DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 3.11.23

 The Giver of Hope - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. —John 10:10 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-giver-of-hope/- Listen Things happen in life that are bad, and they always will be bad. There are things that never should have happened, but they did. But despite the bad, God can still bring good. The Bible promises, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28NLT). Yet this is often misunderstood. We mistakenly think it means that God will take every bad thing and turn it into a good thing. What is God’s endgame, then? We find the answer to that question in the next verse: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so thathis Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (verse 29 NLT). God knew us before we knew Him. And He chose us to become like His Son. This is our hope. Now, the devil doesn’t want this to happen. In fact, he wants us to abandon hope. But Jesus wants us to abandon hopelessness; we can have hope as His followers. He said, “The thief’s [devil’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to givethem a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT). We have a choice: we can either listen to the devil or listen to Jesus. Don’t listen to the devil, because he is a liar and the father of lies (see John 8:44). He will whisper in your ear and say, “Your life is not worth living, and your familyand friends would be better off without you.” Those are lies. Your life is a gift from God, and it is worth living. And you are loved more than you realize. ----------------------------- Choose to Let God In - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would chooselife, so that you and your descendants might live! �Deuteronomy 30:19 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/choose-to-let-god-in/- Listen Things happen in life that are bad, and they always will be bad. There are things that never should have happened, but they did. But despite the bad, God can still bring good. The Bible promises, �And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them� (Romans 8:28NLT). Yet this is often misunderstood. We mistakenly think it means that God will take every bad thing and turn it into a good thing. What is God�s endgame, then? We find the answer to that question in the next verse: �For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so thathis Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters� (verse 29 NLT). God knew us before we knew Him. And He chose us to become like His Son. This is our hope. Now, the devil doesn�t want this to happen. In fact, he wants us to abandon hope. But Jesus wants us to abandon hopelessness; we can have hope as His followers. He said, �The thief�s [devil�s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to givethem a rich and satisfying life� (John 10:10 NLT). We have a choice: we can either listen to the devil or listen to Jesus. Don�t listen to the devil, because he is a liar and the father of lies (see John 8:44). He will whisper in your ear and say, �Your life is not worth living, and your familyand friends would be better off without you.� Those are lies. Your life is a gift from God, and it is worth living. And you are loved more than you realize. -------------------------- The Value of Your Life - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org It was by faith that Moses� parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king�scommand. �Hebrews 11:23 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-value-of-your-life/- Listen All parents think their children are beautiful, but Moses was extraordinarily so. The Bible tells us that his parents �saw that God had given them an unusual child� (Hebrews11:23 NLT). Or, as the New King James Version translates it, �He was a beautiful child.� Apparently, Moses was exceptional in the way he looked. However, in the original language, the word translated �beautiful� also implies that he was cheerful. And when Stephenaddressed the Sanhedrin, he said that Moses was �a beautiful child in God�s eyes� (Acts 7:20 NLT). In other words, God had a special purpose for his life. So, not only was this child beautiful, but he had a purpose. God singled out Moses. And in the same way, God has a purpose for you, a special plan that is unique to you. God called Jeremiah to be a prophet before Jeremiah was born. He said, �I knew you before I formed you in your mother�s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointedyou as my prophet to the nations� (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT). That�s why it is such a tragedy in our world that so many lives of unborn children, living souls made in the image of God, have been taken. Among those millions there mayhave been someone to change our world, someone to make a significant impact on our culture. The psalmist David wrote, �You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed� (Psalm 139:16NLT). Have you ever stopped and wondered why God has preserved you up to this point? Maybe you have had a close brush with death or an illness that you weren�t supposed to survive.Yet here you are right now. Just as God had a plan for Moses, God has a plan for you. --------------------------------------- The Basket in the Reeds - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among thereeds along the bank of the Nile River. �Exodus 2:3 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-basket-in-the-reeds/- Listen When Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, realized they could no longer hide Moses, they put the matter in God�s hands. They placed Moses inside a little basket coveredwith pitch, which means that it was waterproof. Then they put the basket among the reeds in the Nile River, which happened to be where Pharaoh�s daughter decided to bathe in the river that day. As though on cue, Moses cried,and she saw the basket in the reeds. And when she opened it and laid eyes on Moses, her maternal instincts kicked in. Seemingly out of nowhere, Miriam, the sister of Moses, approached the princess and offered to find someone to help nurse the baby for her. Ultimately, Pharaoh�s daughter paidJochebed to nurse her own son until he was older. I love how that story unfolds, because in it we see the practical and the spiritual working together. Sometimes we go too far one way or the other. Everything is spiritualand never practical, or everything is practical and never spiritual. However, there�s a place for trusting, and there�s a place for being practical. Baby Moses cried, and Pharaoh�s daughter heard. A baby�s tears were God�s first weapon in Hiswar against Egypt. How hard it must have been for Jochebed to turn Moses over to Pharaoh�s daughter when the time came. But she had to trust the Lord. Jesus said, �And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much inreturn and will inherit eternal life� (Matthew 19:29 NLT). Jesus keeps His promises, and He will keep His promises to you. Whatever you have given up to follow Jesus will be more than made up to you in this life and in the life tocome. ----------------------------- TheSin of Complaining �And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.� (Psalm106:15) Christians who complain about their circumstances would do well to ponder this sobering verse and its background. God had greatly blessed His people, Israel, delivering them supernaturally from slavery in Egypt, protecting them against their enemies�even miraculouslysupplying daily bread and water for them in the desert. Still they complained�about their food, about the imaginary luxuries they had left behind in Egypt, and against their leaders. �And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled� (Numbers11:1). Finally, when they complained about the manna, �the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly.� He sent them quail to eat in such abundance as to last �even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you.� Then, �whilethe flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed...the LORD smote the people with a very great plague� (Numbers11:10, 20, 33). God has blessed every Christian with forgiveness of sin and eternal life. He daily fulfills His promise to supply every need (not every desire, however), and we should live a thankful life in return, regardless of our particular lot in this world. �In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you� (1Thessalonians 5:18). �Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee� (Hebrews13:5). �Do all things without murmurings and disputings� (Philippians2:14). Complaining about what we don�t have may well result in God taking away what we do have�and still worse, sending leanness into our souls. HMM --------------------------- FindingJoy in God�s Will - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. �Psalm 40:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/finding-joy-in-gods-will/- Listen Does God have a master plan for our lives? And if so, how do we discover it? How can we know the will of God? Often, we have two views about the will of God that aren�t accurate. The first view is that finding God�s will is difficult, as though God were hiding it from us. We imagineGod looking down from Heaven and saying, �You�re getting warmer. Warmer. Hot! Hot! No. Cold. Cold. Cold.� The opposite view is that God�s will is something undesirable, like going on a diet. Every diet seems to be either boring or miserable. And we can think of God�s will thatway. But here is what we need to know: On one hand, there is joy in the will of God. For example, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, �By the will of God, I will beable to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other� (Romans 15:32 NLT). God�s will is joyful, and He wants to reveal His will to us. On the other hand, when we�re not walking in God�s will, there is misery. In fact, the most miserable place to be is outside of God�s will. The will of God is not an option for the true Christian. Therefore, not only should we want to know the will of God, but we also should be anxious to do the will of God. Thepsalmist David wrote, �I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart� (Psalm 40:8 NLT). God�s will is not something that we are forced to do, but it should be something that we want to do. And we�ll find joy in doing the will of God.