolute impossibility-except for the gift of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  If God never does anything more than redeem us, He has already done far more than we deserve.  No wonder the psalmist says, “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (v.11).

Knowing ourselves for what we are, we can’t help but say, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!”  He gives us so much more than we deserve. –Joe Stowell

Lord, thank You for not dealing with me according to

My sins.  I am indebted to you for the love and grace

That You demonstrated on the cross to purchase my

Pardon and forgiveness-far beyond what I deserve!

******************************************

If God never does anything more than redeem us,

He has already done far more than we deserve.

INSIGHT

Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote eloquently of Psalm 103: “[This psalm of David] is in his own style when at its best, and we should attribute it to his later years when he had a higher sense of the preciousness of pardon, because [0f] a keener sense of sin, than in his younger days.  His clear sense of the frailty of life indicates his weaker years, as also does the very [fullness] of his praiseful gratitude.”

Have a blessed day and weekend.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

NO CLEVER STORY

Today's promise: Christ will return

No clever story

We were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes.

2 Peter 1:16 NLT

Fulfillment of prophecy?

On June 7, 1967, a date clear to the heart of every patriotic Israeli, the army of Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem. The previous month the Egyptians had decided to attempt once more to conquer Israel. Israel felt its only hope was to launch a preemptive strike, which it did on June 5. Two days later the Israelis captured the Old City of Jerusalem, which had been part of Jordan. As a result of this military victory in what is known as the Six-Day War, Israel once again possessed her ancient capital.

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry he warned the Jews of God's coming wrath unless they repented (Matthew 3:8). The Roman army, under general Titus, completely destroyed the city and temple in A.D. 70.

Jesus had also prophesied that following its defeat "Jerusalem will be…trampled down by the Gentiles until the age of the Gentiles comes to an end" (Luke 21:24). Does this mean that the "age of the Gentiles" came to end on June 7, 1967? Revelation 11:2 seems to answer no. It states that the Gentiles "will trample the holy city for forty-two months," apparently the three and a half years period to the second coming of Christ, implying that the Jews will not be in control of Jerusalem at this time. June 7, 1967 was an extremely significant event in Jewish history, but it was not the fulfillment of prophecy.

Reflection

When you read the unfulfilled prophecies of the Bible, do you believe that they will be literally fulfilled? The first coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled many prophecies, and his second coming will fulfill many more.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for June 7.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

A HEAVENLY VISION

Today's promise: Christ will return

A heavenly vision

After I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!"

Revelation 7:9-10 NLT

Heavenly praise for the Lamb

Many times our prayers tend to focus on this world and the struggles we encounter in our lives. God understands and accepts these prayers, but we must also direct our thoughts and prayers to the victory we will share with Christ. In Revelation, God gives us a splendid portrayal of that final victory. In a vision, the apostle John sees a magnificent scene: a vast multitude celebrating the triumph of the Lamb of God. Waving palm branches, the traditional symbol of victory, people from all over the world extol God for the salvation he had provided through his Son.

As followers of Christ, today, we are privileged to be part of this multitude — the communion of believers. Because Jesus has overcome death, a new life of wholeness and peace through him has opened up to us. This is worth shouting about — praising God with all that is in us!

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, I join your praying people through the ages to shout about that salvation that comes from you…

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton, Tyndale House Publishers (2000), entry for April 3.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

ANCHORS IN THE STORM

ANCHORS IN THE STORM

READ:

Joshua 1:1-9

The LORD your God is with you

 wherever you go. –Joshua 1:9

When Matt and Jessica tried to navigate their sailboat into a Florida inlet during Hurricane Sandy, the craft ran aground.  As the waves crashed around them, they quickly dropped anchor.  It held the sailboat in place until they could be rescued.  They said that if they had not put down the anchor, “We would have lost our boat for sure.”  Without the anchor, the relentless waves would have smashed the vessel onto the shore.

We need anchors that hold us secure in our spiritual lives as well.  When God called Joshua to lead His people after Moses’ death, He gave him anchors of promise he could rely on in troubled times.  The Lord said to him, “I will be with you.  I will not leave you nor forsake you….The LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:5,9).  God also gave Joshua and His people the “Book of the Law” to study and observe (vv.7-8).  That, and God’s presence, were anchors the Israelites could rely on as they faced many challenges.

When we

Re in the middle of suffering or when doubts start threatening our faith, what are our anchors?  We could start with Joshua 1:5.  Although our faith may fell weak, if it’s anchored in God’s promises and presence, He will safely hold us. –Anne Cetas

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,

Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love. –Owens

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When we feel the stress of the storm

We learn the strength of the anchor.

INSIGHT

In today’s reading, God encourages Joshua who has recently replaced his predecessor, Moses.  God’s past faithfulness to Moses must have brought great comfort to Joshua:  “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (v.5).  For us as well, God’s faithfulness in the past brings courage for the future.

Have a blessed day.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

INTERRUPTIONS

INTERRUPTIONS

READ:

Mark 5:21-34

The counsel of the LORD stands

forever, the plans of His heart

to all generations. –Psalm 33:11

My sister and I were looking forward to our holiday in Taiwan.  We had purchased our plane tickets and booked our hotel rooms.  But 2 weeks before the trip, my sister learned she had to stay at home in Singapore to handle an emergency.  We were disappointed that our plans were interrupted.

Jesus’ disciples were accompanying Him on an urgent mission when their trip was interrupted (Mark 5:21-42).  The daughter of Jarius, a ruler of the synagogue, was dying.  Time was of the essence, and Jesus was on His way to their home.  Then, suddenly, Jesus stopped and said, “Who touched My clothes?” (v.30).

The disciples seemed irritated by this and said, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’: (v.31).  But Jesus saw it as an opportunity to minister to a suffering woman.  Her illness had made her ceremonially unclean and unable to participate in community life for 12 years! (see Leviticus 15:25-27). 

While Jesus was talking to this woman, Jarius’ daughter died.  It was too late-or so it seemed.  But the delay allowed Jairus to experience an even deeper knowledge of Jesus and His power-even power over death!

Sometimes our disappointment can be God’s appointment. –Poh Fang Chia

Disappointment-His appointment

No good thing will He withhold;

From denials oft we gather

Treasures of His love untold. –Young

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Look for God’s purpose in your next interruption.

INSIGHT

Jairus, as a “[ruler] of the synagogue” (Mark 5:22), was a lay leader responsible for organizing and supervising the affairs of the local synagogue.  This included the conduct and teaching of the worship services.

Have a blessed day.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

EVERYONE WILL SEE

Today's promise: Christ will return

Everyone will see

[Jesus said], "Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!"

Luke 21:27-28 NLT

No fear of judgment

What images come to mind when you think of "end times prophecies"?…Most people, if they were honest, would admit that their view of the end times is a frightening one.…They imagine an angry and vengeful God hovering high above it all, bent on destruction and raining terror on all who have rejected him.

Have we missed something? In many ways I think we have. God didn't reveal these graphic images of the coming judgment to express his wrath or even to frighten us into believing. He revealed them to show us his wonderful grace and mercy in the midst of our sin and unworthiness. The story isn't about pending gloom and doom, but it's about a loving Father who will do anything he can to help people escape the consequences of evil.

Bible prophecy isn't intended to frighten us, but it's to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real and omnipotent and active in our lives; to warn us of the very real danger lying ahead for those who reject his love and mercy; and to encourage us to accept his gracious and free offer of salvation through his Son, Jesus.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul tells us that God "wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth" (2:4).…Time and again in Scripture we are told that God longs for his people to be with him in heaven. The Bible is not a story of wrath and judgment but of unconditional love and redemption. God longs to be with us and wants desperately for us to accept his hand of salvation. What we do is up to us.

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for January 3.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

"I WILL COME BACK"

Today's promise: Christ will return

"I will come back"

[Jesus said], "When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there."

John 14:3-4 NLT

His promise to return

As a child, George Tulloch was fascinated by stories of the Titanic.…In 1996 he put together a team of the best scientists and sailors and set out to the exact spot where the Titanic sank in 1912. He and his crew were able to recover numerous artifacts from the ship — eyeglasses, jewelry, dishware, some coins and the like. But the most exciting thing they found was a large piece of the hull resting several hundred yards away.

The team did its best to raise the twenty-ton piece of iron, but to no avail. At one point the team almost had it.…but a storm blew in and.…the Atlantic reclaimed its treasure. Then Tulloch did something surprising before they were forced to retreat. He descended into the deep once more in a small submarine, and using a robotic arm, he attached a small handmade placard onto the section. It said, "I will come back. George Tulloch."

For a lot of the same reasons, Jesus left us a similar message. "I am going to prepare a place for you..…When everything is ready, I will come and get you" (John 14:2-3). Some may wonder why he cared in the first place. Why would he even want to reclaim us? What good are we to him? In many ways we're just as worthless and cumbersome and unyielding as that lazy piece of iron in the Atlantic.

But Jesus doesn't see us that way. He's dreamed of this moment since the beginning of creation, and now that the time is near he can't help but leave this mark on our hearts. "I'm leaving now. But don't worry, I'll be back.

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for January 1.

Digging Deeper: This week (Tuesday) is the release of the The Rapture , the last of three prequel stories to the Left Behind series.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHAT IS TRUST?

Today's promise: God is our security

What is trust?

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you.

Psalm 9:10 NLT

Trust involves letting go and knowing God will catch you.

James Dobson

Why Not?

Something is holding us back. Perhaps it is a fear that maybe we are wrong about God. Maybe we feel presumptuous. It is possible, if we have been disappointed in the past, that our misunderstanding is haunting us. We hear a voice in the back of our minds that says, "What if God doesn't come through? What if he makes it more difficult than I can handle? What if all my hopes are illusions?" So we hesitate to trust God. We pray and we hope, but faith remains incomplete and doubts linger. We'll ask Him to help us, but we withhold judgment until we've seen His response.

We are called to believe God with reckless abandon — not just believe that He is there and that He is involved with us somehow; but that He is actively, personally seeking our good and answering our prayers. We are to give up our own strategies and ambitions, to relinquish all "Plan Bs," to recklessly, irrevocably cast ourselves completely into His arms.

God called Abraham to leave Haran and go to a place to be revealed later. Jesus invited Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water. That kind of call is scary, though typical in God's Kingdom. But why is it scary? Where could He lead us that we'd regret? Would He ever lead us into danger but not out of it?

God calls us to "reckless" trust, the kind that prepares no safety net and reserves nothing for a spiritually rainy day. Try to find someone God had forsaken, observe His faithfulness, and ask yourself: "Why wouldn't I trust Him wholeheartedly?" Think about it. Why not?

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 12.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHERE IS YOUR DESIRE?

Today's promise: God is our security

Where is your desire?

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

Psalm 73:25 NLT

Heart's desire

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the Beavers inform the children that Aslan is on the move, the children feel a strange stirring in their hearts. Peter in particular says he's "longing" to meet this Aslan.…he doesn't say he's curious; he says he's longing, and that carries a very different meaning….

To long for something means you've had it in your mind for a while, the way you fix your heart on getting that iPod for Christmas…. Longing carries with it the concept of desire.

Yearning Desire. It's a theme that weaves throughout the life and works of C. S. Lewis. In Surprised by Joy, he introduces the concept of longing as the signature quest of his childhood and young adulthood.

I t wasn't until Lewis converted to Christianity that he eventually realized what he'd been longing for: God. Not the Norse gods of the pagan world, not even the gods or spirits of fantasy worlds, but the God of the Bible — a real, living Being in whom we can have life forever.

With our own friends, part of our role is to help them understand that their longing comes from an inborn desire to know the King of the universe. And, like the Beavers with Peter, we are to tell our friends about the King — that his return is imminent, that he is on the move even now.

We're all longing to meet the true King. Will you recognize his name when you hear it? Will you help others do the same?

adapted from Walking Through the Wardrobe by Sarah Arthur (Tyndale) pp 77-83

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

WHAT IS SECURITY?

Today's promise: God is our security

What is security?

Put on the whole armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.

Psalm 35:2 NLT

Security is our nearness to God, not our distance from danger.

Kenneth R. Hendre

In the gun sights

When Ira Sankey was at the height of his ministry, he was traveling on a steamer in the Delaware River. Some passengers had seen his picture in the newspaper and knew he was associated with evangelist D. L. Moody. When they asked him to sing one of his own compositions, Sankey said he preferred a hymn by William Bradbury, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." One of the stanzas begins, "We are thine, do thou befriend us; be the guardian of our way."

When he finished, a man stepped out and inquired, "Were you in the army, Mr. Sankey?"

"Yes, I joined up in 1860."

"Did you ever do guard duty at night in Maryland, about 1862?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, I was in the Confederate Army," said the stranger. "I saw you one night at Sharpsburg. I had you in my gun sight as you stood there in the light of the full moon. Just as I was about the pull the trigger, you began to sing. It was the same hymn you sang tonight," the man told an astonished Sankey. "I couldn't shoot you."

I.             M. Anderson in Moody

II.            

Life is filled with near misses. We know only a fraction of the many situations in which God preserves us from severe physical and emotional injury.

Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for May 14.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

GOD WILL CATCH YOU

Today's promise: God is our security

God will catch you

There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 NLT

When you are at the end of your rope, God is there to catch you — but not before.

Erwin W. Lutzer

God's everlasting arms

Our world seemed to be falling apart. My husband was severely depressed, and his business was crumbling. As I tried to support and nurture our children, help my husband, and take up the slack financially, I became drained physically, spiritually, and mentally. I cried out to God in exhaustion, and I felt his everlasting arms underneath me. Quieting my racing heart, the Lord reminded me that although my own resources might be exhausted, his resources were limitless.

During that difficult season I experienced God as my refuge when there was nowhere else to turn, and I felt his security in the middle of a very uncertain, insecure time.

In today's passage Moses praises the Lord and assures the Israelites that God will be with them no matter what adversity or trial they encounter — that he is their refuge and underneath them are his everlasting arms. Do you need to feel God's everlasting arms carrying you today because your strength is exhausted? Do you know someone who is in desperate straits and needs God's help? Pray these verses for yourself or for someone else, and proclaim God's faithfulness.

LORD, there is no one like you! You ride across the heavens in majestic splendor to help us when we cry out to you. May we experience you today as our refuge and sense your everlasting arms of protection and love holding us. I praise you for your faithfulness and unparalleled power!

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 9.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House