Tag Archives: nature

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – July 4 terror plot thwarted in Cleveland

Leave a comment

FBI officials announced yesterday that they prevented a terror attack planned for July 4 in Cleveland. Demetrius Pitts, also known as Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, was arrested Sunday morning by the joint terrorism task force.

An FBI undercover agent began meeting with Pitts after he went on social media to express hatred of the US and allegiance to al Qaeda. The agent developed a relationship with the would-be terrorist, who told him of his plans to plant a bomb at a Fourth of July parade.

In other news, Trooper Nicholas Clark was among the responders to a 911 call early Monday morning in Erwin, New York. He was shot and killed. Trooper Clark was twenty-nine years old and is survived by his parents and a brother.

The unnamed FBI agent and Trooper Clark are just two of many Americans willing to risk their lives for their fellow Americans.

Why the Battle of Gettysburg was fought

The Battle of Gettysburg ended on July 3, 1863. It is typically considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. Why did this critical battle begin when and where it did?

The History News Network answers our question: it was because of a shoe.

The “Brogan” was the standard issue soldiers’ shoe during the war. It was made of two pieces of leather stitched together to a wooden sole with four eyelets and a cowhide lace. It was typically made straight last, meaning that the left and right shoes were identical.

Continue reading Denison Forum – July 4 terror plot thwarted in Cleveland →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Put On a Heart of Compassion

Leave a comment

 

Colossians 3:12-14

Have you ever noticed that some people are more naturally compassionate than others? Maybe it’s their personality or upbringing. Nevertheless, in the church, every believer is told to “put on a heart of compassion” (Col. 3:12). When empathy doesn’t come naturally, some Christians may wonder if something is wrong with them. So, what can we do to develop a greater sense of caring?

While emotions cannot be manufactured on demand, we can change our thoughts, which in turn affect our emotions. Compassion, like all the other qualities listed in today’s passage, is possible only when we think of others before ourselves. Self-centeredness keeps us from seeing the needs and hurts of those around us and acting on their behalf. What we need is a renewed mind.

We are all born with a selfish, sinful nature, referred to as the “old self.” But when a person puts his trust in Jesus, he receives a “new self” created in righteousness by God. (See Eph. 4:22-24.) As our minds are renewed with His Word and we grow in obedience, Christ’s love and compassion begin to flow through us. Instead of our being oblivious to the pain and suffering around us, God will open our eyes and use us to comfort those in need.

A heart of compassion is achieved not through self-effort but through a God-focused life. As we draw near to Him through His Word and His Son, He transforms our focus, thoughts, and feelings. What a relief to know that God has provided everything we need to follow Jesus’ example of caring. He always equips us to obey His every command.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 112-118

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Living Out Loud

Leave a comment

 

Read: 1 Peter 3:8–16 | Bible in a Year: Job 22–24; Acts 11

In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. 1 Peter 3:15

While staying at a hotel in Austin, Texas, I noticed a card lying on the desk in my room. It said:

Welcome
Our prayer is that your stay here will be restful
and that your travels will be fruitful.
May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make
His face shine upon you.

This card from the company that manages the hotel made me want to know more, so I accessed their website and read about their culture, strength, and values. In a winsome way, they seek to pursue excellence and live out their faith in the workplace.

Their philosophy reminded me of Peter’s words to the followers of Jesus scattered throughout Asia Minor. He encouraged them to demonstrate their faith in Christ in the society where they lived. Even as they faced threats and persecution, Peter told them not to be afraid, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

A friend of mine calls this “living a lifestyle that demands an explanation.” No matter where we live or work, may we in God’s strength live out our faith today—always ready to reply gently and respectfully to everyone who asks the reason for our hope.

May our lives cause others to ask the reason we have hope.

By David C. McCasland | See Other Authors

INSIGHT

When we think of Peter, we often think of young Peter—his rash denials of Christ (John 18:17, 25, 27), his jumping out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus (Matthew 14:22–31), or his cutting off a servant’s ear in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18:10). Yet aged Peter—mature Peter—is a much different man who wrote letters to encourage believers in Jesus. The man who called down a curse on himself as he denied Christ (Matthew 26:73–75) now writes that believers should be prepared to give an answer for their hope—something he was once unwilling to do. Such is the difference the Spirit makes in our lives.

How has the Spirit been transforming you and helping you to live out your faith?

J.R. Hudberg

 

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In Critical Care

Leave a comment

The “doorknob phenomenon” is an occurrence many physicians know well. Doctors can proceed meticulously through complete examinations and medical histories, taking care to hear a patient’s questions and concerns, but it is often in the last thirty seconds of the appointment that the most helpful information is revealed. When a doctor’s hand is on the doorknob, body halfway out the door, vital inquiries are often made; when a patient is nearly outside the office, crucial information is shared almost in passing. Many have speculated as to the reasons behind the doorknob phenomenon (which is perhaps not limited to the field of medicine), though a cure seems unlikely. Until then, words uttered on the threshold remain a valuable entity to the physician.

If I can speak on behalf of patients (perhaps I’ve been a perpetrator of the phenomenon myself), I would note that the doorway marks our last chance to be heard. Whatever the reason for not speaking up until that point—fear, discomfort, shame, denial—we know the criticalness of that moment. In thirty seconds, we will no longer be in the presence of one who might offer healing or hope or change. At the threshold between doctor’s office and daily life, the right words are imperative; time is of the essence.

One of the many names for God used by the writers of the Bible is the Great Physician. It is curious to think of how the doorknob phenomenon might apply. Perhaps there are times in prayer when the prayer feels as if we are moving down sterile lists of conditions and information. Work. Finances. Mom. Jack. Future. Of course, while bringing to God in prayer a laundry list of concerns with repeated perseverance is at times both necessary and helpful, perhaps there are also times when we have silenced the greater diagnosis with the words we have chosen to leave unspoken. Can a physician heal wounds we will not show, symptoms we will not mention?

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In Critical Care →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Keep Your Promises

Leave a comment

 

…but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.  — Psalm 15:4-5

Adapted from the resource Starting Your Day Right Devotional

There are times when I make a commitment to do something that later I regret. Then I try to figure out some way to get out of doing what I said I would do. I argue, “God, surely You don’t want me to do this thing and miss this other great opportunity.”

The only thing the Lord ever says to me is, “You gave your word, Joyce. Be a woman of integrity, and I will bless you.” If we are people of integrity, God will bring other good opportunities around another time with even more blessings.

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to always be a person of integrity. Help me to honor You by keeping my word and doing what I say I’ll do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Finished with Sin

Leave a comment

“He personally carried the load of our sins in His own body when He died on the cross, so that we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on. For his wounds have healed ours!” (1 Peter 2:24).

Following one of my messages a young woman in her early 20’s asked for counsel. She was weighted down with her guilt and sin. In fact, she was so distraught that she would not look me in the eye. All the while I was counseling her she was under such deep conviction that all I could see was the top of her head.

I asked, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” She nodded in the affirmative. “Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins?” Again she responded affirmatively. “Would you like to invite Him into your life and ask Him to cleanse you with His precious blood, which He shed on the cross for your sins, and make you a new creature in Christ?” Again, she nodded. Together we knelt in prayer and through her sobs she surrendered to Christ, acknowledging the wickedness and filth of a life of gross immorality. She confessed to God her disobedience of her father and mother whose hearts had been broken by her prodigal ways.

After some time on our knees it was obvious that God had touched her, had forgiven and cleansed her. The sobbing had passed and now she was at peace. The Spirit within me bore witness that she had become a new creature in Christ. As we stood to our feet, she looked at me with her eyes still glistening with tears and her face radiant with joy. She now knew the reality of our promise for today. Jesus had taken the load of her sins on His own body and she was cleansed. With His wounds He had healed her and now she could live a life for the glory of God.

Who, but Jesus, could work such a miracle? Is it any wonder that those who know Him in this way want, like apostle Paul, to tell everyone who will listen about Him? He alone can forgive our sin and liberate us from the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom.

Bible Reading:I Peter 2:21-25

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With great joy and deep gratitude I will praise the Lord that He has taken upon Himself the load of my sin and through His death on the cross has paid the penalty which I could never have paid through my own effort. As an expression of my gratitude and through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I commit myself to live a good life, a supernatural life that will glorify my God and Savior.

 

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Worship Adjusts Us

Leave a comment

 

Listen to Today’s Devotion

Worship adjusts us. It lowers the chin of the haughty and straightens the back of the burdened.  It bows the knees, singing to him our praise.  Opening our hearts, it offers to him our uniqueness. Worship properly positions the worshiper.  And oh how we need it!

We walk through life so bent out of shape.  Cure any flare up of commonness by setting your eyes on our uncommon King.  Worship lifts our eyes and sets them “on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power” (Colossians 3:1).

We worship God because we need to.  But our need runs a distant second to the thoroughbred reason for worship: God deserves it.  God would die for your sin before he’d let you die in your sin. What do you do with such a Savior?  You lift up your gift in worship.

Read more Cure for the Common Life

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

 

Home

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – John Adams thought today would be Independence Day

Leave a comment

John Adams attended the Second Continental Congress, which began meeting in Philadelphia on July 1, 1776. The next day, the delegates voted in favor of America’s independence.

On July 3, Adams wrote to his beloved wife, Abigail: “The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”

He added: “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

He was off by two days.

John Adams was a Harvard-educated lawyer who led our nation’s negotiations for peace with Great Britain. From 1785 to 1788, he was minister to the Court of St. James’s in London. He returned to become our nation’s first vice president and later was elected our second president.

He was one of the most brilliant and accomplished men in American history. How could he have gotten the birthday of our nation wrong?

Continue reading Denison Forum – John Adams thought today would be Independence Day →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – An Opportunity to Show Compassion

Leave a comment

 

Luke 10:25-37

Today’s passage records one of Jesus’ best-known parables. It’s an illustration of how to display love for God and others, and though the context is ancient Jewish culture, its lessons reach into the 21st century. The story strips away our rationalizations and excuses until we come face-to-face with our need to show compassion.

No doubt we’d all like to identify with the Good Samaritan, but in reality, we often find ourselves responding more like the priest or Levite. Why didn’t they stop to help the man in need? We aren’t told explicitly but can deduce the answer by comparing their actions with the Samaritan’s.

He saw with eyes of compassion. If we’re busy and preoccupied with our own schedules and plans, we probably won’t see the needs around us. There could be a coworker who’s discouraged, a struggling neighbor, or even a family member who needs our help.

His compassion led him to seize the opportunity to help. It wasn’t simply a matter of feeling bad for another person; the wounded man’s helpless condition moved the Samaritan to action. This is the point at which we often retreat, because stopping to help someone costs us time and effort.

He willingly shared what he had. The Samaritan went the extra mile by taking the injured man to an inn and paying the innkeeper to care for him. God has gifted each of us with abilities or resources that we can use to demonstrate compassion.

Is it possible you’ve missed seeing the needs around you? Ask the Lord to open your eyes and give you His active compassion for those who hurt.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 107-111

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – What Is God Like?

Leave a comment

 

Read: Hebrews 1:1–10 | Bible in a Year: Job 20–21; Acts 10:24–48

The Son is . . . the exact representation of [God’s] being. Hebrews 1:3

To celebrate a special occasion, my husband took me to a local art gallery and said I could choose a painting as a gift. I picked out a small picture of a brook flowing through a forest. The streambed took up most of the canvas, and because of this much of the sky was excluded from the picture. However, the stream’s reflection revealed the location of the sun, the treetops, and the hazy atmosphere. The only way to “see” the sky was to look at the surface of the water.

Jesus is like the stream, in a spiritual sense. When we want to see what God is like, we look at Jesus. The writer of Hebrews said He is “the exact representation of [God’s] being” (1:3). Although we can learn facts about God through direct statements in the Bible such as “God is love,” we can deepen our understanding by seeing the way God would act if He faced the same problems we have on Earth. Being God in human flesh, this is what Jesus has shown us.

In temptation, Jesus revealed God’s holiness. Confronting spiritual darkness, He demonstrated God’s authority. Wrestling with people problems, He showed us God’s wisdom. In His death, He illustrated God’s love.

Although we cannot grasp everything about God—He is limitless and we are limited in our thinking—we can be certain of His character when we look at Christ.

Dear God, thank You for making a way for us to know You. Help us to grow closer to You by looking at Jesus.

Looking at Jesus shows us God’s character.

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt | See Other Authors

INSIGHT

Jesus lived out the mission of revealing the heart and character of His Father to a world that had separated itself from Him. This aspect of Jesus’s incarnation was described in John 1:18: “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (nlt). In revealing the Father to us, we see the invisible God made visible in Jesus.

Bill Crowder

http://www.odb.org

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Trust in Him

Leave a comment

 

Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves]. — Philippians 2:14 (AMPC)

Adapted from the resource Power Thoughts Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

The Scripture above tells us not to complain against God. Since God is our Father, our Provider, and the One Who watches over us, when we complain about anything we are basically saying we don’t like what God is doing, and we don’t trust His leadership in our lives. Even if what is happening in our circumstances is not something God is doing, it is something He can fix if we will trust Him to do so.

We can judge by our words if we are thankful and appreciative of God’s goodness or if we are discontent. If we truly trust God, then we won’t murmur and complain, but instead we will voice our thankfulness to Him for working in our lives and giving us the strength to do whatever we need to do while we are waiting.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for the good things You are doing in my life. Please help me to trust You in everything…the good and the bad. Help me to always be thankful—in my thoughts and through the words I speak. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Power for Healing

Leave a comment

“Is anyone sick? He should call for the elders of the church and they should pray over him and pour oil upon him, calling on the Lord to heal him. And their prayer, if offered in faith, will make him well; and if his sickness was caused by some sin, the Lord will forgive him” (James 5:14,15).

Many years ago the principal of a missionary school in Hong Kong asked me to address the student body the following day. He and others involved in the school had prayed for years for revival to come to the student body and faculty. “God has impressed me,” he said, “that you are to be His instrument for that revival.” God encouraged my heart and gave me such a sense of great excitement and anticipation that I could hardly go to sleep that night.

But early in the morning, some kind of serious amoebic illness struck me and I could hardly get out of bed. Believing that God was going to use me in spite of my illness, though, I claimed His supernatural power and was dressed and ready when the principal arrived to take me to the anticipated meeting. A famous Asian evangelist who, for several years, had been ill with a mysterious disease that even the finest medical specialists were unable to diagnose had also gotten out of his sickbed to be my interpreter.

Here we were, two very sick men delivering a message on revival. However, I had hardly spoken more than a sentence or two when I felt the supernatural healing touch of God upon me. The power was reflected in my message and God did send revival, not only to the students and faculty, but also to this speaker.

Later, as we rejoiced together, the principal asked if I would join in praying for my interpreter who was still very ill. We gathered around and laid hands on him – the principal, his wife and I. By faith we claimed his healing and I went on my way. Within days the man was miraculously restored to the fullness of health and within weeks on his first evangelistic speaking tour in several years, proclaiming the good news of God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, the major denominations have left the emphasis on healing to some who have prostituted this great truth, cheapened it, and made it a laughing matter, not only among evangelical believers, but in the secular world at large. Though many for whom we pray are not healed – else no one would die – we must remember that it is a privilege and power available to believers that we can claim for the glory of our risen Savior.

Bible Reading:James 5:13-19

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will pray for those who are ill and claim God’s supernatural healing power in their behalf.

 

 

http://www.cru.org

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Are You a True Follower of Jesus?

Leave a comment

 

John 6:1-27

When Jesus walked this earth, He was often surrounded by a multitude. Such large crowds might give the impression that the entire nation of Israel was committed to Him as their Messiah. But by the end of His ministry, there were only 120 loyal followers gathered in an upper room (Acts 1:12-15).

The majority of those who followed Jesus around were interested only in what He could do for them. They came to be healed or to see the miracles He performed. After the Lord fed about 5,000 people a supernatural meal, they came back in the morning expecting breakfast. John 6:66 tells us that when Jesus refused to work another miracle for them and declared Himself the true bread of life, “many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

Temporary Christ-followers are still around today. They want the benefits Jesus can offer but are unwilling to accept hard truths or deny their own will for His. These people are like the seeds that fell on rocky soil in Jesus’ parable. (See Matt. 13:20-21.) They stick around for a while, but if He doesn’t benefit them as they expected, they fall away.

When it comes to true Christ-followers, church rosters don’t give an accurate picture. False gospels promising a better life draw those who are seeking Jesus’ benefits but who remain uninterested in Christ Himself. True followers are more like Simon Peter in John 6:68. When Jesus asked if they too wanted to leave, they replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

Bible in One Year: Psalm 103-106

 

http://www.intouch.org/

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Light of the World

Leave a comment

 

Read: Revelation 3:14–22 | Bible in a Year: Job 17–19; Acts 10:1–23

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. Revelation 3:20

One of my favorite pieces of art hangs in the Keble College chapel in Oxford, England. The painting, The Light of the World by English artist William Holman Hunt, shows Jesus holding a lantern in His hand and knocking on a door to a home.

One of the intriguing aspects of the painting is that the door doesn’t have a handle. When questioned about the lack of a way to open the door, Hunt explained that he wanted to represent the imagery of Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.”

The apostle John’s words and the painting illustrate the kindness of Jesus. He gently knocks on the door of our souls with His offer of peace. Jesus stands and patiently waits for us to respond. He does not open the door Himself and force His way into our lives. He does not impose His will on ours. Instead, He offers to all people the gift of salvation and light to guide us.

To anyone who opens the door, He promises to enter. There are no other requirements or prerequisites.

If you hear the voice of Jesus and His gentle knock on the door of your soul, be encouraged that He patiently waits for you and will enter if you welcome Him in.

Lord, thank You for the gift of salvation and Your promise to enter when we open the door. Please help me to respond to this gift and open the door for You today.

Open the door to Jesus; He is patiently waiting for you.

By Lisa Samra

INSIGHT

Why does Jesus, like Moses and the prophets before Him, remind us that it’s possible to see without seeing, to hear without hearing, and to think without understanding? (Matthew 13:15; Deuteronomy 29:4).

Seven times in His letters to the seven churches, the resurrected Lord of the church offers counsel to those who have an ear to hear. Seven times He repeats to people who already thought of themselves as believers, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Why such repetition? What are the distractions He mentions in these letters? (Revelation 2–3). What could possibly turn us away from the One who is waiting for us to realize we still need Him more than the air we breathe?

http://www.odb.org

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – Walk with Jesus

Leave a comment

 

1 Peter 4:12-13

Jesus paid a huge price so that you and I could live in heaven with him forever. We can’t even begin to appreciate what he did for us—the suffering he endured, the lives that he changed—but we can be grateful for his love. This love gives us courage and strength to face hard times just like Jesus did as God’s son.

No one likes to suffer, but remember that when you do, Jesus understands all about it, not just because he’s God, but because he himself suffered on earth too. He understands when you’re sad, lonely, angry, and depressed because he experienced every one of those emotions. He felt betrayed when his closest friends handed him over to the Pharisees and pretended not to know him. He felt pain when he suffered under the whip and on the cross. And because he knows what it’s like to suffer on earth, Christ will be with you in your tough times.

Dear Lord, I’m so glad that Jesus knows everything about me. Thank you that he chose to endure the cross. Please help me endure the hard things I face. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Let Your Mess Become Your Message

Leave a comment

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit. — 2 Corinthians 3:18

Adapted from the resource New Day New You Devotional – by Joyce Meyer

I encourage people to let go of their past, but never to run from it. The only way to gain victory over the pain of our past is to let God walk us back through that doorway of pain and into victory. No one can achieve victory for us; we have to work out our own salvation. Paul explained this truth in his letter to the Philippian church, saying:

“Therefore, my dear ones . . . work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (Philippians 2:12-13 AMPC.)

We have to let God take us through things and let Him work in us so our mess becomes our message. Difficult things that we have endured in our past prepare us for God’s blessings in our future.

Prayer Starter: Father, You are the only One Who can take what I’ve been through and work it out for my good. Help me to continually draw closer to You and deal with the painful areas of my life that You want to heal. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Anything Is Possible

Leave a comment

 

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23, KJV).

“My doing all depends on thy believing” is what Jesus really said to the desperate father of the demoniac boy. And it is what He says to you and me today.

The Lord sought to bring forth faith in that struggling soul, and – through pain and travail – it came to birth. Realizing that the solution rested not upon God’s power but upon his own faith, the man became conscious of conflicting principles and delivered himself of a noble utterance:

“Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief.”

Mystery of mysteries: even the very faith that we must exercise to bring down the power of God is a gift from God Himself. But some conditions are laid down before we receive that gift of faith.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

When I spend time in God’s Word – whether reading, studying, memorizing or meditating – that faith is being built up in me. Not faith in myself, not faith in a routine, but faith in the almighty ruler of heaven and earth.

That physical illness; that unsaved loved one; that financial need; that faltering relationship; that broken home – whatever the need might be – the solution is as close as the Word of God, for our dependence upon it, and upon the God of the Word, brings the faith that unlocks the solution to every need.

Bible Reading:Mark 9:24-29

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I shall believe God today for every need I face, at the same time building up my faith in Him by feasting on His Word.

 

http://www.cru.org

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Don’t Prejudge the Soil

Leave a comment

Read: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

A sower went out to sow. (v. 3)

A friend of mine tells the story of how, when he started in the life insurance business, his supervisor handed him a pad of paper and told him to make two lists. The first list contained the names of people who were excellent candidates for a sales pitch: his parents, his best friend, and so forth. The second list contained the names of unpromising candidates: people with whom he had quarreled, personal enemies, and so forth. When he had completed both lists, his supervisor told him to go and make a sales call on every person on the second list! My friend said, “Surprisingly, I made several sales!”

The sower in the parable broadcasts the seed, flinging it everywhere. But too often we prejudge the soil. That is, we decide in advance who is worth our witness, and who isn’t. We make a list, so to speak, of who is a candidate for conversion, and who isn’t. This family probably won’t accept my invitation to come to church, so I won’t ask them. This troubled co-worker will not respond positively if I offer to pray for her, so I won’t offer.

Don’t decide in advance who is good soil and who isn’t. As a young man I was an unpromising, rocky, weed-choked, sun-scorched path of soil. But a college chaplain felt I was worth an invitation to give myself to Christ, and it changed my life. You just never know where you’re going to find good soil. —Lou Lotz

Prayer: Father, help me to be good soil, and a good sower

https://woh.org/

 

 

BreakPoint

BreakPoint –  Justice Kennedy’s Long Awaited Retirement: What it Means for Life and Religious Freedom

Leave a comment

Wednesday’s announcement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s long-anticipated retirement has launched the discussion that will dominate the news for the next four or five months.

It’s a discussion Christians should join. After all, there’s so much at stake in who is chosen as his successor. To put it simply, the stakes are much higher with this nomination than they were with Justice Gorsuch replacing the late Antonin Scalia. In that case, the President was replacing one conservative justice with another.

But this time around, Kennedy’s replacement could alter the philosophical balance on the Court. Of course, Justice Kennedy is no “liberal.” He was very often the fifth vote in cases of importance to conservatives, especially in this past term where he voted with conservative justices in all fourteen 5-4 votes.

But he certainly was not conservative in his views on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He, along with Justices O’Connor and Souter, authored the decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which not only saved Roe but created an entirely new rationale for the right to abortion.

That now-infamous “mystery passage” stated that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”

Four years later, in Romer v. Evans, he wrote that Colorado’s Amendment 2, which prohibited state and local governments from including sexual orientation as a protected class in anti-discrimination laws, could only be based on animus toward LGBT people.

Then in 2003, in Lawrence v. Texas which overturned Texas’s anti-sodomy statute, he wrote that the law “furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual.”

Continue reading BreakPoint –  Justice Kennedy’s Long Awaited Retirement: What it Means for Life and Religious Freedom →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Believer’s Security System

Leave a comment

 

2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 2:18-22

Spiritual dangers are all around, but God has given believers a “spiritual security system.” He’s also provided godly shepherds in the church to protect the flock from spiritual predators.

These predators are false teachers who exploit the ignorance of immature believers. They also hunt down people with unresolved guilt and use phony remedies in an attempt to soothe consciences.

Churchgoers who fail to confess and forsake sin according to Scripture are highly susceptible to such trickery. Also at risk are those who know about Jesus and religious practices but are not genuinely saved—they might even be baptized church members, but unless they have the Holy Spirit, they cannot discern truth or live holy lives.

Thankfully, God has provided a way for believers to avoid these dangerous spiritual potholes. First and foremost, we have to saturate our mind continually with God’s Word. In so doing, we will eventually develop a mental filter that reacts in alarm when something false comes our way. In this manner, we become rooted and grounded in the truth.

Christians also have the indwelling Holy Spirit, who gives understanding of God’s Word, directs our way, and enables us to distinguish truth from error. He educates our conscience to provide timely warnings when we start down the wrong path.

The Lord has provided everything we need to avoid deception, but our spiritual security system will protect us only if it is well tuned with the Word of God and obedient to His Spirit.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 95-102

 

http://www.intouch.org/