Tag Archives: Israel

John MacArthur – Confessing Your Sins

March 8, 2015 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed” (Dan. 9:4).

Confession brings forgiveness and guards God’s character.

Confessing your sins means you agree with God that you have offended His holy character, are worthy of punishment, and in need of forgiveness. That’s exactly what we see Daniel doing in verses 5-16. Verse 20 summarizes his prayer: “I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God.”

Unlike some who suffer God’s chastening, Daniel didn’t shift the blame for Israel’s calamity. Instead he admitted that his people had willfully disobeyed God’s Word and ignored His prophets, thereby bringing judgment upon themselves. Once they were a nation blessed by God; now they were aliens and captives in a foreign land. God had kept His promise to curse them if they disobeyed Him (Deut. 28:15).

In verses 12-15 Daniel analyzes the consequences of Israel’s sin, which included her captivity and the guilt she bore for her arrogance and reluctance to repent.

Verse 14 reflects perhaps the most important aspect of confession: Daniel’s affirmation that “the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done.” The Gentile nations knew that the Israelites were God’s chosen people. Surely the fall of Jerusalem raised questions about God’s character: What kind of God would stand idly by while His people are ravaged and His Temple plundered? What is the benefit of having a God like that? This, in effect, is Daniel’s response: “God is righteous in everything He does. We deserve this punishment, so don’t accuse Him of acting unjustly.”

Confession therefore serves a dual purpose: it brings forgiveness and frees God to chasten us without bringing accusations of inequity or injustice upon Himself.

Daniel’s prayer came at a special time in Israel’s history, but undoubtedly confession was a regular part of his life. That should be your pattern as well. Don’t wait until disaster strikes before you confess your sin. Make it a daily practice.

Suggestions for Prayer; If you have not developed a systematic approach to prayer, the “ACTS” format is a good way to start.

Adoration—praising God
Confession—confessing sin
Thanksgiving—thanking God
Supplication—praying for others

For Further Study; Read about David’s sin in 2 Samuel 11:1—12:25 and his confession in Psalm 51. What are the similarities and differences between David’s confession and Daniel’s?

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Living by Memory

March 6, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Mark Twain once said that faith is “believing what you know ain’t so.” The Christian story presents an altogether different definition. Faith is more than cognitive assent or blind acceptance of something. It is an informed surrender and trust that rests the whole person on the purposes and will of God. Faith involves belief, obedience, ethics, and lifestyle; it involves living with vision and memory.

The prophet Habakkuk lived in a time of spiritual and moral decline, which led to the economic, social, and political tragedies of his people. Like the people to whom he preached, Habakkuk came from a storied nation. He was rooted in his God and all of the stories that accompanied Him—the Exodus, the tabernacle, the law, and the land. Habakkuk knew that all of Israel’s blessings were rooted in the covenantal faithfulness of a chosen people. They had come a long way since rejoicing over the miracle at the Red Sea or the completion of Solomon’s temple. Yet Israel was established with the necessity of living in the three dimensions of time—past, present, and future. They were commanded to remember God’s words and mighty actions of history. They were called to see life as a present blessing, with faith and justice as a response to the God who gave it. And they lived with hope in God’s good hands, such that neither death nor the future was a threat.

But Israel forgot. Neglecting their heritage, the people walked away. They pursued other loves and became enamored with the nations around them. Israel forgot their high calling, and the consequences were tragic. The prophet Habakkuk was understandably grieved. Unable to understand what was happening to his community, the prophet walked through stages of depression, anger, acceptance, and faith. His chapters move from asking “why?” to expressing hopelessness or exclaiming anger, and finally, to singing.

I believe there are times in life when we are on a similar journey. Though at times we may find ourselves stuck in one stage or another, we follow a similar sense of story and invitation to remember God’s involvement in our past, present, and future. Between the pages where Habakkuk cries out for God’s answer and where he ends in a mixture of fear and faith, we learn something of the ambiguity, tension, and struggle that is ours until the journey ends.

Through trial and uncertainty, the apostle Paul encourages us likewise. We are to cling to what we know along the way: “For in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

Despite seeming triumphs of evil, the people of God continue to discover anew that the promises of God are sure. In the words of the prophet Habakkuk, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (2:14). It is not easy. There are real dangers, costs to bear, and always a demand for perseverance. But ultimately and exclusively, our hope is in God alone. Through faith we live knowing that Christ is who he says he is, remembering that the assurance of his life and death is real, that God enfolds our stories into his own, and Christ is making all things new. Until that day, we watch and wait, living by faith and memory.

Stuart McAllister is regional director of the Americas at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – What’s the Big Deal About Israel?

February 21, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves”—Zechariah 12:2–3

Why is Jerusalem such a big deal in world news? Why aren’t we talking about Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, or some other major capital in another part of the world? Why this little city?

I will tell you why. Because God said that in the last days, Jerusalem would play a key role: “I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:2–3 NLT).

Scripture also foretold in Ezekiel 37 that the Jews would be regathered in their land, and this prophecy was fulfilled when Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. After Ezekiel 37 comes Ezekiel 38, which speaks of an attack against Israel by a large nation to the north of the Jewish homeland, accompanied by a number of allies invading Israel from every direction. Scripture emphasizes multiple times that this will happen in the last days. This is still in the future.

In speaking of Israel’s enemies, Ezekiel 38:8–11 offers an interesting detail:

“A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel.

“You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, “Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!”‘” (NLT).

These people who live in such confidence? Can you imagine that statement being made right after the Holocaust? Hardly. Can you imagine that statement being made after Israel was established as a nation, or even after the 1967 war? Not really. But today Israel has one of the most powerful and effective military forces on the face of the earth. They are not the largest, but they are known for their military prowess and for their military intelligence. And for quite a long time now, they have had nuclear weaponry. That is why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stood before the United Nations and made it very clear that, if necessary, Israel will exercise a military option to protect herself. So I think Israel does live within a certain degree of confidence today that they have never known historically.

In an address to the United Nations, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Iran’s apocalyptic leaders believe that a medieval holy man will reappear in the wake of a devastating Holy War, thereby ensuring that their brand of radical Islam will rule the earth. That’s not just what they believe. That’s what is actually guiding their policies and their actions.”

And that is true. Because in his address to the United Nations, Iran’s former leader Ahmadinejad stated, “God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam A1-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ. Peace be upon him and the righteous.”

This Islamic messiah, this 12th Imam, according to their beliefs, will bring about an Islamic kingdom. But also according to their beliefs, the Judeo-Christian civilization must be destroyed first. For this 12th Imam to come, they believe, there must first be chaos.

Could this be what brings about the scenario predicted in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel (see chapters 38 and 39)? No one can say with certainty. But this much we must acknowledge: It certainly could be. We see how things are lining up.

Up to this point, the United States has been a staunch ally of Israel’s. And I believe that one of the reasons God has blessed our nation is because of our continued support for Israel. But it would appear these days that we are backing away from her. And according to Bible prophecy, one day, there will be no great ally behind Israel. She will stand alone when she is attacked by an enemy from the north and its allies.

The Bible also predicts that a national revival will come to Israel, when God will once again pour out his Spirit upon the nation. But this will happen after the rapture of the church. Romans 11:25 predicts, “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.”

I have met people who can quote chapter and verse and give a good overview of the proper chronology of events of the end times, yet they are not living godly lives. And they are missing the point. If knowing what the Bible predicts about the last days doesn’t impact us in the way that we live, then we have missed what God is trying to say. Jesus didn’t say, “When these things begin to happen, argue about it.” Rather, he said, “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28 NKJV).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Through Wilderness

February 17, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12-13).

Mark’s record of the Spirit’s compelling Jesus into the wilderness immediately following his baptism has always intrigued me. The original language is so forceful as to imply that the Spirit literally expelled Jesus into this land of wild beasts and satanic attack. It is even more striking when compared to Matthew and Luke’s gospels, which both suggest that Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness.(1) Despite Matthew and Luke’s gentler version, the force is still the same—the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested, nay, tormented. Why would the Spirit compel Jesus into the land of testing?

The history of Israel and particularly the Exodus from Egypt gives us some perspective on this question. After four hundred years of oppression and enslavement, God sent Moses to deliver the people and to lead them into the Promised Land. A great drama ensues between the “gods” of the Egyptians and the God of Israel. Ten plagues fall, the sea is parted, and the Egyptian army is swallowed up by the raging waters. And then we read, “Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water…. and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”(2) Israel would spend the next forty years, the text tells us, wandering in that wilderness of lament and bitterness. A great beginning stalls in the deserts of Sinai.

Like Israel before him, Jesus’s story as recorded by Mark begins with great drama. John the Baptist announces the Deliverer; Israel’s exile was over, for the Messiah had come. The Deliverer is baptized by John and in front of the crowds declared “the beloved Son” of God. What a tremendous beginning to his earthly ministry. And yet, like Israel, Jesus begins that earthly ministry not with healings and miracles, or with fanfare and great teachings, but by being “immediately cast out into the wilderness.”

Jesus, many commentators have suggested, was re-enacting the great history of Israel in his own life and ministry. He was Israel’s Messiah, their deliverer, just as Moses had been. Yet, like Israel, Jesus would be tested and his test had to precede entry into the Promised Land. But unlike Israel, Jesus would pass the test and his deliverance of his people would be his gift and offering to God for all eternity.

There are moments when I am particularly mindful that before we can enjoy the promised land of resurrection life, we too must journey with Jesus into the wilderness. I do not go through a single day without hearing many stories about the wilderness spaces people dwell in through suffering, disappointment, doubt, or sin. Often, we want to rush through the wilderness to get to the other side. But, like Jesus, we too must travel through wilderness places. Like Jesus, we will be compelled into that wilderness where there are deaths and deprivations. The wilderness is a place of testing. In the wilderness of unmet needs, what do we do? Who will we turn to? In what, or in whom, do we place our trust? When the Israelites faced their test in the wilderness they wanted to return to the enslavement of Egypt. At least, they fantasized, they had food and drink in that land. Jesus, on the other hand, took nothing with him into that desiccated place. He was hungry and enticed to turn stones into bread to meet his legitimate need. Yet in the face of hunger pangs and thirst, Jesus remembered that the source of his life was in the very word of God and his life would be sustained by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Jesus trusted God to provide in God’s time and manner.

Often, we ask God “why” we are compelled into the wilderness. We grumble and complain in our lament and try to hurry our way into the Promised Land by forcing our own way or by seeking to return to Egypt to meet our needs in our time and through our own methods. The journey of all Christ-followers is a journey through the wilderness towards the cross. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, the wilderness, the cross, and the ultimate resurrection of Jesus all demonstrate that no matter the wilderness we find ourselves in, God will bring us through to life on the other side. We will not be delivered from the suffering of the wilderness, but with God’s help we can indeed be transformed by it.

Margaret Manning Shull is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bellingham, Washington.

(1) Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1.

(2) Exodus 15:22; 16:2.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Where World History Ends

February 7, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

On the same day the Lord #made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates. . .”—Genesis 15:18

What on earth is happening in the Middle East? It seems that all we hear about in the news from this region is another outburst of violence—or a threat of one.

In his address at the U.N., then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had threatened once again to eliminate Israel. Also in another speech, he spoke of some Islamic “messiah,” as well as a new world order.

As we look at the attacks on our embassies around the world, and specifically the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, it is now clear that the war on terror has not been won.

When Osama bin Laden was killed, we hoped that might be the end of it. But after Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, were murdered in Libya, there were people rioting in the streets and burning American flags. As they waited for their close-ups from the American media, they chanted together to the cameras, “Take a picture, Obama! We are all Osama!” That pretty much says it all. The message of Osama bin Laden and the terrorists appears to be alive and well.

And what about the so-called Arab Spring? What some thought might be a hopeful sign, perhaps a surge of democracy in the Middle East, has not turned out so well. So what is the explanation of all of this chaos and confusion? What in the world is happening?

The short answer is that Bible prophecy is being lived out in real time before our very eyes. The Bible has predicted the things that are happening in this part of the world. Scripture is very clear in pointing out that the end of the world will be centered in the Middle East. And it has all been foretold in the only book that accurately predicts the future: the Bible.

Thousands of years ago, Hebrew prophets predicted the Jewish people would be scattered across the earth and then later regathered. Jesus, in fact, gave a very specific prediction when He said the temple in Jerusalem that was being rebuilt by Herod at the time would not only be destroyed, but also would be dismantled, stone by stone (see Matthew 24:1).

Did that prediction reach fulfillment? Yes, it did. Because all historians agree that in A.D. 70, Titus and the Roman legions marched into Jerusalem, slaughtered thousands of Jews and dismantled the temple. Why did they dismantle it? Because there was gold in the temple, which had been burned, and they had to dismantle it to extract the melted gold. This fulfilled, to the letter, the prophecy of Christ. Also at this time, the Jews were scattered.

Fast-forward many years to the Holocaust, when Hitler sought to eradicate the Jewish people from the face of the earth. Thankfully, the United States, Great Britain, and their allies stopped the Nazi war machine. And what happened in the aftermath of the Holocaust was nothing short of amazing. The Jewish people began to return to their homeland. And on May 14, 1948, a modern miracle happened. The state of Israel was officially declared.

Here was a nation that had been dispersed for centuries, and then it was regathered. This has never happened again in history. And this was a super-sign that started the prophetic clock ticking. The people of Israel were back in their homeland again.

But there was still a problem. Israel did not have control of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem plays a key role in the end-times scenario. Although they had declared their statehood, Jordan was still controlling the old city of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and most of the historic sites. Then, the Six Day War broke out in 1967, in which Israel was attacked. No one expected her to survive. Not only did Israel survive the attack, but she won the war and gained back a lot of the things she had lost, including the old city. And for the first time in more than 2,000 years, the city of Jerusalem was under Jewish control.

Yet to this present day, Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Arab leaders worldwide insisting that Jerusalem and the entire West Bank are rightfully Palestinian territory and ultimately must be given back as a condition of peace.

Of course, I am going to side with God on this issue. God gave Jerusalem to Israel. He said to Abraham in Genesis 15:18, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates. . .” (NKJV). He gave that land to Israel, and the Israelis are not going to give up the city of Jerusalem.

The Bible predicts that the city of Jerusalem will be at the epicenter of it all, and the attention of the planet will be directed toward Israel and toward the city of Jerusalem.

Is this happening now? Yes, it is. All of this is happening just as the Bible predicted it would.

So let’s go over the chronology of events the Bible has predicted: Israel will be scattered. Has this happened? Yes. Israel will be regathered after her people are scattered. Has this happened? Again, yes. Israel will regain the city of Jerusalem. Has this happened? Yes. Israel will be isolated from the other nations of the world and basically will stand alone. Has that happened? Not quite, but it appears to be moving in that direction. Lastly, Israel will be attacked. Has that happened? Not yet, and not on the scale the Bible predicts. This is still in the future, but perhaps the near future.

Scripture specifically tells us that world history, as we know it, will culminate in this part of the world. Some people would assert that it is not important to study Bible prophecy, but I beg to differ. We must study Bible prophecy. The reason we should want to learn about the future is so we will be motivated to live rightly in the present.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Losing Ground

January 30, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Mine is not a heritage that deeply associates identity with the land on which that identity was forged. My ancestors packed every belonging they were able to place on a boat (including, I’m certain much to someone’s chagrin, a nine foot corner cupboard) and eventually made their way to Ohio. It was not easy for them; Irish immigrants were not well-received. But they made a life for themselves far away from all they once knew as home, choosing to distance themselves from the land of their forefathers in more ways than one. They even changed the spelling of their surname so that “home” would be less recognizable. For some immigrants, the land they leave is never far from their minds—and often this is true even of the generations who have never seen this land for themselves. This was not the case with my ancestors.

It was not until I spent time within a Native American community (and later the intertwining worlds of the Palestinians and Israelis) that I came to realize the powerful pull of a homeland, even for those who hold it only in the imaginative longings of their minds. For those of us who view land in terms of property lines and economics, there is a giant chasm that separates us from those who define geography as life and spirit. The tragic role of geography in the story of every Native American tribe is easily recognizable, but the spiritual, personal, and physical weight of that offense is often grossly miscalculated. “To us when your land is gone, you are walking toward a slow spiritual death,” says a Shoshone elder who has fought persistently for access to Shoshone land. “We have come to the point that death is better than living without your spirituality.”(1)

Such intensity in the name of place and homeland is not unique to Native America. For the people of ancient Israel, the relationship between land and faith was equally profound. The destructive loss of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in 587 B.C.E. was infinitely more to them than the loss of home and property. For them it was the loss of faith, identity, and God’s presence. Walter Brueggemann writes of Jerusalem’s destruction: “The deep sense of displacement evoked by the loss led to the conclusion in some quarters that all the old promises of YHWH to Israel—and consequently Israel’s status as YHWH’s people and Jerusalem’s status as YHWH’s city—were placed in deep jeopardy.”(2)

The book of Lamentations is intricately bound to this all-encompassing loss. The book offers five poems of profound lament, each an attempt to put into words the abrupt reality of physical, spiritual, and personal exile. The poems are acrostic in style, meaning that each line of the poem begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet—as if the loss and grief of Israel is “expressed in totality and completeness from A to Z.”(3) Like an ancient funeral song, the writer’s words are consumed with the death that is homelessness in this deepest sense of the word.

“The thought of my affliction and my homelessness

is wormwood and gall!

My soul continually thinks of it

and is bowed down within me” (Lamentations 3:19-20).

For lives in exiled disarray, spirits torn from their homes, these words declare a misery deeper than many of us know. Yet this is not to say it is a misery unknown. On the contrary, the ache of homelessness is a well-recognized human experience. Though I am not among third and fourth generations of immigrants who hold visions of their homelands near, this does not at all suggest that the mark of lostness is foreign. Unexplained hope for a better land, longing for a place unknown but somehow known, feeling like a stranger though at home—such thoughts plague the most nomadic among us.

The writer of Lamentations gives voice to the uncertainty of exile, the finality of a destroyed Jerusalem, and the death of home in the deepest sense. But the writer also dares give voice in the midst of exile to the promise of restoration—in the assurance of coming home to one who never left. No matter the place of loss, wandering, or exile, no matter the distance, no matter the depth, the arm of God is not too short to save.

“But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul,

‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:21-24).

Why should there be the notion of homelessness at all, if there is no such thing as home? Surely there is one who prepares a room for us, one who answers every real and imaginative longing for a homeland, every injustice of being torn from one’s home, and the mountains of sin and sorrow which block our vision of our place forever at his table. For both the wanderer and the exile, surely there is immense hope in a kingdom that is both present and coming, a homecoming we now see in part but one day will experience face to face.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Sandy Johnson, ed., The Book of Elders (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1994), 127.

(2) Walter Brueggemann, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 334.

(3) Ibid., 335.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Joy of Safety

January 21, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

And in this way all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26

When Moses sang at the Red Sea, it was his joy to know that all Israel was safe. Not a drop of spray fell from that solid wall until the last of God’s Israel had safely planted his foot on the other side of the flood. That done, immediately the floods dissolved into their proper place again, but not till then. Part of that song was, “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed.”¹ In the last time, when the elect shall sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb, it shall be the boast of Jesus, “Of all whom you have given me, I have lost none.”

In heaven there shall not be a vacant throne.

For all the chosen race
Shall meet around the throne,
Shall bless the conduct of His grace,
And make His glories known.

As many as God has chosen, as many as Christ has redeemed, as many as the Spirit has called, as many as believe in Jesus shall safely cross the dividing sea. We are not all safely landed yet:

Part of the host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.

The vanguard of the army has already reached the shore. We are marching through the depths; we are at this day following hard after our Leader into the heart of the sea. Let us be of good cheer: The rearguard shall soon be where the vanguard already is; the last of the chosen ones shall soon have crossed the sea, and then shall be heard the song of triumph, when all are secure. But oh, if one were absent–oh, if one of His chosen family should be cast away, it would make an everlasting discord in the song of the redeemed and cut the strings of the harps of paradise, so that music could never be extorted from them.

^{1) Exodus 15:13}

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 21, 2015
* Genesis 22
* Matthew 21

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Don’t Forget

December 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

What would it take for you to forget God? In ancient times God’s people, Israel, had no land of their own; they were slaves in Egypt. The Lord performed amazing miracles to lead three million of His chosen ones to a specific place He called their forever home.

There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Judges 2:10

Once there, God gave them a personal guarantee and a formula for success: remove all squatters and, as soon as the land was cleared, He would be their King and they would live in peace. However, when the people of Israel met the occupiers, they found a sophisticated people who were cruel in war but dedicated to lavish living and indulging in every pleasure. Unsurprisingly, the Israelites found it much easier to join their party than start a war. In the span of one generation, the words of today’s verse became reality. They had forgotten God.

As you pray for America today, specifically intercede for coming generations. Pray they will seek God and His purposes. Do your part to make sure America’s future citizens do not forget the faithful One, but instead speak of Him and His love.

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Responsibility

November 30, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

When God called Ezekiel to speak to Israel, He strictly warned him that if he didn’t declare His message, He would hold him responsible. He also forewarned Ezekiel that Israel wasn’t going to listen to him. Ezekiel may have wondered, then, why God sent him to preach in the first place. If he did question it, Ezekiel nevertheless obeyed, trusting in God’s direction and purposes.

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 3:17

Though God knew Israel, as a whole, would not turn to Him, He gave individuals opportunity to repent. “But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.” (Ezekiel 3:21) The gospel message is one of repentance and salvation (Mark 16:15-16).

Take responsibility every day to pray for United States citizens and leaders to turn to God in obedience. Trust Him for His answers. Thank the Lord for the leaders who do serve in ways that please Him…and be careful to take responsibility by being ready to reply to anyone “who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (I Peter 3:15)

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – The Stump

November 29, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

A withered tree stump; no lovely arching branches or majestic trunk, just old and ugly – could it possibly be good for anything but the fire? Isaiah 10 talks about how God chops down the arrogant like one felling tall trees. The actual people being addressed are the decedents of Israel. They had forgotten God and become disobedient. Great foreign armies came and enslaved them. It was a dark time.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Isaiah 11:1

Then Isaiah 11 tells of a shoot coming up from a old stump…and there is not just a hint of life in the new sprout, there is an abundance of it. It will become the source of life for all! Isaiah is using the analogy of the tree stump to foretell that God will still bring the Messiah through Israel’s descendants. When Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, He not only paid the price for all people’s disobedience towards God, He released believers from the heritage of sin.

Give thanks today for the amazing gift of your Savior’s sacrifice. Pray that many across America will believe and convey a heritage of abundant life to every dry and dark place in the land.

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Selective Hearing

November 19, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

We may live in a world full of individualists and individualism, but when it comes to reaching the individual conscience and the individual ear, it is often not so simple. For the one in the crowd, for the individual among the masses, any appeal for moral action or ethical change is likely to be heard more with one’s neighbor in mind than oneself. Whether rooted in human nature or simply another form of individualism, it seems our neighbors’ flaws are far more worthy of commentary. F.W. Boreham noted this tendency in any congregation with more than one member. “[I]n a congregation of two, each auditor takes it for granted that the preacher is referring to the other.”(1)

True to form, it is on rare occasions that the words of ancient prophets, who cried out at injustice and wept loudly for repentance, seem like they are talking to me. Most of the time, they seem very clearly to be talking to a people and situation well in the past, or at best a wayward culture, or a particular philosophy, policy, or party. This is perhaps why the prophets had to weep and yell so loudly. Though the great command of Israel assumes that the crowd is listening—”Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One”—often, we are not. Or rather, we might be listening, but we are listening for someone else.

With every fiber of their unique beings, the prophets attempt to counter our selective hearing. The last prophet, the prophet who cried for the world to recognize the savior among them, was no different. John the Baptist came bounding through the wilderness with an immensely personal message, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and calling the masses to see their collective and individual need for the one who could make all things new. This is where Mark begins his gospel: with the cry of a prophet to open the ears of all. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, he tells us, begins with the call of John the Baptist: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!”

Somewhere along the path to Christmas, many Christians revisit these words first recorded by the prophet Isaiah and later described as the message of John. It is a message that perhaps seems easiest to hear for someone else; after all, John’s words were aimed at the “Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” who responded by coming to the Jordan to be baptized. Or maybe the prophet’s call for universal preparation just seems an all too familiar part of a familiar story. Regardless, it is likely that all the many years of hearing the prophet’s cry for someone else has dulled the command in our minds.

Yet in fact, no matter whom we hear that message for, it is actually quite a radical suggestion. How does one prepare roads for God? How does anyone make the paths of God straight? What does that even mean? When you remember the story of Christmas, do you picture men and women preparing the road that brought God to earth, human beings taking an active role in shaping the paths and highways of God’s coming?

Now, how much more radical is this image if you hear the command for yourself? Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight! Beginning his gospel with the cry of the prophet, Mark attempts to open ears to this very thought. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ involves you. How are you preparing the way of the human Son of God, paving roads and clearing paths for the sake of God among us? It is a question every bit as much aimed at your ears and your life as it was the first audience who heard it—or your neighbors who might need to hear it.

The story of Christ’s coming as an infant in Bethlehem marks the beginning of the great promises and reversals we anticipate because of his presence with us—beauty rising from ashes and mourning turned to dancing, waters breaking forth from the wilderness and streams from the desert. But this story is not finished. John continues to call us to prepare the way for the one who shares our own humanity, to join in the restoration that God has started. All of the prophets, in fact, continue to cry out with inviting and challenging images of God’s countercultural movement: swords made into plowshares and spears to pruning hooks, wolves lying down with lambs, cows and bears grazing together, justice rolling down like waters and righteousness like ever-flowing streams, the desert blossoming, the blind seeing, the lame leaping, the lowly lifted up, and the hungry filled with good things. How are you participating? How might your life change, if the prophets are talking to you?

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) F.W. Boreham, “The Ideal Congregation,” Dreams at Sunset (London: Epworth Press, 1954), 88.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Before We Even Call

November 10, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“I will answer them before they even call to Me. While they are still talking to Me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” (Isaiah 65:24).

Allenby’s Bridge, which spans the Jordan River, was built to honor the man whom God used to lead the miraculous conquest of Jerusalem with the firing of a single gun.

Allenby recalled how, as a little boy when he use to lisp his evening prayers, he was taught to repeat after his mother the closing part of the prayer:

“And, O Lord, we will not forget They ancient people, Israel. Lord, hasten the day when Israel truly shall be thy people and shall be restored to They favor and to their land.”

“I never knew then,” Allenby said at a reception in London, “that God would give me the privilege of helping to answer my own childhood prayers.”

Even more wonderful than that kind of divine providence is the truth expressed in Isaiah 65:24 (KJV): “Before they call I will answer.” I have seen this promise fulfilled many times in the global program of Campus Crusade for Christ. Even during the time we have prayed for desperate needs – financial and otherwise – God was already laying it upon the hearts of His faithful people to respond.

What a great comfort to know that we serve that kind of God!

Bible Reading: Isaiah 65:18-25

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Even as I pray for the needs of others and myself today, I will remember the power and faithfulness of God who has already begun to answer even before I ask

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Fast-day service: An exposition of Daniel 9:1-19

November 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Taken from brief exposition of Daniel 9:1-19 (This comment is on vv 10-15)

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Eager to Serve

November 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The newly-christened battleship USS South Dakota headed towards the Pacific to join the war in the summer of 1942. It carried new recruits eager to retaliate for the attack on Pearl Harbor. None were more willing than twelve-year-old Calvin Graham – an underage boy wanting to do his part to fight for his country. Somehow, Graham slipped through the cracks, telling the Navy he was seventeen. This young vet ended up with a bronze star and a purple heart at thirteen.

That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!

Judges 5:2

When someone is willing to risk their life in such a way, people take notice. In today’s passage, Deborah sings praises for a military victory over Israel’s enemies. She thanks God for effective leadership and for her people who, like Calvin Graham, proved ready to “willingly offer themselves.”

Praise God for the presidents who have led this nation into battle with a strong hand. Thank Him for the many men and women who choose to join the armed forces in order to protect this country. Ask Him to strengthen the current leadership of America and prepare this country for His plans for the future. Then ask for special blessings on the many United States veterans.

Joyce Meyer – No More “Selective Hearing”

November 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

But the house of Israel will not listen to you and obey you since they will not listen to Me and obey Me, for all the house of Israel are impudent and stubborn of heart. —Ezekiel 3:7

God has taught me that when we are unwilling to hear in one area, it may render us unable to hear in other areas. Sometimes we choose to turn a deaf ear to what we know the Lord is clearly saying to us. We only hear what we want to hear; it’s called “selective hearing.”

A woman once shared with me that she asked God to give her direction concerning what He wanted her to do. He clearly put in her heart that He wanted her to forgive her sister for an offense that had happened between them months earlier.

Because this woman wasn’t willing to do so, she pulled away from her prayer time. When she did seek the Lord again for something, He responded, “Forgive your sister first.”

Over a period of two years, every time she asked the Lord for guidance about something new, He gently reminded her, “I want you to forgive your sister.” Finally, she realized that she would never grow spiritually if she didn’t do the thing God had told her to do.

She got on her knees and prayed, “Lord, give me the power to forgive my sister.” Instantly she understood many things from her sibling’s perspective she hadn’t considered before, and within a short time their relationship was healed and made stronger than it had ever been before.

If we really want to hear from God, we can’t approach Him with selective hearing, hoping to narrow the topics down to only what we want to hear. People want God’s direction when they have issues they want solved. But, don’t just go to God and talk to Him when you want or need something; spend time with Him just listening. He will open up many issues if you will be still before Him and simply listen.

Trust in Him Is there anything God has spoken to you that you have not yet obeyed? Why are you hesitating? Trust God to give you the strength to do whatever He has asked of you, knowing that He always has your best interest in mind. Your obedience will lead to your blessing.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Heeding God’s Warnings

October 25, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

“By [Thy judgments] Thy servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Ps. 19:11).

Heeding God’s warnings brings spiritual protection and great joy.

Psalm 19:11 concludes David’s hymn on the sufficiency of Scripture. How appropriate that it ends noting the value of God’s warning, because guarding His people against temptation, sin, error, foolishness, false teachers, and every other threat to their spiritual well-being is a major concern to God.

For example, God said to the prophet Ezekiel, “Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (Ezek. 33:7). The great tragedy of the Old Testament is that Israel rejected God’s “statutes and His covenants which He made with their fathers, and His warnings with which He warned them” (2 Kings 17:15).

The apostle Paul defined his ministry as that of proclaiming Christ and warning “every man and teaching every man with all wisdom” (Col. 1:28). After exhorting the Thessalonian church to maintain sexual purity, Paul added, “The Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you” (1 Thess. 4:6).

He also warned the Ephesian church, saying, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish [warn] each one with tears” (Acts 20:29-32). He did that by declaring to them the whole counsel of God (v. 27).

The warnings of Scripture aren’t intended to frustrate or stifle you. On the contrary, when you heed them they shelter you from spiritual harm and bring the joy of knowing you’re in God’s will. That’s the “great reward” David speaks of in Psalm 19:11. May you earn it as he eventually did through heeding God’s Word in every aspect of life.

Suggestions for Prayer; Overwhelmed with the sufficiency of God’s Word, David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” (Ps. 19:14). Make that your prayer as well.

For Further Study; Reread Psalm 19:7-11, reviewing each characteristic and benefit of Scripture. Think carefully about how they apply to your life.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Submitting to Divine Authority

October 16, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; for the Lord speaks” (Isa. 1:2).

God’s Word is the only source of divine authority.

We might assume that those who affirm the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of God’s Word would automatically submit to its authority. But that isn’t always the case. Even those who hold to a high view of Scripture may sometimes fail to obey it. We need to be reminded that the authority of God’s Word isn’t simply a doctrine to be affirmed, but a priority to be pursued.

Israel fell into the trap of holding to a high view of Scripture while failing to abide by its statutes. To them Paul said, “If you bear the name ‘Jew,’ and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?

“You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'” (Rom. 2:17- 21, 23-24).

Israel’s sin led unbelievers to blaspheme God. That’s analogous to our society in which the Lord is constantly ridiculed because of the sins of His people.

You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read, and your life is under scrutiny every day. What do others learn from you? Do they see an accurate picture of your God?

Christians will always be maligned, but let it be for righteousness sake, not sin. As Peter said, “Keep your behavior excellent among [unbelievers], so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God” (1 Pet. 2:12).

Suggestions for Prayer

Confess any areas of your life where you are being disobedient to God’s Word.
Seek His grace and power to live each day as one who truly respects the authority of God’s Word.

For Further Study

Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. What purpose does the Old Testament record of Israel’s punishments serve for us?

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Special thanksgiving to the Father

October 12, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son.” Colossians 1:12,13

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 11:14-22

What an achievement was that, when, with their flocks and their herds, the whole host of Israel went out of Egypt, crossed the Jordan, and came into Canaan! My dear brethren, the whole of it was not equal to the achievement of God’s powerful grace, when he brings one poor sinner out of the region of sin into the kingdom of holiness and peace. It was easier for God to bring Israel out of Egypt, to split the Red Sea, to make a highway through the pathless wilderness, to drop manna from heaven, to send the whirlwind to drive out the kings; it was easier for Omnipotence to do all this, than to translate a man from the power of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son. This is the grandest achievement of Omnipotence. The sustenance of the whole universe, I do believe, is even less than this—the changing of a bad heart, the subduing of an iron will. But thanks be unto the Father, he has done all that for you and for me. He has brought us out of darkness; he has translated us, taken up the old tree that has struck its roots ever so deep—taken it up, blessed be God, roots and all, and planted it in a goodly soil. He had to cut the top off, it is true—the high branches of our pride; but the tree has grown better in the new soil than it ever did before. Who ever heard of moving so huge a plant as a man who has grown fifty years old in sin? Oh! What wonders hath our Father done for us!

For meditation: “Our Father…Thy kingdom come” (Luke 11:2). Pray for the spoiling of Satan, the salvation of sinners, the sanctification of saints, the second coming of the Sovereign.

Sermon no. 319

12 October (Preached 15 January 1860)

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Benediction

October 8, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

With outstretched arms, Aaron blessed the people of Israel, putting the name of the Lord upon the people: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”(1)

These were instructions from God, who told Moses to tell Aaron to bless the people of Israel. “Benediction,” as it is now called, was to be an act of worship, a response of obedience to God’s instruction given to the priestly line. As a priest, Aaron was set apart. He and his descendants were forever “to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.”(2) The Aaronic benediction was a command, given in order that God’s name be placed upon God’s people.

So Aaron spoke the benediction over a people frustrated and wandering, and his words reached beyond him. Today the church continues to believe that there are moments often unknown to us with which God does the same. Like a river whose source does not know the far places it reaches, God’s name moves before the world; we don’t always know where it has come or where it is going. Yet we know that God’s hand is not too short to save. In the desert or on the mountaintop, God’s blessing reaches those who will receive and be filled. It is this God “who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land.”(3)

Aaron’s blessings on behalf of God were both heard by the people and honored by God. And this duty, done in obedience, acting in worship, was passed down amongst the descendents of Aaron. Under oath, the priestly line vowed to keep the covenant of God before his people and the hope of God’s saving name upon them. Of course, the vow of people is prone to breaking and the service of the priest short-lived, but the presence and touch of God moves even closer than Aaron imagined.

The writer of Hebrews expounds, “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”(4) Through Christ, a better hope was introduced, by which the Holy Spirit moves the world that we can draw near to God. For as it is written, “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” Whereas the Aaronic blessing was intermittent, Christ’s blessing is continual.

It is significant here to note Luke’s retelling of the last hours with Jesus on earth, for Christ’s departure is marked with the gesture his life epitomized. Luke writes of Jesus, “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.”(5) Near the place where he raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father where he remains High Priest forever. Before he left, pointedly, he offered the benediction. Hands and arms that days before were outstretched upon the Cross were lifted once more to bless the world.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Numbers 6:22-26.

(2) 1 Chronicles 23:13.

(3) Amos 5:8.

(4) Hebrews 7:23-25.

(5) Luke 24:0-53.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M. – Anthems of Praise

October 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

One of the most recognized women of the Old Testament, Deborah was known for her wisdom and courage as a military leader. More important, she was a spiritual leader and a prayer warrior who trusted in God alone.

Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Judges 5:3

Deborah recruited the general Barak when she knew that God wanted the armies of Israel to attack the Canaanites. Even though God promised their victory, Barak succumbed to fear and insisted that Deborah go with him to the battle. Faced with 900 chariots of iron, Deborah’s army of 10,000 Israelites rushed down from the hills and, with the help of a brave wife, the army of Sisera was destroyed. After their victory, Deborah and Barak led the people in a national anthem of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord who saved them.

Some of this nation’s patriotic anthems, such as God Bless America and My Country ‘Tis of Thee, are national songs of praise to the Lord. The next time current events cause you to fear, sing one of those anthems as a prayer to your Heavenly Father. Pray also that people across the nation would publicly proclaim praises to God.

Recommended Reading: Judges 5:1-5; 24-31

DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION

Tag Archives: Israel

John MacArthur – Confessing Your Sins

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Living by Memory

Greg Laurie – What’s the Big Deal About Israel?

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Through Wilderness

Greg Laurie – Where World History Ends

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Losing Ground

Alistair Begg – The Joy of Safety

Today’s Bible Reading

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Don’t Forget

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Responsibility

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – The Stump

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Selective Hearing

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Before We Even Call

Charles Spurgeon – Fast-day service: An exposition of Daniel 9:1-19

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Eager to Serve

Joyce Meyer – No More “Selective Hearing”

John MacArthur – Heeding God’s Warnings

John MacArthur – Submitting to Divine Authority

Charles Spurgeon – Special thanksgiving to the Father

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Benediction

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M. – Anthems of Praise

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