Monthly Archives: February 2016

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – APPLE VS. THE FBI: IT’S COMPLICATED

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The FBI wants Apple to create software that would enable authorities to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple has refused. When I saw this news story, I wondered why the company wouldn’t want to help.

However, the more I read, the more complex the debate became.

According to Apple’s engineers, the software it would develop for this purpose would threaten the security of all iPhones and could be used on any number of devices. However, according to prosecutors, the new software would affect only the terrorist’s phone.

According to legal scholars, if the FBI can compel Apple to do this, perhaps it could force Facebook or other tech companies to do the same. However, according to terrorism authorities, unbreakable technology could enable terrorists to escalate attacks against us.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Biblical Love

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Read | 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

In today’s passage, Paul talks about love and its preeminence over speech, knowledge, generosity, and self-sacrifice (1 Cor. 13:1-3). The apostle then describes the nature of biblical love, which is patient, kind, humble, and slow to anger (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

However, we often struggle as we try to practice this model of unselfish affection. One reason is that the godly expression of caring doesn’t come naturally to us. Pure Christian love puts the other person ahead of our own interests, even when our human inclinations clamor to place self first (1 Cor. 13:5).

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Ease of Ingratitude

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Read: Hebrews 12:18-29

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. —Hebrews 12:28

Thwip, thwap. Thwip, thwap.

The windshield wipers slamming back and forth trying to keep up with the pelting rain only added to my irritation as I adjusted to driving the used car I had just purchased—an old station wagon with 80,000+ miles and no side-impact airbag protection for the kids.

To get this station wagon, and some badly needed cash for groceries, I had sold the last “treasure” we owned: a 1992 Volvo station wagon with side-impact airbag protection for the kids. By then, everything else was gone. Our house and our savings had all disappeared under the weight of uncovered medical expenses from life-threatening illnesses.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Lonely But Not Alone 

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A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. John 16:32

In some seasons of my life I have felt very lonely. At age 12, after hearing of my mom and stepfather’s divorce—I crawled into my bunk bed and wept. I prayed to God and asked why I couldn’t have a dad like my friends. I felt very alone—my fledgling faith offered little comfort. At age 19, after becoming a Christian, my fellow college students could not comprehend or accept my new behavioral boundaries. I felt abandoned, left alone. I looked for others who loved Jesus. As an adult I’ve had similar times of unsolicited isolation. Though I felt lonely—I was not alone.

Jesus described this scenario of being left alone, but not being alone. He verbalized to His disciples how they were about to be scattered and how Jesus would be left by Himself to face His accusers. In Christ’s greatest time of need those He needed most fled from His presence. As Jesus faced His arrest, trial and death, the disciples’ fear superseded their loyalty to Christ. Jesus was left alone by many who loved Him the most, yet He was not alone. His Father was with Him. Loneliness can strike down the most devout followers of the Lord, but they are not alone.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Bless Somebody

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And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.—Galatians 6:9

The Word says, Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually] (Romans 15:2).

This tells me that we need to have our mind full of ways to bless people. Early in the day, think up something you want to do to bless someone. Think up something you can do to surprise somebody or to make somebody happy. You will be amazed at how quickly the Lord leads you to something good you can do for someone. Joy comes from giving on His behalf.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Deliverance from Fears

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“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4, KJV).

Susie seemed outwardly to be a well-poised, lovely young wife and mother with everything under control. She was active in her church and attended other Christian gatherings during the week. But secretly she was filled with fear from which psychologists and psychiatrists with whom she consulted were unable to set her free.

She became very discouraged and depressed. “What can I do?” she asked through her tears. “I have everything to live for and no real reason to be afraid, but my days are consumed with worry and dread and fear, as I anticipate all kinds of evil things happening to me, to my husband , to my children.”

“Do you believe that God in heaven has the power to remove your fears, Susie?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” she replied.

“Do you believe He loves you?”

“Yes, I believe that.”

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Perils of Prosperity

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Read: Isaiah 39

Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. (Isaiah 39:2)

Taken in by the flattery of Babylon, the king trusted these ambassadors despite the fact that Isaiah had spoken very clearly of the threat from that quarter: what Babylon represented in spiritual terms, and what Babylon’s ultimate fate would be. But the king ignored Isaiah’s words, as many today ignore the clear warnings of Scripture.

So Isaiah pays another visit to Hezekiah. The old prophet says to the king, I see you have had visitors. Who were these men? Oh, replies Hezekiah, they are ambassadors from Babylon, the great power to the east. This superpower has recognized our tiny kingdom, and that makes me feel proud and honored. Doubtless he had shown the letter to his wife, exclaiming, Look, dear, the king of Babylon has now taken note of us. Asked by Isaiah what he had shown these ambassadors, Hezekiah replied, I showed them everything we’ve got—all our treasures, all our defenses, everything.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The With-God Life

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Read: John 15:1-8

I am the vine; you are the branches. (v. 5)

Spiritual formation has also been called the “with-God” life. The goal of our with-God life is personal transformation that leads to the transformation of the world around us. The notion of being spiritually formed seems radical to those have seen the Christian life as only intellectual assent to the lordship of Jesus and adherence to ethical rules and moral living. The discipleship Jesus requires is costly, but as Dallas Willard has said, the cost of nondiscipleship is even more costly. It costs the abundant life that Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10).

In his book Practicing the Way of Jesus, Mark Scandrette notes that when people hear about becoming like Jesus, they often begrudgingly think or ask, “What do I have to do?” or “How far do I have to go?” or “How much do I have to give up?” Yet he says, “A better question is, ‘How free and alive am I willing to be?’” (p. 47).

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – That’s Not Fair

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The United States justice system was created to uphold the rule of law. Courts and judges are supposed to be impartial and enforce fairness, which is why justice is often symbolized as a blindfolded figure balancing a set of scales. However, in 2014, a Rasmussen Report indicated that 43 percent of Americans felt the federal justice system was unfair. The following year, a law professor named Adam Benforado published a book, Unfair, which highlights what he views as the hidden unfairness in the legal system.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity.

Psalm 67:4

Today’s verse reminds believers there really is a judge who rules fairly and guides those who follow His laws into prosperity. It proclaims this is reason to sing for joy and offer praise. When nations invite Christ to reign over them and allow Him into their governance, the nation prospers; but when the people leave God out, the nation falls into condemnation.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Our Refuge

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“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalm 91:2)

In the news, we hear a lot about refugees. We talk about those people, and we see pictures of them on TV. But who are they really? They are people who are looking for safety and help. For one reason or another they have been put out of their homes and villages – usually because of war – and are seeking a new place to live and a brand new start in life. We have refugees come to the United States sometimes because they can’t live in their own countries anymore. Just as those people are looking for a safer, better place to live and raise their families, you and I are spiritual refugees. We are searching for a safe place, a refuge – and we find it in God.

The dictionary defines refuge as “a source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble.” How is God my refuge? Psalm 91:2 refers to a spiritual refuge, not necessarily a physical one. When we are tempted to sin, what do we do? We need to find a place to get away from the temptation so that we don’t sin. God provides that place. When we are tempted to sin we can run to Him, pray, and ask His help – and He will be our refuge, our source of help and comfort, our safe place.

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Turning Point

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Faith and Love

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Today’s Scripture: Galatians 5:6

“In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

There’s an inextricable link between faith and love. It’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and also impossible to please him without love. This love arises in our hearts only as we, by faith, lay hold of the great truths of the Gospel. To do this, our faith must be constantly nourished by feeding on the Gospel. It’s not the only message we need; we must also hear the requirements of discipleship. But the Gospel is most important because it alone provides both the proper motive and the only enduring motivation to respond to our Lord’s call to discipleship.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Humility

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Today’s Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. – Daniel 5:20

We were on our way to Steamboat Springs for a few days of skiing. The road was icy, and the wind was blowing so hard we went gliding right off the road into the snow. Some of us got out and tried to push the car back onto the road. The combination of slickness and a large snow bank was too much resistance for us. The car wouldn’t budge.

Eventually, a good Samaritan in a four-wheel-drive truck came along and pulled us out.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – REST WRECKERS: IMPATIENCE

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Read 1 Samuel 13:1-15

Patience is a virtue, but impatience might be a national trait. Timex asked people how long they would wait before taking action; they learned that most would wait thirteen seconds before honking at a car in front of them stopped at a green light, twenty-six seconds before taking the seat of someone who has walked away, thirteen minutes for a table at a restaurant, and twenty minutes for the last person to show up for Thanksgiving dinner before beginning the meal.

In Saul’s case, impatience was more than a personality trait. It was a sin. Saul sent his son Jonathan to attack the Philistine garrison at Geba and summoned the people to assemble at Gilgal for a sacrificial ceremony. The prophet Samuel had commanded Saul to wait at Gilgal when he anointed him to be king (see 1 Sam. 10:8).

Samuel had been emphatic that Saul must wait for his arrival, but Jonathan’s foray against the Philistines provoked such a hostile response that the troops remaining with Saul began to defect (vv. 6–7). Saul waited for seven days, and still Samuel did not appear. He decided that extreme measures were necessary: he began to offer the burnt

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – No Greater Love

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Read | John 15:12-14

One of the most intense expressions of human love is the protective instinct parents have toward their children. There is little most moms and dads wouldn’t do for a baby. If a truck posed a threat to the little one, it wouldn’t surprise us if they jumped in front of the moving vehicle without a second thought.

Wouldn’t you like to be cared for with this kind of intensity? You are. In fact, the Lord’s love toward you is far deeper and more secure than that of even the most caring, tuned-in human parent. And what God did for us is proof. Romans 5:8 says that while we were living in disobedience, He sent His only Son to die on the cross for us.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Ice Flowers

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Read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-14

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. —1 Corinthians 12:4

Fifteen-year-old Wilson Bentley was captivated by the intricate beauty of snowflakes. He looked with fascination through an old microscope his mother had given him and made hundreds of sketches of their remarkable designs, but they melted too quickly to adequately capture their detail. Several years later, in 1885, he had an idea. He attached a bellows camera to the microscope and, after much trial and error, took his first picture of a snowflake. During his lifetime Bentley would capture 5,000 snowflake images and each one was a unique design. He described them as “tiny miracles of beauty” and “ice flowers.”

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Evidences of God’s Power

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“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know . . . what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might” (Ephesians 1:18-19).

God’s power is seen in creation, preservation, redemption, and resurrection.

Think of all the energy we get from the sun, and multiply that by the innumerable stars in space. But God by His great power created all the stars with no effort whatsoever: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (Ps. 33:6). He just spoke, and they were made.

God’s power also preserves the universe. Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), and “in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Chaos would result unless His sustaining hands were directing the orderliness of creation (Ps. 104; Jer. 31:35-36).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Radical Romance 

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Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah. 1 Samuel 1:19

A radical romance is based on a rock solid relationship with Jesus Christ. When the Lord lights the flames of love between two faithful hearts, it’s heavenly. Their allegiance to the Almighty makes their allegiance to each other easy. Their love for the Lord ignites their love for one another. Their faith in God fuels their trust in each other. Their passion to know Christ produces a deep desire to know their lover’s heart. Radical romance flows from a radical worship of God.

A romance with radical results starts in the margins of our relationship with our spouse. Margin is the white space in our schedule that makes us available to support our husband or wife. She may sign up for a couple’s cooking class and would really enjoy your eager participation. He may love for you to accompany him to a sporting event, all decked out in his favorite team’s colors. Serve your spouse in a way they want to be served. Since it makes them happy, you are happy.

“Our Master [Jesus] said, ‘You’re far happier giving than getting’” (Acts 20:35, The Message).

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Love Languages: Speak Your Love

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Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Recommended Reading

Ephesians 4:15

Famous passages of Scripture are often taken out of context. First Corinthians 13, Paul’s “love chapter,” is such a passage. Why did Paul write his beautiful words about love to the church at Corinth? The answer is simple: They were a carnal, unloving community of Christians! They had an abundance of spiritual gifts, but they used them in unloving ways.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Are God’s Favorite

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Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. —Psalm 17:8

What does it mean to be a favorite? It means to be particularly favored, esteemed, and preferred. It means to enjoy special attention, personal affection, and preferential treatment, even without being deserving of it. There is nothing about you or me or anyone else that can cause us to become God’s favorite. He chooses us for that place of honor and esteem by an act of His sovereign grace. All we can do is receive His gracious gift in an attitude of thanksgiving and humility.

Now when I talk about being the favorite of God, I must make something clear. Because God is God of all His creation, and because He has a personal relationship with each one of His children, He can say to every single one of us at the same time, and sincerely mean it, “You are the apple of My eye; you are My favorite child.”

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Bears and He Gives

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“What a glorious Lord! He who daily bears our burdens also gives us our salvation” (Psalm 68:19).

Did it ever occur to you that you are disobeying God when you carry your own burdens, when you are worried, frustrated and confused over circumstances? That is exactly what God’s Word says.

In 1 Peter 5:7, God gives a specific command to His children, “Cast…all your cares upon Him; for He careth for you” (KJV). Not to cast all of one’s cares upon the Lord is to disobey Him and to deny oneself that supernatural walk with God among men.

Is it not logical to believe that He who loved us so much that He was willing to give His only begotten Son would also be faithful to keep His promise to bear our burdens daily?

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