Denison Forum

Denison Forum – How Krispy Kreme is honoring Leap Day birthdays

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In honor of Leap Day, Krispy Kreme is giving a free dozen original glazed donuts to anyone who has a February 29 birthday. This news caused me to wonder: How many donuts could the company potentially give away? It turns out, the odds of a Leap Day birthday are 1 in 1,461, equaling about five million people in the world.

I also learned that people with Leap Year birthdays are called “Leaplings,” which doesn’t seem like an altogether flattering title. And that they can have problems with health systems, insurance policies, and other organizations that require a birthday but don’t have February 29 built in.

Whether your birthday is today or not, you should be grateful for Leap Day. As one physics instructor notes, “Without the leap years, after a few hundred years we will have summer in November. Christmas will be in summer. There will be no snow. There will be no feeling of Christmas.”

Accordingly, we should be thankful for Leap Day when it occurs again in 2028. That is, if we make it to 2028.

Wildfire shuts down nuclear weapons facility

This week, we’ve been exploring ways to find optimism in pessimistic times. Today’s news demonstrates the relevance of our theme:

  • A cyberattack shut down a pharmacy system that handles fifteen billion healthcare transactions annually.
  • The co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute told MIT Technology Review that AI poses “catastrophic risks to society.”
  • The founder of Anthropic, who has raised $7.3 billion for his AI start-up, says there’s a 10 percent to 25 percent chance AI technology could destroy humanity.
  • Demonstrating how difficult it will be for Israel to eradicate Hamas, the terror group’s Lebanon branch fired forty rockets into Israel yesterday morning.
  • Scientists are warning that ancient viruses frozen in the Arctic permafrost could be released by Earth’s warming climate and unleash a major disease outbreak.
  • A wildfire in the Texas panhandle forced a temporary shutdown of the nation’s primary nuclear weapons facility. The blaze is only 3 percent contained as of this morning and is now the second-largest in state history. At least one person has died in the wildfire.

David could have been reading today’s Daily Article with his observation:

Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! (Psalm 39:5–6).

However, his response is the path to encouragement we need: “Now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” (v. 7).

What are some practical ways to share this hope with our broken culture?

Stay right with God so you can partner with him

The ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus claimed, “God always strives together with those who strive.” To partner with a holy God, however, we must first strive to be a holy people.

Thus, “let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lᴏʀᴅ!” (Lamentations 3:40). To do this, ask the Spirit to reveal anything in your life that displeases your holy God, then confess what comes to mind and claim your Father’s forgiveness. Then spend time in Scripture and worship, seeking to think biblically so you can act redemptively.

Now you can claim Jesus’ promise: “Everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Measure your time with God by the Christlike character it is intended to produce (Romans 8:29), knowing that “out of the abundance of the heart [the] mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

Trust God to send you where he can best use you

Joseph left Canaan for Egypt as a slave with nothing, but he later returned with “both chariots and horsemen” in a “very great company” (Genesis 50:9). God redeems all he allows, as Joseph told his brothers: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (v. 20).

Like Joseph, we can trust God’s perfect will, knowing that he will only lead us where he can best use us. Then we can seek his will for each day, knowing that his plan yesterday may not be his plan today. He led Israel to march into the flooded Jordan River, then he led them to march around the fortified city of Jericho. If they had reversed the two, they would never have conquered their promised land or established the nation through whom our Messiah would come one day.

You are God’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20), his missionary not only to where you are but also to when you are. Be faithful in this day because this is the only day there is. As I often say, all of God there is, is in this moment.

“The place God calls you to”

St. Cyprian (200–258) advised: “Before, we wandered in the darkness of death, aimlessly and blindly. Now we are enlightened by the light of grace and are to keep to the highway of life, with the Lord to precede and direct us.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said of this “highway of life”: “God does not give us everything we want, but he does fulfill his promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to himself.”

In describing such “paths,” the theologian and novelist Frederick Buechner famously noted:

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

Where is that “place” for you today?

NOTE: Are you in the midst of sickness, hurt, heartbreak, depression, anxiety, fear, or grief? When you’re in the middle of an overwhelming storm in life, how do you find peace? A Great Calm is a book of devotionals to help you draw near to the One who can increase your faith and calm your soul, even if the storms continue. I encourage you to pick up a copy of A Great Calm today so that you or a loved one can experience the great calm of Christ and be strengthened for any storm that comes your way.

Thursday news to know

Quote for the day

“The greatest roadblock to Satan’s work is the Christian who, above all else, lives for God, walks with integrity, is filled with the Spirit, and is obedient to God’s truth.” —Billy Graham

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.’

1 Samuel 30:8

When our hearts are shattered by circumstances beyond our control, we have blessed hope through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

David helps us navigate the business of brokenness and the road to restoration. After David took time for tears, strengthened himself in the Lord, and inquired for God’s will in his particular situation, he had one more thing to do.

When he asked the Lord if he should chase down the enemy, God responded that David and his men should pursue them. Not only would they overtake the enemy, but they would, without fail, recover everything that had been stolen from them!

David had to act on the instruction of the Lord. That word was good for nothing unless David was willing to move out in faith to pursue, overtake, and recover all. There is a moment when we wait quietly, in faith, to receive the strength of the Lord. But there is another moment where we hang back disobediently, in fear, because we are too afraid to fight.

Perhaps, the broken pieces of our hearts are still shattered and scattered because we have not taken the action that God is prompting. We must take an active role in our healing. Faith without action is dead. David pursued, overtook, recovered all, and returned rejoicing. God’s Word had already decided the outcome.

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. Because of Christ’s victory at Calvary, He makes all things new. He will redeem and restore and cause you to hope again!

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Leviticus 23:9-44

New Testament 

Mark 10:1-12

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 44:8-16

Proverbs 10:20

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – A Useful Invention

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And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

 Recommended Reading: Romans 8:28-30

Geng Shuai is called China’s “Useless Edison” because of his impractical inventions, such as a sword that doubles as a backscrubber and a meat cleaver that also serves as a cell phone case. His useless inventions have made him a social media star.

God never invented any useless thing! He has a purpose for all He has made, including you! Peter wrote that because of God’s promises and His power, we can participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). That is, we can become more and more like Christ, serving Jesus just as our Lord served His Father. That’s what it means to be “called according to His purpose.”

When we lean on the power and the promises of God, we become more like Jesus and less like the world. We who were useless in ourselves find our purpose in Him. We become vessels fit for the Master’s use.

Draw from His power and live on His promises. He will increasingly fulfill His purpose in you.

We exist to exhibit God, to display his glory. We serve as canvases for his brush stroke, papers for his pen, soil for his seeds, glimpses of his image.
Max Lucado

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Only Way We Can Know God

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In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 

—Hebrews 9:22

Scripture:

Hebrews 9:22 

The classic hymn by Robert Lowry says, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Sometimes, even people who are Christians say things like, “I think that other people may find their own path to God. Who am I to say they can’t know God if they haven’t come through Christ? I found my way to God through Christ. But maybe someone else has found their way through another path.”

That may sound sweet and touching, but it is not biblical thinking. The Bible clearly teaches that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (see Hebrews 9:22). This is God’s order. He set it up.

In the Old Testament, a priest sacrificed an animal for a person’s sin. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled all that the Old Testament pointed to. He became the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world (see John 1:29).

Now, the only way that we can know God is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ. And if we are not coming to Him through the blood of Christ, then we cannot know God.

We don’t come to God because we seek to follow the example of Jesus alone. No one can do that. If anything, if we were to take an honest look at Jesus’ life, it would show us how far we fall short. We don’t gain access to God because we try to live by the teachings of Jesus, as wonderful and profound as they are as the words of God to us.

It isn’t following His teaching alone that does it. If we honestly look at the teaching of Jesus, it will make us aware of our own sinful condition.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, among other things, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NLT). He also said that God looks at our hearts as well as our actions.

His teaching drives us to Him. So, can we approach God because we’re worthy? No. It is built upon a relationship that stands, no matter what our state may be.

Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins. We put our complete trust in Him because it is only through His blood that we can approach God.

It is one thing to know that God has done this for us and to say that we believe it’s true. But we need to ask ourselves these questions: Have we applied it in our lives? Are we applying it to the situations that we’re facing?

We have open access to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Entertaining Angels

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)

Angels are not human men or women; they are spirits—in fact, “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Nevertheless, God has given them the remarkable ability to take on the actual appearance of men when the need arises.

The allusion in our text to some who have unwittingly played host to angelic visitors probably refers to Abraham, who entertained God and two angels, appearing as men, one hot day long ago in “the plains of Mamre,” and then to his nephew Lot down in Sodom, who offered the hospitality of his home to the two angels that evening (Genesis 18:2; 19:1). Because of the wicked reputation of the Sodomites and then their rapacious desire to abuse Lot’s two guests, these angels the next day enabled Lot and his daughters to escape when there came down “fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24) to destroy that city.

Most of us have never seen an angel—that is, unless we, like Abraham and Lot, have unwittingly encountered them. But the fact is that they are there when needed! “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7).

In fact, the Bible records a number of miraculous occurrences that actually involved the agency of one or more angels to bring them about. For example, the prophet Daniel passed an entire night in a den of hungry lions because, as Daniel reported the next morning, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me” (Daniel 6:22).

God indeed is able to deliver us when we have a special need and when we call on Him in faith. HMM

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — “Help My Unbelief!”

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Bible in a Year :

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Mark 9:14–24

“Where is my Faith?—even deep down right in there is nothing but emptiness & darkness. . . . If there be God—please forgive me.”

The author of those words might surprise you: Mother Teresa. Beloved and renowned as a tireless servant of the poor in Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa quietly waged a desperate war for her faith over five decades. After her death in 1997, that struggle came to light when portions of her journal were published in the book Come Be My Light.

What do we do with our doubts or feelings of God’s absence? Those moments may plague some believers more than others. But many faithful believers in Jesus may, at some point in their lives, experience moments or seasons of such doubts.

I’m thankful that Scripture has given us a beautiful, paradoxical prayer that expresses both faith and the lack thereof. In Mark 9, Jesus encounters a father whose son had been demonically tormented since childhood (v. 21). When Jesus said that the man must have faith—“Everything is possible for one who believes”—the man responded, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (vv. 23-24).

This honest, heartfelt plea invites those of us who struggle with doubt to give it to God, trusting that He can fortify our faith and hold on to us firmly amid the deepest, darkest valleys we’ll ever traverse.  

By:  Adam Holz

Reflect & Pray

When have you wrestled with doubt in your spiritual journey? What spiritual resources helped you hold on to your faith?

Dear Father, sometimes I doubt. Please help me when I struggle to feel Your presence.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Acknowledging the Ultimate Source of Everything

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“Joyously giving thanks to the Father” (Col. 1:11-12).

Joyous thanksgiving acknowledges God as the giver of every good gift.

The inseparable link between joy and thanksgiving was a common theme for Paul. In Philippians 4:4-6 he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! . . . Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He told the Thessalonians to “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16- 18).

As often as Paul expressed thanks and encouraged others to express theirs, he was careful never to attribute to men the thanks due to God alone. For example in Romans 1:8 he says, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” He thanked God, not the Roman believers, because he knew that faith is a gift from God.

That doesn’t mean you can’t thank others for the kindnesses they show, but in doing so you must understand that they are instruments of God’s grace.

Thanking Him shows humility and acknowledges His rightful place as the Sovereign Lord and the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Those who reject His lordship and refuse to give Him thanks incur His wrath (Rom. 1:21).

Only those who love Christ can truly give thanks because He is the channel through which thanks is expressed to the Father. As Paul says in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Hebrews 13:15 adds, “Through [Christ] then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

As one who is privileged to know the God of all grace, be generous in your praise and thanksgiving today. See everything as a gift from His hand for your joy and edification.

Suggestions for Prayer

Recite Psalm 136 as a prayer of praise to God.

For Further Study

From Psalm 136 list the things that prompted the psalmist’s thanksgiving. How can that psalm serve as a model for your own praise?

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Patient

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But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

— James 1:4 (AMPC)

James teaches us that we can rejoice when we find ourselves in- volved in difficult situations, knowing that God is trying our faith to bring out patience. I have found that trials did eventually bring out patience in me, but first they brought a lot of other junk to the surface—such as pride, anger, rebellion, self-pity, complaining, and many other things. It seems that these ungodly traits, with God’s help, need to be faced and dealt with because they hinder patience as well as other good fruit like kindness, love, humility, and other things.

The Bible talks about purification, sanctification, and sacrifice. These are not popular words; nevertheless, these are things we go through in order to become like Jesus in our character. God’s desire is to make us perfect, lacking in nothing. He wants us to ultimately be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which usually requires us to go through some difficulties that, although are unpleasant, do eventually help us mature.

I struggled with the difficulties in my life for a long time until I finally learned that God would work them out for good and use them to help me in many ways. He simply wants you and me to surrender and say, “I trust You, God. I believe when this difficulty is over, I will be a better person than I was before it began!”

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I trust You to work out the challenges and difficulties I’m facing for my good and pray that it at the same time, these things shape my character. Help me grow in patience and surrender to Your refining process as I grow closer to you every day, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg –Committed and Consistent

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I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.”

Joshua 14:8–9

Many people get off to a flying start in life only to later lose whatever it was that once made them successful. Perhaps they were well known as a young man or woman. At the age of 40, their life was one of prominence, influence, and status. In the church, we can see such individuals—indeed, we can see ourselves—as supremely useful to God. But too often we are then tempted to become masters of yesterday, frequently looking back to the “good years” and grumbling about the way things have become.

Although it’s true of so many, this was not at all true of Caleb, who fled from potential apathy and kept on in faith. He spent his middle years in a less than desirable environment. From the age of 40, he was stuck wandering around the wilderness for four decades because the people around him had failed to have faith in God. Yet during this time of frustration and wanderings, Caleb remained free of embitterment and disgruntlement.

In fact, things eventually got so bad that the people began to look for a leader to take them back to the good old days (Numbers 14:4). Yet no one really needs a leader to go backward; you can just go back! We need leaders to push us forward. There is a tomorrow. There are generations yet to come. There are purposes yet to be unfolded in God’s plan for our world.

Caleb reveals this spirit. The apparent commitment of his early life was matched by his consistency in the middle years. He was committed and consistent not only at 40 but also at 50 and 60 and 70. Throughout the decades, he “wholly followed the LORD.”

For many, marriage, the establishment of a home, business concerns, health issues, and so on are often accompanied by a loss of spiritual ardor and effectiveness. Many are those who have great resources, energy, and wisdom to offer but who decide instead to chill out, leaving the work of ministry to the next generation. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, they settle for disinterest, criticism, and cynicism, failing to see the disintegration in their own spiritual lives.

What about your commitment, your conversations, and your spiritual edge? Are they the same as they once were? There is a great need in the church today, as there was in Israel’s wilderness generation, for experienced men and women of faith who live lives marked by consistent commitment, in good times and bad, in season and out, as through the years they walk toward the inheritance that the Lord has promised His faithful followers. What will that look like for you today—and in ten years?

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

Judges 1:1–20

Topics: Biblical Figures Christian Life Faith Faithfulness of God

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 Thinks About His Own

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“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” (Psalm 139:17-18)

When Heather was little, her family would go camping at the beach. They stayed in tents and cooked over an open fire. Every day, Heather and her twin brother Mitch would go swimming in the ocean! They had so much fun playing in the water, walking along the beach, and, of course, playing in the sand. Mitch and Heather built too many sand castles to count, and one time they even built a car made of sand! Sometimes, Heather wondered if it was possible to count all the grains of sand on that beach. She tried once to count just a bucket full of sand, but as you can imagine, she gave that up quickly! Why? Even in a single bucket, there was way too much sand to count!

The Bible says that God’s thoughts about His people are more in number than the sand. Imagine counting all the piles of sand on a beach. It would be hard to count all the piles of sand on just one single beach. Now imagine trying to count all the piles of sand on all the beaches of the world! Even more incredible is the thought of trying to count every single grain of sand in every pile of sand on every beach in the world! In our wildest imaginations, we could not pretend to understand a number that big!

Like Heather, we would probably give up counting before we got through just one small bucket of sand. The numbers are just too much. Those kinds of numbers are exactly how the Bible describes how many thoughts God has toward His people.

Not only are God’s thoughts toward His own countless, but they are also precious thoughts. That means He cherishes His people and that He plans only good things to do for them, and through them. Here on Earth, we may sometimes feel forgotten or left out, but we can always go back to God’s Word and remember that God is thinking precious thoughts about us!

Psalm 139 speaks of how closely God pays attention to those whom He created, and especially how He feels about people who trust Him and obey Him by His grace. There are many other Bible verses that describe how countless and wonderful God’s thoughts are toward His own. Psalm 40:5 says, “Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”

What a great and good God He is!

God’s thoughts toward His people are countless and precious.

My Response:
» Is it easy to imagine how many grains of sand there are on a beach?
» Is it easy for me to believe that God thinks about those who trust and obey Him?
» How should it help me to remember that God thinks so often and so favorably toward His own?

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Denison Forum – Paul McCartney reveals his “Yesterday” inspiration

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“Yesterday” is one of the most haunting songs in the Beatles’ 213-song repertoire. Now, nearly sixty years later, Paul McCartney has explained its emotional bridge:

Why she had to go?
I don’t know, she wouldn’t say.
I said something wrong.
Now I long for yesterday.

It turns out, McCartney had a conversation in which he embarrassed his mother. Then she died at the age of forty-seven when the singer was just fourteen years old. Now he wishes he had an eraser he could use to rub that “yesterday” moment away.

We don’t have to live very long before we experience such pain ourselves from things we said and did to others and things they said and did to us.

Imagine a world where Jesus’ simple precept was a reality: “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12).

Now imagine the difference if that world was your life.

A “categorical imperative” for life

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was one of the most influential thinkers in Western history. His “categorical imperative” is a powerful and persuasive statement of human morality. As expressed in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, it states: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”

In other words, stated positively, we should only do what we would want everyone else to do. Stated negatively, we should avoid actions that would be damaging if everyone else did them.

Wouldn’t such a world would be an immense improvement on this one?

  • We want others to accept us unconditionally, so we accept them unconditionally.
  • We do not want others to attack us, so we refrain from attacking them.
  • We do not want others to lie to us, steal from us, or cheat on us, so we refrain from lying, stealing, and cheating.
  • We do not want others to discriminate against us on the basis of our gender, race, or religion, so we refrain from discrimination.

But what do we do when it’s too late, when we’re already the victim of sins we didn’t commit? In our weeklong series on optimism in pessimistic times, how do we find hope in such pain?

One: See trials as an opportunity to develop character.

St. Augustine noted:

Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We progress by means of trial. No one knows himself except through trial, or receives a crown except after victory, or strives except against an enemy or temptations.

The great theologian was paraphrasing the command of Scripture:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2–4).

Two: Seek the help of God.

Aristotle claimed, “Whatever lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.” The apostle Paul said the opposite: “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18–19).

Paul’s confession shows that you and I need the power of God’s Spirit to be godly people. If we bring our hurts immediately to our Father, he will give us the strength to respond in grace rather than reacting in pain. But only then.

Three: Ask God if we have sin to confess.

Before we respond to those who sin against us, we should first ask the Lord if we have sinned against them. Jesus cautioned, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).

Ask the Spirit to bring to your mind anything in this relationship that is displeasing to God, then confess whatever comes to your thoughts. Claim your Father’s forgiving grace (1 John 1:9), then make things right with those you have wronged as the Lord leads (Matthew 5:24).

Four: Ask God for the power to love as you are loved.

Now we are ready to respond to sin with grace. Biblical forgiveness does not pretend that the sin did not occur or excuse the behavior. Rather, it pardons, choosing not to punish.

I’m not referring to legal criminality or to abuse and danger but to interpersonal, relational sins. When we face such pain, we can ask God to help us choose not to punish. We can then break the cycle of retribution by loving as we are loved. However the other person responds, we will know that we have done what God would have us do. At the very least, since “hurting people hurt people,” we can refuse to let their pain become ours.

How to transform “an enemy into a friend”

Loving as we are loved is the path to hope that can transform our broken world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was right:

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

Who in your life needs such transformation today?

Wednesday news to know

Quote for the day

“The measure of love is to love without measuring.” —St. Augustine

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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…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

Broken hearts leave us susceptible to runaway imaginations. Vulnerable and hurting, our minds can drive us to worst-case scenarios. We must keep our imaginations in check.

The Israelites experienced this situation as they prepared to enter the land that God had promised to them for 400 years. Moses sent in 12 spies to canvas the territory. Two of the spies returned and confirmed that Canaan was definitely a land flowing with milk and honey. They encouraged their fellow Jews to take possession of it because they were “well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30).

The other 10 spies verified the beauty and bounty of the land, but their imaginations got the better of them. They proclaimed that the people of the land were like giants, and the Israelites were mere grasshoppers who could not hope to be victorious over them. Imagination won out over their faith.

When we keep our imaginations submitted to God and His Word, no heartbreak exists that is too complicated for God to heal. All things become possible to them that believe. He will answer us with great and mighty things that we do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). Take every thought captive to obey Christ!

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. Even when your heart is breaking, He has not given you a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. His promises to you are established and true.

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Leviticus 22:21-23:8

New Testament 

Mark 9:30-50

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 44:1-7

Proverbs 10:19

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Fresh and Flourishing

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Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 92

Most of us at some point stop growing taller. We reach our maximum height. Not so with trees. A new study has found that trees never stop growing during their lifespans. In fact, as they age, their growth accelerates. The study, published in Nature journal, involved 38 researchers from 29 institutions who said it’s the older trees and their massive size that most helps the earth keep its air recycled and clean.1

Psalm 92:14 says, “The righteous shall … still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.” 

When we’re rooted and grounded in Christ, we’ll keep growing in spiritual maturity, and God will use us in exciting new ways. This is encapsulated in 2 Peter 1:5-7 where the Lord tells us we should keep growing in our faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).

Whatever your age—keep growing!

As a tree beside the water, has the Savior planted me; all my fruit shall be in season, I shall live eternally.
Alfred Ackley

  1. N. L. Stephenson, et al. “Rate of Tree Carbon Accumulation Increases Continuously With Tree Size,” Nature, 507 (2014): 90-93.

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Dealing with Guilt

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And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 

—Hebrews 10:19

Scripture:

Hebrews 10:19 

Sometimes, our consciences can condemn us. They go into hyperdrive and won’t let us alone, whispering, “You are unworthy. You have done wrong. You can’t approach God.”

Yet the Bible tells us that God’s Spirit can cleanse us of a guilty conscience because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Hebrews 10:19 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus” (NLT).

And in 1 John 3:20, we read, “Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything” (NLT).

This means that we can approach God no matter what we have done.

However, the devil doesn’t want us to know this. He wants us to think that we can only approach God when we have done well. He wants us to believe that if we have been walking closely with the Lord, then we can pray. But if we’ve fouled up, we can’t.

For example, maybe you’ve had a disagreement with your husband or wife. You think, “Maybe we should pray before we go to bed. But that would be hypocritical because we just had a fight. How can we pray after we’ve had a fight?”

Or maybe you’ve thought, “I can’t pray because I lost my temper in this situation,” or “I can’t pray because I just had an impure thought.”

That kind of thinking is from the devil himself. The Bible calls him “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Revelation 12:10 NLT). And as you prepare to go into God’s presence in prayer, he’ll say, “Do you think you are worthy to approach God? You call yourself a Christian! What a hypocrite you are! What a failure and disappointment to God you are!”

But he is a liar. And when Satan talks to you about God, he lies. He lies to you because he wants to keep you away from God. He also wants to keep you out of the Word of God because he knows that is where the power is. That is how changes will take place in your life.

When the Spirit of God convicts us, He will use the Word of God, in love, to seek to bring us back into fellowship with the Father. In contrast, when Satan accuses us, he will use our own sins in a hateful way to drive us away from fellowship with the Father.

God’s Spirit will make us aware of what we’ve done wrong, but He always will bring us back to the cross. When we have messed up, we need to go to the cross. When we have done something wrong, we need to go to the cross. We always need to go to the cross and to God in prayer.

The devil wants to keep us away from God, and his accusations always will drive us away from the cross. God’s Spirit, however, always will bring us to the cross.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
Days of Praise

Days of Praise – The Law and the Spirit

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:16)

This commandment represents the initiation of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (“fiftieth day”) that many years later was the day on which the Holy Spirit came to the church waiting in the upper room (Acts 2:1-4). There were seven such annual “feasts of Jehovah,” all outlined in Leviticus 23, beginning with the Passover commemorating the deliverance from Egypt and culminating in the Feast of Tabernacles in memory of their entrance into the Promised Land after dwelling in tents in the wilderness.

The middle feast of the seven was Pentecost, which seems to have been the anniversary of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. It was scheduled 50 days after the “morrow after the sabbath” of the wave-offering of the “firstfruits” (Leviticus 23:10, 15), which in turn seems to have been the Passover sabbath on the 14th day of the first month (Exodus 12:2, 6). It was on the third day of the third month that God came down on Mount Sinai to give the law (Exodus 19:1, 11, 16). Jewish time-reckoning included both the first and last days of a time period in figuring the number of days between two events, so both the Lord’s appearance on Sinai and the annual Feast of Pentecost seem to have been 50 days after the Passover offering.

And so was the coming of the Holy Spirit! When the Holy Spirit came to the upper room, there were fiery tongues and a mighty wind (Acts 2:2-3). On that great day, Peter announced to Israel, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), and we have received His great promise of the indwelling Law in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:15-17). HMM

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — When Jesus Stops

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Bible in a Year :

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him.

Luke 18:40

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Luke 18:35–43

For days, the sickly cat cried, huddled in a box near my workplace. Abandoned on the street, the feline went unnoticed by many who passed it by—until Jun came along. The street sweeper carried the animal home, where he lived with two dogs, which were former strays.

“I care for them because they’re the creatures no one notices,” Jun said. “I see myself in them. No one notices a street sweeper, after all.”

As Jesus walked toward Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, a blind man sat begging by the roadside. He felt unnoticed too. And on this day especially—when a crowd was passing through and all eyes were focused on Christ—no one stopped to help the beggar.

No one except Jesus. In the midst of the clamoring crowd, He heard the forgotten man’s cry. “What do you want me to do for you?” Christ asked, and He received the heartfelt reply, “Lord, I want to see.” Then Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you” (Luke 18:41–42).

Do we feel unnoticed at times? Are our cries drowned out by people who seem to matter more than us? Our Savior notices those the world doesn’t care to notice. Call to Him for help! While others may pass us by, He’ll stop for us.

By:  Karen Huang

Reflect & Pray

How would knowing that Jesus sees you change how you view yourself and your life? Who are those around you who might need to be noticed, and how can you “stop” to encourage them with the Savior’s love?

Dear Jesus, thank You for hearing me when I call to You. Like the blind man who received his sight, help me to follow and praise You all my life.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Attaining Spiritual Stability

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“Strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience” (Col. 1:11).

God always empowers you to do what He commands you to do.

An alarming number of Christians seem to lack spiritual stability. Many are “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Others lack moral purity. Many are driven by their emotions rather than sound thinking. Increasingly, therapists and psychologists are replacing pastors and biblical teachers as the heroes of the faith. While we still proclaim a sovereign, all- powerful God, our conduct often belies our creed.

Despite our inconsistences, the power for spiritual stability is ours in Christ as we allow the knowledge of His will to control our lives. Paul describes the working of that power in Colossians 1:11. There the Greek words translated “strengthened” and “power” speak of inherent power that gives one the ability to do something.

The phrase “according to” indicates that the power for spiritual stability is proportional to God’s abundant supply—and it is inexhaustible! The literal Greek says you are being “empowered with all power according to the might of His glory.” That thought is akin to Philippians 2:12-13, where Paul says that the power for working out your salvation comes from God, who is at work in you to will and to work for His good pleasure.

In Colossians 1:11 the result of God’s enabling is “the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.” “Steadfastness” speaks of endurance regarding people; “patience” speaks of endurance regarding things or circumstances. When you are steadfast and patient, you are spiritually stable. Your responses are biblical, thoughtful, and calculated; not worldly, emotional, or uncontrolled. You bear up under trials because you understand God’s purposes and trust His promises.

Paul said, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10). That is possible when you trust God and rely on the infinite power that is yours in Christ.

Suggestions for Prayer

Perhaps you know someone who is struggling with spiritual instability. Pray for him or her and ask God to use you as a source of encouragement.

For Further Study

Psalm 18 is a psalm of victory that David wrote after God delivered him from Saul. Read it, then answer these questions:

  • What characteristics of God did David mention?
  • How might those characteristics apply to situations you are facing?

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Trusting God Is a Privilege

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Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

— Proverbs 3:5 (AMPC)

In plain, everyday language, this Scripture could read, “My dearly beloved children, I want you to have every earthly blessing you could possibly imagine, but only to the degree that you have spiritual maturity and Christlike character.” When you look at the Scripture this way, you get the message, “I need to grow up!”

You don’t need to talk God into blessing you. He wants to bless you. In fact, He wants to bless you more than you can imagine being blessed (see Ephesians 3:20). But even more than He wants you to have something, He wants you to be something. He wants you to be Christlike. Once you are something—spiritually mature—you will be able to handle having the earthly blessings He desires for you and use them for His glory.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for the reminder that You do want to bless me, but only to the degree that I can handle it in a spiritually mature manner. Now, help me to keep moving forward in You, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg –Words That Help

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From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 3:10–12

In the course of our lives we are confronted by unfairness, by unkindness, by disagreeable circumstances, and often by disagreeable people. Before offering a verbal response in these situations, we would do well to recall this truth learned from our Lord: our words reflect our hearts (Matthew 12:34). If our words are not Christlike, we must look first not to our mouths but to our hearts. Equally, it is an indication of our Lord’s work within us when we respond to conflict and challenge with words that help rather than those that harm.

Our tongues contain immense power, and we may leverage them to help, to encourage, to affirm, to enrich, to reconcile, to forgive, to unite, to smooth, and to bless. It is not by accident that so many of the Old Testament proverbs address the words we speak. According to Solomon, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11). He compares this use of words to lovely earrings that adorn the beauty of the wearer and to beautiful ornaments that enhance the loveliness of a home (25:12). Perhaps his most classic statement about the power of speech is his observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (v 11).

What is it that makes for such life-giving language? How can our mouths be those that bring blessing to others? Words of blessing are marked by honesty, by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). They are thoughtful, spoken by one who “ponders how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28). They are often few and marked by reason: “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).

And, of course, helpful words will be gentle words. Though it may be hard to remember in the throes of difficult circumstances, it remains true that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). Indeed, a gentle response wells up from moral strength; it takes far more self-control to respond in gentleness than to give way to unbridled passion and anger.

What will mark your words? Will you commit yourself to using your tongue—that small but immensely powerful member of your body—to bless rather than curse, to give life rather than tear it down, and to help rather than harm?

Resolve today to use your words for the good of those with whom you interact, honoring Christ in your heart and letting His sweet aroma fill your speech. Then humbly acknowledge that you cannot do this yourself (James 3:8), and ask Him to fill you with His Spirit—the Spirit who grows peace, gentleness, and self-control both in your heart and in your speech (Galatians 5:22-23).

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

Galatians 5:16–25

Topics: Self-Control Speech

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 Wants Us To Trust Him

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“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10: 4-5)

Mary had a little lamb, her fleece was white as snow, and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. This nursery rhyme meant quite a bit to Mary, because she really did have a lamb that wanted to follow her everywhere. Her father wasn’t exactly a “shepherd,” but he was in charge of a ranch that raised sheep. Mary loved to go with her father whenever he would check on the flocks. One day, he asked Mary if she would like to help him take care of a special little lamb.

This little lamb’s mother had died, and the lamb had also been born blind. Mary’s job was to feed the lamb with a bottle every day. She also checked his coat too make sure it was not scratched or dirty. Mary named the lamb “Fluffy.” Soon, Fluffy learned to recognize Mary’s voice. Even though Fluffy was blind, as long as he could hear Mary, he would follow her anywhere she went.

Some of the ranch workers would try calling to Fluffy, to see if he would follow them, but he never did. He listened only to Mary, and he really did follow her voice anywhere. Once, Mary and Fluffy even got in trouble with Mary’s mom, because they came walking into the living room where Mary’s mom was having a meeting with some other ladies in the neighborhood!

Why do you think Fluffy would follow Mary, but not the ranch workers? Fluffy knew that Mary had been was the one who fed him and took care of him. Fluffy had learned that Mary would never hurt him in any way. Fluffy could tell Mary’s voice apart from any others, and there was no one else he cared to follow. Fluffy was just a lamb, and he was also blind; but he still knew enough to know he belonged to Mary and could trust her care.

In chapter 10 of John, Jesus refers to Himself as our Shepherd. As we experience God’s daily love and care for us, we learn that we can trust Him wherever He leads. By reading our Bibles and praying daily, we learn more of Him, which helps our trust grow even stronger. We can grow closer to Him every day, and we can learn to tune out the other influences in our lives that might lead us astray. What a wonderful Shepherd we have!

God has daily proven His love and power, and we can rest safely in His care.

My Response:
» Am I willing to submit to and follow a loving God?
» How can I draw nearer to God every day?
» How does God’s trustworthiness compare to the other “voices” and desires that call out for me to follow them?

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