Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – Kenny Luck -Deliverance 

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So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”  ––Galatians 3: 9-10

Do we have a clear understanding of Christianity or have we missed the mark throughout the ages in what God is communicating?

In the last part of this scripture we see that without being completely delivered from the works of the law we are all doomed. In our mind’s eye, “completely delivered” should mean this: unless we have accepted the fact that we can’t deliver ourselves from any sin and the sinful condition we’re wired to, we are doomed.

From a Christian Evangelical radio station I heard these words recently: “Enough of this hyper grace preaching and back to sincere repentance.” Am I missing the motivation of this statement?

We can certainly agree motivation is different for different people. Some are motivated by the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” No forethought, just do it. Others are motivated by forethought.

We ask ourselves, after reading the New Testament, what kind of heart is God motivated by as we live our lives before Him? As a father, if your child brought your shoes to you all cleaned and polished without you asking them to, which motivation is most rewarding: because the child was commanded to do this, or because they wanted to? Is the Christian life all about me and my failure to keep the law, or about God and His deliverance of us from it?

That’s the essence of the word deliverance: We cannot deliver ourselves into spiritual correctness. Only God makes the crooked paths straight and takes the broken hearts—yours, mine, every man’s—and makes them whole and healed. It’s a sum-everything game: Jesus plus nothing equals deliverance. Not Jesus plus our good works … not Jesus minus our faults. Ask yourself the same question Jesus asked the paralytic man at the Pool of Bethesda: “Do you want to be healed?”

If your answer is yes, then pick up your proverbial pallet and go. Choose Him and you choose healing. Where there’s a “want” there’s a Way.

Father, thank You for Your complete deliverance. Wow!

 

 

Every Man Ministries

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Transformed from the Inside

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Bible in a Year :

You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Matthew 23:25

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Matthew 23:23-33

In the worst UK residential fire since World War II, fire engulfed the twenty-four story Grenfell Tower building in West London, claiming the lives of seventy people. Investigations revealed a primary reason the flames spread so quickly was the cladding used as part of renovation that covered the building’s exterior. The material was aluminum on the outside but had an extremely flammable plastic core.

How was such a dangerous material allowed to be sold and installed? The product’s sellers failed to disclose poor fire safety test results. And buyers, drawn by the material’s cheap price tag, failed to heed warning signs. The shiny cladding looked nice on the outside.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed at religious teachers He accused of covering corruption behind a nice-looking exterior. He said they were like “whitewashed tombs”—“beautiful on the outside” but inside full of dead bones (Matthew 23:27). Instead of pursuing “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23), they were focused on looking good—cleaning “the outside of the cup” but not the “greed and self-indulgence” inside (v. 25).

It’s easier to focus on looking good than to bring our sin and brokenness honestly before God. But a nice-looking exterior doesn’t make a corrupt heart any less dangerous. God invites us to let Him transform all of us from the inside (1 John 1:9).

By:  Monica La Rose

Reflect & Pray

When have you tried to disguise corruption? How can you prioritize internal change?

Gracious God, please help me not to hide my brokenness but let You transform all of me.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Little by Little

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And the Lord your God will clear out those nations before you, little by little; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase among you.

Deuteronomy 7:22 (AMPC)

Recently I thought about my life from the time I seriously began to follow Jesus Christ to the present. Had I known then—at the beginning of the journey—all the things God would take me through, I would probably have been afraid to sign up for the trip.

As I look back, however, I realize that God held my hand and let me advance in small steps. I had times of great discouragement—as we all do. I remember times of bitter tears over my personal failures. But God kept nudging me forward.

That’s the secret of living the victorious Christian life—we move ahead little by little. It’s an inching forward over months and years. Most of us can understand that. The same is true in the battle for the mind. We don’t roust Satan in one big blow and then live in victory forever after. We win one small battle, and then we’re ready to move on to the next one. We may have a few major victories that come suddenly, but not many of them. The fight to destroy Satan’s strongholds comes mostly by daily, doggedly, moving ahead.

The first time I thought of that fact, it was discouraging, until I realized the wisdom of God. After the Jews left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, God spoke to them before they went into the Promised Land. It was a special land—fertile, beautiful, and promised to them. But in the more than 400 years since Jacob and his sons had left the land, others had moved in and occupied land that didn’t belong to them.

For the children of Israel, it wasn’t merely a matter of going in and settling down. They had to fight for every foot of ground—even though it was their inheritance.

That’s how the spiritual principle works on every level. God has the blessings out there waiting for us, but it’s up to us to go in and take the land. Just as it was for the Jews of old, it is a battle.

In the verse at the beginning of this chapter, God spoke of the beasts of the field. There were many wild animals in the land , and it could have been dangerous. But what if we thought of the beasts as pride? What if God suddenly gave us full, complete victory, and we never struggled again; how would that affect us? Surely pride would creep in.

Our attitude then would be to look down on others who have not been as victorious as we have been. We may not express our condescension in words, but won’t those we disdain sense that we think we’re superior? And, truthfully, wouldn’t we feel superior. We’ve made it; those poor souls are still struggling.

God has a wonderful plan for each of us, but it never comes with just one major victory, so that we never struggle again. Instead, it’s an ongoing warfare, and we must remain vigilant and be aware of the attacks of the enemy.

Another aspect is that because we move ahead little by little, it makes us savor every victory. Each time we overcome or destroy one of Satan’s strongholds, we rejoice. We can remain in a constant state of thanksgiving. If we’ve had only one victory, and that was 30 years ago, how dull our lives would be. Or worse yet, how easy it would be for us to take God for granted. Isn’t it better to serve a God who takes us slowly forward, always showing us the way, always encouraging us? We always have new horizons to reach for, and that makes our journey with God exciting!

Prayer of the Day: God, please forgive me for wanting all the victory right now. Help me realize that as I struggle and call on You, I see Your wonderful, loving, and caring hand taking me forward—little by little. For that, I’m so grateful, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – US company charges couples to screen their embryos for IQ

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Our broken moral compass and the path to inner transformation

American startup company Heliospect Genomics is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ, marketing their services at up to $50,000. While scientists warn that such genetic screenings are currently inconsistent and not technologically reliable, the story raises the question: If you could use genetic testing to select a baby based on IQ or other traits, would you?

Should you?

“Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis” is currently being used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to reduce the risk of passing on inherited conditions. Embryos created through IVF are tested for single-gene disorders such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, or polycystic kidney disease. The healthiest embryos are implanted in the mother; the others are frozen or discarded.

This practice raises enormous ethical issues of its own, especially for those of us who believe life begins at conception. However, in my work as an ethics consultant with a major healthcare system, I have also been anticipating the day when such testing could be used to select embryos based on IQ and a variety of other attributes. Such eugenic practices would clearly be attractive to many who could afford them.

This issue points to an even more fundamental cultural question that affects every one of us, regardless of our age or station in life.

“We no longer worship anything”

There was a day when couples could know little about their babies prior to birth. Ultrasound scanners were not widely available until the 1970s; the same was true for prenatal screening for Down syndrome.

Prior to this time, sex-selective abortions were obviously not possible; today, millions of babies (usually females) have been aborted on the basis of their gender. Down syndrome babies were not detectable in utero and thus not aborted; today, 90 percent of women whose unborn babies are diagnosed with Down choose to abort them.

We could have a similar discussion of nearly any ethical issue of our time. For example:

  • There was a day when parents could more easily protect their children from pornography distributed by magazines and movies. Today, hard-core porn is available to anyone with internet access. And virtual reality is making porn more immersive and addictive than ever.
  • Euthanasia was once illegal and difficult to obtain; now, “suicide pods” are making it easier than ever for people to take their own lives.
  • Mass media was once distributed through platforms and networks that enforced editorial standards and ethical accountability. Today, anyone can broadcast and consume nearly any message through nearly any digital device, enabling “fake news” and “deep fake videos” to proliferate.

While we are facing unprecedented ethical challenges, our culture at the same time is jettisoning the resources it needs to face them. Richard Rorty, heralded on his death in 2007 by the New York Times as “one of the world’s most influential contemporary thinkers,” summarized our cultural worldview:

Once upon a time, we felt a need to worship something which lay beyond the visible world. Beginning in the seventeenth century, we tried to substitute a love of truth for a love of God, treating the world described by science as a quasi-divinity. Beginning at the end of the eighteenth century, we tried to substitute a love of ourselves for a love of scientific truth, a worship of our own deep spiritual or poetic nature, treated as one more quasi-divinity.

Now, according to Rorty, we have come to a place “where we no longer worship anything, where we treat nothing as a quasi-divinity, where we treat everything—our language, our conscience, our community—as products of time and chance.”

How’s that working for us?

“Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race”

My obvious response is to urge you to love your Lord with all of your being and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–39). The first returns God to his rightful place on the throne of our lives and world; the second causes us to venerate life from natural conception to natural death.

But for flawed and fallen people like you and me, both are easier said than done. Otherwise, why would abortion and pornography (as examples) be so prevalent among Christians? To this end, let’s close by pointing to a source of hope that transcends all our aspirations and efforts.

Oswald Chambers noted, “Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not wrong doing, it is wrong being, deliberate and emphatic independence of God” (his emphasis). He added that, unlike other religions that deal with various sins, Christianity uniquely deals with our sin nature at the cross.

We often say that Jesus died for our sins, but Chambers explains that in fact “he took upon himself the heredity of sin which no man can touch. God made his own Son to be sin that he might make the sinner a saint.” Scripture agrees:

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Note that the text does not say that God made Jesus “to bear sins” but “to be sin.”

According to Chambers, “In so doing he put the whole human race on the basis of redemption. Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race; he put it back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what our Lord has done on the cross.”

Now the choice is with us. Will we submit our lives this day to God’s Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), asking him to recreate the character of Christ in us (Romans 8:29), empower us to defeat any temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13), and transform us to be “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37)?

Will you?

NOTE: Feeling disheartened by the state of our nation’s discourse? Respectfully, I Disagree and How Does God See America? are two timely resources designed to help you navigate these turbulent times with a heart aligned with God’s truth. These books are our gift to thank you for your donation of $25 or more. Secure your political bundle today.

Tuesday news to know:

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

Quote for the day:

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” —Dwight L. Moody

 

Denison Forum

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Godly Derision and Wrath

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by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” (Psalm 2:4-5)

What does an individual gain by opposing God and His plan? Can human opposition succeed against the Almighty One who created the universe? Obviously, no rebellion has a chance to succeed. God’s sovereign control will certainly overpower man’s feeble attempts to wrest command from Him. He will simply laugh in derision.

However difficult it is for us to imagine God laughing in this manner, we can surely understand His derision at the futility of created beings confronting their Creator and His right to rule over their lives. The name used for God is Lord, meaning master. As Creator He has the authority to set the rules for His creation and the power to exact the penalty for breaking the rules.

Note that His response exceeds mere derision. It extends to “wrath.” At the appointed time, the sovereign Judge will address all those who have rebelled against and opposed Him.

Man has no right to question God’s authority or goodness in exercising it. Indeed, “the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He even sacrificed His only begotten Son to pay the just penalty for sin. What more could He do?

With our sin penalty fully paid, our sin is forgiven, and we gratefully acknowledge His kingship over our lives. Once submitted to Him, we face everlasting fellowship with Him. With sin banished, believers need never fear His derision or wrath. JDM

 

 

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

My Utmost for His Highest

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers – The Testimony of the Spirit

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The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit. — Romans 8:16

We are in danger of getting into a negotiating mindset with God, of trying to haggle him into giving us the testimony of the Spirit before we’ve done what he tells us to do. “Why isn’t the Spirit testifying with my spirit?” you ask. “Why doesn’t God reveal himself to me?” The answer is that he won’t, not as long as you are in his way, refusing to abandon yourself to him. The instant you do abandon, God begins to testify to himself. He can’t testify to you—that is, to your human nature. Rather, he testifies to his own nature inside you, the nature you received when you were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

If you were to receive the testimony of the Spirit before the Spirit was a reality inside you, it would end in sentimental emotion. But the moment you stop debating and complete the spiritual transaction, the moment you ask for the Holy Spirit and receive him, God gives you the testimony. When you abandon intellectual reasoning and argument and hand yourself in faith to God, you will be amazed at your impertinence in having kept him waiting so long.

If you are debating the question of whether God can deliver you from sin, either let him do it or tell him he can’t. Don’t come at him with evidence, quoting this or that expert. Instead, try Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.” Come, when you are burdened with doubt. Ask, if you know you are evil: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

The simplicity that characterizes commonsense decisions is easy to mistake for the testimony of the Spirit. But the Spirit testifies only to his own nature and to the work of redemption, never to our human reason. If we try to make him testify to our reason, it is no wonder we remain in darkness and perplexity. Fling your doubting and debating overboard, trust in God, and his Spirit will give the testimony.

Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

Wisdom from Oswald

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.Disciples Indeed, 388 R

 

 

https://utmost.org/

Billy Graham

Billy Graham – All Have Sinned

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So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
—Romans 3:28 (TLB)

Many people still cling to the notion that man is naturally good. We did not get this from the Greeks. Aristotle said, “There is no good in mankind.” We did not get it from Judaism. Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

We did not get it from Christian teachings. The Apostle Paul said, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We got this illusion, I believe, from the philosophers and psychologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who taught the false doctrine that man is a helpless victim of his environment.

The Bible says that man is not naturally good. All human experience confirms it. Man is rebellious by nature. This first rebellion in history happened in the Garden of Eden, where the environment was perfect and there was no heredity on which to blame it!

Read more about sin.

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

Prayer for the day

Each time I become obsessed by the idea that my deeds are so noble, let me remember the magnanimity of Your perfect life.

 

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GuidePosts

Guideposts – Devotions for Women – Overcome Temptation

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Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.—Hebrews 2:18 (NIV)

When you are faced with temptation, turn to Jesus for help. He can empathize with your struggles because He suffered and overcame temptation Himself. Ask Him to fill your heart with the desire to live a life that honors Him, and be a light of His love and grace in this world.

Lord, I know You understand. Thank You for giving me strength and guidance when I am struggling. Thank You for giving me the help I need.

 

 

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

Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – Kenny Luck -Less Straw, More Bricks? (Part 2)

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They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!  ––2 Timothy 3:5 NLT

The last thing God’s man wants is to wake up one day and realize that he’s the one demanding “less straw, more bricks” from other people. We all want to be more like Moses and less like Pharoah.

The reality is that the one scenario in which we have the most control is our own. The hard truth: if the motions are right but the motivation is out of alignment, you might as well drop the charade. Playing church is playing with fire. It really gets down to the word “authority.” Are we attempting to do this “Christian thing” in our own authority or are we filled with the Spirit and doing this out of a gratitude response? Is this a God thing or is it a me thing? Is this still a religion thing, me trying to impress God and others or is it surrendering full authority to God?

Here’s what speaking spiritual words but doing religious actions looks like:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

––2 Timothy 3:1-5

Of course, none of us want to become what Paul warns his protégé, Timothy, to avoid. It starts with each of us acknowledging the cold, hard reality of the situation: it goes way back to the beginning DNA of the human being. The only way that DNA thing can be changed is by a supernatural action stripping us of all authority by the surrender of our will to His. That is the only way that we can step into a “more straw (provision), more bricks (fruit of the Spirit)” lifestyle. It’s also how we avoid being a person who has a form of godliness but who denies its power.

You may have discovered this is not only a one-time decision; it is a daily thing. How much straw are you giving to those around you—at work, at home, or in your friendships? In other words, do your actions match your words? Are you putting your money where your mouth is—financially yes, but also emotionally, spiritually, and relationally?

The word practice comes back up at this time. What are you practicing or putting into action on a daily basis that is going to pound God’s perception into your existence? I have found, and God has pointed it out over and over, that you have to practice an intimate relationship with Him.

There is no other way! Spend time with God; make him your FIRST appointment of the day, every day.  Get out of bed, plant your feet on the ground and walk over to your appointment room, pour yourself a cup of coffee and open His message to you and stick your head in it. Then journal your prayer of gratitude for the relationship He has ordained for the two of you to “PRACTICE.” That’s how we get more straw, and that’s how we give it.

Thank You, Father, for desiring an intimate relationship with me and for giving me the tools I need to do Your will.

 

 

Every Man Ministries

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Jesus the Branch

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Bible in a Year :

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right.

Jeremiah 33:15

 

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Rising among the red mountains of Sedona, Arizona, is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. Entering the small chapel, I was immediately drawn to an unusual sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Instead of a traditional cross, Jesus is shown crucified on the branches of a tree with two trunks. Horizontally, a severed, dead trunk represents the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament that rejected God. The other trunk grows upward and branches out to symbolize the flourishing tribe of Judah and the family line of King David.

The symbolically significant art points to an important prophecy in the Old Testament about Jesus. Although the tribe of Judah was living in captivity, the prophet Jeremiah gave a hopeful message from God: “I will fulfill the good promise I made” (Jeremiah 33:14) to provide a rescuer who would “do what is just and right in the land” (v. 15). One way the people would know the identity of the rescuer was He would “sprout from David’s line” (v. 15), meaning the rescuer would be a physical descendant of King David.

The sculpture skillfully captures an important truth that in the details of Jesus’ family lineage, God was faithful to do all that He promised. Even more, it’s a reminder that His faithfulness in the past gives us reassurance that He’ll be faithful to fulfill His promises to us in the future.

By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

What are other significant promises from God that Jesus fulfilled? How does their fulfillment encourage you?

Thank You, Almighty God, that You fulfill all Your promises

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Watches Over You

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He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 121:3-4 (NIV)

Realizing that God watches over us at all times is very comforting. There is never one moment when He doesn’t have His loving eye on us. God doesn’t sleep, so even when we are asleep, He is watching us.

God is our protector and our hiding place. He is the place we run to when we are hurting, in trouble, or in any kind of danger. I encourage you to think several times a day, God is watching me right now. Remembering His watchful eye over me comforts me. It helps me to realize that nothing is hidden from God, and it increases my desire to live a life that pleases Him.

Are you afraid of anything right now? If so, just remember that God is watching over you. He is with you. If you are hurting physically or emotionally, He is with you to comfort you. All you need to do is ask Him for what you need. God loves you very much, and He delights in meeting your needs and giving you the desires of your heart.

Prayer of the Day: Father, it is wonderful to know that You are always watching over me and that You will protect me. Help me remember that You see me at all times.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – The Active Power of Faith

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by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

When God grants the gift of faith that enables us at the point of salvation (Ephesians 2:8), it should not be seen as a static power that merely resides in our minds but rather an empowerment that is expected to grow into a dynamic and demonstrable “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4-9).

Faith preserves and protects us. Jesus insisted, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). These words are precise. Once faith is exercised, an eternal transaction takes place wherein a person is “passed” from spiritual death to eternal life. This is an absolute change and eliminates the possibility of hell (John 10:28-29).

Faith is power for effective prayer. The “mustard seed” promise in Matthew 17:20 does not refer to size or amount but to quality. The Greek comparative hoce, translated “as” in that passage, refers to the same kind of faith as the mustard seed. Just so, the promise of Matthew 7:7 (that if you ask and seek, you will find) depends on our confidence (faith) in the heavenly Father.

Faith is our “shield” against the Enemy. The seven pieces of God’s armor identified in Ephesians 6:10-18 include “the shield of faith” that provides an ability “to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (v. 16). That shield is defensive in the sense that it only provides protection when we use it to block the “darts.” The active use comes when we “resist the devil” (James 4:7) “in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9).

Do you use faith as God intended? HMM III

 

 

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

My Utmost for His Highest

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers – Impulse

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Building yourselves up in your most holy faith . . . — Jude 1:20

There was nothing impulsive and nothing cold-blooded about our Lord, just a calm strength that never got into a panic. Most of us develop our Christianity along the line of our own impulses rather than along the line of God. Impulsiveness is a natural human trait, but our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the development of the life of a disciple.

Watch how the Spirit of God checks our impulses. His checks bring a rush of self-consciousness that instantly makes us want to vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is fine in a child but disastrous in a man or a woman; an impulsive adult is always a petulant adult. Impulsiveness has to be trained into intuition by discipline.

Discipleship has no impulsiveness in it; it is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy in an impulsive burst of courage, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is a different thing. Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:29)—but he also walked far with Jesus on the land. We don’t need the supernatural grace of God in order to weather crises; human nature and pride are sufficient for that. But we do need his grace in order to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a child of God, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We think that we have to do exceptional things for God, but this isn’t true. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, and this isn’t learned in five minutes.

Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

Wisdom from Oswald

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.
We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.

 

 

https://utmost.org/

Billy Graham

Billy Graham – A Need for God

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Christ in your hearts is your only hope of glory.
—Colossians 1:27 (TLB)

The age-old issue, “Can man save himself, or does he need God?” is still raging across the world as furiously as ever. As long as the world goes on, people will build towers of Babel, fashion their graven images, and invent their own ideologies. Now, as in every period of history, people think they can manage without God.

Economically, they may manage; intellectually, they may manage; socially, they may get by. But down underneath the surface of rational man is a vacuum-a void that can be met only through Jesus Christ. The most astounding fact of all history is that the great and almighty God of heaven can live in your heart. It makes no difference who you are.

Does God live in your heart? Fill the void in your life and commit yourself to Jesus. 

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

Prayer for the day

You fill the emptiness and longing of my soul. I need the presence of Your Spirit, dear Lord.

 

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GuidePosts

Guideposts – Devotions for Women – Glory to His Name

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Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.—Romans 1:5 (NIV)

The message in the above verse is a reminder of the power of obedience when being called to share the Gospel with those around you. Ask God to strengthen you to reflect the love and grace of Christ so that others may see your faith and be drawn to Him.

Heavenly Father, I pray my life brings glory to Your name.

 

 

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

Every Man Ministry

Every Man Ministry – Kenny Luck -Less Straw, More Bricks? (Part 1)

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You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”   ––Matthew 15:7-8

My friend KC spent more than 35 years in the corporate world. He talks about his experience of working for one Christian company: “The company was, shall we say, very careful with raises, but talked a lot about how we were doing God’s work. Unfortunately, their words often didn’t line up with my understanding of biblical stewardship. The owners and executives all drove very nice cars while the worker bees rode the bus or drove beater cars. But, they’d constantly tell us that what we were doing was ministry, thus low salaries. It was, essentially, a ‘less straw, more bricks’ scenario.”

KC’s reference is found in Exodus, where the Egyptian pharaoh who honored Joseph is dead, and Moses is now in the limelight.

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. ––Exodus 5:6-8

Can you relate? Maybe you’ve been in a one-sided relationship where you felt you were the one doing all the work; or perhaps, like KC, you’ve worked for an employer who drove you really hard but rewarded poorly. They said the right things, but the actions didn’t produce. Whatever your “less straw, more bricks” situation, here’s the common denominator: it’s no fun, and it’s discouraging.

In my own personal “less straw” work situation, I finally had to leave that organization. It was a tough decision, but eventually the Lord made it clear that he had a new chapter for me. My prayer is that if you are currently in this type of situation, that God would make your next move crystal clear, and knock down any barriers for you to do His will in your next chapter.

In the key verse for today’s reading, Jesus quotes Isaiah to drive home the point that hypocrisy—saying one thing and doing another—is nothing new. For you and me in our twenty-first century world, it seems that this type of hypocrisy is only getting worse, not better. The danger for God’s man, when caught in a “less straw” scenario, is to become bitter and offended. That’s how our emotions typically flow when people say one thing but do another. But we are not called to flow the way the world flows—we are called to flow against the grain, so to speak, as God’s kingdom looks nothing like the world’s.

So in those situations where “less straw” is being given to you to produce the same amount of bricks, keen discernment is needed. What is your role in the situation? What are the controllables vs. the uncontrollables? This is a very good time to invoke the opinions of trusted, godly friends, and to turn to the Holy Spirit for precise direction.

Bad things are going to happen to us, and it’s up to us how we will react. It doesn’t mean we pretend that negative things aren’t happening, but that we deal with them through a Kingdom lens light on offense and heavy on thoughtful discernment.

Father, help me walk through my negative circumstances and also, may my words always match my actions, and vice versa.

 

 

Every Man Ministries

News and Info

Have Lukewarm Churches And Secularism Created The Perfect Storm For America’s Decline?

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Twenty years ago, when I lived in southern California, a guest speaker gave a sermon at the church we were attending at the time. He was describing the condition of America, the apathy of too many professing believers, and the moral decline that had been gradually increasing since the 1960s.

I thought of the reputation we used to have around the world as a great Christian nation and beacon of religious freedom. And even though our country has been tremendously blessed as God shed His grace on us for over 200 years, it did not last. It rarely does. More on this in a moment.

While churches in the West are becoming lukewarm, fading, or spiritually insignificant, there are thriving churches in countries where persecution is quite common. The speaker was discussing missions and said something I will never forget:

“There are Christians from Asia and nations where the gospel is restricted who are sending missionaries to America. They are flying into LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) with the goal of evangelizing the decadent West.”

We need to be evangelized! A recent guest on my show, Worldview Matters, also said that if you want to be a missionary, go to church, meaning – get them saved. What happened to the morality and influence of born-again believers? Where is the light of Christ and the preserving influence of Christians on American culture?

Sadly, the United States is a top exporter of abortion, demonic entertainment, pornography, the prosperity gospel, drugs, and more. We are full of pride and perversion. Abraham Lincoln, in the late 1860s, said we have become too proud to pray to the God who created us and blessed this land. We’ve become apathetic, comfortable, distracted, and divided. Tragically, the Church is no longer leading the way.

Let’s look at how Jesus rebuked the lukewarm church in Asia Minor.

Revelation 3:15-22 reads, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.Therefore be [c]zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” 

Notice that this is a message from Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) to Christians in one of the early churches in Asia Minor. He is standing outside the door of His church!

How about today? Is Jesus knocking on the door of churches claiming to worship Him?

Is the state of today’s church any indication of the morality, stability, and strength of America? There’s an expression many believe to be accurate: as the church goes so goes America.

You may have heard about the concept of a ‘Life Cycle of Nations,’ put forth by Scottish historian, Alexander Tyler at the time of the American Revolution. Nations generally follow this pattern:

From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage;

 

From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance.

 

From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy;

 

From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.

As we consider Bible prophecy and current events, let’s also be reminded that though the biblical worldview is on life support, God is not shocked and His sovereignty still rules over all.

Contrary to the left, the media, secular government, the K-12 education system, and Marxist universities, America’s greatness was undergirded from the beginning by our Judeo-Christian moral foundation.

In November 1620, Pilgrims and Puritans created the first social contract in the New World. The Mayflower Compact set a precedent for religious freedom and became a guide for later charters of self-government in North America. It’s vital to understand the Compact declares profound religious commitment while organizing a civil government.

The second sentence states their purpose:

“…Having undertaken for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony…”

At the time of the American Revolution, historian from France, Alexis de Tocqueville attributed America’s greatness to what he described as American pulpits “aflame with righteousness.” We would have had no American Revolution without the black robed regiment; pastors speaking the whole counsel of God’s Truth and standing up to tyranny.

In order to have a strong, stable nation, we needed a healthy, vibrant, influential church committed to preaching the gospel of repentance and being counter-culture – refusing to conform to this world.

Sadly, there are millions of people who go to church every Sunday and are not even saved. They profess to believe Jesus is the only way and claim to trust the Bible, but they are better classified as unconverted or ‘so-called Christians.’

In light of a huge national election coming up in a few weeks, how could someone claim to be a Christian and support the Democrat Party? How do they justify supporting things like abortion, homosexuality, drag queens, transgender surgeries, open borders, socialism, and do not support Israel?

They don’t know or haven’t read the Bible.

You’ve heard it said politics are downstream from culture meaning culture influences government. Ideally, as in the early church and the earliest days in America, biblical Christianity influenced the land. A vibrant faith and religion should be shaping culture and politics today but I’m afraid it’s the other way around.

George Barna was my guest on Worldview Matters a few weeks ago and shared some tragic news about the alarming decline in biblical worldview among pastors and church leaders. A majority (62%) do not even believe the Bible they preach from on Sunday mornings. How’s this possible?

It just takes one generation. Worldly pulpits have led to Syncretism; a merging of – or a combination of conflicting and differing religions, beliefs, or practices. Barna estimates that a staggering 92 percent of Americans fall into the category of syncretism!

People can’t decide on just one, so they mix a patchwork of beliefs such as Buddhism, Christianity, the New Age, works righteousness, and worldviews such as: Islam (everything must submit) Postmodernism (everything is about power) and Marxism (everything advances revolution, oppressed vs oppressor).

A weak American church combined with secularism have now produced some awful consequences. Only one percent (1%) of 18–29-year-olds have a biblical worldview today. We desperately need repentance and revival!

Barna concluded:

“It certainly seems that if America is going to experience a spiritual revival, that awakening is needed just as desperately in our pulpits as in the pews; …This [research] is another strong piece of evidence that the culture is influencing the American church more than Christian churches are influencing the culture”

Too many pastors are unwilling to teach the whole counsel of God, equip the saints, address Bible prophecy, politics, and expose darkness. They will answer to God one day.

Moreover, a Gallup Poll last year had this headline revealing a big part of the problem: “Belief in the Inerrancy of Scripture Rapidly Declining”

Just 20% – a record low of Americans think the Bible is actually and literally God’s Word. This is the first time in history more Americans do NOT view the Bible as divinely inspired. In addition, almost 30% of Americans now think the Bible is merely a collection of “fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man.”

Abandoning inerrancy is the first downward step to apostasy, accommodating sin, and post-modernism.

In his 1998 book, The God Who Is There, Dr. Francis Schaeffer warned about the danger of compromise and what happens when we stop believing in the inspiration of Scripture:

“Here is the great evangelical disaster – the failure of the evangelical world to stand for truth. There is only one word for this, namely accommodation: the evangelical church has accommodated the spirit of this age. First, there has been accommodation of Scripture, so that many who call themselves evangelicals hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer affirm the truth of all that it teaches – truth not only in religious matters but in matters of science, history, and morality.”

He was spot on!

We need to acknowledge how we got here, understand the signs of the times, and also know how to respond. Doing nothing, not warning people, keeping our faith to ourselves must not be options. The Bible warns about falling away, heresy, and rebellion against God. Let’s see if any of these predictions sound familiar.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 states: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Things will get worse. The question is this: What will we do about it? How are we responding today to blatant evil and perpetrators of demonic agendas? If you are a believer in Christ and you are silent in the face of evil, whose approval are you more concerned about, God’s or man’s?

2 Timothy 3:12-13 further states, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

Those who truly believe and live out their faith will be persecuted. In other words, when people know you by your fruit and bold witness, they will hate you.

Some speculate America is ripe for judgment. Others say we’re in the early stages. Too many don’t seem to care, and many Christians seem unconvinced the time is short.

Why does all this matter?

Sadly, too many professing Christians are ineffective or unproductive as salt and light; many are clueless about how late the hour is and it seems we’d rather be busy, be entertained, and of course, comfortable. This is cruise ship Christianity.

The truth is we’re on a battleship and Satan is pulling out all the stops. We know our struggle is not against flesh and blood – but we also know the enemy uses people, flesh and blood, to do his work on the earth. We must discern and respond.

Writer of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, once said, “If I might read only one book beside the Bible, I would choose The Christian in Complete Armour,” by William Gurnall, an English scholar, preacher, and puritan. Born in the 1600s, he wrote much about spiritual warfare and the duty of believers. He stated:

“It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons; …God himself underwrites your battle and has appointed His own Son ‘the captain of [your] salvation’ (Hebrews 2:10)… The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty, and so is the Christian. The very nature of the calling precludes a life of ease.”

You don’t see much about pursuing comfort and leisure in the pages of the Bible.

Daily news and headlines clearly prove the dark and dramatic moral decline. Some topics include abortion, antisemitism, transgender ideology, environmental extremism, population control, AI, hyper-sexuality, LGBTQ, globalism, Marxism, medical tyranny, communist policy in America, delusion, persecution, evil called good, increasing crime, and violence.

These are just a handful of indicators that the return of the Lord must be getting close.

Judgment is coming, and it’s not going to be pretty. Do you think there’s chaos and disorder and turmoil on the earth now? We ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Imagine the darkness when the church is removed.

How many pastors today are warning people of the judgment to come and teaching about the holiness of a God who is described as a consuming fire?

Like Noah’s day, many people will not understand until it’s too late; they are busy, preoccupied, and carrying on with life. Nonetheless, we are called to share the good news because we’re messengers of a righteous, worthy, Mighty God.

The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

We represent King Jesus! Furthermore, we have the Holy Spirit in us and are not left without armor or help. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 states: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

We are overcomers, and if God is for us, who can be against us?

It’s good to be informed, encouraged, and to enjoy fellowship. For those of us who attend solid Bible-teaching churches, we’re well fed and equipped. But what about Monday through Saturday? Are we using the knowledge, gifts, and talents God gave us to bless and minister to others?

We need discernment, we need to be obedient, and we need to be ready. Preach the truth that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Romans 10:8-10 states: “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Speak up, stand in faith, pray for wisdom, love your neighbors, and watch for our Blessed Hope. Even when things feel like they’re spinning out of control, the Lord of History has not lost His power, remains on the throne, and is faithful forever.

David Fiorazo is an author, ordained pastor, host of Worldview Matters, and media contributor for Harbinger’s Daily and Freedom Project.

 

Source: Have Lukewarm Churches And Secularism Created The Perfect Storm For America’s Decline? – Harbinger’s Daily

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Scraped Butter

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Bible in a Year :

I have had enough, Lord . . . . Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.

1 Kings 19:4

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

1 Kings 19:1-8

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins starts showing the effects of carrying, for six decades, a magical ring with dark powers. Weighed down by its slowly corrosive nature, he says to the wizard Gandalf, “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.” He decides to leave his home in search of rest, somewhere “in peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around.”

This aspect of Tolkien’s story reminds me of an Old Testament prophet’s experience. On the run from Jezebel and wrung out after his battle with false prophets, Elijah badly needed some rest. Feeling depleted, he asked God to let him die, saying, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). After he fell asleep, God’s angel woke him so he could eat and drink. He slept again, and then ate more of the food provided by the angel. Revitalized, he had enough energy for the forty-day walk to the mountain of God.

When we feel scraped thin, we too can look to God for true refreshment. We might need to care for our bodies while we also ask Him to fill us with His hope, peace, and rest. Even as the angel tended to Elijah, we can trust that God will impart His refreshing presence on us (see Matthew 11:28).

By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

When you’re wrung out and exhausted, what actions tempt you? How can you put your trust in God when you’re tired and overwhelmed?

Strengthening God, I look to You for true rest. Please help me put my hope in You and fill me with Your presence.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Peaceful Home Base

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When you enter a house, first say, “Peace to this house.” If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

Luke 10:5-7 (NIV)

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He sent some of His followers out two by two to do His kingdom work.

He said to them, basically, “Go and find a house and say, “Peace be unto you.” And if your peace settles on that house, then you can stay there. If it doesn’t, shake the dust off your feet and go on” (Matthew 10:12–14; Luke 10:5–11).

At one time in my life, I felt repeatedly drawn to these scriptures, and I didn’t know why. I finally realized that God was trying to help me understand what Jesus was saying to His disciples in today’s scripture. I needed to learn that in order to minister with His anointing (the grace and power of the Holy Spirit in me), I needed to live in peace.

As I continued to study and meditate on these verses, I realized that in order to serve Him most effectively, all of us need a peaceful base of operations, a place from which we can go out and to which we can go back. For most of us, this place is our home. If our homes aren’t peaceful, we need to do whatever we can to gain and maintain a calm, peaceful atmosphere, because strife and confusion adversely affect the anointing of God that rests on our lives. Even if you can’t have peace in your home because the other people refuse to be peaceful, you can remain peaceful in your heart.

Let me encourage you to do all you can do to ensure peace in your “home base.” That way, everyone who lives and works from that place will do so with God’s grace and peace—and they will have success.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, show me anything I need to do to establish and maintain peace in my home, and help me create a peaceful atmosphere for all who live there, including myself.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza

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News broke Thursday that the Israeli military has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a southern Gaza raid. Sinwar was the mastermind of the October 7 attacks and had served as the driver of Hamas’ position in the largely fruitless cease-fire talks that followed.

Israeli and American officials had been hunting for Sinwar since those attacks and had gotten close to capturing or killing him on multiple occasions prior to this week. In January, they missed him by a matter of days after raiding a tunnel where he’d been hiding. Though he escaped, they still came away with key documents and roughly $1 million worth of Israeli shekels that Sinwar was forced to leave behind.

Given the magnitude of Sinwar’s death, Israeli officials took quite a while to confirm that the Hamas leader had, in fact, been killed. They took his body back to a laboratory in Israel to compare DNA samples, along with fingerprints and dental records, with their records from when Sinwar was their prisoner for more than two decades. He’d previously been released while serving four life sentences as part of a prisoner exchange in 2011.

Given that Sinwar had largely insisted upon conditions that were beyond the pale of Israeli consideration in any cease-fire negotiations, his death has raised hopes among some that an end to the war could be possible. Most seem skeptical of that outcome—and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelies, “The war, my dear ones, is not over yet”—but there are fewer obstacles to peace now than at the start of the week. And, given the reports of rapidly deteriorating conditions in Gaza, a quick end could indeed prove to be a blessing.

Will the US continue to support Israel?

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter to Yoav Gallant—Israel’s Minister of Defense—in which they threatened to cut off future military aid unless Israel allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza in the next thirty days. They defined “more aid” as:

  • At least 350 aid trucks per day through all four major crossings.
  • The opening of a fifth additional crossing.
  • Allowing people in the humanitarian zone on the coast to move inland before winter.
  • Humanitarian pauses across Gaza to allow for greater access to vaccinations and medical treatments.
  • A new channel of communication between Israel and the US to “raise and discuss civilian harm incidents.”

While aid shipments improved earlier this year, the latest reports claim that they have fallen by more than 50 percent from their peak. The UN humanitarian office claims that only one of its 54 efforts to get into Northern Gaza were approved earlier this month, and current projections are that nine in ten Gazans will face “acute food scarcity” in the coming months unless something changes.

For their part, COGAT—Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities and Territories task force—denied that any border crossings in the north have been closed and countered by noting that they have allowed the international community to bring 1,064,820 tons of humanitarian aid through its crossings since the start of the war, including roughly 824,078 tons of food. And much of that aid has been seized by Hamas rather than going to the Palestinian people.

Still, the present food crisis in Gaza is less about what Israel has done than what it is doing at the moment. And, in that regard, there is a dire need for improvement.

After all, no matter how you feel about the Gazan people, their response to Hamas, or the litany of other lenses through which this war can be seen, we must never forget that God loves them and calls us to do the same.

Serving Christ by serving others

In one of Christ’s final teachings before the crucifixion, he told his followers a parable about sheep, goats, and the final judgment (Matthew 25:31–46). His primary point in the story is that when God gathers all nations before his throne, how he will see us will hinge—at least in part—on how we had treated the “least of these.” Jesus goes so far as to say that the care we rendered to the poor, sick, and strangers in our midst was rendered to him as well.

As Russell Moore recently pointed out, our job in responding to this passage is not to parse out who belongs to the least of these but, rather, to simply serve the people God puts in our lives to serve. That responsibility should impact not only how we treat people but also how we see them.

While few of us will likely have the chance to serve those suffering in Gaza, knowing that Jesus would want us to care for them if we did should inform the way we see their suffering.

That doesn’t mean we should justify the actions of those who have sided with Hamas in their atrocities or that we should forget why this war started in the first place. But it does mean that we should not allow any such questions to block out the fact that every single individual fighting over bread or wondering if their home will be the next one destroyed as collateral damage is made in the image of God and loved by our heavenly Father.

And the same is true for the least of these whom the Lord has given you an opportunity to help.

So, when those chances come, what will you do?

How you answer will reveal quite a bit about where you stand with God today.

Friday news to know:

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

Quote of the day:

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” — Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

 

Denison Forum

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