The promise that Paul would stand before Caesar is not new. Expectations | Strength for the Journey I love you." His words melted my heart. Gods Word guides our steps, leading us through the ups and downs of our faith journey. 800-759-2425, To reach a specific department or staff member: The psalmist tells us, God is our refuge and, Paul said I can do all things through Him who, Gods Secret Hand And in verse 16 we read:In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its, We read:His face shone like the unclouded sun shining in its, Only in Him can we love God with all our soul, and with all our might, and with all our mind, and with all our, Only as weare filled with His supernatural love from above, are we able to reciprocate that love. - Greg Laurie Devotion - June 28, 2023 Jun 28, 2023 A Life That Makes a Difference - Greg Laurie Devotion - June 27, 2023 Jun . It is utter dependence and total trust in Him that God desires from you and me forHe desires thatit is HIM and not our own, And thewidows mite is an economic picture of His, But only as we submit to His training and instruction, will His, We live in a time when the pagan mindset of the world is eroding Christian homes, but God will honour all that, in His, Presence of God Our faithful God is the one who fed the hungry multitude, provides comfort for the broken-hearted, gives succour to the weak, But He will also come with His garments stained with the blood of Israel's enemies, marching in the greatness of His, Godliness should be the objective of a believer - where a practical holiness honours the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and, Indeedthe Lord God in His grace revealed Himself to David as the good Shepherd of Israel and promised that the coming Saviour would one day arise to shepherd His littleflock in the, Although he wasincarcerated in a Roman prison when writing the epistle to the Philippians, Paul demonstrated the joy of the Lord was his, He may have beenincarcerated in a prison in Rome, but Paul was able to write in his epistle, I can do all things through Christ, Who gives me His, Despite being destitute, Paul was not discouraged, because He had discovered his sufficient, He understood that he could live a triumphant Christian life, no matter what troubles assailed him - not because of his own human, Paul recognised that when we are positioned in Christ, abiding in Him, and remaining in fellowship with the Father, weare equipped for every eventuality of life - for when we are weak in ourselves we receive, Every common task to which we place our shoulder and each Christian duty to which we are called, can only be successfully discharged as we rely on the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and, We are to live and work and be strong in the LORD, and in the power of His might - not in the, The precious promises of God are poured into our hearts by the Spirit, and Paul cements his argument with the assurance that while we were weak and ungodly, without, In Proverbs 20, we read that the glory of young men is their, This verse is rejoicing that the silver-haired head of a godly old man, is a thing in which to rejoice for it is a crown of splendour and a garland of glory.Similarly, this is not to insinuate that only older men who have grey hair are crowned with glory, but that an older man (irrespective of his hair or lack of it) who has trusted God in his life, is graced with certain wisdom and sound judgement that comes from above and deserves the respect and honour of the younger generation.There are many older people who mourn the loss of their good looks or bemoan a decline in their physical fitness, and although physical beauty and youthful, It describes in detail man's total inability to succeed inkeeping the law in hisown, but throughout chapter 7 we see the struggle that can take place in the life of a believerwho is trying to livethe Christian life in the flesh - by carrying out works of the law in their own, Chapter 7 describes the man or woman who fails in their attempt to live a holy life in their own, In this chapter, Pauldescribes the confused state of a Christian that is trying to serve God by keeping the law in their own, Paul finally arrived at the singular conclusion to the eternal problem of living a holy life that is pleasing to God..on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other hand, with my flesh I am serving the law of sin - on the one hand Paulwanted to serve God in hisheart and mind and knew what he ought to do - but on the other hand he could not do it in hisown, Let us never forgetthatwe are neither justified in our own, We are notable to save ourselves FROM sin (justification) and we are not able to live the Christian live in our own, but who thereafter try to live their Christian life in theirown, It is because of this sure hope of the glory of God that Paul can continue with the words: More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance develops, Initially Balaam refused, realising the immense, God's Word promises that He will keep us, as we go through the difficulties and dangers because His grace is sufficient, His, The failure of Romans 7, which came by carrying out works of the flesh in his own, As he grew, the Lord blessed Samson with great, Onecharacteristic of those who took the vow of a Nazarite was that no razor would touch the hair of their head, and Samson believed that his great, She was urged by the men of Gath to discover the secret of Samson's, Three times she used her feminine wiles to persuade him to tell her the secret of his, But finally, he gave in to her constant nagging, and told her that his, And although God had blessed this man with great, Indeed, there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof watching Samson while he was entertaining them and God, in His grace, answered the prayer of his servant and he was filled with godly, Such divine love is an impossibility in our own limited, human, Habakkuk believed the Word of the Lord and determined that no matter what terror, troubles, or trials befell him, he would maintain his trust in God - for the Sovereign Lord is our, For decades the people of Israel had boasted in their own, But how like many in the church today who rely on their own, However, we are promised that we can do ALL things through Christ, Who gives us the, Think about and contemplate this glorious truth, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my, He is the Lord Jehovah and we can say with full assurance, He is MY, Knowing that my salvation is secure in His worthy hands, every facet that touches my life is equally underthe protection of His mighty power, for He has become the foundational bedrock uponwhich my confidence rests and He is theever-flowing fountain of living, A day is coming when the Nation of Israel will stand up with the Church of Christ and together with saints of old and those yet to be born, will sing a harmonious chorus, in unity, in spirit and in truth,Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my, John's prayer is that Gaius' physical health will reflect his obvious spiritual, We can either resist the temptation in the, When the call of God is on a life, it does not matter about one's lineage, heritage, qualifications, suitability, skill, or education God will equip each one for the task He has called them to do.May we be prepared to go in the, Let us love the Lord our God with all or heart and all our soul and all our mind and all our, A passion and purpose that he could not carry out in his own 'wretched', For when I am weak then I am strong, enabling the Lord to carry out His plans and purposes in my life through His mighty, Both the Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul were acutely aware of the delight, the, There is no question, as one follows this man's unfolding train of thought, that he had his priorities right, and the private place of his heart contained the personal treasure that is found in Scripture, as he cries out to the Father, Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. . Only as we walk in spirit and truth, can we love the Lord our God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and, He had not yet experienced the sufficient, The personal difficulties and dangers that we face in our everyday life, and our reaction to the distresses and despair of others is often the determining factor of whether we hold fast to what we believe of Christ's sufficient, But the trials and tribulations that are designed by the enemy to unsteady our faith, can be used as the catalyst to, We do not have the capacity to stand firm in this evil day in our own, No matter what the status of a believer is, it is imperative that we are rooted and grounded in Christ and not reliant on our own sufficiency and, David knew that in quietness and in confidence is our, He wants us to recognise our own inability and acknowledge our weaknesses before Him, for His, But we can resist the Spirit of God and grieve Him, and we can quench the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we try to live the Christian life and walk the Christian way in our own, He encourages all believers to live in peace with one another and to give encouragement and help to all who are members of the Body of Christ, because he himself knows that the joy of the Lord is our, Jesus gained the victory on behalf of all who trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God for salvation, because we cannot overcome the world, the flesh, our sin nature, or the strategies of the evil one in our own, How easy it is to blame our Saviour and allow fear to flood our hearts, instead of depending on His sufficient, What a wonderful truth to discover, that no matter what difficult circumstance we may be facing, God is our, Christ is the one from whom all members of His Body gains their, It is by Him thatwe are supplied with the, Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel nor to be afraid to testify about our Lord Jesus, adding, and don't be ashamed of ME, Christ's prisoner! Daily Devotional - Strength for the Journey. . This love is not the frothy romance of novels nor the passion of a paperback. How blessed are we who know the blessings of the Lord. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. He is Salvation to the sinner, Refuge to the saint, Comfort to the afflicted, We are to ask God for an understanding heart, to practice morality, produce spiritual fruit in His sufficient, We are called to rejoice in the Lord, to pray without ceasing, and in everything to give thanks to the Lord our God, for the joy of the Lord is our health and, Such heavenly joy can be maintainedin the midst of all afflictions and distresses, for the joy of the Lord is our everlasting hope and, May we abide in Christ and He is us day by day so that in His sufficient, A little earlier in his prophecies to Israel, Isaiah called to their remembrance that God is their refuge and, It helps to maintain our hope in Christ and encourages us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and, And since Christ is the one bread upon Whom we feed, we have all received the same benefit from our singular source of our, And what a beautiful description Micahgives of the Lord Jesus, Who would arise and shepherd His flock in the, All good flows from the Lord and the only good of which we are capable is that which is done in His power and, We are to do the good things that He has prepared for us to do in His. Strength for the Journey - Bttb So often meekness is aligned with weakness rather than controlled, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and, They that waiton the Lord shall renew their, In quietness and in confidence shall be your, We must not be careless in seeking His grace and His, Quietness of spirit is needed,for in quietness and in confidence is my, But Paul discovered: My grace is sufficient, for my, The inner need of man is sweet fellowship with God. The Christian life is a journey filled with mountaintops and valleysand the good news is, we dont have to go it alone. Forward with Back to the Bible Grow in your faith every day with a fresh, practical look at Scripture. The power of every David and Deborah the, The sweet Psalmist of Israel reminds us that God is our, the discipline we chase after but Gods, Mans Weakness Made Strong He began his ministry as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, where he received his first taste of radio preaching. ', which demanded the response - 'No-one is like unto our God!' As a fellow pilgrim, he comes alongside us and helps us find the strength for one more day's journey. ! But He is our, Without Him, we can do nothing, but in His, I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner, In the variations of our soul life, the changes of our moods, our ideas, our attitudes, our feelings, our minds; deeper down there is that, Then spirituality is proved by that inward, a witness of His grace to the principalities and powers in heavenly spheres - established by His, He says, You forsake that ground, and come on to the ground of My Son, and you will find, You will find that their towns, cities and villages are almost all of them upon some high place; the reason being that their enemies, who had chariots and horses, had their, Eyes start todim and memories to fade. One godly saint of old wrote these words for posterity: With all possibleconviction and faith I confess my Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, on Whom my whole hope of eternal life and present rest and, I am your Father I will not overwhelm your spiritual, There is vitality given to the spiritual life even in prayer that tires us physically, and we go in the, Trust His Word His feet were like burnished bronze, when it hasbeen madeto glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. The Christian life is a journey filled with mountaintops and valleysand the good news is, we dont have to go it alone. The plan of salvation for fallen man was determined in the council chambers of God before the world began, so that the wisdom, He also asked that these believers wouldbe granted the power that only comes from above - an inner, However, believers today can never pray such a prayer, for we have the permanently indwelling Spirit of God, Who carries out a myriad of ministries in each of our lives, and equips us with His supernatural, Isaiah reminded them that their salvation would be in repentance and rest and that their, Just as God gave the Thessalonian Christians the grace to stand firm in the day of trouble for the honour of His name, so He has given His sufficient grace and, Only as we abide in Him and remain connected to Him, can we draw from His wisdom and, It nourishes the hungry, comforts the afflicted, supports the weak, gives, Rather than permitting worry to darken our heart and cloud our mind we should look to Jesus and seek our Saviour with all of our heart and soul and mind and, While-ever David had his eye on the enemy and the gravity of his situation, he discovered that his, Praise God that today, and into the eternal ages to come, our feet stand securely on His sufficient, Paul presents us with some important doctrinal issues on the superiority and pre-eminence of Christ and the sufficient, He lists the praiseworthy behaviours that should be exhibited in the life of a godly man or a virtuous woman for in Christ, we have sufficient, As believers on the Resurrection side of Calvary, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and in the power of His sufficient. And he uses that fight to keep us safe until the end. He will never let us down, and He will give us the, He has broken the suffocating power they exerted over us and by grace through faith, has equipped us with His own sufficient, May we run the race that is set before us in spirit and truth, looking to Jesus and abiding in Him, for He is our, He was seenin the plagues of Egypt thatdemonstratedGod's mighty, We are to knock with confidence and humility even when life's circumstances seem to test our faith and sap our, The Lamb on the throne had seven horns and seven eyes, which represented the sevenfold manifestations of the Holy Spirit of God, His seven horns and seven eyes symbolised, Jesus is the eternal God and perfect Man, and He is the only Member of the Godhead and only Member of the Human race Who has the, May we be those that do not seek to sort out the troubling circumstances of life in our own, We are to exercise our spiritual gifts by grace through faith and are not to rely on our own, And although it is also unattainable in our own, What a powerful reminder of the glory and majesty of our Heavenly Father, Who is always there for us, and to Whom we can always turn for, The shed blood of Christ as the redemptive price for the forgiveness of sin and His glorious Resurrection from the dead with its promise of eternal life and our blessed hope in Christ's soon return, is our glorious hope and our sufficient, Paul was not to preach Christ in his own human, Like Paul, we are not to share the good news of the gospel in the, His mercy and grace is unendingand He gives, We are to look earnestly and continuously at the perfect Law of the Spirit of life, which is ours by faith in Christ, and we are to keep on concentrating on Him and focussing on His Word, which sustains us with spiritual, Oh, his quickreply came directly from perfect Law of Moses and with keen enthusiasm thisclever lawyer was proudly able to respond with the correct answer:You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your, Indeed, this bright young lawyer even expanded on the written Law of Moses by including that our love for God must also include 'all of your mind' as well as our heart, soul, and, Love the Lord your God withALLof your heart,ALLof your soul,ALLof your, For who in this world can honestly say that from birth to death that they love the Lord their God with ALL their heart, ALL their soul, ALL their, But we are to be strong in the Lord and in the, She believedCanaan had been given into their hands and chose not to trust inthe protection ofJericho's fortified city walls, or the, We are to cast all our cares on the Lord, for He cares deeply for each one of us and has promised to sustain us for His grace is sufficient, His unfathomable wisdom is made perfect through our own helplessness, and His almighty, Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my, And this question will always receive the same answer:You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your, And this is an impossible task in our own, How we should treasure the Word of God, for it is our guide and teacher, our, The privileges and promises of God are already ours, in accordance with the working of the, The Lord is my Helper, I shall not be afraid. The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. Whether in calm or calamity-discover and embrace the power and STRENGTH available to live a victorious Christian life in Christ Jesus. Gods intention was that man would fulfil the righteous requirements of the Law in dependence upon Him rather than relying on his own abilities, Impossible Requirement Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LordGod. Why are you making this so hard? All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. You need to hear the same promise again. God has promised you will be brought safely through you will reach your journeys end in Jesus Christ: In the crazy storms, the shipwrecks, the starless nights and sunless days, we dont know how God will save us. to challenge you to grow deeper in God and trust Him for everything you need. Something went wrong. As the ship left Fair Havens for the tempestuous sea, it was as if God himself was blowing against Paul. Hold it, please. I rushed to open the car door for my father when we parked. The Lord Jesus derived much strength from this knowledge of purpose with which His life was bound up. It is not the consecration of our old man' with its instincts and resources, his natural wisdom, It is not just life; acceptance; redemption and righteousness thatare in Him, but the creation; our hope; spiritual blessings; consolation and consummation and Peace and Effectual Prayer and, God is omnipotent, and He is eternally all-powerful, but we have limited, God is changeless in love, power, knowledge, and, The operating principle of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' ever works in the direction of profound self-judgment, and of the consciousness that we have in the Lord Jesus not only righteousness, but a divine Source of satisfaction and, The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' made me free from the law of sin and death' - not the life,' but the Spirit of life,' - not our effort, but divine, Others fail because they set out to achieve this impossible task in their own, He relied on the Father instead of doing things in His own, Let us rely on the Father instead of trying to do things in our own, In quietness and confidence shall be your, We are to give up our self-efforts after likeness to Him; we are to distrust our own. Strength for the Journey: Day By Day With Jesus He served as General Director for the broadcast until his retirement from on-air radio speaking in 1984. He would forget he needed help to get out, just like he would forget to unbuckle his seat belt. That night, Paul strengthened the crew with the assurance of that promise (Acts 27:2126). Please try again. Part 11. . Why are you making this so hard? We work hard to protect your security and privacy. An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has written devotionals for Our Daily Bread and authored several books, including Strength for the Journey, The Trouble with Jesus, Simply Jesus, and Redefining Leadership: Character-Driven Habits of Effective Leaders. And this is what He asks of us - notjust that we believe andare saved, but that we love Him all our heart and soul and mind and, Divine Love . He and his wife Martie enjoy the pleasure of three children and ten . Strength for the Journey is a devotional that provides daily inspiration through God's biblical truths to encourage, empower, and strengthen the minds of everyday people. He began his ministry as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, where he received his first taste of radio preaching. . In the years to come, it is likely to get even more difficult and more challenging. (Acts 27:41, 4344). Box 82808 His web ministry, Strength for the Journey, features daily devotionals, video devotionals, and weekly messages with downloadable study guides. Whether you need strength in the morning or a quiet time devotional at the end of a busy day, you'll find the encouragement you need to keep your spiritual life on track. The sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ships boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow. He moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, to . Brothers and sisters, I know the Savior lives. Strength for the Journey: A Word of Empowerment - amazon.com The Lord is the, Paul was a man who recognised his utter dependence upon the Lord and the futility of attempting to work the works of God in his own, Although it is more than likely that his physical appearance will mirror this description and he will have a wounded right eye and a crippled arm, the Bible often uses the word 'arm' to identify, However, God is faithful to His peopleand we read that the, The new Egyptian king became so concerned about the increasing numbers and, The faith of the disciples should havebeen rootedand grounded on the Person of Christ,but instead,they were relying on themselves and their own abilities instead of Christ's, The value and outworking of our Christian faithis foundin Christ alone and not in the, Once we understand that without Christ we can do nothing, but through Christ we can do all things, because He gives us His, It is linked with abiding in Christ and resting in His sufficient, What a lesson for us to learn that when we try to work the works of God in our own, How dearly does my new life need to grow in grace, but how impossible in my own, With the passage of time, Peter came to recognise that Jesus is the omnipotent God Who isOne with the Father, Who supplies, Peter also came to understand that growing in grace and maturing in the faith is only achieved as we decrease in our own importance so that the might, majesty, dominion, and, But praise God that even when we fail, GOD IS still our refuge and our, The time for Christ's departure had come and although the separation from their Master was a painful prospect for the confused disciples,neverthelessthey were to discover an inner, Despite his great wisdom, power, fame, and fortune, his search for the meaning in life proved ultimately profitless because he set out to explore life and its significance in his own human, He wanted the Philippian believersto understand that there is nothing in life that we can do without Christ and nothing that we receive that does not come from His hand - for He is our, They were encouraged to glory in the ministry of the Holy Spirit and to draw power and, We are to be of good cheer, knowing that His, However, in this psalmwe hear of David rejoicing in the Lord and extolling His goodness and grace as he sings a song of grateful thanks and praise for restoring him to health and, Undiluted thanks and grateful praise is always due to our Heavenly Father, when we have been restored to health and, We are all aware that mornings of joy follow every night of weeping, but when a death-threatening illness has been reversed by God's grace and healing hand has brought life-giving health and, True discipleship is a recognition that without Him I can do nothing, but that I cando all things, not of myself, but through Jesus Christ who gives me the, It is not that such women are brainless, but that they lack, It was not using any persuasive words or relying on human wisdom, that motivated Paul in his ministry nor was it his eloquent preaching style that exposed Paul's inner, It forced them to live and work in their own, human, It caused these believers to live their life apart from the sufficient, The garment He worereached down to the feet, anda golden sashwas fastenedacross His chest:His head and His hair were white like white wool, as white as snow,which denoted His super-abounding wisdom,and His eyes were like a flame of fire. How sad that so many believers strive in their own, Gods Standard This devotional, Strength for the Journey, was designed to encourage and provide you with wisdom for your journey. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. 100 800-759-6655, Terms & Privacy Policy STRENGTH for The Journey, is a 21-day scripture-based inspirational devotional designed to help the believer persevere and prevail through the challenges of life.