Daily Archives: November 4, 2016

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Source of Our Hope

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Colossians 1:26-28

Hope is a desire for something, accompanied by the anticipation of receiving it. If our expectation of fulfillment diminishes, discouragement can set in. And prolonged disappointment can lead to despair. Perhaps that’s what led to the betrayal of Christ.

One possible explanation for Judas’s tragic decision is that he wanted to see Israel throw off Roman oppression and establish itself as the ruling power. Maybe he thought that having Jesus arrested would push God to force the hand of Israel’s religious and political rulers. If that was his thinking, then Judas failed to achieve his goal. We know for certain that his betrayal of Jesus cost him everything. Out of hope and overcome by guilt, he gave up his life.

We have an enemy who watches for our moments of weakness, when he tries to influence us away from the Lord. He wants to keep us focused on our circumstances and doubting God so we’ll complain, “This isn’t fair. If the Lord loves me, why would He allow such a thing to happen to me?” But we should never let the father of lies lure us toward hopelessness.

As children of the heavenly Father, we were birthed into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3). Because of our Savior, we have been taken from condemnation to full acceptance, from spiritual death to eternal life in heaven with the Lord. We have His indwelling Spirit to provide comfort in tough times and to guide us through them.

Because we’re eternally secure in the Lord, we are never in a hopeless circumstance. We may feel desperate, but emotions are not reliable. Our Savior and friend, Jesus Christ, is our constant source of hope.

Bible in One Year: John 10-11

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Strong Conqueror

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Read: John 18:10–14, 36–37

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 32–33; Hebrews 1

My kingdom is from another place.—John 18:36

Most of us hope for good government. We vote, we serve, and we speak out for causes we believe are fair and just. But political solutions remain powerless to change the condition of our hearts.

Many of Jesus’s followers anticipated a Messiah who would bring a vigorous political response to Rome and its heavy-handed oppression. Peter was no exception. When Roman soldiers came to arrest Christ, Peter drew his sword and took a swing at the head of the high priest’s servant, lopping off his ear in the process.

Jesus halted Peter’s one-man war, saying, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). Hours later, Jesus would tell Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders” (v. 36).

The Lord’s restraint in that moment, as His life hung in the balance, astonishes us when we ponder the scope of His mission. On a future day, He will lead the armies of heaven into battle. John wrote, “With justice he judges and wages war” (Rev. 19:11).

But as He endured the ordeal of His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus kept His Father’s will in view. By embracing death on the cross, He set in motion a chain of events that truly transforms hearts. And in the process, our Strong Conqueror defeated death itself. —Tim Gustafson

Father, how prone I am to reacting quickly rather than wisely. Show me Your will for my life so that I will purposefully choose the path You have for me.

Real restraint is not weakness, for it arises out of genuine strength.

INSIGHT: At Gethsemane Jesus restrained and conquered (or overcame) His own natural inclinations that wished He would not have to undergo the excruciating agony of crucifixion (Luke 22:42). Restraint is not always a high priority in our lives, but we all need help to overcome our natural inclinations. One aspect of the Spirit’s control over us, according to Galatians 5:23, is self-control. Peter tended to be an “open-mouth-insert-foot” kind of guy (Matt. 16:22; 17:4-5). And on impulse he cut off an opponent’s ear (John 18:10). Even as a stallion must be harnessed to do its master’s bidding, so Peter had a lesson to teach us about the value of restraint. Jim Townsend

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Fully Human

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The voted motto of my graduating high school class was the hopeful instruction: “Live life to the fullest!” Though I suspect we all had different ideas about what living life to the fullest really meant, we were united in our longing to seize every opportunity and meet life in all of its abundance.

Joy Davidman tells the story of an old missionary ministering among a tribe of cannibals. The missionary was hard at work trying to convert the native chief. The chief listened patiently but at last said to the missionary, “I do not understand. You tell me that I must not take my neighbor’s wife. Or his ivory, or his oxen.”

“That’s right,” said the missionary. The chief continued, “And I must not dance the war dance and then ambush him on the trail and kill him.”

“Absolutely right!” exclaimed the missionary.

“But I cannot do any of these things! I am too old,” the man replied. And then he concluded as if with an epiphany, “To be old and to be Christian, they are the same thing.”(1)

The story is a careful glance at a common vision, though as the chief reveals, it is one with limited perspective. I remember quite distinctly when “living life to the fullest” felt like something I was not supposed to do. I remember resenting the religion that handed me a list of rules that set me apart from my friends. And I remember thinking that God was something I wish I could evaluate later in life. Just as the chief concluded, Christianity seemed to me, a religion of old, grumbling individuals who walk about frowning at young people who are living life to the fullest. To be Christian, in many minds, is to be old and life-less. To embrace life as a Christian is to embrace something like Narnia under the curse of the White Witch, when it was “always winter but never Christmas.” Somehow we have come to believe, or perhaps we have come to exude, that to follow Christ is to sacrifice our enjoyment of life and live as shadows in this world, hoping only for the next.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Fully Human →

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – Being Wise in Adversity

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“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom” (James 3:13).

Wisdom teaches us how to handle adversity.

In his wonderful commentary on the book of James, Robert Johnstone wrote the following about meekness:

That “the meek” should “inherit the earth”—that they bear wrongs, and exemplify the love which “seeketh not her own”—to a world that believes in high-handedness and self-assertion, and pushing the weakest to the wall, a statement like this of the Lord from Heaven cannot but appear an utter paradox. The man of the world desires to be counted anything but “meek” or “poor in spirit,” and would deem such a description of him equivalent to a charge of unmanliness.

Ah, brethren, this is because we have taken in Satan’s conception of manliness instead of God’s. One man has been shown us by God, in whom His ideal of man was embodied; and He, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: He for those who nailed Him to the tree prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” The world’s spirit of wrath, then, must be folly; whilst than a spirit of meekness like His, in the midst of controversy, oppositions, trials of whatever kind, there can be no surer evidence that “Jesus is made of God to His people wisdom” (The Epistle of James [Minneapolis: Klock & Klock, 1978], 272-273).

Johnstone recognized more than a hundred years ago what we need to know today—that the wisdom of man is arrogant, conceited, and self-serving, whereas the wisdom of God is humble, meek, and non-retaliatory.

The contrast between false wisdom and true wisdom is crystal-clear. Be sure you handle adversity in a Christlike way, knowing that every detail of your life is under God’s sovereign control.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank the Lord for His example of how to respond to adversity (cf. 1 Peter 2:21-24).

For Further Study

Read Philippians 2:1-11, applying Christ’s example to your life (vv. 1-5).

 

http://www.gty.org

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Love Loves the Truth 

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No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. Revelation 14:5

Truth reveals hidden realities. Hence, the lover of truth daily discovers new opportunities to walk wisely in the ways of Christ. Because He is the Truth, a love relationship with Jesus illuminates truth by His Spirit and illustrates truth by His life. The fruit of truth grows in a life of educated faith. Those who romance truth in God’s Word grow to know Him in deeper intimacy. Just as a loving husband pursues his wife, so loving followers of Jesus seek out His truth and His life.

Is the foundation of your relationships based on honest truth or dishonest deception? If you commit to open agendas, pure motives and transparent communication, you value truth. Honesty is a tool for loving correction, not a club for angry retaliation. You speak the truth in love to one another and so bear one another’s burdens. You rejoice, as you truly do life together. Truth talking facilitates freedom to trust, as fear of a secret life fades away and is forgotten.

“Love rejoices in truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).

Love loves truth because it knows truth sharing is caring. When we love someone enough to not leave them in their ignorance we show we care. Love takes the time to explain and instruct, not complain and erupt. Yes, you patiently instruct your child in the teachings of Christ, so they will come to know Him and grow in His grace. Under pressure it is hard not to take the easy route of resisting full disclosure, fear can cause facts to be withheld. Help your child not hide the truth.

Continue reading Wisdom Hunters – Love Loves the Truth  →

Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – True Religion

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Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

James 1:27

Recommended Reading

1 Peter 2:11-12

Last summer, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow spent time ministering to children in an orphanage in the Philippines. It was a personal mission for Tim because he was born in the Philippines to missionary parents, and the orphanage had been started by his father, Bob Tebow.

Critics may blast Tim Tebow for his vocal faith, but it’s hard for them to criticize him when his Christianity goes to work caring for orphans in the Philippines.

Following Christ isn’t a popular path in today’s culture, and the world is quick to criticize us for being vocal or for our slightest faults or failures. But the world falls silent as we care for orphans, visit widows, feed the poor, rebuild communities after disasters, promote literacy, and provide clean drinking water for impoverished villages. Peter wrote, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12, NIV).

Our authenticity as a follower of Christ is often judged more by our actions than our words.

The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be kind to… His other children.

Henry Drummond

Read-Thru-the-Bible

John 7 – 8

 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Pray with Boldness and Confidence

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Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace…that we may receive mercy…and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. —Hebrews 4:16

Prayer opens the windows of heaven and touches the heart of God. It is a beautiful and powerful privilege that brings many changes in both circumstances and people. Prayer is often the difference between confusion and clarity, hurt and healing, defeat and victory, and even between life and death.

There are many ways to pray, but the best way is to pray boldly and effectually. God loves you and He doesn’t want your communication with Him to be vague and unclear. He wants you to come to Him fearlessly and confidently, being specific in your prayers.

Exercise the liberty and privilege of prayer tonight, fully expecting to receive the promised help just when you need it.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – You Really Can Do It With God

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Today’s Truth

While He was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’

Matthew 17:5

Friend to Friend

It looked like an impossible task – a no way, no how kind of thing. I had no time, waning skills and hardly a resource to actually make it happen.

After all, I am not a star candidate. My follow-through record is usually pretty poor, my attitude often defeated and my belief in myself is hardly at mountaintop levels. How could I actually follow through on what I knew God wanted me to do?

Everything in me wanted to tell God to check the earth for another holy roller and remind Him that He had picked the wrong gal.

And, I nearly did.

I would have if it wasn’t for the other “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) I couldn’t seem to shake (despite my best efforts) to ignore. The one that whispered, “With me, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). You can’t, but I can. Where there is my will, there is a way.”

His Word broke through my hard exterior, to speak life to my interior, asking: Will you choose to believe that I can do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask, think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) or will you believe I can’t?

Continue reading Girlfriends in God – You Really Can Do It With God →

Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Need to be Saved

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Read: Romans 10:1-4

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1

In Romans 10:1-4 Paul expresses his intense passion that many within the nation Israel would be saved. I do not think there is any word in the Christian vocabulary that makes people feel more uncomfortable than the word saved. People cringe when they hear it. Perhaps it conjures up visions of hot-eyed, zealous buttonholers — usually with bad breath — who walk up and grab you and say, Brother, are you saved? Or perhaps it raises visions of a tiny band of Christians at a street meeting in front of some saloon singing, Give the winds a mighty voice, Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Whatever the reason, I do know that people become bothered at this word.

I will never forget the startled look on the face of a man who came up to me in a movie theater. The seat beside me was vacant, and he said, Is this seat saved? I said, No, but I am. He found a seat across the aisle. Somehow this word threatens all our religious complacency and angers the self-confident and the self-righteous alike.

And yet, when you turn to the Scriptures you find that this is an absolutely unavoidable word. Christians have to talk about men and women being saved because the fact is that men and women are lost. There is no escaping the fact that the Bible clearly teaches that the human race into which we are born is already a lost race. This is why the good news of John 3:16 is that, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish — not perish — but have everlasting life, (John 3:16 KJV).

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Need to be Saved →

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – The Coming Nations

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READ: Isaiah 2:1-5

. . . and all the nations shall flow to it. (v. 2)

A common assumption is that in the Old Testament God cares about the people of Israel, but in the New Testament he cares about all people. A second century heretic named Marcion went so far as to suggest they were two different Gods: an angry Jewish one and a loving Christian one.

A closer reading of Scripture explodes this notion once and for all. The God of the Bible is one–holy and gracious, concerned for his chosen people and for all nations. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–and Jesus.

Isaiah foresees the day when Mount Zion will be lifted above the surrounding hills, and the nations of the world stream into Jerusalem to worship the Lord. But the emphasis falls just there–on their coming.

Jesus will turn this exactly around. He will send his disciples from Jerusalem out to the ends of the earth. In Isaiah, Jerusalem is a magnet, attracting all peoples to Israel’s God. For Jesus, Jerusalem is a launching pad, rocketing his followers out to reach the nations. We have to take our message to the nations, not wait for the nations to come to us.

That’s why Words of Hope takes the gospel to “the hard places.” Today millions of people are not Christians for the most basic reason: they’ve never heard of Jesus Christ. The God of the Bible cares about that. Shouldn’t we?

—David Bast

PRAYER:

Pray for one of the hard places.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Wanted: Disciplemakers

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Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.—Acts 9:27

Sometimes new Christians have a difficult time finding their way in their newfound faith. They need someone who will stand with them and love them.

A guy named Mark did this for me. After I came to Christ on my high school campus, no one came up to me afterward and said, “Now Greg, you are a brand-new Christian. We have this Bible here for you. You also need to start going to church.” Instead, the school bell rang, and I went back to class.

I went on with my plan for that weekend, which was to go off into the mountains and smoke dope. But as I was sitting out on a rock and getting ready to do this, I felt God was speaking to my heart and telling me I didn’t need to do that. Although I didn’t know how to pray, I asked God to make Himself real to me and to help me. And God answered that prayer.

When I returned to school on Monday, some guy named Mark, whom I had never seen before, walked up to me and introduced himself. He told me that he had seen me give my life to Christ at the Bible study on Friday. Then he invited me to church, and, in a very direct but loving way, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I went to church with Mark. I started hearing the Word of God, and my life started to change.

I didn’t need a Bible scholar. I didn’t need an evangelist. But I did need a friend. And that is what Mark was for me.

So here is my question for you: Can you be a friend to someone? Because our commission is not only to preach the gospel, but to make disciples.

 

https://www.harvest.org/

Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Is There

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“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in [the grave], behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10 )

God is there, wherever you are. There is nowhere you could go where God would not be with you. Whether you are in a foreign country, on a boat in the middle of the sea, or in an empty old house all alone – God is there.

Maybe you feel lonely or upset and need comfort. God is there. No matter where you are, God is always with you – to guide you, to comfort you, to befriend you. He cares for you. He will lead you and hold you and carry you through difficult situations.

Maybe you are trying to hide from God. Are you committing secret sins that you think no one knows about? God is there. He sees everything you do. He even understands your thoughts. You could never get yourself out of God’s presence, even if you wanted to. God’s eyes are always upon you.

You cannot see God with your eyes, but He is there – guiding, protecting, keeping you, and watching everything you do. What a comfort to think that, even if you were to flee (run away) to the farthest part of the world, God is there.

God is always there, no matter where I go.

My Response:

» Am I forgetting that God is with me today?

» Are there ways I can show that I believe God is there, wherever I might be?

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Our Highest Moment

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Today’s Scripture: Galatians 6:14

“Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Mutua Mahiaini, leader of The Navigators ministry in Kenya, addressed eloquently the issue of performance versus God’s grace:

“In talking with many believers, I get the impression that most of us consider the on-going repentance of the saved as a not-so-glorious experience. A sort of sad necessity.

Sin grieves God. We must not down-play the seriousness of it in the life of a believer. But we must come to terms with the fact that God’s grace is greater than all our sins. Repentance is one of the Christian’s highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Any moment in our lives when we bask in God’s mercy and grace is our highest moment. Higher than when we feel smug in our decent performance and cannot think of anything we need to confess.

Whenever we fail—and fail we will—the Spirit of God will work on us and bring us to the foot of the cross where Jesus carried our failures. That is potentially a glorious moment. For we could at that moment accept God’s abundant mercy and grace and go forth with nothing to boast of except Christ himself, or else we struggle with our shame, focusing on that as well as our track record. one who draws on God’s mercy and grace is quick to repent, but also slow to sin.”

Are you and I willing to live like Mutua and the apostle Paul? Are we willing to rely on God’s grace and mercy alone instead of our performance, to boast in nothing except the cross? If so, we can bask every day in the grace of God. And in the joy and confidence of that grace we can vigorously pursue holiness.

 

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – Life Choices

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 21-25

Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? -Amos 3:3

In today’s Scripture passage, we watch an entire nation take a dramatic turn for the worse. This downward spiral is directly related to the marriage of the new king, Jehoram. While his father and grandfather had been godly men, 2 Chronicles 21:6 tells us that Jehoram “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

The Scriptures tie Jehoram’s marriage and his conduct together. The lesson is clear: The choice of a marriage partner has far-reaching effects. If you’re a young person feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit upon your life to serve the Lord, your marriage partner will either double your effectiveness for Christ or kill it. There is no in-between.

I heard of a young man whose wife is an encouragement and challenge to him. One of his unmarried friends asked him, “Where did you find a girl like that?” His answer was amazing. He said, “I asked God for a wife like that. Every day since junior high school I’ve prayed for God’s perfect choice for me. And God has answered my prayers.”

According to one recent book on marriage, the statistical improbability of a person finding the right mate is astonishing. The author based his mathematical calculations on six desirable qualities, including physical attractiveness, intelligence, and concern for others. He concluded that a person would have to meet more than fifteen thousand people before encountering one with all of the above requirements. If you consider other criteria like religion and age, the chances become even less optimistic. But we’re dealing with the faithfulness of God, not the chances of finding the right person.

Prayer

Lord, I desire Your will for my life. Keep me in the palm of Your hand. Amen.

To Ponder

Are you asking God for His direction for your life?

 

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Muslim Refugees Meet Jesus: God at Work in the Midst of Crisis

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We’ve seen the video clips of Muslim refugees—many of them from war-torn Syria—flooding into an unprepared and overwhelmed Europe. We’ve heard accounts of some of these refugees committing ugly crimes and others demanding that the post-Christian societies that welcome them conform to the harsh demands of Islamic law. We’ve even read the stories about Islamist terror groups such as ISIS infiltrating the refugee populations in order to wreak further havoc on the West.

But chances are you don’t know, as Paul Harvey might have said, the rest of the story. It’s a story of God building His kingdom in the midst of chaos, doubt, and uncertainty. It’s a story of Muslims meeting Jesus. Take, for example, the story of Javad.

A Muslim from Iran, Javad didn’t know any Christians and didn’t own a Bible, though he had heard some Christian satellite radio. Then in 2008 he migrated to Athens, and a roommate asked him to come to an Iranian church. Javad had never heard of such a thing and, curious, he went. There, in a small, unremarkable rented room, he heard the gospel and gladly received Christ.

Now Javad is sharing the Jesus he met with other Muslim refugees in Greece. Every day he goes to a refugee center, park, or coffee shop to share the good news with Iranian and Afghan refugees. He says that he knows of two or three Muslims each day since he arrived who have trusted in Christ. Working at a refugee center that provides practical aid, Javad says more than 2,000 Muslims at the center have turned to Jesus in the last eight years.

Because many refugees remain on the move, an informal network of new churches for Muslim converts has begun spreading in Britain, The Netherlands, Germany, and elsewhere. One church in Berlin has counted 1,200 Muslims converted in just three years, most of them Afghans and Iranians. At a Persian church in Hamburg, meanwhile, more than 600 Pakistanis and Afghans lined up to be baptized during one service. According to a report in The Daily Beast, thousands—maybe tens of thousands—of Muslims have become followers of Jesus across Northern Europe.

Continue reading BreakPoint – Muslim Refugees Meet Jesus: God at Work in the Midst of Crisis →

Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – GOD IS OUR CONSOLATION IN THE FACE OF ANXIETY

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Read PSALM 94:16–23

Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins sometimes struggled with anxiety and spiritual depression. In one poem, “Carrion Comfort,” he remembered feeling that God had stomped him with a “right foot rock,” pinned him down with a “lionlimb,” and was glaring at his “bruisèd bones” with “darksome devouring eyes.” He lay in a heap, enduring storm after storm—like Jacob, “wrestling with (my God!) my God.”

Hopkins endured a dark year and learned in a deep and difficult way, as the writer of Psalm 94 had, that God is our best consolation. The psalmist was worried because he was caught in a threatening situation. The wicked appeared to be in power, able to gang up on the righteous and accomplish injustice (v. 21). His very life was at stake; he was about to slip and fall (vv. 17–18).

These very real problems naturally led to questions: Who will stand with me? Who will rescue me? How can God allow this (vv. 16, 20)? Asking such anguished questions is a perfectly legitimate spiritual thing to do. In fact, directing our questions to the Lord shows faith that He’s big enough to answer them.

Even in the midst of his worry, the psalmist knew the answer: God. The Lord is the best “consolation” in the midst of painful events (v. 19). Consolation here is not a pat on the head. The knowledge that God is a “fortress” and “rock” in whom we can “take refuge” brings joy (vv. 19, 22). Another way of rendering verse 19 is, “When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your comforts cause my soul to delight.” The psalmist knows that God is a God who saves because of His unfailing love (vv. 17–18). He is not a God who allies Himself with corruption but who guarantees justice (vv. 20, 23; Ps. 89:14).

APPLY THE WORD

God often ministers to us through His people, and we can be instruments of His consolation through kind and encouraging words. As Proverbs 12:25 says: “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” Pray for specific opportunities today to use words for others’ good and for the Holy Spirit’s help in saying the right thing.

 

http://www.todayintheword.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – How ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ helps us overcome ‘election anxiety’

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One of the most powerful Christian witnesses of the twentieth century is coming to movie theaters today.

Desmond Doss served on Okinawa during one of the most horrific battles of World War II. His courage under fire was so astounding that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge tells his amazing story. I saw the film at a private screening a few months ago and was deeply moved by Doss’s humility and sacrificial faith. In my review, I noted that the movie is rated R for very realistic war violence. However, I strongly urge you to see it. I agree with Greg Laurie: “This is the most positive portrayal of a Christian in a mainstream film that I have seen since Chariots of Fire.”

When Christians trust God with our fears, others see our courage and are drawn to the Source of our strength. Our witness is especially vital in these days of escalating vitriol as the presidential candidates warn us of nuclear war or a constitutional crisis if their opponent is elected. It’s not surprising that the latest Atlantic magazine features an in-depth article on the “election anxiety” so many are feeling in these turbulent days.

Such distress is not new news. Cultural scholar Leo Braudy notes that fear, horror, and terror are reactions to a collective uncertainty over the future and nostalgia for a (supposedly) safer past. In his new book, Haunted, Braudy reports: “Social scientists have estimated that fear is seven times more likely to spread than any other social attitude.” Fears of terrorism, epidemic disease, escalating crime, and rising immigration are abetted in our day by “an ever expanding web of communications, manipulated by politicians and newscasters, liberals and conservatives alike.”

Fear is natural and even normal in the face of threats to our well-being. It’s a good thing for us to be afraid to pick up a rattlesnake. But fearing the unknown future shows that we’re trusting in ourselves rather than the God who knows the future.

This is idolatry, the gravest sin of all.

Continue reading Denison Forum – How ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ helps us overcome ‘election anxiety’ →