Daily Archives: June 21, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – When the Lord Frustrates His Child

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Isaiah 14:27

It may sound strange, but I actually get excited about certain times of frustration. When I sense a restlessness followed by dissatisfaction but cannot identify the cause, then I know to ask the Lord what He’s doing. Past experience tells me that once I make the move He desires, my frustration will end and I’ll be in sync with His plan for my life.

Frustration is usually considered a negative feeling. However, when God agitates us, His purpose is always good. He sometimes uses our sense of dissatisfaction as well as spiritual and physical barriers to guide us toward new insights. For example, I woke up one Saturday morning during my seminary years feeling as if I were in an emotional butter churn—I could not settle to any task or relax, and I did not know why. So I started praying about these feelings and asking the Lord to reveal His will. I spent most of the day on my knees. Soon I discovered that the good plans I had made to temporarily pastor a California church were not His plans. Had I ignored the frustrated feeling, I would have missed a vacation to North Carolina, which resulted in a call to the church God intended for me.

In a culture of busyness, we can easily and foolishly overlook or ignore restlessness. But divinely sent frustration is meant to get our attention. God wants us to ask, “What are You saying?” and “Do You want me to be doing or thinking something different?” As soon as we are willing to deal with whatever the Lord brings to mind, He starts revealing what we need to change in order to receive His insight.

Bible in a Year: Psalms 55-59

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Learning to Love

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Read: 1 Corinthians 13 | Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5; Acts 5:22–42

Follow the way of love. 1 Corinthians 14:1

Love does more than make “the world go round,” as an old song says. It also makes us immensely vulnerable. From time to time, we may say to ourselves: “Why love when others do not show appreciation?” or “Why love and open myself up to hurt?” But the apostle Paul gives a clear and simple reason to pursue love: “These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love” (1 Cor. 13:13–14:1).

“Love is an activity, the essential activity of God himself,” writes Bible commentator C. K. Barrett, “and when men love either Him or their fellow-men, they are doing (however imperfectly) what God does.” And God is pleased when we act like Him.

Help me to love others the way Jesus showed us.

To begin following the way of love, think about how you might live out the characteristics listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. For example, how can I show my child the same patience God shows me? How can I show kindness and respect for my parents? What does it mean to look out for the interests of others when I am at work? When something good happens to my friend, do I rejoice with her or am I envious?

As we “follow the way of love,” we’ll find ourselves often turning to God, the source of love, and to Jesus, the greatest example of love. Only then will we gain a deeper knowledge of what true love is and find the strength to love others like God loves us.

God, thank You that You are love and that You love me so much. Help me to love others the way Jesus showed us so that the whole world will know I am Your child.

Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

INSIGHT:

Love has been defined as sacrificial giving of one’s time, money, or energy while expecting nothing in return. Certainly this definition is a good starting point. But today’s inspired reading explores a deeper love, one that is demonstrated through a heart yielded to God.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – It’s a Wonderful Life

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“I know what I’m going to do for the next year, and the next year, and the year after that…I’m going to shake the dust off of this crummy old town and I’m going to see the world.”(1)

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is the classic film of Christmas holiday fare. It’s ubiquity on the airwaves belies its dismal performance at the box office when it was first released just after World War II.(2) Capra’s film follows the life of George Bailey in his small town. And while the film has a happy ending, it exposes the creeping despair and bitterness that comes from the loss of George’s dreams. The film offers a powerful visual of the gap that forms between knowing what George will do “the next year and the year after that” and the reality of living that leaves him wondering whether his is a wonderful life.

Despite the film’s often saccharine sentimentality, it nevertheless presents a realistic picture of lost or abandoned dreams. Like the film’s main character, George Bailey, many of us had dreams of “seeing the world” and “kicking the dust off” of our ordinary lives and existence. Our ideal plans and goals called us out into an ever-expanding future of possibility and adventure.

In this sense, It’s a Wonderful Life offers all who enter into its narrative a chance to look into the chasm between many cherished ideals and the often sober reality of our lives. This glimpse into what is often a gaping chasm of lost hopes and abandoned dreams offers a frightening opportunity to let go. Indeed, facing the death of ones’ dreams head on forces a moment of decision. Will we become bitter by fixating on what has been lost, or will we walk forward in hope on a path of yet unseen possibility?

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – It’s a Wonderful Life →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Glorifies God

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“Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.’ Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:28-30).

God is honored when you are faithful.

When a well-known National Football League coach was asked why he always had a Christian minister on the sideline with his team, he explained, “I’m not even sure if I believe in God, but in case there is one, I want Him on my side.” King Nebuchadnezzar seems to have had a similar attitude when he blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and decreed that anyone speaking an offense against Him would be torn to pieces and have their homes reduced to rubbish.

Nebuchadnezzar believed that certain peoples or nations had their own gods, and even though he didn’t believe that the God of the Hebrews was the one true God, he had just witnessed dramatic proof that He was more powerful than the gods of Babylon. Therefore, he acknowledged Him as the supreme God and took steps to ensure that no one would offend Him. No doubt he also reasoned that having a God like that on his side would be a definite advantage.

Regardless of Nebuchadnezzar’s motives, his decree glorified God by exalting Him over Babylon’s false gods. More important, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s integrity glorified God by demonstrating the power and influence of an uncompromising life. When the king caused them to prosper in Babylon, the name of the Lord prospered with them.

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray daily to live as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lived and to be used as they were used.

For Further Study

According to Ephesians 3:20, what is God able to accomplish through you when you live with integrity? Are you trusting Him to do so?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – When Life Isn’t Fair

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For we live by faith, not by sight.   2 Corinthians 5:7

In his book Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey writes about a friend named Douglas who experienced deep disappointment. Douglas’s wife contracted breast cancer. While in the middle of this crisis, a drunk driver swerved across the center line and smashed head-on into Douglas’ car, and Douglas received a severe blow to the head. His vision was affected, and his ability to read was hindered. He could hardly walk down a flight of stairs without assistance. The damage was irreparable. Philip interviewed Douglas to ask if he felt disappointment with God. Philip writes. . .

“Douglas was silent for what seemed like a long time. He stroked his peppery grey beard and gazed off beyond my right shoulder. . . . Finally he said, “To tell you the truth, Philip, I didn’t feel any disappointment with God. . . . The reason is this: I learned, first through my wife’s illness and then especially through the incident, not to confuse God with life. . .  I have learned to see beyond the physical reality of this world to the spiritual reality. We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life—by expecting constant health, for example—then I set myself up for a crashing disappointment. God’s existence, even his love for me, does not depend on my good health. Frankly, I’ve had more time and opportunity to work on my relationship with God during my impairment than before.”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Douglas learned to successfully navigate disappointment when you don’t get what you want: to believe without seeing, to walk by faith and not by sight. Douglas knew that God is loving and powerful, even though his circumstances didn’t support this truth.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – When Life Isn’t Fair →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Why Do Doubts Arise in Your Mind?

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And He said to them,“Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

Luke 24:38

Recommended Reading

Luke 24:36-49

As Christians, we’ve placed our faith in the Lord Jesus and believe what the Bible says about Him. We believe He died for our sins and rose on the third day. We believe He returned to heaven and is coming again. We believe those things because they are true. Our faith is rooted in clear thinking, and we know we can hold it with intellectual integrity.

Yet traces of doubt can still streak through our minds. That happened to the disciples in Luke 24. When Jesus appeared on Easter evening, they were terrified and thought He was a spirit. He allayed their fears with the reality of His presence, saying, “Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet….” Only after He ate some broiled fish did their fears turn to faith.

If you suffer twinges of doubt, don’t panic. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Look at His wounds. Study His resurrection. Look at how He changes lives. And the same Savior who convinced the disciples will strengthen your faith.

The faith that the Bible requires is intelligent faith. It is neither blind nor irrational…. No one is asked to sacrifice his intellect when he puts his faith in the God of the Bible.

Don Stewart

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Psalms 89 – 94

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Keep Your Peace

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And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].—Colossians 3:15

When you do feel you need to say no, you don’t have to give a reason why. So often people want us to justify our decisions, and we really don’t need to do that. I try to be led by God’s Spirit—or another way of saying it is I try to be led by my heart—and sometimes I don’t even fully understand why I don’t feel something isn’t right for me.

But I have learned if I do feel that way, I am not going to go against my own conscience in order to have everyone be happy with me. I often say, “I just don’t have peace about it,” or “I don’t feel right about it,” or even a plain old “I don’t want to” is sufficient.

There is nothing wrong with giving a reason if you have one, but I think we go overboard trying to explain ourselves sometimes. Follow your heart and keep your peace. Say no when you need to and yes when you should.

Lord, make me more sensitive to the peace that comes when You are ruling in my heart. May I be quick to follow Your peace and leading in everything I do. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Practice Makes Progress

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In the night, LORD, I remember your name, that I may keep your law. This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. You are my portion, LORD; I have promised to obey your words.

Psalm 119:55-57

Friend to Friend

I’ve always been an athlete. As an adult, I enjoy power walking and keeping fit. Growing up, I played on different sports teams all year round, but volleyball has always been my jam.

I played volleyball in college and now I help coach my daughter’s high school team. I’ve been around this game for more than thirty years and I’ve spent more time on the court, on the sand, and on the grass playing and practicing than most people ever will.

You’d think that after all the hours invested I’d have the game perfected by now, right?

Not hardly.

There are still times when I shank a pass and have spike attempts that send the ball into the net instead of over the net. There are still times when I miss a serve.

Each mistake frustrates me. Seriously. I’m competitive and I hate to lose. No matter how much I’ve grown as a player, I’ve come to realize that when I step on the volleyball court mistakes are going to happen and there will always be opportunities for me to grow and progress in my skills. Simple as that.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Practice Makes Progress →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – More Than We Could Hope For

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“Now glory be to God who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20).

Few verses describe the supernatural life better than does this powerful promise. On hundreds, if not thousands, of occasions I have meditated upon this truth and have been inspired to claim increasingly great and mighty things for the glory of God because of the inspiration contained in this Word. Think of it, the omnipotent Creator, God who created the heavens and the earth and the vastness of all the hundreds of millions of galaxies, has come to take up residence within us! Our bodies have become His temple. That omnipotnet, divine, supernatural, inexhaustible resource power dwells within every believer.

How much power? Far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of! Let your mind race, your prayers be without limit, and yet, whatever you believe, whatever you think, whatever you pray for, God’s power is infinitely beyond it all.

I have come to the conclusion, after many years of serving our wonderful Lord, that there is nothing too big for us to attempt for the glory of God. If our hearts and motives are pure, if what we do is according to the Word of God, He hears, and is able to do more than we ask or even think.

For example, is it God’s will that the Great Commission be fulfilled? Of course. It is His command. We read further in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and has, according to verse 15 of this chapter, delayed His return in order that more people might have a chance to hear.

Let your mind soar over the vastness of the earth, where there is a continuous population explosion, and each generation is faced with another billion or more souls to pray for. I challenge you to believe God for the entire world to be blanketed with His love and forgiveness.

Continue reading Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – More Than We Could Hope For →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Prayer’s Practicality

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Read: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:10

At first glance that looks like a self-centered prayer. It sounds like the man who prayed, Bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more. But Jabez is really not being selfish. He is praying for something God wanted him to have. That is the difference between being personal and being selfish. Selfish prayers are prayers which ask God for something he does not want us to have, at least not then, demanding prayers that are interested only in our own immediate welfare, for our own satisfaction. But God promises great and mighty things to us personally that we may lay hold of, so to pray in this way is not selfish, but personal.

Look more closely at these four requests. First he asks, Oh, that you would bless me. What do you mean when you pray to be blessed? This is a request for an inner sense of relationship with God. Blessing is drawing near to God, finding him, knowing him personally. He is praying, Lord, first, above all else, let there be this consciousness that you are my God, that I belong to you and you belong to me.

Second, Jabez prays, Enlarge my territory. This is a prayer for opportunity, for the restoration, in his case, of his lost inheritance, for a place to stand in the midst of the culture of his day in which he might gain some sense of status and respect. For us it means to find a way to break out of whatever may be limiting us, hemming us in and enslaving us. You may feel that you are in a situation in which you have no opportunity to grow, to advance, to be fulfilled and satisfied. If that is the case, this is the proper kind of prayer to pray, Lord, give me that opportunity.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Prayer’s Practicality →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Travel Bravely

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Read: Psalm 112

He will not fear bad news. (v. 7)

“How ya doin’?” I asked the lady who cleans the condo unit next to ours. “Good,” she answered. Then added, “My mom did die last week.” I said, “I’m sorry.” She said, “It’s OK, she’s at peace. My brother and sisters aren’t though. They’re not believers.”

For unbelievers death ends dear relationships. In contrast, when you hope in the Lord, even death is not the end. You anticipate the joyful reunion God promises. Until then, our Good Shepherd provides all we want or need to complete our journey from earth to heaven. Our goal is, like the cleaning lady, to travel with a steadfast heart avoiding a fearful and wavering heart through the grace God gives us.

A suggestion for keeping a steadfast heart: avoid watching much “breaking news” on TV, lest you become a “broken person.” Pictures of floods, fires, killings, and wars—the devil is happy to use all of these to make us fearful. The way to certainty and confidence is to trust in the truth of God’s unfailing Word. Let his promises provide you with a steadfast heart.

When traveling, children ask, “Are we there yet?” You and I have not finished our course. Fix your mind on God. Memorize promises such as “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you” (Isa. 26:3). Refuse to be anxious about anything and pray about everything, and “the peace of God . . . will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

Prayer:

Lord, I will focus on Christ my Savior.

Author: Chic Broersma

 

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Decide Ahead of Time

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But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.—Daniel 1:8

Phillips Brooks said, “Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”

We will develop habits in life that can be good or bad, depending on what kind of habits they are. If they are bad habits, that will be troublesome. If they are good habits, that will be beneficial. As a young Christian, I developed the habit of reading my Bible every day, starting the day with the Word of God. That is a good habit. I also developed the habit of biting my fingernails. That is a bad habit.

We develop these habits and patterns that we carry on through life. In the early years, the die is cast. The course is charted. The path is followed.

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel were four young men who were ready to face the big moments later because of decisions they made earlier in life. These Jewish teenagers ended up as captives in Babylon, and they were facing heavy-duty temptation.

Suddenly the world was their oyster. And Nebuchadnezzar was hoping they would be seduced by all the luxuries he placed before them. Yet they had a God to serve and a stand to make. The Bible tells us that “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8). They made a stand in a relatively small area, and didn’t compromise.

If you compromise now, you will regret it later. You decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. It is not a mystical thing you have nothing to say about. You decide.

Decide now the kind of stand you are going to make then.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is Good

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“For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

As a kid I always loved going over to visit my “cousins.” They weren’t really my cousins, but since our families spent so much time together, we called each other cousins. It was fun to be at David’s house because his dad was a police officer and had really cool things to show us…such as real handcuffs! And what made David’s house even more fun was that he had a big swimming pool in his backyard.

Without fail, every time I was ready to go down the street and play at David’s house, my mom would tell me something that you have probably heard before: “Be good!” Why would Mom have to tell me to be good? She told me because she knew that my being good was a choice I had to make.

But no one has to tell God to “be good,” because He just is good. He can’t choose to do wrong.

God’s goodness is seen in His creation. Right after God finished creating the world, He looked at it and saw that He had done something good. Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” God never has to do anything over; everything was good the first time He created it.

God’s goodness is seen in His involvement in our lives. Have you ever read the story of Joseph in the Bible? Joseph’s brothers hated him, so they sold him to a group of people who were going to use Joseph as a slave. But God was being good to Joseph the whole time that all of this was going on.

Eventually God put Joseph in a very high position in a foreign country. Joseph used his high position in the land to prepare for a seven-year famine. Back in his home country, Joseph’s family ran out of food and had to go to the land where Joseph lived so that they could get more food.

When Joseph’s brothers came to him for food, what was his response? He forgave them and gave them as much as they needed. Why did Joseph do that and not try to get even with his brothers for selling him to be a slave? He didn’t try to get even because he understood God’s goodness. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph says, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Joseph understood that God allowed all those things to happen to him so he would be in a position to help thousands of people during the famine. God is always working in your life, and it is good!

God’s goodness is seen in His gifts. Have you ever wanted to get the perfect gift for someone? Maybe at Christmas time you go up and down the aisles of the store looking for that perfect gift for Mom or Dad. When they open the gift, you are holding your breath with excitement, hoping that they just absolutely love the gift that you picked out.

God is constantly giving us gifts, which the Bible describes as “good gifts.” James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

God doesn’t have to be told to be good, because He is good. And according to Psalm 52:1, His goodness endures forever!

God is always good, and He is only good.

My Response:

» Since God is always good, do I remember that I can totally trust Him to be good in my life?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – The Hostility Gone

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:18

“All this is from God.”

One reason we don’t appreciate the grace of God more is that we either don’t understand or don’t appreciate the radical dimension of the instantaneous act of sanctification which God gives at salvation. If we had a moral lifestyle before conversion, we find it difficult to accept Paul’s description of our attitude toward God: “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8). We don’t think of our former attitude as being hostile to God’s law.

But human morality and submission to God’s law are entirely different in principle, though they may appear similar in outward appearance. Human morality arises out of culture and family training and is based on what is proper and expected in society. It has nothing to do with God except to the extent that godly people have influenced that society. Submission to God’s law arises out of a love for God and a grateful response to his grace, and is based on a delight in his law as revealed in Scripture. When society’s standards vary from Scripture, we then see the true nature of human morality: It’s just as hostile to God’s law as is the attitude of the most hardened sinner.

Sanctification changes our attitude. Instead of being hostile to God’s law, we begin to delight in it (Romans 7:22). We find that “his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3), but rather are “holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). This radical and dramatic change in our attitude toward God’s commands is a gift of his grace, brought about solely by the mighty working of his Spirit within us.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Christ in You

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Today’s Scripture: Mark 11-13

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” – Luke 6:46

Jesus was a man of action, and His actions never failed to communicate the great desire and heart of God toward His people.

There is no greater example of this than in Mark 11:15-17: On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, He said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Can you picture the scene? The house of God had actually become a hindrance to those seeking God. Jesus came in and started turning over tables and cash registers, and told people to get out. He took drastic action, because anything that would keep people from finding salvation in the true and living God must be dealt with.

This is true of our lives as well. God wants us to be like salt, making people thirsty for God. And He wants us to be channels through which His living water can flow and quench the spiritual thirst of others.

Christian, does your life attract others to Christ, or have you become like the temple of Jesus’ day, full of commerce and religious activity, but void of any spiritual dimension and appeal? If some major housecleaning needs to be done, why not invite the Lord of action to take over and get started on it today?

Prayer

Lord, if there’s anything in my life right now that is hindering Your witness, please sweep it away. Amen.

To Ponder

When was the last time someone sought you out to talk about spiritual things?

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Spell-Checking ‘Cisgender’: Neosexual Propaganda

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The sociologist Peter Berger once told a story in First Things about his childhood in Mussolini’s Italy and the ideological use of language.

Italian, like Spanish and French, has one way of addressing someone close to you, “tu,” and another for addressing a stranger, “lei,” which is also Italian for “she.”

As Berger told readers, Mussolini thought using “lei” was “effeminate” and “degenerate.” So instead of using “lei,” the Fascists insisted on substituting “voi,’ which is the second person plural – sort of like “you all.”

Linguistically-speaking, this was nonsense. But it had real-world consequences: “From that moment on,” Berger wrote, “every time you said ‘lei’ in Italy you were making an anti-Fascist gesture, consciously or unconsciously . . . And every time you said ‘voi’ you were making the linguistic equivalent of the Fascist salute.”

Berger’s story comes to mind in this latest encounter with a neo-logism courtesy of the sexual revolution. The new word is “cisgender.” In case you are unfamiliar with this word, it is used to refer to, to quote Wikipedia, “people whose experiences of their own gender agree with the sex they were assigned at birth.”

Now statistically-speaking, that’s virtually everyone. Dare I say, a better word could be “normal.” But note how embedded in the definition itself, gender is chosen and sex is assigned—as if it were not tied to reality at all.

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Spell-Checking ‘Cisgender’: Neosexual Propaganda →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – A FATHER’S DISAPPOINTMENT

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Read 1 Samuel 8

Many family counselors have observed that people who grow up in a dysfunctional home are more likely to reproduce the same patterns as adults. But childhood circumstances don’t always determine the future. Growing up in a good home does not guarantee we will share those values. Others who grow up in shocking circumstances transcend their trauma and build a very different life.

Eli had been an indolent and neglectful father. Samuel was a man of integrity. Unfortunately, Samuel was no more successful in parenting than Eli had been. After Samuel had grown old, the leaders of Israel came to him and demanded that he appoint them a king (v. 5). This was a double disappointment for Samuel, who understood their request as a personal rejection.

When Samuel expressed his displeasure to God, the Lord told him to go through with it. “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you” (vv. 7–8).

None of us will parent perfectly, and some disappointments result from our own mistakes. But children also make their own choices for which we are not to blame. Samuel and Eli are not the only fathers whose children have rebelled. God the Father has shared the same experience since the Garden of Eden. Who is a better parent than God the Father? If He has children who refuse to follow in His ways, should we be surprised if the same thing sometimes happens to us? Perhaps we can learn to see our disappointment as an opportunity to appreciate the perfect love and faithfulness of God the Father.

APPLY THE WORD

We would like to believe parenting can be reduced to a few principles, a guaranteed formula, or the right perspective. The truth is that human relationships are far more complicated. Whether you have felt disappointment as a parent or neglected as a child, take comfort in the perfect parent, God our Father, who perfectly loves, forgives, and cares for us.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – ‘ANGELS’ BLOCK PROTESTERS AT ORLANDO FUNERAL

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Christopher Andrew Leinonen was one of the victims of the Orlando massacre. As thousands gathered for his funeral last Saturday, a handful of protesters from Westboro Baptist Church arrived. The tiny church has made itself famous over the years by picketing the funerals of military personnel and anyone else with whom it disagrees.

But this time the protesters were met by a group of men and women dressed as angels. Their large wings formed a wall that shielded mourners from the picketers. The tactic worked: one attendee said, “We couldn’t even hear WBC. All you could hear was peace and love.”

As a theologian who is convinced that the Bible forbids same-sex activity, I am saddened by the success of LGBT advocates in promoting their unbiblical agenda in our culture. But as a Christian who is convinced that God loves us all, no matter our sexual orientation or lifestyle, I am also saddened by the response of some Christians to the Orlando tragedy. A pastor in Sacramento said in a sermon, “The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die.” A pastor in Arizona said of the massacre, “I’m not sad about it; I’m not going to cry about it.”

God disagrees.

Do you love anyone enough to send your child to die for them? Does anyone love you that much? The Lord does: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). As a result, “anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Continue reading Denison Forum – ‘ANGELS’ BLOCK PROTESTERS AT ORLANDO FUNERAL →