Max Lucado – God Has an Answer for Life 

 

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You stare into the darkness. The ceiling fan whirls above you. Your husband slumbers next to you. In minutes the alarm will sound, and the demands of the day will shoot you like a clown out of a cannon into the three-ring circus of meetings, bosses, and baseball practices. For the millionth time you’ll make breakfast, schedules, and payroll…but for the life of you, you can’t make sense of this thing called life. It’s beginnings and endings. Cradles and cancers and cemeteries and questions. The meaning of life, the poor choices of life.

Did you know God answers the mess of life with one word? Grace. Do we really understand it? God in the Bible says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26 NKJV). That’s grace! Grace calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.

 

 

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Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Divine Order

 

Numbers 2

Read Numbers 2

Marching bands at half-time shows are a wonderful spectacle to behold. Hundreds of musicians move in perfect synchronization, each person knowing exactly where to go. What appears chaotic up close becomes a beautiful, coordinated display when viewed from above. The secret is in everyone following the same conductor, knowing their precise position in the larger formation.

Numbers chapter 2 presents us with God’s magnificent blueprint for organizing His people in the wilderness. After counting the tribes in chapter 1, God now assigns each group their specific position around the tabernacle. This wasn’t arbitrary—it was divine orchestration on a massive scale.

The chapter begins with God’s instruction to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family” (v. 2). Picture this: 603,550 men, plus women and children, arranged in perfect order around God’s dwelling place. At the center of this vast human formation stood the tabernacle, with the Levites camping immediately around it as guardians of God’s presence. God dwelt at the center of His people’s lives.

The chapter’s conclusion captures the heart of the passage: “The Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards” (v. 34). We see perfect obedience to God’s detailed instructions.

Just as each tribe had its designated place, God has specific roles for us in His kingdom. Embrace your unique calling, rather than coveting someone else’s assignment.

Go Deeper

The arrangement of the tabernacle wasn’t random. God was to be the focal point around which everything else was organized. Look at your daily priorities and decisions. Do they truly revolve around God’s presence and purposes?

Pray with Us

God, how often we look at others with envy and miss our own purpose and calling. Keep our focus always on You. Help us to listen for Your direction in our life.

The Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses.Numbers 2:34

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Many Infallible Proofs

 

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He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs.
Acts 1:3

Recommended Reading: Acts 1:1-3

What do all these people have in common—Dr. Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, history professor at Australian Catholic University in Australia; British journalist Frank Morison; homicide detective J. Warner Wallace; and Sir Lionel Luckhoo, the Guinness-recognized “world’s most successful attorney with 245 consecutive murder acquittals”? They all became followers of Christ after studying the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Since Jesus Christ returned to life in the darkened tomb and appeared to us with “many infallible proofs,” our faith isn’t a blind leap. It’s a sensible step, one that brings life change and gladness to our hearts and minds.

Many people believe they may go to heaven because they have tried to live an upright life. But only faith in the death and resurrection of Christ can save us. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by grace through faith. Have you definitively and consciously received Christ’s forgiveness and eternal life by trusting His grace? It’s not too late for you to do that now!

I’m a Christian because it is true. I’m a Christian because I want to live in a way that reflects the truth. I’m a Christian because my high regard for the truth leaves me no alternative.
J. Warner Wallace

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread – True Integrity

 

Live such good lives among the pagans that . . . they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:12

Today’s Scripture

1 Peter 2:11-21

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

At a job interview, Carol was asked repeatedly, “Why did you leave your previous job?” The interviewer had an inkling of the conflict she’d had with her former employer and wanted to know what had happened.

While acknowledging “differences in working style,” Carol refused to divulge her opinion of her former boss, believing that it would be wrong to speak ill of him. Later, after she was hired, her new boss revealed that the hiring personnel liked her response: “We were impressed by your integrity. We wouldn’t want you to bad-mouth your boss—or us next time—either.”

As a new believer in Jesus, Carol had always wondered how to live in a “godly” and “right” way, practically. She realized the answer could be simple: Show integrity and be honorable, honest, and ethical.

First Peter 2:12 points to the importance of integrity in everything: “Live such good lives among the pagans that . . . they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” This includes practical things like submitting to lawful authorities (vv. 13-14); doing good (v. 15); showing an attitude of humility and service (v. 16); and respecting and loving others (v. 17). As God helps us, let’s serve Him in a way that brings honor to His name.

Reflect & Pray

In what simple and practical ways can you live out your faith? What words and actions would you use or avoid?

Dear Father, please give me the wisdom to show integrity, love, and respect for others each day so Your name will be glorified in all I say and do.

Living Right Among Pagans.

Today’s Insights

Peter encourages God’s “chosen people” (1 Peter 2:9) to live honorable and blameless lives, doing good works and living as Jesus lived in an unbelieving, hostile world so as to bring glory to God (vv. 9-21). Paul similarly urges believers in Christ to “live a life worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:10)—a faithful and fruitful life that honors and pleases Him (see Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:1). Believers are to live with integrity as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)—letting their “good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise [our] heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16 nlt).

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum – Supreme Court rules against ban on “conversion therapy”

 

A Holy Wednesday reflection

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Colorado’s ban on LGBTQ “conversion therapy” for young people infringes on the free speech rights of a Christian counselor. Their ruling reversed a lower court’s decision that had upheld the law.

According to Associated Press“The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.” Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, said the law “censors speech based on viewpoint” and added that the First Amendment “stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”

Notably, the Court ruled eight-to-one, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson the lone dissenter.

However, the news is not all positive on the religious liberty front. The Family Research Council has documented 1,384 “acts of hostility toward US churches” occurring between January 2018 and December 2024. Catholic churches have especially come under attack in this country.

In the Middle East, the Hoover Institution reports that Christianity is declining rapidly due to the persecution of believers. In Finland, a member of the Parliament and a Lutheran Church bishop were convicted for writing and publishing a pamphlet twenty years ago defending biblical sexual morality. In India, Christian groups are speaking out against legislation they say could enable the government to seize their properties.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Supreme Court rules against ban on “conversion therapy”

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Stay Awake

 

 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ 

—Matthew 26:37–38

Scripture:

Matthew 26:37-38 

Jesus was fully God and fully human. Because He was fully human, He had the same needs that other people have. He enjoyed the same things that other people enjoy, including companionship. He surrounded Himself with disciples not just so that He could teach and prepare them for ministry, but also because He enjoyed their companionship. He found comfort and pleasure in interacting with them.

When Jesus retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane before He was arrested, He brought along His closest friends. And He made a simple request of them. “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38 NLT). Actually, it was more of an opportunity than a request. Jesus was giving them a chance to play a role in God’s plan.

Maybe if His companions had recognized the opportunity embedded in the request, they would have been more diligent in carrying out Jesus’ instructions. Instead, they gave in to their physical desire and fell asleep. It wasn’t the first time.

Matthew 17:1–13 records the story of the Transfiguration, in which Jesus led Peter, James, and John up a mountain so that they could see Him in His glory. On the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to them.

“As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, ‘Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’” (Luke 9:33 NLT).

The previous verse explains why he suddenly spouted such nonsense. “Peter and the others had fallen asleep” (Luke 9:32 NLT). Imagine what else Peter might have witnessed had he been fully awake and watchful at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane.

It makes me wonder how much we miss out on because of our spiritual slumber. How often are we spiritually slumbering when God wants to speak to us through His Word? How often are we spiritually slumbering instead of opening our hearts to a message at church? How often are we spiritually slumbering when the Lord would want us to speak up for Him?

Staying awake, spiritually speaking, means directing our gaze toward the things of God—the things that matter. Look at the words of the psalmist in Psalm 119:37: “Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word” (NLT).

Like the disciples, we, too, can miss out on what God wants to do in and through us. So, we need to be awake, alert, and paying attention. Good things happen to those who keep their spiritual eyes open.

Reflection Question: What would spiritual slumber look like in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise – Signs Divide, Signs Reveal

 

by Michael J. Stamp

“Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.” (John 11:53)

The Jewish leaders sought to kill Jesus after He raised Lazarus from the dead. Why? They knew Lazarus’ resurrection was a well-established fact. And the profound miracle took place in Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, with crowds watching.

Rather than recognizing this sign that Jesus was the Messiah and inspiring belief in Him, these leaders viewed the miracle as a threat to their authority. They feared Jesus’ popularity could lead to the loss of their positions and social standing. But more than that, their hearts were not open to the Word of God standing right in front of them in human flesh (John 1:14). Their hearts were hard and remained so. This made them blind to the very Messiah they were awaiting!

We also see this in the Old Testament. When Moses demanded that Pharaoh free the Israelites, Pharaoh continued to harden his heart. Even after he saw miracle after miracle, and even as the 10 plagues directly challenged the Egyptian gods, Pharaoh refused to concede (Exodus 9:12, 10:27).

Rather than forcing their hearts to believe, God allowed the Jewish leaders and Pharaoh to willfully harden their own hearts against the great miracles they witnessed.

But to the softened heart, Jesus’ identity was undeniable, being clearly revealed by the seven signs described in the gospel of John. The seventh sign was the raising of Lazarus. It foreshadowed the greatest miracle of all: Jesus’ defeat of death and sin on the cross and His resurrection Easter morning! “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25).

Jesus performed these signs to reveal to the Israelites the power of Yahweh, the great I Am. And the signs revealed who Jesus was—the Son of God in their midst! May our hearts be ready to recognize and praise Him for what He has done. MJS

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer – Spirit, Soul, Body

 

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (AMP)

God loves you, and He is interested in every single part of your life—not just the spiritual part. Just look at what 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says about this: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (ESV).

This verse clearly says that we can be sanctified completely, “wholly consecrated to God.” God created us as tri-part beings: We are spirits, we have souls, and we live in bodies. Your spirit is the part of you that receives revelation from God, and your con- science functions through it. Your soul is made up of your mind, will, and emotions, and your body is the house you live in.

God wants every part of our lives to be healthy and whole. This is important, because if even one of those areas is unhealthy, we won’t be able to fully enjoy the life Jesus came to give us. Not only does God want you to be spiritually sound—born again through a personal relationship with Jesus—but He also wants a life for you that’s free from depression, anger, unforgiveness, and so on. He wants you to have peace and joy in your soul!

Prayer of the Day: God, thank You for caring about every part of my life. I commit to You my soul, my spirit, and my body. Thank You for working in me to make me whole, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado – Grace Seeps In 

 

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God’s grace. It has a wildness about it. A white-water, rip-tide, turn-you-upside-downess about it. Grace comes after you.

Some years ago I underwent a heart procedure. I asked the surgeon, “You’re burning the interior of my heart, right?” “Correct.” “You intend to kill the misbehaving cells, yes?” “That’s my plan.” “Could you take your little blowtorch to some of my greed, selfishness, superiority, and guilt?” He smiled, “Sorry, that’s out of my pay grade.” But it’s not out of God’s, my friend.

We’d be wrong to think this change happens overnight. But we’d be equally wrong to assume change never happens at all. It may come in fits and spurts—but it comes! Titus 2:11 (NKJV) says, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared.” The floodgates are opened, the water is out. You just never know when grace will seep in.

 

 

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Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – A Time of Trouble

 

Read Ruth 1:1–2

The Old Testament book of Ruth reads almost like a play. It has well-crafted dramatic dialogue, compelling characters, and rich imagery. While the story may be familiar to you, during this study we will move slowly through the text, taking time to notice every detail and savor each splendid truth.

As the curtain rises, the unknown author of the book gives some background: “In the days when the judges ruled” (v. 1). His original audience lived during the time of the kings—a more stable and prosperous age. But for them, this opening sentence would have brought to mind the moral and spiritual depravity, which had prevailed in that previous age. The love story of Ruth and Boaz will stand in dramatic relief against the chaotic backdrop.

Next, the author sets the stage by giving us the inciting incident—“there was a famine in the land.” This famine was possibly a punishment for Israel’s disobedience and idolatry. Deuteronomy 28, verse 48 lists “hunger” as one curse God may bring if His people worship other gods.

Then, we are introduced to key characters, including “a man from Bethlehem in Judah,…his wife and two sons” (v. 1). Ironically, the name Bethlehem means “house of bread,” but when there was no longer any bread available, the family had to act. They traveled to Moab to “live for a while” (v. 1). The journey was 50 miles, which would have taken them 7–10 days, a relatively short, but nonetheless dangerous, trip. More concerning was the fact that Moab was an enemy of Israel. Moving to Moab was an unusual, even dangerous decision, no doubt influenced by a desperate situation. In verse 2, the family members are named. It’s important to note that Elimelek means “my god is king,” and Naomi means “beautiful, pleasant, and good.” They were Ephrathites, which will later become deeply significant. No detail is wasted.

Go Deeper

What difficulties in your own life have forced you to take unexpected action? What was the result?

Pray with Us

Dear Lord, as we begin our study in Ruth, open our eyes to see the truths You have given us in Your Word. Use this story to shape how we view the difficulties we face.

Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.Psalm 6:4

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Koinonia

 

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They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42, NIV

Recommended Reading: Acts 2:42-47

The Chicago Tribune recently reported, “Despite being more digitally connected than ever, many people are struggling to forge the kind of deep, meaningful relationships that give life purpose. We have thousands of online ‘friends’ but fewer real confidants. We work longer hours, move more frequently, and engage in fewer communal activities…. A 2015 meta-analysis … found that prolonged social isolation carries the same health risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”1

Does any of that relate to you? God made us with a need for fellowship with Himself and others. Our word fellowship is a translation of the New Testament Greek word koinonia, which meant “something held in common, a shared state, being partners in a relationship.” This word occurs twenty times in the New Testament, beginning with Acts 2:42 and the Church created by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

Do you have a church to attend? Ask God to guide you to a circle of fellowship in a church or Bible study. Make the effort, and you will be blessed.

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles.
Corrie Ten Boom

  1. John Hewko, “Chicago Tribune: Curing the Loneliness Epidemic, Rotary-Style,” Rotary International, February 2025.

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread – God’s View

 

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring. Exodus 14:13

Today’s Scripture

Exodus 14:1-4, 8, 10-14

Listen to Today’s Devotion

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Today’s Devotion

Hudson Taylor was troubled. He’d left England to share the gospel about Christ in China, and ministry—though challenging—had gone well. But in 1865, as he considered sending more people to minister to a more dangerous part of the country, without protection, he felt “intense conflict.” After wrestling with God in prayer, he wrote, “The Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God . . . [recognizing] that all responsibility . . . and consequences must rest with him.”

Moses received a call from God that likely left him troubled. As he was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, God said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea” (Exodus 14:2). This meant they were trapped between Pharaoh and a vast body of water! The Israelites trembled as “Pharaoh approached” (v. 10). Panic-stricken, they told Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (v. 12). But Moses replied, “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). And he was right. God provided rescue and victory for His people as they rested in Him (vv. 15-31).

At times, we won’t understand what God’s doing in our lives because we don’t have His view. It was during such a moment that Hudson Taylor wrote, “As his servant it was [my responsibility] to obey and to follow him.” We too can rest in God’s view and plans.

Reflect & Pray

Why is it vital for you to surrender to God’s plans for you? How can you rest in Him?

 

Loving God, please help me rest in Your perfect plans for my life.

 

Today’s Insights

Exodus 14:1-14 shows the tension between how things can appear to us and what God’s really doing. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh, God told them to turn back, placing them in what looked like a military trap—boxed in between Pharaoh’s army and the sea (v. 2). But this was God’s plan to lure and defeat Pharaoh once and for all (v. 4). When Israel panicked (vv. 10–12), Moses reminded them that their rescue wasn’t dependent on their strength but on God’s (vv. 13-14). Even when we don’t understand His plans, this passage invites us to trust that His purposes are always good.

 

http://www.odb.org

Denison Forum – “Morons Are Governing America” vs. “Trump Was Right About Everything”

 

A Holy Tuesday reflection

My wife and I drove past a “No Kings” rally in our city last Saturday, where we saw a sign that said, “Be kind!” Another announced in rainbow colors, “Love wins!” Next to them, paradoxically, a man was waving his hand-lettered whiteboard, “[expletive deleted] Trump!”

Not to be partisan, but signs using a euphemism for the same expletive abounded when Joe Biden was president.

This bipolarity is reflected and empowered by the media daily. If a new article in the Atlantic is to be believed, America under Donald Trump is now a “rogue superpower.” However, if a recent editorial in Fox News is correct, “Trump is breaking Middle East’s old power structure” in ways that will produce more positive geopolitical alignments in the future.

You can buy a yard sign displaying a MAGA acrostic, “Morons Are Governing America.” Or you can purchase one proclaiming, “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.”

If you’re somewhere in the middle, you’re out of yard sign luck.

Continue reading Denison Forum – “Morons Are Governing America” vs. “Trump Was Right About Everything”

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – The Power of Prayer

 

 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 

—James 5:13–15

Scripture:

James 5:13–15 

Jesus retreated to the Garden of Gethsemane for one reason. It wasn’t to hide from His enemies. It wasn’t to spend quality time with His disciples. Jesus went there to pray. Knowing that, in a matter of hours, He would submit to unimaginable physical, emotional, and spiritual agony, Jesus wanted to spend His remaining hours of freedom in the presence of His Father.

The circumstances were unique, but the discipline wasn’t. The Gospels record several instances in which Jesus set aside time for prayer. Mark 1:35 says, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray” (NLT).

Luke 5:15–16 says, “But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer” (NLT).

Jesus understood the power of prayer, and He wants us to understand it as well. When we find ourselves in trying circumstances, often the temptation is to strike out at those we hold responsible. Or to get mad at God for allowing those circumstances to disrupt our lives. Or to wallow in self-pity.

But those are things the devil wants us to do because he knows how counterproductive they are. When we’re afflicted, when we’re suffering, or when we’re in trouble, prayer should be our first response, just as it was for Jesus. Why? Well, for one thing, God may answer our prayer and remove the problem from our life. He may directly intervene in our circumstances. The Bible is filled with stories in which He did just that.

Even if He doesn’t intervene immediately, He still works in and through us when we take our needs to Him. Prayer affirms our dependence on Him. It puts us in a right relationship with Him. It also allows us to place our burdens in His hands. When we turn our requests over to God, we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that He will be doing the heavy lifting. Through prayer we also receive the grace we need to endure trouble and grow closer to God.

James 5:13–15 says, “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven” (NLT). The word suffering could be translated “in trouble” or “in distress.” Is anyone among you in trouble? Are you distressed? Then you should pray.

When the bottom drops out, when you feel as though you’re hanging by a thread, when circumstances seem to grow worse by the minute, pray. Pray when you’re afflicted. Pray when you’re sick. Pray when you need forgiveness. Pray when specific needs occur. Pray for God’s will to be done.

Just like Jesus did in Gethsemane.

Reflection Question: How can you make prayer a more integral part of your daily life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!

 

 

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie

Days of Praise – Other Preachers

 

by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.

“What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)

This verse seems to conflict with warnings about false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) and another gospel (Galatians 1:6–9). The key is identifying what Paul is allowing on the one hand and condemning on the other.

Some teachers of his day (probably both in Philippi and in Rome) appeared to be taking advantage of Paul’s imprisonment to enhance their own reputations. Indeed, some were trying through their public preaching to “add affliction to [his] bonds” (Philippians 1:16).

Even though some with ungodly motives stood out among those preaching of good will, Paul was able to rejoice that “Christ is preached” (today’s text) by both categories, and therein is the source of the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

The stern denunciation of “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) exposes the untruth of all hybrid messages, whether human or angelic, that would attempt to preach anything other than “Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Here is the message for us. When the full gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection—according to the Scriptures—is preached (1 Corinthians 15:1–4) by whatever means and even under sometimes questionable motives, the “good news” is cause for rejoicing. It is the gospel that has power, not the messenger.

However, when some people attempt to change that gospel to make it seem more attractive to those who wish to continue in sin or change its message to allow for human works, we are to see such preachers as dangerous and under condemnation. May God keep us from both mistakes. HMM III

 

 

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

Joyce Meyer – Keep Asking

 

For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.

Matthew 7:8 (AMPC)

If there is a promise in God’s Word, don’t stop asking to receive it. Let today’s scripture encourage you to refuse to give up. Continue asking, seeking, and knocking, and you will receive, find, and see doors open for you.

I prayed for my father’s salvation for more than forty years. Finally, at the age of eighty, he received Christ and was baptized. It seemed as if it would never happen, but it did.

Even Jesus, who always got His prayers answered, had to pray twice for a blind man’s eyes to be opened:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22–25 NIV)

Let this Scripture passage encourage you to never give up on receiving God’s promises.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Strengthen my faith when answers take time and remind me that You are faithful to fulfill every promise in Your perfect way, amen.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Max Lucado – Serve with Joy 

 

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Some people feel so saved that they never serve. Some serve at the hope of being saved. Does one of those sentences describe you? Do you feel so saved that you never serve? So content in what God has done, that you do nothing? The fact is, we are here to glorify God in our service.

Or is your tendency the opposite? Perhaps you always serve for fear of not being saved. You’re worried there’s some secret card that exists with your score written on it and your score is not enough. Is that you?  The blood of Jesus is enough to save you. John 1:29 (NIV) announces that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The blood of Christ doesn’t cover your sins, conceal your sins, postpone your sins, or diminish your sins. It takes away your sins, once and for all. So you are saved! And since you are saved, you can serve with joy.

 

 

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Today in the Word – Moody Bible Institute – Our Savior Is Coming Soon!

 

Read Revelation 22:12–21

In Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, two characters occupy the stage and talk, all the while waiting for the arrival of someone named Godot. He is mentioned from time to time but still has not appeared by the end of the drama. Sometimes we might feel like the two characters in this play—we get tired of waiting. When will Christ return? When will justice and righteousness prevail? When will earthly history come to an end? All we can say is what Christ said in the epilogue to Revelation: “I am coming soon!” (vv. 12–13). No matter what “soon” means, the important truth is that He could return at any time.

Who will get into heaven (vv. 14–15)? Those who “wash their robes,” that is, those who accept God’s offer of salvation in Christ. Who won’t get into heaven? Sinners. This is a stark reminder of what’s at stake in following Christ: our eternal destinies. With the consequences so enormous, following in His steps should be our top priority. The implication is that we should always be living by faith and pursuing righteousness (1 John 3:6–9). If we’re truly saved, our lives will show it.

All who hear the words of this book are invited to “come” to the water of life, to salvation in the Lamb (vv. 16–17). Accepting the invitation will eventually lead to the heavenly New Jerusalem. Christ sent this “testimony”—the book of Revelation—as one more call for people to choose eternal life. Why choose against the Alpha and the Omega?

Readers are also warned not to add or take away from the words of this book (vv. 18–19). God will judge and punish anyone who does so. Yes, He is coming soon (vv. 20–21)! The book’s concluding prayer is ours as well: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Go Deeper

What have you learned from this month’s study? Consider joining the discussion in our Facebook Today in the Word Devotional group. Also, if you have been blessed by this study, will you consider a gift to support this ministry?

Pray with Us

As we finish this study in Revelation, may the hope of the future remind us how to live in the present. Our lives belong to You, and our future is in Your hands! “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.Revelation 22:20

 

 

https://www.moodybible.org/

Defending Western Civilization from Its Domestic Enemies

We are capable of winning this fight.

 

When I write about threats to Western civilization, I struggle to find the sweet spot between describing the myriad problems we face and my firm belief that we are capable of winning this fight.  I do not think all is lost.  I do, however, think that it is important for as many people as possible to recognize what our enemies are doing.

When we are being attacked from all sides — culturally, politically, economically, socially, parentally, morally, religiously, psychologically — it is sometimes difficult to recognize that these attacks are all connected.  Those who wish to destroy Western civilization use every available weapon to hurt us.  When we concentrate on nothing but “bad news,” though, we talk ourselves into premature defeat.  We psych ourselves out.  We give our enemies greater power over us than they have.

We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore what is happening.  We also cannot allow what is happening to intimidate us into silence or cow us into submission.  Ideally, we will become more vocal in articulating exactly what our enemies are doing, find comfort in the growing chorus of voices urging resistance, and become only more confident in our defense of Western civilization.

Sounding the alarm is not a call for surrender.  Nor should hearing the alarm cause us to tremble.  This is the time for courage and determination.  When our Western ancestors faced similar dangers in the past, they did not hide or run away.  They prepared themselves for hardship.  They prayed.  They retrieved hidden swords from thatched roofs, straw beds, and bales of hay.

In broad strokes, we know what’s happening.  Open borders policies in North America and Europe are sabotaging social cohesion.  Christianity is under attack.  Reason, rationality, and scientific inquiry have been abandoned.  Our shared history is continuously rewritten in ways that turn our ancestors into villains.  Enlightenment ideals fostering individual sovereignty, personal freedom, and maximum liberty have been eroded by the pernicious encroachments of collectivism, Marxism, socialism, and communism.  Virtue is mocked, while sin is celebrated.  Unchecked desire, envy, and instant gratification have supplanted temperance, humility, and self-restraint.  The indulgence of personal fantasy has superseded the pursuit of eternal truth.  Schools, governments, and cultural institutions preach a false and destructive religion requiring Westerners to repent for their “climate change sins” and embrace the doctrines of “multiculturalism” and “diversity” as tenets of leftism’s “faith.”

Those are the various arrows being shot at us daily.  The damage caused from such sustained onslaught is immense.  Last week, conservative publications around the world carried the sad news of a twenty-five-year-old Barcelona woman named Noelia Castillo Ramos who chose to end her own life with the help of Spanish authorities.  Ramos spent her childhood in Spain’s broken foster system, being moved from one facility to the next.  Spain also uses these facilities to house unaccompanied foreign minors.  A group of these foreign minors brutally gang raped Ramos when she was a teenager. Suffering physically and psychologically, Ramos attempted suicide by leaping from a fifth-floor window four years ago.  She survived but was left paraplegic.  Spanish authorities deemed her “severe mental suffering” sufficient grounds to grant her plea for State-assisted death.

Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek spoke for many Westerners who have mourned Ramos’s death when she wrote: “The system didn’t fail her, it actively betrayed her.  This girl’s tragic story is a perfect illustration of how the establishment feels about European women.  They first endanger you and then when you need help and cost them too much money, they push you to your grave.”

Discarding the moral and intellectual enlightenment obtained over centuries of work and contemplation, today’s governments have abandoned the hallmarks of Western civilization and reanimated the rotting corpses of paganism, hedonism, idolatry, and child sacrifice.  While Western citizens desperately seek civilizational renewal, Western governments do nothing but fan the flames of the growing inferno.

In the United States, Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is demanding that law enforcement agents who arrest illegal aliens be prosecuted and that illegal aliens who have been detained receive monetary “reparations.”  For decades, Democrats (and Establishment Republicans) have aided and abetted foreign nationals in illegally entering the United States.  Many of these illegal aliens steal American citizens’ social security numbers and commit various forms of identity theft and fraud in order to collect welfare benefits or secure employment.  Democrats wish to reward the criminals and punish their victims.

Criminals who have no legal right to be in the United States — including those who fled criminal prosecutions in their native homelands — go on to commit new crimes while here.  Violent foreign nationals who should not be here have raped and murdered far too many Americans.  Negligent foreign nationals who should not be here have killed far too many Americans while driving cars and commercial trucks across the country.  Far too many schools have been forced to figure out how to teach illegal alien children who cannot speak English or easily assimilate.  Far too many towns and cities have been forced into insolvency while providing ever-expanding social services for illegal aliens whom American taxpayers cannot afford.  Far too many hospitals are overrun with illegal alien patients who delay treatment for and drive up the healthcare costs of Americans.  And now the Democrat Party wants to pay the tens of millions of foreigners who illegally reside here “reparations” for feeling “unsafe.”

In responding to the pro-foreigner / anti-American policies of Representative Jayapal and her Democrat colleagues, one online commenter concluded, “Sometimes seems like only a civil war will save this country.”  That’s a sentiment widely held throughout the West these days.

Last week, a European Parliament conference concluded that the whole continent is headed for civil war.  One professor argued that “the foundations of Western self-belief, prosperity, and competency” are now broken and that Europe is “on a track for a peasant revolt.”  In response to Western governments’ betrayal of Western civilization, there will be an “uprising in which the ruled seek to punish their rulers for violating their obligations under the social contract, and for changing the rules of the game against their wishes.”  Most of the politicians and academics who participated in the conference do not believe that Europe will survive this century.  Although they expressed various opinions about how the coming chaos will unfold, they reached a common conclusion: “It will be bloody.”

Those of us who wish to defend the West should not scurry and hide.  We should recognize the moment and prepare ourselves accordingly.  Our enemies are everywhere.  That’s okay.  We are everywhere, too.

 

J.B. Shurk | March 30, 2026

Source: Defending Western Civilization from Its Domestic Enemies – American Thinker

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Nailed!

 

NEW!Listen Now

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12, NIV

Recommended Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

Did you hear about the man who stormed through the hardware store, fuming because he couldn’t find the right nails. He finally slammed a box onto the counter. The shopkeeper looked at the man, then read the slogan on his t-shirt. It said, “He Took the Nails for Me.” The shopkeeper said, “If He took those nails with love, surely I can give you these for free.” He bagged the box and handed it to the man, who walked out of the store speechless, nailed by his own shirt.

Those who share the Gospel most be clothed in love and carry in their hearts a genuine burden for others. What’s displayed in our attitude is more important than what’s printed on our clothing or bumper sticker. D. L. Moody said, “Of all the people in the world, those who follow Christ should be the most gentle, patient, loving, and hopeful.”

Ask yourself today if you can relay the Good News of the Gospel to others, showing the love of God to all you meet.

Harsh, rough, uncourteous ways do not recommend Christianity. 
J. C. Ryle

 

 

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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