You cannot serve two masters: God and money.

—Matthew 6:24 (TLB)

Tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God, for these two are closely related. A man’s heart is closer to his wallet than anything else. It is a staggering fact that for the past few years people have spent ten times as much for luxuries and non-essentials as they have for all charitable and religious purposes. This is a commentary on our shallow and superficial religious faith.

While the Bible warns us against greed and selfishness, it does encourage frugality and thrift. Even Jesus said to His disciples after He fed the multitude, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Although our Lord had the power to create, He Himself lived frugally and without luxury. John Wesley had a threefold philosophy about money. He said, “Make all you can; keep all you can; and give all you can.” Most of us get all we can, spend all we can; borrow all we can; and give meagerly to God.

Prayer for the day

Lord, give me a generous heart so that others may know Your love and compassion.

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. . . make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

—Psalm 145:12

Some years ago I heard about a clergyman who had a friend who was an actor. The actor was drawing large crowds of people, and the clergyman was preaching to a few in the church. He said to his actor friend, “Why is it that you draw great crowds, and I have no audience at all? Your words are sheer fiction, and mine are unchangeable truth.” The actor’s reply was quite simple. “I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.” I fear that so often we Christians give the idea that the truth is fiction by the way we live and by the lack of dedication to the teachings of our Lord.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, I would completely yield my life to You, so that others may know that the Savior I love and serve is the truth!

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How I need your help, especially in my own home . . .

—Psalm 101:2 (TLB)

In the marriage ceremony, after the vows are said, the minister solemnly and reverently remarks, “What God hath joined together let no man put asunder.” Is not God the third part in a marriage? Should He not be taken into account in the marriage, and in the home that emerges from that marriage? If God joins the couple together at the outset, should not His presence be recognized in the home continually? Many homes are on the rocks today because God has been left out of the domestic picture.

With the clash of personalities in a domestic pattern, there must be an integrating force, and the living God is that Force! Many couples think that if they have a better home, get a better job, or live in a different neighborhood, their domestic life will be happier. No! The secret of domestic happiness is to let God, the party of the third part in the marriage contract, have His rightful place in the home. Make peace with Him, and then you can be a real peacemaker in the home.

Prayer for the day

In my relationships with those I love, help me to be a peacemaker, Lord. May I always look to You, the Prince of Peace.

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He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much . . .

—Luke 16:10

What God expects, and all God expects, is that we dedicate completely all of our talents and gifts to Him. That is the meaning of the parable of the talents in Matthew, chapter 25. Read this parable, and you will see that we are always rewarded because of our faithfulness. You can be just as faithful as anyone and have the commendation of the Lord. Take the one talent you have and invest it in eternal things. Some talented people lose their reward because they do things to be seen of men. Some untalented people lose their reward because they fail to dedicate what they have, because it is not noticed by men. Both have sinned equally.

Prayer for the day

Let me not be concerned with the praise of men, but may my talent be completely yielded to You, Lord Jesus.

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I am with you, that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.

—2 Corinthians 12:9 (TLB)

A director of a camp whose purpose is to lead young hoodlums to Christ says, “Being a Christian is the toughest thing in the world. What’s tougher than loving your enemy?” One boy, who developed into a rugged disciple of Christ at this camp, said, “In this outfit we’re all brothers and we’re all men. It was too tough for me at first, but then I heard that through Christ everything is possible. Then the roughness went away. I say a man is not a man, not a full man, until he gets to know Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Christian life is tough and rough; but it’s challenging. It’s worth everything it costs to be a follower of Jesus Christ. You will soon find that the cross is not greater than His grace. When you pick up the cross of unpopularity, wherever you may be, you will find God’s grace is there, more than sufficient to meet your every need.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, teach me the lesson that Your grace is abundantly sufficient to meet my every need.

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Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

—Romans 5:1

Before the Big Four Conference in Geneva, I watched President Eisenhower kneel in a chapel and ask God for divine guidance in the deliberations to follow. I felt sure that God would answer his earnest prayer. I believe that He did, for President Eisenhower during those days displayed the spirit of a true peacemaker on the international level. The only corrective measure in establishing peace is for men as individuals to know the peace of God. Though I am not wholly averse to movements which strive in one way or another for world peace, I have a strong conviction that such peace will never come unless there is a spiritual dynamic at the core. I pray for wars to cease, just as I pray for crime to stop; but I know that the basic cause of both crime and war is the inherent sinfulness of human nature. The world cannot be reborn until men are born again and are at peace with God.

Prayer for the day

Heavenly Father, I pray for the peace of the world through individuals surrendering to Your Son, Jesus Christ. Bless all today who are spreading the Gospel here and abroad.

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Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enterinto the kingdom of heaven.

—Matthew 5:20

In a decadent society the will to believe, to resist, to contend, to fight, to struggle, is gone. In place of this will to resist, there is the desire to conform, to drift, to follow, to yield, and to give up. This is what happened in Rome, but it also applies to us. The same conditions that prevailed in Rome prevail in our society. Before Rome fell, her standards were abandoned, the family disintegrated, divorce prevailed, immorality was rampant, and faith was at a low ebb. As Gibbon said, “There was much talk of religion, but few practiced it.”

Prayer for the day

May I be worthy to bear the name Christian, Lord Jesus.

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Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee . . .

—Deuteronomy 26:11

Often the Church has banged away negatively at evils without reminding us that God is tremendously interested in our finding a satisfying way of life here and now. We Christians have talked so much of the negative side of Christian experience that we have forgotten to emphasize the positive, joyous, thrilling, and victorious experience of daily fellowship with Christ. God declared that things will not satisfy. God satisfies! This is the secret of soul-satisfaction: Let your soul delight itself in fatness. Remove the obstructions, tear down the barriers, and let your soul find the fulfillment of its deepest longings in fellowship with God.

Prayer for the day

There are no words to describe my gratitude to You, my Lord and Savior, for Your loving kindness. Accept my praise and love.

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God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble.

—Psalm 46:1 (TLB)

Scripture tells us that God tempts no one. Temptation always comes from the devil. God will test us and allow us to endure the temptation, but the devil does the tempting. How do we overcome it? A little girl once told her method. “When the devil comes knocking at the door,” she said, “I don’t answer it. I send Jesus to the door.” And that is exactly the way to take care of it. Send Jesus to the door!

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, help me to remember the power of Your holy name!

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Lord, grant us peace; for all we have and are has come from you.

—Isaiah 26:12 (TLB)

Only a few years ago children were delighted at the prospect of a trip to the wharves to see the great ships come in. Today they are blasé about helicopters and jet planes. We who once marveled at the telegraph now take for granted the far greater miracle of television. Not so long ago many of the physical diseases were termed hopeless and incurable. Today we have drugs so effective that age-old diseases are becoming rare. We have accomplished much, of that there is no doubt. But with all this progress, we have not solved the basic problem of the human race. We can build the highest buildings, the fastest ships, the longest bridges—but we still can’t govern ourselves, or live together peacefully and with equality.

Prayer for the day

In loving and being loved by You, there is all I have longed for, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

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They shall see his face . . .

—Revelation 22:4 (TLB)

One of the great bonuses of being a Christian is the great hope that extends beyond the grave into the glory of God’s tomorrow. A little girl was running toward a cemetery as the darkness of evening began to fall. She passed a friend who asked her if she was not afraid to go through the graveyard at night. “Oh, no,” she said, “I’m not afraid. My home is just on the other side!” We Christians are not afraid of the night of death because our heavenly home is “just on the other side.” The resurrection of Christ changed the midnight of bereavement into a sunrise of reunion; it changed the midnight of disappointment into a sunrise of joy; it changed the midnight of fear to a sunrise of peace. Today faith and confidence in the resurrected Christ can change your fear to hope and your disappointment to joy.

Prayer for the day

Whatever I fear the most, Lord Jesus, I put into Your loving hands, knowing You will give me peace and courage.

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Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good . . .

—3 John 11

We must get this fact firmly fixed in our minds: we live in an upside-down world. “, fight when they should be peaceful, wound when they should heal, steal when they should share, do wrong when they should do right. I once saw a toy clown with a weight in its head. No matter what position you put it in, it invariably assumed an upside-down position. Put it on its feet or on its side, and when you let go it flipped back on its head. Unregenerate people are just like that! Do what you may with them and they always revert to an upside-down position. That is why the disciples to the world were misfits. To an upside-down person, a right-side up person seems upside down. To a sinner, a righteous person is an oddity and an abnormality. A Christian’s goodness is a rebuke to the wicked; his being right-side up is a reflection upon the worldling’s inverted position.

Prayer for the day

Let me never compromise my stand for You, Lord Jesus, who gave Your sinless life for me.

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Looking for that blessed hope . . .

—Titus 2:13

One of the best ways to get rid of discouragement is to remember that Christ is coming again. The most thrilling, glorious truth in all the world is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When we look around and see pessimism on every side, we should remember the Bible is the only Book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. The Bible accurately foretells the future, and it says that the consummation of all things shall be the coming again of Jesus Christ to this earth. If your life is dismal, depressed, and gloomy today, Christ can turn those dark clouds inside out. The sunlight of His love can still shine into the darkest part of your life.

Prayer for the day

Longing to see Your face, Christ Jesus, I rejoice in the anticipation of Your coming again!

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Do not worry about your life . . .

—Matthew 6:25 (NIV)

Some people ask, “Do you think God has time for me? You don’t know how mixed up my life is, how confused it is; the pressures, the tension at home, the business problems, so many things I couldn’t possibly tell you about, including the sins in my life that I somehow cannot seem to give up.” Yes, God has time for you. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He had time for a thief who turned to Him and said, “Lord, remember me.” That’s all the record tells us that the thief said, “Lord, remember me.” But what he was really saying was, “I’m unworthy. I’ve broken all the laws. I deserve hell. Just remember me.” And Jesus turned to him in that moment and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Prayer for the day

Even in Your greatest suffering, Lord Jesus, You had time to assure another of Your love. My heart is comforted to know this caring for my soul is infinite.

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May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.

—Psalm 19:14 (TLB)

Robert Browning said, “Thought is the soul of the act.” Emerson said, “Thought is the seat of action. The ancestor of every action is thought.” If God destroyed the world once for its continually evil imaginations, is it not reasonable to believe that all of the sin, lust, and licentiousness that is rampant today grieves His heart just as it did in that day? Many people dream of sin, imagine sin, and-if granted the opportunity-would indulge in sin. All they lack is the occasion to sin. So, in the sight of God, they are sinners as great as though they actually had committed immorality. All transgressions begin with sinful thinking.

You who have come to Christ for a pure heart, guard against the pictures of lewdness and sensuality which Satan flashes upon the screen of your imagination, select with care the books you read, choose discerningly the kind of entertainment you attend, the kind of associates with whom you mingle, and the kind of environment in which you place yourself. You should no more allow sinful imaginations to accumulate in your mind and soul than you would let garbage collect in your living room.

Prayer for the day

I need my thoughts to be continually purified by the cleansing power of Your Spirit, Almighty God.

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He must increase, but I must decrease.

—John 3:30

Self-centeredness is the basic cause of much of our distress in life. Hypochondria, a mental disorder which is accompanied by melancholy and depression, is often caused by self-pity and self-centeredness. Most of us suffer from spiritual nearsightedness. Our interests, our loves, and our energies are too often focused upon ourselves. Jesus underscored the fact that His disciples were to live outflowingly rather than selfishly. To the rich young ruler He said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). It wasn’t the giving away of his goods that Jesus demanded, particularly, but that he be released from selfishness, and its devastating effect on his personality and life.

Prayer for the day

Teach me to so completely open my heart to You that there will be no room for self. Cleanse me, Lord, of all selfish thoughts and deeds.

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Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

—Psalm 85:12

The great economic and material prosperity we are enjoying in the United States today is a gift of God’s hand. The Bible tells us that the very goodness of God should lead us to repentance. All of these material blessings are gifts from God, given in order that we might humble ourselves, fall upon our knees before Him, and call upon His name. We should thank God, too, for the spiritual blessings that are beyond the power of the human tongue to describe.

Here in North America we still have freedom of worship. In many parts of the world believers cannot assemble together; they cannot speak of their religious convictions because of totalitarian power. Here in North America we have Bibles everywhere. We have the opportunity to preach. God has blessed us with a thousand and one spiritual blessings. In days of uncertainty and confusion, such as we are now passing through, these are gifts that go beyond our power to understand; and yet they are gifts of God that become ours when we receive His Son as our Savior and Lord.

Prayer for the day

Almighty God, I thank You for all the blessings You shower upon this land—and I would thank You especially for my freedom to worship You and read my Bible, without fear of persecution.

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Fear God and honor the government.

—1 Peter 2:17 (TLB)

On this Independence Day we should be on our knees thanking God for all He has given us. The United States is a country in which everyone has an equal opportunity. Thank God for a country where there is no caste or class to keep a man from going to the top. If a man has a will to work and study, he can go ahead regardless of his background. In addition, thank God, He has given us freedom of religion. Whatever you may believe, no one can close your church because your religion does not coincide with his. A few people meeting in a small, out-of-the-way shack, worshiping God as they believe in Him, have the same right to religious freedom as the people who worship God in the great cathedrals on the avenues of our greatest cities.

Prayer for the day

Thank You, God, for allowing me to live in the greatest, grandest, and most free land the world has ever known.

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All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . .

—2 Timothy 3:16

The men who framed our Constitution knew they were writing the basic document for a government of free men; they recognized that men could live as free and independent beings only if each one knew and understood the law. They were to know their rights, their privileges, and their limitations. They were to stand as equals before the court of law, and few judges could be unfair; for the judge, too, was bound by the same law and required to try each case accordingly. . . . As the Constitution is the highest law of the land, so the Bible is the highest law of God. For it is in the Bible that God sets forth His spiritual laws. It is in the Bible that God makes His enduring promises. It is in the Bible that God reveals the plan of redemption for the human race.

Prayer for the day

Almighty God, each day our nation and we, the people, face so many crises. May each one of us seek wisdom through Your Word, the Bible.

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Love one another, as I have loved you.

—John 15:12

As I study the subject of “separation” in the Old and New Testaments, I discover that the weight of Scripture lies in the direction of fellowship rather than separation. What is the great overwhelming evidence that we have passed from death unto life? It is love! Jesus Christ clearly was speaking of visible unity, such as can be seen by the world. His motive for praying was that the world might believe and the world might know. He prayed for unity among believers. God, who wills man’s unity in Christ, is a God of variety. So often we want everyone to be the same—to think and speak and believe as we do. Many Scripture passages could be called to witness that love is the real key to Christian unity. In the spirit of true humility, compassion, consideration, and unselfishness, we are to approach our problems, our work, and even our differences.

Prayer for the day

In a world needing Your love, let me not judge those who love You too. You have made us all so different, Father. Teach me, by Your loving Holy Spirit, compassion and true unity.

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