Daily Archives: October 21, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Worldly Heart

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2 Peter 2:9-18

God warns us against misguided desires, because sinful passions can lead to emptiness, suffering, disappointment, pain, and even death. Wise believers let the Father direct their yearnings, and then they adjust their mindset accordingly.

Impure desires have been part of the “flesh” nature since the fall of man, and they can be hard to recognize in ourselves. Instead of obvious things like theft, drugs, or immorality, they often involve more subtle attitudes and behaviors, like hoping for a rival’s downfall, despising authority (2 Pet. 2:10), obsessing about wealth (1 Tim. 6:9), or even speaking arrogant and vain words (2 Pet. 2:18). Since worldly passions can cause great damage, believers are to deny them (Titus 2:11-12). But we can’t overcome these desires on our own. Submitting to God’s Spirit is the only way to live righteously.

The Lord knows what we really desire—and more importantly, what we need—even when our cloudy judgment leads us astray. And He understands honest mistakes. When a believer misinterprets the Spirit’s guidance or receives bad advice from a friend, God looks at the heart. He may allow the consequences of a poor choice to play out, but He won’t shame His children for an honest error. Scripture teaches that He can turn a bad situation into something good (Rom. 8:28).

God can save us from worldly desires, but we must be willing to commit ourselves to Him and trust that His response is the best thing for us. When we put our life entirely in the Father’s hands, we can claim the wonderful promises He has for us and then rest in His grace.

Bible in One Year: Luke 2-3

 

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Unfailing Love

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Read: Lamentations 3:21-26

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! —Psalm 63:3 nlt

On a recent airline flight the landing was a little rough, jostling us left and right down the runway. Some of the passengers were visibly nervous, but the tension broke when two little girls sitting behind me cheered, “Yeah! Let’s do that again!”

Children are open to new adventures and see life with humble, wide-eyed wonder. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus had in mind when He said that we have to “receive the kingdom of God like a little child” (Mark 10:15).

Life has its challenges and heartaches. Few knew this better than Jeremiah, who is also called “the weeping prophet.” But in the middle of Jeremiah’s troubles, God encouraged him with an amazing truth: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lam. 3:22-23 nlt).

God’s fresh mercies can break into our lives at any moment. They are always there, and we see them when we live with childlike expectation—watching and waiting for what only He can do. Jeremiah knew that God’s goodness is not defined only by our immediate circumstances and that His faithfulness is greater than life’s rough places. Look for God’s fresh mercies today. —James Banks

Lord, please help me to have the faith of a child so that I can live with expectation, always looking forward to what You will do next.

God is greater than anything that happens to us.

INSIGHT: Chapter 3 of this inspired book initiates a call for repentance in the people of God. Jeremiah has been rightly called “the weeping prophet.” Part of this had to do with a more sensitive temperament than, for example, the prophet Elijah, who felt quite comfortable delivering a fiery challenge. The record we have in the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations indicates that, at times, Jeremiah felt a deep call to the prophetic ministry but also felt emotional wounds from rejection. Jeremiah reflected on the gracious character of the living God he served in the context of the psychological suffering he incurred by faithfully delivering God’s message. Central to the comfort Jeremiah felt is God’s faithfulness. Dennis Fisher

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Between Dust and Mystery

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The dictionary defines the word “vacation” as “a period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation.” Though I imagine it happens less often than not, it seems the ideal vacation would come to an end just as the life we left behind begins to seem preferable. Yet even if it is with reluctance that we let go of our last vacation day, most of us can imagine why we must. By definition, a vacation is something that must come to an end. To vacate life as we know it on a permanent basis would be called something different entirely.

Though we know that the days of a vacation or holiday are short-lived, we nevertheless enjoy them. Even as they fade away into the calendar, they are remembered (and often nostalgically). That they were few does not hinder their impact. On the contrary, a few days devoted to relaxation are made valuable because of the many that are not.

And we know this to be true of life as well—that it is fleeting, makes it all the more momentous.

Art installation by Gianfranco Angelico Benvenuto in Milan on April, 23 2012, in honor of those who died working on Milan Piazza Duomo, photo by Eugenio Marongiu.

The artists among us often give voice to the things we seem collectively to work at putting out of our minds, sometimes simply stating something obvious. Musician Dave Matthews admits, “There are arbitrary lines between bad and good that often don’t make a lot of sense to me. I don’t want to die, obviously, but really, the wonder of life is amplified by the fact that it ends.”(1)

Like withering grass and dwindling summers, fading flowers and holidays, life cannot escape its end. Like the seasons we live through, generations spring forth and die away. Like the vacations we take, so our days pass away into the calendar. If we refuse to look at any of these endings we live foolishly; if we look only to their ends we miss something about living.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Between Dust and Mystery →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Paying Sin’s Price

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“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Christ paid a debt He did not owe to free us from a debt we could not pay.

In the scientific realm there are universal laws, such as the law of gravity. These laws are built into the creation by its all-wise Creator and keep it functioning normally.

Just as God has made inexorable laws to govern the physical dimension, so also has He decreed universal spiritual principles. The most significant of those spiritual laws is that sin demands death; death is the wages sin pays. The Greek word translated “wages” was commonly used to speak of giving compensation for service rendered. When God sentences sinners to Hell, He is merely giving them the compensation that they have earned and that His justice demands.

In sharp contrast to the inexorable law of sin and death is the gracious “free gift of God”—“eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life is not a wage but a gift, and hence it can’t be earned. Good works, church attendance, or religious rituals will not entitle anyone to it. After recounting his religious credentials—credentials unsurpassed in first-century Judaism (Gal. 1:14)—Paul dismissed them as “loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Poisonous Words 

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The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. Revelation 13:5

Poisonous words come from a proud heart. In our original state of sin, Satan, the old serpent, infected us with the venom of injurious words. We have to watch what we say, or we may regret what we say. In their anger, a person tends to say what their parents said in their anger. It is a vicious cycle of cynicism that only Christ can break. “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips” (Psalm 140:3).

Instead of lashing out with language that stings or is even slanderous, there needs to be a cooling down time for calm, clear thinking. Frustration tends to feed judgmental behavior. When our throat is dry and our blood pressure is up, it is not the best time to speak, because poisonous words pronounce judgments driven by anger and emotion.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

If you have been bitten by bitter words, then apply the balm of first bowing down to Christ. Jesus has just what the wounded soul and hurting heart needs. The Holy Spirit helps you discern how you can become better, and He gives you the patience and humility on when to wait, or when to confront. Victims of poisonous words need the serum of their Savior’s love and forgiveness. When applied liberally and regularly it allows you to handle harsh words with an understanding and non-defensive attitude.

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – The Final Chapter

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The devil, who deceived [the nations], was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:10

Recommended Reading

1 John 5:19

Two researchers in the University of California, San Diego’s psychology department wanted to know: Do people enjoy reading fiction more or less if they know how the story ends? That is, does it help to read the last chapter before starting the newest crime fiction novel? As it turns out, the subjects in the study reported enjoying the story more when they knew up front how the story would end.

That’s good news for Bible readers! We have been given a lengthy story to read with lots of plot twists and surprises along the way. It’s the story of good versus evil and we want to know who wins in the end (1 John 3:8; 5:19). Fortunately, the final chapters—Revelation 19-22—could not be more clear. Christ returns to earth with the armies of heaven and defeats Satan and his legions. He then rules the earth for 1,000 years, banishes Satan forever, and ushers us into everlasting peace and righteousness in the New Jerusalem.

Go ahead—read those four final chapters! They will shine the light of hopeful certainty when the days are dark.

Let’s keep our chins up and our knees down—we’re on the victory side!

Alan Redpath

Read-Thru-the-Bible

Luke 1–2

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Live in the Present

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So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. – Matthew 6:34

There is a reason God called Himself I AM (see Exodus 3:14). Not “I was” or “I will be,” but “I AM.” The greatest gift anybody has is the present moment.

Be determined to give yourself and your mind completely to what you are doing (see Ecclesiastes 5:1). No matter where your body is, you are where your mind is. If your mind is somewhere else, you can’t enjoy where you are. For example, if you’re in church, but your mind is on your grocery list, then you aren’t getting anything spiritually from the sermon being preached.

Start doing everything you do unto the Lord—to Him, for Him, with Him—and you will be able to focus on each moment of the present and enjoy life.

Power Thought: I live in the present and enjoy each moment of the day.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – When Fear Rules Your Thoughts

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Today’s Truth

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Friend to Friend

I can be pretty wimpy sometimes. I thrive on routine, and I don’t like change. Which means I have a difficult time dealing with trials as well. Often times I just simply shut down.

But recently I faced a situation I couldn’t wimp out on. I found out I was pregnant just three months after a traumatizing miscarriage. I was so unbelievably thankful for a baby I could hopefully hold earth side. However, this time I faced different complications, and the news that my baby could likely have disabilities. I found myself driving to a specialist every few weeks, feeling terrified all the time, and honestly, barely functioning.

It all felt like way too much, and I let it completely debilitate me. I didn’t face it with faith, praying and hoping in the Lord. Instead, I worried, and lost sleep, and let everything around me crumble. Yes, I prayed often for the health of my baby, but I didn’t let my faith lead me, I let fear rule my thoughts instead.

And at 29 weeks, after several long months of panic, I was told my baby was 100% healthy.

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – When Fear Rules Your Thoughts →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Greater Harvest

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“He has already tended to you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you” (John 15:3).

My friend was in the process of pruning his vineyard, and it appeared to me – in my limited knowledge of vineyards – that the pruning was too severe. Only the main stump remained. I inquired, “Why have you pruned the vine back to just the main stump?”

“Because,” he said, “that is the way to ensure that it will produce a greater harvest. Otherwise the nourishment flowing up through the roots would be dissipate in keeping the vines alive. It could not produce the maximum number of grapes.”

It is my regular prayer that God will keep both me as an individual and the movement of which I am a part well pruned that we may not waste time, energy, talent and money producing beautiful foliage with no fruit. Our subjection to that pruning can be either voluntary or reluctant. How much better is it for us to invite the Lord to do the pruning than to have the pruning forced upon us over our protests.

The best possible way to cooperate in God’s pruning is to study His Word. Memorize and meditate upon His truths, obey His commandments and claim His promises. Jesus taught the disciples personally, by word and model, over a period of more than three years. Yet, Judas betrayed the Lord and committed suicide and the others denied Him and deserted Him at the cross. It was not until the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost that their lives were really transformed and the things He had taught them became a reality to them.

The same Holy Spirit who transformed their lives and gave them the courage to die as martyrs proclaiming God’s truth dwells within you and me. He wants to bear much fruit through us and He did through them. I encourage you to make that time, when you study the commands that Jesus gave us and apply His truths to your heart, the most important part of your day.

Bible Reading: John 15:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the pruning process of my life by spending much time studying, memorizing and meditating on the Word of God, applying its truths to my life as I claim the supernatural resources of the living Christ for supernatural living.

 

http://www.cru.org

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Idolatry

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Read: 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14

There were, of course, idol temples in Corinth. On the hill behind the city was the temple of Aphrodite where male and female prostitutes plied their trade in the name of the worship of Venus, the goddess of love. Within the city itself were scattered many temples; their ruins are still visible today. These Christians had once been idol worshipers, bowing down before these images, their lives being controlled by the fear and the philosophy of the Greek and the Roman pantheons of gods.

I do not think that the apostle is concerned that they are going to go back to bowing down to an idol. What he has in mind is not bowing and scraping before an image, but succumbing to the temptation to enjoy again the atmosphere found at the idol temple. There were many fun things going on regarding idolatry that some of the Corinthians were hoping to be able to hang onto. If you had lived in Corinth in that 1st century you would have recognized that everyone regarded the temple as the most exciting place in town. There you could get the best food, served up in the open-air restaurant. There they had the wildest music and all the seductive pleasures of wine, women and song. If you wanted to enjoy yourself in Corinth, you went to the temple.

Paul is concerned lest these Corinthians, in seeking to enjoy what would be normal pleasures of life, would be tempted to go back into it to such a degree that, ultimately, they would find themselves lured back into belief in these idols and their power. Idolatry is not something you do outwardly with your body. Idolatry occurs whenever anyone or anything becomes more important to you than the living God. This is the greatest temptation we all face. When we fall back into the place where something becomes of greater importance to us and more controlling in our life than God himself, we have succumbed again to idolatry.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Idolatry →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The End of a Season

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READ: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (v. 1)

The seasons of nature change from spring to summer to fall to winter. Each season brings its own unique weather patterns, challenges, and opportunities.

We also transition through changing seasons of life and natural life cycles. It’s true for crops in the fields, children as they grow into adulthood, churches that develop from newly planted to established, and businesses that adapt to a changing environment.

The end of a season can be challenging or painful. Some find it difficult to see the leaves fall from trees, the fields emptied of their crops, and the daylight shorten in the fall. There are many challenging transitions in life too: watching your youngest child graduate from school and leave your home, seeing a church decline as it ages, retiring from regular employment, or caring for elderly parents.

Christians can celebrate God’s faithfulness and presence in the midst of changing seasons and life cycles. He promises in Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” How do you need to hear this promise in your life as you face the end of a season?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for being with me to the very end of the age. Amen.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Equal in Effort

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Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. —Romans 12:6

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “I wish I had their talent. I wish I had their ability”?

The Bible says, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them” (Romans 12:5–6).

These verses are saying that if you are a committed Christian who has asked God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, then God has instilled gifts, or a gift, in your life as He has chosen. It’s not for us to pick and choose what gifts we want; it’s for God to decide. There are gifts in your life. There are abilities in your life. There are talents that God has given to you and that He has given to me. We are to take those talents and do something with them.

It is not a person’s talent that matters as much as how he or she uses it. God never demands from a person abilities they do not have. But He does demand that we should use to the full the abilities we do possess. We may not be equal in talent, but we should be equal in effort.

God can do a lot with a little. Jesus can take a little, He can bless it, and He can multiply it. He can use it beyond our wildest dreams.

You may say, “I don’t have a lot to offer.”

That’s all right. God is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability. He is looking for someone like you to say, “Lord, here I am. Send me.” Take what God has given to you and do the most that you can with it for His glory.

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – The Lord Is Not Slack Concerning His Promises

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“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward.” (2 Peter 3:9a)

Have you ever heard the phrase “You have my word”? or “You have my word on it”? That means that the person speaking is making a promise based on his or her own track record. If a very honest person tells you he will take care of something for you, saying, “you have my word on it,” then that means you can trust him. He is telling the truth. If a very careful person tells you she will be on time for a meeting, saying, “You have my word, I’ll be there,” then she wants you to know you can trust her to be at the meeting on time.

The kind of people whose word you can trust – they are the ones you can count on. They are faithful. They are dependable. Usually, they will not let you down.

Why do we add usually to that sentence? Well, even the most faithful human beings are still only human. They make mistakes. They forget. They get stopped by circumstances that are out of their control. And they sin. If you leave your backpack with an honest person, he still might not be able to stop a robber from stealing it. If you are counting on a reliable friend to be exactly on time for a Saturday morning meeting, she may not be able to come at all. What if her alarm doesn’t go off and she accidentally oversleeps? Or what if her family decides at the last minute to go out of town for the weekend? Even the most faithful people might let you down sometimes. Humans can only be trustworthy to a certain point.

But the Lord is not like us. If He promises something in His Word, we definitely have His Word on it! And nothing can stop God from doing what He plans to do. No traffic jam or robber or change of human plans can mess up God’s plans. God never forgets. He never sins. He never changes His mind about whether He cares about His people enough to keep His Word to them.

Continue reading Kids 4 Truth International – The Lord Is Not Slack Concerning His Promises →

The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Impossible Debt

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Today’s Scripture: Matthew 18:25

“And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.”

We can’t begin to appreciate the good news of the Gospel until we see our deep need. Most people, even believers, have never given much thought to how desperate our condition is outside of Christ. Few ever think about the dreadful implications of being under the wrath of God. And none of us even begins to realize how truly sinful we are.

Jesus once told a story (Matthew 18:21-35) about a king’s servant who owed his master ten thousand talents. (Just one talent was equal to about twenty years’ wages for a working man.) Why would Jesus use such an unrealistically large amount when he knew that in real life it would have been impossible for any servant to accumulate such a debt?

Jesus was fond of using hyperbole to make his point. That immense sum represents a spiritual debt every one of us owes to God. It’s the debt of our sins. For each of us, it’s a staggering amount.

This is what the Gospel is all about. Jesus paid our debt to the full. And he did far more. He also purchased for us an eternal inheritance of infinite worth. That’s why Paul wrote of the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). And God wants us to enjoy those unsearchable riches in the here and now, even in the midst of difficult and discouraging circumstances.

Without some heartfelt conviction of our sin, we can have no serious feeling of personal interest in the Gospel. What’s more, this conviction should actually grow throughout our Christian lives. In fact, one sign of spiritual growth is an increased awareness of our sinfulness.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Lest You Be Deceived

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Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 5-7

I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. – Psalm 119:59

In today’s passage, we see that once again Moses gathered the people together to hear a second copy of the Ten Commandments read so that they might remember and obey, lest, as James 1:22 tells us, they deceive themselves.

When the people heard the commands of God, they responded in a wonderful way. They said, “It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today” (Deuteronomy 5:3). Don’t you just love to see people take the Word of God seriously?

For years I have approached the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I go into each chapter on four different roads. The more ways you enter, the more you see. Road one: What does the chapter say? Here I stop and write a summary in my own words. Road two: What does it say that I don’t understand? Here I stop and write down the problems and difficulties. Road three: What does it say in other portions of Scripture? Here is where I cross-reference the verses in the chapter. The Bible is its own best commentary, so I want to throw the light of the rest of Scripture on the passage I’m studying. Road four: What does it say to me? Here is where I pray over the passage and write out a personal application God has shown me for my own life. And then I seek to do it.

I encourage you to make the Bible a personal message from the heart of God to you.

Prayer

Lord, as I read Your Word today, I welcome Your personal word to me, and I will obey it. Amen.

To Ponder

It is not enough simply to know what the Word says; we must obey it.

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint –’Mama Rwanda’: How Women Entrepreneurs are Restoring Their Country

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Six years ago, Christian filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson made a gripping, groundbreaking documentary called “As We Forgive,” which explored how the African nation of Rwanda dared to seek reconciliation between the perpetrators and victims of genocide.

Now Hinson has gone back to Rwanda to make a new film, one that provides an update on the country’s progress since that terrible time. This film, “Mama Rwanda,” focuses on a specific aspect of that progress: how women, through their entrepreneurial efforts, are bringing healing and restoration to Rwanda.

“Mama Rwanda” concentrates on two women in particular, Drocella and Christine. Both of them are widowed mothers who suffered great losses during the genocide. (Drocella tells us that her first husband was a killer and her second husband was a victim.) Both Drocella and Christine put everything they have into starting businesses to support their children and help their neighbors and their homeland.

As Christine tells us, “A Rwandan woman has a great responsibility to develop our country.” It is simply the way things are: Because of the genocide, the country’s population is now 70 percent female. Hanson has written, “I wanted to make a documentary that would break down stereotypes of these women, to show the complexity of their lives, and to convey their personal struggles to love their children well while also becoming entrepreneurs.”

In the agricultural cooperative that Drocella started, perpetrators and persecuted work side by side. One worker, Ernestine, says, “You develop patience because you cannot keep that anger in your heart, otherwise you would not be able to live next to them.” The very survival of many of these people requires reconciliation and cooperation. Many of them, in the most practical of ways, are living out their faith in the God of healing and forgiveness.

Continue reading BreakPoint –’Mama Rwanda’: How Women Entrepreneurs are Restoring Their Country →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – THE PROMISES OF GOD

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Read 2 PETER 1:1–4

Our culture doesn’t value self-restraint. Advertising slogans urge us to buy products from cars to cosmetics “because you’re worth it.” We’re told to “follow your bliss,” “just do it,” “have it your way,” and “you do you.” The limits on our wanting, taking, and having seem to be melting away.

Peter also lived in a culture pervaded by these messages, and this letter was written to warn the church to resist the siren call of false teachers of pleasure. While following the form of letters in his day, Peter modifies the traditional wish for good health into a prayer for a different kind of abundance: “grace and peace be yours in abundance” (v. 2). Throughout this letter Peter will remind his readers that the abundance promised by the world can’t compare to the riches promised to us by God.

The world—particularly our modern consumer culture—constantly says that we need more, more, more. In contrast, Peter affirms that God has already supplied what we need for a godly life. Through Jesus, we have faith in the Lord and His righteousness (v. 1). We are able to know God and be in a relationship with Him! And we have His promises, rooted in His own goodness and His own glory.

Some have misconstrued the phrase at the end of verse 4, “participate in the divine nature,” to mean that we either are or will become god-like humans. But Peter is not suggesting that at all. Rather, he says that we’re declared righteous before God and can live in a way that pleases the Lord. In other words, God has made it possible for us to reorient our desires away from the temptations that would destroy us and instead share in His promises for our future with Him.

APPLY THE WORD

Scripture is not calling us to a life of asceticism in which we renounce all joys and pleasures. God is calling us to recognize—and desire—all His good gifts, which far surpass the temporary pleasure of the stuff we want. To think more about desire and the life of faith, you can read the book Teach Us to Want by Jen Pollock Michel.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – MCDONALD’S GIVES 100-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FREE FOOD FOR LIFE

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Nadine Baum turned one hundred last week and was honored with a surprise party at her local McDonald’s restaurant. Their present to her: free food for life. “I don’t know what I did to deserve all this,” she said. “I count my blessings every day.”

Nadine is on to something.

Every morning brings new reasons to be discouraged by today’s culture. Since our society decided decades ago that truth is subjective and morality is no one’s business but ours, we’ve seen Western culture continue to spiral downward.

Abortion is now celebrated; children and the mentally ill are being euthanized; racial conflict is rising; sexually-transmitted diseases continue to spread. Churches and Christian schools that defend biblical marriage are worried about their tax-exempt status; transgender bathrooms are just the latest battle in the sexual revolution.

It’s tempting to withdraw from our broken culture into a siege mentality that assumes the worst. What do we do when facing enemies who appear stronger and more numerous than we are?

David knew the feeling. King Saul was not only the sovereign ruler of the Jewish nation, he was also “taller than any of the people” (1 Samuel 9:2) and commander of the entire army. When he sought to murder David, the young shepherd’s life was in mortal peril.

Continue reading Denison Forum – MCDONALD’S GIVES 100-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FREE FOOD FOR LIFE →