Tag Archives: John F. Kennedy

Our Daily Bread — Giving All

April 25, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Read: Romans 12:1-8
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 21-22; Luke 18:24-43

Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. —Romans 12:1

During his only inaugural address as the US President, John F. Kennedy issued this challenge to Americans: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” It was a renewed call for citizens to surrender their lives in sacrifice and service to others. His words especially inspired the sons and daughters of men and women who had served their country in war.

His meaning was clear: What their parents purchased, often with their very lives, must now be protected by peaceful means. An army of volunteers arose to answer that call, and through the decades they have accomplished an immeasurable amount of humanitarian work around the globe.

Centuries earlier, the apostle Paul issued a similar call to Christians in the opening verses of Romans 12. Here he urges us to give our bodies as “living sacrifices” in service to the One who paid with His life for our sins. This spiritual sacrifice must be more than mere words; it must be an investment of our lives in the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of others.

Best of all, our serving can be done right where we are. —Randy Kilgore

Father, show me this day the many ways my life can be surrendered to You, and then give me the strength to begin to act.

Don’t always ask Jesus what He can do for you; ask Jesus what you can do for Him.

INSIGHT: In Romans 12:1 Paul encourages us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God by exhibiting behavior that is pleasing to Him. However, verse 2 encourages us to have our minds renewed as well. God wants us to be totally His in both actions and thoughts.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Shocking Accessibility

March 11, 2015 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” —Romans 8:15

Read: Romans 8:14-17,24-26
Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44

When John F. Kennedy was president of the US, photographers sometimes captured a winsome scene. Seated around the president’s desk in the Oval Office, cabinet members are debating matters of world consequence. Meanwhile, a toddler, the 2-year-old John-John, crawls around and inside the huge presidential desk, oblivious to White House protocol and the weighty matters of state. He is simply visiting his daddy.

That is the kind of shocking accessibility conveyed in the word Abba when Jesus said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You” (Mark 14:36). God may be the sovereign Lord of the universe, but through His Son, God became as approachable as any doting human father. In Romans 8, Paul brings the image of intimacy even closer. God’s Spirit lives inside us, he says, and when we do not know what we ought to pray “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (v.26).

Jesus came to demonstrate that a perfect and holy God welcomes pleas for help from a widow with two mites and a Roman centurion and a miserable publican and a thief on a cross. We need only call out “Abba” or, failing that, simply groan. God has come that close to us. —Philip Yancey

We want to talk to God, but it can be difficult to find words to express the emotions of our heart. The Discovery Series booklet Let’s Pray may help. Read it online at www.discoveryseries.org/hp135

Prayer is an intimate conversation with our God.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Learning by Looking Back

September 24, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

No one was ever elected president by promising a return to the “good old days.” Inaugural addresses tend to be overwhelmingly forward-looking. John F. Kennedy proclaimed that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” Richard Nixon said that his administration represented a “new beginning.” George H.W. Bush said a “new breeze blows” when he was elected, and Bill Clinton talked about vision and courage to “reinvent America.” Is it ever really helpful to dwell on the past?

Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

Lamentations 5:21

The answer is yes. The writer of Lamentations – likely the prophet Jeremiah – found it fruitful to look back and examine what had gone wrong in his nation. After King Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Kingdom of Judah, he exiled her citizens to Babylon. Now, as Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Jews were remembering the “good old days,” and they realized those days were good because they had walked with the Lord, followed His Will, and enjoyed His protection.

Will America soon be in ruins, its citizens remembering better times? Today, pray that your leaders will understand the key to the future are these words: “Restore us to yourself, O Lord.”

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Maximum Impact

April 3, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Presidents – and their advisors – are keenly aware of setting. When a big announcement is forthcoming, careful consideration is given to location and the need to leverage publicity. Take, for example, John F. Kennedy. When he accepted the democratic nomination for president in 1960, he gave his acceptance speech at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before 80,000 spectators. A big stage, a big audience, a big city…all calculated for maximum, nationwide impact.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.

John 2:11

Now consider the launch of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the little nondescript town of Cana – archeologists today are uncertain where it even was – He performed his first miracle, and it involved the most frivolous of problems: a shortage of wine at a wedding. Not the greatest setting, it would seem…except that God may manifest His glory in the most unlikely of places, and often through the most unlikely of circumstances.

Are you waiting for some grand stage to share your testimony of God’s love? Don’t make that mistake. The time is right now, the place is right where you are. As you pray for America today, trust that He will use your humble commitment to deliver a maximum impact!

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