013119-THE ULTIMATE ADOPTION

January 31 

Adopted

Bible in a Year:

Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20:17–34

God sent his Son . . . that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Galatians 4:4–5

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Today's Scripture & Insight:

Galatians 4:1-7

I’m glad when a philanthropist builds an orphanage for homeless children. I’m thrilled when that person gives even more and adopts one of them. Most orphans would be delighted merely to have a patron. But then to learn the sponsor isn’t content merely to help me but also wants me. How must that feel?

If you’re a child of God you already know, because it’s happened to you. We couldn’t complain if God had merely loved us enough to send His Son that we might “not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It would be enough for us. But not for God. He “sent his Son . . . to redeem” us, not as an end in itself, but “that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4–5).

The apostle Paul refers to us as “sons” because in his day it was common for sons to inherit their father’s wealth. His point is that now everyone who puts their faith in Jesus, whether man or woman, becomes a “son” of God with equal and full rights of inheritance (v. 7).

God does not merely want to save you. He wants you. He has adopted you into His family, given you His name (Revelation 3:12), and proudly calls you His child. You could not possibly be loved more, or by anyone more important. You aren’t merely blessed by God. You are the child of God. Your Father loves you.

By 

Today's Reflection

Father, what a privilege to call You this! Thank You for saving me, and for wanting me.

Welcome to Mike Wittmer! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.

2.

Hi there,

I talked a bit about being stuck before figuring out some essentials and starting Lifehack, and today I'd like to dive a bit deeper into that story. The date was Christmas Eve, 2006. That day, my team -- where I worked as a manager at a fortune 500 company -- had just finalized a huge and complicated project with high pressure deadlines. My hard work had indeed yielded results. In a short 5 years since starting at Red Hat, I'd steadily climbed the ladder, going from a junior engineer to a senior manager in charge of global software engineering operations. I was the youngest manager in the whole company. I had all the indications of success. A flashy sports car, stock options, and a very comfortable financial situation As I was privately celebrating in my office, it slowly dawned on me that the sense of satisfaction and achievement I expected to feel... just wasn't there. Instead there was a sense of emptiness and apathy, mixed with a tinge of anxiousness and fear. Why was I feeling this way? When I started at my company, one of my mentors had told me of this moment; when I would begin tasting the thrill of success in a big company --- along with all of its associated benefits. The notion had really excited me at the time, and drove me to put in years of extreme effort. Unlike a lot of my peers, success never came easy for me at all. Even in university, I was never the greatest student and spent most of my time absorbed in my true passion, which was exploring and building the new frontier of web applications. My success was also giving me huge challenges: as I became more "successful", my time was no longer under my control. To me, my career should be my life's work, and not just some job that helps me get by. I didn't want my "real life" to only be the half of my life that's outside of work. I'd always been passionate about self improvement, and pushing myself to be more and do more. I wasn't sure how, but I wanted to contribute something valuable to the world. The next twenty years would be the prime years of my life, but I already knew most of it would be spent doing something that wasn't fulfilling this purpose. My internal struggle was that I had already worked so hard to get to this point. I was in a comfortable position to move onto the next stage of a "normal life". I was ready to get married, have kids and start a family. I had to reassure my soon-to-be fiancee our future was steady and secure. I also had to fulfill the expectations of my family, friends, and even colleagues. By everyone else's standards, everything was "great" already. It would probably be the height of stupidity to give up on the career path I was currently on. But as I sat looking out at the beautiful view of the city from my window, this growing feeling of uncertainty only started to get stronger and stronger. Over the next few weeks, I realized something was way off. I almost immediately got promoted onto an even bigger and more important project. But, instead of feeling excitement, I just felt... really tired. Some of my colleagues suggested I was burnt out ... maybe I should take a vacation! But as the weeks dragged on, I started suspecting otherwise. It was only a few short months later, when I hit the first true crossroads of my life. Depending on my decision, I could see my life diverging along two completely different paths. So what happened? It was pretty life-changing. In fact, it ultimately led me to developing an incredible course that can help you transform your life, too. Would you like to know what I found out, which allowed me to get my idea up and running with no money? Stay tuned for tomorrow's email, where I'll share how a simple change of mindset transformed my life -- and, more importantly, how you can get similar results. Cheers, Leon 3. Every victorious prayer warrior has a ... collection of prayers that have brought great deliverance and blessings. They pray and share them to receive more blessings. Prayer eagles like my students hoard them, collect them, and treasure them. I learned that in case of a fire, most of my students would move to save their prayer collections first. I showed them how to download all our prayer riots and keep them for future use. Over the years I instructed my assistants to set up electronic prayer cabinets organized by topic. Debt Freedom Marriages Relationships Salvation Spiritual Growth Holy Spirit Baptism Healing and Deliverance Finances and Evangelism Job and Career Advancement Dreams and Visions Prophecies Spiritual Warfare Holy Living Yes, I catalogued everything that prayer warriors have prayed since the dawn of Christianity. I studied them and asked the Holy Spirit to show me when to use them. Take for example the "Great Physician" prayer. It is responsible for hundreds of healing testimonies on our websites. Another one is the prayer against rejection which goes like this: 'Covenant keeping God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the places where they have rejected me, cause them to call me back and fall over themselves to help me in Jesus' name.' That one has brought so many testimonies we stopped counting. New jobs. Many weddings. Happy marriages. Then my assistant alerted me to a prayer file salvaged from a very old HP computer I used in the nineties. It was bizarre. We used it for training and deliverance from "hard" problems. Especially for those tormented by serpentine powers. I had never seen a prayer sequence that effective. I stored those prayer files in that old hard drive and forgot about them for 22 years! Earlier this year, I found them and sat down and started to go through them. Goldmine! One lady used them and got delivered from a serpent projected into her private parts when she visited a false prophet years ago! Another student accessed the prayers late last year. At 6:00 A.M. in the morning of January 8, 2019 she sent this email: === "Permission Request to Share Lesson ZERO" "Good day elisha Please may you allow me to share Lesson Zero with my friend, her name is xxxxxxx. She did her Prayer Academy sometime back before Lesson Zero was introduced. She is having a problem that I once went through which was addressed in Lesson Zero. I used to have dream of a spirit spouse wearing my husband's face. On the first day of Lesson Zero the spirit husband was unmasked, it was a serpent, wearing my husband's clothes but its face was unmasked, I chased it until I destroyed it. My friend is being attacked by a spirit, which comes wearing her younger face. Please allow me to share the prayer points with her."  === There are 70 of those prayer bullets. All collected into a new Prayer Academy PDF entitled: LESSON 0: 70 Prayers to Terminate the Ministry of the Serpent and there's so much more to this as well. The pdf opens with these words: == "Powerful revelation today… … aimed at opening your eyes to a hidden realm where victory is won or lost -- before anything happens in the physical world." == If you want to discover these "lost" prayer bullets no one has heard of... head on over to the Prayer Academy sign-up page: The Prayer Academy With New Mystery Lesson ZERO http://www.firesprings.com/order07.htm (In the future this Lesson may no longer be available). Be An Overcomer elisha Firesprings, INC | 2679 Howard Ave Suite 138 | Windsor, ON N8X 3X2 | Canada Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options 3. I'm Too Busy! I'm Too Busy! Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:18 AM PST If you want to pin or bookmark this devotion, please use the permanent link: I'm Too Busy! “I’m too busy.”  How often I’ve said this! Sometimes births, holidays, sickness, family problems, and life transitions leave me no alternative. But usually I choose what will keep me busy, and what keeps me busy reflects my values and priorities. Even though people rarely think of busyness as a sin, it’s often a result of pride, foolishness, laziness, irresponsibility, or lack of planning. God’s principles can help: Johns 15--Jesus is glorified when we “bear much fruit," but we produce inferior fruit when we spread ourselves too thin. Ephesians 2:10--God has prepared purposes for us. Even when we busy ourselves with lots of good things, we can miss the best things. Colossians 3:23-24--God is our boss. He can help us plan our schedule and prioritize our lives. God isn’t calling us to busyness—He is calling us to His priorities and purposes. If you have too many commitments, pray about which to trim from your schedule. If you’ve been wasting time, pray about ways to de-clutter your schedule and set solid priorities. ------------------- Dear Subscribers: On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the title link for the devotion quits working shortly after it is sent out. You can read the full devotion here in this email, but to access this particular devotion on site, to pin or bookmark it, you must use this link: I'm Too Busy!

013018-THE WONDERS AND MARVELS OF GOD'S CREATION

January 30 

Algae and Diatoms

Bible in a Year:

Exodus 23–24; Matthew 20:1–16

Stop and consider God’s wonders.

Job 37:14

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Today's Scripture & Insight:

Job 37:14-24

“What’s a diatom?” I asked my friend. I was leaning over her shoulder looking at pictures on her cell phone she had taken through a microscope. “Oh, it’s like algae, but it’s harder to see. Sometimes you need a drop of oil on the lens or they have to be dead to see them,” she explained. I sat amazed as she scrolled through the pictures. I couldn’t stop thinking about the intricate detail God put into life that we can only see with a microscope!

God’s creation and works are endless. In the book of Job, one of Job’s friends, Elihu, points this out to Job as he struggles through his loss. Elihu challenges his friend, “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?” (Job 37:14–16). We, as humans, can’t begin to understand the complexity of God and His creation.

Even the parts of creation we can’t see reflect God’s glory and power. His glory surrounds us. No matter what we’re going through, God is working, even when we can’t see it and don’t understand. Let’s praise Him today, for “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted” (Job 5:9).

By Julie Schwab

Today's Reflection

Lord, thank You for the detail You put into creation and for being at work even when we can’t see it.

Welcome to Julie Schwab! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.

2.

Paul's Boast

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Paul's Boast Posted: 29 Jan 2019 05:37 AM PST In Living in the Midst of Deception we noted four of Jeremiah's characteristics that helped him stand firm in difficult times. The Apostle Paul gives us a similar example to follow: 1. Knowing God... Paul longed to know God wholeheartedly (Philippians 3:8-10). 2. Speaking truth... Paul was not ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16). 3. Trusting God... Paul relied on Christ's strength (Philippians 4:13). 4. Remaining loyal despite persecution... Paul suffered and persevered (Romans 5:3; Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 11:23-29). It's no coincidence that Paul refers to Jeremiah 9:23-24 in both 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17. Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24 Let's read that passage again!  3. Living in the Midst of Deception God said Jeremiah “lived in the midst of deception” (Jeremiah 9:6). We do too.  Just as Jeremiah was opposed by the people and the priests, Bible-honoring Christians can expect opposition inside and outside of the church. If we genuinely love the Lord, we need to be like Jeremiah: 1. Knowing God… Jeremiah longed to know the character and purposes of God (Jeremiah 9:23-24). 2. Speaking truth… Even though proclaiming God’s Word brought him insult and injury, he couldn’t stop. God’s Word “burned in his heart like a fire” (Jeremiah 20:8-9). 3. Trusting God... God was Jeremiah's hope and confidence (Jeremiah 17:7).  4. Remaining loyal despite persecution…. Even when loved ones opposed and deceived him, Jeremiah remained faithful (Jeremiah 12:6). These are four ways we can also remain faithful in the midst of deception.

4.

Read the Passage (NRSV)    Find more resources related to this passage  Print

Jeremiah 14:1-15:9 – Repentance That Comes Too Late

Summary

The people of Israel openly confess their sins to God (14:7, 20), but it comes too late to have a positive effect on their future.

Analysis

This text is dialogical in character, with contributions from people (14:7-9, 19-22), prophet (14:13), and God (14:1-6, 10-12, 14-18; 15:1-9). It is dominated by laments from all three principals. The people confess their sins, but it makes no difference with regard to their situation! Some scholars suggest that the people's prayers were insincere, but there is no specific evidence in the text for such an understanding. A more helpful way into the text is to recognize that, whether the people's prayers were sincere or not, they were too late. The disastrous situation was too far along for anything (including prayers) to stop it. Like a boat just above a waterfall, there comes a point when it will go over, come what may. The only future for this people was on the far side of disaster.

Prayers, even if sincere, are not necessarily efficacious. This point does not suggest, however, that only God's will was at work in this situation. People's prayers are never offered in isolation from other factors at work in a given situation (social, medical, individual, and communal history). These factors have an effect on the situation and will shape the efficacy of the prayers offered, even ways in which God is able to be involved. The effect of the sins of the people had been so pervasive that the situation could not be turned around. Even by God!

The force of these verses is that nothing can stop the destruction of Israel: not religious or political leaders, not sacrificial acts, not intercessions (to which God will refuse to listen, 14:11; see also 7:16; 11:14), or confessions of sin, or professions of faith, not even sincere lamentation. It is too late! 

Jeremiah 14:1-15:9

The Great Drought

14The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
² Judah mourns
   and her gates languish;
they lie in gloom on the ground,
   and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
³ Her nobles send their servants for water;
   they come to the cisterns,
they find no water,
   they return with their vessels empty.
They are ashamed and dismayed
   and cover their heads,
⁴ because the ground is cracked.
   Because there has been no rain on the land
the farmers are dismayed;
   they cover their heads.
⁵ Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
   because there is no grass.
⁶ The wild asses stand on the bare heights,^*
   they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
   because there is no herbage.

⁷ Although our iniquities testify against us,
   act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;
our apostasies indeed are many,
   and we have sinned against you.
⁸ O hope of Israel,
   its saviour in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
   like a traveller turning aside for the night?
⁹ Why should you be like someone confused,
   like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
   and we are called by your name;
   do not forsake us!

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
Truly they have loved to wander,
   they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them,
   now he will remember their iniquity
   and punish their sins.

11 The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this people. ¹²Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt-offering and grain-offering, I do not accept them; but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them.

Denunciation of Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: ‘Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.” ’ ¹⁴And the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.¹⁵Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. ¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them.

¹⁷ You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
   and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter—my people—is struck down with a crushing blow,
   with a very grievous wound.
¹⁸ If I go out into the field,
   look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
   look—those sick with^* famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land,
   and have no knowledge.

The People Plead for Mercy

¹⁹ Have you completely rejected Judah?
   Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
   so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
   for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
²⁰ We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
   the iniquity of our ancestors,
   for we have sinned against you.
²¹ Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
   do not dishonour your glorious throne;
   remember and do not break your covenant with us.
²² Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
   Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
   We set our hope on you,
   for it is you who do all this.

Punishment Is Inevitable

15Then the Lord said to me: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn towards this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! ²And when they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord:
Those destined for pestilence, to pestilence,
   and those destined for the sword, to the sword;
those destined for famine, to famine,
   and those destined for captivity, to captivity.
³And I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, says the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and the wild animals of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what King Manasseh son of Hezekiah of Judah did in Jerusalem.

⁵ Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
   or who will bemoan you?
Who will turn aside
   to ask about your welfare?
⁶ You have rejected me, says the Lord,
   you are going backwards;
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
   I am weary of relenting.
⁷ I have winnowed them with a winnowing-fork
   in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them, I have destroyed my people;
   they did not turn from their ways.
⁸ Their widows became more numerous
   than the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of youths
   a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
   fall upon her suddenly.
⁹ She who bore seven has languished;
   she has swooned away;
her sun went down while it was yet day;
   she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
   before their enemies,

says the Lord. 

SOURCE: ENTERTHEBIBLE.ORG

5.  

Hi there,

I’m so thrilled to have you as a subscriber. Together, we can work to make your life (and ultimately our world) happier, healthier, and more productive. It doesn't matter what your age or what past experiences you’ve had, you can lead the life you've always wanted -- one that fulfills your purpose. You've already accomplished the first step. I’ll show you that it’s possible to achieve a life of endless happiness! Feeling stuck in your own life is probably one of the scariest feelings you can have. About 13 years ago, I felt stuck. I was a manager at a high profile engineering firm on my way up the career ladder with a very successful future ahead of me. From the outside, my life seemed wonderful; but inside I felt empty... and overwhelmed. There was never enough time; 8 hour workdays didn't seem long enough and so I often worked late hours. Weekends were dedicated to sleeping in and stress eating... not the most productive, or healthy, use of my time. Even though I followed everything that everyone encouraged me to do, I was miserable. It was because I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to be doing something else -- something in line with helping others. It was my true calling and it was getting louder and louder. I knew I needed to make some changes or face the consequences. So, I dedicated all the free time I had to understanding how to become more productive and reclaim my time. After a lot of research and trial and error, I realized that fixing one area wasn't enough. My life changed when I understood the power of leverage -- doing one thing that grows into multiple benefits. Over just a few weeks, the change was positively enormous -- and it's led me to where I am today. You can experience this, too! Put simply, that's our goal at Lifehack: helping you make positively enormous changes to your own life. I think it's important to set people on the right track, and this newsletter is an efficient and effective way to do just that. Tomorrow I'll reveal just how you can make the most of your experience with us. I'll introduce a few key methods to finding and fulfilling your life's purpose. If you have any questions or just want to reach out and say hello, send me a note directly by replying to this email. Thank you again for subscribing. I'm really looking forward to helping you change your life! Cheers, Leon

012919-WHERE IS GOD WHO IS SUPPOSED TO RESCUE US?

January 29 

Rip the Heavens

Bible in a Year:

Exodus 21–22; Matthew 19

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.

Isaiah 64:1

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Today's Scripture & Insight:

Isaiah 64:1-8

In a recent conversation, where a friend shared with me that she’d abandoned her faith, I heard a familiar complaint: How can I believe in a God who doesn’t ever seem to do anything? This gut-wrenching question appears for most of us at one point or another, as we read of violence in the news and as we carry our own heartbreak. My friend’s distress revealed her intense need for God to act on her behalf, a longing we’ve all likely felt.

Israel knew this terrain well. The Babylonian Empire overwhelmed Israel, crushing them with an iron fist and turning Jerusalem into smoldering rubble. The prophet Isaiah put words to the people’s dark doubt: Where is the God who’s supposed to rescue us? (Isaiah 63:11–15). And yet from precisely this place, Isaiah offered a bold prayer: God, “rend the heavens and come down” (64:1). Isaiah’s pain and sorrow drove him not to pull away from God, but to seek to draw closer to Him.

Our doubts and troubles offer a strange gift: they reveal how lost we are and how much we need God to move toward us. We see now the remarkable, improbable story. In Jesus, God did rip the heavens and come to us. Christ surrendered His own ripped and broken body so that He could overwhelm us with His love. In Jesus, God is very near.

By Winn Collier

Today's Reflection

What questions or doubts do you have to talk with God about?

2. 

Cheap Grace Posted: 28 Jan 2019 08:29 AM PST If you want to pin or bookmark this devotion, please use the permanent link: Cheap Grace.  Seventy-five years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrase "cheap grace": grace without repentance and discipleship, without the cross, and without Jesus. Cheap grace is embraced by many in our modern churches who:  1. Stress forgiveness while neglecting repentance and obedience.  2. Focus selfishly on health and wealth. 3. Remain silent about the holocaust of abortion and the evils of sexual immorality and materialism. Bonhoeffer said, "Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has…” (See Matthew 13:44). Because of his outspoken opposition to the slaughter of Jews, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and executed by the Nazis.   During this time, most people in German churches remained silent or supported Hitler. That is one reason the evil of Nazism lasted as long as it did. Let's refuse to remain silent, dear Christians! Grace cost Christ His life. Let's give Him ours. --------------- Dear Subscribers: On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the title link quits working for the devotion shortly after it is sent out. You can read the full devotion here in this email, but to access this particular devotion on site, to pin or bookmark it, you must use this link: Cheap Grace.  3. Learn to discern between healthy and unhealthy anger. Anger is a powerful emotion that is often viewed as something we should avoid. However, in When Anger Burns: A Biblical View on Handling Anger, author Tim Jackson explores that “anger is neither right nor wrong until there is a motive.” Through various examples from his counseling career, Tim can help you identify the root causes of anger and how the Bible helps us handle them. By showing us that Jesus modeled godly anger during His time on Earth, we too are challenged to trust God with our issues. Enjoy exploring our booklets that are no cost to order or read online. We are pleased to provide you these resources to help your spiritual growth and relationship with God.