Monthly Archives: January 2018

Max Lucado

Max Lucado -Trust God to Lead

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

Worrying is one job you cannot farm out—but you can overcome it! And there’s no better place to begin than Psalm 23:2.  “He leads me beside the still waters,”  David declares. He leads me! God isn’t behind me, yelling, Go! He’s ahead of me bidding, Come! He’s in front, clearing the path and cutting the brush. Standing next to the rocks He warns watch your step there.

Isn’t this what God gave the children of Israel? He promised to supply them with manna each day, but He told them to collect only one day’s supply at a time. Matthew 6:34 says to give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. God is leading you– so leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Bob Dole receives Congressional Gold Medal

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Bob Dole received Congress’s highest civilian honor yesterday. The World War II veteran, longtime senator, and former presidential candidate was given the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony that included Republican and Democrat leaders, President Trump, and Vice President Pence.

Dole, who is ninety-four years old, can no longer walk. He sat in his wheelchair for the majority of the ceremony. However, when the color guard entered with the American flag and the flags of the Armed Forces, he gestured to an aide. A young man rushed to his side and helped pull him to his feet so he could stand to honor the American flag.

For many years, Sen. Dole has met visitors and fellow veterans at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. In his remarks yesterday, President Trump noted that future generations who come to the Memorial “will hear the story of a great man who rose up from a small town in the heart of America to become a soldier, and a congressman, and leader admired by all. They will hear the story of Bob Dole. And in hearing that story, they will truly learn what it means to be a great American.”

In 1960, President John F. Kennedy quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What we are speaks louder than what we say.”

You may not be able to quote a speech Bob Dole made or describe a law he helped pass, but you will always remember what he did for our country. His sacrifice as a soldier cost the use of his right arm and nearly cost his life. He served in the US Senate with transparency and integrity. He shows us “what it means to be a great American.”

What we do truly speaks louder than what we say.

Seeing Christ in Christians

I became a Christian because I saw Christ in Christians.

As a teenager, after I started visiting a local church, I began to see a joy and peace in the lives of other teenagers in our Sunday school class. One Sunday morning, I asked our teacher how I could have what they had. She led me to faith in Jesus.

Tragically, not every person has the same positive story to tell.

Mahatma Gandhi was a British-educated lawyer before he became a pioneer for independence in his native India. His philosophy of nonviolence and peaceful resistance influenced many in the American civil rights movement, most famously Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gandhi was a man of great personal asceticism, making his own clothes and living on a simple vegetarian diet. His personal integrity and spirituality were crucial factors in his work to help India gain her independence. He has been designated “Father of the Nation”; his birthday is celebrated nationally each October 2.

Gandhi’s relationship with Christianity has been much discussed. He read from the New Testament every day and often quoted from God’s word. As one version goes, Gandhi was once asked by a reporter why he had not become a Christian. Although he had spent years in dialogue with Christian leaders around the world, he replied, “If I had ever met one, I would have become one.”

Another version goes back to a time when Gandhi was exiled in Africa before leading the revolution in India. He was seeking the Lord and reading the New Testament. He became convinced that Christianity was the true religion and that Jesus was the Christ.

He chose to attend a church for the purpose of confessing the Christian faith. But because of his skin color, church members wouldn’t let him in. He then led 750 million people into Hinduism and said, “I would have been a Christian if I hadn’t met one.”

“They recognized that they had been with Jesus”

One of my favorite verses of Scripture comes after Peter made one of the boldest declarations in history. His statement was as controversial and countercultural in his day as in ours: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

How would the authorities respond?

“When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (v. 13).

Let’s spend time with Jesus today and then live in such a way that others know we did. The next Gandhi we meet will be grateful.

 

Denison Forum

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Misplaced Priorities

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Luke 12:16-21

The Lord’s parable of the foolish wealthy man is a study in misplaced priorities. Modern believers can learn from three mistakes he made: providing for himself, not others; providing for his body, not his spirit; and providing for this life, not the one to come.

There is a penalty for misplaced priorities. This foolish man passed away with no opportunity to enjoy his goods. What’s even worse, he died with a bankrupt soul.

Serving the Lord and His kingdom is the key to setting correct goals. When believers make service for God a main concern, they will use a lens of righteousness to order their priorities. The question we ought to be asking is not “What shall I do?” but rather “Lord, what would You have me do?” The answer—which should be prayerfully sought and biblically evaluated—dictates which things we must put first in order to achieve God’s purpose for us.

Life is not something that simply happens to people. Where we are today is largely determined by the way we prioritized our concerns in previous months and years. This means that we can positively impact our future by organizing our priorities according to biblical guidelines. Then, unlike the foolish man in Jesus’ parable, we will learn the eternal value of providing for others so that our own soul is fed. More than that, we will “store up for [our]selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal” (Matt. 6:20).

Bible in One Year: Exodus 4-6

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Growing Gratitude

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Read: Romans 11:33–36

Bible in a Year: Genesis 41–42; Matthew 12:1–23

For from him and through him and for him are all things.—Romans 11:36

Would you like to cultivate a greater sense of gratitude? George Herbert, a seventeenth-century British poet, encourages readers toward that goal in his poem “Gratefulness”: “Thou that hast given so much to me, give one thing more: a grateful heart.”

Herbert recognized the only thing he needed in order to be thankful was simply an awareness of the blessings God had already given him.

The Bible declares Christ Jesus as the source of all blessing in Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” “All things” encompasses both the extravagant and the mundane, everyday gifts in our lives. Everything we receive in life comes directly from our heavenly Father (James 1:17), and He willingly gives us those gifts out of His love for us.

To expand my awareness of God’s blessings in my life, I am learning to cultivate a heart that acknowledges the source of all the joys I experience each day, but especially the ones I often take for granted. Today those included a crisp morning to run, the anticipation of an evening with friends, a stocked pantry so I could make French toast with my daughters, the beauty of the world outside my window, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

What is the “so much” that God has already given to you? Opening our eyes to those blessings will help us to develop grateful hearts. —Lisa Samra

Take a few minutes to thank God for what comes to your mind right now. Try to do that throughout the day as well.

When you think of all that’s good, thank God.Welcome to Lisa Samra! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.

INSIGHT: Do you tend to think of yourself as more or less thankful than other people? Consider how the apostle Paul used that question to set a love-trap for some of his readers. Early in his letter to the Romans he describes those who have no interest in worshiping or giving thanks to their Creator (Romans 1:21). For the rest of chapter he describes the unraveling lives of those who refuse to acknowledge the goodness of their God.

Then it happens. Paul anticipates that someone has taken the bait. With no warning he asks his readers whether they really think they are any different than the unthankful sinners he has been condemning (2:1). Paul then spends much of the rest of his letter giving his readers reasons to give thanks to God for revealing in Christ the greatest good news the world has ever heard. Just before erupting in his great expression of worshipful praise to God (11:33-36), Paul concludes, “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” (v. 32).

In the smallest kindness, a thankful heart can sense the greatness of our God. Mart DeHaan

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Soul of the City

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In the early 80s, an image campaign began in the city of Atlanta with the hopes of encouraging Atlantans to see their city with pride and hope—despite some of its darker plaguing issues of race relations, violence, poverty, and unemployment. The jingle was endearing, if cheesy, chirping birds in the background and all:

There’s a feeling in the air, that you can’t get anywhere… except in Georgia. I taste a thousand yesterdays and I still love the magic ways of Atlanta.

The lyrics stayed mostly the same for years, though they came out with a country version, as well as a version featuring the Commodores in the mid 80s. The accompanying pictures were all hometown, feel-good scenes: firm hand-shakes, hot dogs in the park, a couple blissfully showing off their engagement with the city skyline behind them. All of it was meant to inspire nostalgia, loyalty, and camaraderie—and to counter some of the more negative images and present uncertainties at that time. Those who remember it speak of the “Hello Atlanta!” song quite fondly, attesting to its convincing look at Atlanta’s unique brand of urbanism and the pride that the song actually did drum up for their city.

Makes no difference where I go, You’re the best hometown I know. Hello, Atlanta. Hello, Georgia. We love you on 11 Alive!

The song served as something of an anthem for the city, so much so that Ira Glass recently featured it on his program This American Life.(1) He interviewed people who remembered the song. And then he completely burst their unique sense of city-pride by playing for them the exact same song and lyrics with “Milwaukee” or “Calgary” substituted out in chorus and pictures. As it turned out, this “image campaign” was a syndicated campaign that took place in 167 different cities worldwide. There’s a feeling in the air, that you can’t get anywhere, except… fill in the blank.

In the chapters of Isaiah, the ancient prophet presents a complex meditation about the destiny of Jerusalem into the crises of exile and the promise of Jerusalem out of exile into new well-being. This city of intense promise that he lauds in poetry, in lament, and public proclamation is not a song like Hello Atlanta (or Hello Any City, USA as it turns out). Isaiah’s is not an image campaign meant to play on a syndicated sense of nostalgia for the masses, pie in the sky images of life meant to erase the darker scenes of their present reality. Nor is it the sort of meditation that one can substitute a different city or a different set of people and still hold onto any semblance of his bold and hopeful lyric.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he proclaims, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted…to restore faint spirits, to give gladness instead of mourning.(2) For a people who had been through the darkness of captivity and exile and the loss of everything they loved and held near, this is exactly what they had longed to hear from the God they suspected had abandoned them and the city they loved: Through Isaiah, God says, I have not forgotten you. In fact, I am sending good news for you in darkness. I am going to comfort you who mourn and care for you who are grieving. I will bestow on you a crown of beauty instead of the ashes you have been sitting with. And I am bringing garments of praise for you to put on, instead of the spirit of despair you have been carrying.

Isaiah paints in stirring metaphor and image the potent Hebrew concept of Shalom. We translate this word as “peace” in English, but this misses far too much. While it is possible to consider peace abstractly, shalom cannot be extracted from its multi-level application to every part of life as we know it. Shalom is closer to human flourishing. It is God’s gift of peace, but it is also God’s enacting of good news, God’s offering of well-being in such a way that we are able to hold it, to take it in, and taste it—like the great wedding feast Jesus uses to describe what it looks like to be gathered together in God’s care and comfort. Shalom is beauty for ashes and comfort for the grieving. It is not an abstract, inaccessible picture of life as it could be or life simply as it will be one day. It is not an escape vehicle from the harsh realities of life. Surely God’s promise of shalom involves dimensions beyond time as we know it. But the Hebrew word Shalom very profoundly aims at the flourishing of bodies and souls and life as we find it presently, dark though it is.(3) Beauty and comfort and release and gladness and joy are indeed proclaimed, but it all comes as the promise of a God who is somehow present in the midst of Israel’s complicated, difficult, dark and beautiful realities.

In a time when religion is often viewed as an opiate or an escape from reality, Isaiah presents a clear challenge. His description of life renewed is not at all like an image campaign to help us forget the harder realities of life, to woo us with images that simply erase our earlier recollections of despair. If we were going to put it in terms of an image campaign, in fact, Isaiah’s promising words and the gospel that brings these promises to life sing a rather unflattering, enigmatic song about a very meek Son of God who appears on the scene of a fairly unimpressive city: not the Jerusalem of royalty and fanfare, but the back streets of Bethlehem where we are given not easy answers but a baby who embodies something far different.

The promise of God’s shalom is not a thin attempt to distract us from our own darkness or a flimsy pat on the back for the profound brokenness of the world. It is not an image campaign to make us feel better, but the unexpected gift of one who, somehow, mercifully, can hold it all.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) “No Place Like Home,” This American Life, episode 520, March 14, 2014. Ira Glass tells the story from the point of view of Calgary.

(2) See Isaiah 61, particularly 61:1-3.

(3) “Dark though it is” is a line from the W.S. Merwin poem, “Thanks,” written in 1927.

 

http://www.rzim.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Giving Must Cost You Something

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But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.— 2 Samuel 24:24

I believe that in God’s economy, nothing cheap is worth having. God gave His only Son to free us, and while we can never equal that sacrifice, we must give back to Him in a way that means something. King David said he would not give God something that cost him nothing. And I have learned that true giving is not giving until I can feel it.

Giving away the clothes and household items I’m finished with may be a nice gesture, but it doesn’t equal real giving. Real giving occurs when I give somebody something that I want to keep.

I’m sure you’ve had those testing times when God asks you to give away something you like. But when you consider how He gave His only Son for us because of His love for us, doesn’t that make you want to give of yourself too?

The simple truth is this: We must give to be happy, and giving is not true giving if it doesn’t cost us something.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Skip Judgment

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“Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does” (Psalm 32:6).

Mary had rebelled against the preaching of her Nazarene father, a godly pastor. She lived with her boy friend in open defiance of her biblical teaching. Now, God was disciplining her because of disobedience. She was miserable, filled with hate and resentment, when a mutual friend brought her to my office for counsel.

I shared with Mary that just as a loving father disciplines a disobedient child, so God in His love for us disciplines us when we are disobedient. Actually, “child training” would be a more accurate way of describing what God does for us when we are disobedient.

Like Mary, many Christians unnecessarily go through all kinds of adversity: financial, emotional, marital and family problems, and even physical illness. More often than not, God is trying to get their attention. But because they refuse to listen and obey Him, they are disciplined and their misery continues.

Beware, of course, that you do not assume that every time friends or loved ones have difficult experiences, they are being disciplined by God because of disobedience. It may well be that God is working in their lives as He did in Job’s not because of disobedience but to help them mature and become more fruitful and effective witnesses or models of His grace to others.

When you personally, like Mary, are going through adversity, however, and problems continue to plague your life, you would do well to look into the mirror of God’s Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is any unconfessed sin in your life. If there is, be quick to turn to the Lord, confess your sins and receive His forgiveness and cleansing in order to avoid further chastening.

Bible Reading: Psalm 32:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will write down on paper, for my own personal information only, any known weakness, sin or sins that are plaguing me today. I will confess that sin, or those sins, and receive by faith God’s forgiveness and cleansing. (If you are continuing to breathe spiritually, you will not allow sins to accumulate, for the moment you become aware of sin you confess it to the Lord and keep on walking in the light as He is in the light.)

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Give Up Your Bag of Burdens

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

Worry is the burlap bag of burdens.  It’s overflowing with “whaddifs” and “howells.” Whaddif after all my dieting, I find that lettuce is fattening and chocolate isn’t?  Howell we pay our baby’s tuition?”  Whaddifs and howells…the burlap bag of worry. Cumbersome. Chunky. Unattractive. Scratchy.  Irritating to carry and impossible to give away!

No one wants your worries.  The truth is, you don’t want them either. No one has to remind you of the high cost of anxiety, but I will anyway. Worry divides the mind.  It splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems.  The result is half-minded living!

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to “boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and, in His grace, find timely help.”  God’s help is timely!  God will do the right thing at the right time.  And what a difference that makes!

Read more Traveling Light

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – CVS will end airbrushed beauty product ads

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CVS will end airbrushing in advertisements for its store-brand beauty products by 2020. Why? “The connection between the propagation of unrealistic body images and negative health effects, especially in girls and young women, has been established,” explained the company’s president.

What should our culture learn from this step toward transparent truthfulness?

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat describes “the most American approach to matters of faith: a religious individualism that blurs the line between the God out there and the God Within, a gnostic spirituality that constantly promises access to a secret and personalized wisdom, a gospel of health and wealth that insists that the true spiritual adept will find both happiness and money.”

As a result, according to the Colson Center’s John Stonestreet, “America’s greatest affliction is a poverty of meaning, of purpose, of something to fill that great spiritual emptiness we feel at the heart of our nation.”

We can confuse “your truth” with “the truth,” pretending that we are more and better than we are and projecting to the world an idealized self that we know is false. But there’s a better way.

“I have no good apart from you”

Consider a simple prayer I encountered this week. In Psalm 16, David said to God, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (v. 2).

This is one of the most profound statements of self-awareness in all of literature.

“Good” translates the Hebrew tobah, meaning “practical benefit, desirability, morality.” In the eyes of the world, David had great “good” apart from God. In practical terms, he had wonderful gifts in leadership, athletic ability, and music. In terms of desirability, he was extremely handsome (1 Samuel 16:12). In moral terms, he was described by God as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV; 1 Samuel 13:14).

And yet he said to God, “I have no good apart from you.” David was clearly aware of the reason for his attributes and gifts. Echoing such self-awareness, my high school youth minister once gave me one of the most profound words of advice I have ever received: “Always remember the source of your personal worth.”

Our great value in life lies not in who we are but in Whose we are.

In The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis noted that we are creatures before our Creator. We derive all that is good in life from the One who made our lives. With this result: “To be God—to be like God and to share His goodness in creaturely response—to be miserable—these are the only three alternatives. If we will not learn to eat the only food that the universe grows—the only food that any possible universe ever can grow—then we must starve eternally.”

“I will help thee, saith the Lord”

When we learn to say to God, “I have no good apart from you,” two results follow.

One: We stay connected to the Source of our strength.

Because he knew himself to be a creature in need of his Creator, David vowed, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). He chose to live consciously and intentionally in the presence of his Maker.

Jesus warned us of “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). We cannot mix ungodliness with godliness, lies with truth.

As Oswald Chambers notes, God’s call expresses his nature, and “we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us.” We must be on his “frequency” to hear his voice. Is God “always before” you?

Two: We live and serve with supreme confidence.

Because he lived in submission to his Maker, David could attest, “My heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices” (Psalm 16:9). And he could testify, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (v. 11).

We are loved unconditionally by the Lord of the universe. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by him (Psalm 139:14). When we fulfill his purpose for our lives, we are “doing a great work” in his world (Nehemiah 6:3).

Charles Spurgeon, reflecting on our Father’s promise, “I will help thee, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 41:14 KJV), spoke in God’s voice: “If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of My all-sufficiency.”

Then he turned to himself: “O my soul, is this not enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this will well fill it.”

“I have no good apart from you.” Is this the prayer and posture of your heart today?

 

Denison Forum

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Test Yourself

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Hebrews 3:12-19, Hebrews 4:1-2

Many of us love the Bible because it’s filled with words of assurance, promise, and encouragement. However, it also contains warnings that we’d be wise to consider and heed. Like the nation of Israel in the wilderness, the church throughout history has also had some people who were characterized by unbelief.

Jesus said that although many call Him Lord, the proof of salvation is displayed in an obedient life (Matt. 7:13-23). You may have noticed the fruit of salvation—or the lack of it—in your church. Consider the following signs that may indicate a person in need of salvation:

  • They are oftentimes involved in conflict and disunity in the church because they lack the fruit of the Spirit.
  • Sometimes they prefer the spectator role and are reluctant to get involved or make a commitment to a local congregation of believers.
  • If they are serving in the church, they may feel frustrated because they are trying to do the supernatural work of God without the power of His Spirit.
  • They have trouble understanding the Bible but little desire to read it.
  • Because they are resisting the Spirit’s conviction, they are uncomfortable or irritated when the pastor gives an invitation for salvation.

The purpose of God’s warning isn’t to have us judge the salvation of others; rather, He wants us to both examine ourselves and lead people to the truth. The consequences are eternal, so it’s important to do as Scripture says: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Pray that God will enable you to point others to Jesus—and that He’ll help you to grow ever more Christlike.

Bible in One Year: Exodus 1-3

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Power of Prayer

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Read: 1 Samuel 7:7–14

Bible in a Year: Genesis 39–40; Matthew 11

Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us.—1 Samuel 7:8

One day, when I was deeply concerned about the welfare of one close to me, I found encouragement in part of the Old Testament story of Samuel, a wise leader of the Israelites. As I read how Samuel interceded for God’s people as they faced trouble, I strengthened my resolve to pray for the one I loved.

The Israelites faced the threat of the Philistines, who had previously defeated them when God’s people didn’t trust in Him (see 1 Samuel 4). After repenting of their sins, they heard that the Philistines were about to attack. This time, however, they asked Samuel to continue praying for them (7:8), and the Lord answered clearly by throwing their enemy into confusion (v. 10). Though the Philistines may have been mightier than the Israelites, the Lord was the strongest of them all.

When we ache over the challenges facing those we love, and fear the situation won’t change, we may be tempted to believe that the Lord will not act. But we should never underestimate the power of prayer, for our loving God hears our pleas. We don’t know how He will move in response to our petitions, but we know that as our Father He longs for us to embrace His love and to trust in His faithfulness.

Do you have someone you can pray for today? —Amy Boucher Pye

Father God, the way You hear and answer my prayers amazes me. Strengthen my faith, that I will always believe in Your goodness and love.

God hears us when we pray.

INSIGHT: Samuel led his people to worship of the one true God (1 Samuel 7:1-6). Prayer was central to Samuel’s ministry (v. 9); in response to his intercession, God gave the nation victory over the Philistines (vv. 7-13). To commemorate this God-inspired victory, Samuel erected a remembrance stone he called Ebenezer, which means “stone of help.” It can also serve as a reminder to us not to underestimate the power of God to respond to our prayers!

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Outside In

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Every society has insiders and outsiders. Groups of people or individuals are often defined by those characteristics, beliefs, ethnicities, or behaviors that identify them them as “winners” and “losers.” If one was a Jew in Nazi Germany, for example, she was an “outsider” and branded as such by a yellow Star of David sewn into her garments. If one was a Tutsi in Rwanda in the 90s, he would be forced to use an ID card which specified his ethnic group. In addition, his skin color was a general physical trait that was typically used to designate him an ethnic “outsider.” Recently, in the United States the #MeToo movement gave voice to millions of women around the world who were on the losing end of male abuse of power. These women were kept on the outside and marginalized from career advancement or in personal relationships.

But just who is inside and who is outside in particular cultures is often a matter of perspective. The Amish community intentionally lives as “outsiders” as a witness to the larger, secular culture. Standing outside of mainstream culture is their chosen position. In the community in which I live, tribal tattoos and multiple piercings set one apart as an outsider in the button-down-shirt-world of suits and ties, setting one apart from the rest of society. It seems that the boundaries around who is in and who is out shift and change with the whims of culture and fashion.

Jesus, as presented in the gospel accounts of his life, often blurred the lines between who was inside and who was outside. Indeed, he often suggested in his teaching ministry that those deemed on the outside of his society were actually on the inside. In his “outside-in” perspective, the first would be last, and the last first. Rejecting the rules that kept the poor, the broken, the sick, or the disabled person firmly on the outside, Jesus instead opened-wide his arms and extended the reach of his hospitality far beyond what would have been acceptable in his day.

Yet standing in stark contrast with Jesus’s welcoming reputation is an encounter with an unnamed Syrophoenician woman. According to Mark’s gospel, Jesus is passing through the predominantly Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon when this unnamed, Gentile woman approaches him to ask for healing for her demon-possessed daughter. As a Jewish male, he is an outsider in this Gentile region. Yet, he speaks to her in the voice of a Jewish insider. “It is not good to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs.”(1) In Matthew’s account of this story, this woman’s outsider status is highlighted in even stronger terms. She is a Canaanite woman—a member of the people group Israel was commanded to expel from the land thousands of years earlier.

We who are more familiar with a loving, welcoming Jesus are jarred by his seemingly cruel response. Matthew tells us that the woman was pleading with Jesus to help her, yet “he did not answer her a word.”(2) Is this the same man? How is it that Jesus could ignore her cries for help?

Remarkably, the woman is not deterred by this familiarly abrupt response from an insider. In league with the great negotiators of old—Abraham, who bargained with God over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; Moses, who bargained with God over destroying the people in the wilderness; and King Hezekiah who bargained for more years to his life—she very cleverly argues: “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Both Matthew and Mark highlight Jesus’s delight at her faithful response. In Mark, Jesus is impressed simply by what she has said; “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” In Matthew, Jesus acknowledges her faith; “O woman, great is your faith!”

A casual reader may not realize the boldness and courage of this outsider, and the gift of Jesus in giving her a public voice. A Gentile woman alone with a daughter did not hold a good position in first century society. As a Gentile and a woman, she was an ethnic alien invisible to the society, greatly amplified since she was without a man to represent her in the public realm. Yet, this woman stepped beyond the prescribed boundaries to seek out Jesus for the sake of her daughter whom she valued, and Jesus praises her publically for it.

This story of the Syrophoenician woman demonstrates that God’s promise to Abraham overflows to the outside. Her story foreshadows the wind that would blow at Pentecost, a wind that could be heard, but that defied direction. This wind would envelop those kept outside. The Syrophoenician woman understands this better than some in Jesus’s own circles and he gives her the opportunity to educate them: There is an overflow of blessing to one such as me, and it does not involve taking away the portion allotted to the insiders. As Peter declares in his own encounter with the Gentile Cornelius, “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.”(3)

Beyond this ancient story, we who sometimes feel ourselves as outsiders can take heart. For here, this outsider of outsiders is the recipient of mercy and truth. Jesus brings the outsider inside, he gives the least a voice, he makes blessing overflow. And that is very good news.

Margaret Manning Shull is a member of the writing and speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bellingham, Washington.

(1) See the full story in Mark 7:24-30. Matthew’s Gospel also records this event. Cf. Matthew 15:21-28.

(2) Matthew 15:23.

(3) Acts 10:34-35.

 

http://www.rzim.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Nature of God’s Love

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But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace–His undeserved favor and mercy–you have been saved from God’s judgment).— Ephesians 2:4-5

Sometimes, when life gets discouraging, the best thing we can do is remind ourselves of the nature of God’s love.

One of the most beautiful things the Bible says is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8). He did not wait for us to deserve His love. He loves us unconditionally. To be honest, that’s hard for many of us to comprehend because we are so accustomed to having to earn everything in life.

Because of His great, wonderful and intense love for us, God poured His life out for us freely. That is revolutionary love—real, revolutionary love that gives itself away because it can never be satisfied doing anything less.

It is God’s unconditional love that draws us to Him, His amazing grace that erases our sin, and His powerful sacrifice that makes a way for us to enter His presence. His love will never quit, never give up, and never leave you. Whenever you feel down or depressed, remember the great love that God has for you.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Supernatural Power of Praise

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“With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of His name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to Him” (Hebrews 13:15,16).

Sometimes, in my busy schedule which takes me from country to country and continent to continent, my body is weary, my mind is fatigued, and if I am not careful, my heart will grow cold. I have learned to meditate on the many blessings of God and to praise Him as an act of the will. As I do so, my heart begins to warm and I sense the presence of God.

The psalmist often catalogued the blessings of God and found new reason to praise Him. I would like to share with you several reasons why I believe praise of God is so important in the life of the believer.

1) God is truly worthy of praise.

2) Praise draws us closer to God.

3) All who praise God are blessed.

4) Praise is contagious.

5) Satan’s power is broken when we praise God.

6) Praise is a witness to carnal Christians and non-Christians.

7) Praise opens our hearts and minds to receive God’s message.

8) Praise is a form of sacrifice.

9) Praise makes for a more joyful life.

10) Praise enhances human relationships.

11) Praise is a supernatural expression of faith.

A further elaboration of the benefits and power of praise is found in my book Believing God for the Impossible. An entire chapter is devoted to this exciting subject.

With the promise of His blessings, so clearly delineated by the psalmist, comes the privilege and responsibility of offering up sacrifices of praise, and this leads to a supernatural life made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 33:9-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT I will look deliberately today for reasons to praise my heavenly Father, knowing that I will find many. Whether I feel like it or not, I will praise Him throughout the day, seek to do good and to share His love with others, knowing that such sacrifices are pleasing to Him.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Remember the Sabbath

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Listen to Today’s Devotion

When God gave the Ten Commandments, He needed only five English words to condemn adultery; four to denounce thievery and murder.  But when he came to the topic of rest?  Listen to this:

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath Day of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servants, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day…” (Exodus 20:8-11).

Wow!  One word after another… but still we object. We offer up one reason after another. We don’t like to rest. Please repeat these words after me, “It is not my job to run the world.”  In the long run we will do more by doing less!

Read more Traveling Light

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – ‘Minnesota Miracle’ leads to ‘incredible Jesus moment’

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You never know when Jesus will show up.

Case Keenum‘s professional journey has been challenging. Despite a record-setting career in college, he went undrafted by the NFL. He was eventually signed by Houston, where he went 0–8 as their starting quarterback in 2013. He then played for St. Louis, went back to Houston, and then back to St. Louis.

After stints as their starter, he was benched and then signed a one-year contract to serve as Minnesota’s backup quarterback for 2017. When the starter was injured, he took over in the second week of the season. He led his team to a 13–3 record.

After Sunday’s last-second play that is already being called the Minnesota Miracle, he’s now one game from the Super Bowl. When the game ended, with pandemonium all around, he told a national audience that the miraculous win “probably will go down as the third-best moment of my life.”

What tops this stunning victory? “Giving my life to Jesus Christ and marrying my wife,” Keenum said as the ecstatic crowd roared all around him. One reporter called it an “incredible postgame Jesus moment.”

Four months ago, Case Keenum had no idea he would make national headlines today. But he was ready when his time came.

Is this 1776 or 1789?

The Colson Center’s “BreakPoint” recently asked several Christian leaders to define “challenges facing the church in 2018.” Os Guinness, one of this generation’s most insightful evangelical theologians, offered a response that was so compelling I will reproduce it today in full:

“If we fight the battle at any point except where the battle is really being fought, we might as well not fight. Luther’s famous maxim is urgent for Christians today. The U.S. is experiencing its gravest crisis since the Civil War, but there is no agreement as to what the crux of the battle is. The division in this country is not just between Progressives and Conservatives, ‘coastals’ and ‘heart-landers,’ and ‘globalists’ and ‘nationalists.’ It is between ‘1776,’ and the heirs and allies of the American revolution, where faith and freedom went hand in hand; and ‘1789,’ and the heirs and allies of the thinking of the French revolution, where faith and freedom were mortal enemies.

“The current crisis is a tale of these two revolutions. Both cry ‘freedom,’ but their views of freedom are diametrically opposed. They have different roots (the Bible versus the Enlightenment), different views of human nature (realism versus utopianism), different views of change (incremental versus radical), different views of freedom (the power to do what you ought versus the permission to what you like), different views of government (protective versus Progressive), different views of accountability (‘under God’ versus without God), and different views of righting wrongs (repentance and reconciliation versus reparation and revenge).

“If this is correct, the challenges are plain. The question before America: Is the ‘constitutional Republic’ to be restored or replaced? The question before us as Christians: How do we live and speak so faithfully that we honor our Lord and his ways in response to one of the greatest apologetic challenges and one of the greatest cultural challenges in all history? Now is a time for what Rabbi Heschel called ‘moral grandeur and spiritual audacity.’ All who are Evangelical and unashamed can be confident that the good news is more than sufficient for the gravity of the hour.”

When Jesus is on trial

I am convinced that Guinness is right: there is a massive cultural divide today between Americans who see Christianity as foundational to our past and essential for our future, and Americans who see Christianity as irrelevant, if not dangerous.

You and I are alive “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). It is by divine providence that you were not living in 1818 and that you will not be on this planet in 2218 (if the Lord tarries).

Your Father intended you to follow and serve Jesus in this cultural moment. You have all you need to be faithful to his call. As the saying goes, God equips the called and anoints all he appoints.

One vital aspect of successful witnessing today is doing what Case Keenum did: be ready when your moment comes.

Jesus warned his disciples that they would face persecuting authorities. However, this was to be their posture: “Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19–20).

When we have an opportunity to make public our faith in Jesus, we can feel as though we are a defendant on trial, with the other person as the prosecutor looking for ways to defeat our testimony.

In fact, Jesus is on trial. The Holy Spirit is the defense attorney, while Satan is the prosecutor. The person with whom you are speaking is the jury.

Your job is to go to the stand when the defense attorney calls you and tell what you know as he leads you. You may be the first witness called to the stand, so that you never hear how the jury decides. You may be the last, and thus present when the jury renders a verdict, hopefully for the Defendant. You will probably be somewhere in the middle.

The point: your job is to be ready. Tell what you know when given the opportunity and trust the results to God.

However, our witness is effective only if it is credible. Case Keenum’s priorities are clear: faith, family, football. Are they yours?

 

Denison Forum

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Path of Life

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Jeremiah 10:23-24

Life is like an untraveled trail with twists and turns. Appealing activities can become detours that lead to the quicksand of sin. And engaging philosophies may start as small interests but turn into a mire of muddled thinking. Even the best route isn’t always sun-dappled meadows and quiet riverside lanes; we may have to journey over hard terrain or shadowed valleys. The only way to be sure we’re walking correctly is to follow one who knows the way perfectly.

God is the perfect full-service guide. No one can go wrong by keeping to the pathways He selects. Consider that He lovingly and intentionally created you for this time and this place. The Lord watches over your steps because He desires to see your purpose fulfilled and His plan come to fruition through you (Prov. 3:5-6). He has promised to counsel those who follow Him (Psalm 25:12), so when you sense God warning you away from a tempting sidetrack, realize it is because He foresees the dangers that lurk on that road.

There’s a correlation between ignoring the Lord’s guidance and ending up in trouble: The one who stumbles off course has trusted his own “sense of direction”—his emotions, desires, or personal version of morality. He has been pursuing what feels good or looks right instead of seeking the heavenly Father’s will.

God has mapped out the path before you. He is aware of every obstacle and miry pit, and He knows exactly which sidetracks will tempt you. What’s more, He has committed to walk beside you as a guide and comforter so that you never face the twists and turns of this life alone.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 42-45

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — An Angry God?

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Read: Exodus 33:18–19; 34:1–7

Bible in a Year: Genesis 31–32; Matthew 9:18–38

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.—Exodus 34:6

When I studied Greek and Roman mythology in college, I was struck by how moody and easily angered the mythological gods were in the stories. The people on the receiving end of their anger found their lives destroyed, sometimes on a whim.

I was quick to scoff, wondering how anyone could believe in gods like that. But then I asked myself, Is my view of the God who actually exists much different? Don’t I view Him as easily angered whenever I doubt Him? Sadly, yes.

That’s why I appreciate Moses’s request of God to “show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). Having been chosen to lead a large group of people who often grumbled against him, Moses wanted to know that God would indeed help him with this great task. Moses’s request was rewarded by a demonstration of God’s glory. God announced to Moses His name and characteristics. He is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (34:6).

This verse reminded me that God is not impulsive, suddenly striking out in anger. That’s reassuring, especially when I consider the times I’ve lashed out at Him in anger or impatience. Also, He continually works to make me more like Himself.

We can see God and His glory in His patience with us, the encouraging word of a friend, a beautiful sunset, or—best of all—the whisper of the Holy Spirit inside of us. —Linda Washington

Father God, I’m grateful that You are always compassionate, forgiving, and faithful.

Though we often change, God never does.

INSIGHT: Being exposed to God’s perfect character drew two responses from Moses. He first responded with worship (34:8), and then he acknowledged the need for forgiveness (v. 9). These continue to be important responses toward our loving God who is perfectly holy, compassionate, and forgiving.

What is your response to God’s loving forgiveness? Bill Crowder

 

http://www.odb.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Learning to Ask for Help

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Read: Romans 12:1-8

In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (v. 5 NIV)

The more people who found out I had cancer, the more offers for help I received. People like to have something they can do for me: meals, chores, driving. For a while I tried to find ways to turn down these offers with creative ways to keep doing everything myself. However, pain and exhaustion are insistent and instructive teachers. The lesson I had to learn was twofold: I needed other people and I was not in control.

In Romans 12, Paul tells us not to think of ourselves more highly than we should. Every person has a God-given gift and should use that gift for the body of Christ. Even when we are most able to do things, we shouldn’t try to do everything ourselves. And if we think we are, we are deluding ourselves. Few of us grow and make all the food we eat, pave the roads we drive, or even take note of the thousand ways we depend on other people every day. It isn’t a matter of “asking” for help when we need it. We always need help.

So eventually, when my sister offered to help weed my garden, I said yes. When my grandson said he would mow the lawn, I said yes. Each time I accepted help I saw that unless I asked for help, these people wouldn’t be able to use their God-given gift. Who can help you today? —Karen Bables

Prayer: Teach me, Lord, to ask for help when I need it.

 

https://woh.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Take Down the “Do Not Disturb” Sign

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preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching. — 2 Timothy 4:2

I frequently stay in hotels when I’m traveling for ministry purposes. When I am in my room, I usually put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door so nobody will bother me. Hanging this sign on my hotel room door is acceptable. But putting it on my life isn’t.

Have you ever noticed that God doesn’t always do things on our timetable or in ways that are convenient for us? Paul told Timothy that as a servant of God and a minister of the Gospel, he needed to fulfill his duties whether it was convenient for him or not.

I doubt Timothy was nearly as addicted to convenience as we are today. But if he needed to hear that, then I’m sure we need to hear it frequently.

It’s so easy to put a “Do Not Disturb” sign over our hearts for fear that God’s call will inconvenience us, but we miss out on so many great opportunities when we do this. We need to remember that whatever God asks us to do, it’s always worth any inconvenience or difficulty we face in the process. And He will always make a way for us to accomplish His will when we are obedient to Him.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org