Tag Archives: Jesus

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — God’s Protective Love

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Bible in a Year :

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Matthew 7:15

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Matthew 7:13–23

One summer night, the birds near our home suddenly erupted into chaotic cawing. The squawking intensified as the songbirds sent piercing calls from the trees. We finally realized why. As the sun set, a large hawk swooped from a treetop, sending the birds scattering in a screeching frenzy, sounding the alarm as they flew from danger.

In our lives, spiritual warnings can be heard throughout Scripture—cautions against false teachings, for example. We may doubt that’s what we’re hearing. Because of His love for us, however, our heavenly Father provides the clarity of Scripture to make such spiritual dangers plain to us.

Jesus taught, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). He continued, “By their fruit you will recognize them. . . . Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Then He warned us, “By their fruit you will recognize them” (vv. 16–17, 20).

“The prudent see danger and take refuge,” Proverbs 22:3 reminds us, “but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” Embedded in such warnings is God’s protective love, revealed in His words to us.

As the birds warned each other of physical danger, may we heed the Bible’s warnings to fly from spiritual danger and into God’s arms of refuge.

By:  Patricia Raybon

Reflect & Pray

What spiritual warning has been speaking to your heart? How has Scripture confirmed a warning to you?

The Scriptures warn with love, dear God, and we thank You. May we heed those words today.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Christ’s Gentle Example

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 “Walk . . . with all . . . gentleness” (Ephesians 4:1-2).

Jesus is the greatest example of gentleness: He became angry when God the Father was dishonored, but not when He, the Son, was.

Jesus Christ is our supreme example of gentleness. Paul refers specifically to this in 2 Corinthians 10:1. Jesus Himself said, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29).

Jesus showed righteous indignation when it was proper. When He found the Temple filled with people selling exorbitantly priced sacrificial animals, He drove them out, pouring out their money and overturning tables (Matt. 21:12). He told them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den” (v. 13). Jesus later said to the scribes and Pharisees, “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?” (23:33). He did not stand idly by while the Temple was defiled. He spoke out in judgment against hypocrites who dishonored God.

Even though Jesus became angry when God was maligned, He neither retaliated against nor condemned those who attacked Him. “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:21-23). When God’s Temple was defiled, Jesus cleaned it out. But when the temple of His body was defiled, enduring the agony of the cross, with mockers all around, all He said was, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). That’s supreme gentleness—total selflessness.

It’s so easy to strike back when someone criticizes or attacks us, but that’s not the way of the gentle Christian trying to walk worthy. The only time we should let the lion in us roar is when God’s honor is at stake. Jesus forgave those who crucified Him. How can we do any less to those who hurt us?

Suggestions for Prayer

We all fall short of Christ’s example of gentleness.  Pray that God would help you each day to reflect more and more the gentleness of Christ.

For Further Study

Read the account of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion in Matthew 26:47—27:50.

  • Did He have the power to strike back (26:53)?
  • Find all the instances you can in which Christ demonstrated His gentleness.

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Self-Acceptance

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I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.

— Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

The psalmist David confessed that he was a work of God and that God’s work is indeed wonderful. Most of us would cringe at the thought of confessing that we are wonderful, but we need to accept and love ourselves as God’s creation and children. I finally realized after years of struggling with self-rejection that if God, who is perfect, could accept and love me, I could too. Today I needed to be reminded of this truth and thought it might also encourage you.

We are not truly free until we love and accept ourselves in a godly and balanced way. You might think that if you did so, it would be selfish, but it is actually the opposite. It sets you free from being self-centered or needing to be first in everything in order to feel valuable. Selfishness drives us to try and get more and more for the outer man (fleshly man), but a God-ordained love and acceptance fills us with such satisfaction in the inner man that we no longer need to compare ourselves or compete with others. We are content just to be loved!

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for loving me and accepting me as Your child. Help me learn how to love—and like—myself even while You’re working in me, making me the person You created me to be!

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – No Other Name

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There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12

Near the campus of Northwestern University in suburban Chicago, there is a vast temple erected by the Bahá’í faith. It’s a magnificent structure, with nine porticos—one for each of nine major world religions—all leading to one central auditorium. The architecture is meant to signify the many paths to “truth,” which Bahá’ís believe cannot be found in any one dogma, person, or entity.

This mindset is not much different from the cultural environment in which the apostle Paul lived. The Roman Empire was very open, very willing to think expansively, and very prepared to absorb all kinds of religions. Indeed, Rome housed a vast collection of idols and gods in its pantheon, paying homage to its belief in multiple avenues to truth.

How, then, could such a pluralistic, open, polytheistic culture also feed Christians to lions in the Colosseum? Why did Emperor Nero target believers, even going so far as to use their bodies as human torches to light his parties?

The answer lies in a simple fact: Roman culture could not and would not tolerate Christianity because Christians were not prepared to simply add Christ to the imagined pantheon. Rather, they held fast to the truth that, as Peter and John courageously told the same Jewish court that had sentenced the Lord Jesus to death, there is salvation in no name other than that of Jesus. In first-century Roman culture, as soon as people professed this belief, they were scorned, and mocked, and sometimes even sentenced to death.

Pluralism cannot abide—indeed, it is often mercilessly intolerant towards—those who reject its view that all paths are equally valid. Some 2,000 years later, we must acknowledge that we are living in an environment not incomparable to the Roman Empire, albeit thankfully less brutal in its persecutions. Biblical Christianity, with a Christ who will come again in glory, an inerrant Bible, and a triune Godhead, is an offense to a pluralistic world.

Despite what the world around us may believe, though, Jesus does not belong on a pedestal next to other false gods or religious figures. He is far more than just another portico that leads to truth. As the Philistine god Dagon fell and was broken before the ark of the Lord (1 Samuel 5:1-4), so all others will be revealed to be nothing compared to Him. That message is not popular, but it remains true—and it is wonderful, for if there were no crucified Savior, there would be no way at all to eternal life, for all other ways lead only to death. One day Buddha, Muhammad, and every other false prophet will bow at Jesus’ feet and declare that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Until that day comes, hold fast to the truth and seek to point people to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life that we all need (John 14:6). It was Christians following the example of John and Peter’s refusal to give up or stay silent that changed the Roman Empire; by God’s grace, we could likewise transform the world today as we follow in their footsteps.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Acts 4:1–22

Topics: Jesus Christ Pluralism Salvation

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Brings Good out of Sadness

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Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Will I trust God to bring good out of the sad time I’m going through?

One day, I brought home a bright red helium balloon. I was so proud of it! I could hardly wait to get it out of the car and begin playing with it. But no sooner had my feet touched the pavement of our driveway than it slipped out of my hand and went floating away toward the clouds. I was disappointed and angry. It wasn’t fair! I had lost my balloon before I even had a chance to play with it.

But my dad had an idea. “I’ll get my binoculars,” he said. “Let’s watch your balloon till it’s out of sight.” We stood out in the backyard, my dad and I, for a long time that evening. We passed the binoculars back and forth, tracking the red balloon’s flight into the sky. What fun we had! That evening that had begun so sadly ended up filled with laughter and joy. It was one of my favorite times spent with my father.

God, our Father, sometimes allows things to happen in our lives that seem very bad to us. Things might happen that hurt and disappoint us and make us want to scream, “It’s not fair!” But God has wonderful plans for those painful times. He may want to teach us something new about Himself. He may want us to come closer to Him. We get to know Him better as we pray and trust Him in times of suffering. He causes all things to work together for good to us if we are His children. Maybe someday you will look back on your saddest time as the best time you ever spent with your Father.

God brings good out of His children’s pain and suffering.

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John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Matthew 5:6

A tug-of-war exists between what we want and what we actually need. We often want brownies when we should choose broccoli! We desire things our way, but God asks us to submit to His will.

When these forces collide, we experience hunger pains. Sometimes, we long to give in to fleshly desires. Sometimes, we yearn to submit to the Holy Spirit. The one that we feed prevails.

How many are starving to death spiritually and do not even realize it? In America this year, 867,000 marriages will end in divorce, 46,000 lives will be cut short by suicide, and 68,000 people will die from accidental overdoses—famished for hope, relief from pain, and love.

The prophet Amos predicted a famine where people would long for the Word of the Lord. They would starve because they sought fulfillment outside God’s will. We have craved power and never been more out of control, riches and never been emptier, pleasure and never been more bankrupt.

The simple answer for this deep hunger is the Good News of Jesus Christ. He brings hope to the desolate, breaks the chains of the addict, and redeems broken relationships. To the hungry and thirsty, come try the Bread of Life and the Living Water. He satisfies our longing and fills us with every good thing.

His anointing truly does lift the burdens off our bowed-down backs and destroy the yokes of bondage. Pressed down, shaken together—our cups run over!

Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. Taste and see that God is good! Nothing else can satisfy! No other name will save! No other hand can deliver! There is none like Him! He is greatly to be praised!

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Genesis 39:1-41:16

New Testament 

Matthew 12:46-13:23

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 17:1-15

Proverbs 3:33-35

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Power in the Word

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So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 107:19-20

In the famous and epic movie The Ten Commandments, whenever Pharaoh would make a decision or issue an edict, he would say authoritatively, “So let it be written; so let it be done!” The royal scribes would dutifully record the Pharaoh’s words for posterity. The message was clear: Pharaoh’s words were powerful; they were the guiding force in Egypt.

In an even more authoritative way, the words of God are alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). By His words, God spoke into existence the earth and everything in it. Jesus is called the Word of God—the incarnation of the will and words of God (John 1:1-2). And Peter says that by God’s words—His “great and precious promises”—we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). And Paul writes that our faith comes by hearing “the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

We gain power and maturity in our spiritual life as the Spirit of God illuminates the Word of God on a daily basis. Make God’s Word a priority in your life.

I hold one single sentence out of God’s word to be of more certainty, and of more power, than all the discoveries of all the learned men of all the ages.
Charles Spurgeon

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Your One Thing

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 The one thing I ask of the LORD—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. 

—Psalm 27:4

Scripture:

Psalm 27:4 

The most spiritual people I’ve met have been the most down-to-earth. They didn’t speak in pious tones or act like they were above it all. The truly godly people I’ve known have been fun to be around. They’ve been great salt-of-the-earth kind of people.

David was a truly spiritual man. We know this from the psalms he wrote. They’re a window into his soul. For instance, he wrote, “My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!” (Psalm 57:7 NLT).

David was focused. He knew where he was going and wasn’t fickle. He knew what mattered in life.

In Psalm 27:4, he said, “The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple” (NLT).

The apostle Paul had a similar goal in life. He said, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13–14 NLT).

Do you have this “one thing” in life like Paul did? Do you know where you are going? Do you know what really matters?

The problem is that a lot of us don’t know what matters in life. We’re trying to live in two worlds. We want to be Christians on the weekend. We’ll go to a church service, but the rest of the week we leave God out of our lives.

God wants to be a part of everything we do. He wants to be at the forefront of our lives.

What is your one thing in life that is more important than anything else? What are you really focused on?

Some people might say their one thing in life is their business. They want be successful. They want to get established. They want to make money and a lot of it.

Another person might say their one thing is family. They want a strong family and don’t want it to fall apart.

Someone else might say their one thing in life is ministry. They want God to use them.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to succeed in business, wanting a strong family, or wanting an effective ministry. But if you make that your main thing, then it is the wrong thing. The main thing should be Jesus.

A truly spiritual person is someone who can enjoy life and love God. A truly spiritual person can have fun but at the same time know where their priorities are.

If you put God first in your life, He might not give you everything you want. Or, He might give you more than you want. But He always will give you what you need.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
Days of Praise

Days of Praise – Where Is Jesus Now?

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” (Matthew 24:26)

The above warning was given by Christ in His famous Olivet discourse about His future second coming, right after He had predicted that many “false Christs” would first come, deceiving many (v. 24). That prediction has been fulfilled many times during the following centuries, but He Himself has not yet returned, in spite of the claims of these latter days.

However, His present location is no secret. After His resurrection and final instructions to His disciples, “he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19). We must remember that He arose bodily from the grave, then ascended bodily to God’s throne, and that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven” (Acts 1:11) will return. Until He returns, therefore, He is seated bodily at the right hand of the presence of the triune God in heaven. In fact, there are no less than 21 references in the Bible to the Lord Jesus now being at the right hand of God.

It is not strictly correct to say or sing that Jesus can come into our hearts unless it is clearly understood that He is there symbolically in the presence of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. In this way, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6) so that “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17).

In the physical sense, however, the Lord Jesus Christ, still in His physical but now immortal body, is at “the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3) and will remain there until He returns physically back to fulfill all the remaining promises in the Scriptures and to establish the kingdom for which He created us. HMM

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Washing Feet . . . and Dishes

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Bible in a Year :

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

John 13:15

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

John 13:6–17

On Charley and Jan’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, they shared breakfast at a café with their son Jon. That day, the restaurant was understaffed with just a manager, cook, and one teenage girl who was working as hostess, waitress, and busser. As they finished their breakfast, Charley turned to his wife and son and said, “Do you have anything important going on in the next few hours?” They didn’t.

So, with permission from the manager, Charley and Jan began washing dishes in the back of the restaurant while Jon started clearing the cluttered tables. According to Jon, what happened that day wasn’t really that unusual. His parents had always set an example of Jesus who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).

In John 13, we read about the last meal Christ shared with His disciples. That night, the Teacher taught them the principle of humble service by washing their dirty feet (vv. 14–15). If He was willing to do the lowly job of washing a dozen men’s feet, they too should joyfully serve others.

Every avenue of service we encounter may look different, but one thing’s the same: there’s great joy in serving. The purpose behind acts of service isn’t to bring praise to the ones performing them, but to lovingly serve others while directing all praise to our humble, self-sacrificing God.

By:  Cindy Hess Kasper

Reflect & Pray

When has someone unexpectedly offered to help you with a difficult task? Why is humility such an important aspect of serving others?

Loving Savior, thank You for showing me how to be a servant.

http://www.odb.org

John MacArthur

Grace to You; John MacArthur – Righteous Anger

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 “Walk . . . with all . . . gentleness” (Ephesians 4:1-2).

Our anger must be under control and should occur only for the right reason.

After the previous lesson, you might think that Christians must always be quiet and passive, never getting upset or angry about anything. Actually, believers do have the right to get angry, but only under certain conditions. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” So there is a certain kind of anger that isn’t sinful. It must be under control, and it must be resolved expeditiously.

Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.” Someone who is out of control is vulnerable. He falls into every temptation, failure, and weakness. On the other hand, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (16:32). One who rules his spirit has power and energy, but it’s under control. That same power and energy out of control creates nothing but chaos and sinfulness. Those who are easily angered are not gentle.

Gentle people, on the other hand, control their energies and strengths, but they do have a tough side. They don’t back away from sin or cease to condemn evil. Since the gentle person submits himself to God, he becomes angry over things that offend God, not himself. If someone offends him personally, he doesn’t seek revenge. But when God is maligned, the lion in him roars. Such anger is called righteous indignation. Under God’s control, anger reacts when it ought to react, for the right reason, and for the right amount of time.

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask forgiveness if you are apt to get angry for the wrong reasons. Commit yourself to being gentle when you ordinarily would flare up in anger. If you don’t get angry when you see evil, ask God to make you sensitive to what He hates.

For Further Study

  • At the very time Moses was receiving God’s Law on Mount Sinai, the Israelites were involved in idolatry and debauchery. Read Exodus 32. What was Moses’ reaction to their sin?
  • Did he hold a grudge against them (vv. 31-32)?
  • How can Moses’ example be a pattern for your life?

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur 

http://www.gty.org/

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Blessings Instead of Judgment

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Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

— Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

Sometimes when we feel insecure, rejected by others, or inferior to them, we struggle to simply admit we feel left out, ignored, or somehow less than the people around us. Instead, we become critical or judgmental toward them. But this is not the way God wants us to handle our emotions or to treat people.

We should choose to focus on God’s love for us and to remember that He accepts us unconditionally (Ephesians 1:4–6). He calls us “the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10) and says we are inscribed on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). The more secure we are in His love, the less we will feel critical or negative toward others. The greater our understanding of God’s love for us, which we could never deserve, the more we realize that God loves everyone the same. He doesn’t have favorites (Romans 2:11). If He loves people, we can choose to love them too and not judge them, with His help.

Notice in today’s scripture that Jesus not only tells us not to judge people but also explains why we should refrain from doing so. It’s for our own good. We aren’t to judge others, so we won’t be judged. We do reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), and if we sow criticism and judgment, we’ll find people criticizing and judging us. But if we sow love and blessing into other people, we’ll experience love and blessing too.

Next time you are tempted to criticize or judge someone for any reason, resist. Instead, choose to love and bless them.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, when I feel rejected or inferior to others, help me not to judge or criticize. Help me to love and bless everyone around me.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Alistair Begg

Truth for Life; Alistair Begg – A Commitment to Prayer

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[Daniel] got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Daniel 6:10

Short-term commitment is not too hard. It is disciplined consistency that comes harder to us—yet it is a key to spiritual growth.

The often sporadic nature of our commitment is seen in short-lived exercise programs, Bible memorization, reading plans, and New Year’s resolutions. How many of us start something well, only to later abandon it! But equally, you have probably encountered people who are incredibly consistent and disciplined. They walk their dog at the exact same time every day or collect their mail with such precise timing that you could set your watch by it; and when they set themselves to undertake a task or learn a new skill, they do so with a diligence that leaves you in no doubt that they will complete it.

Daniel was a man who exhibited such disciplined consistency when it came to prayer. His life was not marked by bursts of enthusiasm followed by chronic inertia. He clearly prayed whether he felt like it or not. There were probably times when he got up from his knees feeling really blessed and other times when he left feeling really flat, but he kept on. He prayed and he prayed and he prayed, no matter the circumstances. That’s discipline!

When a crisis hit, it didn’t create Daniel’s disciplined lifestyle; it revealed it. After King Darius issued an edict that made it illegal to pray to any god or man other than him for thirty days (Daniel 6:7), Daniel could have rationalized obedience to the king rather than to the Lord. He could have reasoned that because he’d stored up such phenomenal credit on the strength of all his years of prayer, he could be let off for a month. Apparently, though, such a thought never even crossed his mind. Instead, he continued in prayer just “as he had done previously.”

Surely there was a link between Daniel’s life of prayer and the bravery he showed in obeying the God of Israel rather than the most powerful king in the known world. Our Lord told us, too, that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). We are not to close prayer down for a while if we don’t feel like it or have little spare time for a season. If we want to live for Jesus when we’re under pressure, our prayer lives must be consistent. We must regard prayer as a fundamental element of our faith, not merely a nice supplement.

The door is wide open for you to demonstrate the same kind of consistent commitment to prayer as Daniel did. Through regular discipline, prayer can become your natural reaction to every situation in your life. Do you need to set aside a time each day when you will pray and give thanks to your God, come what may? Wherever God takes us, whatever we do, however His plan unfolds, may our prayers be unceasing.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

Ephesians 3:14–21

Topics: Discipline Prayer

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

http://www.truthforlife.org

Kids 4 Truth

Kids4Truth Clubs Daily Devotional – God Is a Tenderhearted Father

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“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.” (Psalm 103:13)

One day Laurie and her sister Caroline came home from school, and both of their parents met them at the door. Their dad never came home from work in the middle of the day. They knew something must be wrong.

“Girls,” said their dad without his usual smile, “I have some sad news. Your grandpa died this morning.”

They sat down on the couch, their daddy in the middle with an arm around each of them. And Laurie and Caroline cried. Caroline looked up finally and noticed a tear rolling down her daddy’s cheek. She could hardly believe her eyes! She had never seen her daddy cry before. “He must really miss Grandpa too,” she thought. Later she realized that her dad was crying, not just because he missed Grandpa. He was crying for his daughters because they were sad.

Did you know that God is just as tenderhearted as a loving father? He feels every painful thing that you feel. He wants you to draw near to Him and let Him comfort you.

Maybe you do not have an earthly father in your home protecting, providing, and tenderly caring for you. God wants you to enjoy that special father-child relationship with Him alone. He promises in His Word to be a Father to the fatherless child (Psalm 68:5).

God is a tenderhearted Father who shares His children’s griefs and longs to comfort them.

My Response:
» Have I become God’s child by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ?
» Do I go to my heavenly Father when I need comfort?

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – How can so many Americans be so wrong on abortion?

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Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in America, more than sixty-three million babies have been aborted in our country.

This is a population four times the size of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston—combined.

And yet, more Americans than ever before think abortion should be legal under any circumstances. More than two-thirds also believe it should be legal in the first three months of pregnancy.

If you believe as I do that life begins at conception, you might be asking yourself: How can so many people be so wrong on this crucial issue?

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“The real question today”

It’s not because pro-life supporters are not vocal and visible.

The National March for Life is tomorrow in Washington, DC. It will be followed by Sanctity of Life Sunday, both of which are timed to coincide with January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court issued its ruling that discovered a “right” to abortion in the US Constitution.

It’s no longer because of Roe v. Wade. After the Supreme Court overturned this horrendous ruling in 2022, returning the issue to the states, abortions increased nationwide.

It’s not because the science is unclear. The Supreme Court claimed in its 1973 ruling:

We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.

But resolving “the difficult question of when life begins” is precisely the issue. If life begins at conception, our founding declaration that “all men are created equal” and endowed with the “unalienable” right to “life” should clearly apply to preborn babies. As should every legal protection that currently applies to babies from the moment they are born.

The science is clearer than ever. As Jan Langman writes in Medical Embryology, “The development of a human being begins with fertilization.” (For Princeton University’s large collection of scientific statements concurring with this assessment, click here.)

On the tenth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Ronald Reagan wrote the only book ever published by a sitting US president. In Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation, he states:

The real question today is not when human life begins, but, What is the value of human life? The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being. The real question for him and for all of us is whether the tiny human life has a God-given right to be protected by the law—the same right we have (his emphasis).

The foundational issue

Why, then, do so many Americans support the abortion of preborn children?

Some claim that abortion must be legal as an alternative for women who are victims of rape or incest. However, while such crimes are unspeakably horrific, only 1 percent of women who choose abortion do so for this reason.

Others cite the need to protect the health of the mother. However, only 3 percent of abortions are chosen for this reason.

In fact, the most popular motives for abortion are:

  • Unready for responsibility (21 percent)
  • Can’t afford baby now (21 percent)
  • Concerned about how having baby would change her life (16 percent)
  • Is too immature or young to have child (11 percent)
  • Has all the children she wanted or all children are grown (8 percent).

Here’s the foundational issue: most Americans want the right to determine what is right for themselves.

This is a major reason the majority of men in America want abortion to be legal under any circumstances: they want the state to have no authority over their personal decisions as well. And they want a woman who becomes pregnant with their unwanted child to be able to abort it.

This quest for personal autonomy extends to other moral issues. It helps explain LGBTQ advocacy by those who are not LGBTQ, for example. They not only see this as a civil right for others—they also want the right to live their lives however they wish.

How does God see America?

My purpose today is not to inflict guilt on those who have chosen abortion in the past. Nor is it to offer simple answers to such a divisive and complex issue.

Rather, it is to make this point:

Our democracy can function effectively only if it is practiced within the consensual morality its founders embraced.

As Benjamin Franklin noted, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”

When American culture decided that all truth is personal and all morality is subjective, our collective future became imperiled.

If we will not extend justice to the most innocent and vulnerable among us—our preborn babies—how can we claim to be a just society?

How does the God who cherishes children (Matthew 19:14), who fashioned us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Jeremiah 1:5) and forbids the taking of innocent life (Proverbs 6:17), see our nation?

How is he calling you to love life as he does?

More resources on this topic from Denison Forum

Thursday news you need to know

Quotes for the day

  • “You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor again shalt thou kill it when it is born.” — Epistle of Barnabas 19:5, written between AD 70 and AD 132
  • “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.” — the original Hippocratic Oath

Denison Forum

John Hagee

Hagee Ministries; John Hagee –  Daily Devotion

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…You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Psalm 23:5

When the Lord anoints our heads with oil, our cups overflow with blessings. No need to tip them up to drain the bitter dregs at the bottom of our mugs. Our cups spill over with all the favor that He pours out!

We are vessels in the hands of a faithful Potter Who has plans to prosper us, to fill us with hope, to give us bright futures. He anoints us with the oil of gladness because we have loved Him and His righteous ways.

David assured us that goodness and mercy would follow us around all the days of our lives, that we would spend our days in the presence of the Lord where we will experience the fullest of joys. He pours out the anointing oil to the very brim – blessings that we cannot contain!

And when others jostle us, this mercy and goodness will splash over the rim with contagious joy. Our God-of-more-than-enough throws open the windows of heaven to rain down blessings that soak us, our children, our homes, our workplaces and communities. Dance in the downpour!

His anointing truly does lift the burdens off our bowed-down backs and destroy the yokes of bondage. Pressed down, shaken together – our cups run over!

Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you and give you His peace. May your cup overflow with the anointing of the Holy One as He pours out a blessing that you cannot contain. May you experience the divine explosion of the presence and power of His anointing!

Today’s Bible Reading: 

Old Testament

Genesis 37:1-38:30

New Testament 

Matthew 12:22-45

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 16:1-11

Proverbs 3:27-32

https://www.jhm.org

Turning Point

Turning Point; David Jeremiah – Power to Live

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His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.
2 Peter 1:3

 Recommended Reading: Acts 1:8

Perhaps it happened to someone you know: a radical transformation after meeting Jesus Christ. Every life changes, but sometimes the change is so dramatic that it’s like the person was, well, born again—like the apostle Paul who went from murderous persecutor to missionary apostle. Nowhere was that change more evident than in the band of Christ’s disciples. Before Pentecost they were fearful; after Pentecost they were fearless.

What happened at Pentecost? The fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to them: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit filled the disciples and empowered them to live as bold witnesses for Christ. One of those disciples, Peter, later wrote that God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” through Christ.

If you are Christ’s today, you have power by the Spirit. You can do all things through Him (Philippians 4:13).

Christianity is not merely a program of conduct; it is the power of a new life.
Benjamin B. Warfield

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Greg Laurie

Harvest Ministries; Greg Laurie – Called from Obscurity

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Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 

—1 Corinthians 1:26

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 1:26 

As Christians, we can get excited when a celebrity says they’ve become a follower of Jesus Christ. That is because we think we have someone cool on our side. That’s fine. Time will tell whether their conversion is genuine.

But it’s important for us to remember that God goes out of His way to use ordinary people. And the people God has used to touch the world often have been those you never would have expected to do great things with their lives.

It came as a surprise when God chose David, a shepherd boy, to become the next king of Israel. Yet David took it all in stride and wisely waited on the Lord for further direction.

In many ways, David was the very opposite of Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul came from a family who loved him, while David came from a family that neglected and even disliked him.

While Saul was the most handsome man in all of Israel, David was an ordinary man. While Saul was attractive on the outside, he was vain, shallow, and devoid of true integrity on the inside. In contrast, David had a deep commitment to God, even though he was very young.

This reminds us of the truth of Paul’s words: “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful” (1 Corinthians 1:26–27 NLT).

God uses ordinary people. For example, Dwight L. Moody, one of the greatest evangelists of his day, was a shoe salesman. When he heard the gospel and gave his life to Christ, he went from selling soles to saving souls.

One day he was having a conversation with another Christian, who said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him.”

Moody determined to be that man.

And Billy Graham, before he began his ministry, was a dairy farmer in North Carolina. Everyone knew him as Billy Frank. And he would have been about the last person whom people expected to become the most effective evangelist in world history.

The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT).

Notice this doesn’t say that God is looking for strong people. Rather, it says that God is looking “to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

The Bible is replete with stories like that of David, an obscure shepherd boy who was taken out of the fields and raised up to be the greatest king in the history of Israel.

Would you like God to use you to touch the lives of others? Would you like God to lead you and speak through you?

God goes out of His way to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Harvest.org | Greg Laurie
Days of Praise

Days of Praise – The Gods Shall Perish

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by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.


“Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:11)

This is a unique verse. Jeremiah, the second-longest book in the Bible, is written in Hebrew except for this one verse! Why would Jeremiah make this remarkable exception here?

This verse was written in Aramaic, which was the official language of the great Babylonian empire—the world’s chief nation at that time. The Babylonians, as prophesied by Jeremiah, were soon to be used as a weapon in God’s hand to punish His chosen people, carrying them into exile and captivity, and the main reason for such punishment was apostasy. God’s people had corrupted the worship of the true Creator God with the teachings and idols of the Babylonians and all the other nations around them who had rejected God.

Jeremiah had repeatedly condemned this apostasy, showing that God’s people were to be punished by the very nations whose religious philosophies had so attracted them.

But those nations needed also to understand that this was not because of their own strength nor the merits of their own gods. Thus, Jeremiah appropriately inserted a special word to be conveyed to the Babylonians in their own official tongue. Only the true God, who made the heavens and the earth, is in control of the heavens and the earth.

The same type of warning, delivered in the “official” language of the modern world (“science?”), is needed even more today than it was in Jeremiah’s day. Today’s “gods”—Marx, Darwin, etc.—are even less deserving of trust than Zeus or Baal, and yet professing Christians have gone after them in droves. It is urgent that we call them back to the true Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, urging them—before God’s judgment falls once again—to repudiate every vestige of evolutionary humanism. HMM

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Choosing to Follow God

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Bible in a Year :

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

Today’s Scripture & Insight :

Joshua 24:14–18

“The average person will make 773,618 decisions over a lifetime,” claims the Daily Mirror. The British newspaper goes on to assert that we “will come to regret 143,262 of them.” I have no idea how the paper arrived at these numbers, but it’s clear that we face countless decisions throughout our lifetime. The sheer quantity of them might become paralyzing, especially when we consider that all our choices have consequences, some far more momentous than others.

After forty years wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel stood at the threshold of their new homeland. Later, after entering the land, Joshua, their leader, issued to them a challenging choice: “Fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness,” he said. “Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped” (Joshua 24:14). Joshua told them, “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (v. 15).

As we begin each new day, possibilities stretch before us, leading to scores of decisions. Taking the time to ask God to guide us will influence the choices we make. By the power of the Spirit, we can choose to follow Him every day.

By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What choices have you regretted making? How might you have handled those situations more wisely?

Father, sometimes life can feel overwhelming—and so can the many choices that confront me. Please guide my steps and my decision-making so that I honor You in the choices I make.

http://www.odb.org