The Daily Readings for April 27, 2016

Leviticus 19:1-18
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the LORD your God. When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, or on the next day; and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the LORD; and any such person shall be cut off from the people. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God. You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD. You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD. You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. Beloved, pray for us. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Matthew 6:19-24
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Morning Psalms

Psalm 72
1   Give the King your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the King's son;
2   That he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice.
3   That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills bring righteousness.
4   He shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
5   He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, from one generation to another.
6   He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, like showers that water the earth.
7   In his time shall the righteous flourish; there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.
8   He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9   His foes shall bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
10   The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts.
11   All kings shall bow down before him, and all the nations do him service.
12   For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper.
13   He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy.
14   He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence, and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
15   Long may he live! and may there be given to him gold from Arabia; may prayer be made for him always, and may they bless him all the day long.
16   May there be abundance of grain on the earth, growing thick even on the hilltops; may its fruit flourish like Lebanon, and its grain like grass upon the earth.
17   May his Name remain for ever and be established as long as the sun endures; may all the nations bless themselves in him and call him blessed.
18   Blessed be the Lord GOD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds!
19   And blessed be his glorious Name for ever! and may all the earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.

Evening Psalms

Psalm 119:
73   Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
74   Those who fear you will be glad when they see me, because I trust in your word.
75   I know, O LORD, that your judgments are right and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76   Let your loving-kindness be my comfort, as you have promised to your servant.
77   Let your compassion come to me, that I may live, for your law is my delight.
78   Let the arrogant be put to shame, for they wrong me with lies; but I will meditate on your commandments.
79   Let those who fear you turn to me, and also those who know your decrees.
80   Let my heart be sound in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.

Psalm 119:
81   My soul has longed for your salvation; I have put my hope in your word.
82   My eyes have failed from watching for your promise, and I say, "When will you comfort me?"
83   I have become like a leather flask in the smoke, but I have not forgotten your statutes.
84   How much longer must I wait? when will you give judgment against those who persecute me?
85   The proud have dug pits for me; they do not keep your law.
86   All your commandments are true; help me, for they persecute me with lies.
87   They had almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your commandments.
88   In your loving-kindness, revive me, that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

Psalm 119:
89   O LORD, your word is everlasting; it stands firm in the heavens.
90   Your faithfulness remains from one generation to another; you established the earth, and it abides.
91   By your decree these continue to this day, for all things are your servants.
92   If my delight had not been in your law, I should have perished in my affliction.
93   I will never forget your commandments, because by them you give me life.
94   I am yours; oh, that you would save me! for I study your commandments.
95   Though the wicked lie in wait for me to destroy me, I will apply my mind to your decrees.
96   I see that all things come to an end, but your commandment has no bounds.

The Daily Meditation for April 27, 2016

From Forward Day by Day

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I have always enjoyed preparing and serving food to dinner guests. Sometimes I am the one who calls in a pizza order, and that’s the extent of my “preparing.” When I am able to serve food that I’ve grown in my garden, the experience is exponentially richer. I am more invested in the process and in the feeding. I have invested my time as well as my treasure, and my heart is in those meals in a way that is above and beyond delivery or take-out.

The same is true of music. If I just push play on a music player, there is little investment, but when I pick up my guitar to play and sing a song I have written, my whole heart is in it. I am invested in it. The things I treasure most are the things I have created and that usually means an investment of time, and ultimately, my heart.

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His Princess Every Day - Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.

Anything

My Daughter,

Don’t let past disappointments or fears keep you from asking your daddy in heaven for what you need. When your heart is committed to following me, you can ask me anything and I will do even greater than what you ask for. If what you request is to bring glory to me and not you, I will do something so huge in your life you will me amazed. I love to prove my power to you personally. I will always keep my promises and I love when you ask me to use you to further my kingdom on earth. Keep seeking me with all your heart and wait on me to answer. Believe that I will do all that you ask in my perfect time and your faith will be strong!

Love,
Your True King 

The Lord answered, "I can do anything! Watch and you'll see my words come true." - Numbers 11:23 (CEV)

This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Visit HisPrincess.com for devotionals, books, videos, and more from Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Girlfriends in God - April 27, 2016

You Are Who God Says You Are

Sharon Jaynes

 
Today’s Truth

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1 NIV) 

Friend to Friend

I became a Christian when I was a teenager. But even after I made a commitment to follow Christ, feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy clung to me like a spider’s sticky web. The dirge of “I’m not good enough” was a song I couldn’t get out of my head. The lies of the enemy created limitations in my life. They were the barbed wire that fenced me in and kept God’s best at bay.

The problem was, I had no idea who I was, what I had, or where I was as a child of God. Oh, I understood that I was going to go to heaven when I left this earth, but what I was supposed to do until I got there had me stumped. I felt that I was always disappointing God, and I was certainly a disappointment to myself. I tried the best I could to be the best I could be, but always fell short.

Eventually I joined the ranks of thousands of Christians before me who settled in the land of in-between: saved from my Egypt—the penalty of sin in the hereafter, but worlds away from my Promised Land—experiencing the abundant life in the here and now. I settled into a stagnant faith, a safe faith, the stuck faith with other defeated believers who falsely saw themselves through a filter of past sins and failures, rather than through the lens of their new identity as a child of God.

After high school I went to college where I met and married an awesome Christian man. About four years later, I became a mom. Life was good, except for this termite-like gnawing in my gut that I just didn’t quite measure up to all the other church moms with their smiling faces. (I wonder if you’ve ever felt that way too.)

I walked around with the fear that one day I would be found out—that one day folks would figure out that I wasn’t all I was cracked up to be. I lived under an undefined self-imposed standard of approval.

Childhood echoes of “you’re so ugly” and “what’s wrong with you” and “you can’t do anything right” left me feeling congenitally flawed. I sat in Bible study groups like someone in a hospital waiting room: hoping for the best but expecting the worst. My greatest fear was that I’d be no closer to being free of the insecurity than I was before the study began.

When I was in my mid-thirties, I sat under the teaching of an older woman in my church, Mary Marshal Young. She opened my eyes to the truths in Scripture about who I was, what I had, and where I was (my position) as a child of God. I had read those verses scattered throughout Scripture before, but when she encouraged me to cluster them together into one list, God began a new work in my heart. 

You are a saint.
You are chosen.
You are dearly loved.
You are holy. 

These truths were right there on the pages of my Bible in black and white and a few in red. 

You are reconciled through Christ’s life.
You are justified by Christ’s blood.
You are free from condemnation through Christ’s death.
You have the mind of Christ.
You can do all things through Christ. 

I knew the verses were the infallible Word of God, but I felt rather squeamish hearing them, reading them, believing them.
They didn’t feel right.
They didn’t sound right.
They made me downright uncomfortable.

And all the while I was studying about my true identity, the devil taunted me with accusations. Who do you think you are? A saint? Are you kidding? This stuff might be true for some people, but it certainly is not true about you.

One day God asked me an important question—one that He is asking you right now. Who are you going to believe?

I was at a crossroads, one you might be standing at this very moment. Was I going to believe God and begin seeing myself as God saw me, or was I going to continue believing the lies of the enemy and the echoes of my past? Was I going to remain stuck in a stagnant faith because I was too insecure to take a step toward the abundant life that Jesus had promised, or was I going to march confidently around the walls of my inadequacies until they came tumbling down?

Finally, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. “God, I’m going to believe I am who You say I am,” I prayed. “I don’t feel it. I can barely think it. But I’m going to believe Your Word is true for me and about me.”

And that’s what I’m challenging you to do today. Let go of your insecurities and take hold of your true identity. Will you join me? If so, click over to my Facebook page and say, “I’m taking hold!” 

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing me to be your child. Today, I am choosing to believe that I am who You say that I am—a holy, dearly loved, child of Yours who is equipped by You, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and enveloped in Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen. 

Now It’s Your Turn 

Have you noticed that it is easier to believe what God says about Himself than what God says about you? Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). We read those words and shout, “Amen! Hallelujah! Woo-hoo!” But He also said, “YOU are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). Hmmm. Not a lot of shouting going on with that one. So which is it? Both! Are you going to believe what Jesus said is true about you?

Write down these three truths on an index card and make them yours today.

I am the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13
I am the light of the world. Matthew 5:14
I am completely forgiven. Ephesians 1:7 

More from the Girlfriends 

Today’s devotion was taken from my new book, Take Hold of the Faith you Long For: Let Go, Move Forward, Live Bold. A mediocre, mundane faith is not your destiny! In Take Hold of the Faith You Long For, I reveal the most common reasons we get stuck in our Christian faith. I show you how to break free of all that holds you back, move forward with all that God promises, and live the adventurous faith of bold believing. It’s time to leave behind feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy that hold you hostage and take hold of the mountain-moving faith God intends. Let’s uncover untapped sources of confidence and courage, and see how to move from simply knowing the truth to actually living it out boldly in a life marked by true freedom and expectancy. It’s time to get UNSTUCK! Click on the book cover to discover free bonuses when you order before May 1, 2016.

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Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 1311
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The Pride Roadblock

“I hate pride and arrogance.” Proverbs 8:13 

In the middle of your highway to forgiveness there may be a giant roadblock called pride. You know in your heart that you offended your wife with that comment about her body, or her intelligence, or her family. You realize you hurt your husband with that remark about his selfishness or his waste of money. But something is keeping you from admitting wrong and seeking forgiveness. Even though you know you’re guilty, you can’t get the words out of your mouth. At best you can mumble, “I’m sorry,” but you don’t really want to know if your partner heard you.

Pride is terribly destructive to human relationships. It may be the sin that God hates most, because there are more than one hundred references to it in Scripture. Proverbs 6:17–19 describes seven things that God finds detestable, and the first one on the list is “a proud look.” If you or your mate have a haughty attitude that prevents you from seeking forgiveness and reconciling, it will damage your marriage. We encourage you to swallow your pride and talk to your spouse. Once you’ve done that, why not clear one more roadblock and seek the Lord’s forgiveness for your prideful heart?

Just between us…

• Has my pride kept us apart in the past? How?
• In what ways has swallowing our pride blessed us in the past?
• How can we break down the roadblock of pride on our way to a stronger relationship? 

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your example of humility and mercy. Forgive us for our stubborn, prideful treatment of each other. We want to change. Help us to lay aside pride, admit wrongs, and humbly ask for forgiveness. Amen. 

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

GOD USES PROBLEMS AND PERSECUTION TO INSPECT YOU

“When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3 NCV

Here is another of five ways God uses problems and persecution in your life: God uses problems and persecution to INSPECT you. An African Christian businessman shares this testimony:

Born in a rich family I was living for earning big money. My businesses were very profitable. All over town people knew me. When God revealed to me the insignificance of money and richness, I accepted Christ after a long struggle. He changed my life. No longer was I running after money but I started sharing what God had done in my life.

After some time, suddenly the police came to our house. Officers carrying guns took me to their office to interrogate me, asking me all kinds of questions, treating me as if I was a criminal. The next day the same thing happened. A lot of soldiers entered my home and stood in every room making my children cry. For over a period of six months they threatened me. Day after day they asked me and threatened me to stop sharing the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every time I responded saying: “No, I am not going to stop sharing about the life I received through Jesus Christ”

After six months they stopped. One man of the security forces told me, “The reason we could not do anything to you is because we couldn’t find any lie in your life.”

A year later, I saw on television the whole group of security men that had intimidated my family and me. They were shivering with fear in front of a judge. The government had changed and those people had to appear before the court because of things they had done. It was as if God told me, “This is what happens with those that oppose you, when you share My words.”

People are like tea bags...if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? 

RESPONSE: God is at work in my life—even when I do not recognize it or understand it. It is much easier and more profitable when I cooperate with Him. This is the way to victory!

PRAYER: God may I be found faithful to You through every test.

Verse of the Day - April 27, 2016

Luke 19:10 (NIV) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Read all of Luke 19