“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Ps. 40:1)

Waiting is much more difficult than walking. Waiting requires patience, and patience is a rare virtue. It is fine to know that God builds hedges around His people–when the hedge is looked at from the viewpoint of protection. But when the hedge is kept around one until it grows so high that he cannot see over the top, and wonders whether he is ever to get out of the little sphere of influence and service in which he is pent up, it is hard for him sometimes to understand why he may not have a larger environment–hard for him to “brighten the corner” where he is. But God has a purpose in all HIS holdups. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,”– Psalm 37:23.

On the margin of his Bible at this verse George Mueller had a notation, “And the stops also.” It is a sad mistake for men to break through God’s hedges. It is a vital principle of guidance for a Christian never to move out of the place in which he is sure God has placed him, until the Pillar of Cloud moves.–Sunday School Times

“Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant… let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” Isaiah 50:10

I have always been amazed at the advice worldly people give to someone who is hurting. “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!” Can you see someone dangling over a cliff, holding on to a rope, and trying to tie a knot? It takes two hands to do that!

The first thing we need to remember is “don’t demand to understand.” There are just some things in life you and I will never understand. When God allows darkness to overshadow your life, don’t set about lighting your own fire. That’s a recipe for heartache. Trust that His light will come and wait for it. He will come. Believe it.

There’s someone out there who is hurting today and needs more than a pat answer of encouragement. Give them the light of Christ. (By Adrian Rogers)

“And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places.”

Numbers 33:50-52

It’s that time of year again! The weather is warming, children are finishing school, and vacations are beginning. For many, this is a season for more time with family, time spent relaxing, and more overall fun. Yet while many people are taking a vacation, the devil is increasing his efforts of trying to pull Christians away from the Lord. During a time when people are more relaxed, the devil is more focused. So how do we remain faithful to Christ this summer? How can we make sure these next few months aren’t wasted but are redeemed as we remain faithful?

—– our verses today describe the land of Canaan as a land full of idolatry. As the children of Israel made their way into Canaan, they faced the city of Jericho. Jericho was a well-fortified and prosperous city. This was a city that even an experienced army would have difficulties defeating, let alone a group of people who had been wandering the desert for years. Nevertheless, God gave the Israelites victory over the city. In our verses, God commands the Israelites to destroy all pagan gods of the city. He didn’t want anything left of them.

Why was God so particular about destroying all graven images? Surely the Israelites could have traded them with neighboring cities and profited from the sale. But God, realizing the Israelites’ weaknesses and the temptation to place other gods before Him, warned the Israelites to destroy all idols.

The Israelites struggled with something we still struggle with today-idolatry. While their gods were graven images, our gods come in the form of pride, materialism, frivolity, or apathy. Our gods are more in self than on the shelf.

Think of this in terms of the summer months. Many people “take a break from God” and make vacation and leisure their god. They travel and enjoy vacations yet forget to travel to God’s house and worship Him each week. There is nothing wrong with vacation, but God wants us to remain faithful to Him even during vacation.

Too often the relaxation mentality permeates our spiritual life as well as our physical life. A break from work doesn’t mean a break from being a Christian. We can be sure that they devil does not take a break from attacking us, so we must be ever vigilant against his attacks-especially his attack of idolatry!

Have you placed God first in your life this summer, or have you been on a “break”? While there are times for break from work, school, and the daily routine, there is never a break from Christianity. Christianity isn’t a routine you perform or a job you accomplish; Christianity is a life you live. Even though you will be tempted to neglect your Bible reading or church attendance, determine to keep God first in your life this summer. The next time you’re packing for a trip, make sure you pack your Bible and be in a church on Sunday and Wednesday.(By Paul Chappell)

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”–Ephesians 4:32   The command to forgive others is clear, but let’s not kid ourselves it is tough! Living the Christian is more than difficult, it is down right impossible without help from God. We can love and forgive others only by first loving God and surrendering ourselves to His control. If you are having difficulty forgiving someone, consider these words from the pen of Selwyn Hughes:   —- The first thing we must do is demonstrate a willingness to forgive those who hurt us. “That’s hard,” you might say. My reply is: “Yes, in the case of those who have been badly let down, it is hard – but not impossible.” Here’s how you do it. Focus first on how much you have been forgiven. The key to forgiving others is to enter into a realized awareness of how much God has forgiven you. When people say to me during a counselling session, “My problem is that I can’t forgive,” I usually respond by saying, “No, that’s not your problem. Your problem is that you dont know how much you have been forgiven.” It may be difficult for some to see this, especially those who have gone through deep hurt, but nothing others have done to you is as awful as what you have done to God. If you have difficulty with the last statement, it is because you do not understand the nature of sin. Sin is taking the Creator of the universe and relegating Him to irrelevance; it is saying to the One who made us – “I can run my life on my own terms.” Sin is insanity – and you and I have been guilty of that. Yet in Christ God has forgiven us, pardoned us, and bestowed upon us His royal favor. Having been given such forgiveness, can we, dare we, withhold it from anyone who has betrayed our trust, no matter how horrifying that hurt has been?

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them—” (1 Timothy 4:16)

In America today, we have something that could be described as a new spirituality. It’s a revival of sorts-not in the biblical sense of people turning to God, but a revival of all kinds of ancient and weird spiritual concepts and beliefs.

People are spiritually hungry. They are searching for truth. And the problem is, some of this strange theology is finding its way into the church.

We must be very careful to keep our guard up. Don’t forget that when the devil misled Eve in the Garden, he did it with partial truth. He did not question God’s Word altogether. Rather, he questioned if Eve properly understood it.

We must be careful of the deviant teachings that are out there today. So often, when a new teaching comes along, we will get excited: a new revelation!

I hope this won’t disappoint you, but there aren’t any new revelations. Everything you need to know about God is already written in His Book. As it has been said, if it’s true, it isn’t new. And if it’s new, it isn’t true.

So don’t go looking for new revelations. Spend your time instead in learning God’s Word, and He will bring fresh understanding of it.

Years ago, the great thinker C. S. Lewis warned us, “If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones.” I think this is especially important today.

We need to know what Jesus said. We need to know what the truth is. We need to pay attention to doctrine.         —by Greg Laurie