Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – High Praises of God

Leave a comment

 

Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands.

Psalm 149:5-6 (AMPC)

We should form a habit of thanking and praising God as soon as we wake up each morning. While we are still lying in bed, let’s give thanks and fill our minds with Scripture.

Praise defeats the devil quicker than any other battle plan. Praise is an invisible garment that we put on and it protects us from defeat and negativity in our minds. But it must be genuine, heartfelt praise, not just lip service or a method being tried to see if it works. We praise God for the promises in His Word and for His goodness.

Worship is a battle position! As we worship God for Who He is and for His attributes, for His ability and might, we draw closer to Him, and the enemy is defeated.

We can never be too thankful! Thank God all day long and remember the many things He has done for you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I choose to begin each day with genuine, heartfelt prayer and thanksgiving. Fill my heart with Your Word. I know You never lose a battle, You always have a definite plan, and when we follow You, we will always win. Hallelujah!

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – What Will You Do With Jesus?

Leave a comment

My kingdom is not of this world … You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

John 18:36–37

What will you do with Jesus? On the morning of what is now known as the first Good Friday, the Jewish religious authorities took Jesus to continue His trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. We can see in the details of the Gospel accounts how God sovereignly orchestrated all of these events. The Jews’ determination to secure Christ’s death by crucifixion would actually fulfill God’s plan from eternity. God had also planned Christ’s interaction with Pilate. As they stood before one another, Pilate asked significant questions about Jesus’ identity and authority. These questions formed an examination with eternal ramifications—an examination we all must make. Consider how the hymn writer puts it:

Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall—
Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;
Hearken! What meaneth the sudden call?
What will you do with Jesus?

Pilate believed he was holding an examination on a purely intellectual, natural level. But answering the question “Who is Jesus?” is always a spiritual, supernatural matter. Jesus wasn’t a political king, as Pilate believed, but the heavenly King. He essentially told Pilate, My kingdom doesn’t find its origin in this world. The concern of My kingdom is the spiritual transformation that is brought about in the hearts of My people. The reason why I was born as a King was to testify to God’s truth. But Pilate, blind in his unbelief, had already made up his mind. Jaded and disdainful, he sought to avoid the fundamental question we all must ask: “What will I do with Jesus?” But in trying not to answer, he nevertheless gave his answer: I shall reject His claim on me and His rule over me, and therefore His offer to rescue me.

What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Someday your heart will be asking,
“What will He do with me?” [1]

Neutral you cannot be. You will either live under Jesus’ rule or you will not. So do not close your Bible in the morning and then live as though this world and its concerns and kings are all that is or all that matters. Do not proceed as though Jesus has no place or interest in your life in this world. He stood friendless and forsaken before Pilate so that you might be welcomed as His friend into His eternal kingdom. There is no option of neutrality—but why would we want there to be?

Questions for Thought

 

How is God calling me to think differently?

 

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

 

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

John 18:28–40

Topics: Christ as King Easter Sovereignty of God

FOOTNOTES

1 Albert B. Simpson, “What Will You Do with Jesus?” (1905).

 

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

 

 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Knows Our Ways

Leave a comment

 

“Thou compasseth my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” (Psalm 139:3)

The Matthews household was in an uproar. No one had seen the family cat all day, and it was almost time for bed. Aaron thought he had heard a faint “meow” a couple of times, but when he called, “Here, Kitty, Kitty,” Angel did not come.

The family had tried all the usual tricks, to no avail. Even the sound of the can opener and the smell of tuna had not coaxed Angel out of hiding. Their beloved cat had been with them for six years and had never gone away for more than a few hours. Whatever could have happened to her now?

Anna had an idea. She opened her closet door, and sure enough, out ran Angel, her eyes wide and black. “Meow!” she cried, and Anna followed her to the kitchen to set out the tuna and some fresh milk.

She explained to Aaron how she had gotten the idea to check the closet. “You know how Angel loves to nap on soft things? I thought maybe she might have been resting on my new fuzzy slippers this morning when I closed the closet door.” Anna left her slippers under her bed from then on, so that Angel could nap on them whenever she pleased without getting trapped in the closet again.

Just as Anna understood the ways of her pet, our Heavenly Father sees and understands everything about us. He knows our habits and our thoughts. It is not possible for us to go anywhere He cannot find us.

Jeremiah 23:24 says, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the Lord.” Is it hard for you to remember that God knows and cares about and watches you? Meditate on this truth from Scripture, and let it change how you respond to scary situations, times of sorrow, or temptations to sin.

God knows and understands us even better than we do.

My Response:
» Do I sometimes feel like I am on my own, or like no one is watching me?
» What habits would I change if I really believed and acted like God is everywhere and knows everything and sees all that I do?
» How can remembering that God knows my ways help me to trust and obey Him more?

 

 

Home Page

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – FBI arrests teenager who planned to attack churches for ISIS

Leave a comment

 

The FBI arrested an eighteen-year-old in Idaho after discovering what it termed a “truly horrific” and “violent plot” to attack churches this past weekend on behalf of ISIS. According to an FBI investigator, “his attack plan involved using flame-covered weapons, explosives, knives, a machete, a pipe, and ultimately firearms.” The would-be terrorist also stated “his intention to die while killing others on behalf of ISIS.”

In related news, FBI Director Christopher Wray told an American Bar Association luncheon in Washington, DC:

The foreign terrorist threat and the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, like the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple weeks ago, is now increasingly concerning. Oct. 7 and the conflict that’s followed will feed a pipeline of radicalization and mobilization for years to come.

Why is this the case?

Geopolitical analyst George Friedman popularized the concept of the “metanarrative.” As I explained in a podcast on the subject, this is a nation or group’s cultural DNA or overall purpose. Understanding it is essential to interpreting their past and predicting their future.

Several years ago, ISIS made their metanarrative clear. In explaining why it hates the West, the group listed the West’s disbelief in Islam, the prevalence of secularism, atheism, “transgressions” against Islam, military operations, and tactical incursions. The group added that even a complete withdrawal from the Middle East would not stop its violence because “our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam.”

For America to confront this metanarrative effectively, it is vital that we return to ours.

Why we need a “coherent national community”

Michael Lind is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has previously taught courses on American democracy and foreign policy at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Virginia Tech. In a deeply researched article published this week in Tablet, he notes: “Most Americans—though not all—from 1776 onward have shared and continue to share a common language, a common culture, and common values that transcend particular religious groups.”

While we are a “melting pot” composed of people from around the world, our democracy works because we share what Lind calls a “coherent national community” in which we embrace foundational values that transcend our governmental charter.

By contrast, our secularized “post-truth” insistence upon tolerance as our supreme value is rapidly producing an atomized culture in which we are bound only by our laws. But Lind warns that if the larger “elements of a common American culture are thrown out” by our society, “what remains is more likely to be a failed state along the lines of Lebanon or Somalia than a flourishing democracy.”

If public polls are any indication, we’re already heading in that direction.

According to Pew Research Center, public trust in our institutions has fallen from near 80 percent in 1964 to less than 20 percent today. A recent Gallup survey charts a precipitous decline in “Americans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the US” from more than 70 percent in 2004 to 23 percent today. In my view, these findings are linked.

If you were to ask an American of my parents’ World War II generation why our nation exists, they would likely have said that we serve to protect and promote democracy around the world. If you ask an American today, what would they say? Would any two answers agree?

“The finest of the wheat”

Our God is a loving Father who wants to bless us, who invites us to “open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10). He desires to “feed you with the finest of the wheat” and to “satisfy you” with “honey from the rock” (v. 16).

However, a holy God cannot bless that which is unholy and remain holy. Nor can a loving Father bless that which harms his child. Consequently, no nation’s unity or flourishing is guaranteed, as today’s anniversary of the beginning of the US Civil War demonstrates.

Michael Lind’s essay reinforces my argument this week:

  1. Our national future requires the consensual morality upon which our democracy depends.
  2. Consensual morality requires changed hearts, not just enforced laws.
  3. Changed hearts require the transforming agency of the Holy Spirit.

This means that evangelism is not the imposition of personal opinion but the sharing of life-giving truth. Spiritual formation is not the religious hobby of some but the indispensable path to flourishing for all. Serving Christ is vital to serving America.

Stated succinctly:

Being people God is able to bless is essential to being a nation God can bless.

Oswald Chambers noted: “If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God.”

How fully will you “see the face of God” today?

NOTE: When our culture increasingly demands that Christians stand down, how can you stand firm in your faith? In our newest book, Between Compromise and Courage (2nd ed.), we look at 8 hot-button topics from a biblical perspective. To read more about AI, gun control, the end times, and more, request our latest book today.

Friday news to know:

Quote for the day:

“The proximate result of obedience to God is inward conformity to the divine image.” —Charles Hodge

 

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

Leave a comment

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

2 Corinthians 1:20

There are more than 3,000 promises found within the Word of God. Your daily provision comes directly from these promises, which hold the golden key to open the gates of heaven and close the gates of hell.

When you are needing a spiritual breakthrough in your life, call on the mighty name of Jesus Christ. He will give you a promise within the Scripture that will bring you out to rich fulfillment. When God gives you a promise, hold onto it. Rest on it, knowing that in due season this prophetic word for life will be fulfilled. It will probably not be done on your schedule, but when God deems the time is right, your promise will be completed.

It isn’t difficult to have faith in a God who never fails. What is faith? It is reaching out in the darkness and knowing that you will feel the hand of God reaching back on the other side.

Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May you see the breakthrough that God has for you in your immediate future. In Jesus’ mighty name!

Today’s Bible Reading:

Old Testament

Joshua 5:1-7:15

New Testament

Luke 15:1-32

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 81:1-16

Proverbs 13:1

 

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Did You Doubt?

Leave a comment

 

Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
Mark 4:40

Recommended Reading: Mark 4:35-41

Someone described daily life like having “a thick curtain hung across one’s path, a curtain that recedes before us as we advance, but only step by step. None of us can tell what is beyond that curtain; none of us can tell what events a single day or hour may bring into our lives.” This is what brings anxieties. Yet, “it is just as important to trust God as to obey Him.”1

When we worry about the future or remain anxious, we’re not trusting enough in Christ to care for us. He responds: “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26) And “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)

The Lord is sovereign and eternal. His word cannot fail; His eyesight cannot dim; His love cannot fade. Trust Him completely to provide for His creation and to meet all your needs.

Ask the Lord for the ability to trust Him more.

When we fail to trust God, we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness…. In order to trust God, we must always view our adverse circumstances through the eyes of faith, not of sense.
Jerry Bridges

  1. Jerry Bridges, Is God Really in Control? (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006).

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Believer’s Great Hope

Leave a comment

 

 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 

—2 Corinthians 4:18

Scripture:

2 Corinthians 4:18 

Deep inside us, there is a sense that there’s something more in life. No matter what experiences we’ve had, no matter how wonderful they were, they were only a glimpse of what is still ahead. We are homesick for a place we’ve never been to, and that place is Heaven.

The Bible says that we were wired this way, that God “has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT). This simply means we have a sense there is more to life, and that keeps us moving forward.

It’s like the homing instinct we see in the animal kingdom. Our homing instinct, however, is for a place we haven’t yet seen.

If you are a Christian, then you are going to Heaven. Jesus said, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:2–3 NLT).

Interestingly, the Bible doesn’t tell us that much about Heaven. There are some passages about it, but not a lot.

For example, the apostle Paul had the unique experience of dying, going to Heaven, and having to come back to earth. Paul didn’t go into great detail about what he saw on the other side. But he said this much: “I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:4 NLT).

For us to try to understand something as glorious as Heaven would be like a six-month-old baby trying to understand an explanation about the beauty of Hawaii. It’s very hard for us to wrap our minds around.

No matter what happens to us on this earth, it pales in comparison to this great hope.

Writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul said, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18 NLT).

This is the hope of the Christian. There’s a better world ahead. Until that day, there is nothing that will completely satisfy our lives. There’s something greater than what we are experiencing now.

Yet, not everyone has this hope. If you don’t have this hope in Christ, then you ought to be afraid right now. You ought to be afraid if you don’t know whether you will go to Heaven.

The believer has great hope beyond all of this. We have the great hope that a place called Heaven is waiting for us on the other side.

 

 

https://harvest.org

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Balaam’s Error

Leave a comment

 

by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.

“Woe unto them! for they…ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward.” (Jude 1:11)

Balaam is a very complex character recorded in Numbers 22–24. He is cited for an ability to communicate with “the LORD” and had a reputation for accurate prophecy (Numbers 22:6-8). As the new nation of Israel traveled northward into the Sinai Peninsula, Balak the king of Moab became worried that Israel would subjugate his nation and recruited Balaam to curse them.

Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15) but was astute enough to know that he could not talk God into doing anything God did not want to do! But even though Balaam was aware of the dangers of getting involved on the wrong side of God’s work, he wormed and squirmed through several interchanges with God until he was finally allowed to go. “God’s anger was kindled” at the stubbornness of this man, and the famous interchange with the donkey took place (Numbers 22:22-31).

Still Balaam persisted with his venture for Balak of Moab and “ran greedily” after the reward that he had been promised. When he arrived at the place where he planned to curse Israel, Balaam knew enough about the correct sacrifices to build the right kinds of altars and sacrifice the right kinds of animals, then he proceeded to seek God’s “word” for Israel. Three times God “put a word” in Balaam’s mouth to bless Israel, and three times Balak insisted that he try again to curse them.

Instead of repenting of his foolishness, Balaam bragged about his ability to know what God wanted and “taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel” (Revelation 2:14). Those who prostitute the gifts of God for their own profit will come under a “greater condemnation” (James 3:1). May God protect us from the Balaams among the churches. HMM III

 

 

 

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Singing Meadows

Leave a comment

 

Bible in a Year :

The valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

Psalm 65:13

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Psalm 65:8-13

I’ve often affectionately joked with my mother-in-law about her ability to talk to her dogs. She responds to their barks with loving understanding. Perhaps now she and dog owners everywhere will also listen for their canine pals to laugh. Scientists have discovered that many animals, including dogs, cows, foxes, seals, and parakeets, all have “vocal play signals”—otherwise known as laughter. Identifying these accompanying sounds helps distinguish an animal’s play behaviors from what might otherwise look like fighting to a human observer.

That animals express laughter and joy gives us a delightful glimmer of what it might look like for other parts of creation to praise God in their own way. As King David looked over his surroundings, it seemed to him “the hills [were] clothed with gladness” and the meadows and valleys were “[shouting] for joy” (Psalm 65:12-13). David recognized that God had cared for and enriched the land, providing both beauty and sustenance.

Even though our physical surroundings don’t “sing” in a literal way, they bear witness to God’s active work in His creation and, in turn, invite us to give praise to Him with our voices. May we—as part of the “whole earth”—be “filled with awe at [His] wonders” and respond to Him with “songs of joy” (v. 8). We can trust that He’ll hear and understand them.

By:  Kirsten Holmberg

Reflect & Pray

How do your physical surroundings encourage you to praise God? Where have you seen His handiwork elsewhere?

Thank You, God, for Your continued work in creation.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – How’s Your Spiritual Appetite?

Leave a comment

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).

Your appetite for righteousness should equal your appetite for food and water.

David was a man after God’s own heart. In Psalm 63:1 he writes, “O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” He communed with God and knew the blessings of His sufficiency: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness. . . . Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:1-4). He endured unjust persecution for the Lord’s sake: “Zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me” (Ps. 69:9).

David’s zeal for God illustrates what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). The words translated “hunger” and “thirst” speak of intense desire. They are present participles, which imply continuous action. The idea is paradoxical: the believer’s continuous and intense desire for righteousness is continually satisfied by Christ.

J.N. Darby, an early leader of the Plymouth Brethren movement, said, “To be hungry is not enough; I must be really starving to know what is in [God’s] heart towards me. When the prodigal son was hungry he went to feed upon husks, but when he was starving, he turned to his father” (quoted in Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1, p. 81). When you have that kind of desperation, only God can satisfy it!

Does your desire for righteousness drive you to Christ for satisfaction? I pray that the words of the psalmist will be yours as well: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Ps. 17:15, KJV).

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask God to use the events of today to increase your hunger and thirst for righteousness. Look to Him in all things, knowing that He alone can satisfy.

For Further Study

Read Philippians 3:1-14.

  • What does it mean to place confidence in the flesh?
  • How did Paul define true righteousness?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur

 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Case of the “Ifs”

Leave a comment

 

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:2 (NIV)

Do you have a bad case of the “ifs”? It is a common misconception that if only we had this, that, or the other, we would find the happiness and fulfillment we so desperately desire. We find ourselves saying things like: If I didn’t have to work, if we had more money, if I had a bigger house, if the kids were grown, if I were married, if I weren’t married….

Stop thinking that you could be happy “if” your circumstances were different, and start being happy right now because God loves you and has already blessed you in many ways. Our unhappiness usually comes from within us and not from something around us. So I recommend that you take responsibility for your own joy and stop blaming the lack of it on anything or anyone. The people who are happy are the ones who decide to be happy.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I want my joy to always be rooted in You and not in my circumstances. Help me learn to take responsibility for my own joy and to stop blaming other people or my situation in life, amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Put Your Sword Away

Leave a comment

 

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear … Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

John 18:10–11

Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane ultimately revealed His submission to the Father. When the soldiers came for Him, Jesus had already resolved to drink the cup of suffering—His death on the cross—so that it might be for us a cup of salvation.

But which of the disciples stepped in, as if on cue? The impetuous Simon Peter, of course—wielding a sword! Peter was no stranger to impassioned acts and words. He had attempted to walk on water to Christ. He had tried to rebuke Christ. He had offered to lay down his life for Christ. And yet, soon after stepping up to Jesus’ defense, he would fearfully deny even knowing Him.

Peter’s reaction to seeing his Master arrested is entirely understandable but utterly mistaken. While Peter was willing to fight for Christ here, he was actually fighting against Christ. He was fighting against the very will of God, who had purposed that Jesus would be the atoning sacrifice for sins. Peter’s example teaches us an important lesson; as Calvin urges, “Let us learn to moderate our zeal. And as the wantonness of our flesh ever itches to dare more than God commands, let us learn that our zeal will turn out badly whenever we dare to undertake anything beyond God’s word.”[1]

Knowing Peter’s action needed correction, Jesus intervened with a rhetorical question: “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” He was affirming the part of God’s will that He had just prayed to accept, the very action that later led Him to cry out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Through His suffering, His glory was magnified, and salvation was freely offered to all who might believe. No path that Peter could have orchestrated could have been better than this one, and he was in error to resist it.

When our impatience seeks to interfere with God’s plans, we must learn to put away our figurative swords. We must trust God’s plan, wait on His timing, and act on His command. The more familiar we are with the Scriptures—knowing the great story, promises, and truths found within them—the more we will understand His plans. But even then, there will be times when His ways are very mysterious to us and we are tempted to fight the path He is leading us along. Perhaps you are doing that right now.

Take Christ’s words to Peter to heart: “Put your sword into its sheath!” Trust God’s loving hand, obey His commands, and follow His lead. He is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, KJV), and the story He is writing is more glorious than you could imagine or direct for yourself.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Psalm 23

Topics: Easter Faith Self-Control

FOOTNOTES

1 John Calvin, The Gospel According to St John 11–21 and The First Epistle of John, trans. T. H. L. Parker, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries (Eerdmans, 1994), p 156.

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg

 

 

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – Attitudes Matter to God

Leave a comment

 

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18)

Outwardly, Jenna was dusting the coffee table. But inwardly, she was stewing. She could think of at least fifty other things she would rather do than clean the house for company. A new family from the church was coming over for supper, and her mother had given each of the children a task to help prepare the house. Not only did Jenna dislike having extra work, but she also dreaded eating lasagna again, her mother’s favorite dish to make whenever company came. Furthermore, the children in the new family were all under school age, and Jenna was not looking forward to babysitting them after dinner while the adults talked.

Nothing about the plans for the evening appealed to her. The more she thought about it, the more her resentment grew. Why didn’t her mother consider what Jenna wanted? Why shouldn’t her mother do all the cooking and cleaning, since she was the one who wanted to have company in the first place?

Stepping into the living room, Jenna’s mother glanced around and smiled approvingly. “That looks much better, honey. Thanks for your help.” Suddenly Jenna felt ashamed. She realized that her mother had no idea what she had been thinking. She had fooled her mother, but Jenna knew that her attitude was not right.

It is sometimes easy to hide from others what is going on in our hearts. We can act as though everything is okay and pretend to be sweet, obedient Christians. Still, the secret sins of our heart cause our fellowship with God to be broken. God does not want our service if our attitude is not right.

Psalm 19:12b says, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults.” What kind of attitude do you have when it comes to serving God? A holy heart is much more valuable to God than busy hands.

God will accept our acts of service only if our hearts are right toward Him.

My Response:
» Am I serving the Lord out of love for Him or for some other reason?
» Am I trying to fool others or myself, or am I genuinely trying to please God from my heart?
» If I need to change my attitude to one that will glorify God, how should I do that?

 

 

Home Page

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Iranian attack on Israel said to be imminent

Leave a comment

 

The US believes a major attack by Iran on Israel is imminent, according to reports citing sources familiar with US and Israeli intelligence assessments. It is apparently a matter of when Tehran will attack rather than if they will attack, though it is unclear whether such an assault will come directly from Iranian territory or from one or more of its proxies.

Here’s the background: On April 1, Israel allegedly bombed Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, a strike that Iran said killed seven of its military advisors, including three senior commanders. Yesterday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must be punished and it shall be” for the attack. Now Israel is warning that if Iran directly attacks Israel in retaliation for the bombing in Damascus, Israel will strike directly at Iranian territory.

Why should any of this be of great concern to Americans?

As we’ll see today, to ask the question is to answer it.

Iran’s nuclear weapon breakout time is at zero

According to Foreign Policy, the Institute for Science and International Security currently assesses Iran’s breakout time—the period necessary for Iran to assemble a nuclear weapon—at zero. This means that Iran has enough weapons-grade uranium to build a bomb within days and enough to assemble six weapons within thirty days.

Iran is already successfully weaponizing proxies to fight Israel on its behalf, encircling the besieged nation with terrorist groups Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the west, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the east, the Houthis in the south, and militias in Syria and Iraq in the northeast.

The irony is that Iran, which is Shiite and Persian, is using Arabs, many of whom are Sunni, to do its bidding. As one commentator notes, “Attacking Iran’s proxies in the region has . . . been largely ineffective, given the regime’s indifference to Arabs martyring themselves for its cause.”

But Iran’s reach transcends the Middle East. Tehran is now aligned directly with Russia and China, delivering more than two thousand drones to aid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and exporting vast oil shipments to aid the Chinese government. It joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July 2023, further solidifying its economic and defense alliance with the two.

How far America’s support for Israel has fallen

Iran’s multipolar strategy is working.

A bipartisan letter sent earlier this year by over a dozen senators noted that, despite US sanctions, “Iran is now exporting on average more than 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day,” two-thirds of it to China. The letter adds that because of illicit oil exports and pervasive sanctions evasion, Iran’s economy is growing by 4 percent annually and its foreign currency reserves increased by 45 percent from 2021 to 2023.

In the meantime, Hamas’s strategy of sacrificing Palestinian civilians to shelter its troops is working as well. As civilian casualties in Gaza have tragically but predictably climbed, support for Israel in the West has fallen. Americans’ support for Israel’s military actions has declined from 50 percent in November 2023 to only 36 percent today. Support for Israel among young evangelicals in the US has plummeted by more than 50 percent in just three years.

All this raises the pressing question: If Iran attacks Israel, how will Americans respond?

President Biden vowed yesterday that the US commitment to defend Israel against Iran is “ironclad.” We are learning this morning that a senior US military commander in charge of the Middle East is expected to go to Israel today to coordinate a response to an attack from Iran.

But will Americans support this commitment, and at what cost?

The very fact that many will ask this question shows how far we have regressed from the founding ideals that enabled our democracy.

“There shall be none to make him afraid”

As I have noted this week, American democracy cannot be sustained merely by the rule of law and must depend on the consensual morality and values of its people. Among these founding values was our belief that “all people are created equal,” whatever their ethnicity or religion.

This belief especially extended to the Jewish members of our infant nation. In a 1790 letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, George Washington wrote:

May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

Would this letter from the “father of America” speak for all Americans today? Or have we so commodified and objectified people and nations that we value them only to the degree that they benefit us?

Asked differently: Is supporting the Jewish people in their quest for a secure homeland a commitment we will make only if it is in our personal interest to do so?

There was a time when the answer was clear. On this day in 1945, the US army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp. US President Harry Truman was the first world leader to recognize the State of Israel, just minutes after its founding in 1948.

However, if Iran attacks Israel, Americans will learn much about ourselves and the current health of our consensual democracy. In the meantime, the people of Israel need us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) more now than at any time since the war began.

Let’s answer this call now.

Thursday news to know:

Quote for the day:

“Though Israel is a secular state, its very existence is testimony to faith: the faith of a hundred generations that Jews would return; the faith that led the pioneers to rebuild a land against seemingly impossible odds; the faith that after the Holocaust the Jewish people could live again; the faith that, in the face of death, continues to say: choose life.” —Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

 

 

 

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

Leave a comment

 

I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.

Isaiah 45:2

Prayer doesn’t need proof, it needs practice. God is as close as your next breath. He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. This means that when the dearest on earth have turned their backs on you, God sees. He knows your pain. And He wants to set things straight.

If you want to make a difference in your day, begin each morning with prayer. As soon as you start to pray, God releases His angels to meet your every need. Then get ready! Great and mighty things are about to happen!

Prayer is the weapon that God has given His children to wage war in the heavenlies. Put on the full armor of God and make it a great day. Satan is a defeated foe who has no power over you as a child of God. He cannot stop you when God is on your side. Run to the One who calmed the raging seas with three simple words: “Peace, be still.”

If you feel like you’ve hit more bumps than usual on the road of life, look to the face of God! He has promised to lead you down a path that will grant you the greatest possible success. If you need Him to make crooked places straight, call on His name, then leave the driving to Him!

Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Though you have prayed for the answer and it has not come, please know that God’s delays are not God’s denials. The answer will come. Now rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for everything your heart desires is just before you. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Today’s Bible Reading:

Old Testament

Joshua 3:1-4:24

New Testament

Luke 14:7-35

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 80:1-19

Proverbs 12:27-28

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Divine Insulation

Leave a comment

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5

Recommended Reading: John 14:27

Have you ever experienced a surge of anxiety that felt like an electric shock running through your emotions as if you were being electrocuted inwardly? Psychologists tell us anxiety can feel like electrical charges flying though our bodies and minds. One anxious person described a panic attack that felt “as if electricity ran from my lower stomach down to my knee.”

We need to wrap the sheathing of God’s promises around our minds and allow the Bible to insulate us from this pain. The power of Scripture can cast down anxious thoughts, bringing every aspect of our emotions and minds into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Find and claim the promises of God, being constantly in prayer for the peace of God that can and will overcome your high voltage thoughts of worry, anxiety, envy, hatred, unrest, and confusion. Picture the Lord wrapping you in the insulation of His promises, His peace, and His very presence.

Until you actually possess true peace with God, no one can describe its wonders to you.
Billy Graham

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Winning Side

Leave a comment

 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time. 

—Psalm 34:19

Scripture:

Psalm 34:19 

From the moment we come into this life, there are all kinds of troubles. Life is filled with challenges, and it seems as though when you have one problem finally resolved, three more take its place.

In fact, the Bible says, “People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire” (Job 5:7 NLT).

Some people may say that if you accept Jesus Christ, then all your troubles will go away. The implication is that if you become a Christian, then your problems will be gone. On one hand that’s true, because when you become a true follower of Jesus, many troubles do go away. The issues of an ever-present guilt, an emptiness in your life, and the fear of what happens beyond the grave are resolved.

But in all fairness, other troubles start once you give your life to the Lord. The moment you decide to follow Jesus Christ and seek to do the right thing, the devil will do everything that He can to stop you.

But you also need to know that God is far more powerful than the devil. And God will do everything He can to strengthen you. You are on the winning side.

That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be tempted. It doesn’t mean you aren’t going to face hardships or that you won’t have obstacles in your life. But it does mean that you will ultimately get through these things with the help and power of God.

When the disciples were afraid, Jesus gave them some words of assurance to bring calm to their anxious hearts. He said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me” (John 14:1 NLT). We could also translate this to say, “Don’t be agitated or disturbed or thrown into confusion.”

Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to mull over their problems. Instead, He told them not to be troubled. He was saying there are reasons to be troubled in life, but there is a greater reason not to be.

Yes, we have all kinds of troubles in our lives: health troubles, family troubles, relationship troubles, and financial troubles. Things don’t go the way that we hoped they would go.

And there are times in our lives when things happen that we just don’t understand. Why did God do a certain thing? Or why did God not do a certain thing?

When I don’t understand something about God, I try to always fall back on what I do understand. I understand that God loves me and that He’s looking out for me with my best interests in mind. I do understand that no matter what happens, He will get me through it.

Nothing is too hard for the Lord. There is no addiction so strong that He cannot free someone from it. And there is no problem so complex that He cannot unravel it. There is no hope without God. But with Him, you have all the hope that you ever will need.

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Cain’s Way

Leave a comment

 

by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” (Jude 1:11)

Jude compares the awful examples of three Old Testament characters to leaders in the New Testament church who have used their influence for evil. Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve and had every opportunity to excel. Yet, he chose a “way” that not only ended in the horrible murder of his brother but also resulted in an entire culture in rebellion against God.

The murder was preceded by a flagrant disobedience that was expressed when the family came to offer their sacrifices to the Creator. Cain brought an offering of the “fruit” of his own labor from tilling the ground. Abel’s offering was a “firstling” from the flock that he kept (Genesis 4:3-5). Why did God “respect” Abel’s offering and not Cain’s?

God’s commentary on this event (Hebrews 11:4) tells us that Abel “obtained witness” that his sacrifice was a righteous action that testified of his obedience. The Genesis account does not give much information, but it is clear that the first family were following instructions—likely emulating the sacrifice that God made to clothe Adam and Eve after they sinned (Genesis 3:21).

Cain began a “way” many years before (a lifestyle, a broad road) that turned his heart away from simple obedience to God’s instructions. Cain’s occupation (farmer) was certainly okay. He provided food for the growing world population. But when the regular sacrifice came due, Cain decided that he would “show” God his own works rather than follow God’s requirement of bringing an innocent life in sacrifice.

That way, of course, is the way “which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). HMM III

 

 

 

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Eyes to See

Leave a comment

 

Bible in a Year :

I . . . will make you to be a covenant for the people and . . . to open eyes that are blind.

Isaiah 42:6-7

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Isaiah 42:5-9

Genevieve had to be the “eyes” for her three children, each born with congenital cataracts. Whenever she took them into their village in the Republic of Benin of western Africa, she strapped the baby onto her back and held on to the arm and hand of her older two, always looking for danger. In a culture where blindness was thought to be caused by witchcraft, Genevieve despaired and cried out to God for help.

Then a man from her village told her about Mercy Ships, a ministry that provides vital surgeries to honor Jesus’ model of bringing hope and healing to the poor. Uncertain if they could help, she approached them. When the children woke up after their surgeries, they could see!

God’s story has always been about coming alongside those shrouded in darkness and bringing His light. The prophet Isaiah declared that God would be “a light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6). He would “open eyes that are blind” (v. 7), restoring not only physical sight but spiritual vision as well. And He promised to “take hold” of His people’s hand (v. 6). He restored sight to the blind and brought light to those living in the darkness.

If you feel overcome by darkness, cling to hope as you embrace the promises of our loving Father while asking for His light to bring illumination.

By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

How has God opened your eyes, physically or spiritually? How can He remove the blinders you may have?

Heavenly Father, You desire that no one would live in darkness. Release Your love on those who are blinded in any way, that they might see.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Clothed in Christ

Leave a comment

 

Bible in a Year :

Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Romans 13:11-14

I was so excited to put on my new glasses for the first time, but after just a few hours I wanted to throw them away. My eyes ached and head throbbed from adjusting to the new prescription. My ears were sore from the unfamiliar frames. The next day I groaned when I remembered I had to wear them. I had to repeatedly choose to use my glasses each day in order for my body to adjust. It took several weeks, but after that, I hardly noticed I was wearing them.

Putting on something new requires an adjustment, but over time we grow into it, and it suits us better. We may even see things we didn’t see before. In Romans 13, the apostle Paul instructed Christ followers to “put on the armor of light” (v. 12) and practice right living. They had already believed in Jesus, but it seems they had fallen into “slumber” and become more complacent; they needed to “wake up” and take action, behave decently and let go of all sin (vv. 11-13). Paul encouraged them to be clothed with Jesus and become more like Him in their thoughts and deeds (v. 14).

We don’t begin to reflect the loving, gentle, kind, grace-filled, and faithful ways of Jesus overnight. It’s a long process of choosing to “put on the armor of light” every day, even when we don’t want to because it’s uncomfortable. Over time, He changes us for the better.

By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

What does it look like to “put on” Jesus today? How does practicing Christlikeness become more comfortable over time?

Dear Jesus, thank You that You’re transforming me day by day.

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Scriptures, Lessons, News and Links to help you survive.