Daily Archives: September 9, 2024

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Remaining in Jesus

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Bible in a Year :

I will build my church.

Matthew 16:18

 

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Matthew 16:13-19

A fire burned Balsora Baptist Church to the ground. As emergency workers and community members gathered after the blaze subsided, they were surprised to see a charred cross standing upright amidst the smoke and ashes in the air. A firefighter commented that the fire “took the structure, but not the cross. [This is a reminder] that the building was just that, a building. The church is the congregation.”

The church is not a building, but a community united by the cross of Christ—the One who died, was buried, and rose again. When Jesus lived on earth, He told Peter He’d build His worldwide church, and nothing would destroy it (Matthew 16:18). Jesus would gather believers from all over the globe into a group that would continue throughout time. This community would face intense difficulty, but they’d ultimately endure. God would dwell within them and sustain them (Ephesians 2:22).

When we struggle to establish local churches only to have them stagnate and sputter, when buildings are destroyed, or when we’re concerned about believers struggling in other parts of the world, we can remember that Jesus is alive, actively enabling God’s people to persevere. We’re part of the church He’s building today. He’s with us and for us. His cross remains.

By:  Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Reflect & Pray

In what ways might you support fellow believers? How does sharing the good news relate to God’s plan for the church?

Dear God, please strengthen Your people everywhere. Fill them with wisdom, protect them, and help them stay faithful to You.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Pray for Those Who Hurt You

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But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great….

Luke 6:35 (NIV)

One of the reasons we find forgiving others difficult when we are offended is because we have told ourselves probably thousands of times that forgiving is hard to do. We have convinced ourselves and set our minds to fail at one of God’s most important commands, which is to forgive and pray for our enemies and those who hurt and abuse us (see Luke 6:35–36). We meditate too much on what the offensive person has done to us, and we fail to realize what we are doing to ourselves when we take Satan’s bait.

Though praying for our enemies and blessing those who curse us may seem extremely difficult or nearly impossible, we can do it if we set our minds to it. Having the proper mindset is vital if we want to obey God. He never tells us to do anything that is not good for us or to do anything we cannot do. He is always available to give us the strength we need to accomplish the task. We don’t even need to think about how hard it is; we just need to do it!

God is just! Justice is one of His most admirable character traits. He brings justice as we wait on Him and trust Him to be our Vindicator when we have been hurt or offended. He simply asks us to pray and forgive—and He does the rest. He makes even our pain work out for our good (see Rom. 8:28). He justifies, vindicates, and recompenses us. He pays us back for our pain if we follow His commands to forgive our enemies and even says that we will receive “double for our trouble” (see Isaiah 61:7).

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me to renew my mind with Your Word, so that I can forgive quickly and freely. Help me to trust You to bring justice and healing in my life, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Why I’m cheering for NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence this year

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“A platform and opportunity to put God on display”

The National Football League has begun its 105th season. If you’re looking for a player to follow this year, allow me to nominate Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Not because he makes $55 million a year, which was tied for the highest in the league until the Dallas Cowboys signed Dak Prescott yesterday for $60 million a year. Or because the Jaguars have a good shot at making the playoffs even though they lost to Miami yesterday.

Not even because he is very public about his commitment to Christ, telling a reporter recently, “It’s something I really want to be known about me.” Several other high-profile quarterbacks, including Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, and C. J. Stroud, are also deeply committed to Christ.

Rather, it is because of something his wife, Marissa, said regarding the visibility of their lives:

Knowing that this life and fame is something [God] has trusted us with makes it seem like such an honor. It’s something we fail at a lot, but ultimately all we want is to be able to be a light and glorify God with the things he’s given us, and fame is one of those platforms for us to do that.

I’d say we navigate fame by choosing not to see it as fame but as a platform and opportunity to put God on display.

Mother of Georgia suspect called school before shooting

Several stories in today’s news highlight the significance of sharing God’s word as urgently as we can.

  • According to reporting by the Washington Post, the mother of the suspected Apalachee High School gunman called the school on the morning of the shooting and warned a counselor about an “extreme emergency” involving her fourteen-year-old son.
  • Authorities are still searching this morning for a gunman in rural Kentucky who shot five people Saturday afternoon on Interstate 75.
  • A Jordanian terrorist killed three Israelis yesterday morning at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and Israel.

What happened in Georgia and Kentucky is happening across the country. I have been through the Allenby crossing several times over the years and continue to grieve for my Israeli friends as attacks on their nation continue.

In a world as broken as ours, we might think that people would naturally understand their need for help beyond themselves. But we have been conditioned by our society to think just the opposite.

Science has solved so many of our problems that we think it will solve them all. Medicine has cured so many diseases that we think it will cure them all. We can add clergy abuse scandals, denominational conflicts, and the escalating claim that biblical morality is “dangerous” to society.

If we want people to think biblically and live redemptively, we cannot wait for society to take the lead. Like Trevor and Marissa Lawrence, we will need to see our lives and work as “a platform and opportunity to put God on display.”

This is obviously true given the secularized, post-Christian state of our nation today. But it is also true of all societies, even those whose ethical standards are relatively high.

Why we are in “continuous conflict” with society

The Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian Albert Schweitzer noted in The Philosophy of Civilization that “the system established by society for its prosperous existence” will always transcend the individual, regulate behavior for its own ends, and adjust to the times. Consequently, he warned, “the ethical personality cannot surrender to it, but lives always in continuous conflict with it.”

His observation is especially true for evangelical Christians. In contrast to the state, we believe that society exists to serve individuals made in God’s image. We believe behavior should be regulated ultimately in obedience to God’s word and will. And we believe biblical morality to be absolute, not relative.

Consequently, we will need to be “fishers of men” who go to those who need to come to Christ (Matthew 4:19). Like Jesus, we will meet felt needs to meet spiritual needs. We will earn the right to be heard by those we influence through our personal character and public compassion.

Then we will share the good news of God’s saving grace, “speaking the truth in love” as the Spirit leads us (Ephesians 5:18). This is not, as skeptics claim, an imposition of our subjective beliefs on others. Rather, it is the offer of eternal life shared in the knowledge that “whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death” (James 5:20).

The power of Ronald Reagan’s faith

Using our influence to help our nation turn to God is vital not just for Americans but for America.

Ronald Reagan is in the public eye again with the release of the biographical movie Reagan in theaters. The film focuses especially on our fortieth president’s faith journey, beginning with his mother’s influence and continuing through his historic career.

Mr. Reagan was convinced that such faith is vital to our national character and future. For example, in 1982, he stated in a message to Congress, “Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God.” Two years later, speaking at Eureka College, he quoted from the autobiography of Time magazine editor Whittaker Chambers:

“The crisis of the Western world exists to the degree in which it is indifferent to God.”

How will you meet this crisis today?

Monday news to know:

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

Quote for the day:

“Without absolutes revealed from without by God himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas about matters, justice, and right and wrong, issued from a multitude of self-opinionated thinkers.” —John Owen (1616–83)

 

Denison Forum

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Christ: Our Example

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

Some have tried to pattern their lives after that of Jesus simply by asking in every situation, “What would Jesus do?” But in the context of our text, the primary “example” that He left us was nothing less than His own sacrificial death!

Note the context: “For this is thankworthy [same word as ‘grace’], if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully…if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, yet take it patiently, this is acceptable [also the same word as ‘grace’] with God” (1 Peter 2:19-20).

To follow Christ’s example, therefore, is to be willing to endure unjustified suffering—even defamation and persecution—with grace and patience.

But that is not all; we must also do it in silence! “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not” (1 Peter 2:23). “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

It is a natural reaction to want to strike back at one who has slandered or injured us, especially when such an act is an insulting response to kindness. But such a “natural” reaction was not Christ’s reaction. He could have called “twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53) to His defense, but He chose to suffer in silence.

And why would He do such a thing? First, if He had not done so, we would have been lost in our sins forever. He “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

Second, He left us an example, that we “should follow his steps.” He was not just silent in His sufferings; He “suffered for us”! If we would really be like Him, we must be willing to suffer quietly on behalf of others, even when they are the ones who deserve it. This is acceptable with God! HMM

 

 

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

My Utmost for His Highest

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers – Determinedly Discipline Other Things

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We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience. — 2 Corinthians 10:5–6

These verses point to the strenuous nature of Christian discipleship. Paul writes that he takes every thought captive, knowing that “every act of disobedience” to Christ will be punished. So much Christian activity today has never been disciplined in the way Paul describes; it has simply sprung into being on impulse. In our Lord’s life, every project was disciplined according to the will of his Father. There was not a single impulsive movement of the Son’s own will apart from his Father’s: “Whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19).

Think how different we are from the example set by Jesus. We start projects because we’ve had a vivid religious experience and felt the thrill of inspiration, not because we’re living in obedience to God’s will. We’d rather take impulsive action than be imprisoned and disciplined to obey Christ, because we overvalue practical work. Meanwhile, disciples who aren’t caught up in busywork and who do bring every project into captivity for the Lord are criticized and told they’re not sincere about God or souls.

True sincerity is found in obeying God, not in obeying the inclination to serve him; obeying an inclination is born of an undisciplined human nature. It’s inconceivable yet true that many Christians are motivated to work for God by their own human nature, a nature which has never been spiritualized by determined discipline.

We are prone to forgetting that, as Christians, we must be committed to Jesus Christ not only for salvation but for his point of view. We must commit ourselves to Jesus Christ’s view of God, of the world, of sin, and of the devil. When we do, we will understand that we have a responsibility to renew our minds, so that they may be transformed and brought into complete captivity for him.

Proverbs 6-7; 2 Corinthians 2

Wisdom from Oswald

There is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, light comes through them.
The Place of Help

 

 

https://utmost.org/

Billy Graham

Billy Graham – Science & Faith

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He . . . has given you a full understanding of the truth.
—1 Corinthians 1:5 (TLB)

There is never any conflict between true science and our Christian faith. It is my own feeling that when all of the truth is known, it will be found that the Genesis story is a wonderfully accurate record of what took place when the world was created. This may be a telescoped record, giving only major points, but I believe it is scientifically accurate. To discard the Bible because we do not understand everything in it, or in the world, would be a foolish thing to do. Let me also suggest that teachers should confine themselves to those areas in which they are qualified. I have known unbelievers to attack the Christian faith through their teaching, even when they did not have the remotest idea of what true Christianity is. For instance, one does not send an art critic to write up a football game, or a sports writer to evaluate a painting. Ask God to give you the wisdom to keep things in their proper perspective, and—above all—faithfully read your Bible and pray every day. If you do, God will give you the faith and wisdom you need to meet any problem.

Billy Graham explains why it is possible to be a faithful Christian and a scientist.

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

Prayer for the day

Father, each day as I read the Bible You reveal to me more of the reality of Your love and wisdom. I delight in Your Word!

 

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GuidePosts

Guideposts – Devotions for Women – Renew Your Mind

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.—Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Every moment is an opportunity to renew your mind, change your perspective and see the good in a situation. When you frame your thoughts through the positive lens of love and trust that God will lead you to your best life, good things happen.

Dear Lord, guide me to follow Your will and focus on what is good, acceptable and perfect.

 

 

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

Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – Kenny Luck – Cybernetics 

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In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. ––Proverbs 3:6-8

Cybernetics (loosely translated from the Greek): “a helmsman who steers his ship to port.”

In 1960, Maxwell Maltz wrote a book called Psycho-Cybernetics talking about Cybernetics, the study of trajectory. Trajectory is the origin of the system that guides rocket ships from one heavenly body to another. The study revealed the need for mid-course corrections in a rocket’s trajectory as it sped across space from one moving object to another moving object.

Amazingly, in our flight, it’s possible for even the inertia created by our salvation to be manipulated and thrown off course. Though we might fully embrace the gospel and God’s power in our lives, slight trajectory and velocity changes of the mind, over enough time, can pull us way off course. Think not-so-sound advice, or faulty beliefs about God’s Word. Just like an imperiled space capsule has to fire its engines at exactly the right times to keep the right trajectory, God’s man must employ constant vigilance to listen to the right voices and use the indicators to steer toward an authentic, Christ-centered life.

Satan makes well-calculated attempts to take advantage of our spiritual passion and momentum to slingshot us away from God’s highest purposes and toward his own target of synthetic “Christian” living. That target, as the name suggests, has the look of faith but none of its power.

The Devil can’t take away our salvation or connection to Jesus. True, but he can still do his best to make that connection as unhealthy and toxic as possible. His aim with us is simple: take an authentic conversion and attempt to make it shallow, synthetic, and full of contradictions.

For God’s man, course corrections include check-ins with trusted friends, transparency with spouse of family, consistent time with the Father and His Word. As we check our trajectory against His coordinates, our cybernetics remain true and secure.

Father, thank You for Your Holy Spirit and His promptings.

 

 

Every Man Ministries