Tozer: Solitude

Personal Life: The Need for Solitude

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. --Matthew 14:23

Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again.

"The thoughtful soul to solitude retires," said the poet of other and quieter times; but where is the solitude to which we can retire today? Science, which has provided men with certain material comforts, has robbed them of their souls by surrounding them with a world hostile to their existence. "Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still" is a wise and healing counsel, but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and the television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. What was intended to be a blessing has become a positive curse. No spot is now safe from the world's intrusion. Of God and Men, 125.

"If Tozer wrestled with this in his day, how much more are we bombarded today! We have all the influences of which he speaks, and much more all-pervasive, plus the internet and a host of other 'playthings' seeking to devour us. Lord, help us somehow to escape today and retire to solitude, even if only for a brief time. Amen."

Today's "Insight for Leaders" is taken by permission from the book, Tozer on Christian Leadership, published by WingSpread Publishers
This Insight for Leaders devotional is also available in a print-friendly format here on the LMI web site.

You can get them emailed to you regularly....


http://www.litmin.org/refer.php?refer=http://www.litmin.org/tozer.php

Praying on the armor

Putting on the Armor of God

By Charles Stanley


Good morning, Lord. Thank You for assuring me of victory today if I will but follow Your battle plan. So by faith I claim victory over ~~ (I normally list some things I know I will be faced with that day).

To prepare myself for the battle ahead, by faith I put on the belt of truth. The truth about You, Lord葉hat You are a sovereign God who knows everything about me, both my strengths and my weaknesses. Lord, You know my breaking point and have promised not to allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able to bear. The truth about me, Lord, is that I am a new creature in Christ and have been set free from the power of sin. I am indwelt with the Holy Spirit who will guide me and warn me when danger is near. I am Your child, and nothing can separate me from Your love. The truth is that You have a purpose for me this day耀omeone to encourage, someone to share with, someone to love.

Next, Lord, I want to, by faith, put on the breastplate of righteousness. Through this I guard my heart and my emotions. I will not allow my heart to attach itself to anything that is impure. I will not allow my emotions to rule in my decisions. I will set them on what is right and good and just. I will live today by what is true, not by what I feel.

Lord, this morning I put on the sandals of the gospel of peace. I am available to You, Lord. Send me where You will. Guide me to those who need encouragement or physical help of some kind. Use me to solve conflicts wherever they may arise. Make me a calming presence in every circumstance in which You place me. I will not be hurried or rushed, for my schedule is in Your hands. I will not leave a trail of tension and apprehension. I will leave tracks of peace and stability everywhere I go.

I now take up the shield of faith, Lord. My faith is in You and You alone. Apart from You, I can do nothing. With You, I can do all things. No temptation that comes my way can penetrate Your protecting hand. I will not be afraid, for You are going with me throughout this day. When I am tempted, I will claim my victory out loud ahead of time, for You have promised victory to those who walk in obedience to Your Word. So by faith I claim victory even now because I know there are fiery darts headed my way even as I pray. Lord, You already know what they are and have already provided the way of escape.

Lord, by faith I am putting on the helmet of salvation. You know how Satan bombards my mind day and night with evil thoughts, doubt, and fear. I put on this helmet that will protect my mind. I may feel the impact of his attacks, but nothing can penetrate this helmet. I choose to stop every impure and negative thought at the door of my mind. And with the helmet of salvation those thoughts will get no further. I elect to take every thought captive; I will dwell on nothing but what is good and right and pleasing to You.

Last, I take up the sword of the Spirit, which is Your Word. Thank You for the precious gift of Your Word. It is strong and powerful and able to defeat even the strongest of Satan痴 onslaughts. Your Word says that I am not under obligation to the flesh to obey its lusts. Your Word says that I am free from the power of sin. Your Word says that I am free from the power of sin. Your Word says that He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. So by faith I take up the strong and powerful sword of the Spirit, which is able to defend me in time of attack, comfort me in time of sorrow, teach me in time of meditation, and prevail against the power of the enemy on behalf of others who need the truth to set them free.

So, Lord, I go now rejoicing that You have chosen me to represent You to this lost and dying world. May others see Jesus in me, and may Satan and his hosts shudder as Your power is made manifest in me. In Jesus

世の光

イエスは世の光です。

My sin makes me blind to your light.

Please open my eyes to your light.


John

8 12

9 5

12 46

John intro 2 Johns

John the Baptist

Jesus’ relative
イエスの親戚

Preached repentance
悔い改めなさいと説教しました。
Prepared for Jesus to come
イエスの準備をしました。
Put in prison and killed by Herod.
ヘロデ王様による死刑された。





Apostle John
Fisherman 漁師
Brother of Jamesヤコブの兄弟

Son of Thunder 雷の息子
Wrote the Gospel of John
ヨハネによる福音書を書きました。
Wrote Three Letters
３つの手紙も書きました。
First John
Second John
Third John
Wrote Revelation, the last book of the Bible
聖書の最後の書物、黙示録を書きました。First John

tonight we invite you to joy
a joy that...

the world can not take away.
a joy that is deeper than all the disappointment
you can ever feel.
a cushion for the dwon times

we invite you to peace

The peace that comes from being forgiven,
from breaking the power of sin over our lives.
from knowing we are in harmony with the Creator of everything.

A peace thtat cannot be understood by mere logic..
a peace won for us by Jesus when he gave us
his innocence on the cross.

we invite you to love
love of God and brothers and sisters
A love that God had for you before the world began.

we invite you to rest
rest from your labors
from you striving
rest from your pressur to perform
rest from trying to be good enough to please God
or please those around you.


we invite you to power.
to do right and turn from wrong

we invite you to start on a road that will
lead you to heaven.

We invite you to deeper and stronger fatih
Jesus says that even a faith as small as a mustard seed can grow and make amazing things happen.
We invite you take a step on the road to faith, on the road to following the way of Christ

God--Just as an and will never understand the Internet, finite humans will never understand God. Just as a child with teacup will never empty the ocean, we can never understand more than a tiny fraction of the amazing God who made the universe.
A few basic truths about God:
There is one God.
He always existed, always will. He is not bound or affected by time.
He made everything that exists.
He loves you enough to send his own innocent son to die for guilty humans and pay the price for our sins.
Jesus
Jesus is God, the Son He became a human to teach us how to live. Then he gave his life to give us forgiveness. Jesus lived a sinless human life and we try to follow him. His amazing powerful ressurrection proves his power over sin and death.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit of God may be the most difficult to understand of all. The Holy Spirit will work in our hearts to give us understanding. The Spirit works to show us our sin, and to help us pray to God when we do not have the words.
Forgiveness, Salvation, New life,
When we decide to follow Jesus, an amazing change begins to take place in our life. The transition from old life to new life involves a process that can take a short or long time.
Learning about Jesus and the Bible is part of the process and continues from beginning to end. We study alone privately and in groups. We will never know all that we need to know. We will never know it all. As we learn more and gain experience, we can teach the beginners.
Faith develops as we study and learn and pray and live and spend time together. Faith is being sure of things we can not see. At some point, our faith becomes strong enough that we are ready to trust Jesus for our salvation.
Learning and faith take place in our hearts and we can choose to be either very private or very open about it. When our faith becomes strong enough that we are ready to trust Jesus, it is time to tell this to other people. Telling about our faith to other people may sound very scary, but it can be very simple. At first, the simple statement like -- I believe Jesus is God's Son. I believe that he died for my sins. I want to follow Jesus. -- is good. But as our faith and confidence grow, by our life and our words, we tell people we believe in Jesus.
The new birth into the new life. The new birth is a physical event with a deep spiritual meaning. It is a quick dip or burial in water. This can be done in a bathtub, a swimming pool, or a river, lake, or sea.
New Birth, New Life, New Family. When we are saved from our sins, we enter into a new life. We are given a new family, a new community of believers for encouragement and to serve God together. This is called the church. It is a group fo people, not a building. Jesus says even if our physical family does not follow Jesus, we gain a hundred times more brothers and sisters, even parents.

day by day lyrics and tune on MIDI hymnal

http://www.midimarvels.com/Baptist_Product.htm

Scroll down to samples and click on

Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.


Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

IF Rudyard Kipling

IF..... Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!