Tag Archives: nature

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Did Elvis Presley attend his birthday party?

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A large man with white hair and a white beard visited Graceland last Sunday on the eighty-second birthday of Elvis Presley. Someone posted his photo on the Facebook page “Elvis is Alive.” Now conspiracy theorists claim that the man is Elvis himself.

They believe that Elvis faked his death in 1977 and has been living in seclusion ever since. They claim there were discrepancies with his death certificate, reports of a wax dummy in the original coffin, and several accounts of Presley planning a diversion so he could retire away from the public. Some followers have even formed the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine. Presleyterians are required to face Las Vegas daily and make a pilgrimage to Graceland at least once in their lives.

If you were talking to Presleyterians today, how would you convince them that they’re wrong? You could cite medical evidence that Presley died on August 16, 1977, but they would claim that such evidence was falsified or misinterpreted. You could debunk every Elvis sighting so far, but they would claim that their hero remains in seclusion. At the end of the day, you’d have a hard time convincing them that they’re wrong. Of course, they’d have an even harder time convincing you that they’re right.

We live in a world of Presleyterian logic today.

Iranian officials unveiled a huge billboard in Tehran commemorating “Captured US Sailors” Day. A year ago, they seized ten American sailors and two US Navy boats they claimed entered their waters illegally. They held the sailors for fifteen hours before releasing them. In their view, this was a triumph for Iranian supremacy over the “Great Satan.” In our view, it was a brazen attempt to embarrass America and our leaders.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Wisdom Brings Joy

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James 1:5-8

One of the most important tools in overcoming trials is wisdom. Ironically, this quality, which seems so rare in our world today, is actually readily and easily available to believers. Scripture says we simply have to ask, and God will give it generously.

Though wisdom certainly has rewards, it does come with a price. If we ask God to make us wise, He will allow tests in our life. Their purpose is not to point out what’s wrong with our faith but, rather, to help us discover whether or not we’re wise.

Temptations and difficulty also allow us to discern our level of devotion to the Lord. When we go through a time of testing, we learn whether we’re willing to say, “I don’t like this, God, and I don’t understand it, but I’m going to obey You no matter what.” There’s no way to know whether we would respond that way unless we go through trials that examine our faith.

We grow in our devotion to the heavenly Father by making wise decisions despite opposition and by obeying when it is inconvenient to do so or when temptations are the hardest to resist. Such challenges are similar to a refiner’s fire: They sanctify and purify us, raising to the surface attitudes that we may not realize are in our life. These situations not only reveal what God is doing in us but also can turn up the heat if we try to muffle the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

When we, through wisdom, allow God to do His work in our life, we will begin to experience blessings, see His power, and feel His love in new ways. And this new growth brings great joy!

Bible in One Year: Exodus 4-6

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Finding Life

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Read: John 14:5–14

Bible in a Year: Genesis 41–42; Matthew 12:1–23

Because I live, you also will live.—John 14:19

The words of Ravi’s father cut deep. “You’re a complete failure. You’re an embarrassment to the family.” Compared to his talented siblings, Ravi was viewed as a disgrace. He tried excelling in sports, and he did, but he still felt like a loser. He wondered, What is going to become of me? Am I a complete failure? Can I get out of life some way, painlessly? These thoughts haunted him, but he talked to no one. That simply wasn’t done in his culture. He had been taught to “keep your private heartache private; keep your collapsing world propped up.”

So Ravi struggled alone. Then while he was recovering in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt, a visitor brought him a Bible opened to John 14. His mother read these words of Jesus to Ravi: “Because I live, you also will live” (v. 19). This may be my only hope, he thought. A new way of living. Life as defined by the Author of life. So he prayed, “Jesus, if You are the one who gives life as it is meant to be, I want it.”

Life can present despairing moments. But, like Ravi, we can find hope in Jesus who is “the way and the truth and the life” (v. 6). God longs to give us a rich and satisfying life. —Poh Fang Chia

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for me and giving me eternal life. Transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to You alone.

Share this prayer from our Facebook page: Facebook.com/ourdailybread.

Only Jesus can give us new life.

INSIGHT: On the eve of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, His preoccupation was not with the imminent pain that awaited Him but on the welfare of His disciples. After promising He was going away to prepare a dwelling place for them, Jesus told His followers He would come again to gather them to Himself. The foundation for such claims was Christ’s declaration that He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He was able to comfort His disciples because of who and what He is. Jesus offers all who believe in Him the same hope of a new life. Dennis Fisher

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Giving Forgiveness

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The trial of Dylann Roof has made national headlines for several months, culminating in his being sentenced to death for the murder of nine African American Christians. Welcomed by the participants of the bible study without question, his sinister intentions were executed as heads bowed in prayer. As the news stories retold the testimony of those who survived, the horror was palpable. And in the aftermath of the horror, the tragedy of lives lost in this way while at a church bible study is overwhelming. It is no wonder that some of the relatives of those murdered were filled with rage.

But the real wonder of the trial coverage is the forgiveness offered to Dylann Roof by the majority of the bereaved. “The hate you possess is beyond human comprehension,” Melvin Graham, a brother of one of the victims, Cynthia Hurd, told the young white supremacist seated across the courtroom. “You wanted people to kill each other. But instead of starting a race war, you started a love war.” One victim’s sister-in-law offered to come and pray with Roof before he went to prison if he wanted her to do so. In fact, five family members offered Mr. Roof a measure of public forgiveness at his bond hearing held just two days after the killings.(1)

As I read these news stories, I am in awe of these who understand—in a way I cannot comprehend—that forgiveness is at the heart of Christian faith. Certainly, I understand how an unwillingness to forgive locks us all up in bitterness, and throws away the key. It enslaves us to ingratitude, and chokes out gratefulness. It prevents us from experiencing the freedom that comes with free-flowing grace—both received and given. And I understand all too well that a desire to punish those who have hurt us can easily arise from a sense of moral superiority that deems punishment as more fitting than grace. And yet, these five family members chose to forgive a young man who appears not to recognize his need for it.

Jesus once told a parable of an unforgiving servant in response to a question from his disciple Peter. This servant owed his master a debt so large it could never be repaid in this lifetime. When his master forgave him the debt, he went out and would not forgive his fellow servants their relatively small debts. Peter had asked the question, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus answers, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”(2) Jesus taught that forgiveness is unlimited, and forgiveness by nature is something that cannot be measured in its appropriation. When we fail to forgive, we fail to recognize our own debt, and we fail to appreciate the reality of the limitless scope of forgiving grace on our account. Peter wanted to know at what point he could cease from offering forgiveness—he wanted a hard and fast limit. But in the answer to Peter’s question, Jesus reveals that none of us are in the position to withhold forgiveness from each other. In the end, since we are all in need of forgiveness, to withhold it demonstrates a kind of ingratitude for God’s gracious action towards the debt we could never repay to God.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Giving Forgiveness →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Practice Makes Perfect

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You shall walk after the Lord your God and [reverently] fear Him . . . and obey His voice. . .

—Deuteronomy 13:4

Once we begin listening to and hearing from God, it is important to obey whatever we hear Him say. Obedience increases our quality of fellowship with Him and strengthens our faith. We might say, “Practice makes perfect” when it comes to hearing and obeying Him. In other words, we become more and more confident as we gain experience.

It takes a lot of practice to reach the point of complete submission to God’s leading. Even knowing that God’s ways are perfect and that His plans always work, we still feign ignorance sometimes when He asks us to do something that requires personal sacrifice, or we might even be afraid that we are not hearing clearly and therefore become too cautious to take action.

Don’t be fearful of sacrifice or of making a mistake. There are many things in life that are worse than being wrong. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” I firmly believe that when we have done our best to hear from God, then we must “step out and find out,” if we truly are hearing His voice or not. Shrinking back in fear all of our lives will never allow us to make progress in our ability to hear from God.

He did not say, “You take the lead, and I will follow you.” I have learned that we may as well do quickly whatever God says, because if we don’t, I can guarantee that we will be miserable.

When our children are learning how to walk, we don’t get angry when they fall down. We realize they are learning and we work with them. God is the same way and He will teach you how to hear from Him if you walk in faith and not fear.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Skip Judgment

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“Now I say that each believer should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does” (Psalm 32:6).

Mary had rebelled against the preaching of her Nazarene father, a godly pastor. She lived with her boy friend in open defiance of her biblical teaching. Now, God was disciplining her because of disobedience. She was miserable, filled with hate and resentment, when a mutual friend brought her to my office for counsel.

I shared with Mary that just as a loving father disciplines a disobedient child, so God in His love for us disciplines us when we are disobedient. Actually, “child training” would be a more accurate way of describing what God does for us when we are disobedient.

Like Mary, many Christians unnecessarily go through all kinds of adversity: financial, emotional, marital and family problems, and even physical illness. More often than not, God is trying to get their attention. But because they refuse to listen and obey Him, they are disciplined and their misery continues.

Beware, of course, that you do not assume that every time friends or loved ones have difficult experiences, they are being disciplined by God because of disobedience. It may well be that God is working in their lives as He did in Job’s not because of disobedience but to help them mature and become more fruitful and effective witnesses or models of His grace to others.

When you personally, like Mary, are going through adversity, however, and problems continue to plague your life, you would do well to look into the mirror of God’s Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is any unconfessed sin in your life. If there is, be quick to turn to the Lord, confess your sins and receive His forgiveness and cleansing in order to avoid further chastening.

Bible Reading: Psalm 32:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will write down on paper, for my own personal information only, any known weakness, sin or sins that are plaguing me today. I will confess that sin, or those sins, and receive by faith God’s forgiveness and cleansing. (If you are continuing to breathe spiritually, you will not allow sins to accumulate, for the moment you become aware of sin you confess it to the Lord and keep on walking in the light as He is in the light.)

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Jesus Heals Us All

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Are you waiting for Jesus to heal you? Take hope from Jesus’ response to the blind men recorded in Matthew 20:29-34. “Have mercy on us, O Lord,” they cried! Jesus stopped dead in his tracks. Something caught his attention. A prayer. An unembellished appeal for help. Jesus heard the words and stopped.

He still does. And he still asks, What do you want me to do for you? Friend, what in your life needs healing? Jesus’ heart went out to the blind men.  Scripture says “he had compassion and touched their eyes.” He healed them.

He will heal you, my friend. I pray he heals you instantly. He may choose to heal you gradually. But this much is sure: Jesus will heal us all ultimately. And God’s children will once again be whole. Jesus heals us all!

From God is With You Every Day

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Congratulations on surviving ‘Blue Monday’

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A psychologist named Cliff Arnall christened the third Monday in January as “Blue Monday.” According to him, the weather, debt from the holidays, and broken New Year’s resolutions combined to make yesterday “the most depressing day of the year.” Except that it wasn’t. Psychologists say the formula Arnall used has been “effectively debunked” and tell us that “there is no such thing as the most depressing day of the year.”

Consider some other news that doesn’t say what we might think it says.

Gallup is reporting: “In US, More Adults Identifying as LGBT.” If that’s all you read, you might assume that their percentage is escalating. If you measure the number of LGBT people in America by the frequency with which they are portrayed in movies and on television, you might assume that a quarter of the population is LGBT. Unsurprisingly, according to a recent survey, Americans estimate that 23 percent of Americans are gay or lesbian.

Here’s the fact: the LGBT portion of the American population has risen from 3.5 percent to 4.1 percent over the last four years. The percentage equates to ten million of the nation’s 326 million people.

Another example: despite published reports, Christians who regularly attend worship do not divorce at a higher rate than non-Christians. The opposite is true, in fact. And another: despite conventional wisdom, biblical Christianity is not declining in America. What is declining is the number of people who attend theologically liberal denominations. And what is especially declining is the number of nominal Christians. Many no longer consider themselves Christians, joining the ranks of the “nones.”

Paradoxically, the last fact is very good news.

Several years ago, a couple moved from Manhattan to Dallas and joined the church where I was pastor. The husband made the surprising observation that it was easier to be a Christian in New York City than in Dallas. He explained that in Manhattan everyone knows if they are Christian or not. There is no spiritual ambiguity. In Dallas, by contrast, many say they are Christians because they’re not Jewish or Muslim and have a membership in a church somewhere. He noted that “Churchianity” can be a major obstacle to Christianity.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Testing Builds Endurance

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James 1:2-4

“Why would a loving heavenly Father allow His children to go through terrible trials and experience sorrow?” We can understand the reason that this is a common question—it can be baffling when the all-powerful God of love seems to stand by silently while painful things happen to His followers. Where is He during personal tragedies, natural disasters, financial crises, and other times of heartache?

The Word of God is the only place we can find the real answer. Even so, today’s reading can be hard to understand or accept. One might read James’s exhortation to be joyful in the face of trials and think, Count me out! Difficulties and joy just don’t seem to go together—that is, unless we understand God’s perspective of what life is about.

When James spoke of joy, he wasn’t referring to a cheery, frivolous feeling. Rather, he was talking about an inner sense of calmness, peace, and confidence in the Lord. He wasn’t telling us to feel happy about our trials but to know, as we go through them, that God is up to something good in our life. Our attitude during the struggle will determine what shape we’re in when we come out on the other side.

When our faith gets tested, the end result is endurance; being aware of this gives us hope and strength. What’s more, the Bible promises God will use trials for our good, so we don’t need to be afraid or anxious.

God’s desire is to bless you, not destroy you. Adversity can make someone feel like a victim, but as followers of Christ, we can choose to be victors!

Bible in One Year: Exodus 1-3

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – The Valley of Blessing

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Read: 2 Chronicles 20:1,13–22

Bible in a Year: Genesis 39–40; Matthew 11

If calamity comes . . . [we] will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us.—2 Chronicles 20:9

French artist Henri Matisse felt his work in the last years of his life best represented him. During that time he experimented with a new style, creating colorful, large-scale pictures with paper instead of paint. He decorated the walls of his room with these bright images. This was important to him because he had been diagnosed with cancer and was often confined to his bed.

Becoming ill, losing a job, or enduring heartbreak are examples of what some call “being in the valley,” where dread overshadows everything else. The people of Judah experienced this when they heard an invading army was approaching (2 Chron. 20:2-3). Their king prayed, “If calamity comes . . . [we] will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us” (v. 9). God responded, “Go out to face [your enemies] tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you” (v. 17).

When Judah’s army arrived at the battlefield, their enemies had already destroyed each other. God’s people spent three days collecting the abandoned equipment, clothing, and valuables. Before leaving, they assembled to praise God and named the place “The Valley of Berakah,” which means “blessing.”

God walks with us through the lowest points in our lives. He can make it possible to discover blessings in the valleys. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt

Dear God, help me not to be afraid when I encounter difficulty. Help me to believe that Your goodness and love will follow me.

Looking for hope in the middle of difficult circumstances? Read Hope: Choosing Faith Instead of Fear at discoveryseries.org/q0733.

God is the master of turning burdens into blessings.

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Tale of Two Stories

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Flashing headlines stopped lesser trains of thought that morning, many of us hearing the news for the first time. The busy flow of strangers and hotel employees walking briskly toward their respective conference rooms stopped, and together we stood watching.

The evening before, a young white male had opened fired on members of a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. Eight members died at the scene, a ninth at the hospital. The victims—Cynthia, Susie, Ethel, Depayne, Clementa, Tywanza, Daniel, Sharonda, and Myra—ranged in ages from 26 to 87. Together that evening, they had been studying the parable of the sower when twenty-one year old Dylann entered the church quietly and was welcomed at the table. He sat with them as they considered the Gospel of Mark and prayed, and then he stood up, uttered a hateful racial speech, and killed nine people in a house of worship.

In the days following, the Charleston shooting continued to command headlines, though not merely in reports of the horrific details as they unfolded. Dylann Roof was apprehended, details of his background given, acquaintances interviewed, inquires made into the gun he used, theories posited on the mindset that lead up to his terrible course of action. But the tragically familiar flow of details following US shootings was interspersed this time with less familiar reporting. Relatives of the victims gunned down at the church faced Dylann merely a day after his actions, offering striking, but not easy, words of forgiveness and mercy. That Sunday, just four days after fellow congregants and their senior pastor were left in a pool of blood in their basement, the church came together for services, the building having been released as a crime scene only hours earlier. Worship commenced as the standing congregation sang of Christ: You are the source of our strength; You are the strength of our lives. Across the city, churches in unison rang morning worship bells in solidarity with Emmanuel AME Church and the victims lost for nine full minutes—a minute for every victim. That evening, a unity chain of clasped hands extended across the 13,200-foot-long Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston to the town of Mount Pleasant. The words and actions inspired by this Christian community in lament were a far cry from the “race war” Dylann vowed to the nine victims he would incite with their deaths.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Tale of Two Stories →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Give Up!

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Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.—Galatians 6:9 KJV

Do you ever feel like giving up? Perhaps you’re discouraged about your finances or you’re facing problems with your health, your marriage, or your children. Sometimes problems seem so overwhelming the road ahead seems too steep to climb.

We all go through these times. I’ve wanted to give up and quit many times through the years. But when I realized I had nothing to go back to, I determined to keep pressing on.

Even though continuing to move forward is sometimes painful, it is far better than giving up and sliding backwards. God is doing a good work in you so He can do more for you and through you. So ask Him to fill you with holy determination today and keep moving in the right direction.

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Supernatural Power of Praise

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“With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of His name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to Him” (Hebrews 13:15,16).

Sometimes, in my busy schedule which takes me from country to country and continent to continent, my body is weary, my mind is fatigued, and if I am not careful, my heart will grow cold. I have learned to meditate on the many blessings of God and to praise Him as an act of the will. As I do so, my heart begins to warm and I sense the presence of God.

The psalmist often catalogued the blessings of God and found new reason to praise Him. I would like to share with you several reasons why I believe praise of God is so important in the life of the believer.

1) God is truly worthy of praise.

2) Praise draws us closer to God.

3) All who praise God are blessed.

4) Praise is contagious.

5) Satan’s power is broken when we praise God.

6) Praise is a witness to carnal Christians and non-Christians.

7) Praise opens our hearts and minds to receive God’s message.

8) Praise is a form of sacrifice.

9) Praise makes for a more joyful life.

10) Praise enhances human relationships.

11) Praise is a supernatural expression of faith.

A further elaboration of the benefits and power of praise is found in my book Believing God for the Impossible. An entire chapter is devoted to this exciting subject.

With the promise of His blessings, so clearly delineated by the psalmist, comes the privilege and responsibility of offering up sacrifices of praise, and this leads to a supernatural life made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 33:9-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT I will look deliberately today for reasons to praise my heavenly Father, knowing that I will find many. Whether I feel like it or not, I will praise Him throughout the day, seek to do good and to share His love with others, knowing that such sacrifices are pleasing to Him.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Faith is a Choice

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I was on a plane when a fellow coming down the aisle called my name. He handed me a message he had scribbled on a napkin…

“Six years ago Lynne and I buried our 24-year-old daughter. To unplug our daughter from life support was very hard. Although it was painful, we were confident we were doing the right thing in laying her in the arms of a mighty God. He made our daughter better than new. He restored my Erin to his eternal presence. That is his best work! Our faith is getting us through this. Faith is a choice.”

How does a dad bury a daughter and believe…so deeply believe…that God meant him good and not harm? Simple. This grieving dad believes God’s promises. “Faith is a choice,” he wrote. It is.

From God is With You Every Day

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – What do MLK Day and NFL playoffs have in common?

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What do Martin Luther King Jr. Day, National Religious Freedom Day, and the NFL playoffs have in common?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. The third Monday in January is set aside each year to honor his remarkable legacy and transformative achievements. There will be parades today in cities across the country as Americans mark our civil rights progress and commit ourselves to continuing the journey until our nation’s claim that “all men are created equal” becomes true for all.

Today is also the annual National Religious Freedom Day. On January 16, 1786, Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was adopted. Each year on this day, our nation proclaims Religious Freedom Day with an annual statement from the president of the United States.

As religious freedom scholar Frederick Clarkson notes, “Religious freedom is the source of all the other freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the First Amendment.” Without this right to believe as we wish free from governmental coercion, free speech and a free press would be neither possible nor relevant. As Dr. King himself noted, civil freedom stands on religious freedom.

However, if you live in one of the eight cities whose teams competed in the NFL playoffs over the weekend, you may be thinking more about the game than either of today’s national observances. Here in Dallas, we’re still grieving our loss to the Packers and wishing Aaron Rodgers would just retire. Why is the entire city in mourning over a game that only forty-six athletes were eligible to experience firsthand?

Western culture since the ancient Greeks has focused on the individual. Socrates taught us that the key to wisdom is to “know thyself.” The self-made existentialistic hero is our model.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –A Lesson in Church Building

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Deuteronomy 1:20-31

Some time ago I preached a sermon comparing my church family’s situation to that of the Israelites on the edge of the Promised Land. We desperately needed a larger facility and, toward that end, acquired land a few miles from downtown Atlanta. We had little time to complete two overwhelming tasks: to raise the entire purchase price for a new building and to ensure that the church was ready for occupancy on the appointed date.

What I told my flock that day also applies to individuals. God has given His people a commission—to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). The Father gives different opportunities to each believer so we all can fulfill His command in unique ways. Since He doesn’t provide us with an open door unless He intends for us to go through it, stopping on the threshold is disobedience. Sometimes what little we can see on the other side looks frightening. But if the Lord is calling, then we need to do what He asks instead of hesitating in the doorway. He assumes full responsibility for properly equipping and guiding us to complete the task.

Which brings me back to my earlier story. You may already know how it ends: God provided every cent—no bank loan was necessary—and the building was completed on time. From that new home base, the ministry expanded in our city and across the globe.

Are you standing in a doorway, too scared to move on? Step forward in faith. God made the opportunity, and He is faithful to see you safely through it, regardless of the obstacles.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 49-50

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Losing to Find

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Read: Matthew 10:37–42

Bible in a Year: Genesis 36–38; Matthew 10:21–42

Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.—Matthew 10:39

When I married my English fiancé and moved to the United Kingdom, I thought it would be a five-year adventure in a foreign land. I never dreamed I’d still be living here nearly twenty years later, or that at times I’d feel like I was losing my life as I said goodbye to family and friends, work, and all that was familiar. But in losing my old way of life, I’ve found a better one.

The upside-down gift of finding life when we lose it is what Jesus promised to His apostles. When He sent out the twelve disciples to share His good news, He asked them to love Him more than their mothers or fathers, sons or daughters (Matt. 10:37). His words came in a culture where families were the cornerstone of the society and highly valued. But He promised that if they would lose their life for His sake, they would find it (v. 39).

We don’t have to move abroad to find ourselves in Christ. Through service and commitment—such as the disciples going out to share the good news of the kingdom of God—we find ourselves receiving more than we give through the lavish love the Lord showers on us. Of course He loves us no matter how much we serve, but we find contentment, meaning, and fulfillment when we pour ourselves out for the well-being of others. —Amy Boucher Pye

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Isaac Watts

Every loss leaves a space that can be filled with God’s presence.

INSIGHT: When we choose to follow Christ, we won’t necessarily be popular. Our highest calling is not self-promotion or self-preservation. A hero jumps into deep water to save someone who is drowning, but that same person could well lose his or her life (to quote Jesus) in the process of seeking to save someone else. Jesus indicated that even family members (normally our closest natural connection) may be squared off against us. While others may become our obstinate opponents because of Christ, we are obligated to show unselfishness because of Him (Phil. 2:3-5). “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21). It’s a profound paradox. To lose our life for Him means to find it. Has there been a time when the choice to follow Christ has cost you? Jim Townsend

 

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Authority Through Prayer

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I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. —Matthew 16:19

Since we are not only physical creatures but spiritual beings as well, we are able to stand in the physical realm and affect the spiritual realm. This is a very definite privilege and advantage. We can go into the spiritual realm through prayer and bring about action that will cause change in a situation. God is a Spirit… ( John 4:24), and every answer we need to every situation is with Him.

Jesus told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. All keys unlock doors, and I believe those keys (at least in part) can represent various types of prayer. Jesus went on to teach Peter about the power of binding and loosing, which operates on the same spiritual principle.

The power of binding and loosing is exercised in prayer. When you and I pray about deliverance from some bondage in our lives or in the life of another, we are, in effect, binding that problem and loosing an answer. The act of prayer binds evil and looses good.

Jesus has given us the power and authority to use the keys of the kingdom to bring to pass the will of God on earth.

From the book Closer to God Each Day by Joyce Meyer

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Your Paths Made Plain

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“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6, KJV).

A young seminary graduate came to see me while he was investigating various possibilities of Christian service. In particular, he had come to discuss the ministry of Campus Crusade.

“In what way do you expect God to reveal His place of service for you?” I asked him.

“I’m following the ‘closed-door policy,'” he replied.” A few months ago I began to investigate several opportunities for Christian service. The Lord has now closed the door on all but two, one of which is Campus Crusade. If the door to accept a call to a particular church closes, I’ll know that God wants me in Campus Crusade.”

Many sincere Christians follow this method – often with most unsatisfactory and frustrating results. God does sometimes use closed doors in the life of a Spirit-controlled Christian, as the apostle Paul experienced on different occasions, but generally one does not discover God’s perfect will through a careless “hit-or-miss” attitude that ignores a careful evaluation of all the issues.

Such an approach is illogical because it allows elements of chance to influence a decision rather than a careful, intelligent, prayerful evaluation of all the factors involved. It is unscriptural in that it fails to employ the God-given faculties of reason that are controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Why not follow the “open-door policy” of Proverbs 3:5,6, trusting God for His clear direction? This is God’s provision for supernatural living.

Bible Reading: Psalm 37:3-7

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: In every decision today, whether small or large matters, joyfully and with anticipation I will trust in the Lord with all my heart, knowing that He will direct my path to supernatural living. I will encourage others also to trust in the Lord.

 

http://www.cru.org

BreakPoint

BreakPoint – Are You a Dangerous Christian: Debunking ‘Patronizing Nonsense’

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One of C. S. Lewis’ most famous arguments is his so-called “trilemma,” laid out in “Mere Christianity.” Because of the things Jesus said and did, reasoned Lewis, He must either have been a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

He made this point to debunk the most common secular misconception of Jesus, which has only grown more popular in the last half century. “I can accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,” says the secularist. “Maybe He was a kind of first-century Gandhi. But I can’t accept him as God in human flesh.”

Lewis called this idea “patronizing nonsense.” Apart from the historic belief that Jesus is God and man, born of a virgin, that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day, Lewis could see no future for Christianity. “Mere” or bare-minimum Christian faith, he argued, requires a belief in these miracles. Yet many today still insist that some kind of stripped-down, “bare-essentials” Christian faith is possible, and that the ancient summaries like the Apostles’ Creed are too exclusive.

During a sit-down interview with pastor Tim Keller just before Christmas, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof suggested that Christianity can survive without the virgin birth or Resurrection.

“I deeply admire Jesus and his message,” he said, “but am also skeptical of themes that have been integral to Christianity—the virgin birth, the Resurrection, the miracles, and so on.” Are these really that essential to the Christian faith? Isn’t it possible to be a Christian without embracing them?

Keller replied that you can’t remove Jesus’ miraculous entry into the world or His miraculous return to life “without destabilizing the whole [of Christianity]. A religion can’t be whatever we desire it to be.”

He went on to explain that the main point of Jesus’ teaching, and of the New Testament, is not a moral maxim, but a message: that Jesus Christ is God in human form, Who was and did everything the ancient creeds say. And believing this is essential. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is vain, and we Christians are to be pitied above all people.

Now as far as I’m concerned, Keller knocked it out of the park. But judging by the letters to the editor, it seems many readers felt differently.

One United Church of Christ minister chided the paper for allowing an evangelical to represent Christianity. The creeds, she wrote, “are not tests of faith for individuals,” and “the virgin birth is not central.”

Continue reading BreakPoint – Are You a Dangerous Christian: Debunking ‘Patronizing Nonsense’ →