Cut People Some Slack BY RICK WARREN — 75  04-24-17-Miracle-Mercy-Cut-People-Some-Slack “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love” (Ephesians 4:2b TLB). Everybody has bad days. Kay knows that I have two touchy times every week. I’m touchy on Saturday afternoon because I’m focused on the message I am about to preach. And the other time I’m touchy is Monday morning, because I’m drained from preaching all weekend and talking to people between services. So Kay makes allowances for that. She cuts me some slack. That’s a key part of how you deal with EGRs (people with Extra Grace Required). In the last few devotionals, I’ve mentioned that in dealing with EGRs we need to look behind the behavior and refuse to be offended. But we also must deal with them like Kay deals with me when I’m in a touchy mood: We have to cut them some slack. The Bible says, “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of...

OPEN HEAVENS 2017 GOD IS NOT INTERESTED IN THIS – Tuesday April 25th 2017 Memorise:  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17 Read:  Ezekiel 33:14-16 (King James Version) 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Bible in one year:  Number 18-19, Jeremiah 20:7-18, Hymn: Sing hymn 2 MESSAGE Expectedly, you may be wondering what God is not interested in. God is not interested in the death of a sinner (2nd Peter 3:9). Many sinners don’t even know that God has no delight in condemning them. It ...

ACCEPTABLE OFFERING -LEVITICUS 22:17-25 KEY VERSE: "But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you" (Leviticus 22:20). The earliest record in the Scripture about the act of offering to God was the offerings made by Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis. This ended in an acceptable offering of Abel and the rejection of Cain’s. Abel offered an acceptable offering instead of Cain because he offered according to the word of God, as desired by God – no blemish; best of his flock, "firstlings of his flock". In our text, God called Israel unto a life of separation and in our text, instructed on how to offer oblation for all vows and freewill offerings. The house of Israel or stranger in Israel is to offer at his own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goat. "But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you." No animal that is blind or...

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Acts 14 tells us that Paul was preaching in a city called Lystra, and he noticed a certain man who was crippled from his mother’s womb: “And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked. The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked” (Acts 14:8-10). When the man heard the Gospel from Paul, it imparted faith to him, but faith alone didn’t do him good. He was still crippled, even though he had faith. His faith was so palpable that Paul noticed it; he perceived that the man had faith to be healed. It’s the same predic...

Don’t Give Up David McCasland Galatians 6:1–10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9 Bob Foster, my mentor and friend for more than fifty years, never gave up on me. His unchanging friendship and encouragement, even during my darkest times, helped carry me through. We often find ourselves determined to reach out and help someone we know who is in great need. But when we fail to see improvement right away, our resolve can weaken and we may eventually give up. We discover that what we hoped would be an immediate change has become an ongoing process. The apostle Paul urges us to be patient in helping one another through the stumbles and struggles of life. When he writes, “Carry each other’s burdens” and so “fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2), he is comparing our task to the work, time, and waiting it takes for a farmer to see a harvest....

The Written Word by Joyce Meyer - posted April 24, 2017 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105 The Bible is written as a personal letter to you. God speaks to you, ministers to your needs, and directs you in the way you should go in His written Word. He tells you what you should do and how you should live. It is a mistake to think we can hear clearly from God without spending time in the Word. Knowing the written Word protects you from deception. Listening for God's voice without being dedicated to spending time in the Word on a regular basis opens you up to hearing voices that are not from God. There may be times when God speaks something to you that is outside a specific chapter and verse of the Bible, but it will always be in agreement with His Word. Tonight, spend time reading a portion of God's personal letter to you and allow Him to speak to your heart. God’s Word is one of the most precious gifts we have. Treasure it.

ASSIGNED DUTY -EZEKIEL 22:1-12 KEY VERSE: "Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations" (Ezekiel 22:2). While speaking in London, evangelist D.L. Moody was approached by a British companion who wanted to know the secret of Moody’s success in leading people to Christ. Moody directed the man to his hotel window and asked "what do you see?" The man looked down on the square and reported a view of crowded streets. Moody suggested that he looked again. This time the man mentioned seeing people – men, women and children. Moody then directed him to look a third time and the man became frustrated that he was not seeing what Moody wanted him to see. The great evangelist came to the window with tearful eyes and said. "I see people going to hell without Jesus. Until you see people like that, you will never lead them to Christ." In the text, Jerusalem was tagged the bloody city. Her inhab...