All people are God’s people—including the small people who sit at our tables. Wise are the parents who regularly give their children back to God.
Parents, we can do this. We can take our parenting fears to Christ. In fact, if we don’t, we’ll take our fears out on our kids! A family with no breathing room suffocates a child. Fear can also create permissive parents who are high on hugs and low on discipline.
How can we avoid the two extremes? We pray. Jesus makes no comments about spanking, sibling rivalry, or schooling. Yet his actions speak volumes about prayer. Each time a parent prays, Christ responds. His message to moms and dads? Bring your children to me. Raise them in a greenhouse of prayer.
Read more Fearless
For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Tammie Jo Shults is now famous as the pilot who landed Flight 1380 after an engine exploded in the air. She guided the plane down after a twenty-thousand-foot drop in six minutes, then walked down the aisle hugging passengers. Passengers described her as having “nerves of steel” and being a “true American hero.”
Shults has led the children’s worship program at First Baptist Church of Boerne, Texas. She has also taught Sunday school for children, middle schoolers, high schoolers, and adults. According to Staci Thompson, a longtime friend and church staff member, the congregation was “impressed” but not “shocked” at Shults’s heroics.
Her courage under fire comes from her training: three decades ago, Shults became one of the first female fighter pilots in the US military. But even more, it comes from her Lord. Thompson says her friend “wants people to know that God was there with her” on Flight 1380 and “that he helped her in getting control of that plane and landing that plane.”
“It was because of him, not her,” Thompson said. “She was just a teammate and a co-captain. He was the captain.” God’s grace was the source of her strength.
Why are stories of grace so appealing to us?
Signals of grace
GQ magazine has placed the Bible on its list of “21 Books You Don’t Have to Read.” The more our culture rejects biblical truth, the more it needs biblical truth.
The Colson Center’s John Stonestreet has an article I encourage you to read. It’s on AB 2943, a bill passed by the California Assembly that adds “conversion therapy” to its list of “deceptive business practices” prohibited by state law.
Under the bill, a bookstore could sell Hitler’s Mein Kampf but not a book suggesting that same-gender sexual orientation could or should be altered. David French of the National Review correctly calls this legislation “extraordinarily radical.”
The more bad news we see, the more good news we want to see. But I think there’s something more to the popularity of stories of grace.
Sociologist Peter Berger identified “signals of transcendence” that point us from the temporal to the eternal. Perhaps stories of grace in a world of grief and guilt are such “signals.” They remind us that what matters most in life is that which we cannot earn but only receive.
What do you value most today? I would list my family, friends, and the privilege of this ministry. None were earned—all have been given to me.
All are by grace.
The folly of self-sanctification
In John 10, Jesus described himself as “the door of the sheep” (v. 7), demonstrating that he is the only way to eternal life. But he is also the only way to abundant life: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (v. 10).
“Abundant” translates perisson, a word which can be rendered “extraordinary, above all human means.” The abundant life of Christ is available only from Christ. Nothing we do, no matter how well-intentioned, can do what only God can do.
But we try.
Americans embrace the pioneer spirit, the cultural DNA that rewards hard work, initiative, and self-reliance. Add our fallen desire to be our own god (Genesis 3:5) and our desire to impress others with what we do and have, and you have a recipe for self-sanctification.
But we can no more sanctify ourselves than we can save ourselves. Salvation comes in three tenses: we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. All three depend on the grace of God.
Three reasons to spend time with God
If we cannot sanctify ourselves, why does the Bible call us to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, solitude, meditation, and all the rest?
One: Spiritual disciplines position us to receive what grace intends to give. Just as you had to open this email or web page to read its content, so you must pray and read Scripture to hear God’s voice.
Two: Spiritual disciplines reinforce our need for God. We pray, read Scripture, and worship because we need what only God can provide. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
Three: Spiritual disciplines invite other people to join us in following Jesus. Our Lord often prayed in the presence of his disciples as a model for them to follow (cf. Luke 11:1). Our public expressions of faith encourage others to trust in our Father.
Grace in three tenses
You have been saved by grace. You are being saved by grace. You will be saved by grace.
Conversely, you become more like Jesus by spending more time with Jesus. What will you do today to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18)?
John Piper: “Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, and eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity.”
Cloud is everywhere. The self-described journalist who specializes in student-loan debt has been quoted in major news outlets, includingThe Washington Post,The Boston Globe, and CNBC, and is a fixture in the smaller, specialized blogosphere of student debt.
He’s always got the new data, featuring irresistible twists:
One in five students use extra money from their student loans to buy digital currencies.
Nearly 8 percent of students would move to North Korea to free themselves of their debt.
Twenty-seven percent would contract the Zika virus to live debt-free.
Drew Cloud’s story was simple: He founded the website, an “independent, authoritative news outlet” covering all things student loans, “after he had difficulty finding the most recent student loan news and information all in one place.”
He became ubiquitous on that topic. But he’s a fiction, the invention of a student-loan refinancing company.
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After The Chronicle spent more than a week trying to verify Cloud’s existence, the company that owns The Student Loan Report confirmed that Cloud was fake. “Drew Cloud is a pseudonym that a diverse group of authors at Student Loan Report, LLC use to share experiences and information related to the challenges college students face with funding their education,” wrote Nate Matherson, CEO of LendEDU.
Before that admission, however, Cloud had corresponded at length with many journalists, pitching them stories and offering email interviews, many of which were published. When The Chronicle attempted to contact him through the address last week, Cloud said he was traveling and had limited access to his account. He didn’t respond to additional inquiries.
And on Monday, as The Chronicle continued to seek comment, Cloud suddenly evaporated. His once-prominent placement on The Student Loan Report had been removed. His bylines were replaced with “SLR Editor.” Matherson confirmed on Tuesday that Cloud was an invention.
Pressed on whether he regretted deceiving news organizations with a fake source, Matherson said Cloud “was created as a way to connect with our readers (ex. people struggling to repay student debt) and give us the technical ability to post content to the WordPress website.”
Cloud had an elaborate back story. Before being scrubbed from the website, he was described as having “a knack for reporting throughout high school and college where he picked up his topics of choice.” Since graduating from college, the site said, “Drew wanted to funnel his creative energy into an independent, authoritative news outlet covering an exclusive and developing industry.”
Cloud was not the only facade. The website’s affiliation with LendEDU was also not previously disclosed.
In his email, Matherson called The Student Loan Report “very much a side project for our organization.”
He continued: “Our goal, from the beginning, is to create an informative source of news and educational content for consumers. We are not focused on monetizing from Student Loan Report, LLC. As you may have noticed, there are very few advertisements on the website.”
Matherson elaborated: “Our parent company, Shop Tutors, Inc., acquired the online assets of studentloans.net in 2016. The Student Loan Report, LLC is a separate entity. For context, it is very common practice for online media companies to own or acquire additional media assets. Student Loan Report, LLC is a for-profit organization and is paid by some of the companies featured on our website. Student Loan Report, LLC may earn a fee when our readers apply or receive a financial product featured on our website.”
But in 2016, Matherson described the relationship in simpler terms in an email obtained by The Chronicle. In that message, sent to a potential contributor, he wrote, “We have a new project that you might be able to help us with. We are launching a student loan industry news site called Student Loan Report located at studentloans.net.”
A Punch From Mike Tyson
Even without this evidence, close observers would have been able to divine the connection between the two organizations. In 2016, LendEDU and The Student Loan Report posed a series of oddball questions meant to test the lengths to which student borrowers would go to free themselves of debt. About 56 percent of them would take a punch from Mike Tyson, wroteLendEDU.
A few months later, The Student Loan Report issued a report on its own survey asking how far borrowers would go to erase their debt. About 62 percent said they would star in a pornographic film. Forty-three percent said they would hook up with Caitlyn Jenner. The report, issued by Cloud, included a link to a list of student-loan-refinancing companies, LendEDU among them.
Both surveys featured an odd mixture of juvenile and mean-spirited humor. They had another similarity as well: an uncommon typo in the word “meant.” Here’s LendEDU on drug use: “56.14 percent of borrowers would abstain from alcohol and drug use for life, if it mean’t that they would have no more student loan debt.” And The Student Loan Report on a similar topic: “85% of borrowers would give up smoking marijuana for life, if it mean’t that they would have no more student loan debt.”
This is Drew Cloud, according to The Student Loan Report. “He always had a knack for reporting throughout high school and college,” read his website bio, which has been removed.
Cloud may no longer appear on his own site, but his footprint in the wider world remains. He was quoted by a number of media outlets this year in connection with a survey finding by The Student Loan Report that one in five students had used money from their student loans to invest in digital currencies. Experts in the field toldThe Chronicle that the study’s opaque methodology raised concerns.
Cloud has often appeared on financial-advice sites, either as a guest writer or as the subject of an interview. In those cases, he doesn’t mention where he attended college, but he does mention that he, too, had taken out student loans.
When people reached out to Cloud for his expertise on student debt, he often suggested that they refinance their loans.
That’s one of the services offered by LendEDU. Matherson and Matt Lenhard started what would become LendEDU while they were both students at the University of Delaware. The two had originally created a tool that allowed people to book tutors online. But they appeared to spin it into a place from which students can apply for multiple loans.
Today, LendEDU describes itself as “marketplace for private student loans, student loan refinancing, credit cards, and personal loans – among other financial products.”
In a post on the website, Matherson seemed to affirm his commitment to a virtuous way of conducting business.
“We started LendEDU to offer transparency in the student loan market,” he wrote. “Today, we are working to provide transparency to the personal finance industry as a whole.”
Dan Bauman is a reporter who investigates and writes about all things data in higher education. Tweet him at @danbauman77 or email him at dan.bauman@chronicle.com.
Every believer experiences moments of challenge or discomfort. The question is, How do we deal with them? King David discovered that remaining strong and fruitful during trying circumstances begins with praising the Lord. Then, once his focus shifted upward, he was ready to meditate on the glorious splendor of God’s majesty and also on His wonderful works (Psalm 145:5).
Meditation involves Bible reading but goes far beyond skimming a section the way we might with any other book. Instead, we need to pray over the verses, asking God to show us by His Spirit what the passage means, what it says about Him, and how we can apply His words to our life.
What keeps us from meditating upon the Lord and His Word? We live in such a busy culture that it’s often difficult for us to slow down, settle our racing thoughts, and sit quietly with God’s Word before us. As we try to concentrate, our minds are bombarded with thoughts of all we need to do. Being with the Lord may not seem as urgent as our other tasks, but it’s much more important.
Meditating on Scripture increases our thirst for God, enlarges our perspective of Him, teaches us to think biblically, and increases our discernment. The insights we gain from His Word bring encouragement, reminding us of God’s constant presence and strengthening us for whatever lies ahead.
The spiritual benefits of time alone with the Lord are worth whatever sacrifice we have to make. Through meditation, our heart begins to digest the truths we know intellectually so they can impact our everyday life.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
“Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night . . . . Everyone is just waiting”—or so Dr. Seuss, author of many children’s books, says.
So much of life is about waiting, but God is never in a hurry—or so it seems. “God has His hour and delay,” suggests an old, reliable saying. Thus we wait.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
Waiting is hard. We twiddle our thumbs, shuffle our feet, stifle our yawns, heave long sighs, and fret inwardly in frustration. Why must I live with this awkward person, this tedious job, this embarrassing behavior, this health issue that will not go away? Why doesn’t God come through?
God’s answer: “Wait awhile and see what I will do.”
Waiting is one of life’s best teachers for in it we learn the virtue of . . . well, waiting—waiting while God works in us and for us. It’s in waiting that we develop endurance, the ability to trust God’s love and goodness, even when things aren’t going our way (Psalm 70:5).
But waiting is not dreary, teeth-clenched resignation. We can “rejoice and be glad in [Him]” while we wait (v. 4). We wait in hope, knowing that God will deliver us in due time—in this world or in the next. God is never in a hurry, but He’s always on time.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your loving presence. Help us to make the most of our waiting through trust in and service for You.
God is with us in our waiting.
By David H. Roper
INSIGHT
David wrote Psalm 70 (a song of lament or complaint) from a place of waiting. He waited for God to deliver him, to save him from “those who want to take [his] life” and “desire [his] ruin” (vv. 1–2). We don’t know the setting and circumstances of this lament, but we do know that for years David ran from King Saul and his army who wished to kill him (1 Samuel 19:1–2, 11; 20:30–33; 21:10–15; 23:15). David also waited for years to rule Israel, even though the prophet Samuel had anointed him king while David (Jesse’s youngest son) still watched his father’s sheep and Saul still reigned (16:1–13). We see Psalm 70 stated (in slightly different words) in Psalm 40:11–17. Though David waited for deliverance—and endured hardship as he did—he was still able to exclaim wholeheartedly, “The Lord is great!” (40:16; 70:4) and “You are my help and my deliverer” (40:17; 70:5).
When have you cried out to God, longing for Him to rescue you from a difficult situation? How can you praise Him as you wait?
One of Friedrich Nietzsche’s sustained critiques of Christianity was that it promoted weakness as a virtue. He argued in his book On the Genealogy of Morals that Christianity promotes a “slave morality.”(1) Looking at the Beatitude sayings of Jesus as the centerpiece of this morality, Nietzsche railed against this unique vision of life, particularly as it was embodied in Jesus as the “suffering servant.” The moral solution, for Nietzsche, was to argue for the exact opposite; the will to power by the ubermensch, serving no one and dominating all others was the virtue of assertive power.
While one might either recoil at Nietzsche’s criticism or agree with his radical vision of power, the clarity of his insights into the heart of Christianity cannot be dismissed easily. For in Jesus’s very first sermon, he declares that the poor in spirit, the meek, those who have been persecuted, and the peacemakers are blessed.(2) Indeed, Jesus extends an radical call to what Nietzsche would deem weakness: “Do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” If this wasn’t enough, Jesus elsewhere tells his followers that “whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it.”(3)
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name. — John 1:12
“To get” means to obtain by struggle and effort, but “to receive” means to simply take in what is being offered. Our relationship with God was never intended to be complicated and based upon our own works. The more we learn how to receive from God by faith, the simpler and more enjoyable our walk with Him becomes.
You can keep your relationship with God simple by receiving His unconditional love and believing His Word no matter what you think or how you feel. You can receive by faith all that He offers, even though you know full well that you don’t deserve it. And you can choose to lean on, trust in, and rely on Him to meet every need you have instead of worrying and trying to figure things out.
And with His help (grace), you can obey Him and grow in spiritual maturity by knowing His will and receiving His best for your life!
Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of being Your child. Today, by faith, I choose to receive the blessings You have for me—Your love, mercy, forgiveness, strength, wisdom, joy, peace, and every good thing You have in store for my life. Help me to receive from You with simple child-like faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!” And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).
George had come for a week of lay training at Arrowhead Springs. Following one of my messages on revival, in which I explained that most Christians are like the members of the church at Ephesus and Laodicea, as described in Revelation 2 and 3, he came to share with me how, though he was definitely lukewarm and had lost his first love, he frankly had never read those passages, had never heard a sermon such as I had presented and therefore did not realize how wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked he was.
If there were such an instrument as a “faith thermometer,” at what level would your faithfulness register? Hot? Lukewarm? Cold?
Jesus said to the church at Laodicea, “I know you well – you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!” (Revelation 3:15).
Again, I ask you, where does your faithfulness register on that faith thermometer?
The greatest tragedy in the history of nations is happening right here in America. Here we are, a nation founded by Christians, a nation founded upon godly principles, a nation blessed beyond all the nations of history for the purpose of doing God’s will in the world. But most people in this country, including the majority of church members, have without realizing it become materialistic and humanistic, all too often worshiping man and his achievements instead of the only true God.
Granted, the opinion polls show meteoric growth in the number of people in America who claim to be born-again Christians. But where does their faith register on the faith thermometer? America is a modern-day Laodicea. We are where we are today because too many Christians have quenched the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Bible Reading:Revelation 3:14-19
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that America cannot become spiritually renewed without individual revival, I will humble myself, and pray, and seek God’s face, and turn from my wicked ways. By faith I will claim revival in my own heart.
Worry has more questions than answers, more work than energy, and thinks often about giving up. There’s not enough time, luck, credit, wisdom, or intelligence. We’re running out of everything it seems, and so we worry. But worry doesn’t work. You can dedicate a decade of anxious thoughts to the brevity of life, and not extend it by one minute. Worry accomplishes nothing.
God doesn’t condemn legitimate concern for responsibilities but rather the continuous mind-set that dismisses God’s presence. Destructive anxiety subtracts God from the future and tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation. Jesus gives us this challenge: “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously; and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:32-33).
Read more Fearless
For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, announced the birth of their third child yesterday. They followed centuries of tradition by notifying the sovereign first, in this case, Queen Elizabeth. Per tradition, they also did not reveal the gender of their child until he was born.
The royal baby will have a first name, then two or three middle names, typically names that have been used in the family for centuries. The latest royal baby might not be named until tomorrow, but betting companies have made “Arthur” the clear favorite for his first name.
Carl Sandburg was right: “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”
The fragility of life: Four examples
The royal baby’s birth was wonderful news on a hard day.
How did the smartest people ever to exist screw up our country and our society so badly?
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pose with the full Cabinet for an official group photo in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 10, 2009. Seated from left: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. Standing second row, from left: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan E. Rice, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Back row, from left: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph.
We value intelligence and knowledge. With good reason.
Intelligent, thoughtful illumination has an uplifting effect on individuals and a civilization. We’ve seen that many times throughout history. The founding of our American Republic is one such stellar example.
Back in the 1980s, I recall someone lamenting how the most qualified and best candidate to never become president was Adlai Stephenson. Certainly, the Democratic Party has been trying since Stephenson to claim the mantle of “intelligent.” Democrats are always the smart ones – smarter, better policies, and as a result morally superior.
Now, it’s hard not to notice that the pinnacle of the left being smarter than everyone came to us with one Barack Obama, with his incredibly über-intelligent, superior group of advisers and administration.
Nobody was ever smarter. Ever.
Except they really weren’t. For smart people, they actually did some of the dumbest things ever in public life. The tragedy of so many believing they were the smartest people ever may haunt us for years.
There is a huge disconnect between the true concept of wisdom and the smartest people ever.
Culturally, valuing knowledge and intellect has three main sources: the Greek philosophers, the Bible, and the Church. There were others, but these three more than any other sources provided the basis for the respect for knowledge and wisdom in our culture. The concept of highly valuing the realm of the mind became imbedded in the West because of them. Jordan Peterson loves to praise how clean our lives are, how things work so well, and how wonderful we have it. He lets us know in so many ways that all this bounty came from our belief system, one where we cherish achievement of thought.
Wisdom is the subject of Solomon in the Book of Proverbs. Some central quotes:
“Seek wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Find wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”
“Does not wisdom call out?”
“Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”
These, and so many other lines from Proverbs, form the genesis of why we prize intellect, or wisdom. If the search for and the study of wisdom can bring us so much, then indeed it was right for our culture to value it.
What we call the Protestant work ethic came straight from Solomon. Perhaps it should rightfully be called the Jewish work ethic. The important thing to note is that having that value imbedded in our civilization makes things better, makes things nicer, and does great things for us and our culture.
Our culture. It’s why we are prosperous, live longer, live better, and have so much in depth in so many areas of life. C.S. Lewis called the Bible our “instruction manual.” If you follow the manual, the human machine works at its best, tuned finely for maximal effect and output. The wisdom of Solomon was a huge part of the manual.
Enter the deconstructive left.
Leftists authored this divorce from wisdom. They divorced themselves from the “instruction manual” and its source. They began the effort to take away the moral underpinnings from our culture. The great Greek philosophers were no longer to be held in high esteem. Likewise, the great Church figures, and the Founding Fathers, they were simply dead white males who should be made fun of.
The deconstruction has been slow but effective.
The eight years of Barack Obama were the West at its low point. My take: I never thought our culture could turn so wrong so fast. Things happened in our government and culture during those eight years we never deemed possible even ten years ago. Destructive trends, destructive ideas, destructive social movements. All at their peak through the Obama years:
*The destruction of our health care system through the oh, so smart Obamacare.
*The worst economy since WWII, in any measure – jobs, GDP, unemployment, spending, etc.
*The worst race relations since the 1960s. Race-baiting, straight from the top.
*The worst foreign policy ever. Iran. Cuba. ISIS. Help our enemies. Betray our friends. Bolster Islamists; destroy American confidence and its military.
*The most corrupt administration ever. By far. We’re just now seeing how bad.
*A turn in leftist immigration policy – its clear intent to replace the current electorate with a malleable, ignorant new electorate willing to believe the leftist siren songs so the left can have unchallenged power.
*The worst of pay to play. Leftists at the trough of government sucked deep. The Clinton Foundation sucking the deepest. Follow the money if you dare.
*The moral preening of Hollywood and the media. All the while, they lived and played in the cesspool of Weinstein and Matt Lauer. #MeToo was caused by them and still is.
The list is longer and should be a book by itself. The list of failures could get to over a hundred easily. And yes, it was that bad. Like frogs in the simmering pot, we were being cooked. “Transformed.” Also known as destroyed.
So how does all this horrible stuff happen under a group of people who were considered by our elites, our media, and themselves the smartest people ever? How did our media get away with calling so many major failings wonderful? Cow patties strewn around the pasture on stale bread were described as culinary treasures. It was, and is, sickening.
How is it possible to morph from JFK to Barack Obama in one generation? From revering wisdom to wearing a dunce cap in fifty years? That is surely what so many did.
The Book of Proverbs gives an answer. It gave us the overwhelmingly beautiful description of wisdom, but it also gave us this clear warning: “be not wise in your own eyes.”
On the surface, that doesn’t seem like much. But it’s really the key to understanding what has happened to the left.
They became arrogant. Filled with hubris. A group of narcissists who believe their own P.R. They really were the smartest people ever. Obama himself, and those surrounding him, really believed it. It’s a Greek tragedy written for today – a group of narcissists in charge of the levers of power, doing terrible things in the name of good.
Most of them thought there was no reason to heed the “instruction manual.”
They replaced centuries of wisdom with their own image and called it good.
They replaced generations of wonderful ideas with degenerate, unworkable, truly horrific notions that had never worked anywhere else they were tried. These ideas had failed miserably so many times. Except they were now so smart and morally superior that they would surely make them work. The pinnacle of smart.
And it showed for eight years. And it was covered up for eight years. And it was reported as wonderful for eight years. Stupidity linked with hubris was mistaken for wisdom by so many of our elites. And that’s all it was. True wisdom and its rewards are described beautifully by Solomon. It needs be sought, to avoid these horrors.
Wisdom should be exalted – just not the fake kind as espoused by the left.
Satan wants both Christians and non-Christians to be confused about salvation, but for different reasons.
When it comes to unbelievers, the devil’s purpose is to have them think they’re saved by doing good works—in other words, by being a “good” person. His motive is to keep the lost man or woman lost. This is an all-too-effective strategy, even among many who attend church regularly. Assuming their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds, they consider themselves heaven-bound when in reality, they’re actually on the road to horrifying, irreversible disappointment (Matt. 7:21-23).
Satan has a different purpose for creating confusion among God’s followers. Though Jesus taught that salvation can never be lost (John 10:28-29), the enemy sows seeds of doubt in an effort to keep believers off-balance—wondering what the Lord will do next, fearing His judgment, and working ever more feverishly to earn His acceptance. More than a few Christians have burned themselves out in this misguided attempt to please the Lord. On top of that, they have allowed Satan to enslave them with fear and short-circuit their effectiveness for God’s kingdom.
The solution is to know the Bible and trust what it teaches. Scripture is clear that we’re saved by faith, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9)—and that salvation is permanent (Rom. 8:38-39). God wants His children reassured about these truths, confident, and spiritually productive. His desire is that our relationship with Him will be so exciting and joyful that we reflect Jesus to those around us.
Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18 | Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 16–18; Luke 17:20–37
The Lord of peace himself give you peace. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Grace is a very special lady. One word comes to mind when I think of her: peace. The quiet and restful expression on her face has seldom changed in the six months I have known her, even though her husband was diagnosed with a rare disease and then hospitalized.
When I asked Grace the secret of her peace, she said, “It’s not a secret, it’s a person. It’s Jesus in me. There is no other way I can explain the quietness I feel in the midst of this storm.”
To trust in Jesus is peace.
The secret of peace is our relationship to Jesus Christ. He is our peace. When Jesus is our Savior and Lord, and as we become more like Him, peace becomes real. Things like sickness, financial difficulties, or danger may be present, but peace reassures us that God holds our lives in His hands (Daniel 5:23), and we can trust that things will work together for good.
Have we experienced this peace that goes beyond logic and understanding? Do we have the inner confidence that God is in control? My wish for all of us today echoes the words of the apostle Paul: “May the Lord of peace himself give you peace.” And may we feel this peace “at all times and in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
Dear Lord, please give us Your peace at all times and in every situation.
To trust in Jesus is peace.
By Keila Ochoa
INSIGHT
Paul, Silas, and Timothy were the first to share the gospel in Thessalonica. The response to the gospel of free grace in Christ was remarkably positive (Acts 17:1–4), but—as is often the case—the positive response to the gospel was accompanied by opposition and persecution (Acts 17:5–6; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:2). Thus Paul was forced to leave the city of Thessalonica sooner than he had hoped (Acts 17:9–10). His concern for the new congregation there motivated him to write two inspired letters to that young church. As he completed his second letter, Paul stressed the peace that only Jesus Christ can offer (2 Thessalonians 3:16). The apostle was no stranger to trials, yet his confidence that everything would work out in God’s sovereignty gave him a deep, abiding peace that he wanted other believers to experience. The Prince of Peace is the source of the believer’s spiritual rest.
For further study on experiencing peace in the midst of trials see Navigating the Storms of Life at discoveryseries.org/hp061.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain today, Sir?”
Ironically, the question, a hospital’s attempt to understand and manage the pain of cancer patients, only seemed to cause my father more pain. He hated the daily inquiry that seized him almost as consistently as the sting of the growing tumor. It aggravated him deeply, more than I could say I understood. It was a philosophical quagmire for him that somehow mocked pain and amplified the problem of suffering. If he answered “10” in the midst of a painful morning, only to discover a greater quantity of pain in the afternoon, the scale was meaningless. The numbers were never constant, and what is a scale if its points of measurement cannot stand in relation to one another? If he answered “10” on any given day would that somehow control the ceiling of his own pain? He knew it would not, and that uncertainty seemed almost literally to add painful insult to an already fatal injury.
Considerations of pain and suffering are among the most cited explanations for disbelief in God, both for professionally trained philosophers and for the general public. If a good, powerful, and present deity exists, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? Even for those who argue that the existence of God and the presence of evil can be reconciled, the vast amount of suffering in the world certainly compounds the dilemma. We can sympathize with Ivan Karamazov in his depiction of the earth as one soaked through with human tears. Imagine not merely one person measuring their pain on a scale of 1 to 10 but innumerable individuals: the temptation is to add all of these scales together as one giant proof against God.
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! — 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMPC
God’s Word teaches us that when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, He gives us a new nature. He gives us His nature. He also gives us a spirit of discipline and self-control, which is vital in allowing us to choose the ways of our new nature. He gives us a sound mind (see 2 Tim. 1:7), and that means we can think about things properly without being controlled by emotion. The way we once were passes away, and we have all the equipment we need for a brand-new way of behaving.
God gives us the ability and offers to help us, but we are not puppets and God will not manipulate us. We must choose spirit over flesh and right over wrong. Our renewed spirits will then control our souls and bodies or, to say it another way, the inner person will control the outer person.
Without God’s help we have difficulty doing things in moderation. We frequently eat too much, spend too much money, have too much entertainment, and talk too much. We are excessive in our actions because we behave emotionally. And after the thing is done and cannot be undone, we regret doing it. But we can choose to form new habits, not doing something just because we feel like it but instead doing what will produce the best result in the end.
We do not have to live in regret. God gives us His Spirit to enable us to make right and wise choices. He urges us, guides and leads us, but we still have to cast the deciding vote. If you have been casting the wrong vote, all you need to do is change your vote. Forming new habits will require making a decision to not do what you feel like doing unless it agrees with God’s will.
Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for constantly changing me and making me more like You. Help me today to obey Your direction and make wise choices. Help me to form healthy habits that will produce good results in the future. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8, KJV).
Some years ago, while speaking at the University of Houston, I was told about a brilliant philosophy major. He was much older than most of the other students, having spent many years in the military before he returned to do graduate work.
He was so gifted, so brilliant, so knowledgeable that even the professors were impressed by his ability to comprehend quickly and to debate rationally. He was an atheist, and he had a way of embarrassing the Christians who tried to witness to him.
During one of my visits to the university, I was asked to talk with him about Christ. We sat in a booth in the student center, contrasting his philosophy of life with the Word of God. It was an unusual dialogue. He successfully monopolized the conversation with his philosophy of unbelief in God.
At every opportunity, I would remind him that God loved him and offered a wonderful plan for his life. I showed him various passages of Scripture concerning the person of Jesus Christ (John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1). He seemed to ignore everything I said; there appeared to be no communication between us whatsoever.
A couple of hours passed, and it was getting late. I felt that I was wasting my time and there was no need to continue the discussion. He agreed to call it a day. A friend and staff member who was with me suggested to this student that we would be glad to drop him off at his home on the way to my hotel.
As we got into the car, his first words were, “Everything you said tonight hit me right in the heart. I want to receive Christ. Tell me how I can do it right now.” Even though I had not sensed it during our conversation, the Holy Spirit – who really does care – had been speaking to his heart through the truth of God’s Word which I had shared with him.
Bible Reading:Colossians 2:1-10
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will not depend upon my own wisdom, my personality or even my training to share Christ effectively with others, but I will commit myself to talk about Him wherever I go, depending upon the Holy Spirit to empower me and speak through me to the needs of others.
Jesus loves us too much to leave us in doubt about his grace. His “perfect love expels all fear!” (1 John 4:18 NLT).
If God loved us with an imperfect love, we would have high cause to worry. Imperfect love keeps a list of sins and consults it often. God keeps no list of our wrongs. His love casts out fear because he casts out our sin. Tether your heart to this promise, and tighten the knot. Remember of words of John’s epistle: “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3:20).
When you feel unforgiven, evict the feelings. Emotions don’t get a vote. Go back to Scripture. God’s Word holds rank over self-criticism and self-doubt. Do you know God’s grace? Then you can love boldly and live robustly. Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace!
Read more Fearless
For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
“On April 23, the sun, moon, and Jupiter will align in the constellation Virgo to bring on the start of the biblical Rapture, according to the latest claims.” So the UK’s Daily Mailheadlines, reporting that Planet X, sometimes called Nibiru, will bring about the end of the world.
We’ve been here before. Last September, I discussed a similar prediction that “the world as we know it is ending.” We had a comparable conversation back in 2012, when we survived the purported Mayan prediction that the world would end.
My interest today is not in discussing such speculative theories, but in considering their effect on our culture—and our souls.
We should prepare for eternity today
Let’s begin with a fact: this day could actually be the last day of history.
Jesus was blunt: “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Our Lord could come back to our planet today. Or any of us could go to him. Tomorrow is promised to no one.
We need not fear the fictitious Planet X. But we need to admit the reality that we are one day closer to eternity than ever before. And we have only today to be ready.
No sane person would willingly and knowingly follow someone off a cliff, because this goes against the natural instinct of self-preservation. And if we do choose a path of self-sacrifice, there’s usually a higher good we seek to achieve. It could be some benefit we hope to enjoy in the end, an ideal we think is more important than our own life, or a way to help other people.
When a rich young ruler was challenged to give up what he most valued and follow the Lord, he was devastated because the price was too high. From his perspective, such an action was the equivalent of following Jesus off a cliff. He didn’t have eyes to see what Christ was promising him in exchange—treasure in heaven. He was unwilling to sacrifice his earthly security, comfort, and position in order to receive eternal benefits.
In contrast, the disciples had left everything—families, vocations, financial security, and positions in society—to pursue Christ, because they considered their Messiah more valuable. As they watched the rich young man walk away, Jesus assured them that their sacrifice for righteousness’ sake would not be overlooked. They would one day sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel in Christ’s glorious kingdom.
We serve a truly gracious Savior who not only saves unworthy sinners like us but also promises His followers rewards. Some of these benefits are available now in the form of Christ’s peace and joy filling our hearts, and the sweet fellowship of our faith community. But in eternity, He will give us much more than we have ever sacrificed to Him.
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
When my “chocolate” Labrador retriever puppy was three months old, I took him to the veterinarian’s office for his shots and checkup. As our vet carefully looked him over, she noticed a small white marking in his fur on his left hind paw. She smiled and said to him, “That’s where God held you when He dipped you in chocolate.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. But she had unintentionally made a meaningful point about the deep and personal interest God takes in His creation.
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9
Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:30 that “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” God is so great that He is able to take infinite interest in the most intimate details of our lives. There is nothing so small that it escapes His notice, and there is no concern too trivial to bring before Him. He simply cares that much.
God not only created us; He sustains and keeps us through every moment. It’s sometimes said that “the devil is in the details.” But it’s better by far to understand that God is in them, watching over even the things that escape our notice. How comforting it is to know that our perfectly wise and caring heavenly Father holds us—along with all of creation—in His strong and loving hands.
Loving Lord, I praise You for the wonder of Your creation. Help me to reflect Your compassion by taking care of what You’ve made.
God attends to our every need.
By James Banks
INSIGHT
When Jesus sent out His disciples He assured them God was aware of their circumstances and would be watching over them. Jesus asked us to consider the sparrows, which are of such little value “yet not one of them is forgotten by God” (Luke 12:6). We are greatly comforted that “the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). God is interested in every detail of our lives (Psalm 139:1–4) and knows what we need even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8). We can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, knowing He will help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
How does knowing that God already knows what you need help you as you pray?
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 