Tag Archives: Bible

Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Love is Slow to Anger 

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It is not easily angered.  1 Corinthians 13:5

Love is slow to anger and it is not easily angered. It is not in a hurry to get angry because it knows God is at work. Love knows God can handle the irregular person and the stressful situation. Most of the time, the best thing love can do is refrain from anger. A calm response diffuses an angry outburst (Proverbs 15:1). Poverty, injustice, and terrorism should work us up much more than traffic, forgetful waiters, and not getting our way.

Indeed, apply anger appropriately and proportionately to the degree of injustice to the underdog. But love overlooks the silly things that really don’t matter that much in the big scheme of things. A friend or family member who is rarely on time is no reason to get angry. Instead, adjust your expectations and build a time buffer into your schedule. Why get angry when a little bit of adjustment remedies the situation? Love adjusts rather than stews in anger; it calms the nerves, while anger wreaks havoc with your blood pressure. Love-filled living is by far a healthier way to live physically and emotionally.

Love is able to keep the big picture in mind. It understands that tomorrow is another day and there is no need to stress over this temporary setback. God will work things out in His timing, for He can be trusted. It is much wiser to trust God with your spouse, instead of attempting to whip him or her into shape with your anger. God’s discipline is much more thorough and precise. He puts His finger on an attitude or action and won’t let up until He is satisfied with the resulting change. Love knows how to trust God.

Therefore, pray to God before you get angry. Ask the Lord to increase your love quotient before you lash out in anger. Love understands there are better ways and a better day ahead. However, there are times love sees the need for anger. Your love needs to rise up in anger over the abuses of drugs and alcohol. These are enemies of the state and deceivers of unsuspecting souls that wreck relationships and take lives. Your love can confidently invite anger to rise up and rebuke these artificial enhancers of hope that logically lead to death. Love doesn’t stick its head in the sand of isolation and detachment, but engages by offering wise choices and compassionate counseling.

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Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – HAGAR AND SARAH AND OUR STATUS AS CHILDREN OF GOD

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Read GALATIANS 4:28–31

Swimmer Maya DiRado, a gold medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, said her athletic pursuits are rooted in her faith: “Knowing that I’m a child of God and that his love for me is determined by nothing I can achieve or do on my own has given me a quiet confidence. . . . Jesus’ love for me and all humanity is something that always helps me better love people around me when things get difficult.”

Being a child of God is an incomparable privilege! In today’s reading, Paul took the parable or analogy from yesterday and applied it to the Galatians’ situation. Their identity as believers in Christ aligned them with Sarah and Isaac and the promise God made to Abraham (v. 28). They should not “switch sides,” as it were. To go back to the Law and try to live by merit would actually work against the gospel in their lives. The legalists were tempting the Galatians to choose the wrong mother, along with slavery and immaturity. No doubt the Judaizers were stunned to find themselves assigned to the line of Ishmael.

Historically, Ishmael had persecuted Isaac, and now history was repeating itself (v. 29). Salvation by works is the enemy of salvation by faith, and confidence in the flesh is utterly opposed to confidence in the Spirit. The solution is the same now as it was then, to “get rid of the slave woman” (v. 30; Gen. 21:9–14). There can be no compromise. Legalism must be rejected!

Followers of Christ are children of the free woman (v. 31). God’s promise to Abraham has been fulfilled in Christ, and as a result we’ve come by grace into our spiritual inheritance of salvation. Only one path leads to freedom and redemption: justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

APPLY THE WORD

Our status as God’s children should be a daily cause for amazement and rejoicing! Memorizing Scripture helps us remember and reflect on this truth. John 1:12–13, 1 John 3:1–2, or 1 John 5:1–2 are all excellent choices to memorize so we can marinate in these blessings. God’s words have the power to transform us to be more like Christ!

 

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –From Emptiness to Fulfillment

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John 4:3-18

As we saw in yesterday’s devotion, countless people go through life feeling empty, which is contrary to God’s design. The account of the Samaritan woman in John 4 teaches several important points about fulfillment.

Filling our emptiness is important to the Lord. As they journeyed, Jewish people bypassed Samaria because of their intense hatred for its inhabitants. Yet Jesus, a Jew, chose to travel there because He knew a hurting Samaritan was ready to hear about the Father’s love.

Our attempts at happiness often leave us feeling hopeless. The woman at the well had been wed five times, but all of her marriages had failed. Whether or not the problems were her fault, she was left without the love she sought. Most likely, each broken relationship left her feeling lonelier than before.

God knows our pain. When the woman admitted she didn’t presently have a husband, Jesus revealed that He already knew she and the man living with her were not married. By demonstrating His awareness of her hurt and pursuit of fulfillment, He helped the woman recognize her need for a Savior.

Jesus can satisfy our yearnings. Once the Samaritan woman realized what was missing, Jesus revealed how to live a full life: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (John 4:13-14).

Do you ever feel like the Samaritan woman—dissatisfied with life and thirsty for love and fulfillment? Surrender to God, and allow His love to flow through you. Only then will you experience abundant life.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 26-27

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Seeing to Tomorrow

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Read: 2 Corinthians 5:1–9

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 21–22; Matthew 28

We live by faith, not by sight.—2 Corinthians 5:7

I enjoy gazing up at a cloudless blue sky. The sky is a beautiful part of our great Creator’s masterpiece, given for us to enjoy. Imagine how much pilots must love the view. They use several aeronautical terms to describe a perfect sky for flying, but my favorite is, “You can see to tomorrow.”

“Seeing to tomorrow” is beyond our view. Sometimes we even struggle to see or understand what life is throwing at us today. The Bible tells us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).

But our limited visibility is not cause for despair. Just the opposite. We trust in the God who sees all of our tomorrows perfectly—and who knows what we need as we face the challenges ahead. The apostle Paul knew this. That’s why Paul encourages us with hopeful words, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

When we trust God with our day as well as our unseen tomorrows, we don’t need to worry about anything life throws at us. We walk with Him and He knows what is ahead; He is strong enough and wise enough to handle it. —Bill Crowder

Lord, I know I can trust You for today and tomorrow because You are kind, good, loving, wise, and powerful. Teach me not to worry.

God sees the beginning to the end.

INSIGHT: Often I muse, “What will happen in my life tomorrow?” Tomorrow could bring me trouble and suffering. Job, the great sufferer of the Old Testament, said, “Man is born to trouble” (Job 5:7). Our days are filled “grief and pain” (Eccl. 2:23). Tomorrow may even see my death. But death holds no terrors for us who are in the Lord. For “if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1). I need not fear even that tomorrow; in fact, I can look forward to being with the Lord (5:8). What fears or worries about tomorrow do you need to bring to God? Sim Kay Tee

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In Defense of Listening

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“I like to listen,” said Ernest Hemingway. “I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.”

Hemingway speaks of a significant virtue, lamenting accurately, “Most people never listen.”

I wonder if he would feel differently if it were his books to which people were listening.

The popularity of audio books is redefining the notion of reading, and some authors—and readers—are unhappy about it. “Deep reading really demands the inner ear as well as the outer ear,” says literary critic Harold Bloom. “You need the whole cognitive process, that part of you which is open to wisdom. You need the text in front of you.” Others who doggedly defend the entire experience of reading—the feel of a book in their hands, the smell of its pages, the single-minded escape of delving into a story—find listening to a book something akin to cheating. “You didn’t read it,” they contest; “you only listened to it”—as if this somehow means they took in a different story.

For those who love the written word and printed page, for those who are elated at the sight of a bookstore, not only is listening to Hamlet or The Count of Monte Cristo something like picking up the cliff notes, e-books are almost equally offensive. There is no substitute for books, no surrogate for reading.

I mostly agree. I find myself responding to the question, “Have you read such and such?” with a similar admittance of guilt: “Well, I listened to it” (usually accompanied with a comment about Atlanta traffic). And yet, I am becoming more and more convinced that audio books definitely have their place in learning—with or without traffic. Auditory processing is vital to any learning. Hemingway is right; listening carefully is a vital skill to keep sharp.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Prudence

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I, Wisdom [from God], make prudence my dwelling, and I find out knowledge and discretion.—Proverbs 8:12

A word you don’t hear very much teaching about is “prudence.” In the Scriptures “prudence” or “prudent” means being good stewards of the gifts God has given us to use. Those gifts include abilities, time, energy, strength, and health, as well as material possessions. They include our bodies, as well as our minds and spirits.

God has given each of us different gifts and grace according to how He wants us to use them. One person may be gifted to sing and does so in their local area, while another person’s singing ability is known in most of the world. The Bible tells us to use our gifts according to the grace given to us (see Romans 12:6).

Each of us would be wise to know how much we are able to handle, to be able to recognize when we are reaching “full capacity” or “overload.” Instead of pushing ourselves into overload to please others, satisfy our own desires, or reach our personal goals, we can learn to listen to the Lord and obey Him. If we follow the Lord’s leading, we will enjoy blessed lives.

We all experience stress and at times we feel the effects of it, but we should learn to manage it well. Ask God to show you areas in your life that could be changed to help you eliminate excess stress better.

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – A Singing Heart

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“And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away” (I Samuel 16:23).

King Saul had disobeyed God and the spirit of the Lord had left him. Instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. As a result, some of Saul’s aides sent for David, who was not only a talented harp player but was handsome, brave and strong and had good, solid judgment. What is more, the Lord was with him.

Every believer experiences warfare between flesh and spirit. As an act of the will we decide whether we are going to allow the flesh or the Spirit to control our lives. One of the best ways to cause an evil spirit to go away is to listen to music of praise and worship and thanksgiving to God. The language of heaven is praise. Listen to music that causes your heart to sing praises to God. Also, saturate your mind with the Word of God. The psalms especially exalt and honor God and express the praise of the psalmist.

I like to begin the day praising God on my knees. During the course of the day, I listen to cassette tapes of praise music as well as recorded portions of Scripture that are appropriate and sermons that are helpful.

Are you discouraged, depressed, frustrated? Have problems in your life caused you to feel that God has left you? If so, may I encourage you to begin to praise the Lord. Purchase cassettes that honor our Lord, that cause your heart to sing and make melody to the Lord, and play them over and over again.

Bible Reading: Psalm 92:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will make a special point of praising the Lord not only through the reading of psalms but also by listening to music of praise. I will remember that praise is one of the expressions of a life that is lived in the supernatural power of God.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Remember Jesus

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We can rise too high but we can never stoop too low. The Apostle Paul was saved through a personal visit from Jesus, granted a vision of the heavens, and given the ability to raise the dead. But when he introduced himself, he simply stated, “I, Paul, am God’s slave” (Titus 1:1 MSG).

John the Baptist is remembered in Scripture as the one who resolved: ”He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Humility is the appropriate response to God’s love. What gift are you giving that he did not first give? You love. But who loved you first?

As Stephen’s accusers reached for their rocks, the Scripture says, “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit. . .saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (Acts 7:55 NLT).  If we will remember Jesus, he will remember us.

From God is With You Every Day

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – The ancient cure for work stress

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Alexander Acosta is President Trump’s new nominee for Labor Secretary. If confirmed, he will head the Department of Labor, which advocates for American job seekers, wage earners and retirees, and ensures that US workers receive appropriate benefits and rights.

We can use the help.

ABC News reports that Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world. We take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later. It’s no wonder that, according to Forbes, 52.3 percent of us are unhappy at work.

After the president’s Labor Secretary announcement, I did a brief study of rest in the Bible. The concept appears early: “On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done” (Genesis 2:2). Why would an omnipotent God need to rest?

The answer is found in the word “rested,” which translates the Hebrew term from which we get “sabbath.” Thus we read: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (v. 3). God rested as an example for those made in his image. If he would observe a Sabbath, so must we.

His example later became our command: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). This commandment is so important that the text explaining it (vv. 9–11) comprises the longest commentary on any of the Ten Commandments.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –How to Avoid an Empty Life

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Psalm 16:11

In public, most people appear happy and confident. But beneath the surface, many feel empty. In fact, it is possible to be in a large crowd and yet still feel alone.

A lot of men and women see no meaning or purpose in life. Attempting to overcome the emptiness, some become busy, others turn to drugs or alcohol, and still others strive for more money, power, or love. Though pleasure exists for them, it is usually short-lived.

There’s a reason why life can feel empty: Man was created with a yearning that God alone is able to satisfy. Individuals cannot be fulfilled until they experience His transforming and unconditional love. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In other words, the Lord wants us to feel complete, which can happen only through a relationship with Him.

However, even a person who is saved can feel empty. This could result from disobedience: A slight detour in one’s walk with the Lord can become a way of life, depriving a believer of deep satisfaction. It’s also possible for Christians to live according to God’s Word without fully surrendering their desires to Him. For example, many believers still try to fill up their own void with achievements, wealth, or relationships. When aspirations like these are given higher priority than the Lord, they are a form of idolatry.

We can live a full life only when we seek God above all else. Pray for His guidance as you search your heart. Confess any sin, and ask God to fill your life as only He can do.

Bible in One Year: Numbers 23-25

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Junkyard Genius

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Read: John 9:1–11

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 19–20; Matthew 27:51–66

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!—John 9:25

Noah Purifoy began his work as an “assemblage” artist with three tons of rubble salvaged from the 1965 riots in the Watts area of Los Angeles. From broken bicycle wheels and bowling balls to discarded tires and damaged TV sets—things no longer usable—he and a colleague created sculptures that conveyed a powerful message about people being treated as “throw-aways” in modern society. One journalist referred to Mr. Purifoy as “the junkyard genius.”

In Jesus’s time, many people considered those with diseases and physical problems as sinners being punished by God. They were shunned and ignored. But when Jesus and His disciples encountered a man born blind, the Lord said his condition was not the result of sin, but an occasion to see the power of God. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). When the blind man followed Jesus’s instructions, he was able to see.

When the religious authorities questioned the man, he replied simply, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (v. 25).

Jesus is still the greatest “junkyard genius” in our world. We are all damaged by sin, but He takes our broken lives and shapes us into His new creations. —David McCasland

Lord, I thank You today for Your amazing grace!

Jesus is the restorer of life.

INSIGHT: Have you ever felt as though you saw no purpose to your life, couldn’t see your way forward, and were not even sure there is a God willing or able to give you light at the end of the tunnel? John wrote his gospel to proclaim the life and light that troubled people like us long for (John 1:1-5). John found many reasons to believe that Jesus really is the light of the world: “These [miraculous signs] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Mart DeHaan

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Science vs. Religion

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If you ask many people today what they think about science’s relationship to religion, you are likely to be told that the two have been in conflict for a very long time.(1) There was the trial of Galileo by the Inquisition, for example, the debate between Wilberforce and Huxley, and there is still an on-going dispute over the teaching of evolution in American schools. These usual suspects may be trotted out whenever this topic is mentioned, but are events such as these really typical of the history of science as a whole?

Contrary to the impression given by some commentators, the conflict thesis between science and religion is one that has been discredited in academic circles for some time. The rise of science in the West was, of course, a very complicated affair in which many different factors played a part. There were certainly inevitable points of tension, but this does not detract from the fact that Europe was a largely Christian continent in which religious individuals and institutions inevitably played a central role in the changes that occurred.

A number of the popular misconceptions about history are addressed in Ronald Numbers’ book, Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion.(2) One of the most famous examples is the “debate” between Bishop Samuel Wilberforce and T. H. Huxley (1860), which was actually an after-lecture discussion on the merits of Darwin’s work. The alleged clash was largely forgotten about until the 1890s, when it resurrected by those seeking to attack the power of the Anglican orthodoxy. By this point the scientific community had become more professionalized and some of its members realized the debate could be used to promote their already growing autonomy. The event was therefore portrayed as if it had been a portentous victory for science over religion, even though, at the time, neither side was said to have won and the discussion was held on purely scientific grounds.(3)

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – It’s Okay to Be Different

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The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own [distinctive] way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance. —1 Corinthians 15:41

We are all different. Like the sun, the moon, and the stars, God has created us to be different from one another, and He has done it on purpose. Each of us meets a need, and we are all part of God’s overall plan.

Thankfully, we can be secure people, knowing God loves us and has a plan for our lives. We don’t have to be threatened by the abilities of others. We can be free to love and accept ourselves and one another without feeling pressure to compare or compete.

When we struggle to be like others, not only do we lose ourselves, but we also grieve the Holy Spirit. God wants us to fit into His plan; He doesn’t want us feeling pressured to fit into everyone else’s plans. Different is okay; it is all right to be different.

Prayer of Thanks: Father, You have created me to be distinct and unique, andI thank You for that. With Your help I’m going to avoid the temptation to compare myself to others. I’m going to be secure in who You’ve created me to be today.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Saved From Our Troubles

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“This poor man cried to the Lord — and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).

It was a high-security penitentiary — filled with murderers, drug pushers, bank robbers and others who had committed major crimes and many who would never see the light of day again outside those bleak, gray prison walls. At an evangelistic service, however, one inmate after another stood to share how Christ had forgiven him of his sins and how, even though he had committed murder or some other serious crime, he knew with assurance that he was now a child of God.

Many of these men expressed in different words, as I sat there listening with tears streaming down my cheeks, “I am so glad I’m in prison, for it was here I found Jesus Christ, and I would rather be in prison with Christ in my heart than to be living in a palatial mansion without any knowledge of God’s love and forgiveness through His Son.”

Often I talk with people – on planes, on campuses, at public meetings – who are poor, not only materially but also physically and spiritually. What a joy to be able to share with them the good news that God cares.

A “poor man’s” first cry must be one of repentance and confession, so that a divine relationship is established: Father and son. Conversion must come by the Spirit of God, before deliverance can come in the less important areas of one’s life.

But after the Father-son relationship has been established, how wonderful to be able to assure such a one that God truly cares – enough to “save him out of his troubles.” Oftentimes that entails enduring such troubles for a time, but never more than we are able to bear. The supernatural life promises victory – in the midst of adversity.

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will assure people whom I encounter today who are in trouble that God cares and promises deliverance. There is nothing more important that I could do for another person than to help him know Christ, so I will seek out those who are in need of a Savior so that they, too, can experience the liberating power of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – To Outwit the Devil

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God will help us stand against the Devil. He will disclose the craftiness of Satan. But we must regularly consult him in everything. The Scriptures say that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105)…but it doesn’t say it is a spotlight into our future. Our best days come when we learn to hear God’s voice telling us to turn this way or that way. “Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’whether to the right or to the left’” (Isaiah 30:21 NLT).

Like David, we can ask God to “bend low and hear my whispered plea” (Psalm 31:2 TLB). Wait until God speaks before you act. The promise says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8). If you feel a check in your heart, heed it and ask God again. It’s the only way to outwit the Devil’s deceit!

From God is With You Every Day

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Why the Mike Flynn story is so important

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President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the White House yesterday. Then Andrew Puzder withdrew from consideration for Labor Secretary. Most days, such events would dominate today’s news.

However, the media continues to focus on former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who resigned from his position last Monday. Even the conservative Weekly Standard believes that “there will be plenty of questions and revelations about and around Flynn’s resignation over the next days, weeks, months, and likely years.”

Why? What makes his resignation such an important event?

Let’s begin with his personal story. Michael Thomas Flynn served in the United States Army from 1981 to 2014. He was highly decorated, rising to the rank of Lieutenant (three-star) General. On November 18, 2016, Gen. Flynn accepted Donald Trump’s offer to become National Security Advisor, reporting directly to the president on threats to our nation. Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice are among the twenty-four previous occupants of this position.

On January 22, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Flynn was being investigated by US counterintelligence agents over his recent communications with Russian officials. The Washington Post then reported that the Justice Department informed the Trump administration that Flynn misled senior administration officials regarding his communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US. According to the Post, Justice also warned that Flynn was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. On February 13, Flynn resigned from his position after admitting that he failed to adequately inform the administration about his phone calls with Russian officials.

Democrats are calling for an investigation into connections between the Russians and the Trump administration. Republicans are focusing on press leaks that revealed wiretaps reportedly exposing Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak to the FBI. In addition, there are reports that former Obama administration officials worked for months to discredit Flynn and preserve the nuclear deal with Iran.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –How We Respond to a Storm

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2 Chronicles 20:12

If you’ve ever experienced a storm when around other people, you know not everyone responds the same way.

Picture a backyard party where all the guests are having fun, but then the wind picks up. The temperature drops, the sky darkens, and the scent of rain is in the air. Everyone scrambles to grab something and head indoors. Just as the last person rushes in with the potato salad, the skies let go. Inside, people gather into clusters. One group stands at the window, oohing and aahing at the thunder and lightning outside. On the couch, others hug each other or cover their ears; a few jump and shudder with every boom. Another group, chatting away, seems completely oblivious to the weather. Isn’t this a picture of how people react differently to the storms of life?

When it comes to the upheavals we face, our varied responses can have a significant impact down the road. Some people respond in a healthy way and emerge stronger, while others are broken by the challenge.

What accounts for the difference in our response is our view of God. If we see Him as our loving heavenly Father, we’ll understand He has the best possible plan for our life, even if the path is, for a time, through troubled waters. But if we consider Him an obstruction to the goals we’ve set for ourselves, we could miss out on the blessings He has in mind for us.

Storms are unavoidable in life. When one comes your way, the wisest thing you can do is to cry out to Jesus. Won’t you choose to respond with an attitude of trust in the Lord and submission to His way?

Bible in One Year: Numbers 20-22

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Little Lies and Kittens

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Read: Romans 5:12–21

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 17–18; Matthew 27:27–50

Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead.—Romans 5:21 NLT

Mom noticed four-year-old Elias as he scurried away from the newborn kittens. She had told him not to touch them. “Did you touch the kitties, Elias?” she asked.

“No!” he said earnestly. So Mom had another question: “Were they soft?”

“Yes,” he volunteered, “and the black one mewed.”

With a toddler, we smile at such duplicity. But Elias’s disobedience underscores our human condition. No one has to teach a four-year-old to lie. “For I was born a sinner,” wrote David in his classic confession, “yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5 nlt). The apostle Paul said: “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Rom. 5:12 nlt). That depressing news applies equally to kings, four-year-olds, and you and me.

But there’s plenty of hope! “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were,” wrote Paul. “But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Rom. 5:20 nlt).

God is not waiting for us to blow it so He can pounce on us. He is in the business of grace, forgiveness, and restoration. We need only recognize that our sin is neither cute nor excusable and come to Him in faith and repentance. —Tim Gustafson

Father, be merciful to me, a sinner.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Truth on Its Head

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G.K. Chesterton took the word “prolific” to a level that, as a writer, simply makes me feel tired. In his lifetime, Chesterton authored over one hundred books and contributed to two hundred others. He penned hundreds of poems, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including the popular Father Brown detective series. He wrote over four thousand newspaper essays, including thirty years worth of weekly columns for The Illustrated London News, and thirteen years of weekly columns for The Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

As one can easily imagine after such an inventory, G.K. Chesterton was always writing—wherever he found himself, and with whatever he could find to write on. So, in the tearoom he scribbled on napkins. On the train, in front of a bank teller, or in the middle of a lecture, he was known to jot hurriedly in a notebook, or even on the cuff of his sleeve.

Chesterton’s eccentric approach to writing, in fact, matched his eccentric approach to life in general. His public image was one out of a Shakespearean comedy. If he were not recognized in the streets of London by the flowing black cape and the wide brimmed top hat he always wore, he was given away instantly by the clamoring of the swordstick he always carried—for nothing more than the romantic notion that he might one day find himself caught up in some adventure where defending himself might become necessary.

He rarely knew, from hour to hour, where he was or where he was supposed to be, what appointment he was to be keeping, or lecture he was to be giving. The story is often told of the time he telegraphed his wife with the note, “Am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?” His faithful wife, Frances, wired back, “Home,” knowing it would be most promising for all involved if she could physically point him in the right direction. Chesterton seemed to live out one of his own clever paradoxes: “One can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place.”

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Wilderness Mentality

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The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. Tum and take up your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites…. Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.—Deuteronomy 1:6-8

Those of us who are parents know these words so well: “In a minute. Just a little longer.” We call our children to leave their playing and come inside, but they want just a little more time to stay out with their friends. For now, at least, they’re content playing and don’t want to think about getting cleaned up or eating dinner. It’s always, “Just a little longer”—if we let them. And at times, we adults act a little like those children who cry out, “Just a little longer.”

I’ve met miserable people—those who disliked their lives, hated their jobs, or were in intolerable relationships with the wrong kind of people. They knew they were miserable, but they did nothing about it. “Just a little longer.” A little longer for what? More pain? More discouragement? More unhappiness?

Those are the people who have what I call the wilderness mentality. I want to explain that. Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt. If they had obeyed God, stopped their grumbling, and moved straight ahead as God originally told them, they could have made the trip in eleven days. But it took them forty years.

Why did they finally leave? Only because God said, “You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.” If God hadn’t pushed them into the Promised Land, I wonder how long they would have stayed and longed to cross the Jordan.

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