A daily resource for you and those you disciple…

Verse of the Day — Deuteronomy 33:26-27

There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel), Who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

To be “in Christ” is to be in the safest, most secure place in the universe.

MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY

It is an amazing thing to consider that the God of the universe, the God of all creation, cares about us so deeply and so intimately that He will traverse the heavens “to our help.”

This God is our dwelling place, which is also translated “refuge.” As the world around us alters and changes at a staggering speed, those of us who trust in Him can live in a place that is eternally safe and secure. And we are not only kept safe, we are held in His “everlasting arms.”

God wanted Israel to understand, and us as well, that His full power and majesty are directed toward the care and protection of His children.

There is none like Him.

-April 30, 2015

Our free monthly Compass eNews delves more in-depth into an array of Biblical topics. You can look at past Compass eNews articles HERE and/or sign up at the bottom of our home page: Compass.org.

Dear Grace Fellowship Friends,

This month we have started an initiative to more effectively communicate with the pastors on our mailing list. In 2010 we published, From Pastors to Pastors: Testimonies of Revitalized Ministries. The life stories in this book, which reflect the Holy Spirit’s moving, have been a major source of inspiration. We rejoice to see God continuing to work in the lives of pastors who have developed a relationship with our team. This month’s email will offer a recent glimpse into this. We invite you to check out the links below…

In His Life,
Rob

Rob Clogg,
President
Grace Fellowship International

view full graphics-formatted edition online here

In a recent blog article, pastor Jack Wellman identified five aspects of pastoral ministry that he especially appreciates. His list included: Mentoring, Soul Winning, Preaching the Gospel, Loving the Flock, and Mentoring. The fifth privilege/responsibility he picked is of special interest to us–counseling

Jack confides,

“This might be something you wouldn’t expect but when people come to me, they know that they can confide in me and I won’t share their struggles with anyone. I keep all of my counseling sessions in strict confidence. When people tell me that they’re struggling with pornography, drugs, sexual addictions, same-sex attraction, alcohol, marital problems or whatever else it is, the most frustrating part is that sometimes I can’t help them but I do know Who can and it’s not a human. I heard one pastor say that living the Christian life is not hard…it’s impossible so we need God’s supernatural strength to help all of us to overcome in different areas of life but during the times that I can actually help someone to transform their life through prayer, the Word of God, intervention, accountability applications or whatever it is, there is tremendous joy in this. I also tell those that I counsel that I am not their solution, God is and what I can’t do, He can but to have people come to me with problems that they have only shared with God and no one else makes me feel that they trust me thoroughly and know that I won’t gossip to anyone about their weaknesses because I too have my own personal struggles.”

What if every evangelical pastor were equipped and empowered with a simplified, clarified, illustrated model of biblical counseling that was potentially life-transforming. We believe that the fuller message of the cross can be applied to the heart of the matter–whatever it is–which is usually a matter of the heart.

As we personally appropriate Christ as Lord and Life, we minister from the overflow of our union with Him. Let’s “make the most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:16) to offer not only care but cure .

-JBW

from “Why I Love Being a Pastor: 5 Favorite Things”
by Pastor Jack Wellman

http://christianmediamagazine.com/art-creativity/why-i-love-being-a-pastor-5-favorite-things/

Handbook to Happiness: 99 cent ebook sale March 22-28! View this email in your browser Ebook on sale this week Sunday-Saturday, March 22-28 Handbook to Happiness uniquely explains the message of victorious Christian living through a practical, illustrated biblical counseling process. Since Dr. Charles Solomon authored Handbook over 40 years ago, over 300,000 copies have been printed in over 10 languages. For the first time, Tyndale Publishers is offering a huge discount on the ebook edition (regular price: $13.95). Now through Saturday you can get a copy for your laptop, Kindle or iPad for only 99 cents. The vendors honoring this promotion include Amazon and Apple’s iTunes Store. Why not get or gift an e-copy this week? Please spread the news!

Handbook to Happiness: 99 cent ebook sale March 22-28! View this email in your browser Ebook on sale this week Sunday-Saturday, March 22-28 Handbook to Happiness uniquely explains the message of victorious Christian living through a practical, illustrated biblical counseling process. Since Dr. Charles Solomon authored Handbook over 40 years ago, over 300,000 copies have been printed in over 10 languages. For the first time, Tyndale Publishers is offering a huge discount on the ebook edition (regular price: $13.95). Now through Saturday you can get a copy for your laptop, Kindle or iPad for only 99 cents. The vendors honoring this promotion include Amazon and Apple’s iTunes Store. Why not get or gift an e-copy this week? Please spread the news!

THE WORD IS:“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
THE POINT IS: “No way; it can’t happen. That’s just not possible!” We may not like to hear it, but there are some things we simply cannot do. There are some obstacles we cannot overcome. There are some problems we cannot solve. We all have limitations. That’s just part of being human. Let’s face it, we can’t do everything. And even the things we do, don’t seem to do anything for us: not really, not fully, and not completely. That is because nothing we do will ever meet the deepest needs of our heart. Therefore, we need God’s salvation. Salvation is the greatest of all human impossibilities. Salvation is that supernatural work of God by which we are delivered from our old life in Adam into a new life in Christ. That’s real deliverance! Salvation results in our being changed from death to life, from darkness to light, and from sinners to saints. That’s true and lasting change of the best kind! Salvation makes us new creations in Christ. That’s the best that we can be!

THE APPLICATION IS: So how does this work? Well, first of all you must face the fact that when it comes to living life as God intended, it’s humanly impossible! Simply put, with man—no way, but with God—yes way. And that’s where Christ comes in! He comes into your life to complete you, fulfill you, and empower you to overcome your human impossibilities. Through Christ, God can make the impossible possible for you! He is the Almighty God and nothing is too hard for Him. He is the God of the impossible, and He makes all things possible. There are no limitations with God. He created all things and all things are subject to Him. Therefore, you should trust Him to rule and overrule in every area of every day of your life. He is the possible for your impossible. So, say it loud and say it often, “Yes I can…I can do all things through Christ!” As you live in union with Christ the possibilities are endless!

(reposted to revitalizingpastors.org)

IMPOSSIBLE = HIM POSSIBLE

Lewis & Lue Gregory

http://www.sourceministries.net/

Broken things need fixing – or so our every impulse tells us. Once upon a time, I bought a minivan for my growing family. It broke a lot. So I fixed a lot. It leaked oil, a lot of oil. Then its struts failed. Then the muffler fell off. Then the rear doors stopped opening. And the factory CD player got stolen. And the windshield cracked. And the driver’s seat ripped. And the lifters stuck so bad it sounded like machine gun fire. And the belts squeaked like screaming cats.

It took the sum of those automotive maladies to talk me out of trying to fix that old van. And on one cold Chicago morning, I did something far better than fix it, something long overdue that made my wife smile and the children rejoice. I bought a new van, and showed up at our apartment with some very good news: “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!”

So it is with this broken down old world filled with broken down old people making up broken down old churches. As though to prove his due diligence, God spent a few thousand years offering fixes – a command to care for the poor here, a law against murder there. But when all fixes had failed and the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. He bought a new van, and showed up in our world with some very good news: “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

See, Jesus is not the latest, greatest divine effort to fix the broken world. He is a new world. He is a new creation. He is a new van, a final replacement for that old, broken down lemon we’ve been driving around all these millennia.

When I ditched my old van, I snatched the license plates off it, bolted them onto the replacement, and drove down the road in a new van. God, likewise, takes our identity off our old man, bolts it to the life of his son, and we drive down the road in a new man.

[re-post. emphasis added. Mark Bergin pastors The Painted Door Church in Chicago and sits on the board for the Chicago Partnership for Church Planting. He likes reading books about how relentlessly and recklessly God loves the world. Connect with Mark on Twitter @MarkJBergin where he tweets, seasonally. Post Sunday Encouragement for Church leaders 8/18/2014 issue]

To His people the risen Christ says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Ruth Paxson observed, “God, in His infinite grace, always takes the initiative in bringing us into a fuller experience of our inheritance in Christ. So the Lord Jesus stands outside the door of every unyielded room in your life seeking entrance. If He enters, the door must be opened from the inside.”

This is the theme of the classic booklet by Robert Munger, My Heart Christ’s Home. A PDF edition is available here: navigatorsdetroit.com/MHCH.pdf

– JBW

(re-posted from The Navigators)

Though God is infinitely far above our ability to fully understand, He tells us through the Scriptures very specific truths about Himself so that we can know what He is like, and be drawn to worship Him. The following is a list of 30 names and attributes of God. Use this guide to enrich your time set apart with God by taking one description of Him and meditating on that for one day, along with the accompanying passage. Worship God, focusing on Him and His character.

God is Jehovah. The name of the independent, self-complete being—“I AM WHO I AM”—only belongs to Jehovah God. Our proper response to Him is to fall down in fear and awe of the One who possesses all authority. —Exodus 3:13-15

God is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. This name means “the God who sanctifies.” A God separate from all that is evil requires that the people who follow Him be cleansed from all evil. —Leviticus 20:7,8

God is infinite. God is beyond measurement—we cannot define Him by size or amount. He has no beginning, no end, and no limits. —Romans 11:33

God is omnipotent. This means God is all-powerful. He spoke all things into being, and all things—every cell, every breath, every thought—are sustained by Him. There is nothing too difficult for Him to do. —Jeremiah 32:17,18, 26,27

God is good. God is the embodiment of perfect goodness, and is kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward all creation. —Psalm 119:65-72

God is love. God’s love is so great that He gave His only Son to bring us into fellowship with Him. God’s love not only encompasses the world, but embraces each of us personally and intimately. —1 John 4:7-10

God is Jehovah-jireh. This name means “the God who provides.” Just as He provided yesterday, He will also provide today and tomorrow. He grants deliverance from sin, the oil of joy for the ashes of sorrow, and eternal citizenship in His Kingdom for all those adopted into His household. —Genesis 22:9-14

God is Jehovah-shalom. This name means “the God of peace.” We are meant to know the fullness of God’s perfect peace, or His “shalom.” God’s peace surpasses understanding and sustains us even through difficult times. It is the product of fully being what we were created to be. —Judges 6:16-24

God is immutable. All that God is, He has always been. All that He has been and is, He will ever be. He is ever perfect and unchanging. —Psalm 102:25-28

God is transcendent. We must not think of God as simply the highest in an order of beings. This would be to grant Him eminence But he is more than eminent. He is transcendent—existing beyond and above the created universe. —Psalm 113:4,5

God is just. God is righteous and holy, fair and equitable in all things. We can trust Him to always do what is right. —Psalm 75:1-7

God is holy. God’s holiness is not simply a better version of the best we know. God is utterly and supremely untainted. His holiness stands apart—unique and incomprehensible. —Revelation 4:8-11

God is Jehovah-rophe. This name means “Jehovah heals.” God alone provides the remedy for mankind’s brokenness through His son, Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the physical, moral, and spiritual remedy for all people. —Exodus 15:22-26

God is self-sufficient. All things are God’s to give, and all that is given is given by Him. He can receive nothing that He has not already given us. —Acts 17:24-28

God is omniscient. This means God is all-knowing. God’s knowledge encompasses every possible thing that exists, has ever existed, or will ever exist. Nothing is a mystery to Him. —Psalm 139:1-6

God is omnipresent. God is everywhere—in and around everything, close to everyone. “‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” —Psalm 139:7-12

God is merciful. God’s merciful compassion is infinite and inexhaustible. Through His provision in Christ, He took the judgment that was rightfully ours and placed it on His own shoulders. He waits and works now for all people to turn to Him and to live under His justification. —Deuteronomy 4:29-31

God is sovereign. God presides over every event, great or small, and He is in control of our lives. To be sovereign, He must be all-knowing and all-powerful, and by His sovereignty He rules His entire creation. —1 Chronicles 29:11-13

God is Jehovah-nissi. This name means “God our banner.” Under His banner we go from triumph to triumph and say, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). —Exodus 17:8-15

God is wise. All God’s acts are accomplished through His infinite wisdom. He always acts for our good, which is to conform us to Christ. Our good and His glory are inextricably bound together. —Proverbs 3:19,20

God is faithful. Out of His faithfulness God honors His covenants and fulfills His promises. Our hope for the future rests upon God’s faithfulness. —Psalm 89:1-8

God is wrathful. Unlike human anger, God’s wrath is never capricious, self-indulgent, or irritable. It is the right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil. — Nahum 1:2-8

God is full of grace. Grace is God’s good pleasure that moves Him to grant merit where it is undeserved and to forgive debt that cannot be repaid. —Ephesians 1:5-8

God is our Comforter. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Comforter,” and the apostle Paul writes that the Lord is “the God of all comfort.” —2 Corinthians 1:3,4

God is El-Shaddai. This name means “God Almighty,”the God who is all-sufficient and all-bountiful, the source of all blessings. —Genesis 49:22-26

God is Father. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9), and the Spirit of God taught us to cry, “Abba, Father.,” an intimate Aramaic term similar to “Daddy.” The Creator of the universe cares for each one of us as if we were the only child He had. —Romans 8:15-17

God is the Church’s head. God the Son, Jesus, is the head of the Church. As the head, the part of the body that sees, hears, thinks, and decides, He gives the orders that the rest of the body lives by. —Ephesians 1:22,23

God is our intercessor. Knowing our temptations, God the Son intercedes for us. He opens the doors for us to boldly ask God the Father for mercy. Thus, God is both the initiation and conclusion of true prayer. —Hebrews 4:14-16

God is Adonai. This name means “Master” or “Lord.” God, our Adonai, calls all God’s people to acknowledge themselves as His servants, claiming His right to reign as Lord of our lives. —2 Samuel 7:18-20

God is Elohim. This name means “Strength” or “Power.” He is transcendent, mighty and strong. Elohim is the great name of God, displaying His supreme power, sovereignty, and faithfulness in His covenant relationship with us. —Genesis 17:7,8

Sources: The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer; Names of God, by Nathan Stone; and God of Glory, by Kenneth Landon.

You may download a one-page version of the 30 Days of Praying the Names and Attributes of God here.