Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions for 12/21/22

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Scripture for the Day – Hebrews (ESV) 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – In the Workplace

https://www.intouch.org/read/daily-devotions

Our Daily Bread – Treasured Prayer

https://odb.org/US/2022/12/21/treasured-prayer

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Jesus Is Savior and Lord

https://www.gty.org/library/devotionals/strength-for-today

Joyce Meyer – Winning the Battle of the Mind

https://joycemeyer.org/dailydevo

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Submission and Humility

https://www.truthforlife.org/daily?tab=alistair_begg_devotional&date=12/21/2022

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – Jesus Is the Light We Need

Today’s Devotional

(After Many Years of re-posting Daily Devotionals; we are being asked to no longer re-post daily devotionals. In order to conform to Legal and Copyright standards we will only provide the direct links to their sites)

News and Info

Study: Homeschoolers Outperform All Other Students on Standardized Test

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News for You

It’s more than OK to homeschool your kids. To be fair some parents are not the homeschool type but many are and those that can should!

I speak from personal experience; we did homeschooling for several years for the 2 youngest of our 5 children. The details as to why and how are not really relevant, but what is relevant is that if I can “survive” it anybody can.

As the dad, the father; I had to do the one thing that all grown men fear – Go back to school. No matter the shape, reason or position. When I graduated High School and ran out those front doors the last time, I was not going back.  My Wife pretty much felt the same way, yet somehow I think it is easier for her being the Mom.

All of that put aside, when it comes to your kids you’re willing to do anything. Please enjoy the following article and other links provided. If you are considering the option to Homeschool I say take it and enjoy the ride!!

Study: Homeschoolers Outperform All Other Students on Standardized Test

Numerous studies have shown that homeschooled students continue to academically outperform their private, charter, and public school counterparts.

Now, a new study about homeschoolers taking the Classic Learning Test, a standardized college entrance exam, reveals they are scoring higher than their peers in other educational settings. 

The tests, according to the CLT website, emphasize intellectual aptitude and achievement and are grounded in the liberal arts tradition.

The exam utilizes reading passages from classic texts written by individuals “whose writings have had a lasting influence on culture and society” rather than the informational passages and more contemporary writings often used in the SAT and ACT, according to The Daily Wire.

The outlet reports a new analysis of the CLT results by Houston Christian University professor Lisa Treleaven found that homeschool students who took the exam earned mean scores of roughly 78 points, surpassing private school students, who earned mean scores of 75, and charter school students, who earned mean scores of 73. Public school students earned mean scores of 66, marking the lowest among the cohorts considered by the study.

Treleaven wrote, “This is consistent with prior research findings of superior academic performance of homeschool students as compared to other school types.”

The professor’s 15-page study was based on the exam results of 12,000 students who took the CLT from 2016 – 2021. 

Classic Learning Test CEO Jeremy Tate who created the CLT seven years ago, suggested to The Daily Wire that the freestyle structure of homeschooling may give an advantage over students enrolled in other schools. 

“Homeschooled students simply have more time for leisure reading,” he told the outlet. “We forget that the word school derives from Greek scholē, originally meaning leisure. The connection between leisure and learning is profound. Factory model schooling is antithetical to leisure, but is common for homeschooled students who are given the time and space to immerse themselves in great literature.”

In essence, homeschooling lets the children improve as per their nature and schedule. according to Admissionsly.com. 

Treleaven’s analysis shows that homeschooled students significantly outdid their peers on the verbal and writing portions of the CLT.  But were about equal with private and charter school students’ test scores on the quantitative portion of the test. 

The professor also called for more research on homeschool academic achievement. 

According to the National Home Education Research Institute, (NHERI) homeschooled children typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. 

Seventy-eight percent of peer-reviewed studies on academic achievement show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in institutional schools, the NHERI stated in research facts posted on its website. 

Among the other facts presented by the institute:

  • Homeschooling is increasing among minority communities  
  • Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parent’s level of formal education or their family’s household income
  • 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools
  • Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges

More Parents Are Opting to Homeschool Their Children

As CBN News reported in June, in the wake of recent school violence and the “woke” movement, families across the nation are looking at the benefits of homeschooling their children like never before.

Actor and family advocate Kirk Cameron examined the rise in homeschooling’s popularity in his documentary released last summer titled The Homeschool Awakening. 

The film features 17 different families from all kinds of backgrounds. Some of the children are opening businesses. Others are traveling the country with their parents and siblings, and other children are doing things like getting their pilot’s license at age 17.

“Kids are learning outside with the entire world as their classroom together with their siblings and with their parents and with their grandparents,” Cameron said. 

The actor interviewed several parents for the film who once viewed homeschooling as weird. “I always viewed homeschooling as somewhat of a cult,” one parent said. Others said they once thought of homeschoolers as “weird” or “abnormal.”

And like those parents, Cameron admits he also once had a “healthy fear” of homeschooling.

“I thought homeschooling was like, you had to be a Quaker or you had to be Amish. I was saying, I mean, does my wife need to wear a floor length, denim jumper, have a head covering and you know, where do we get the uniform?” he joked.

“And then I realized that I was just out of touch with this incredible robust community of people. There are experts and educational professionals creating curriculums that actually incorporate faith and what I’m learning is that parents are not stuck in a system that they’re not happy with,” Cameron said. 

The Lifemark star noted parents are waking up and holding their public schools more accountable.

“And if you look at the public education system, removing prayer from schools, removing God and the Bible from school and replacing those things with progressive ideas, like the Critical Race Theory, Gender Theory, and teaching children to decide whether or not they prefer to be a boy or a girl, to choose their own pronouns, and separating parents from their children’s understanding of sexuality and when, and how they’re exposed to explicit material, these are the kinds of things that parents are saying ‘we’re not down for this anymore,'” Cameron said.

He added perhaps the best part of homeschooling is God gets to stay in the classroom.

“We want our children to understand who they are, who God is, their place in the world, why they’re here,” Cameron said.

As CBN News reported in December of 2021, a boom happened in homeschooling in America as the number of children taught by their parents doubled after the COVID-19 lockdowns began. 

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the pandemic sparked new interest in homeschooling. By the end of 2020, more than 9 million Americans said they had attended homeschool at some point in their lives, according to Admissionly.com. 

By Steve Warren

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News.

Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion.

A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory.  It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Tulsa.

Related

‘Homeschool Awakening’: Families Across the Nation Opt Out of Public Schools Like Never Before

More Than a Fad: Why a Growing Number of Parents Are Opting to Homeschool Their Kids 

Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions for 12/20/22

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Scripture for the Day – 2 Thessalonians (ESV) 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Jesus Christ Is Lord

https://www.intouch.org/read/daily-devotions

Our Daily Bread – Standing Firm by Faith

https://odb.org/US/2022/12/19/standing-firm-by-faith

Grace to You; John MacArthur – The Authority of Christ’s Name

https://www.gty.org/library/devotionals/strength-for-today

Joyce Meyer – Develop Self-Control

https://joycemeyer.org/dailydevo

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Confession and Relief

https://www.truthforlife.org/daily?tab=alistair_begg_devotional&date=12/20/2022

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Sent the Knowledge of Salvation

Today’s Devotional

(After Many Years of re-posting Daily Devotionals; we are being asked to no longer re-post daily devotionals. In order to conform to Legal and Copyright standards we will only provide the direct links to their sites)

News and Info

News for You

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Do you know where Kazakhstan is at on a map? Or could you name one country it is next to? Click on Google Map Link

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kazakhstan/@38.0130128,29.8720557,2.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x38a91007ecfca947:0x5f7b842fe4b30e1b!8m2!3d48.019573!4d66.923684?hl=en

Quick facts – Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country and former Soviet republic, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. Its largest metropolis, Almaty, is a long-standing trading hub whose landmarks include Ascension Cathedral, a tsarist-era Russian Orthodox church, and the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, displaying thousands of Kazakh artifacts.

The Best news is that the amount of Christians is growing there as is explained in the following article published by Christian Today News (Links Below)

The Gospel in the heart of Central Asia

By Johannes Reimer-13 December 2022

Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia in terms of its territory and it ranks 9th largest by landmass in the world. It is considered a Muslim majority country. The population of 20 million people is very multicultural, tolerant, multi-religious and open. Politically neutral Kazakhstan is proud that the almost 100 different ethnicities coexist peacefully. Among them, Kazakhs represent approximately 75 per cent of the total population. In addition, Slavic peoples, such as Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians and Poles comprise 20 per cent.

While a previously large German minority has almost entirely moved to Germany, the Chinese diaspora is growing by the day. There are also large communities of Koreans.

Kazakhstan is strategically and geopolitically very well positioned between China, Europe and the Middle East, with a growing and vibrant evangelical church to influence this part of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today almost 30 per cent of the population in Kazakhstan is Christian. While the majority of them are still from a non-Kazakh background, the number of Kazakhs who confess to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord is growing.

In the past, the Kazakhs were to a large extent Christian and carried the Gospel as far as China and Mongolia. Only slowly, Islam spread through the majority of the population. Later, in Soviet times atheism became the dominant ideology of the country.

The new start of evangelical Christianity among the Kazakh tribes goes back to the 1990s. Indeed, there were no indigenous Kazakh-speaking churches at that time and only a very few Kazakhs who came to faith in the Russian speaking churches.

The first Kazakh-speaking church was started in 1992. As the very first Kazakh-speaking church pastor, Malik started the Rakhim (Mercy) church in Alma-Aty with a small group of Kazakh believers. And then the evangelical Christian Baptists began to work with the Kazakh population, and the Kutkaruly Zholy church (translated as the Way of Salvation) was started.

After that missionaries began to come from Europe, North America and South Korea and from other countries. From 1993 to 1998, many Kazakh congregations were planted with the help of foreign missionaries. Those years are considered the most fruitful years for Kazakhstan, and revival and church growth soared.

Development, growth and alliances

The number of evangelical registered churches in Kazakhstan today stands at approximately 400, including all Russian-speaking and Kazakh-speaking churches. The vast majority of them belong to the Evangelical Alliance of Kazakhstan (EAK). You will find ethnic Kazakhs in almost all of the evangelical churches today, about 100 of which are registered Kazakh churches.

Most of those churches are located in the south and south-eastern part of Kazakhstan. There are difficulties in organizing Kazakh-speaking churches in the north, east and western parts of the country since the majority of Kazakhs living in the north and east are Russian-speaking, while the West is remote and more resistant to the Gospel.

Not all Kazakh-speaking churches are registered yet due to their size or political circumstances. There are about 150 Kazakh-speaking evangelical churches in Kazakhstan today, including registered churches and unregistered house churches. Kazakh churches are typically not very numerous, with usually about 50 church members on average. But there are also a few large ones, numbering approximately 600-800 members.

Kazakh believers have formed their own association called Kurultay – ‘convention’ in English. The main goal of the Kurultay is to foster and bring unity to all of the Kazakh evangelical churches and remove denominational barriers, thus serving as one Body of Jesus Christ and expanding the Kingdom of God in all the regions of Kazakhstan.

The Kurultay was started in 1999 with the help of the Kazakh partnership, a Kazakhstan-based association of foreign missionaries. In the beginning only the pastors of Almaty gathered for the monthly prayer meetings. And in 2000, the first conference of Kurultay was organized in Almaty. From the very beginning, Kurultay was closely connected with the Evangelical Alliance of Kazakhstan, building a nucleus of unity among Christians of the country.

Today the Kurultay includes churches from almost all evangelical or Protestant denominations represented in the country. That includes Pentecostals, Evangelical Christian Baptists, Independent Baptists, Charismatics, Presbyterians, Methodists, and other independent Protestant churches.

The Kurultay of Kazakh pastors is one of the most important annual meetings in Kazakhstan. Here they come together to fellowship with each other and discuss the most important current issues among the Kazakh-speaking population. And they share with each other the problems that hinder the growth of God’s Kingdom in the country. The steering committee of the Kurultay consists of 12 pastors from various parts of Kazakhstan. The current president is Yerkinbeck Serikbaev.

He wrote to me: “All participants openly share in a friendly atmosphere about pressing problems, pray together and look for ways to cooperate. We try to involve as many pastors from different churches and denominations as possible. Of course, there are pastors who would like to be part of the Kurultay but there are some denomination leaders that do not allow pastors from their denomination to join.

“We believe that now is the time to pray together and unite like never before. One of the main challenges in our country is to reach Muslim Kazakhs and other minority Muslim people groups. Even though we come from different church backgrounds and have differences in the ways and approaches to evangelize the Muslims, we get together to discuss and find better ways to do that.

“We annually convene pastors and leaders from all regions of Kazakhstan. This is a platform for all pastors to get to know each other, pray together to share their experience, expertise and make plans and strategies for the future.”

Working together for the kingdom

The list of missionary activity motivated by the Kurultay is long. Kurultay holds outreaches during the biggest national holiday called Navruz (the Central Asian new year celebrated in the spring), with the goal of sharing the Gospel. Unsaved friends, relatives and acquaintances are invited and the name of the Lord is proclaimed.

Special conferences and training seminars for leaders, youth and women as well as summer camps for children and teenagers are organized by the Kurultay. But the most exciting ministry is their mission outreach.

Serikbaev states: “We believe that God has positioned us strategically and given us, the Christians of Kazakhstan, a missionary calling to take the good news to Muslim peoples living near and far. Kurultay organizes short-term missionary trips and sends long-term missionaries.

“This happens not only within Kazakhstan, but also outside of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstani pastors and missionaries go to other countries of the Turkic world because of our cultural affinity and religious background to plant churches.”

For example, a group of pastors and other brothers and sisters, went to the Bayan-Ulgi region in western Mongolia, where mainly Kazakh people reside.

“On the last missionary trip there was a group of 30 of us travelling on a bus there,” reports Serkinbaev. “We conducted a three-day seminar for believers. And, also shared the Gospel with the locals. And both Mongolian Christians as well as listeners to our evangelistic preaching, expressed their deep gratitude. Hearing the Gospel proclaimed in their mother tongue is special to them and the acceptance of the truth was overwhelming.”

Today Kurultay is in the process of registering with the Kazakhstan government. The leadership has already submitted all the documents for registration to the state authorities and hopes to get the official registration by the end of 2022.

Basic needs – a conference centre in the city of Almaty

With a growing and aspiring evangelical population Kurultay needs a center to grow and organize more ministries and serve the wider body of Christ in Kazakhstan and in the surrounding countries. The centre will be tailor-made for all kinds of ministries in the churches at home and beyond. The leaders of Kurultay envision a mission training centre for training Kazakhs in their own language to send missionaries, ministers and workers to countries and places in Kazakhstan, the wider Turkic world and beyond.

Kurultay plans to organize outreach trips to different regions three to four times a year inside of Kazakhstan, especially to regions where help is urgently needed, such as the northern, western and eastern regions where there are fewer churches and Christians. And they plan to organize missionary trips to Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and other countries where the churches are rare and missionaries are welcomed. The potential missionaries will need training and the proposed centre will serve them well.

But the centre could host many other ministries. Kurultay hopes to establish a studio for audio-video recording, internet media ministries, a printing press, television and radio broadcasting studio, prayer centre, dormitories and a hall for holding mass events.

They are also praying to organize a Christian school through Kurultay. For this they already have concrete plans and partners that can help. This will give the children of Kazakh believers a higher Christian education and help prepare a new generation of followers of Jesus.

In a letter to the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) the leadership of Kurultay urgently pleaded for the support and assistance of the global church.

“Brothers and sisters in Christ, we hope for your support and prayers. We believe that we will overcome all our difficulties and needs together,” said the president of Kurultay.

“We have two options. The first is to purchase a building with a conference hall and bedrooms etc., which we could use for various meetings and seminars. That type of a building approximate costs in the city of Almaty 2 to 3 million US dollars. There is a second option, to buy a plot of land and build a Turkic center ourselves. And it costs approximately 2.5 million to 3 million US dollars. For this, we have plans and projects for construction. This will be the centre for Turkic-speaking churches of our country and wider Central Asia. At this point we have raised 100,000 US dollars. Of course, this amount is not enough to buy a suitable place or to buy property and build. Thank you very much! May the Lord bless you and your churches, ministries!”

As the evangelical family in the world we rejoice with the Kazakh believers and thank God for the amazing growth of their churches in Kazakhstan. And we should respond to their plea for support in prayer and giving. There has never been a better time for this.

Original article Link

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.gospel.in.the.heart.of.central.asia/139577.htm

Charles Stanley

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – The Gift of Teaching

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Teachers, who faithfully study and share truth with others, are God’s provision for the church.

Titus 1:5-11

God has given believers spiritual gifts for the common good of the body of Christ. And teaching is an essential gift for church leaders, who must be able to exhort and correct while holding firmly to the Word of God (Ephesians 4:11-13). But this God-given ability isn’t limited to church authorities. Other members in a fellowship are also endowed with this competency and are responsible to use it faithfully. 

The gift of teaching isn’t characterized merely by the ability to speak eloquently, for there are many empty talkers who sound good but are spreading deception. True teachers combine good communication skills with diligent study of the Bible. In fact, they delight in deepening their understanding of God’s Word and long to share what they’ve learned. Such Christians are organized and analytical in their thinking, as well as thorough and accurate in their explanations of Scripture.

Have you been blessed with this ability? If so, God’s intention is that you use it faithfully and carefully for the benefit of your church. And keep in mind both the privilege and responsibility inherent in the gift of teaching—that “whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God” (1 Peter 4:11).

Bible in One Year: Galatians 1-3

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Daily Dependence

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Bible in a Year:

Give us today our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Matthew 6:6–13

One morning our younger kids decided to get up early and fix breakfast for themselves. Tired from a grueling week, my wife and I were trying to sleep until at least 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash! I jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to find a shattered bowl, oatmeal all over the floor, and Jonas—our five-year-old—desperately trying to sweep (more like smear) the gooey mess off the floor. My children were hungry, but they chose not to ask for help. Instead of reaching out in dependence, they chose independence, and the result was definitely not a culinary delight.

In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Prayer is where we practice such dependent ways. When Jesus taught His disciples—and all of us who have come to believe in Him—to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Bread is a metaphor for sustenance, deliverance, and guidance (vv. 11–13). We’re dependent on God for all that and more.

There are no self-made believers in Jesus, and we’ll never graduate from His grace. Throughout our lives, may we always begin our day by taking the posture of dependence as we pray to “our Father in heaven” (v. 9).

By:  Glenn Packiam

Reflect & Pray

What’s the “bread” you’re praying for today? How do you reveal your trust in God as you call out to Him?

Dear Jesus, You’re my Creator and my Sustainer. Please help me to trust in You.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – God’s Final Revelation

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“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

Jesus not only brought but in fact was God’s full and final revelation.

A Samaritan woman declared, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us” (John 4:25). The expectation of that day, even among the Samaritans, was that Messiah would unfold the full and final revelation of God. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, affirms that to be true: “God . . . in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2).

The Old Testament had given divine revelation in bits and pieces. Every piece was true, yet incomplete. But When Jesus came, the whole picture became clear, and though rejected by His own people, He was, in fact, the fulfillment of the messianic hope they had cherished for so many centuries.

The Old Testament age of promise ended when Jesus arrived. He is God’s final word: “As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20).

God fully expressed Himself in His Son. That’s why John said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:14, 18). Paul added that in Christ “all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9).

The practical implications of that truth are staggering. Since Christ is the fullness of divine revelation, you need nothing more. In Him you have been made complete (Col. 2:10), and have been granted everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). His Word is sufficient, needing no additions or amendments.

Suggestion for Prayer

Ask God to teach you how to rely more fully on your resources in Christ.

For Further Study

Read John 1:1-18 as a reminder of the fullness of God’s revelation in His Son.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – I Want a Mind Change

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And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].

— Ephesians 2:1-2 (AMPC)

I find a great deal of comfort in thinking about who I used to be and who I have become. It helps me not to be discouraged when I make mistakes or find that I still struggle over some issues. I’m greatly encouraged when I consider where I started and where I am now.

In Ephesians 2, Paul described those outside of Christ. He wrote that unbelievers follow the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, and they follow the way their master leads. In verse 1, he pointed out that all were once dead through their sins, but believers are now alive in Jesus Christ. He tells us we’re not governed or led by our lower nature—the impulses of the flesh.

Many Christians have trouble in this area because they haven’t learned to control their thoughts. A lady once told me, “It simply didn’t occur to me that I needed to direct my mind and keep it healthy and positive. If ministers preached or taught about the control of our thoughts, I never heard it. One day, however, I read an article about the power of thoughts, and God convicted me. That’s when I knew I needed to change my thinking.”

This lady said she drove down the street of a busy city and she spotted a sign, a cartoon of a car with big eyes for the front lights and tears flowing, and the words, “Please help me! I need an oil change.”

As she passed by, she thought, I need a mind change. I don’t like being the way I am, letting my mind go wherever it wants. Part of my responsibility as a child of God is to keep my thoughts healthy and strong.

“I want to make it clear that I went to church,” she said, “and I had been active for years. I knew a lot of Scripture, and I even did some volunteer work at the church. But I didn’t control my thoughts. Even when I sang in church, my mind jumped from subject to subject. We’d be singing about joy and grace, and I’d think about the dishes still in the sink, the unfinished laundry, or what I wanted to eat for lunch.

“I attended church, and I was faithful, but I was not faithful in attending to the Word. I listened when the preachers quoted Scripture. I usually followed along with my own Bible, but I didn’t really think about what I was hearing or what my eyes were reading. I was doing the right things outwardly, but I wasn’t thinking the right things. My mind was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

“I need a mind change,” she suddenly said aloud to herself. Just then, she actually pondered the words she had spoken. She was like the car on the sign—she needed a change—a mind change. She needed to let the Holy Spirit direct her thoughts instead of the devil. As she prayed, she felt confident there would be a positive change.

She thought to herself, Is there anything I am supposed to do? She realized that if she didn’t make lifestyle changes, the devil would soon make the new thinking as muddy and gunky as the old thinking was.

For the next several days, she looked up all the scriptures she could find that used the word study or meditate. She also looked up scriptures that talked about the mind or thoughts. She read those verses, wrote them on slips of paper, and pondered them.

Here are three of them:

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude] Ephesians 4:23 AMPC).

My hands also will I lift up [in fervent supplication]to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalm 119:48 AMPC).

The more she meditated on the right things, the less trouble she had with Satan trying to control her thoughts. That’s how it works with all of us: The more we focus on God, the less often the devil can defeat us.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father God, for giving me a mind change. Help me always to be free to serve You with my heart, my soul, and my mind. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – He Humbled Himself

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The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth … from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1:14, John 1:16

The actor Steve McQueen led an amazing, albeit sometimes sordid, life. He died in 1980, but before illness claimed him, a faithful pastor shared the gospel with him, and he bowed down and trusted in Christ. After his conversion, he had a faithful routine of Bible study and Sunday worship that went unnoticed by the public. He remained in awe of the truth that though his life was messy with divorces, addictions, and poor moral choices, God would show him such love.

McQueen grew to understand that God had made him nothing so that in the discovery of his nothingness, he might then become something. God does the same with us as well.

In this, we are called to follow the pattern of Jesus Himself. From the day of His birth, Christ set aside His previously uninterrupted glory in order to come to this fallen, helpless world on our behalf. He came not on a chariot but to a manger; He came not with a scepter but to a stable. Jesus was as much an earthly servant as He is the heavenly sovereign.

To say that He made Himself nothing, however, doesn’t mean that He transitioned from being God to being man, and then back to being God again. When we read that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” we should reflect on the awe-inspiring paradox that our marvelous Savior poured Himself into His humanity without giving up His deity. He is fully God and fully man!

Our finite human minds sometimes focus on Christ’s deity so much that we don’t remember that He was no less human than you or me; and at other times we can become so preoccupied with His humanity that we lose sight of His divinity. The Scriptures hold Christ’s two natures in perfect tension: although He was found in human form (Philippians 2:8), He was not merely who He appeared to be.

There is more to Jesus than meets the eye. He may have looked just like any other man, but no other man can stand in a boat during a storm and calm the sea. Only God can heal the lame or restore sight to the blind. This man alone deserves the worship of angels and the praise of all creation. Yet Jesus didn’t approach the incarnation asking, What’s in it for Me? Instead, He arrived knowing that He “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He was willing to leave everything and become nothing so that those who acknowledge their nothingness can be given everything. He became flesh so that He might serve, and He beautifully modeled humility to all who might follow Him. How will you look to His example in your tasks and responsibilities today?

GOING DEEPER

Philippians 2:1-13

Topics: Christ’s Birth Deity of Christ Humanity of Christ Incarnation of Christ

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – What Pleases God More than Anything

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“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” / “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (1 Thessalonians 2:12 / Ephesians 5:17)

William Law was born in 1686, and he died in 1761. Maybe you have never heard of him. He was not a celebrity or a politician or a war hero. He was not even a popular evangelist or a missionary martyr. Whatever he did in his life was not “important” enough to get him fame or to keep him memorable to us who are living now, more than 200 years after he has gone to be with the Lord.

But William Law – whoever he was – wrote this:

      “From morning to night, keep Jesus in thy heart,
       long for nothing, desire nothing, hope for nothing
       but to have all that is within thee changed into
       the spirit and temper of the holy Jesus.”

What is your idea of “success”? Is it that you would make a lot of money? Is it that people would know your name and remember all the things you did in your life? For William Law, “success” meant becoming more and more and more like Jesus Christ, from the inside out. He wanted to keep Jesus as his main goal. He wanted to be Christlike more than he wanted anything else. We don’t remember much about William Law today. In the world’s eyes, he was probably never very “successful.” But Christians can learn from his writings, and Christians can learn from his personal example.

If you are trusting in Christ as your Savior, is it your desire to learn God’s will for your life? God’s idea of “success” is not that a person does a lot of famous things or earns a lot of money. The Bible teaches that God wants Christians to glorify Him by becoming more and more like His Son, Jesus Christ. That is God’s idea of “success” for His people. This is what God wills; this is what God wants. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.”

Sanctification is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. Sanctification is what William Law was longing for. Why? Because it was William Law’s greatest desire to please God by becoming like Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

To trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, yet never think about Him, never read the Bible, never pray to Him, and never tell others about Him – that must be a disappointment to Him. Because of Who Christ is and what He has done for us, becoming more like Him should be our greatest desire – no matter what else we are able to do in our lives, and no matter what else we might be remembered for.

God is pleased when we are becoming more like His Son.

My Response:
» Am I more concerned about pleasing myself or pleasing God?
» What is my idea of a “successful” life, and does it match up with God’s idea of “successful”?
» How have I been changing to become more like Jesus Christ?

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Denison Forum – What gift-wrapped grandpas and Grinch-inspired breakfasts remind us about the real meaning of our Christmas traditions

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Note: Thank you to Dr. Ryan Denison for writing today’s Daily Article. He is the Denison Forum Senior Editor for Theology and has written more than four hundred articles for Denison Forum.

One of my favorite parts about the Christmas season is the diverse ways in which people celebrate it. Sure, there are probably some time-tested standards that apply to most of us—putting up decorations, church on Christmas Eve, maybe a party or two—but Christmas is also the season when people tend to get a little creative with their family traditions.

In a recent article from The Atlantic, writers asked readers to send in some of their favorite family traditions for the holiday season. While the responses vary from the patently absurd to the heartwarming and inspiring, they clearly hold a special place in the lives of those who carry them out each year.

For example, LaRae LaBouff writes about how her family would routinely have fifteen to thirty people gather at their grandparents’ house each year to celebrate Christmas. As a result, once the gifts were unwrapped, the floor was littered with wrapping paper, ribbons, and other vestiges of the festivities.

They would place all the trash in a large can and then her grandfather would climb in and push everything down so that it would fit. The kids would then cover him with ribbons and bows. The tradition was known as “Throwing Pop Away” and became a key part of their Christmas experience.

As LaRae’s grandfather got older and began to suffer from cancer, however, he could no longer make it into the trashcan. Rather than give up the tradition, they began filling a smaller cardboard box so that he could still stand inside and be covered up.

She writes that in the years since his passing, other family members have stepped up to take his place and be wrapped in remembrance of their departed patriarch.

But while not everyone’s traditions are as tender and sweet as LaRae’s, they can still bring joy to those who keep them.

A Grinchy breakfast and a science experiment gone wrong

Nate Ransil writes about how he married into the family tradition of starting Christmas day off with the most absurd breakfast they can create. The tradition originated when his wife’s grandfather decided one year that there was just too much good on Christmas, so there needed to be at least one thing the kids wouldn’t look forward to. To that end, he decided to take their traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice, stick it in a blender, and serve it as breakfast smoothies.

While the idea began as a joke, Nate’s father-in-law thought it was funny and created a challenge whereby certain family members would be responsible for creating the themed Christmas menu each year.

One year they chose The Grinch, crafting a breakfast of Who pudding, rare Who roast beast, toadstool sandwiches, and bananas with a greasy black peel. Another year, the meal was inspired by Elf and featured spaghetti, crumbled Pop-Tarts, and maple syrup. He writes that last year his son and brother-in-law decided to create a science lab with frog legs, lychee fruit “eyeballs” floating in a jar, brains made of Jell-O, and bowls of worms.

While I doubt I’ll be replicating this particular tradition anytime soon, Ransil described how it always leads to a lot of laughter and the knowledge that “nobody else in the world is eating the same thing we are right now.”

When traditions become more important than people

I highlighted these examples because they offer us a good reminder that our Christmas traditions do not need to come from someplace of profound spiritual meaning in order to be meaningful to you and your family. Rather, it’s the sense of joy, unity, and remembrance they inspire that is most important. They have purpose to the extent that they bring us closer to those we love most.

However, if we’re not careful it can be easy for the tradition to become more important than the people who keep it.

In many ways, that was the primary problem Jesus encountered with the religious leaders throughout his ministry. Most of the scribes and Pharisees were well intentioned, spiritually driven individuals who just wanted to help people know God better. The problem was that they had fallen into the trap of thinking that the best way to accomplish that purpose was by adhering so strictly to their religious traditions that they left little room for the Lord to work.

Over time, they robbed God’s people of the joy they should have found in a relationship with him by insisting on a relationship with the law instead. Their traditions became more important than the people they were meant to help.

But, before we judge them too harshly, let us remember that we are far from immune to making the same error today. And there are few times of the year when that mistake can be easier to make than during the Christmas season.

Blessing God by blessing those he came to save

Take a moment to think back on some of your most cherished traditions. Do you know why they were started? Do they still fulfill the same purpose today? In what ways have they evolved over the years to make room for new family and friends to take part? And is there anything the Lord might want to change to help them better accomplish that purpose this year?

The best traditions are those that bring people together and add depth to our relationship with others. And whether they are silly, sacred, or somewhere in between, it’s worth taking the time to make sure that they are still a means to that end rather than the end itself.

So as we draw steadily closer to Christmas Day, let’s endeavor to make sure that every facet of our celebrations and traditions bless God by blessing the people he came to save.

Will yours?

Denison Forum

Charles Stanley

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Children of God

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Our Father loves us and has provided everything we need to live righteously.

1 John 3:1-10

When we trust in Christ, we become children of God. By using this language, Scripture indicates the nature of our relationship with Him: He is our Father, and we should respond as His children. This means we must learn to listen, obey, and love Him more and more. 

The Father speaks clearly to us through Scripture. Many people claim they’re interested in hearing from God yet struggle to find time to read His Word. Then there are those who say, “I don’t understand it” and give up. But living within every child of God is the Holy Spirit, who helps to overcome any hindrances and brings correct interpretation of the Word. If you keep reading the Scriptures faithfully, He’ll give you understanding. 

Once a person is born into God’s family, nothing can ever destroy that relationship—not even sin. However, disobedience grieves the Father and hinders fellowship and communication with Him. Restoration, which is essential for spiritual growth, comes through confession and repentance (1 John 1:9). 

Today’s Scripture passage gives characteristics of the children of God. Are you a member of His family? If so, your life should be characterized by obedience and righteousness. 

Bible in One Year: 2 Corinthians 1-4 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Who You Are

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Bible in a Year:

Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

1 Timothy 4:12–16

In 2011, after a decade of childlessness, my wife and I chose to start afresh in a new country. Exciting as the move was, it required my leaving a broadcast career, which I missed. Feeling lost, I asked my friend Liam for advice.

“I don’t know what my calling is anymore,” I told Liam dejectedly.

“You’re not broadcasting here?” he asked. I said I wasn’t.

“And how is your marriage?”

Surprised at his change of topic, I told Liam that Merryn and I were doing well. We’d faced heartbreak together but emerged closer through the ordeal.

“Commitment is the core of the gospel,” he said, smiling. “Oh, how the world needs to see committed marriages like yours! You may not realize the impact you’re having already, beyond what you do, simply by being who you are.”

When a difficult work situation left Timothy dejected, the apostle Paul didn’t give him career goals. Instead, he encouraged Timothy to live a godly life, setting an example through his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12–13, 15). He would best impact others by living faithfully.

It’s easy to value our lives based on our career success when what matters most is our character. I had forgotten that. But a word of truth, a gracious act, even a committed marriage can bring great change—because through them something of God’s own goodness touches the world.

By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray

Who has touched your life and what qualities did they have? How can you set an example of faithfulness today?

Dear God, help me to remember that the work I do isn’t as important as the person I become. Please make me more like You.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – The Deity of Christ

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“[Christ] existed in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6).

Christ possesses the very nature of God.

In the second part of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christiana and her children travel toward the Celestial Country. During their pilgrimage, Interpreter introduces them to one of his male servants, whose name is Great-heart. When Christiana asks Great-heart to explain the nature of Christ’s forgiveness, part of his answer is: “He [Christ] has two natures in one Person, easy to distinguish but impossible to divide. There is a righteousness that belongs to both of these natures, and each righteousness is essential to that nature, so that one might as easily kill that nature as to separate its righteousness from it.” Bunyan was affirming through his character Great-heart what Scripture says of Christ: He is God.

The apostle Paul stated the same truth, saying that Christ “existed in the form of God” (Phil. 2:6). The Greek word translated “existed” (huparcho) is not the common verb for “being” (eimi). Huparcho stresses the essence of a person’s nature—his continuous state or condition. It expresses what one is, unalterably and inalienably, by nature. Paul’s point was that Jesus Christ is unalterably and continuously existing in the form of God.

Clarifying the meaning of the Greek word translated “form” (morphe) is crucial to a proper understanding of this verse. According to respected Greek scholars Moulton and Milligan, morphe “always signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it.” The word describes essential being or nature—in this case the essential being of God.

In using the word morphe in Philippians 2, Paul was saying Jesus possessed the unchangeable, essential nature of God. That interpretation of the first phrase of verse 6 is strengthened by the second phrase, which says Jesus was equal with God. Being in the form of God speaks of Christ’s equality with God.

Perhaps, like Great-heart, you know someone who needs to be grounded in the fundamental doctrines of God’s Word. Just as Great-heart helped Christiana, so also you can help someone learn about the deity of Christ and other great truths of God’s Word.

Suggestions for Prayer

Pray for an opportunity to teach someone the basic doctrine of Christ’s nature.

For Further Study

Memorize Colossians 2:9, a verse that proves the deity of Christ.

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Beauty of Faith

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Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

— Psalm 37:5 (NKJV)

I see more clearly than ever before how simple and beautiful faith is and how self-effort complicates life and steals peace and joy. Man’s mind plans his own way (see Proverbs 16:9), but God’s ways are much higher than ours and they always work better (see Isaiah 55:9). I have finally learned that whenever I feel frustrated, it almost always indicates that I have trusted myself to do what only God can do. It is my signal to return to full faith in God and once again enjoy His peace.

Apart from faith we cannot please God (see Hebrews 11:6), and apart from Him, we can do nothing (see John 15:5). If you are worried or feel burdened by anything, I urge you to let it go and return to simple faith in God without delay. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5 NKJV). God already has a perfect plan for your situation, and as you rest in Him, He will work!

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You that You are working in my life while I rest in You. I trust You to do the right thing at the right time. Help me walk in faith at all times.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – Knowing the Creator

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The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

John 1:9-10

While each of the Gospels takes a different approach to detailing Jesus’ life, their purpose is the same: that, as John puts it, “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Those words come near the end of his Gospel and were intended to remind even his earliest readers that God graciously took the initiative to pursue His people in order that we might know and love Him.

Although Jesus was the Creator of the world He entered into, the world did not recognize Him. He came down from heaven in the form of a man, navigating city streets and moving among us so that we could live with Him in the light rather than have to live in darkness for all of eternity. Yet today, not unlike 2,000 years ago, many don’t understand the immensity of the gift of life in this world that Christ has given us, and therefore they forfeit the gift of eternal life that Christ was born to offer us, because they don’t know Him.

In his great treatise in the book of Romans, Paul wrote that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” In other words, as a result of God’s common grace, the creation displays enough evidence to at least bring us to the point of becoming theists. Because of this, men and women “are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Even with that context, however, Paul goes on to say that although men and women “knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). They knew of God’s existence but, suppressing that knowledge, they refused to know Him as Lord and Savior.

This is a humbling warning to us. If we should neglect to give God the honor and praise He is due, we risk forgetting the glorious ways He continues to pursue us, even today.

The word, truth, and story of Jesus have been made available in the Western world for hundreds of years—but still, so often men and women go about their weeks without any recognition of who Jesus truly is. Believers are not immune from living lives that, Sunday mornings or morning devotions apart, bear no mark of a knowledge of and relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. Imagine the difference it would make if we lived each moment calling to mind the truths that He is the light and the new life within us, that He makes it possible to live with God for all of eternity, that He is our great Lord and gentle Savior, and that He is surely worth knowing.

GOING DEEPER

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Topics: Christ as Lord Creation Gospel

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God’s Laws Are Good

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“And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deuteronomy 6:24)

Eileen’s class was getting ready to put on a play, and they had been working on the scenery for several days. The play was about the Pilgrims, and yesterday the students had painted a long strip of paper bright blue to represent the ocean. They had carefully carried the paper to the gym and laid it on the floor to dry. This morning, their teacher, Mrs. Grimes, told them they were all going to walk to the gym and check to see if the paint on their “ocean” had dried. If it had, they would carry it back to the classroom and practice for the play.

“Remember,” said Mrs. Grimes, “when we get to the gym – we’re going to walk.”

Eileen could hardly contain her excitement enough to stay quietly in line as they walked down the hall. She couldn’t wait to see how the “ocean” had turned out. As soon as her feet hit the gym floor, she gave up trying to walk. It wasn’t that she had forgotten Mrs. Grimes’s rule exactly, but it would be so much fun to run, and weren’t gym floors made for running anyway?

But Eileen had forgotten one thing – she didn’t have her gym shoes on. Splat! Her feet slipped out from under her, and she fell hard. She hit her chin on the floor, and blood started running from the cut.

Mrs. Grimes hurried over to help Eileen up. “See?” she said. “This is why I told you not to run. Let’s go get your cut cleaned up.”

Mrs. Grimes had made the rule about walking on the gym floor to keep her students safe. Eileen disobeyed because she didn’t like the rule. She thought the rule was meant to keep her from having fun. But as soon as she fell, she realized that the rule was good after all.

God tells us in His Word that His law is for our good. Think about the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Did God tell us to stay away from idols to keep us from having fun? Did he command us not to lie, steal, or murder to cause trouble for us? No, just the opposite is true. Obeying brings us good. Trouble and pain come to us when we break God’s laws. Keeping God’s commandments does not save us – only Jesus can do that. But after we are saved, obeying God’s commandments is the only way to ensure our happiness (Psalm 1:1-3). God’s laws are good, and they are given for our good.

God has given us commandments to follow for our own good.

My Response:
» Do I believe that God’s commandments are loving?
» Do I believe that He has given His commands for my good?
» Am I trying hard to obey them with God’s help?

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Denison Forum – My city is home to the most cheating spouses in America

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The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Researchers have identified the US cities with the highest rates of marital infidelity, comparing two hundred of the largest metro areas with regard to relationship satisfaction, life satisfaction, infidelity intent, and affair activities. The results are in: the three most “unfaithful” cities in America, in order, are Dallas, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Houston, Texas.

This news hits close to home for me: I have lived in Dallas since 1998, I worked for many years in Ft. Worth, and I was born and raised in Houston.

We in Dallas refer to ourselves as the “Buckle of the Bible Belt.” We are home to some of the largest churches in America. In fact, Christianity Today once called our city “the new capital of evangelicalism.” But as the infidelity report illustrates, we are clearly living in a cultural mission field.

No matter where you live in America, so are you.

Tax-exempt status “now up for debate”

My wife and I were discussing yesterday’s Daily Article, which focused on ways Christianity is under attack in our society. Janet noted that for years, many of us have been warning that a post-Christian and even anti-Christian day was coming to our nation. Now, she said, it’s here.

Here’s why she is right.

The Supreme Court tragically discovered a constitutional “right” to abortion in 1973 and only overturned that ruling this year, but Christian doctors have not (yet) been required to perform abortions. Euthanasia is available in various forms in ten states, but Christian physicians are not (yet) required to provide physician-assisted suicide.

However, as I noted in yesterday’s article, the so-called Respect for Marriage Act will make an unbiblical and even anti-biblical definition of marriage the law of the land by congressional action. Many fear that this legislation threatens religious liberty on an unprecedented level.

For example, Roger Severino of the Heritage Foundation warns that “the tax-exempt status of religious schools and nonprofits is now up for debate. Additionally, the Left will try to use the bill to sue faith-based adoption agencies and contractors to drive them out of business as they have done in multiple states and localities already.”

Hospital chaplain fired for pro-life beliefs

Rev. Jay McCaig had been a hospital chaplain in Orlando for ten years before he was fired for anti-abortion posts on his personal Facebook page. He says he never spoke about his pro-life views with patients or employees at the hospital.

Earlier this year, a jury in Minnesota ruled against a pharmacist who refused to dispense a morning-after pill on the basis of his pro-life beliefs. The jury decided that the pharmacist had inflicted emotional harm and said the woman who requested the pill should be entitled to $25,000 in damages.

We could go on: the so-called Equality Act that has passed the House of Representatives twice has been called “the most invasive threat to religious liberty ever proposed in America.” According to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a lawsuit filed by the Religious Exemption Accountability Project would “punish religious colleges and their students by stripping them of much-needed financial aid simply because of their beliefs.”

As I have noted often, LGBTQ advocates have been implementing a decades-long strategy to normalize LGBTQ behavior through popular media and culture, legalize it in the courts, stigmatize those who disagree as “homophobic” and “dangerous,” and then criminalize such disagreement. All four phases of this strategy are clearly at work in our society today.

“Learning how to do what he said”

One significant way you and I can respond is to model the incarnational love of God to our broken culture. As I have noted this week, Christmas is God’s gift to us not because we are worthy of his love but because God is love (1 John 4:8). Because we cannot earn his love by what we do, we cannot lose his love by what we do.

When our Savior was born in a feed trough in a Bethlehem cave, he proved that he will be born again in any heart that is open to his grace. That grace will then transform our lives into his Bethlehem and demonstrate his love to our broken world.

Now it is our responsibility to show his love to those who reject it. When we defend biblical morality boldly and courageously but “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15), we disprove the caricature that Christians are bigoted and hateful. When we remember that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4), we will offer them the compassion we received from those who led us to Christ.

Philosopher and bestselling author Dallas Willard noted: “The idea of having faith in Jesus has come to be totally isolated from being his apprentice and learning how to do what he said.” Here’s what Jesus said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Both verbs are present-tense imperatives, unconditional commands to you and me today.

My dear friend’s wisdom

To have the servant heart of the One who “came not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28), submit your life and your day to his Holy Spirit right now (Ephesians 5:18). Ask his Spirit to manifest the “fruit” of love in your life for those you encounter (Galatians 5:22). Then measure success by the degree to which others experience the love of Christ in your compassion.

My dear friend, the Dallas businessman Ray Nixon, shared this truth with me yesterday: “When the mouth is open, the heart is on display.”

What will your heart display today?

Denison Forum

Charles Stanley

In Touch Ministries; Charles Stanley – Enjoying Life

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Enduring satisfaction comes only from God.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-23

King Solomon is traditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes. According to Scripture, he was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12) and had wealth beyond imagination. What’s more, he was blessed with the privilege of building God’s temple. So we might expect that he’d have been content. 

In searching for that deep fulfillment, Solomon explored all kinds of things. Ecclesiastes tells us that he indulged in the pleasures of the world, even dabbling in pursuits he knew were folly. But the satisfaction Solomon sought evaded him, so he tried another avenue. He undertook great projects, such as building houses, gardens and parks, and an extensive irrigation project (Eccl. 2:4-6). But in the end, he concluded it was all without meaning. The story has a familiar ring, doesn’t it? Our culture pursues pleasure and does not accept limits on its passions. 

Solomon had the wisdom and resources to accomplish whatever he chose to do. Yet the goals he pursued brought no lasting satisfaction. He concluded that the best course was to obey God (Ecclesiastes 12:13). True enjoyment comes when we align ourselves with His will. Any other way is meaningless. 

Bible in One Year: 1 Corinthians 11-13

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Warning Sounds

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Bible in a Year:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Today’s Scripture & Insight:

Proverbs 15:1–7

Ever had a close encounter with a rattlesnake? If so, you might have noticed that the sound of the rattle seemed to get more intense as you moved nearer to the viper. Research in the scientific journal Current Biology reveals that the snakes do increase their rattling rate when a threat is approaching. This “high-frequency mode” can cause us to think they’re closer than they are. As one researcher put it, “The misinterpretation of distance by the listener . . . creates a distance safety margin.”

People can sometimes use increasing volume with harsh words that push others away during a conflict—exhibiting anger and resorting to shouting. The writer of Proverbs shares some wise advice for times like these: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). He goes on to say that “soothing” and “wise” words can be “a tree of life” and a source of “knowledge” (vv. 4, 7).

Jesus provided the ultimate reasons for gently appealing to those with whom we enter into conflict: extending love that reveals us to be His children (Matthew 5:43–45) and seeking reconciliation—“[winning] them over” (18:15). Instead of raising our voice or using unkind words during conflicts, may we show civility, wisdom, and love to others as God guides us by His Spirit.

By:  Tom Felten

Reflect & Pray

Why can it be difficult to be gentle and loving in a conflict? How can the Holy Spirit help you carefully choose your words and actions?

Heavenly Father, help me to lovingly address issues with those with whom I disagree.

http://www.odb.org

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