Precept Austin

Daily Devotionals

REDEEM THE TIME - Youtube Recording on Redeeming the Time given by myself (Bruce Hurt) to men's ministry -- Slides that go with talk  Related article on Redeem the Time. 

Below are links to several devotionals to aid your Quiet Time with the Lord. 

"And I (JESUS) say to you, make friends (aorist imperative see need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness (not that money is evil, but because it is often used for evil), so that (purpose or result) when (not "if") your earthly possessions are gone, you will be welcomed (dechomai = THEY WILL PUT THE "WELCOME MAT" OUT FOR YOU IN GLORY!) into the eternal homes." (Luke 16:9)

NLT Paraphrase - "I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven".

Comment by John MacArthur - In relation to others, Jesus exhorted His hearers to make friends for themselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so called because it belongs to this unrighteous, passing world. Unbelievers, like the unrighteous manager (Lk 16:1-8), often use money to buy earthly friends. Believers, on the other hand, are to use their money to evangelize and thus "purchase" heavenly friends. The wealth of unrighteousness, being an element of fallen society’s experience, cannot last past this present life (cf. Luke 12:20). When it fails, the friends believers have gained through investing in Gospel preaching will welcome them into the eternal dwellings of heaven. Those friends will be waiting to receive (ED: WITH "OPEN ARMS") them when they arrive in glory because through their financial sacrifice for reaching the unconverted they heard and believed the Gospel.The Lord calls for Christians to use their money for eternal purposes to produce a heavenly reward.

Why Should You Consider Interceding for the Hidden People Group Below? 

  1. Jesus taught us that "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (Mt 9:37) - Will you be a worker for the Lord of the harvest? Will you obey His command to "beseech (aorist imperative) the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Mt 9:38)?
  2. You are in effect entering the mission field with your intercessory prayers. "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (including those of the hidden people groups who will become saints - see Rev 5:9 below) (Eph 6:18) 
  3. You are obeying Jesus' command to "Store up (thesaurizo in present imperative see need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for (term of explanation) where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt 6:20-21) (Where is your [my] heart beloved?)
  4. You will rejoice with Paul for those precious souls in this hidden people group who accept Christ as their Savior for they will be your "hope or joy or crown of exultation...in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming. For you are our glory and joy." (1 Th 2:19, 20)
  5. You will shine like the stars for "those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (Da 12:3)
  6. You can be confident God will answer your prayer for Rev 5:9 says Jesus was "slain, and purchased for God with (His) blood men from EVERY tribe and tongue and people and nation."
  7. If these Biblical truths are not sufficient motivation to redeem the precious time then take a moment and Read the longer answer. 

RECOMMENDATION - HERE IS AN EXCELLENT PRAYER GUIDE FOR UNREACHED PEOPLES, RELATIVES, NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, ENEMIES! -

"Prayer works! Prayer is work! Prayer leads to work! Prayer is the work!"

Scripture that you can pray for all the peoples of the world including the lost in your world, your sphere of influence! This is a wonderful Biblical tool. And the apostle John reminds us that our prayers in the present transcend time for he writes in Rev 8:3 that "the prayers of all the saints (ARE) on the golden altar which was before the throne!" Beloved, store up for yourself some treasure in Heaven! (Mt 6:20) The R.O.I. (Return On Investment) is "out of this world!" Below is a sample prayer from this guide...

Lord Most High, You are awesome. You are the great King over the ______. May the ______ sing praise to you for you are King of all the earth. You reign over the ______. You sit on Your holy throne. PSALM 47:2, 6-8

These devotionals are provided to encourage your daily devotional time reading the "pure milk  of the Word" (1 Peter 2:2 = a vital verse because intake of the pure word is an absolute essential for spiritual growth or progressive sanctification) and are not meant to replace your personal time reading God's "Word of Life" (Philippians 2:16) and "Word of Truth, the Gospel." (Colossians 1:5) Our prayer is that you would...

Let the word of Christ richly dwell (present imperative calling for dependence on the Holy Spirit to obey) within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

Remember that letting the Word of Christ richly dwell within you produces the same fruit as being continually filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18 (See chart comparing effects). Be filled is also a present imperative command calling for reliance on the Holy Spirit to give you the desire and the power - Php 2:13NLT)

NOTE: For a short synopsis of the Hidden People Group of the day, click the picture to go to Joshua project entry for that group. 

 

 

Daily Light on the Daily Path

October 6

Morning

The Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns

I KNOW that thou canst do all things--The things impossible with men are possible with God --He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, What hast Thou done? --There is none ho can deliver out of My hand: I act and who can reverse it? --Abba, Father, all things are possible for Thee.

Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, Be it done to you according to your faith. --Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed.--The mighty God.--All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. --Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed… for the one with us is greater than the one with him.

Re 19.6. Job 42.2.--Lk. 18.27.--

Da. 4.35.--Isa 43.13.--Mk 14.36.

Mt 9.28, 29.--Mt. 8.2, 3.--Isa 9.6.--

Mt. 28.18. Ps. 20.7.--2 Ch. 32.7.

Evening

What is the word that He spoke to you?

HE has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? --To keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

As many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH --It was added because of transgressions… until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son

Speak, LORD; for thy servant is listening.

1Sa 3.17. Mic. 6.8.--Dt 10.13.
Ga. 3.10, 11, 19. Heb 1.1, 2. 1 Sa. 3.9.

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

October 6

Morning

“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

John 4:14

He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore. The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in religion such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy. Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord. The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus’ love. One in days of yore said, “I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on.” Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

Evening

“He had married an Ethiopian woman.”

Numbers 12:1

Strange choice of Moses, but how much more strange the choice of him who is a prophet like unto Moses, and greater than he! Our Lord, who is fair as the lily, has entered into marriage union with one who confesses herself to be black, because the sun has looked upon her. It is the wonder of angels that the love of Jesus should be set upon poor, lost, guilty men. Each believer must, when filled with a sense of Jesus’ love, be also overwhelmed with astonishment that such love should be lavished on an object so utterly unworthy of it. Knowing as we do our secret guiltiness, unfaithfulness, and black-heartedness, we are dissolved in grateful admiration of the matchless

freeness and sovereignty of grace. Jesus must have found the cause of his love in his own heart, he could not have found it in us, for it is not there. Even since our conversion we have been black, though grace has made us comely. Holy Rutherford said of himself what we must each subscribe to—“His relation to me is, that I am sick, and he is the Physician of whom I stand in need. Alas! how often I play fast and loose with Christ! He bindeth, I loose; he buildeth, I cast down; I quarrel with Christ, and he agreeth with me twenty times a day!” Most tender and faithful Husband of our souls, pursue thy gracious work of conforming us to thine image, till thou shalt present even us poor Ethiopians unto thyself, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Moses met with opposition because of his marriage, and both himself and his spouse were the subjects of an evil eye. Can we wonder if this vain world opposes Jesus and his spouse, and especially when great sinners are converted? for this is ever the Pharisee’s ground of objection, “This man receiveth sinners.” Still is the old cause of quarrel revived, “Because he had married an Ethiopian woman.”

Faith's Checkbook by C. H. Spurgeon

October 6

The Leadership of Our Guide

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)

Truth is like a vast cavern into which we desire to enter, but we are not able to traverse it alone. At the entrance it is clear and bright; but if we would go further and explore its innermost recesses, we must have a guide, or we shall lose ourselves. The Holy Spirit, who knows all truth perfectly, is the appointed guide of all true believers, and He conducts them as they are able to bear it, from one inner chamber to another, so that they behold the deep things of God, and His secret is made plain to them.

What a promise is this for the humbly inquiring mind! We desire to know the truth and to enter into it. We are conscious of our own aptness to err, and we feel the urgent need of a guide. We rejoice that the Holy Spirit is come and abides among us. He condescends to act as a guide to us, and we gladly accept His leadership. "All truth" we wish to learn, that we may not be one-sided and out of balance. We would not be willingly ignorant of any part of revelation lest thereby we should miss blessing or incur sin. The Spirit of God has come that He may guide us into all truth: let us with obedient hearts hearken to His words and follow His lead.

J.H. Jowett's Daily Meditation

October 6

HE KNOWETH OUR FRAME

Psalm 103:13-22.

“HE knoweth our frame.” The Bible abounds in such gracious and tender words. “He remembereth us in our low estate.” “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” “He will not permit you to be tempted above that ye are able.” The burden is suited to our strength. The revelation is determined by our experience. The pace is regulated by our years. “He carrieth the lambs in His arms.” He “leads on softly.” Nothing is done in ignorance. “The Lord is mindful of His own. He remembereth His children.”

And so I must practise the belief in God’s compassionate nearness. In my childhood I used to sing “There’s a Friend for little children, Above the bright blue sky.” I know better now. He is nearer to me than I can dream. I used to sing “There is a happy land, Far, far away.” Now I sing, “There is a happy land, Not far away.” The good Father and His home are not in some remote realm. They are very, very near to me, and He knows all about me. “He knoweth our frame.”

J.R. Miller's Year Book

October 6

"Jesus wept." John 11:35

This is the shortest verse in all the Bible—but it is rich in meaning. It is a great window in Christ's bosom, showing us his very heart. It tells us that our Savior, though so glorious, is touched by our griefs. He is the same now in heaven, that he was that day when Mary lay at his feet and he wept with her. He is with us in all our sorrows, and sympathizes with us. This alone is a wonderful comfort to those who are in trouble.

A little child visited a neighbor who had lost her baby, and came home and told her mother that she had been comforting the sorrowing woman. Her mother asked her how she had done it, and she said, "I cried with her." It does us good when we are in trouble, to know that some other one sympathizes with us. It brings us a sense of companionship in our loneliness. It puts another shoulder under our load. But when it is Jesus who cares and is touched, weeps with us, comes up beside us in gentle companionship, it is wondrous comfort indeed.

Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer

October 6

GOD'S RESTORING LOVE

"Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely."-- Hos 14:2-4.

"Simon... lovest thou Me? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."-- Joh 21:16.

THE CAUSES of backsliding are many. We have pretended to be living a more devoted life than was actually the case; we neglected to watch unto prayer; we allowed secret sin to eat out the heart of our piety, as the white ant works destruction in the East; or we yielded to temptation, and then sought to justify ourselves against the remonstrances of conscience; or we yielded to the fear of man, and drifted with the multitude to do evil; or we became prosperous, and trusted only in our wealth; or poor, and succumbed to covetousness and the bitterness of despair.

The world despises the fallen, and does not believe in the possibility of entire restoration. It is always suspicious of those who have fallen from their high estate--the prisoner in the cell, who was once an honoured financier; the beautiful woman who has come under the degrading influence of drink or drugs; the minister or doctor who has incurred shame and disgrace--all such find it hard to be reinstated. But God stoops over the outcast with infinite compassion and love, and promises forgiveness and restoration to all who will return to Him.

It was thus that our Lord dealt with Peter. He knew that in spite of his grievous fall, there was a strong undercurrent of devoted love, and He did not hesitate to entrust to him the care of His sheep and lambs. In a certain museum there is a lovely marble statue which was found broken into hundreds of pieces. The fragments were carefully collected, and with infinite patience fitted together. Finally a seemingly impossible task was accomplished, and the statue stands in all its original completeness and beauty. So the Lord Jesus will take the broken pieces of any life that will come to Him, and with His skilful and tender touch will remake it into something useful and beautiful in His service. This is the meaning of Redemption. The one thing that Christ asks of any of us is that we should follow Him. Whether we can walk, or need to be carried; whether life is young within us, or waning, let us follow Him, love Him, obey Him, and He will turn back our backslidings, and never mention them again.

PRAYER

O Lord, we would be Thine; let us never fall away from Thee. AMEN.