The one who is the true Light arrived to shine on everyone coming into the world.

—John 1:9 (TLB)

The world is stumbling in darkness from one crisis to another. The crises are getting worse and worse, and are coming closer and closer to home. Inflation, population explosion, hunger, dominate vast areas of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. You follow me and give your life to me and I’ll take you out of the darkness of this world, out of this confusion, out of this mess that you’re in, and I’ll give you peace and joy. A light will burn in your heart and mind that you never had before. I will command the light to come on in your life.”

Prayer for the day

Your light shines in the darkest place and gives me hope, Lord Jesus.

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Keep a close watch on all you do and think. Stay true to what is right …

—1 Timothy 4:16 (TLB)

In searching for ways to bridge the generation gap, there is no doubt that we, as parents, will have to practice what we preach, by striving more and more to bring our conduct into line with our code of beliefs.

No mother can demand that her daughter abstain from sleeping around when she herself is flirting and on occasion compromising her own moral conduct. No father, who wavers between heavy social drinking and occasional binges to the edge of alcoholism, and who can’t speak a pleasant word in the morning until he has had a cigarette, can yell incessantly at his son to get off marijuana, the route that often leads to hard drugs.

Consistency, constancy, and undeviating diligence to maintain Christian character are a must if the older generation is to command respect, or even a hearing, from the young.

Prayer for the day

Younger eyes see my errant behavior, Lord. Help me to be the right example—one which will draw them to You.

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Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 2:5

It is impossible to live pure lives until we have pure hearts. Many people today are trying to put the cart before the horse. They are teaching purity of motives, desires, and actions to old, deceitful hearts! No wonder we have ended up such moral failures, in spite of our vaunted knowledge and psychological approaches.

Pure motives, desires, and actions stem from pure hearts. Pure hearts will be Christlike. It is God’s desire that we be conformed to the image of His Son. If Christ lives within us and our bodies become the abode of the Holy Spirit, is it any wonder that we should be like Him?

Prayer for the day

Cleanse my heart and make it the home of Your Spirit, Lord.

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Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do …

—Philippians 4:9

Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. What our young people want to see in their elders is integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and faith. What they hate most of all is hypocrisy and phoniness. That is why it is important for us to go to church, to read the Bible, and to say grace at the table. Let them see us doing what we would like them to do.

Prayer for the day

Take away the “front,” Father, that so often creeps into my life. I would live in such a way that young people will be drawn to You, too.

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… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

—Joshua 24:15

The basic unit of any society is the home. When the home begins to break, the society is on the way to disintegration. Thousands of homes are almost on the rocks. Many couples are fearful lest their home, too, will be broken some day. There is one great insurance policy that you can take out, in order to guarantee the unity and happiness of your home. It is simple: Make Christ the center of your home.

A home is like a solar system. The center, the great sun, holds the solar system together. If it were not for the sun, the solar system would fly to pieces. Unless the Son of God is put at the center of your home, it, too, may fly to pieces.

Prayer for the day

How easy it is to push You to one side, Lord, and superficially remember Your blessings. May we always keep You at the center of all that we do in our homes.

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I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world …

—1 Peter 2:11 (TLB)

We all know there is no such thing as absolute freedom. We cannot drive down the street at 100 miles an hour. You can’t swing your fist at me, because your freedom stops at the end of my nose. We can say that we want freedom to publish pornography, to push harmful drugs, to have unrestricted sex, to lie, to cheat; but if we continue with that kind of permissive freedom, we shall destroy ourselves.

Man can remain free only so long as he has the moral power to restrain his appetites. Basically, our problem is heart trouble. Our hearts need to be changed … peace will never come until we have changed human nature, until people begin loving each other instead of hating each other.

Prayer for the day

I need Your guidelines in my life, Lord. Loving You frees me from the bondage of my carnal appetite.

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In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

—John 16:33

You should not expect the easy way, for if you do you are certainly destined for disappointment. Any person who knows the Bible knows that the Christian life is likened to an athletic contest or to warfare, and neither one is easy. Jesus warned His followers to count carefully the cost, and that certainly does not speak of an easy way. But there is no good thing that comes without cost.

The Christian life is the most satisfying, but only when we actually go all out and all the way. It is the Christian who tries to compromise who finds life miserable, for he has all the problems, without the fellowship that comes through surrender. For every trial and test, Christ supplies an abundance of grace with which to bear it, and in our weakness we are made strong.

Prayer for the day

Let me never look for the easy way when You, Lord Jesus, gave everything for me.

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For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

—Romans 8:26

John Knox, with an all-consuming soul-concern for his country, prayed, “Give me Scotland, or I die!” His earnest travail was rewarded with a spiritual rebirth in his land. This is what is termed “praying in the Spirit.” It is the manifestation of a deep spiritual concern for others, and it is instilled by the Spirit of God. This kind of prayer can leap over oceans, speed across burning deserts, spring over mountains, bound through jungles, and carry the healing, helping power of the Gospel to the object of prayer.

That “the Spirit Himself makes intercession” indicates that it is actually God pleading, praying, and mourning through us. Thus we become co-laborers with God, actual partners with Him; our lives are lifted from the low plane of selfishness to the high plane of creativeness with God. John Knox travailed, and the Church in Scotland broke into new life.

Prayer for the day

My heart’s cry is heard—thank You, Lord Jesus!

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Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

—1 Corinthians 2:5

The word “mystery” is used many times in Scripture. Some of the mysteries of the past have been fathomed by science. Others still bewilder mankind. This fact remains: All of the garnered wisdom of the ages is only a scratch on the surface of man’s search for the knowledge of the universe. For the most part, God retains His secrets, and man standing on his intellectual tiptoes can comprehend only a small fraction of the Lord’s doings.

This inability to comprehend fully the mysteries of God does not in any way curtail the Christian faith. On the contrary, it enhances our belief. We do not understand the intricate pattern of the stars in their courses, but we know that He who created them does, and that just as surely as He guides them, He is charting a safe course for us. A “mystery” in Scripture is a previously hidden truth now divinely revealed, but in which a supernatural element remains unknown despite the revelation.

Prayer for the day

Just as You have guided all who love You in the past, I know my life is being lovingly directed. My faith is small but, God, You are my strength.

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Let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. … And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.

—1 John 4:7,21

If you would know the measure of your love for God, just observe your love for your fellowman. Our compassion for others is an accurate gauge of our devotion to God.

Some time ago, with some friends, I went through a museum in San Francisco. Among other things, we saw a collection of instruments of torture which were employed by religious people to force other people to believe as they did. History is largely the record of man’s inhumanity to man.

Prayer for the day

Lord God, fill my heart that I may love with the compassion of Jesus.

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“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength … ”

—Isaiah 40:31

It is an exhilarating experience to live the new life, with Christ inside me enabling me to live it. As a man was riding along in his Ford, suddenly something went wrong. He got out and looked at the engine, but he could find nothing wrong. As he stood there, another car came in sight, and he waved it down to ask for help. Out of a brand new Lincoln stepped a tall, friendly man who asked, “Well, what’s the trouble?” “I cannot get this Ford to move,” was the reply. The stranger made a few adjustments under the hood and then said, “Now start the car.” When the motor started, its grateful owner introduced himself and then asked, “What is your name, sir?” “My name,” answered the stranger, “is Henry Ford.”

The one who made the Ford knew how to make it run. God made you and me, and He alone knows how to run your life and mine. We could make a complete wreck of our lives without Christ. When He is at the controls, all goes well. Without Him, we can do nothing.

From Day by Day with Billy Graham, © 1976 BGEA

Prayer for the day

Lord, so often I forget to give You complete control and I fail. Teach me to rely completely on You for my strength and needs.

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Who so trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

—Proverbs 16:20

There is much in our nature that perplexes us. Many people are disturbed as they confront the troubling riddle of their own existence. They are bewildered by their proneness to sin and evil. They quake and tremble at the thought of their inability to cope with their own lives.

Christ can give you satisfying answers to such questions as “Who am I?” “Why was I born?” “What am I doing here?” “Where am I going?” All of the great questions of life can be measured when you come by faith to Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Lord. Let Him be your Pilot. He can take away the worry from your life.

Prayer for the day

I trust You, Lord, to control my life. Knowing You will guide me in the right path gives me joy.

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All of us used to be just as they [nonbelievers] are, our lives expressing the evil within us … But God is so rich in mercy … he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead …

—Ephesians 2:3–5 (TLB)

I am reminded of a period when all the agonies that afflict modern minds were felt by another generation, the young people who lived during the first century after Christ. They too sought change, but they directed their efforts at individuals, not at the Roman Empire, not at City Hall. And eventually the whole social and political structure felt their impact. In short, those renewed men and women became filled with a unique dynamic force.

Today this same force is available to all people. Over the centuries it has worked in the lives of millions. I personally have seen thousands of people changed. Jesus called it “a new birth.” The Scripture tells us that you need not continue as you are. You can become a new person. Whatever your hang-up—guilt, anxiety, fear, hatred—God can handle it.

Prayer for the day

I delight in knowing, Lord Jesus, that there is nothing in my life that is incapable of being changed through Your redemptive power.

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Keep yourselves in the love of God …

—Jude 21

The Bible is a revelation of the fact that God is love. Many people misunderstand the attribute of God’s nature which is love. “God is love” does not mean that everything is sweet, beautiful, and happy, and that God’s love could not possibly allow punishment for sin.

When we preach justice, it is justice tempered with love. When we preach righteousness, it is righteousness founded on love. When we preach atonement, it is atonement planned by love, provided by love, given by love, finished by love, necessitated because of love. When we preach the resurrection of Christ, we are preaching the miracle of love. When we preach the return of Christ, we are preaching the fulfillment of love.

No matter what sin you have committed, or how terrible, dirty, or shameful it may be, God loves you. This love of God is immeasurable, unmistakable, and unending!

Prayer for the day

My heartfelt gratitude to You, Father, for Your forgiveness and love. I must be acutely aware that in all my dealing with others the only yardstick I have is Your immeasurable love.

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For our citizenship is in heaven; from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

—Philippians 3:20 (NASB)

If you are moving to a new home, you want to know all about the community to which you are going. And since we will spend eternity some place, we ought to know something about it. The information concerning heaven is found in the Bible. When we talk about heaven, earth grows shabby by comparison. Our sorrows and problems here seem so much less, when we have keen anticipation of the future.

In a certain sense the Christian has heaven here on earth. He has peace of soul, peace of conscience, and peace with God. In the midst of troubles and difficulties he can smile. He has a spring in his step, a joy in his soul, a smile on his face. But the Bible also promises the Christian a heaven in the life hereafter.

Prayer for the day

Father, as I face whatever trials come my way, I will take heart in the glorious promise of heaven—knowing I shall be with You!

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Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love …

—Jeremiah 31:3

As I read the Bible, I find love to be the supreme and dominant attribute of God. The promises of God’s love and forgiveness are as real, as sure, as positive, as human words can make them. But the total beauty of the ocean cannot be understood until it is seen, and it is the same with God’s love. Until you actually experience it, until you actually possess it, no one can describe its wonders to you.

Never question God’s great love, for it is as unchangeable a part of God as His holiness. Were it not for the love of God, none of us would ever have a chance in the future life. But God is love! And His love for us is everlasting.

Prayer for the day

Knowing myself as I do, Lord, the knowledge of Your love and forgiveness never ceases to amaze me. In the knowledge of this, help me to communicate to others that this love is theirs too, if they will only reach out for it.

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Let the peace of God rule in your hearts …

—Colossians 3:15

When we examine the problems that confront us in our world today, we find that every one of them resolves into a problem of “inner space,” a problem of the dark side of the human spirit. From thousands of letters we receive, it is evident that a large proportion of the population is facing deep personal problems. They vary from person to person, but they do exist, and they are all problems of “inner space.”

Yes, we are the people who have been conquering outer space, but are in danger of losing the battle of the spirit. But there is a solution—for millions it has already been reached—and that solution is in Jesus Christ. He said, “My peace”—my liberty, my freedom—”I give unto you” (John 14:27).

Today if we will turn the searchlight of truth on the dark side of our human spirits and let Jesus Christ become the Master Control of our lives, a new day will dawn for us. Submit the “inner space” of your life to Him.

Prayer for the day

How often I hurt deep down inside me, Lord, but the knowledge of Your love and compassion brings me hope and peace.

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… being knit together in love …

—Colossians 2:2

Thousands of young couples go through with a loveless marriage because no one ever told them what genuine love is. I believe we need to read the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, in which the Apostle Paul gives us a definition of love. He says, “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” If people today knew that kind of love, the divorce rate would be sharply reduced.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, we need Your love and forgiveness in our hearts, if we are to love unselfishly.

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God carefully watches the goings on of all mankind …

—Job 34:21 (TLB)

There is an old story that tells about a pig. . . . The farmer brought the pig into the house. He gave him a bath, polished his hooves, put some Chanel No. 5 on him, put a ribbon around his neck, and put him in the living room. The pig looked fine. He made a nice and companionable pet for a few minutes. But as soon as the door was opened, the pig left the living room and jumped into the first mud puddle that he could find. Why? Because he was still a pig at heart. His nature had not been changed. He had changed outwardly but not inwardly. . . .

You can take a man—dress him up, put him in the front row in church, and he almost looks like a saint. He may fool even his best friends for a while, but then put him in his office, or in the club on Saturday night, and you will see his true nature come out again. Why does he act that way? Because his nature has not been changed. He has not been born again.

Prayer for the day

Almighty God, there are times when I debase my Christian walk and slip again into the mire. Cleanse and strengthen me, for Jesus’ sake.

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Judge not, that ye be not judged.

—Matthew 7:1

The word prejudice means “prejudging” or “making an estimate of others without knowing the facts.” Prejudice is a mark of weakness, not of strength. Prejudice is measured by computing the distance between our own biased opinions and the real truth. If we would all be perfectly honest before God, there would be no prejudice.

Prayer for the day

You love each one of us with a love that breaks through all prejudicial barriers, Father. Forgive me for the times I judge others. Purify my heart, that I may be used to draw people together into the bond of Christ’s unifying love.

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