Dear Moms: Elizabeth (-Dr. David Jeremiah)

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Watch This Week's TV Broadcast

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Weekend, May 19 & 20

Dear Moms: Elizabeth

"Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
Luke 1:45

Recommended Reading Luke 1:5–80

Parents are often excited when their children announce a calling from the Lord to full-time ministry--until they learn that calling involves living half a world away on the mission field, or ministering in a dangerous inner-city setting, or reaching out to young people involved in alternative lifestyles.

Watch This Week's TV Broadcast

Elizabeth was a mother who knew before her son was born that he was going to be "different." The angel Gabriel told Elizabeth's husband, Zacharias, that their son--to be named John--would live a Nazirite lifestyle (Numbers 6:1-21) and minister "in the spirit and power of Elijah . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17). If anything, Elijah was known as a radical in the eyes of the world. And that's what Elizabeth could expect as her son, John, went out to prepare the way for the coming of his cousin, the Messiah, Jesus. And sure enough, "the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts" (Luke 1:80), dressed in camel's hair and eating locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6).

Thank God today for mothers who are willing to let their children fulfill their calling from the Lord.

No man is poor who has had a godly mother.
Abraham Lincoln

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Nehemiah 13:1-Esther 10:3

Opportunities (-Dr. David Jeremiah)

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Listen to Today's Radio Message

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Friday, May 18

Opportunities

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord.
2 Corinthians 2:12

Recommended Reading Acts 16:6-10

In ancient harbors, ships often had to wait for the incoming tide to raise the water level sufficiently to allow them to sail in. The Latin phrase ob portu (against the port) described a waiting ship's position just outside the harbor. The English word opportunity derives from the phrase ob portu to describe when one prepares and waits for just the right moment to act.

Listen to Today's Radio Message

Those who seem to have the most opportunities in life make opportunities instead of waiting for them to happen. The apostle Paul was the kind of person who looked for every opportunity to preach the Gospel. If a door closed and the opportunity vanished, he assumed it was God who closed the door and that another would open. On one occasion in Asia Minor, two doors closed in succession followed by a third that opened. Instead of bemoaning the two missed opportunities, Paul took the third, "concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:10).

There is no such thing as luck or coincidence in the Christian life. If God is in control of everything, then what appears to be luck or coincidence is really an opportunity provided by God.

An obstacle is often an unrecognized opportunity.
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Read-Thru-the-Bible
Nehemiah 11:1-12:47

Bloom (— Joel & Victoria Osteen)

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Bloom

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“The righteous shall flourish...”

(Psalm 92:12, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

I remember walking in the woods one time when I came upon a clearing filled with weeds. As far as I could see, these dead, dried-up weeds had covered up everything. As I walked a hundred yards further in, I saw a single, beautiful flower that had grown up among all those weeds. It was so colorful and so different from everything that surrounded it. I thought, “That’s what God wants us to be: vibrant and blooming wherever He’s planted us.” Friend, no matter what season you are in today, God wants you to bloom right where you are. That doesn’t mean you’re going to always be in that situation. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream big or plan for the future. It simply means that you are going to choose to be your best on the way to where you’re headed. It means you go out each day with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. It means you give God glory in everything you do. Always remember, bloom where you're planted and let Him work in and through you all the days of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for Your hand of mercy upon my life. Today, I choose to bloom where I’m planted. I choose to trust You and honor You knowing that You are working behind the scenes for my good. I love You and bless You in Jesus’ name. Amen!

— Joel & Victoria Osteen