Daily Archives: February 21, 2024

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — God’s Open Doors

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Bible in a Year :

See, I have placed before you an open door.

Revelation 3:8

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Revelation 3:7–11

At my new school near a large city, the guidance counselor took one look at me and placed me in the lowest performing English composition class. I’d arrived from my inner-city school with outstanding test scores, excellent grades, and even a principal’s award for my writing. The door to the “best” writing class in my new school was closed to me, however, when the counselor decided I wasn’t right or ready.

The church in ancient Philadelphia would’ve understood such arbitrary setbacks. A small and humble church, its city had suffered earthquakes in recent years that left lasting damage. Additionally, they faced satanic opposition (Revelation 3:9). Such a disregarded church had “little strength, yet,” as the risen Jesus noted, “you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (v. 8). Therefore, God placed before them “an open door that no one can shut” (v. 8). Indeed, “what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (v. 7).

That’s true for our ministry efforts. Some doors don’t open. With my writing for God, however, He has indeed opened doors, allowing it to reach a global audience, regardless of one counselor’s closed attitudes. Closed doors won’t hinder you either. “I am the door,” Jesus said (John 10:9 kjv). Let’s enter the doors He opens and follow Him.

By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What doors has God opened for you? How does your ministry and life flourish when you wait for His openings?

When doors close to me, dear God, may I turn to You, the Holy Door, and walk where and how You say to go.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Maintaining Spiritual Integrity

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“In order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:10).

Seek to have a life that bears scrutiny.

In our society, those whose lives are marked by moral soundness, uprightness, honesty, and sincerity are usually thought of as people of integrity. However, society’s standards often fall far short of God’s. Spiritual integrity calls for the highest possible standard of behavior and requires supernatural resources available only to those who trust in Him.

Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-10 outlines the path to spiritual integrity. It begins with love that abounds with knowledge and discernment (v. 9) and progresses to the pursuit of excellence (v. 10). The result is sincerity and blamelessness—two characteristics of godly integrity.

The Greek word translated “sincere” in verse 10 speaks of genuineness and authenticity. It literally means “without wax” and is an allusion to the practice of inspecting pottery by holding it up to the sunlight. In ancient times pottery often cracked during the firing process. Rather than discarding cracked pieces, dishonest dealers often filled the cracks with wax and sold them to unsuspecting customers. Holding a pot up to the sunlight revealed any flaws and protected the customer from a bad purchase.

Following that analogy, biblical integrity requires that you be without wax, having no hypocrisy or secret sins that show up when you’re under pressure or facing temptation.

“Blameless” speaks of consistency in living a life that doesn’t lead others into error or sin. Your standard is the same away from church as it is at church.

Being blameless isn’t easy in a world that unashamedly flaunts its sinful practices. You must guard against losing your sensitivity to the heinousness of sin and unwittingly beginning to tolerate or even accept the sin that once shocked you. That’s when you lose integrity and begin to cause others to stumble.

Diligently pursue integrity with a view toward glorifying Christ in all things until He returns!

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God that He is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in His presence blameless with great joy (Jude 24).
  • Prayerfully guard your heart and mind from the subtle evil influences that can erode your integrity and make you ineffective for the Lord.

For Further Study

Read Genesis 39.

  • How was Joseph’s integrity challenged?
  • How did God honor Joseph’s commitment to integrity?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Comfort for When You Are Afraid

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Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

Even people who don’t know much about the Bible often turn to Psalm 23 when they are afraid and need comfort. Fear torments, but there is an answer for it. We don’t have to fear because God is with us. When we know how much God loves us, we will believe that He will take care of us and not let more difficulty come on us than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Although we may feel fear, we don’t have to let it rule our decisions. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is moving forward in the presence of fear. God has not given us fear (2 Timothy 1:7); He gives us courage. Fear is from the enemy, and he uses it to prevent us from making progress in life.

If you run from fear, it will chase you, but if you confront it, it will back down. Don’t allow the enemy to steal your life through negative emotions such as fear, worry, guilt, or jealousy. The best advice I know to give you is that when one of these emotions shows up (and you never know when that might be), pray and then go ahead and do what you would do if the emotion weren’t there. If you let the emotion control you, you feed it and it gets stronger. But if you don’t let it control you, you starve it and it will become weaker and weaker until it has no power in your life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I want to replace all fear with faith in You, and I need Your help in order to do that. Teach me in this area how to not allow negative emotions to control me.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Not So Among You

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Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you.

Mark 10:42–43

One of the great lies in almost every generation is that God’s people will reach their unbelieving neighbors better if they look, sound, act, and live as much like them as possible. The New Testament doesn’t support that, nor does church history. Instead, history bears out what the Bible teaches—namely, that God’s people are always most effective in an alien culture when, both by their life and lifestyle, they are clearly counter-cultural (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Just prior to these words of Jesus, James and John, the “Sons of Thunder,” went to Jesus to ask a favor: they wanted places of honor in His kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). This desire, however, was not born of loyalty but of raw ambition, similar to that of the Roman rulers during that time, who sought self-promotion.

Jesus didn’t pull any punches in His response. His language was radical. The disciples were His followers, and they were to be different. They needed to understand that in God’s kingdom, the way up is actually down. Honor is found in giving it, not in receiving it. Greatness is displayed in serving, not in being served. The greatest example of this principle is Jesus Himself, who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

This is challenging, because we live in a culture that is preoccupied with self-esteem, self-aggrandizement, and self-made status. Yet if we profess to be Jesus’ followers, His words here remind us that we are not to be marked by the culture but by Him.

We tend to have an unhealthy preoccupation with being regarded as significant, intellectually sensible, and socially acceptable. When has that ever been an effective strategy for the work of the gospel? The choice is clear: either we’re going to do what Jesus says or we’re going to do what the culture says.

We must not diminish the force of Jesus’ words nor the scale of His challenge. But neither do we need to despair, for we can find encouragement in the fact that John eventually got it right. Near the end of his life, he wrote, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Hear this word of uncomfortable grace—“it shall not be so among you”—and be conformed to the image of Jesus, willing to lay down your rights and your reputation in service and love.

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

Philippians 2:1–11

Topics: Discipleship Humility Service

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 To Answer Prayer

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“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11).

Regular readers, please see a special note for you at the foot of this devotional.*

When Michele was eleven, her best friend left their school to go to a different school. Michele’s class was small, and she didn’t feel close to any of the other three girls in the class. She wanted so much to have a best friend that she could talk to.

That summer before sixth grade, Michele’s mom said, “Why don’t you pray that God will send a new girl to your class next year to be your close friend?” She took her mom’s advice and started praying. But she didn’t have much faith. Where would a new girl come from? And even if a new girl did come, would she really want to be her friend? Michele dreaded the beginning of the new school year, because she didn’t believe God would answer her prayer.

Then in August, a new girl named Kelly and her family started coming to Michele’s church. God had moved her all the way to Kansas from the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean! That fall, Kelly was in Michele’s sixth grade class. She was so cheerful and friendly that it was easy for Michele to get to know her. They quickly became best friends and went through the rest of high school together. They even attended the same college for four years, and still keep in touch today.

Michele would tell you now that God delights to answer the prayers of His children. It brings Him glory when we ask and truly depend on Him for things we need. If we ask for things that are good for us, He is pleased to give them to us at just the right time. But sometimes He goes beyond giving us what we ask for. Often, His gifts are better than anything we could have asked for or even imagined. And His gifts are always the best thing for us.

God delights to answer the prayers of His children.

My Response:
» What am I praying for?
» Am I praying with faith that God will answer in the best way?

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Are Americans eating spiritual pufferfish?

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What do these stories have in common?

  • A man cooked and ate a poisonous pufferfish that had been given to him, fell into a coma, and died thirty-five days later.
  • A nineteen-year-old hiker was taking photos at a scenic overlook in Utah when the cliff he was standing on crumbled beneath him and he plunged to his death.
  • A thirty-four-year-old man in Colorado was bitten by a Gila monster he kept as a pet and died four days later.
  • A man in India jumped into a zoo enclosure to take a selfie with a lion who then mauled him to death.

Obviously, none of them knew their decisions would lead to their deaths. They sincerely believed they were doing the right thing at the time.

However, can someone who is sincere be sincerely wrong?

Can a nation?

“Is it true that man is above everything?”

I came across an article this week highlighting Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s 1978 commencement address at Harvard University. When I reread the exiled dissident’s words, I knew I needed to share some of them with you today.

How well do they describe America’s culture forty-six years later?

Solzhenitsyn warned:

The fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their decisive offensive. You can feel their pressure, yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?

He diagnosed the root of the problem:

We have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility. We have placed too much hope in politics and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession: our spiritual life.

Then he prescribed the solution:

Since [man’s] body is doomed to death, his task on earth evidently must be more spiritual: not a total engrossment in everyday life, not the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then their carefree consumption. It has to be the fulfillment of a permanent, earnest duty so that one’s life journey may become above all an experience of moral growth. . . .

Only by the voluntary nurturing in ourselves of freely accepted and serene self-restraint can mankind rise above the world stream of materialism.

Solzhenitsyn concluded:

Even if we are spared destruction by war, life will have to change in order not to perish on its own. We cannot avoid reassessing the fundamental definitions of human life and human society. Is it true that man is above everything? Is there no Superior Being above him? Is it right that man’s life and society’s activities should be ruled by material expansion above all? Is it permissible to promote such expansion to the detriment of our integral spiritual life?

In his view, “We shall have to rise to a new height of vision, to a new level of life. . . . This ascension is similar to climbing onto the next anthropological stage. No one on earth has any other way left but—upward.”

The wisest course of action

Would you allow me to ask you some hard questions I’m asking myself this morning?

  • Have you “placed too much hope in politics and social reforms”?
  • Is your life focused on “the search for the best ways to obtain material goods and then their carefree consumption”?
  • Is your life “ruled by material expansion above all”?

When we are going in the wrong direction, the wisest course of action is to reverse course. This is why Jesus began his public ministry by calling on those who heard him to “repent,” to make a spiritual U-turn from their sins to their Savior (Mark 1:15).

This is our Father’s urgent call to us still today. If you are hearing a voice assuring you that this call is not for you, you’re being deceived by the “father of lies” (John 8:44).

St. Augustine was right:

“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but he has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.”

Your Father has a “new level of life” waiting for any who make him their unconditional king and Lord (John 10:10). This is the “next anthropological stage” for humanity.

Let’s choose it together, to the glory of God.

Wednesday news to know

Quote for the day

“Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.” —Rick Warren

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

The Greek storyteller, Aesop, said, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” In marriage, we often see this proverb play out.

Husbands and wives live in close proximity. They witness the best in one another, but they also have a front-row seat to the regrettable weaknesses we all possess. If we are not careful, this close association can create a lack of appreciation – and even scorn – towards our spouse.

In our marriages, we must be mindful to extend continuing kindness to one another. When we are exhausted and stressed by daily demands, we are susceptible to irritability. Our tempers become short, and our words become hurtful.

We must keep our hearts sensitive to each other’s needs, preferring our spouse in love. When we choose compassion over conflict and harmony over hostility, we demonstrate sacrificial love. We love the other more than we want our own way. The currency of love is sacrifice.

When divisions threaten, we must quickly restore the bond of peace in our relationships. Since Jesus so generously cleanses and accepts us, we must forgive and repair the rift. Healthy marriages make no room for cold shoulders, the silent treatment, or harsh accusations.

Familiarity need not breed contempt. Instead, our marriages can be marked by sacrificial love, gentle kindness, tenderhearted affection, and warm intimacy that grow through the years.

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. Prefer your spouse in sacrificial love. Practice kindness and tenderness towards one another. May the peace of God rule and reign in your hearts and home.

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Leviticus 11:1-12:8

New Testament 

Mark 5:21-43

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 38:1-22

Proverbs 10:8-9

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Trusting and Trustworthy

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[Daniel] was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.
Daniel 6:4, NLT

 Recommended Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

It’s hard to trust people today, isn’t it? How many people are frustrated because of a spouse who was unfaithful, a friend who disappointed them, a salesman who was dishonest, or a doctor who misdiagnosed an illness? Rebuilding a friendship is difficult after a perceived betrayal has occurred.

We can’t always do a lot about others who are untrustworthy, but we can do something about ourselves—or rather, we can let the Lord do something within us. He is utterly trustworthy. Psalm 119:86 says, “All your commands are trustworthy” (NIV). Psalm 145:13 says, “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does” (NIV).

As Christians, we’re to grow in His faithful love and kindness (Ephesians 4:25-32). One way to do this is by fostering trust in our relationships. Brotherly kindness begins with a trustworthy spirit—the willingness to be honest and kind. If you’ve been betrayed, seek to forgive. And in all your dealings, be someone who can be trusted with the cares, secrets, and confidences of others.

Ask God to help you grow in your ability to be trusting and trusted.

Among the blessings and enjoyments of this life, there are few that can be compared in value to the possession of a faithful friend.
James C. Gibbons

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Because of God’s Grace

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God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 

—Ephesians 2:8

Scripture:

Ephesians 2:8 

Christians have no grounds whatsoever for boasting. There is nothing to boast about. We didn’t become Christians because we were born into a Christian family, were relatively moral people, or did a number of good deeds. Therefore, we have absolutely nothing we can take credit for.

And if we find ourselves bragging about anything that we have done to obtain our salvation, either we are not saved, or we don’t understand what it means for God to forgive us.

In Ephesians 2, the apostle Paul makes a bedrock statement about the Christian faith: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (verses 8–9 NLT).

This is a foundational Christian doctrine. Yet it’s surprising how many people don’t grasp the simple yet profound truth that we are Christians entirely and solely because of the grace of God.

Earlier in Ephesians, Paul spoke of God’s mercy. Here, He speaks of God’s grace. God has dealt with us in grace, which is getting what we don’t deserve: His forgiveness, His pardon, and adoption into His family.

Someone has accurately defined grace as “God’s unmerited favor.” This grace came in spite of what we were and what we did.

Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. And justice is getting what we deserve.

We never want to ask God to give us justice because, in doing so, we’re asking Him to give us what we deserve. And what we deserve is Hell. Thankfully, God has not dealt with us according to justice because Jesus Christ met God’s righteous requirement at Calvary. The death of Jesus satisfied the justice of God.

An effective testimony (your story of how you came to faith) always will glorify God and never will glorify the past. Some Christians make their lives before Christ sound so juicy and interesting that they make the present seem dull. That is an inaccurate testimony.

If you are honest about what you were before you became a Christian, then you must talk about the spiritual state you were in. You were separated from God and in rebellion against Him. A good testimony never will glorify the past; it always will glorify the Lord.

Every Christian has a testimony because the power of God has gloriously transformed every person who has put his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

It’s important to realize that salvation does not come from anything that we’ve done. So, let’s not boast about what we’ve done or what we gave up to follow Jesus. Granted, we may have given up some things, but they’re nothing compared to what God gave us in their place.

If we don’t realize that, then we don’t know how dark our state was, how miserable of a condition we were in, and how far we were separated from God.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
Days of Praise

Days of Praise – The Lord and Inspiration

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying…” (Leviticus 1:1)

This introductory verse to what many erroneously consider a dry and difficult book of the Bible actually introduces a remarkable phenomenon. All the rest of the chapter consists of a direct quotation from the Lord Himself. In fact, most of the rest of the book also consists solely of the direct words of God, except for an occasional interjection of a statement that God was still speaking. In all, 717 of the 832 verses in Leviticus (that is 86%) consist of the very words of God, directly quoted. This is more than any other book of the Bible, except for the books of the prophets, some of which also consist almost entirely of verbatim statements from God. The same situation is found in lesser but still substantial degrees in other historical books, not to mention the extensive quotations from the sermons and discourses of Christ in the four gospels.

While it is true that the Holy Spirit used many different means by which to convey the Scriptures (all of which are verbally inspired and fully inerrant) to writing, it is also true that on many occasions what amounts to the “dictation” method was used by Him. Evangelicals have often been intimidated by the scientists’ ridicule of this “mechanical theory” of inspiration, but they should not be. God is well able to use whatever means He chooses to reveal His word to men, and we should simply take Him at His word!

Leviticus is a guidebook for the consecration and cleansing of God’s people—especially His priests. In the New Covenant, all believers are priests and therefore are expected to be consecrated and pure. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). HMM

https://www.icr.org/articles/type/6