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

July 28

Morning

Walk in love

A NEW commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.--Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.--Love covereth all sins.

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.--Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again.--Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.--Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.--If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.--Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Eph 5.2. Jn 13.34.--1Pe. 4.8.--

Pr. 10.12. Mk 11.25.--Lk 6.35.--

Pr. 24.17.--1Pe. 3.9.--Ro. 12.18.--

Ep. 4.32. 1Jn 3.18.

Evening

Let your requests be made known unto God.

ABBA, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.--There was given to me a thorn in the flesh. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities.

I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.--Hannah . . . was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and . . . and wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life. . . . The LORD remembered her.

We know not what we should pray for as we ought.--He shall choose our inheritance for us.

Php 4.6. Mk 14.36.--2Co 12.7-9.

Ps. 142.2.--1Sa. 1.9-11, 19. Ro 8.26.--

Ps. 47.4.

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

July 28

Morning

“So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee.”

Psalm 73:22

Remember this is the confession of the man after God’s own heart; and in telling us his inner life, he writes, “So foolish was I, and ignorant.” The word “foolish,” here, means more than it signifies in ordinary language. David, in a former verse of the Psalm, writes, “I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,” which shows that the folly he intended had sin in it. He puts himself down as being thus “foolish,” and adds a word which is to give intensity to it; “so foolish was I.” How foolish he could not tell. It was a sinful folly, a folly which was not to be excused by frailty, but to be condemned because of its perverseness and wilful ignorance, for he had been envious of the present prosperity of the ungodly, forgetful of the dreadful end awaiting all such. And are we better than David that we should call ourselves wise! Do we profess that we have attained perfection, or to have been so chastened that the rod has taken all our wilfulness out of us? Ah, this were pride indeed! If David was foolish, how foolish should we be in our own esteem if we could but see ourselves! Look back, believer: think of your doubting God when he has been so faithful to you—think of your foolish outcry of “Not so, my Father,” when he crossed his hands in affliction to give you the larger blessing; think of the many times when you have read his providences in the dark, misinterpreted his dispensations, and groaned out, “All these things are against me,” when they are all working together for your good! Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure, when indeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you! Surely if we know our own heart we must plead guilty to the indictment of a sinful folly; and conscious of this “foolishness,” we must make David’s consequent resolve our own—“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel.”

Evening

“Who went about doing good.”

Acts 10:38

Few words, but yet an exquisite miniature of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are not many touches, but they are the strokes of a master’s pencil. Of the Saviour and only of the Saviour is it true in the fullest, broadest, and most unqualified sense. “He went about doing good.” From this description it is evident that he did good personally. The evangelists constantly tell us that he touched the leper with his own finger, that he anointed the eyes of the blind, and that in cases where he was asked to speak the word only at a distance, he did not usually comply, but went himself to the sick bed, and there personally wrought the cure. A lesson to us, if we would do good, to do it ourselves. Give alms with your own hand; a kind look, or word, will enhance the value of the gift. Speak to a friend about his soul; your loving appeal will have more influence than a whole library of tracts. Our Lord’s mode of doing good sets forth his incessant activity! He did not only the good which came close to hand, but he “went about” on his errands of mercy. Throughout the whole land of Judea there was scarcely a village or a hamlet which was not gladdened by the sight of him. How this reproves the creeping, loitering manner, in which many professors serve the Lord. Let us gird up the loins of our mind, and be not weary in well doing. Does not the text imply that Jesus Christ went out of his way to do good? “He went about doing good.” He was never deterred by danger or difficulty. He sought out the objects of his gracious intentions. So must we. If old plans will not answer, we must try new ones, for fresh experiments sometimes achieve more than regular methods. Christ’s perseverance, and the unity of his purpose, are also hinted at, and the practical application of the subject may be summed up in the words, “He hath left us an example that we should follow in his steps.”

Faith's Checkbook by C. H. Spurgeon

July 28

Bow Down; Be Lifted Up

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

This is tantamount to a promise: if we will bow down, the Lord will lift us up. Humility leads to honor; submission is the way to exaltation. That same hand of God which presses us down is waiting to raise us up when we are prepared to bear the blessing. We stoop to conquer. Many cringe before men and yet miss the patronage they crave; but he that humbles himself under the hand of God shall not fail to be enriched, uplifted, sustained, and comforted by the ever-gracious One. It is a habit of Jehovah to cast down the proud and lift up the lowly.

Yet there is a time for the Lord's working. We ought now to humble ourselves, even at this present moment; and we are bound to keep on doing so whether the Lord lays His afflicting hand upon us or not. When the Lord smites, it is our special duty to accept the chastisement with profound submission. But as for the Lord's exaltation of us, that can only come "in due time," and God is the best judge of that day and hour. Do we cry out impatiently for the blessing? Would we wish for untimely honor? What are we at? Surely we are not truly humbled, or we should wait with quiet submission. So let us do.

J.H. Jowett's Daily Meditation

July 28

ALL THINGS NEW!

2Corinthians 5:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.

HERE is a new constraint! “The love of Christ constraineth me.” The love of Christ carries me along like a crowd. I am taken up in its mighty movement and swept along the appointed road! Or it arrests me, and makes me its willing prisoner. It lays a strong hand upon me, and I have no option but to go. A gracious “necessity is laid upon me.” I must!

And here is a new world. “Old things are passed away.” The man who is the prisoner of the Lord’s love will find himself in new and wonderful scenery. Everything will wear a new face—God, man, self, the garden, the sky, the sea! We shall look at all things through love-eyes, and it is amazing in what new light a great love will set familiar things! Commonplaces become beautiful when looked at through the lens of Christian love. When we “walk in love” our eyes are anointed with “the eye-salve” of grace.

And here is a new service. “We are ambassadors ... for Christ.” When we see our Lord through love-eyes, and then our brother, we shall yearn to serve our brother in Christ. We shall intensely long to tell the love-story of the Lord our Saviour. What we have seen, with confidence we tell.

J.R. Miller's Year Book

July 28

"As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind!" 2 Kings 2:11

So the most loving friends must sometimes be parted. We walk on together, talking of a thousand things, not dreaming of separation, when suddenly, as we turn some sharp corner in the way, the 'chariot' is waiting, and one is taken and the other left! We ought not to forget the certainty of separation in every friendship we form. Some day one of the two will be taken, and the other must be left to weep by a grave and to walk on lonely and sorrowing after that.

Another thought suggested here is, that heaven is not far away. One of the 'chariots' from the King's country came down that day to carry Elijah home. Another came down to the door of your house when your godly father died, or when mother or brother or sister died. We shall not leave this world as Elijah did, missing death; we shall have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death; but we shall have the heavenly chariot to bear away our freed spirit just as truly as he did.

Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer

July 28

LOST OPPORTUNITIES

"He found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."-- Heb 12:17.

"O Jerusalem .... how often would I have gathered thy children together .... and ye would not!"-- Mat 23:37.

THE GREEKS represented Opportunity as bald, with no lock of hair by which she could be laid hold of as she turned away and fled. Every one has opportunity, but there is often no symptom of its approach, no sign of its departure; when once it is missed, it rarely comes again! It is said that Queen Victoria once gave a comparatively unknown painter the opportunity of a private sitting. She came at the exact time that was arranged, but he was five minutes late, and he lost his opportunity!

Esau bartered his birthright! What cared he for the spiritual prerogative of the first-born to act as the priest of the clan, and to stand in the possible lineal descent of the Messiah. He craved what would satisfy and please his senses. But when he had sold his birthright, he was held to the transaction. "He found no place of repentance" does not mean that he wished to and could not, but that the die was cast, the decision was deemed final. It is within the range of every one to do an act, to make a choice, to barter away the spiritual for the material so absolutely, that the decision is held irrevocable. Let us take care lest we be betrayed by passion into an act which may affect our entire destiny.

The outstretched wing of God's love would have sheltered Jerusalem from its impending fate, but she refused Him in His servants and His Son, and her day of opportunity passed!

Even so, salvation waits for us all, and there is hope and opportunity for us to repent as long as the day of grace is not closed, but let us not forget, as McCheyne said, that Christ gives last knocks. The present is your time of hope, of a fresh beginning, of a new opportunity. Open the door of your life to Christ and make Him King. He offers you your chance, rise to it; do your very best, find your niche of service in His Kingdom, and set yourself to follow Him with all your heart, and mind, and strength.

PRAYER

O Lord, let us not serve Thee with the spirit of bondage as slaves, but with the cheerfulness and gladness of children, delighting ourselves in Thee and rejoicing in Thy work. AMEN.