Monthly Archives: December 2022

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God’s Good News Is Reliable

Leave a comment

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:10-14)

In France, there is a traditional Christmas dessert known as La Bûche de Noël (“la byOOsh duh noEL” – a Christmas log). Have you ever seen a bûche de Noël? Also known as “a yule log,” the bûche is not really a log at all. It is a chocolate sponge cake with cream filling (or a chocolate ice cream cake) that is made to look like a log ready to be put into a fireplace.

Like many traditions, it is hard to be sure exactly how the tradition of the bûche de Noël began in the first place. But one story goes like this:

Back in the early 1800s, Napoleon I was ruling France. Doctors back then had not learned yet about some things that doctors know now, in the 21st century. Napoleon was told that cold air can cause illness. So he made a law, saying it was for the good of the people, and he made everyone in the city of Paris obey it.

What was this “good” law? Because cold air might come down into their houses through the chimneys, Napoleon declared that nobody could use their fireplaces during winter. Everybody had to seal off their chimneys so no cold air could get in. The problem was that no smoke could get out, either. The people were not able to use their fireplaces to keep their homes warm. This story is a little silly, if it is really true. The people had to endure cold air, anyway, both outside and inside their homes!

Not only did the Parisian homes have to go without heat, but many of the Christmas traditions back then involved family and friends sitting around the fireplace. They would tell stories and play games in front of the fire. To help spread Christmas cheer, the Parisian bakers created a fake substitute for a fireplace – a cake decorated to look like a log for the fireplace. So the families in Paris would buy a bûche de Noël and set it on the table. Instead of spending time around the fire together at Christmas, they spent time around the bûche de Noël (in their freezing cold houses!).

Napoleon was not a perfect ruler. He made mistakes, and there were some things he could not have known. Aren’t you glad that God knows everything and never makes mistakes? When God reveals good news to us, we can always trust that it really is for our good. When God sent a great angel to announce the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the angel told the shepherds exactly where the Baby could be found, and exactly how they would find Him – wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Not only that, but the angel made it very clear that this baby Jesus Christ was born to be the Savior! The Bible records how a whole crowd of angels joined this one, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Now, that is good news! And because it was God Who sent these angelic messengers, and because it was God Who included their message in His Word for us to read today, we can be sure that this good news truly is good news. The angel’s announcement of “good will toward men” was nothing like the “good” law that Napoleon announced to his kingdom (a law which really wasn’t very “good,” after all). God’s news is reliable (trustworthy). God always speaks truth. He never makes mistakes about His own glory and our own good. Unlike a decree from some human king, the word of the God of the universe is trustworthy. The shepherds went and found Jesus exactly as they had been promised. We too can find Jesus Christ to be exactly Who God said He is: the Savior!

We can trust that God’s Word is really true and really for our good.

My Response:
» Have I been doubting God’s Word about something?
» Is there a promise that God has given that I have forgotten and need to remember?
» How can I show that I believe God’s Gospel (good news) about Jesus Christ?

Home Page
Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Why we celebrate Christmas on December 25

Leave a comment

No one knows exactly when Jesus was born because the Bible doesn’t give us a specific date.

And the Bible doesn’t tell us, in large part, because the first generations of Christians just didn’t really care. Celebrating births was seen as more of a pagan tradition and something that, for the first few centuries, the church tried to distance itself from.

The Epiphany, the date that commemorates the coming of the wise men, was actually a much more significant day for much of Christian history, even after people started celebrating Christmas.

For example, the old English carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” actually begins on December 25 and culminates on January 6, with the largest celebrations historically reserved for the latter date.

But if the Bible doesn’t tell us when Jesus was born and it took Christians a few centuries to start celebrating his birth, how did Christmas end up on December 25?

Was Jesus born in the fall?

There are good reasons to believe that Jesus was actually born sometime in late September to early October.

For example, it is thought that Zacharias—the Father of John the Baptist—likely entered the temple to burn incense in mid-June, which would have put John’s conception later that month.

Given that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel came to see Mary (Luke 1:26), that would put Christ’s birth in the fall of the next year. However, because Scripture doesn’t tell us when Zacharias encountered the angel and we are left to rely on tradition for that dating, there is room for disagreement.

The earliest dating of December 25 goes back to the 200s, when a tradition began to circulate that Jesus was conceived on the same day that he was crucified.

Since Tertullian dated the crucifixion to March 25, nine months after that would have meant that Jesus was born on December 25. The idea that Jesus was conceived on the same day that he died is also not found in Scripture, but it became popular enough that most accepted it without giving it too much thought. By the time of Augustine, that belief had become common knowledge, and he incorporated it into his treatise On the Trinity.

However, our celebration of Christmas on December 25 is not due solely—or even primarily—to this theological quirk.

Sharing a birthday with the gods

In addition to the dating from Christian sources, December 25 has been an important day for cultures throughout much of human history.

The winter solstice was often celebrated around that time—which is the origin, in some ways, of our Christmas trees—and, by the first century, two significant Roman feasts occurred on December 25.

The first was the Feast of Saturnalia. Saturn was the Roman sun god, and, since the solstice commemorated the days beginning to get longer, people feasted and shared gifts in his honor.

The second major feast was the birthday of Mithra.

By the third century, Mithraism was quickly becoming one of the most popular mystery cults in the Roman world and was especially significant in the army. Mithra was their sun god, and they actually had several traditions in common with Christians.

For example, they practiced baptism—though by the blood of a bull instead of water—as a way of initiating new members. They believed in the “unconquered one” who served as a mediator between the light and the darkness, while also functioning as a revealer of truth. And they had a fairly well-developed theology of the afterlife, which was not overly common back then.

Both of these celebrations are important for the dating of Christmas because when Constantine—the Roman emperor who legalized Christianity—ascended to the throne and began encouraging people to convert, making a bigger deal out of Christmas was part of his approach. Because Romans already had significant festivals in place worshiping the birth or rebirth of some of their gods on December 25, it was easier to ask them to keep the parties but make them about Jesus than give up a popular celebration altogether.

So, in 336, Constantine formally declared that the celebration of Christ’s birth would occur on December 25. For the most part, it’s stayed that way ever since.

Accommodating the culture for Christ

Does knowing a bit more about the pagan and theologically questionable background to our celebration of Christmas on December 25 change the way you see the holiday?

For some, it might.

The Puritans, for example, essentially banned any large celebrations of Christmas because of those connections, and their hesitance persisted until the mid-to-late 1800s for most Americans.

But Christians have been taking pagan or cultural beliefs and recontextualizing them in ways that point people back to Jesus for much of our history, often to great effect.

Rather than dwelling on the degree to which Constantine’s motivations for setting the date diminish Christmas, let’s focus instead on whether aspects of our culture could be used for a similar purpose.

With Halloween, for example, giving out tracts with candy—and note I said with candy rather than in place of candy—or hosting trunk-or-treats the weekend before at our churches can be a great way to take a fun celebration that has little to do with Jesus and use it as a way to share the gospel.

It’s certainly possible to go too far with such efforts and cross into heresy—which is why allowing God to guide our plans is so important—but we could do far more for the kingdom if we looked for ways to accommodate the culture rather than asking the culture to accommodate us.

Denison Forum

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Bending Low

Leave a comment

Bible in a Year:

The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort . . . comforts us in all our troubles.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

2 Corinthians 1:3–11

A young mom followed behind her daughter, who pedaled her tiny bike as fast as her little legs could go. But picking up more speed than she wanted, the little girl suddenly rolled off the bike and cried that her ankle hurt. Her mom quietly got down on her knees, bent down low, and kissed it to “make the pain go away.” And it worked! The little girl jumped up, climbed back on her bike, and pedaled on. Don’t you wish all our pains could go away that easily!

The apostle Paul experienced the comfort of God in his continual struggles yet kept going. He listed some of those trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23–29: floggings, beatings, stonings, sleep deprivation, hunger, concerns for all the churches. He learned intimately that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (1:3) or as another version translates it: “He is the Father who gives tender love” (nirv). Much like a mom comforting her child, God bends down low to tenderly care for us in our pain.

God’s loving ways of comforting us are many and varied. He may give us a Scripture verse that encourages us to continue on, or He may have someone send a special note or prompt a friend to give us a call that touches our spirit. While the struggle may not go away, because God bends down low to help us, we can get up and pedal on.

By:  Anne Cetas

Reflect & Pray

In what ways has God comforted you? How can you be a comfort to others because of that?

Father of compassion, come near to me and hold me in Your arms where I can find rest and encouragement.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – The Confirmation from God

Leave a comment

“How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will” (Heb. 2:3-4).

God confirmed the truth of the gospel preached through Christ with many miracles.

When Jesus preached the gospel, He performed miracles that made what He said believable. He said, “Though you do not believe Me, believe the works” (John 10:38). Jesus claimed to be from God, then made it obvious He really was from God.

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him” (John 3:2). Jesus confirmed His ministry by His own miracles. Peter reiterated that fact on the day of Pentecost: “Jesus the Nazarene [was] a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs” (Acts 2:22).

God also gave these same confirming signs to His second generation of preachers—the apostles—so no one could dispute the validity of their message. What the apostles said was not their own opinion; it was divine truth substantiated by signs, wonders, and miracles.

Signs, wonders, and miracles are synonyms referring to all the supernatural things the apostles did. But the apostles also confirmed the Word with “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” That’s a reference to the temporary sign gifts described in Scripture, such as tongues and healings, not to the permanent edifying gifts given to the church for all time.

Today God attests to the gospel with the miracle of His written Word. Let it not be said that you neglected Jesus Christ. History confirms that hours of neglect cost Napoleon Waterloo. Neglecting Christ’s salvation will cost you eternal blessing and joy and bring you damnation. Don’t allow yourself to drift past God’s grace.

Suggestion for Prayer

Thank God for His Word, and that through it you have all the truth you need to communicate the gospel.

For Further Study

Read Acts 5-19 and list all the miracles performed by the apostles to confirm the gospel.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Success Starts with Your Thoughts

Leave a comment

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)

Nobody is successful in any venture just by wishing they would be. Successful people make a plan and talk to themselves about that plan constantly. You can think things on purpose, and if you make what you think about match what you actually want to do, your feelings may not like it, but they will go along.

I slept great last night, and when I woke up at 5:00 a.m., I didn’t feel like getting up. It was so cozy under the fluffy cover, and I felt like staying right there. But I had a plan. I had decided how many hours I would write today, and in order to do that I had to get up. I thought, I am going to get up now, and I got up!

Do you make an effort to choose your thoughts, or do you just meditate on whatever falls into your head, even if it is in total disagreement with what you have said you want out of life? When your thoughts are going in a wrong direction, do you capture them and submit them to Christ as the Bible instructs (see 2 Cor. 10:5)?

I want to encourage you today—the good news is you can change. As I have said for years, we are in a war and the mind is the battlefield. We either win or lose our battles based on winning or losing the war in our minds. Learn to think according to the Word of God, and your emotions will start lining up with your thoughts.

If you have had years of experiencing wrong thinking and letting your emotions lead you as I did, making the change may not be easy, and it will definitely require a commitment of study, time, and effort. But the results will be worth it. Don’t say, “I am just an emotional person, and I can’t help the way I feel.” Take control. You can do it!

Prayer of the Day: Father, please help me think thoughts that You approve of and quickly cast down the ones that You don’t approve of. Help me think things that are pleasing to You and that will release Your power into my life.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – A Warning Against Idleness

Leave a comment

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down … A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest…

Proverbs 24:30-31, Proverbs 24:33

Imagine driving down the road and coming to a house that is broken down and overgrown with weeds. First, you assume that no one lives there. But then you see someone through a broken window. You wonder if the owner is sick and unable to care for the property. Then they wander outside and they look full of health. It turns out that they are simply lazy.

That, of course, is the scene described in this proverb: a sluggard lives on the land, and his vineyard is a testimony to his laziness.

Sluggards don’t set out with the desire to live in poverty and disgrace. Rather, when challenged with work, their attitude is marked by key characteristics that many of us may find in our own lives if we are willing to gaze into the mirror of God’s word.

A sluggard doesn’t merely enjoy his bed; he is hinged to it, making a lot of movement but no progress towards anything substantial (Proverbs 26:14). He never flat-out refuses to do anything. Rather, he just puts off tasks bit by bit, moment by moment, and deceives himself into thinking he will get around to them.

A sluggard is also masterful at making excuses. Possessing no mind to work, she always finds reasons to continue in her idleness. There is nothing difficult about taking out the overflowing trash bag, but the sluggard will rationalize her failure to follow through on even the simplest of duties.

Sluggards will, quite ironically, always be hungering for fulfillment, because, by virtue of their posture of heart, they never find it. It’s always “out there somewhere,” but it’s never realized. The souls of sluggards crave and gets nothing, not because they can’t but because they won’t. In their overabundance of rest, they are restless.

When laziness comes to mark our existence, we may convince ourselves that we really are prepared to run ten miles, start writing that paper, or finish that project—but we are only living in the realm of imagination until our reality is changed by God’s power and grace.

Beware of looking at idleness as some sort of minor detail or small problem. Laziness is not an infirmity. It is a sin. Little by little it can affect the whole of our lives, growing with unperceived power—and Satan is longing to lull us into defeat. In what ways are you tempted to be lazy? What are you putting off or making excuses for, and why? Will you confront this sin and ask God to help you deal with it ruthlessly, immediately, and consistently?

GOING DEEPER

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Topics: Laziness Sin

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – Jesus Was Born to Mary as the Holy Son of God

Leave a comment

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35b)

One of the most incredible facts about Christmastime is that it is the celebration a miraculous birth, a birth that never could have happened if it had not been for a divine miracle (a miracle of God). There was no human way possible for Mary, a God-fearing woman (but still a sinner), to have been able to give birth to God Himself in human form. Jesus was 100% man, but He was also 100% God. Not only is it impossible for a normal birth to happen without an earthly father, but even the earthly mother of Jesus was a human being. Jesus’ birth was not going to be “normal,” because even though He was coming in authentic human form, He is also God (the Creator of humans). He always has been and always will be God. For a sinful human being to give birth to God would have to have been a miracle!

We are human beings, and all of our mothers were sinners, too, like Mary was. Some of us have been given God-fearing homes, and some of us have parents who do not even know Who Jesus Christ was. As human beings, we are limited by our sinfulness and by our human limitations. We cannot explain the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, and we cannot even understand it. But we can trust in it as a true fact – however incredible it is – because God’s Word teaches it clearly, and God’s Word is our most reliable Source of truth.

Think about your mother, and think about yourself. She is not perfect, and neither are you. You are probably reminded every day that you are not perfect. What a miracle it was for God to send Himself, in all His divine perfections, down to Earth to seek and to save sinful human beings.

This Christmas season, celebrate the incredible yet trustworthy truth: God accomplished that miracle of the virgin birth. He did it for His own glory and for our best good.

Jesus Christ had a miraculous birth, and God deserves all the glory for it.

My Response:
» Is the doctrine of the miraculous birth of Christ difficult for me to understand?
» Do I believe the Bible is God’s Word to me, even when it teaches difficult truths?
» Am I praising God for all the good and great things He did in sending His Son to be the Savior?

Home Page
Denison Forum

Denison Forum – President Zelensky visits the US on his first trip abroad

Leave a comment

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington, DC, yesterday on his first trip outside his homeland since it was invaded by Russia exactly three hundred days ago.

He met with President Biden in the afternoon and addressed a joint session of Congress last night. Prior to his arrival, President Biden announced that he is sending nearly $2 billion in additional security assistance to Ukraine. Congress is poised to pass more than $44 billion in additional military and economic aid to Ukraine as part of its omnibus funding bill.

I thought President Zelensky’s address to Congress was especially stirring. He spoke movingly of the sacrifices his people are making: “In two days we will celebrate Christmas. Maybe candlelit. Not because it’s more romantic, no, but because there will not be—there will be no electricity.”

To those who question our financial support of Ukraine, he said, “Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.” He also declared, “The struggle will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live in.”

The same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over the launch of a major new Siberian gas field to help drive a planned surge in supply to China. His country is obviously an existential threat to Ukraine and its neighbors, and his nuclear capacities make him a danger to the world. However, Russia is not yet the clear and present danger to the United States that the old Soviet Union represented.

This is good news for our country. But is it bad news for our faith?

Three reasons for the decline of American Christianity

Pew Research Center estimates that Christians could make up a minority of Americans by 2070. According to sociology professor Stephen Bullivant, a practicing Catholic who teaches in London and Sydney, there are three main reasons for this decline in religious commitment and the concomitant rise of the nonreligious: the Cold War, 9/11, and the internet.

The Cold War pitted Christian America against godless communism in the eyes of many Americans. However, in response to 9/11, a “new atheism” rose to prominence: public figures such as Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins claimed that religion produces terrorists and gave intellectual respectability to religious skepticism. Along the way, the internet has provided support for people who are questioning their faith by offering community with fellow doubters.

Bullivant admits that cultural issues such as abortion and gay marriage have played a factor in the current exodus from the church, but he notes that denominations such as the Episcopal Church have adopted progressive theological positions but still lost members in droves.

His analysis aligns with a narrative we have seen in the decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union: the USSR gave the US an external enemy that united our disparate cultural blocs in a common cause. Confronting the existential threat of nuclear annihilation forced our political parties to work together in ways we have not since the USSR fell. Apart from a brief moment of patriotism after 9/11, we have not experienced such unity for decades.

If, in fact, our unity was based on external enemies more than internal cohesion, it’s hard to see what could unify us again apart from a cataclysmic crisis.

How the world changes

Architect, writer, and inventor Buckminster Fuller observed, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

From the printing press to the iPhone, cultural history has proven him right. But Fuller’s thesis was never more powerfully demonstrated than it was twenty centuries ago in a manger in a tiny town south of Jerusalem.

The world into which Jesus was born was as divided and divisive as ours. While the “Pax Romana” prevailed through military force and subjugation to the Empire, the culture of the first century was conflicted and confused in the extreme.

A plethora of religions and worldviews competed with each other, including Greek and Roman mythology, mystery cults, Judaism, and philosophical schools such as neo-Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, and Skepticism. Jewish society was divided into supporters of Rome such as the Sadducees, zealots plotting to overthrow the Empire, legalists like the Pharisees, and those who were caught in the midst of their conflicts.

Into this dark and divided culture came the “light of the world” (John 9:5). His movement transcended the cultural and spiritual divides of his day with a new hope unlike any the world could offer. He promised his followers, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Of course, the key is to “follow” Jesus.

The only path to true peace

St. Ambrose (340–397) was one of the greatest theologians in Christian history and a seminal contributor to the conversion of St. Augustine. Referring to our bodies as God’s temple, he urged us to “maintain this house, sweep out its secret recesses until it becomes immaculate and rises as a spiritual temple for a holy priesthood, firmly secured by Christ, the cornerstone.”

Ambrose also noted: “Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in its greatness and is ennobled.”

Billy Graham made the same point more simply but no less profoundly: “In the same proportion that the world has trusted Christ, it has peace.”

Is your heart at peace today?

If not, why not?

Denison Forum

Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions for 12/21/22

Leave a comment

Scripture for the Day – Hebrews (ESV) 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – In the Workplace

https://www.intouch.org/read/daily-devotions

Our Daily Bread – Treasured Prayer

https://odb.org/US/2022/12/21/treasured-prayer

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Jesus Is Savior and Lord

https://www.gty.org/library/devotionals/strength-for-today

Joyce Meyer – Winning the Battle of the Mind

https://joycemeyer.org/dailydevo

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Submission and Humility

https://www.truthforlife.org/daily?tab=alistair_begg_devotional&date=12/21/2022

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – Jesus Is the Light We Need

Today’s Devotional

(After Many Years of re-posting Daily Devotionals; we are being asked to no longer re-post daily devotionals. In order to conform to Legal and Copyright standards we will only provide the direct links to their sites)

News and Info

Study: Homeschoolers Outperform All Other Students on Standardized Test

Leave a comment

News for You

It’s more than OK to homeschool your kids. To be fair some parents are not the homeschool type but many are and those that can should!

I speak from personal experience; we did homeschooling for several years for the 2 youngest of our 5 children. The details as to why and how are not really relevant, but what is relevant is that if I can “survive” it anybody can.

As the dad, the father; I had to do the one thing that all grown men fear – Go back to school. No matter the shape, reason or position. When I graduated High School and ran out those front doors the last time, I was not going back.  My Wife pretty much felt the same way, yet somehow I think it is easier for her being the Mom.

All of that put aside, when it comes to your kids you’re willing to do anything. Please enjoy the following article and other links provided. If you are considering the option to Homeschool I say take it and enjoy the ride!!

Study: Homeschoolers Outperform All Other Students on Standardized Test

Numerous studies have shown that homeschooled students continue to academically outperform their private, charter, and public school counterparts.

Now, a new study about homeschoolers taking the Classic Learning Test, a standardized college entrance exam, reveals they are scoring higher than their peers in other educational settings. 

The tests, according to the CLT website, emphasize intellectual aptitude and achievement and are grounded in the liberal arts tradition.

The exam utilizes reading passages from classic texts written by individuals “whose writings have had a lasting influence on culture and society” rather than the informational passages and more contemporary writings often used in the SAT and ACT, according to The Daily Wire.

The outlet reports a new analysis of the CLT results by Houston Christian University professor Lisa Treleaven found that homeschool students who took the exam earned mean scores of roughly 78 points, surpassing private school students, who earned mean scores of 75, and charter school students, who earned mean scores of 73. Public school students earned mean scores of 66, marking the lowest among the cohorts considered by the study.

Treleaven wrote, “This is consistent with prior research findings of superior academic performance of homeschool students as compared to other school types.”

The professor’s 15-page study was based on the exam results of 12,000 students who took the CLT from 2016 – 2021. 

Classic Learning Test CEO Jeremy Tate who created the CLT seven years ago, suggested to The Daily Wire that the freestyle structure of homeschooling may give an advantage over students enrolled in other schools. 

“Homeschooled students simply have more time for leisure reading,” he told the outlet. “We forget that the word school derives from Greek scholē, originally meaning leisure. The connection between leisure and learning is profound. Factory model schooling is antithetical to leisure, but is common for homeschooled students who are given the time and space to immerse themselves in great literature.”

In essence, homeschooling lets the children improve as per their nature and schedule. according to Admissionsly.com. 

Treleaven’s analysis shows that homeschooled students significantly outdid their peers on the verbal and writing portions of the CLT.  But were about equal with private and charter school students’ test scores on the quantitative portion of the test. 

The professor also called for more research on homeschool academic achievement. 

According to the National Home Education Research Institute, (NHERI) homeschooled children typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. 

Seventy-eight percent of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in institutional schools, the NHERI stated in research facts posted on its website. 

Among the other facts presented by the institute:

  • Homeschooling is increasing among minority communities  
  • Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parent’s level of formal education or their family’s household income
  • 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools
  • Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges

More Parents Are Opting to Homeschool Their Children

As CBN News reported in June, in the wake of recent school violence and the “woke” movement, families across the nation are looking at the benefits of homeschooling their children like never before.

Actor and family advocate Kirk Cameron examined the rise in homeschooling’s popularity in his documentary released last summer titled The Homeschool Awakening. 

The film features 17 different families from all kinds of backgrounds. Some of the children are opening businesses. Others are traveling the country with their parents and siblings, and other children are doing things like getting their pilot’s license at age 17.

“Kids are learning outside with the entire world as their classroom together with their siblings and with their parents and with their grandparents,” Cameron said. 

The actor interviewed several parents for the film who once viewed homeschooling as weird. “I always viewed homeschooling as somewhat of a cult,” one parent said. Others said they once thought of homeschoolers as “weird” or “abnormal.”

And like those parents, Cameron admits he also once had a “healthy fear” of homeschooling.

“I thought homeschooling was like, you had to be a Quaker or you had to be Amish. I was saying, I mean, does my wife need to wear a floor length, denim jumper, have a head covering and you know, where do we get the uniform?” he joked.

“And then I realized that I was just out of touch with this incredible robust community of people. There are experts and educational professionals creating curriculums that actually incorporate faith and what I’m learning is that parents are not stuck in a system that they’re not happy with,” Cameron said. 

The Lifemark star noted parents are waking up and holding their public schools more accountable.

“And if you look at the public education system, removing prayer from schools, removing God and the Bible from school and replacing those things with progressive ideas, like the Critical Race Theory, Gender Theory, and teaching children to decide whether or not they prefer to be a boy or a girl, to choose their own pronouns, and separating parents from their children’s understanding of sexuality and when, and how they’re exposed to explicit material, these are the kinds of things that parents are saying ‘we’re not down for this anymore,'” Cameron said.

He added perhaps the best part of homeschooling is God gets to stay in the classroom.

“We want our children to understand who they are, who God is, their place in the world, why they’re here,” Cameron said.

As CBN News reported in December of 2021, a boom happened in homeschooling in America as the number of children taught by their parents doubled after the COVID-19 lockdowns began. 

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the pandemic sparked new interest in homeschooling. By the end of 2020, more than 9 million Americans said they had attended homeschool at some point in their lives, according to Admissionly.com. 

By Steve Warren

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News.

Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion.

A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory.  It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Tulsa.

Related

‘Homeschool Awakening’: Families Across the Nation Opt Out of Public Schools Like Never Before

More Than a Fad: Why a Growing Number of Parents Are Opting to Homeschool Their Kids 

Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions for 12/20/22

Leave a comment

Scripture for the Day – 2 Thessalonians (ESV) 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Jesus Christ Is Lord

https://www.intouch.org/read/daily-devotions

Our Daily Bread – Standing Firm by Faith

https://odb.org/US/2022/12/19/standing-firm-by-faith

Grace to You; John MacArthur – The Authority of Christ’s Name

https://www.gty.org/library/devotionals/strength-for-today

Joyce Meyer – Develop Self-Control

https://joycemeyer.org/dailydevo

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Confession and Relief

https://www.truthforlife.org/daily?tab=alistair_begg_devotional&date=12/20/2022

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Sent the Knowledge of Salvation

Today’s Devotional

(After Many Years of re-posting Daily Devotionals; we are being asked to no longer re-post daily devotionals. In order to conform to Legal and Copyright standards we will only provide the direct links to their sites)

News and Info

News for You

Leave a comment

Do you know where Kazakhstan is at on a map? Or could you name one country it is next to? Click on Google Map Link

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kazakhstan/@38.0130128,29.8720557,2.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x38a91007ecfca947:0x5f7b842fe4b30e1b!8m2!3d48.019573!4d66.923684?hl=en

Quick facts – Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. Its largest metropolis, Almaty, is a long-standing trading hub whose landmarks include Ascension Cathedral, a tsarist-era Russian Orthodox church, and the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, displaying thousands of Kazakh artifacts.

The Best news is that the amount of Christians is growing there as is explained in the following article published by Christian Today News (Links Below)

The Gospel in the heart of Central Asia

By Johannes Reimer-13 December 2022

Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia in terms of its territory and it ranks 9th largest by landmass in the world. It is considered a Muslim majority country. The population of 20 million people is very multicultural, tolerant, multi-religious and open. Politically neutral Kazakhstan is proud that the almost 100 different ethnicities coexist peacefully. Among them, Kazakhs represent approximately 75 per cent of the total population. In addition, Slavic peoples, such as Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians and Poles comprise 20 per cent.

While a previously large German minority has almost entirely moved to Germany, the Chinese diaspora is growing by the day. There are also large communities of Koreans.

Kazakhstan is strategically and geopolitically very well positioned between China, Europe and the Middle East, with a growing and vibrant evangelical church to influence this part of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today almost 30 per cent of the population in Kazakhstan is Christian. While the majority of them are still from a non-Kazakh background, the number of Kazakhs who confess to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord is growing.

In the past, the Kazakhs were to a large extent Christian and carried the Gospel as far as China and Mongolia. Only slowly, Islam spread through the majority of the population. Later, in Soviet times atheism became the dominant ideology of the country.

The new start of evangelical Christianity among the Kazakh tribes goes back to the 1990s. Indeed, there were no indigenous Kazakh-speaking churches at that time and only a very few Kazakhs who came to faith in the Russian speaking churches.

The first Kazakh-speaking church was started in 1992. As the very first Kazakh-speaking church pastor, Malik started the Rakhim (Mercy) church in Alma-Aty with a small group of Kazakh believers. And then the evangelical Christian Baptists began to work with the Kazakh population, and the Kutkaruly Zholy church (translated as the Way of Salvation) was started.

After that missionaries began to come from Europe, North America and South Korea and from other countries. From 1993 to 1998, many Kazakh congregations were planted with the help of foreign missionaries. Those years are considered the most fruitful years for Kazakhstan, and revival and church growth soared.

Development, growth and alliances

The number of evangelical registered churches in Kazakhstan today stands at approximately 400, including all Russian-speaking and Kazakh-speaking churches. The vast majority of them belong to the Evangelical Alliance of Kazakhstan (EAK). You will find ethnic Kazakhs in almost all of the evangelical churches today, about 100 of which are registered Kazakh churches.

Most of those churches are located in the south and south-eastern part of Kazakhstan. There are difficulties in organizing Kazakh-speaking churches in the north, east and western parts of the country since the majority of Kazakhs living in the north and east are Russian-speaking, while the West is remote and more resistant to the Gospel.

Not all Kazakh-speaking churches are registered yet due to their size or political circumstances. There are about 150 Kazakh-speaking evangelical churches in Kazakhstan today, including registered churches and unregistered house churches. Kazakh churches are typically not very numerous, with usually about 50 church members on average. But there are also a few large ones, numbering approximately 600-800 members.

Kazakh believers have formed their own association called Kurultay – ‘convention’ in English. The main goal of the Kurultay is to foster and bring unity to all of the Kazakh evangelical churches and remove denominational barriers, thus serving as one Body of Jesus Christ and expanding the Kingdom of God in all the regions of Kazakhstan.

The Kurultay was started in 1999 with the help of the Kazakh partnership, a Kazakhstan-based association of foreign missionaries. In the beginning only the pastors of Almaty gathered for the monthly prayer meetings. And in 2000, the first conference of Kurultay was organized in Almaty. From the very beginning, Kurultay was closely connected with the Evangelical Alliance of Kazakhstan, building a nucleus of unity among Christians of the country.

Today the Kurultay includes churches from almost all evangelical or Protestant denominations represented in the country. That includes Pentecostals, Evangelical Christian Baptists, Independent Baptists, Charismatics, Presbyterians, Methodists, and other independent Protestant churches.

The Kurultay of Kazakh pastors is one of the most important annual meetings in Kazakhstan. Here they come together to fellowship with each other and discuss the most important current issues among the Kazakh-speaking population. And they share with each other the problems that hinder the growth of God’s Kingdom in the country. The steering committee of the Kurultay consists of 12 pastors from various parts of Kazakhstan. The current president is Yerkinbeck Serikbaev.

He wrote to me: “All participants openly share in a friendly atmosphere about pressing problems, pray together and look for ways to cooperate. We try to involve as many pastors from different churches and denominations as possible. Of course, there are pastors who would like to be part of the Kurultay but there are some denomination leaders that do not allow pastors from their denomination to join.

“We believe that now is the time to pray together and unite like never before. One of the main challenges in our country is to reach Muslim Kazakhs and other minority Muslim people groups. Even though we come from different church backgrounds and have differences in the ways and approaches to evangelize the Muslims, we get together to discuss and find better ways to do that.

“We annually convene pastors and leaders from all regions of Kazakhstan. This is a platform for all pastors to get to know each other, pray together to share their experience, expertise and make plans and strategies for the future.”

Working together for the kingdom

The list of missionary activity motivated by the Kurultay is long. Kurultay holds outreaches during the biggest national holiday called Navruz (the Central Asian new year celebrated in the spring), with the goal of sharing the Gospel. Unsaved friends, relatives and acquaintances are invited and the name of the Lord is proclaimed.

Special conferences and training seminars for leaders, youth and women as well as summer camps for children and teenagers are organized by the Kurultay. But the most exciting ministry is their mission outreach.

Serikbaev states: “We believe that God has positioned us strategically and given us, the Christians of Kazakhstan, a missionary calling to take the good news to Muslim peoples living near and far. Kurultay organizes short-term missionary trips and sends long-term missionaries.

“This happens not only within Kazakhstan, but also outside of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstani pastors and missionaries go to other countries of the Turkic world because of our cultural affinity and religious background to plant churches.”

For example, a group of pastors and other brothers and sisters, went to the Bayan-Ulgi region in western Mongolia, where mainly Kazakh people reside.

“On the last missionary trip there was a group of 30 of us travelling on a bus there,” reports Serkinbaev. “We conducted a three-day seminar for believers. And, also shared the Gospel with the locals. And both Mongolian Christians as well as listeners to our evangelistic preaching, expressed their deep gratitude. Hearing the Gospel proclaimed in their mother tongue is special to them and the acceptance of the truth was overwhelming.”

Today Kurultay is in the process of registering with the Kazakhstan government. The leadership has already submitted all the documents for registration to the state authorities and hopes to get the official registration by the end of 2022.

Basic needs – a conference centre in the city of Almaty

With a growing and aspiring evangelical population Kurultay needs a center to grow and organize more ministries and serve the wider body of Christ in Kazakhstan and in the surrounding countries. The centre will be tailor-made for all kinds of ministries in the churches at home and beyond. The leaders of Kurultay envision a mission training centre for training Kazakhs in their own language to send missionaries, ministers and workers to countries and places in Kazakhstan, the wider Turkic world and beyond.

Kurultay plans to organize outreach trips to different regions three to four times a year inside of Kazakhstan, especially to regions where help is urgently needed, such as the northern, western and eastern regions where there are fewer churches and Christians. And they plan to organize missionary trips to Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and other countries where the churches are rare and missionaries are welcomed. The potential missionaries will need training and the proposed centre will serve them well.

But the centre could host many other ministries. Kurultay hopes to establish a studio for audio-video recording, internet media ministries, a printing press, television and radio broadcasting studio, prayer centre, dormitories and a hall for holding mass events.

They are also praying to organize a Christian school through Kurultay. For this they already have concrete plans and partners that can help. This will give the children of Kazakh believers a higher Christian education and help prepare a new generation of followers of Jesus.

In a letter to the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) the leadership of Kurultay urgently pleaded for the support and assistance of the global church.

“Brothers and sisters in Christ, we hope for your support and prayers. We believe that we will overcome all our difficulties and needs together,” said the president of Kurultay.

“We have two options. The first is to purchase a building with a conference hall and bedrooms etc., which we could use for various meetings and seminars. That type of a building approximate costs in the city of Almaty 2 to 3 million US dollars. There is a second option, to buy a plot of land and build a Turkic center ourselves. And it costs approximately 2.5 million to 3 million US dollars. For this, we have plans and projects for construction. This will be the centre for Turkic-speaking churches of our country and wider Central Asia. At this point we have raised 100,000 US dollars. Of course, this amount is not enough to buy a suitable place or to buy property and build. Thank you very much! May the Lord bless you and your churches, ministries!”

As the evangelical family in the world we rejoice with the Kazakh believers and thank God for the amazing growth of their churches in Kazakhstan. And we should respond to their plea for support in prayer and giving. There has never been a better time for this.

Original article Link

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.gospel.in.the.heart.of.central.asia/139577.htm

Charles Stanley

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – The Gift of Teaching

Leave a comment

Teachers, who faithfully study and share truth with others, are God’s provision for the church.

Titus 1:5-11

God has given believers spiritual gifts for the common good of the body of Christ. And teaching is an essential gift for church leaders, who must be able to exhort and correct while holding firmly to the Word of God (Ephesians 4:11-13). But this God-given ability isn’t limited to church authorities. Other members in a fellowship are also endowed with this competency and are responsible to use it faithfully. 

The gift of teaching isn’t characterized merely by the ability to speak eloquently, for there are many empty talkers who sound good but are spreading deception. True teachers combine good communication skills with diligent study of the Bible. In fact, they delight in deepening their understanding of God’s Word and long to share what they’ve learned. Such Christians are organized and analytical in their thinking, as well as thorough and accurate in their explanations of Scripture.

Have you been blessed with this ability? If so, God’s intention is that you use it faithfully and carefully for the benefit of your church. And keep in mind both the privilege and responsibility inherent in the gift of teaching—that “whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God” (1 Peter 4:11).

Bible in One Year: Galatians 1-3

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Daily Dependence

Leave a comment

Bible in a Year:

Give us today our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Matthew 6:6–13

One morning our younger kids decided to get up early and fix breakfast for themselves. Tired from a grueling week, my wife and I were trying to sleep until at least 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash! I jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to find a shattered bowl, oatmeal all over the floor, and Jonas—our five-year-old—desperately trying to sweep (more like smear) the gooey mess off the floor. My children were hungry, but they chose not to ask for help. Instead of reaching out in dependence, they chose independence, and the result was definitely not a culinary delight.

In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Prayer is where we practice such dependent ways. When Jesus taught His disciples—and all of us who have come to believe in Him—to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Bread is a metaphor for sustenance, deliverance, and guidance (vv. 11–13). We’re dependent on God for all that and more.

There are no self-made believers in Jesus, and we’ll never graduate from His grace. Throughout our lives, may we always begin our day by taking the posture of dependence as we pray to “our Father in heaven” (v. 9).

By:  Glenn Packiam

Reflect & Pray

What’s the “bread” you’re praying for today? How do you reveal your trust in God as you call out to Him?

Dear Jesus, You’re my Creator and my Sustainer. Please help me to trust in You.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – God’s Final Revelation

Leave a comment

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation.

A Samaritan woman declared, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: “God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.

The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God’s final word: “As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That’s why John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ “all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.

Suggestion for Prayer

Ask God to teach you how to rely more fully on your resources in Christ.

For Further Study

Read John 1:1-18 as a reminder of the fullness of God’s revelation in His Son.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – I Want a Mind Change

Leave a comment

And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].

— Ephesians 2:1-2 (AMPC)

I find a great deal of comfort in thinking about who I used to be and who I have become. It helps me not to be discouraged when I make mistakes or find that I still struggle over some issues. I’m greatly encouraged when I consider where I started and where I am now.

In Ephesians 2, Paul described those outside of Christ. He wrote that unbelievers follow the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, and they follow the way their master leads. In verse 1, he pointed out that all were once dead through their sins, but believers are now alive in Jesus Christ. He tells us we’re not governed or led by our lower nature—the impulses of the flesh.

Many Christians have trouble in this area because they haven’t learned to control their thoughts. A lady once told me, “It simply didn’t occur to me that I needed to direct my mind and keep it healthy and positive. If ministers preached or taught about the control of our thoughts, I never heard it. One day, however, I read an article about the power of thoughts, and God convicted me. That’s when I knew I needed to change my thinking.”

This lady said she drove down the street of a busy city and she spotted a sign, a cartoon of a car with big eyes for the front lights and tears flowing, and the words, “Please help me! I need an oil change.”

As she passed by, she thought, I need a mind change. I don’t like being the way I am, letting my mind go wherever it wants. Part of my responsibility as a child of God is to keep my thoughts healthy and strong.

“I want to make it clear that I went to church,” she said, “and I had been active for years. I knew a lot of Scripture, and I even did some volunteer work at the church. But I didn’t control my thoughts. Even when I sang in church, my mind jumped from subject to subject. We’d be singing about joy and grace, and I’d think about the dishes still in the sink, the unfinished laundry, or what I wanted to eat for lunch.

“I attended church, and I was faithful, but I was not faithful in attending to the Word. I listened when the preachers quoted Scripture. I usually followed along with my own Bible, but I didn’t really think about what I was hearing or what my eyes were reading. I was doing the right things outwardly, but I wasn’t thinking the right things. My mind was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

“I need a mind change,” she suddenly said aloud to herself. Just then, she actually pondered the words she had spoken. She was like the car on the sign—she needed a change—a mind change. She needed to let the Holy Spirit direct her thoughts instead of the devil. As she prayed, she felt confident there would be a positive change.

She thought to herself, Is there anything I am supposed to do? She realized that if she didn’t make lifestyle changes, the devil would soon make the new thinking as muddy and gunky as the old thinking was.

For the next several days, she looked up all the scriptures she could find that used the word study or meditate. She also looked up scriptures that talked about the mind or thoughts. She read those verses, wrote them on slips of paper, and pondered them.

Here are three of them:

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude] Ephesians 4:23 AMPC).

My hands also will I lift up [in fervent supplication]to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalm 119:48 AMPC).

The more she meditated on the right things, the less trouble she had with Satan trying to control her thoughts. That’s how it works with all of us: The more we focus on God, the less often the devil can defeat us.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father God, for giving me a mind change. Help me always to be free to serve You with my heart, my soul, and my mind. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – He Humbled Himself

Leave a comment

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth … from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1:14, John 1:16

The actor Steve McQueen led an amazing, albeit sometimes sordid, life. He died in 1980, but before illness claimed him, a faithful pastor shared the gospel with him, and he bowed down and trusted in Christ. After his conversion, he had a faithful routine of Bible study and Sunday worship that went unnoticed by the public. He remained in awe of the truth that though his life was messy with divorces, addictions, and poor moral choices, God would show him such love.

McQueen grew to understand that God had made him nothing so that in the discovery of his nothingness, he might then become something. God does the same with us as well.

In this, we are called to follow the pattern of Jesus Himself. From the day of His birth, Christ set aside His previously uninterrupted glory in order to come to this fallen, helpless world on our behalf. He came not on a chariot but to a manger; He came not with a scepter but to a stable. Jesus was as much an earthly servant as He is the heavenly sovereign.

To say that He made Himself nothing, however, doesn’t mean that He transitioned from being God to being man, and then back to being God again. When we read that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” we should reflect on the awe-inspiring paradox that our marvelous Savior poured Himself into His humanity without giving up His deity. He is fully God and fully man!

Our finite human minds sometimes focus on Christ’s deity so much that we don’t remember that He was no less human than you or me; and at other times we can become so preoccupied with His humanity that we lose sight of His divinity. The Scriptures hold Christ’s two natures in perfect tension: although He was found in human form (Philippians 2:8), He was not merely who He appeared to be.

There is more to Jesus than meets the eye. He may have looked just like any other man, but no other man can stand in a boat during a storm and calm the sea. Only God can heal the lame or restore sight to the blind. This man alone deserves the worship of angels and the praise of all creation. Yet Jesus didn’t approach the incarnation asking, What’s in it for Me? Instead, He arrived knowing that He “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He was willing to leave everything and become nothing so that those who acknowledge their nothingness can be given everything. He became flesh so that He might serve, and He beautifully modeled humility to all who might follow Him. How will you look to His example in your tasks and responsibilities today?

GOING DEEPER

Philippians 2:1-13

Topics: Christ’s Birth Deity of Christ Humanity of Christ Incarnation of Christ

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – What Pleases God More than Anything

Leave a comment

“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” / “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (1 Thessalonians 2:12 / Ephesians 5:17)

William Law was born in 1686, and he died in 1761. Maybe you have never heard of him. He was not a celebrity or a politician or a war hero. He was not even a popular evangelist or a missionary martyr. Whatever he did in his life was not “important” enough to get him fame or to keep him memorable to us who are living now, more than 200 years after he has gone to be with the Lord.

But William Law – whoever he was – wrote this:

      “From morning to night, keep Jesus in thy heart,
       long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing
       but to have all that is within thee changed into
       the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus.”

What is your idea of “success”? Is it that you would make a lot of money? Is it that people would know your name and remember all the things you did in your life? For William Law, “success” meant becoming more and more and more like Jesus Christ, from the inside out. He wanted to keep Jesus as his main goal. He wanted to be Christlike more than he wanted anything else. We don’t remember much about William Law today. In the world’s eyes, he was probably never very “successful.” But Christians can learn from his writings, and Christians can learn from his personal example.

If you are trusting in Christ as your Savior, is it your desire to learn God’s will for your life? God’s idea of “success” is not that a person does a lot of famous things or earns a lot of money. The Bible teaches that God wants Christians to glorify Him by becoming more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. That is God’s idea of “success” for His people. This is what God wills; this is what God wants. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.”

Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. Sanctification is what William Law was longing for. Why? Because it was William Law’s greatest desire to please God by becoming like Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

To trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, yet never think about Him, never read the Bible, never pray to Him, and never tell others about Him – that must be a disappointment to Him. Because of Who Christ is and what He has done for us, becoming more like Him should be our greatest desire – no matter what else we are able to do in our lives, and no matter what else we might be remembered for.

God is pleased when we are becoming more like His Son.

My Response:
» Am I more concerned about pleasing myself or pleasing God?
» What is my idea of a “successful” life, and does it match up with God’s idea of “successful”?
» How have I been changing to become more like Jesus Christ?

Home Page