Daily Archives: October 31, 2023

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Under God’s Wings

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Bible in a Year:

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:4

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Psalm 61

There are several Canada goose families with baby geese at the pond near our apartment complex. The little goslings are so fluffy and cute; it’s hard not to watch them when I go for a walk or run around the pond. But I’ve learned to avoid eye contact and give the geese a wide berth—otherwise, I risk a protective goose parent suspecting a threat and hissing and chasing me!

The image of a bird protecting her young is one that Scripture uses to describe God’s tender, protective love for His children (Psalm 91:4). In Psalm 61, David seems to be struggling to experience God’s care in this way. He’d experienced God as his “refuge, a strong tower” (v. 3), but now he called desperately “from the ends of the earth,” pleading, “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (v. 2). He longed to once more “take refuge in the shelter of [God’s] wings” (v. 4).

And in bringing his pain and longing for healing to God, David took comfort in knowing that He’d heard him (v. 5). Because of God’s faithfulness, he knew he would “ever sing in praise of [His] name” (v. 8).

Like the psalmist, when we feel distant from God’s love, we can run back to His arms to be assured that even in our pain, He’s with us, protecting and caring for us as fiercely as a mother bird guards her young.

By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

How does it encourage you to remember God’s protective care for you? How have you experienced His care?

Dear God, thank You for Your fierce, protective love for me. Help me to rest securely in Your tender care.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Training in Righteousness

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“All Scripture is . . . profitable for . . . training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

God’s Word nourishes your spiritual life.

We conclude our study of the character and benefits of God’s Word by focusing on the benefit that ties all the others together: training in righteousness. Everything the Word accomplishes in you through teaching, reproof, and correction is aimed at increasing your righteousness so you’ll “be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17, NIV).

“Training” refers to training or educating a child. The New Testament also uses the term to speak of chastening, which is another important element in both child rearing and spiritual growth (Heb. 12:5-11). The idea is that from spiritual infancy to maturity, Scripture trains and educates believers in godly living.

Scripture is your spiritual nourishment. Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Peter exhorted us to be like newborn babes, longing “for the pure milk of the word, that by it [we] may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2).

You should crave the Word just like a baby craves milk. But Peter prefaced that statement with an exhortation to put “aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (v. 1). That’s the prerequisite. James taught the same principle: “Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word” (James 1:21). Attempting to feast on Scripture without confessing your sin is like attempting to eat a meal while wearing a muzzle.

Either the Word will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Word. Deal with sin immediately so it doesn’t spoil your appetite for God’s Word. And even if you know the Bible well, be regularly refreshed by its power and reminded of its truths. That’s the key to enjoying spiritual health and victory.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for the nourishment His Word provides.
  • Seek His wisdom and grace in dealing with personal sin. Don’t ignore it, for it will diminish your desire for biblical truth.

For Further Study

Read Philippians 3:1 and 2 Peter 1:12-15.

  • What did Paul and Peter say about the importance of being reminded of biblical truths you’ve already learned?
  • Do you follow that advice?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Decide to Enjoy Your Day

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 This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

— Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

As I’ve mentioned many times, learning to manage my emotions has been one of the most important lessons I have learned in my journey with God, because it has allowed me to consistently enjoy my life. When we wait to see how we feel before we know if we can enjoy each day, we give emotions control over our lives. But thankfully, we can make decisions that are not based on feelings. If we are willing to make good choices regardless of how we feel, God will be faithful to help us do so.

Living the good life that God offers us requires us to be obedient to His way of being and doing. He gives us the strength to follow His teachings, but we must choose to do it. God won’t choose for us. He helps us, but we must participate by choosing to obey His Word instead of simply doing whatever we feel like doing. We can’t consistently enjoy life until we are willing to do this. For example, I may feel like avoiding someone because they have hurt my feelings or treated me unfairly, but I can choose to pray for them and treat them as Jesus would while I wait for Him to do something in the situation. If I act according to my feelings, I will forfeit peace and joy. But if I choose to do what God has instructed me to do in His Word, I will have His reward and blessing in my life.

Prayer of the Day: Help me, God, to make good choices regarding my emotions and not to allow them to control my life. I want to obey Your Word and experience Your blessings in my life.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – The Purpose of the Cross

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When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

Luke 23:33

The Gospel writers, without exception, do not dwell on the manner in which Jesus was crucified. Indeed, if you search the Gospels, you will discover that there are very few details concerning Christ’s physical suffering. Given the exceptionally brutal manner in which He was executed and the fact that all of Scripture moves us toward the cross, this absence of detail should give us pause, causing us to wonder why the Savior’s death is captured only in that simple phrase “There they crucified him.”

Presumably, the Gospel writers understood that if they focused on the physical sufferings of Jesus, then we could very easily stop at that. We might mistakenly think that once we have been gripped, stirred, and moved by this dreadful scene, we have come to terms with it. In point of fact, though, to focus on the outward aspects—the physicality—of this terrible event is to miss the purpose of the cross altogether.

For this reason, the Gospel writers did not explain much of what Jesus’ physical suffering was like but rather point to what was happening to Him spiritually as He hung there. Their focus is more on the purpose of the cross than on the cross itself.

Throughout Scripture—indeed, from the very beginning of it all, in the book of Genesis—the greatest need of humanity is atonement. As soon as the first man and woman turned their backs on God in the Garden of Eden, they were alienated from Him on account of their disobedience. Ever since, humanity has followed in our first ancestors’ steps: we, too, turn our backs on God and live in His world in rebellion against Him. This sin, this alienation, must be atoned for, and no amount or doing or trying on our part can reconcile us to God.

But in Jesus, “the righteousness of God has been manifested” to us (Romans 3:21), and we are reconciled to the Father through faith in the Son, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25). This is atonement. This is the place where the Father’s wrath over sin was turned away from sinners and onto another—onto His own Son. This is the purpose, the great and wondrous achievement, of the cross.

There is all the difference in the world between sympathy for Jesus as the perfect sufferer and faith in Christ as our personal Savior. Stop and consider what He hung on the cross to do. Reflect on His spiritual suffering—the agony of bearing the judgment of His Father. Do not gaze on Him so that you feel sorry for Him, but until you are worshiping Him.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Mark 15:33-39

Topics: The Cross Imputed Righteousness Substitutionary Atonement

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Delights in His People

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“He delivered me because He delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19b; 2 Samuel 22:20b)

When Arouna was a small boy, he was very, very sick. Some medical missionaries wanted to take him to a big-city hospital, but his parents did not have enough money and could not let him go there. So Arouna got sicker and weaker as time went by. He had to be put in a small hospital that was run by the Tanzanian government. There, he did not have very good medical care, but it was better than no medical care at all. Arouna kept getting sicker and weaker, and his suffering became more and more painful and dangerous.

One day, the doctor told Arouna’s parents that he would need a blood transfusion. Arouna’s father had the same type of blood as Arouna had. The doctor asked Arouna’s father if he would be willing to give some of his blood, and he explained that Arouna would probably die very soon if he did not have a transfusion for the blood he needed.

Arouna’s father was a little scared, because he had never given blood before, and he was afraid that losing his blood would make him weak for the rest of his life. But he loved Arouna very much, and he had been too poor to pay for Arouna to get better in a nicer hospital. So this was something Arouna’s father could do for him – he could give him some of his blood.

Because of his father’s willing sacrifice, Arouna was able to get better. His father was fine again after a few hours, and Arouna was almost completely healthy again after only a few more weeks in the hospital. The blood transfusion with his father’s blood was what saved little Arouna’s life. And why was his father able to follow through with the blood transfusion? Because his affection for his little boy was far greater than his fear and concern for himself.

After the LORD had given King David many victories and brought him through many hard trials, King David sang a song to the LORD (in 2 Samuel 22), and he sang about why God delivered him out of danger. He said, “He delivered me because He delighted in me.” The song is recorded again in Psalm 18, and all of it is a wonderful song. But those words are especially amazing, if you think about it. The God of the universe, Who is eternally perfect and has no limitations – that same God delights in His people. In spite of their sinfulness and their weaknesses, God sets His affection on human beings. He chooses to love them and delights in their safety and well-being – even when they do not delight in Him, and even though they never could delight in Him as much as He does in them. He delivers them because He delights in them.

God delivers His people out of bondage and slavery. He rescues them out of dangerous situations. Why? Well, according to this God-inspired song, at least one reason why is this: He delivers them because He delights in them. What a gracious and loving God!

In His graciousness and love, God chooses to delight in His people.

My Response:
» Do I live my life with the awareness that God is aware of me – my thoughts, my words, my actions?
» Do I remind myself of the Bible truth that God delights in those who trust in Him?
» How does it change my responses when I think of God delighting in me?

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Should Israel seek a cease-fire with Hamas?

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Israeli forces made a major advance overnight toward Gaza City, marking their deepest push into Palestinian territory since they entered the strip last week. An Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 was freed overnight during ground operations as well. Meanwhile, in a rare news briefing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a cease-fire in Israel’s conflict. He was answering calls for such action from the United Nations and Amnesty International among others.

Critics of Israel’s continuing military action against Hamas are responding to reports from the Gaza Health Ministry that the death toll among Palestinians has already passed eight thousand, mostly women and minors. Many doubt the veracity of this organization’s numbers since it is run by Hamas, but the pictures of devastation in Gaza tell a tragic story of their own.

We should all grieve the loss of life in this conflict. However, Israel’s military must contend with the fact that Hamas has hidden weapons under hospitals, schools, and mosques while disguising its fighters like civilians. Their strategy is intended to escalate Palestinian deaths and provoke an international backlash against Israel.

Hamas’s strategy appears to be working. So, should Israel seek a cease-fire with Hamas?

“The next round of war will be inevitable”

As I have followed reporting on this conflict from a wide variety of sources and viewpoints, I found a New York Times guest essay by Dennis B. Ross to be especially informative. Mr. Ross served in the State Department under President George H. W. Bush, was the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton, and has served as a special advisor for the region as well. His article is headlined, “I Might Have Once Favored a Cease-Fire With Hamas, but Not Now.”

His central thesis: “It is clear to me that peace is not going to be possible now or in the future as long as Hamas remains intact and in control of Gaza. Hamas’s power and ability to threaten Israel—and subject Gazan civilians to ever more rounds of violence—must end.”

Ross notes that if Israel agrees to a cease-fire now, Hamas’s military infrastructure, leadership, and control of Gaza will remain intact. As it did after conflicts with Israel in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021, the terrorist group will almost certainly rearm for the next conflict. It will be able to add to its system of tunnels running under the area as well.

As a result, he warns, “the next round of war will be inevitable, holding both Gazan citizens and much of the rest of the Middle East hostage to Hamas’s aims.”

What makes this conflict different from those in the past? While the atrocities of October 7 have understandably heightened Israel’s outrage and justify a much stronger military response than in previous conflicts, there is more to the story.

“If we do not defeat Hamas, we cannot survive here”

As I have been reporting throughout this conflict, the aim of Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are backed by Iran, is to eradicate Israel and reclaim the area for Palestine. But these groups acting alone or in concert do not possess the military means to defeat Israel in a conventional war. Nor does Iran, even if it were to engage directly with the Israel Defense Forces.

But what they can do, as Ross notes, is to make Israel unlivable and thus drive Israelis to leave. This seems to be their clear goal now. Ross points to predictions by Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, that Israel will not survive another twenty-five years. And he quotes an Israeli commander who said after October 7, “If we do not defeat Hamas, we cannot survive here.”

I understand the commander’s sentiment in a way I would not if I had not led more than thirty study tours to Israel over nearly thirty years. Israel is a tiny country, approximately the size of New Jersey. Iran continues to arm Hamas and Hezbollah with ever more sophisticated technology now capable of launching missiles in such numbers that Israel’s Iron Dome defenses cannot protect all their civilians in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and across the country. And the October 7 invasion has shocked the Israelis, who believed their sophisticated military intelligence and powerful defense forces would protect them from such atrocities.

Israel’s previous wars were fought by their soldiers against the soldiers of their enemies. Never before have so many civilians been slaughtered or taken hostage. All this to say, in the new world created by the October 7 invasion, if a cease-fire is declared and Hamas survives, Israelis will know that they and their families will be in danger in ways unprecedented in the nation’s seventy-five-year history.

“Be strong and courageous”

This fact is crucial to the calculus because so many Israelis live in Israel by choice. Theirs is one of the best-educated, most skilled workforces in the world. Every Israeli I have met would be imminently employable in any nation in the Western world. They have chosen to live in the State of Israel for the purpose of securing a future for the Jewish people.

If the nation can no longer defend them, its very reason for existence is in question. And the willingness of its citizens to risk their lives and their families could come into question as well, perhaps leading to an exodus of Israelis out of the nation.

As a consequence, through a combination of more advanced weaponry and brutal terrorist attacks, Hamas and its allies have raised for the first time the specter of a world without the State of Israel as we now know it. This is why my friends in Israel have said since Hamas’s horrific October 7 invasion that these terrorists must be defeated. They understand firsthand what I have attempted to explain today: the future of the nation is now in the balance.

This fact leads me to conclude this Daily Article by asking you to join me in urgent, consistent intercession for Israel and her people.

  • Pray that they will heed God’s instruction to the military general who first led them into their promised land: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed” (Joshua 1:9a).
  • Pray for Israeli forces to defeat the terrorists who threaten the future of their nation.
  • Pray for the protection of Palestinian and Israeli civilians in this conflict.
  • And pray that all will turn to the one and only Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) so they can testify, “The Lᴏʀᴅ Gᴏᴅ is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).

Will you join me in such intercession right now?

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God…

In our noisy and hectic lives, silence is scarce. Rest is rare. The idea of stillness actually fills some with dread and alarm.

And yet, God beckons us into stillness before Him. We often lament how distant – even absent – God seems, but we infrequently sit alone in His presence just to listen. We expect Him to catch us on the fly, to whisper life-altering truths in our ears as we frantically fit one more activity into our day.

Elijah stood on the side of a mountain, waiting to hear. A wind tore across it, so strong that it shattered rocks. Afterward, an earthquake shook the ground, and a fire blazed through the trees. God was in none of those things. Then came a still, small voice that was so powerful that Elijah wrapped his cloak over his face. How often have we missed the still, small voice?

Jesus often stole away from the crowds and even His close-knit group of disciples. He sought the solitude of a garden or the Galilean hills to communicate with His Father. The instruction and encouragement He received in those hours fueled His earthly ministry. His example inspires us to do the same.

Being quiet takes discipline. It means carving out time and clearing away the clutter to sit in the presence of God. Find a place. Be still. Listen expectantly. Make room for Him.

Blessing: 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May you be still and know that He is God. Practice His presence to hear what Your Father will speak to you today.

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Lamentations 4:1-5:22

New Testament 

Hebrews 2:1-18

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 103:1-22

Proverbs 26:23

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – The Brilliance of God

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And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
Revelation 4:3

 Recommended Reading: Revelation 4:1-11

Solomon and Jesus Christ, the world’s two greatest teachers, used a figure of speech called the simile: the comparison of two unlike things by use of the words “like” or “as” (Proverbs 26:2; Matthew 13:45).

The apostle John also used the simile with great effect in Revelation. Because he saw so many sights in his vision that he couldn’t describe, he continually used “like” to paint a picture his readers could understand: “The first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking” (Revelation 4:1). When John saw God in His glory seated upon His throne, all he could write was that He was “like a jasper and a sardius stone.” And the rainbow circling His throne was “like an emerald.” The reflected brilliance of the “unapproachable light” in which God dwells (1 Timothy 6:16) can only be pictured by the brilliance of beautiful and precious stones.

The next time your eye is caught by the light of a precious stone, let your heart be caught by the glory of God.

Let us be exhorted to exalt God alone, and ascribe to him all the glory.
Jonathan Edwards

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Will We Be Ready?

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For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 

—1 Thessalonians 5:5–6

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 

God can see the future with complete certainty. He knows it as well as we might know our past. God looks at the future, the past, and the present as one. He can see them all.

Therefore, it is no reach for God to say that something will happen exactly as He predicted it would, because He lives in the supernatural realm.

In my understanding of Bible prophecy, Jesus could come back at any time. I do not see any piece in the prophetic puzzle that needs to be put in place before He could come for His church.

This means that Christ could come for us today. Hebrews 9:28 tells us, “He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” (NLT). The question is, will we be ready?

The Rapture will be an instantaneous event. That is why, in speaking of Christ’s return, the Bible tells us to be ready. It tells us to be alert. Be watching. Pay attention. We must be ready now.

Writing about the return of Christ, Paul warned, “So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:6–8 NLT).

The Bible tells Christians to wake up. Don’t be asleep in the light. That’s because a lot of us can simply lie around enjoying a prolonged nap while the rest of the world faces an imminent judgment. Yet God is saying, “You need to wake up. Be alert and live in the light. Put on the armor of faith and love.”

We are living in the last days, and it will get tough at times. We had better have our spiritual weapons ready and close by. We had better realize the devil will try to trip us up and bring us down.

Tragically, one of the signs of the last days is that some will fall away from the faith (see 1 Timothy 4:1). Don’t let that cause you to worry, because God will keep you if you want to be kept. He will protect you. But you have to take practical steps to be protected.

So, stay close to Him. Avoid the pitfalls and the things that can drag you down, and be alert. Be awake. Be on guard. And be available to serve the Lord and share the life-changing message of the gospel with others.

Jesus said, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4–5 NLT).

Wake up from spiritual lethargy, laziness, and apathy. Wake up to the urgency of the hour. We must seize the opportunities God gives us, because they won’t be around forever.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie