CHRIST, THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD

By Joseph Prince – Posted July 15, 2017

1 Corinthians 1:24

…to the those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

People today run after two things: miraculous signs and wonders, and knowledge. It was no different in Bible times. The apostle Paul acknowledged that “Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom”. (1 Corinthians 1:22)

So when Paul preached Christ crucified as God’s solution to them, the message was “to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness”. (1 Corinthians 1:23) They didn’t understand how getting a revelation of Jesus and His death could give them the miracles they needed or the wisdom they wanted.

Beloved, we don’t have to run after miracles or wisdom today. We just need to run after Jesus because He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”. The more we know Christ and Christ crucified, the more we will have the power and wisdom of God.

Several church members have shared how they have seen the power of God blast financial debts out of their lives. Not knowing what to do about their debts, they looked to the Lord to deliver them. And the Lord was able to do so mightily because He is indeed the power of God.

So if you are facing a financial debt, Christ has the power to remove the debt. And because He is also the wisdom of God, He will show you where you went wrong and teach you how to stay out of debt!

Let me give you another illustration. Let’s say a man, whose wife has left him, looks to Jesus to bring his wife back. Christ, the power of God, brings about a miraculous restoration of their marriage. But it is Christ, the wisdom of God, who will teach the husband how to keep his wife by showing him what he had done wrong and what to do to strengthen the marriage. If the husband does not have this wisdom, it will only be a matter of time before the same problems surface and his wife leaves him again.

My friend, Christ is both the power and wisdom of God to us. As the power of God, He removes obstacles in our paths. As the wisdom of God, He continually directs our paths!

Thought For The Day

As the power of God, Christ removes obstacles in our paths. As the wisdom of God, He continually directs our paths!

He Collects Your Tears

By Joel Osteen – Posted July 15, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."
(Psalm 56:8, NLT)

TODAY'S WORD:

Do you know how important you are to God? He cares so much about every detail of your life. He cares about your thoughts, feelings and emotions. In fact, what you are going through is so important to Him that He records every sorrow and collects every tear you’ve shed. Why would God record your sorrows and collect your tears? Because He loves you so much, and He is your Vindicator. He’s keeping account of every wrong that’s ever been done to you so that He can make up for every single one of them. He wants to restore everything that has ever been stolen. He wants to heal every single hurt and pain. He sees the longings and desires of your heart, and you can rest knowing that He is working things out for your good! 

Today, know that you are precious to Him. He has your best interest at heart. He is working to bring restoration and peace to you. Keep standing, keep believing, and keep doing the right thing because the One who collects your tears will restore every broken place in your life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, thank You for loving me and setting me free. Thank You for being my vindicator. I choose to release every hurt, pain and sorrow, knowing that You will make all things new in Your time in Jesus' name. Amen.

Look to the Future for Your Reward

By Joyce Meyer - Posted July 15, 2017

For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God's will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
—Hebrews 12:11

We should look to the future, determine what we want to see happen, and then discipline ourselves in order that we may have it. We must not buy into the lie that we should only live for the moment or that the present is all we have. We also have a future to consider, and we need to begin to live with an eye toward "afterward," toward the "later on" times. We have to begin to care just as much or more about later on than we care about right now.

If you want to be thinner when the time comes to wear your swimsuit in June, you need to start eating healthily and exercising before summer arrives. If you want to be able to afford a new car next year, you need to work toward getting out of debt right now. If you dream of living in a nice, clean, orderly home, you have to clear out the clutter and clean it up!

Discipline may not be pleasant for your flesh while you're doing it, but it will give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction in your soul—the satisfaction that comes from knowing you are making good choices. If you will pay the price to be disciplined now, you will enjoy rewards later. If you don't pay the price now to do what is right, then you'll suffer the consequences of an undisciplined life later. 

You can pay now or you can pay later, but at some point, we all reap the harvest of the choices we've made. We can't simply wish our lives were different; we have to press through laziness, fleshly desires, and bad attitudes and refuse to give up on the discipline that will yield good fruit later on. If there is something you want to see happen in your future, start disciplining yourself toward it now, and later on you will enjoy the fruit of it.

Trust in Him: God's Word in Hebrews 12:11 says “no discipline brings joy…but afterwards….” If you discipline yourself now, you can trust that He'll bring you great reward afterward.

Lessons From a Shepherd: Sheep Hear My Voice

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted July 15, 2017

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
John 10:27-28

If you live in an urban environment with a dog, you probably let your pooch frolic with other canine pals at a dog park. Then (depending on how well-trained your dog is), when it’s time to go you call your pet’s name. Out of the several dozen dogs playing in the park, yours is the only one who stops and turns to look at you. Even if there is another dog in the park with the same name as your pet, only your dog stops and looks because he or she not only knows its name, it knows your voice.

Recommended Reading: John 10:3-5

Modern science is only now confirming what ancient shepherds knew—that sheep can recognize their shepherd’s voice. And that was important. Whenever flocks got mingled together, in a pasture or a market, the shepherd could call his flock out and they would follow him. It’s not hard to see why Jesus used this as a spiritual metaphor. Jesus’ followers know He has called them and they follow Him. In the cacophony of modern, multicultural voices, Jesus’ sheep can hear His voice in His Word.

The more you pay attention to Jesus’ voice in Scripture, the more you will recognize His voice in His Spirit’s leading.

The Word of God hidden in the heart is a stubborn voice to suppress.
Billy Graham