Monthly Archives: June 2016

BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  In the Wake of Orlando: Showing Christ’s Love to Our Neighbor

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Recently, I’ve been reading some of the very first works of Christian apologetics: by Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Athenagoras. Today, someone known as an apologist primarily attempts to make a case that Christianity is true, or answer a critique of Christianity, or show other worldviews—such as atheism or pantheism—to be false. The earliest apologists did all of this as well.

But because they were writing at a time of Christian persecution, the earliest apologists did not aim their work at the masses. They wrote to Roman authorities, pleading for the end of persecution. And to make their case, the earliest apologists pointed not only to truthfulness of Christianity, but also to the goodness of how Christians lived their lives.

Christians, they argued, were chaste, gentle, loving to both friends and enemies, good citizens, and sought to live peaceably for the love of God and the love of neighbor. Not only were Christians innocent of the absurd charges of incest and cannibalism leveled at them, they were the best of citizens.

Watching the news of the worst shooting in American history, an act of radical Islamist terror at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, I found myself thinking: Can Christians claim that sort of apologetic today? Of course we can argue for the truthfulness of Christianity, but can we legitimately claim that we fully live out and embody the Gospel we claim?

Without question, this despicable act targeted LGBT men and women. But where the shooting took place matters not in terms of how Christians ought respond. Every single victim, no matter how they “self-identify,” bears the image of God. They have eternal value simply by virtue of being human.

Yet the event is being used by some to throw radical Islam and Christianity into the same “culturally unclean” bucket. And it shouldn’t surprise us. Any moral stance taken against homosexuality will be lumped in with this vile act of murder.

In this environment, arguing for the clear distinctions that exist between the radically differing moral frameworks of Islam and Christianity will be difficult, if not impossible. Yet this shouldn’t discourage us from making our case. But even more, it should drive us toward embodying that love that most distinguishes the Christian faith.

Continue reading BreakPoint –  In the Wake of Orlando: Showing Christ’s Love to Our Neighbor →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE BATTLE OF THE BABIES: PART I

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Read Genesis 29:31–30:13

For years, China prioritized women’s value as workers and supporters of the state, not as mothers. But in October 2015, China abandoned its policy of limiting families to one child. The one- child rule was implemented in the late 1970s in an effort to limit population growth. Parents who had a second child were fined and could even lose their jobs. The Chinese government made the recent change in the hope that it would help with China’s rapidly aging population and improve the gender balance.

The battle between Jacob’s two wives reveals the opposite cultural value: a woman’s worth was based on her ability to have children. The inability to bear children was considered a mark of shame. In Jacob’s family, this shame was even more acute, and the tension between Rachel and Leah further aggravated by Jacob’s preference for Rachel. This resulted in what might be called “the battle of the babies.”

Rachel and Leah vied with one another and even schemed to see who would have the most children. Some of their plots seem reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah’s attempt to force God’s hand through human effort. God had promised to use Jacob’s family line to fulfill the promise made to Abraham that he would be the father of nations. Both Leah and Rachel wanted to be the mother God used to keep that promise.

God granted children to both, but not because of their schemes. His actions were motivated by compassion for the two women and in response to their prayers (Gen. 29:31; 30:6). Meanwhile Jacob seems like a hapless tool in all of this. He is passed back and forth between these women and their servants. His only comment is

an exasperated admission that the outcome rests in the hands of God (Gen. 30:2).

APPLY THE WORD

Medical science might make advances in reproductive technology, but it is ultimately still God who opens or closes the womb. We can trust Him to deal with us compassionately. He will hear our prayers. Whether you have more children

than you ever expected or you are grieving over infertility, God will be faithful to keep His promises.

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – GOOD NEWS IN THE WAR ON TERROR DR. JIM DENISON

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What Satan uses for evil, God uses for good.

In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, investigators are trying to learn how Omar Mateen became radicalized. A key element is the Internet. Criminology professor Scott Decker: “The Internet has played a central role in the spread of terrorism, particularly individuals in the U.S. who have become radicalized or adopted extremist views.”

Jeffrey Simon, author of a book on “lone wolf” terrorism, agrees: “The Internet is really the game-changer in today’s terrorism, especially for the lone wolves.” He added that “ISIS has proven incredibly savvy in using social media and the Internet to spread their ideology, to call for violent attacks.”

That’s why the man at the top of America’s “most wanted” list is someone most Americans have never heard of. Abu Muhammad al-Adnani is director of external operations for ISIS. He is widely considered to be the author of a strategy that has murdered more than 500 people in attacks around the world since last October 10. Al-Adnani apparently helped inspired the massacre in San Bernardino last December. And he issued the call to violence during Ramadan that apparently inspired Omar Mateen to massacre forty-nine people in Orlando.

The terrorists’ strategy to gain followers is clearly working. Bangladesh has detained more than 5,000 people in efforts to counter extremist violence in that country. Israeli authorities continue to investigate last week’s attacks in Tel Aviv that killed four and wounded sixteen. Suicide bombers struck a Damascus suburb last Saturday, killing at least twenty and injuring dozens more. ISIS immediately claimed responsibility.

But there’s good news in the news.

Continue reading Denison Forum – GOOD NEWS IN THE WAR ON TERROR DR. JIM DENISON →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Balanced Prayer

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2 Chronicles 20:5-12

Christians today can learn some valuable lessons from the prayers found in the Old Testament. When Jehoshaphat petitioned for divine help, he struck a balance between asking the Lord to meet his needs and proclaiming God’s greatness. Likewise, our requests should be made with recognition of who God is. Otherwise, the focus of our prayers can become need, weakness, failure, or fear.

Jehoshaphat cried out to God about his terrible predicament, but he also exalted the Lord’s attributes, acknowledging the great things He had done for them. When we pray with this attitude, we become stronger, bolder, and more forthright. That’s why knowing the Word of God is so important. When we read about how the Lord has worked in the lives of others, we better understand His awesome power and might. Then we can look to the men and women of the Old Testament as an example and begin to pray in a similar way. God’s wonder-working power is still available to us today, and He wants His children to access it.

By proclaiming, “Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You” (2 Chron. 20:6), Jehoshaphat was praising God and at the same time reminding himself of the Lord’s greatness. As you pray, speak to God of His mercy, talk to Him about His grace, and recall His mighty power.

Do you want to revolutionize your prayer life? If you give as much attention to declaring the attributes of the Lord as you do to making requests, your prayers will take on a whole new dimension. They’ll cease to be self-centered and instead will become God-centered.

Bible in a Year: Psalms 15-18

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Repeat After Me

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Repeat After Me

Read: Psalm 141 | Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Psalm 141:3 (nlt)

When Rebecca stood on stage to speak at a conference, her first sentence into the microphone echoed around the room. It was a bit unsettling for her to hear her own words come back at her, and she had to adjust to the faulty sound system and try to ignore the echo of every word she spoke.

Imagine what it would be like to hear everything we say repeated! It wouldn’t be so bad to hear ourselves repeat “I love you” or “I was wrong” or “Thank You, Lord” or “I’m praying for you.” But not all of our words are beautiful or gentle or kind. What about those angry outbursts or demeaning comments that no one wants to hear once, let alone twice—those words that we would really rather take back?

He forgives us when we fail.

Continue reading Our Daily Bread – Repeat After Me →

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Risk of Seeing

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In an essay titled “Meditation in a Toolshed,” C.S. Lewis describes a scene from within a darkened shed. The sun was brilliantly shining outside, yet from the inside only a small sunbeam could be seen through a crack at the top of the door. Everything was pitch-black except for the prominent beam of light, by which he could see flecks of dust floating about. Writes Lewis:

“I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it. Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving in the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences.”(1)

Each time I come to the gospel accounts of the woman with the alabaster jar, I notice something similar. “Do you see this woman?” Jesus asks, as if he is speaking as much to me the reader as he is to the guests around the table. With a jar of costly perfume, she had anointed the feet of Christ with fragrance and tears. She risked shame and endured criticism because she alone saw the one in front of them all. While the dinner crowd was sitting in the dark about Jesus, the woman was peering in the light of understanding. What she saw invoked tears of recognition, sacrifice, and love. Gazing along the beam and at the beam are quite different ways of seeing.

The late seventeenth century poet George Herbert once described prayer as “the soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage.” At those words I picture the woman with her broken alabaster jar, wiping the dusty, fragrant feet of Christ with her hair. Pouring out the expensive nard, she seems to pour out her soul. Fittingly, Herbert concludes his grand description of prayer as “something understood.”

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Risk of Seeing →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Integrity Resists Intimidation

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“Then the herald loudly proclaimed: ‘To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.’ Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up” (Daniel 3:4-7).

The choices you make reveal the convictions you embrace.

After King Nebuchadnezzar had gathered all his leaders to the dedication of his golden image, he issued a proclamation that at the sound of his orchestra they were to fall down and worship the image. Those leaders were the most influential and respected people in Babylon, so you might expect them to be people of strong convictions and personal integrity. Sadly, that was not the case, and with only three exceptions they all lacked the courage to say no.

Granted, punishment for disobeying the king’s decree would be severe indeed. But even the threat of a fiery death could not intimidate Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Instead, it simply revealed the depth of their commitment to God. That’s what makes them such remarkable role models. As young men barely twenty years old, they demonstrated tremendous courage and conviction.

Each day Christians face considerable pressure to compromise spiritual integrity and to adopt standards of thought and behavior that are displeasing to the Lord. Young people especially are vulnerable to negative peer pressure and intimidation. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego show us that young people can be spiritual leaders who are strong in their faith and exemplary in their obedience. May that be true of you as well, regardless of your age.

Suggestions for Prayer

Remember to pray often for the young people in your church, and do what you can to encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

For Further Study

Read Joshua 1:1-9. How did God encourage Joshua as he faced the intimidating task of leading the nation of Israel?

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – How to Know if We Take God Seriously Enough 

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Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. John 17:17, AMP

Some people play church. Their brand of Christianity is cultural, socially acceptable—but not a level of commitment to Christ that invites criticism or an uncomfortable life change. Like an imaginary game they may play with a child, they pretend to be serious with their faith—but they are only posers. Their Sunday religious ruse is a form of godliness. It is temporary, an empty routine. Bible reading, prayer and worship evaporate the other six days of the week. To not take the Almighty seriously is a serious mistake. A flippant faith is a false religion for fools.

Jesus describes the process of how a Christian grows in understanding of their heavenly Father and His plan for their life. A child of God is set apart for His purposes to make them holy—and in Christ they are His holy people. The common theme in Christ’s words is truth—the truth found in God’s word and the truth to transform the human heart. And because Jesus is the Truth and Jesus is the Word—to know and love Jesus is to know and love the truth. Authentic Christianity takes the Lord seriously by learning His truth and submitting to its transforming work of grace.

“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-18, AMP).

Let’s take a truth test and expose common misconceptions about Christianity. True or False: Being a follower of Jesus solves all our problems and makes us prosperous. False. Sometimes the godly are persecuted for their faith and suffer material loss. True or False: Christians do not believe they are morally superior to non-Christians. True. Those who walk with Christ aspire to a high ethical standard, but confess their struggle with sin and seek forgiveness. True or False: The Christian life is predictable. False. A life of faith is a great adventure with joyful discoveries!

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – How to Know if We Take God Seriously Enough  →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – Not Guilty

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For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15

Recommended Reading

Matthew 4:1-11

Sometimes a plaintiff will file a lawsuit against another party for alleged harm. A judge may then examine the claim and “throw out” the suit on its merits: “No law was broken or crime committed.” The defendant may have thought about doing something wrong; but if he didn’t follow through and break the law, he is not guilty.

In a parallel spiritual way, temptation is not the same as sin. Sin is sin; being tempted to sin is not. Nothing illustrates this truth more clearly than the fact that Jesus Christ was “tempted as we are, yet [He was] without sin.” In His humanity, Jesus was tempted the way all humans are but never yielded to those temptations. Resisting temptation was painful for Him (Hebrews 2:18), but through it He learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8). Satan will attempt to convince us to act on temptations and make us feel guilty for being tempted (Matthew 4:1-11). But being tempted is not the same as sinning.

Be discerning. Avoid sin by turning from temptation. And resist the efforts of Satan to have you judged guilty when you’ve done nothing.

You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair.

Various Sources

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Psalms 43 – 49

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Future Is in the Lord

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. —Luke 4:18-19 KJV

I come from a background of abuse; I was raised in a dysfunctional home. My childhood was filled with fear and torment. The experts say that a child’s personality is formed within the first five years of his life. My personality was a mess! I lived in pretense behind walls of protection that I had built to keep people from hurting me. I was locking others out, but I was also locking myself in. I was a controller, so filled with fear that the only way I could face life was to feel that I was in control, and then no one could hurt me. As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone who has the kind of past I do ever be really all right? It’s impossible!

However, Jesus said that He came to make well those who were sick, brokenhearted, wounded, and bruised—those broken down by calamity.

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I could be set free. I had to have a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that my future was not determined by my past or even my present.

You may have had a miserable past, you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly, your future is not determined by your past or your present!

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Princess Problems

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Do everything without grumbling or arguing.

Philippians 2:14

Friend to Friend

My friend Ellen is a preschool teacher who regularly contends with entitled toddlers and privileged preschoolers who know how to major on some minors and throw down some serious tantrums.

I want the red crayon, but Tommy has it!

I’m not eating this because it has white cheese. I only like yellow cheese.

I want to go first!

I’m allowed. You’re not my boss.

Miss Ellen calls these little escapades “princess problems,” and she does her best to lovingly redirect the heart of each young complainer toward the reality of his or her blessings and toward the virtue of patience, selflessness, kindness, sharing, etc..

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – Princess Problems →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Produce Lovely Fruit

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“You didn’t choose Me! I chose you! I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using My name, He will give it to you” (John 15:16).

Some time ago I asked a leading theologian and dean of faculty of a renowned theological seminary if he felt that one could be a Spirit-filled person without sharing Christ as a way of life.

His answer was an emphatic, “No!” On what basis could he make such a strong statement? The answer is obvious. Our Savior came to “seek and to save the lost” and He has “chosen and ordained” us to share the good news of His love and forgiveness with everyone, everywhere.

To be unwilling to witness for Christ with our lips is to disobey this command just as much as to be unwilling to witness for Him by living holy lives is to disobey His command. In neither case can the disobedient Christian expect God to control and empower his life.

There are those who say, “I witness for Christ by living a good life.” But it is not enough to live a good life. Many non-Christians live fine, moral, ethical lives.

According to the Lord Jesus, the only way we can demonstrate that we are truly following Him is to produce fruit, which includes introducing others to our Savior as well as living holy lives. And the only way we can produce fruit is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: John 15:7-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: My part of the “bargain” is to share the good news which will produce lovely fruit; God’s part is to provide the wisdom, love and power, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, to be a fruitful witness. “Lord help me to be faithful in my part, knowing You will be faithful in Yours.”

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Hour Has Come

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Read: John 17:1-3

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the hour has come. John 17:1a

The hour has come. With these words Jesus looks forward with obvious anticipation to a time of boundless opportunity that lies before him. Surely these words, the hour has come, mean a good deal more than the phrase we employ when we face the end of life, My time has come. By that we mean we have come to the end of our rope, the end of life. Dr. J. Vernon McGee once told of a man who had been studying through the doctrine of predestination and had become so entranced by the idea of God’s sovereign protection of the believer under any and every circumstance that he said to Dr. McGee, You know, I am so convinced that God is keeping me no matter what I do, that I think that I could step right out into the midst of the busiest traffic at noontime and, if my time had not come, I would be perfectly safe. Dr. McGee said, very characteristically, Well, if you go down and stand in the middle of traffic at noontime, brother, your time has come!

To use a phrase like, my time has come is resignation, but this is not what Jesus does. What he is speaking of here is realization. He is speaking of the time he had been looking forward to all his life. Throughout His ministry, Jesus continually refers to this hour. In the beginning of John we have the story of the first miracle in Cana of Galilee when he turned the water into wine. There his mother came to him and said, Son, they have no wine, and his answer was, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come, (John 2:3-4 KJV). He meant that, though he would perform what his mother had suggested, it would not have the results that she anticipated, for the hour had not yet come, the time had not struck. Repeatedly he said to the disciples, My hour is not yet, (John 7:30, 8:20). He was awaiting a time when opportunity would abound, and now, as he comes to the cross, he lifts his eyes unto the heavens and says, Father, the hour has come. By that he meant the hour had come in which all that he had lived for would begin to be fulfilled.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Hour Has Come →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Baptized into His Death

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Read: Romans 6:1-5

We will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (v. 5)

For those of us in Christian traditions where infants may receive the sacrament of baptism, the emphasis around baptism is usually on the gift of the Holy Spirit and the entrance into Christ’s body, the church. Being washed from sin and sharing in the righteousness of Christ are also highlighted. But as this passage indicates, baptism is also a sacrament that marks the passage of death on the way to new life. One who is baptized is also symbolically bonded with the death of Christ. We not only die to sin in a spiritual sense, we also are marked by the journey of Christ’s physical death and resurrection.

Talking about death around the baptism of a fresh-faced newborn baby seems morbid, but in truth the many layers of baptism’s meaning serve to awaken us to the deeper realities at work in life and in death. In baptism we acknowledge God’s claim over a human life, and we commit to supporting the newly baptized disciple—no matter his or her age. The baptism promises shape our lives, but they also resound with importance when we face death. Remembering our baptism when facing death allows us to frame the situation, difficult as it may be, within a broader story of God taking on flesh and overcoming death for our sake. Our grief is real, just as Christ’s death was real. May the resurrection hope be tangibly real to us as well.

Prayer:

Thank you for embracing us in the covenant promises of baptism, at life’s beginning and at its end.

Author: Jessica Bratt Carle

 

https://woh.org/

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Asking Why

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“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.”—Job 38:4

Had greeting card companies existed back in Job’s day, they definitely wouldn’t have hired Job’s three friends to write for them. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar initially had it right as they wept with their friend Job through his suffering. But then they started rambling on, basically offering the same lame explanations that people still offer today about suffering.

A card from Eliphaz would have read, “Sorry you are sick. . . . You got what you deserved.”

Bildad’s card would have said, “Hoping you get well soon.” But then the inside would have read, “But if you were really as godly as you claimed to be, this would not have happened.”

Zophar’s card would have been the most brutal of all. The outside would have read, “I hope you get worse.” But Zophar wouldn’t have stopped there. The inside of his card would have said, “You will die. No one will remember you. You will be thrown away like dung.”

As we move further into the book of Job, we see Job asking the question why five times in chapter 3. By the way, there is nothing wrong with asking why when you’re suffering. Even Jesus cried out at Calvary, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). It isn’t wrong to ask why. It isn’t a lack of faith to ask why. But don’t expect an answer. Quite frankly, if God gave you the answer, you wouldn’t understand it anyway.

Even if the Lord did tell you why things happen the way they do, would that ease your pain or heal your broken heart? Does reading the X-ray take away the pain of a broken leg? It comes down to this: We live on promises, not explanations. We should not spend too much time asking why.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Will Provide a Way To Escape

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“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

I’ll never forget an experience I had as a five-year-old. I was visiting kindergarten for the first time, and I got stuck in the restroom. I was able to unlock the door, but it just wouldn’t budge open. I pushed and pulled, but I couldn’t get it to move. Then I panicked. Had the teacher forgotten about me? Would anyone ever find me? I began to cry, and thankfully, the teacher came to my rescue. She told me to crawl under the door to get out. How silly of me! Why hadn’t I thought of that myself? Soon I was on the other side and finally felt relief!

Have you ever been trapped somewhere and had the feeling that you wouldn’t be able to get out? Have you ever been tempted to do something wrong and just didn’t feel like doing the right thing? Sometimes when being tempted to do wrong, you feel so alone and maybe you even think that the most important people in your lives have forgotten about you.

But God hasn’t! In 1 Corinthians 10:13 Paul says that God is faithful and will not leave you helpless in times of temptation. God will always provide a way for you to escape temptation.

Sometimes God allows temptations to happen in your life in order to test your faith in Him. Your circumstances may seem tough, but God offers you encouragement for each test. First, you are not alone. Every Christian is tempted to do wrong. Second, God knows how strong your faith is and knows how much you can take. Third, God always provides a way for you to escape temptation. He provides parents, teachers, and friends to help you resist temptation. He also gives you His Word, to help you fight temptation (Ephesians 6:10-11). Remember when Jesus was tempted by the Devil? Each time the Devil tempted Him (Luke 4), Jesus responded with verses from Scripture.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – God Will Provide a Way To Escape →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Pressing On

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Today’s Scripture: Psalm 119:139

“My zeal consumes me.”

If God’s favor comes to us only on the basis of Christ’s merits, is there any place in the Christian life for the spiritual disciplines, obedience to God, and sacrificial service to him?

Absolutely! There’s no doubt Paul was just as diligent and zealous, probably more so, after he trusted Christ as he was before. We have only to read his own words: “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Note the intense expressions Paul used: “straining forward” and “press on.” The first is a graphic picture of a runner straining nerve and muscle to cross the finish line. The phrase “press on” has the idea of vigorous pursuit.

There’s a direct correlation between faith in the righteousness of Christ and zeal in the cause of Christ. The more a person counts as loss his own righteousness and lays hold by faith of the righteousness of Christ, the more he’ll be motivated to live and work for Christ.

Let me ask you two questions: are you trusting in the righteousness of Christ alone as the basis of your right standing with God, or are you still depending on your religious performance, even to a small degree? And if you’ve clearly trusted in Christ alone for your salvation, are you still clinging to the idea that you must now earn God’s favor in this life by your own performance?

May we clearly see that in the unsearchable riches of Christ and in right standing with God that comes from those riches, we have both the assurance of eternal life and God’s favor in this life.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Who Will You Follow?

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Kings 18-21

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. – Joshua 24:15

When a child rebels against the Lord, the parents often turn the situation inward on themselves. “Where did we go wrong? How did I fail? Why couldn’t I have done better?” While it is true that we have a great influence on our children, there’s another side to the issue.

Hezekiah was a good king who did what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet in 2 Kings 16, we read that Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz, lived according to the abominations of the heathen and sacrificed and burned incense to the pagan gods. In spite of having an evil father, Hezekiah was a good king because he made the right choices.

Now let’s look ahead to Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh. Because Hezekiah was such a godly man, we would expect his children to live in the fear of God. But when Manasseh became king, he did evil in the sight of the Lord. And while Manasseh’s son Amon also did evil, Amon’s son, Josiah, became a godly king.

How do we account for this strange pattern? Did the parents of those who did evil fail, or was it a problem of environment? Why did these children of godly kings turn their backs on God? Because God gives everyone a choice. He opens the way for each of us to follow Him, but He leaves the choice with us.

As Christian parents, we should love our children, set a godly example for them, pray for them, and do all we can to lead them along the path of obedience to the Lord. But if they choose another direction, even though it causes us tremendous grief, we should not spend the rest of our lives condemning ourselves for their choices.

Prayer

Lord, I want to follow You and do Your will for the rest of my life. Amen.

To Ponder

In the grace, mercy, and sovereignty of God, He has made us free to choose.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  What Should Christians Do in an Age of Declining Christianity?

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A recent article on Fox News website was entitled “A look at white Evangelical angst over declining clout.”

I don’t know about you, but there were at least three words in that headline that gave me pause, and that was even before I read the article.

The first was “white.” That raises the important question of whether white Evangelicals are reacting to the implications of the cultural moment in ways different from African-American, Latino, and Asian-American Evangelicals.

This is a discussion I think all Evangelicals need to have, and frankly, apart from raising the question, I cannot adequately explore it in this single commentary.

But there are two other words from that headline that I can begin to address in our remaining time today: “angst” and “clout.”

The article, which is in the form of a Q&A, begins by recounting facts that regular BreakPoint listeners are already familiar with: the decline in the percentage of Americans who self-identify as Christians and the increasing willingness of previously nominal Christians, especially in the “Bible Belt,” to say that they have no religious affiliation. It also cites “the fallout from the spread of LGBT rights and the growth of secularism.”

While I obviously share these concerns, as should you, our response should have nothing do with either “angst” or the loss of “clout.”

“Angst” comes from the German word associated with the state of being “afraid, anxious, or alarmed.” In English it’s used to describe a “feeling of acute but vague anxiety or apprehension.”

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE TRICKSTER MEETS HIS MATCH

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Read Genesis 29:15–30

In mythology, legend, and story, the trickster is a character who survives through lying or deceit. Tricksters often violate cultural norms and subvert those who are in power. Every culture has stories in which the trickster is a key player. Some scholars have seen elements of the trickster in Jacob. He was a man who survived by cunning and deceit. But in today’s text Jacob the Trickster meets his match—both in love and war.

Today’s passage is a love story, describing how Jacob fell in love with Rachel but was tricked into marrying Leah by their father, Laban. Why would a father do such a thing to his daughter? Laban’s explanation was that it was not customary for the younger daughter to marry first. This was probably true, but Laban also had another motive. By deceiving the deceiver, Laban tricked Jacob into giving him fourteen years of service instead of seven.

Family drama fills this account. Laban uses his own daughters to barter for Jacob’s services. Rachel is loved more than Leah. Yet once again we will see that God is working out His purposes in the midst of what most of us would call serious family dysfunction.

As for Jacob, this turn of events was part of God’s long process of taming the trickster and turning him into a man of faith. Jacob’s trials were far from over. But by turning the tables on him, God had begun to wean Jacob away from a lifestyle of self-reliance. In time Jacob would learn that God’s promise comes by faith and not by human effort, schemes, or trickery.

Jacob did not learn this lesson easily and neither do we. The overall nature of his life was one of struggle—with his brother, then with his father-in-law, and eventually with God Himself (see Gen. 32:28).

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One of the primary tools God used to reshape Jacob’s character was disappointment, which weans us away from self-reliance and inordinate desire. If you are struggling with disappointment in your life, you may want to read The Surprising Grace of Disappointment: Finding Hope When God Seems to Fail Us (Moody Publishers).

http://www.todayintheword.org