![Courage and Compromise [Friday, #204]](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts112/v4/82/9a/de/829adeaf-5424-0e7c-74ab-4e9259a2f071/mza_2696786199013478553.jpeg/250x250bb.jpg)
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Our lives are filled with stuff. So much stuff that storage units seem like the fastest growing business around. Three-car garages are popular, not because we have three cars, but because we need one slot to store all our stuff.
In Psalm 4, the Psalmist is speaking about stuff. Material wealth. He looks around him at all his neighbors’ overflowing blessings. And his response? Contentment. Joy. In fact, more joy than his neighbors are experiencing with their fabulous blessings.
Let's see how we can adopt that attitude in today's audio devotional.
Key Passage:
“Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!’
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”(Psalm 4:4-7 ESV).
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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Pulling back the curtain. That's what I'll do in this bonus episode, as we go inside my new book, How to Meet with God. It's the audio track from my Facebook Live from minutes ago, and you can watch the video on my personal Facebook page.
By the way, if you get the book by Wednesday, you also get the 4 Earlybird Bonuses, including the Audiobook. In addition to that bonus, the Meeting with God Journal Page, a special short audio, 7 Quiet Time Killers and How to Overcome Them, and a book preview from a future book of mine, Better Than Gold: God's Blueprint for Wisdom.
Tell me you purchased the book and I will send you the Earlybird bonuses. [email protected]. You have until Wednesday--TOMORROW--May 7.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Jesus shows us how. That's the focus in this bonus episode, as we go inside my new book, How to Meet with God. I recorded this today just past sunrise on the Atlantic. Today, I cover chapter four, noting why it was appropriate to record this in the early morning. It's the audio track from my Facebook Live, and you can watch the video on my personal Facebook page.
By the way, if you get the book by Wednesday, you also get the 4 Earlybird Bonuses, including the Audiobook. In addition to that bonus, the Meeting with God Journal Page, a special short audio, 7 Quiet Time Killers and How to Overcome Them, and a book preview from a future book of mine, Better Than Gold: God's Blueprint for Wisdom.
Tell me you purchased the book and I will send you the Earlybird bonuses. [email protected]. You have until Wednesday, May 7.
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Why do we try "joy substitutes" when we have full joy? Good question.
We let joy “substitutes” crowd out our Savior. That’s why we go from one to another. They don’t satisfy for long. Jesus said, “that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” When I hear him saying that to me, I picture joy as a seed waiting to grow. Jesus’ joy is inside me, but it only grows when nourished.
Let's explore that today.
Key Passage: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11).
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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God loves you and longs to meet with you. Join me as we go inside my new book, How to Meet with God. Today, I cover chapter three and ask some probing questions. This is the audio track from my Facebook Live a few minutes ago. Watch future ones as we work our way through the pages.
Hear about how to receive 4 Earlybird Bonuses, including the Audiobook. In addition to that bonus, the Meeting with God Journal Page, a special short audio, 7 Quiet Time Killers and How to Overcome Them, and a book preview from a future book of mine, Better Than Gold: God's Blueprint for Wisdom.
You can reach out to me with questions or comments at [email protected].
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Join me as we go inside my new book, How to Meet with God, on Release Day-Plus One. This is the audio track from my Facebook Live just minutes ago. Today, I cover the benefits of spending time with God.
Hear about how to receive 4 Earlybird Bonuses, including the Audiobook. In addition to that bonus, the Meeting with God Journal Page, a special short audio, 7 Quiet Time Killers and How to Overcome Them, and a book preview from a future book of mine, Better Than Gold: God's Blueprint for Wisdom.
You can reach out to me with questions or comments at [email protected].
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“Guilty.” That’s what the judge pronounced at the end of the trial. When the word rang in Susan’s ears, she stood there in shock. She was convinced she would be cleared of the charges. Never in a million years did she think she’d be sent to prison. But that was about to become her new reality.
Susan was sentenced to five years for her crime, soon to be separated from her husband and two young children. Her freedom was about to be snatched away. No friends, no luxuries, not even the chance to see her kids’ school programs. She wouldn’t enter her home for half a decade.
Our story is much like Susan's. Find out why in today's audio devotional.
KEY PASSAGE:
1 John 2:1-2 NIV
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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Join me as we go inside my new book, How to Meet with God, on Release Day, today, May 1. This is the audio track from my Facebook Live minutes ago. It's quite a bit different than the Retreating with God episodes, but I promise you'll be fed and challenged.
Hear about how to receive 4 Earlybird Bonuses, including the Audiobook. In addition to that bonus, the Meeting with God Journal Page, a special short audio, 7 Quiet Time Killers and How to Overcome Them, and a book preview from a future book of mine, Better Than Gold: God's Blueprint for Wisdom.
You can reach out to me with questions or comments at [email protected].
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One of the greatest “light” statements in the Bible was announced by Jesus himself: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12 NIV). Jesus doesn’t shine the light. He is the light. Hang around him and you’ll have enough insight and clarity to take the next step, no matter what you’re facing. Today, we'll center in on Jesus the Light of the world.
KEY PASSAGE:
John 3:19-21
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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Jesus my Savior. Jesus your Savior. We throw that word around casually. “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” is a term we hear and use often, to the point that it becomes ho-hum. It has lost its significance.
Without Jesus, we’d be separated from God forever. No connection. No relationship. Spiritual death. Eternity in darkness. In Satan’s kingdom and under his rule. Hell is very real and that would be our destiny.In today's audio devotional, we'll stop and take a fresh look at the significance of Jesus as our Savior.
KEY PASSAGE:
Acts 4:10-12
Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving and giving ends of insincere offers for prayer. “I’ll pray for you” is the Christian thing to say. Actually, praying is the Christian thing to do.
Jesus is praying for you.
“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34 NIV).
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25 NIV).
That should encourage the socks off you. It does for me. Let's center on this today in our audio devotional.
KEY PASSAGE:
Romans 8:31-39
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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We can go into prayer two ways. The first is with our needs in the spotlight. The second is with Jesus in the spotlight. I prefer the latter. We'll continue our theme of prayer this week with a candid look at our own prayer life.
KEY PASSAGE:
Colossians 3:15-20
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
Connect with Jon at [email protected]
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I’m so thankful that I don’t need to beg God when I come to him in prayer. Instead, I approach God this way: “Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).
I need that refreshing perspective. Don’t you? In today's audio devotional, we'll consider five reasons you can approach God with confidence.
KEY PASSAGE:
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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Our home has several crawl spaces that are accessible on the second floor. Small doors open to a secret world kids love to explore. As adults, we know these spaces as the attic. Our grandchildren are ready to crawl and walk through this secret world without reservation. In fact, one of our grandsons said, “Grandpa, you live in a castle!”
As for me, I enter these spaces cautiously. For some reason, I don’t trust the plywood and massive joists to hold me up. I envision falling through to the floor below. My fear is unfounded, but real.
All my grandchildren are less fearful that I am! They’ll play in the attic with no reservation at all while I’m afraid to go in. How’s that for being humbled?
In my walk with God, I wish I had the faith of a five-year-old. Today, we'll explore how we can!
KEY VERSE:
Revelation 1:8 (NIV)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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Have you ever wished you could have the faith of Paul? Moses? Noah? Or some other Bible great?
It’s only natural to compare ourselves to someone else, even when it comes to our spiritual life. That someone may be one of your Christian friends. Or it could be a person you’ve never met but you’ve put on a pedestal. Let's take a different look at this in today's audio devotional.KEY PASSAGE:
Hebrews 11:24-29
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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Faith is our theme this week, and we all have a unique faith story. After an experience that would change my destiny, I walked through the front door and stood in our living room. An hour earlier, I had heard the Gospel for the first time at a tiny church in Upstate New York. Seated on the couch, my parents asked me how the meeting went. I blurted out, “I was born again!” You should have seen the puzzled looks on their faces.
I hardly knew what it meant to be born again, but that’s how my journey of faith began nearly five decades ago as a high school junior.Let's explore our faith story today.
KEY PASSAGE:
John 3:5-8
Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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By God's grace, we can win the war against temptation. But it must be on God's terms. We'll explore that today.
Key Passage: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:12-14).
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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Today, we retreat into one of Paul's most inspiring statements -- and see how we can make it our own.
Key Verse: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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Assuring words for you today when life has you in its hold. Philippians 4 is our focus as we start the week and a new theme: Encouragement.
Key Passage: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
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“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Genesis 41:46 NIV).
This one line in Scripture describes a pinnacle for an extraordinarily courageous man of God. Let’s venture back more than a decade when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. He was betrayed and deserted by his own family. What a lonely, frightening and hopeless situation.
Yet, God had big plans for this young man, even when bound by the constraints of captivity. We can learn a lot from Joseph when it comes to compromising our relationship with God. We'll do that in today's audio devotional.
KEY PASSAGE:
Genesis 39:1-10
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.
The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
RESOURCES:
Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.
Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.
- Visa fler
