Daily Archives: September 4, 2024

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Excelsior!

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Bible in a Year :

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14 esv

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Philippians 3:12-21

Sometimes surprisingly spiritual messages turn up in unexpected places, like in a comic book, for example. Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of such iconic heroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and many others.

The famously smiling man with sunglasses had a personal catchphrase that he used to sign off in monthly columns in Marvel comics for decades—the word excelsior. In a 2010 tweet, Lee explained its meaning: “ ‘Upward and onward to greater glory!’ That’s what I wish you whenever I finish tweeting! Excelsior!”

I like that. Whether Stan Lee realized it or not, his use of this unusual catchphrase certainly resonates with what Paul wrote in Philippians as he admonished believers to look not behind but ahead—and up: “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:13-14 esv).

We can easily become entangled in regrets or second-guessing past decisions. But in Christ, we’re invited to relinquish regrets and to press upward and onward to God’s greater glory through embracing the forgiveness and purpose He so graciously gives us! Excelsior!

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

Why do you tend to look forward or backward in your life and in your faith? How can you let go of past mistakes and move forward?

Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiveness. Thank You that You invite me to move forward, upward, and onward for Your glory.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Reinforce Your Prayers

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And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.

Luke 1:20 (NIV)

God responded in a surprising way when Zechariah struggled to believe Him after He sent an angel to tell him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son. That’s understandable in a way, because they were way too old to have children. But God had spoken. And Zechariah questioned. That was a problem. Because of his lack of faith, God made him unable to speak until the baby was born.

This story teaches us that the way we respond to God’s promises is very important. When we pray in faith, believing He will answer, we are not to stop praying and then go about our business, wondering if He heard us and if He will move on our behalf. We are to keep our faith strong, expecting Him to answer, and we are to think and speak in agreement with our expectation. He is a God who keeps His promises and answers prayer, and He wants us to keep this truth in the forefront of our minds.

When you are praying about something, don’t let doubt enter your heart and weaken your prayers—or cause you to forget about them. Instead, let your confidence in God reinforce your prayers as you trust Him to answer at the right time and in the right way.

Prayer of the Day: Father, when I pray, help me to reinforce my prayers with faith and expectation. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Professional golfer Sahith Theegala’s self-imposed penalty costs him $2.5 million

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Why “character is destiny” for those we influence

Whether you follow golf or not, you probably know of Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 who just finished one of the greatest seasons in history. I have long admired his steadfast commitment to Christ and to his family as values transcending the game he plays so magnificently. However, you may not know the name Sahith Theegala. He was born in California to Indian immigrants and has become a dominant player on the PGA Tour. However, he made headlines last Saturday not for his talent but for his character.

He was playing a shot from a sand trap when he noticed a small amount of sand move on his backswing. (Touching the sand in this way is a violation of the rules.) No one else saw the sand move, but Theegala immediately notified his playing partner and a rules official. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty, which ended up costing him $2.5 million in prize money.

Now I am a Sahith Theegala fan as well.

Five centuries before Christ, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed that “character is destiny.”

If it were easy for us to have greater character, we would do so. Our next steps will therefore come at a cost. The higher the mountain, the harder the climb, but the more worthy the destination.

How, then, can we live with sacrificial integrity today?

See sin as endangering everyone we influence

Paul spoke of “the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). In a day when thatched roofs were common, such a dart lodged in your house could easily ignite a fire that would spread to surrounding homes. What started with just you then endangered everyone around you.

I spoke recently with a Christianity Today reporter who is writing an article on the consequences of ministerial moral failure for members of their churches. She is right to be concerned: sin affects the innocent as well as the guilty.

  1. S. Lewis warned in Mere Christianity:

When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world. The war-time posters told us that Careless Talk Costs Lives. It is equally true that Careless Lives Cost Talk. Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity itself.

I am convinced the clergy abuse scandal and other integrity issues are at the heart of the ongoing cultural shift away from Christianity. When Christians fail to live what we proclaim, why would non-Christians believe what we preach?

See integrity as blessing everyone we influence

I was drawn to Christ through the character of the Christians I met. I sensed in them a peace, purpose, and joy I lacked and came to faith because I was so impressed with the difference their faith made in their lives.

John Donne famously observed:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were.

Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

Lord Byron was therefore right:

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.”

As was Oswald Chambers:

The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually assailed (my emphasis).

“Give us a love for what you command”

To manifest the character of Christ to the world, spend time with Christ. Experience his presence in worship; hear his voice in Scripture; make time to be still and know that he is God (Psalm 46:10).

As you do, pray for his Spirit to empower you to choose sacrificial character today. Remember that your integrity shapes for good everyone you influence.

The Anglican Book of Common Prayer includes this supplication I invite you to pray with me:

Give us a love for what you command
and a loving for what you promise,
so that, amid this world’s changes,
our hearts may be set on the world of lasting joy.

Will you choose “the world of lasting joy” today?

Tuesday news to know:

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Denison Forum

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Grow in Grace

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)

These last words of the apostle Peter urge us to grow in each of two important phases of the Christian life—grace and knowledge. Such growth into Him in all things (Ephesians 4:15) will indeed give glory to Him, now and forever.

When we first become Christians, we are newborn babes (Greek brephos, 1 Peter 2:2). Our spiritual birth has been by the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23) on the basis of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).

As the Christian life began with the Word, it can only grow on the Word. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Here, “of the word” is the Greek logikos, elsewhere used only in Romans 12:1 where it is translated “reasonable.” It is the source of our English word “logical.” New Christians must feed on unadulterated, logical truth if they are to grow, and this can be found only in the Holy Scriptures.

There is another word used for babes: Greek nepios, “without speech.” This word is used for toddlers, old enough to walk but not yet able to speak plainly or to act unselfishly. It is used for “carnal” Christians. “I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2).

Carnality in Christians is arrested growth at the “babes in Christ” stage and is clearly abnormal. Such stumbling, quarrelsome babes need to be fed with meat as well as milk if they are to grow: “For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:13). May the Lord enable us to grow in His grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! HMM

 

 

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

My Utmost for His Highest

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers – His

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They were yours; you gave them to me. — John 17:6

A disciple is one in whom the Holy Spirit has forged this realization: “I am not my own.” To say “I am not my own” is to have reached a point of great spiritual nobility. If I am a disciple, I make a sovereign decision to give myself over to Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit comes in to teach me his nature. He teaches me this not so that I’ll hold myself apart from others, like a showroom exhibit of holiness, but in order to make me one with my Lord. Until I am made one with him, he won’t send me out. Jesus Christ waited until after the resurrection to send his disciples to preach the gospel, because only then did the power of the Holy Spirit come upon them, enabling them to perceive who Jesus Christ was and to become one with him.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children . . . such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus doesn’t say, “Such a person cannot be a good and moral individual.” He says, “Such a person cannot be one over whom I write the word mine.” Any of the relationships Jesus mentions may be a competitive relationship. I may prefer to belong to my father or my mother, to my spouse or to myself. If I do, Jesus says I cannot be his disciple. This doesn’t mean I won’t be saved; it simply means I won’t be his.

“You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Our Lord makes his disciples his own possessions. He becomes responsible for them. The spirit the disciple receives isn’t the spirit of hard work or of doing practical things for Jesus. It’s the spirit of love and devotion, of being a perfect delight to him. The secret of the disciple is “I am entirely his, and he is carrying out his work through me.”

Be entirely his.

Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

Wisdom from Oswald

We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ. The Highest Good—Thy Great Redemption, 558 L

 

 

https://utmost.org/

Billy Graham

Billy Graham – The Greatest Work of Christ

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For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
—Ephesians 6:12

Jesus worked all His life. But the greatest work that Jesus did was not in the carpenter’s shop, nor even at the marriage feast of Cana where He turned the water into wine. The greatest work that Jesus did was not when He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, nor even the dead to rise. The greatest work that Jesus did was not when He taught as One having authority, or when He scathingly denounced the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. The greatest work that Jesus did was not in the great ethical program He presented to mankind—that program which has become the foundation for Western culture. What, then, was His greatest work? His greatest work was achieved in those three dark hours on Calvary. Christ’s greatest work was His dying for us.

Five ways Jesus proved He’s the Messiah.

Lea este devocional en español en es.billygraham.org.

Prayer for the day

The battles of life must be faced, but I know they will not be faced without You, my heavenly Father.

 

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GuidePosts

Guideposts – Devotions for Women – Unshakeable Trust

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“They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”—Jeremiah 17:8 (NIV)

The Bible gives many examples of people trusting God in times of waiting. Noah waited for the rain to stop; Rebekah waited for a child. Their faith and patience was rewarded. When you are feeling frustrated by a situation or tired of being patient, pray this verse.

Lord, I am planted in You, and the longer I wait, the deeper my connection and the stronger my roots in You grow.

 

 

https://guideposts.org/daily-devotions/devotions-for-women/devotions-for-faith-prayer-devotions-for-women/

Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – Kenny Luck -Guard Your Thoughts 

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Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy––think about such things. ––Philippians 4:8

 

Mismanaging your emotions is like escorting a group of known terrorists into a large international airport, clearing them through security, and seating them in first class on a full flight bound overseas. Well-managed emotions are processed without special clearance and brought before the security stations of God and others.

To properly filter your emotions requires humility, faith, and a commitment to growth. But you can be assured that Satan hates it when a man is in emotional control of himself, because it means only one thing. Satan has lost control.

Many times we forget the fact that we have been given a mind to control. Our mind does not control us unless we allow it to. If we do what comes naturally, meaning allow any thought or emotion to trudge through our mind, uncontrolled and unchecked, we are at the whim of the evil one.

It says in John that the three temptations in life are the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world impresses our mind with things and power. The flesh tempts us with illicit sexual pleasure, food, and how we look. But the most powerful of the three temptations is our mind. The mind in reality has control of the first two temptations; it’s the trump card of Satan.

The mind is the cathedral of your body. In the cathedrals of Europe you will see the placement of guards that prevent vandalism and the defacing of the precious things inside their vaunted halls. How important and what a powerful tool God has given us; He allows us to place centennials so that our minds are kept free of the devastation that Satan has planned for us.

Father, You have given me a choice of what thoughts I will allow to take shape in my mind. Thank You for allowing me to control my mind.

 

 

Every Man Ministries