Tag Archives: nature

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Good Contagion

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Read: Mark 1:40-42

Moved with pity, [Jesus] stretched out his hand and touched him. (v. 41)

Rules in the Bible always had well-grounded reasons behind them. The laws of Israel were a gift from God designed to keep people healthy and safe. Take, for instance, the rule on staying away from lepers. Leprosy was a contagious disease and so, difficult though it was for lepers to be isolated, the goal was to keep the disease from spreading. Touch a leper, and you yourself would become unclean and would be required to stay away from everyone else for a good week just to make sure you had not contracted leprosy yourself. Sin and its results in a fallen world (like disease) are like that: they spread, they infect.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. -Be Moved

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What does it mean to repent? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition is “to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life.” Repent is a verb, so true repentance causes you to take action.

They were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Acts 2:37

When Peter addressed the Jews after Christ’s ascension into Heaven, he shared how Jesus was the Son of God. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36) When hearing this truth, the people were “cut to the heart” and were immediately moved to action. They asked the apostles how to make amends – and Peter told them to repent and be baptized.

Has the Lord recently shared something with you that cut you to the heart? Don’t be overwhelmed with sorrow; instead, be moved to make a life-altering change. Start by praying and asking for forgiveness, knowing that He will hear you and respond in His love. Then pray for America and its national leaders to hear truth and repent. God’s will for everyone is salvation through Christ. May many in the nation be moved to action.

Recommended Reading: Acts 2:29-41

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/index.php

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The People God Uses

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But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.—1 Corinthians 1:27

When we think of Elijah, we generally think of powerful miracles. No doubt he was one of the greatest miracle-working prophets of all. He raised the dead. He stopped the rain. He called fire down from heaven. (I think he’d be a great guy to have at a barbecue.)

The Bible tells us that Elijah was a Tishbite, from Gilead. That means very little to us, but it’s important for us to know that Gilead was east of the Jordan River. The people who lived there were roughhewn, tanned from the sun, and tough. He would have dressed in animal skins. We know Elijah as a man who was bold and courageous. He was fearless.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Will Use Anything To Glorify Himself

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“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:2-3; *read John 9:1-12*)

Have you ever seen a beautiful diamond? Diamonds come in all shapes and sizes. Every little girl dreams about that day when her “Prince Charming” will ride up on a white horse and presents her with a huge, sparkling diamond ring. And no little boy ever dreams he might end up being that Prince Charming!

Diamonds are beautiful. When sunlight comes through a diamond and makes a rainbow of colors, it is something to see! But do you know what diamonds are made from? The beautiful diamond that you see on your mom’s ring comes from carbon. Ok, so what is “carbon”? Carbon is the same thing that coal is made of. Coal!?! That’s right! Genuine, solid, black, ugly coal.

So, what makes the difference whether coal or diamonds come out of carbon? The answer is pressure and heat. Basically, the more the pressure and heat that get put into the carbon, it will produce a better and better quality diamond. Less pressure and less heat on carbon causes it to produce coal, which is far less valuable than diamonds.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – What Is Your Intention?

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 12:1

“I appeal to you . . . to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”

How do we respond to the challenge to commitment—to present our bodies as living sacrifices; to, as it were, take an oath to obey God’s righteous laws; to resolve to allow no exceptions to our obedience? I suspect all of us think first of the impossibility of totally keeping such a commitment. And we’re reluctant to make a commitment we know we won’t keep. But the question still persists: are we willing to make that our aim, our goal in life? Are we willing to commit ourselves to a goal of obedience without exception? Such a commitment is necessary if we are to make progress in the pursuit of holiness.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The “Gray” Areas

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Today’s Scripture: Ezekiel 44-48

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9

In Ezekiel 44:23, God gave this command to the priests of the sanctuary: “They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common [profane] and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.” Note carefully that the priests were to teach the people, not simply tell them. It’s the difference between telling a person what to avoid and helping him learn why he should refrain from things that displease the Lord.

Continue reading The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The “Gray” Areas →

BreakPoint

BreakPoint – When Science Becomes a God: Creationism Vs. Darwinism

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In his book, “Darwin’s Doubt,” Dr. Stephen Meyer quotes Chinese paleontologist J. Y. Chen: “In China,” Chen says, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government; in America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.”

A couple of Chinese researchers recently found this out the hard way when they published a paper on the workings of the human hand in the science journal PLOS ONE. Their title was innocuous enough: “Biomechanical Characteristics of Hand Coordination in Grasping Activities of Daily Living.”

But a sentence in the abstract got these authors in a world of trouble: “…the biomechanical characteristic of tendinous connective architecture…” they wrote, “is the proper design by the Creator to perform a multitude of daily tasks in a comfortable way.”

What? The creator mentioned in a scientific journal?

“As a scientist,” protested one PLOS ONE editor, “I feel outraged by the publication of a [manuscript] making explicit reference to creationism.”

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

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Read Philippians 1:1-11

Jesus changes lives. After an encounter with Him, Zacchaeus committed to repaying everyone he had cheated and gave half his possessions to the poor. Peter was transformed from a reckless fisherman who denied Christ to a bold preacher of the gospel who led thousands to faith in Jesus. And Paul changed from leading a zealous persecution of the church to becoming a missionary who planted churches and took the gospel to Europe.

Our identity in Christ will produce what the apostle Paul calls “the fruit of righteousness” (v. 11). Salvation through Jesus made us righteous, and sanctification in Christ is the process of seeing the fruit or evidence.

Paul gives several examples of this fruit in the opening verses of his letter to the church in Philippi. First, they were partners with him in the work of sharing the gospel (v. 4). Despite the struggles and persecution that Paul describes later in the letter, this church was committed to the good news of salvation through Jesus.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – BATTLE CONTINUES OVER NORTH CAROLINA ‘BATHROOM BILL’

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North Carolina is in the news today for two reasons. One is that the University of North Carolina lost the men’s NCAA basketball championship game last night to Villanova on an amazing last-second shot.

The second reason is that the state’s “bathroom bill” debate continues to generate national controversy. The story began in Charlotte, where an ordinance was passed that forced businesses to allow transgender customers to use the restrooms and locker rooms of their choice. If it had gone into effect, business owners could have faced fines and even potential jail time if they did not accommodate transgender customers.

The state legislature then intervened, drafting legislation that requires individuals to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex identified on their birth certificate. After Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law, furor erupted.

Numerous governors and mayors across the country issued travel bans to North Carolina. Among them, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ban is especially interesting. Houston voters’ action on a bathroom ordinance in 2015 was nearly identical to the North Carolina bill. Yet when the Syracuse men’s basketball team traveled to Houston to play in last weekend’s Final Four, Gov. Cuomo’s office was notably silent on their travel plans.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Privilege of Knowing God

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Philippians 3:7-11

While we meet a tremendous number of people in our lifetime, we sometimes feel particularly privileged to know certain individuals, such as a godly role model, a childhood hero, or someone who was there to help in our time of need. Still, as wonderful as it is to have these distinctive people in our lives, the greatest privilege of all is to know God. Even knowing the most exceptional people can never bring us the joy and contentment for which we yearn. And yet, we frequently chase after worldly acceptance because we forget the treasure of truly knowing the living God.

Oftentimes people get saved and remain satisfied with this first step—knowing a few facts about God is enough for them. If they are asked, “Do you know God?” most will say that they do. But there’s a vast difference between knowing facts about God and personally relating to Him. Believers should continually be growing closer to the Father—always learning more about who He is and what He considers important.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Wisdom and Grace

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Read: James 1:1-8

Bible in a Year: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. —James 1:5

On April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated, leaving millions angry and disillusioned. In Indianapolis, a largely African-American crowd had gathered to hear Robert F. Kennedy speak. Many had not yet heard of Dr. King’s death, so Kennedy had to share the tragic news. He appealed for calm by acknowledging not only their pain but his own abiding grief over the murder of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy then quoted a variation of an ancient poem by Aeschylus (526–456 bc):

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Divinity and Dirty Hands

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Dirty hands are quickly given a bad rap. Children are born ready to dig into the mess before them, to experience the sandbox by getting it under their fingernails and in between their toes, and to delight in life by generally getting it all over themselves. But it does not take long before we learn that dirty fingers and messy faces are not acceptable, that jumping into mud puddles to experience the rain will probably come with a reprimand, and that finger-painting is for the little ones who have not yet graduated to more refined utensils. Moving from child to adult seems to involve ‘cleaning up one’s act’ in more ways than one.

The earliest Christian disciples utilized metaphors of childhood in their letters to newly believing communities. Paul compares one’s knowledge of God to the process of learning: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”(1) Peter similarly encourages new believers to grow in love and knowledge: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”(2)

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Start of Jesus’ Final Challenge

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“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane” (Matthew 26:36).

The agony of Jesus’ death, beginning with His ordeal in the Garden of Gethsemane, is something finite believers will never fully comprehend.

C.H. Spurgeon, in an 1880s sermon, said this to his congregation: “It will not be enough for you to hear, or read [about Christ]; you must do your own thinking and consider your Lord for yourselves. . . . Shut yourself up with Jesus, if you would know him.” However, even those who most conscientiously follow Spurgeon’s admonition to meditate on Jesus’ Person and ministry find the effort reveals much about Him that is beyond human understanding.

As we continue our study of the events leading up to the Lord’s sacrificial death, we also realize that it’s difficult to grasp the full meaning of many of them. Even with the aid of the Spirit’s illumination, we find the weight of Jesus’ agony and suffering more than our minds can completely fathom. As the sinless God-man, He could perceive the full scope of sin’s horror in a way we never can.

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Distractions to Discipleship

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The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. Luke 8:14

Everyday life is full of opportunities to do God’s will and distractions to miss God’s will. Worry is distracted by issues out of its control—like an unprecedented presidential election year, fear of a global financial meltdown driven by government debt or lackadaisical Christians who are more concerned over their comfort than obeying Christ’s commands. Any distraction that keeps me from maturing in my faith walk with Jesus needs to be dismissed. I am learning that growth in my discipleship is the result of staying focused on engrafting God’s word into my soul.

Jesus paints a familiar canvas to residents of a mostly agrarian community. Uncultivated soil is not ready to grow crops. The few seeds that do germinate and develop into tender plants are soon choked by suffocating thorns. Such is an unbroken heart that hears truth, but the word of life is slowly tortured by fear and distrust, so truth is choked by life’s worries. The prickly thorns of worry have to be carefully cut out by the shears of belief in Christ to bear fruit from an abiding life. When Jesus abides in a life and that life abides in Jesus—a mature disciple is on display!

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Turning Point

Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah – The Fruit of Sorrow

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Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.

2 Corinthians 7:9

Recommended Reading

2 Corinthians 7:8-13

Sometimes when a well-known person—athlete, celebrity, politician, religious leader—makes a public apology, it begs the question: Are they truly sorry or sorry they were found out? Only God knows, of course. Said another way, if people (including us) are sorry for sins, shouldn’t they come forth on their own before they are called out?

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Getting Off to a Good Start

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Then the Lord said to me,” Arise, begin your journey…”—Deuteronomy 10:11 NKJV

One way to love yourself is to keep your physical body in shape, and one of the best ways to do that is to be committed to some kind of exercise. I often say the toughest part of a new exercise program is getting started. Following are some extremely simple ways to begin exercise programs that stick.

  1. A Daily Walk. Something as simple as walking thirty minutes every day is very beneficial for your health. Do what’s manageable, not what leaves you gasping!
  2. Indoor Exercise. You can exercise in the privacy of your own home using a video, or you can take an exercise class.
  3. Strength Training. Strengthening your muscles can be done quickly and at home, without any special machines. Sit-ups, push-ups, or lifting simple weights doesn’t take long or cost much, but these things are good for you!
  4. Running or Biking. Running and biking are good options, but riding a bicycle is easier on your joints than running.
  5. Swimming. Swimming provides a good, gentle cardiovascular workout and works many muscle groups at once.

Start slowly, do your best, and keep it up. Soon you’ll find yourself in better shape!

Love Yourself Today: Take care of your physical body through regular exercise, and do something to get yourself off to a good start today.

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Girlfriends in God

Girlfriends in God – Leaving an Imprint – Part One

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So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

Friend to Friend

Let’s rewind humanity’s story way back to the beginning. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:26–27, ESV).

My brain doesn’t know what to do with this. I don’t know how to process this mystery. His image displayed in my life. How can that be? How can there be such a compelling connection between God’s heart and my humanity? Especially when I know me. I know that on my best, most holy day, I don’t come close to being imago Dei, the image of God.

Even so, the Bible says that I am made in God’s image (v. 27), and that Jesus is the “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3 ESV). As followers of Jesus, you and I get to share in the glory of God and reflect His nature as well. The apostle Paul wrote it this way:

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Your Joy Restored

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“Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee” (Psalm 51:10-13, KJV).

“The Christian owes it to the world to be supernaturally joyful,” said A. W. Tozer.

How do we attain that joy?

When we refuse to exhale spiritually by confessing our sins, we are miserable. On the other hand, when we do confess our sins, we experience God’s complete forgiveness. He removes our guilt and fills our lives with joy, the kind of joy we will very much want to share with others.

The psalmist also knew this when he wrote: “Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires…Restore to me again the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You. Then I will teach Your ways to other sinners, and they – guilty like me – will repent and return to You” (Psalm 51:10,12,13).

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – The Need to Confess

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Read: Leviticus 4

Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Lev 4:30

In the book of Leviticus, the five great offerings specified there set forth for us so clearly and helpfully the basic needs of our humanity, needs which God has built into every one of us, and how these needs can be met — the only way in which they can be met. Here we come to the fourth of these offerings, the sin offering.

Remember that in the previous offerings, just as in the sin offering, blood had to be shed, and a death had to occur. But all the blood of the animal was poured out at the foot of the altar. But with the blood of the sin offering something unusual was always done. The blood had to be sprinkled seven times before the LORD. Then, in the case of the offering for the anointed priest as we see here, it had to be put on the horns of the altar of incense which stood in the holy place, right in front of the veil which guarded the holy of holies — i.e., right before the presence of the LORD.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Authority

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Read: Mark 1:21-22

For he taught them as one who had authority. (v. 22)

I once read a story about Pope John XXIII meeting with a group of people one day. Included in the group were a number of mothers with young children. At one point the pope said to one of these moms, “Could you tell me the names of your children? I realize I could get that information from someone else but something very special happens when a mother speaks the names of her own children.” This charming story speaks to the difference it makes when a person talks about someone they know not just well but intimately well.

When Jesus talked about God in the synagogue in Capernaum, people were amazed because he did not talk about God the way the typical religious teachers did. What did the people sense that was so amazingly different about Jesus? Could it be that whereas other teachers talked about God from a distance, Jesus spoke of God as someone who loved the Father and the Spirit intimately and from the inside of their eternal relationship? When Jesus spoke of God, it was like a mother pronouncing her child’s name: you could sense the close connection.

As Christians, we have God’s own Holy Spirit living inside of us. By this Spirit, we too can talk about God and witness to Jesus from the context of a close relationship. When we speak, the world should notice how much love accompanies our words.

Prayer:

May we not just talk about you, O God, but speak our love for you from our hearts.

Author: Scott Hoezee

https://woh.org/