Tag Archives: Peace

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Property of Tears

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Five year-old Samantha was the victim of a cruel and tragic murder, and her own tears were the evidence that sealed the case against her abductor. “[S]he solved the crime,” said her young mother. “She was her own hero.”(1) DNA in the form of teardrops was found on the passenger-side door of the killer’s car, irrevocably making their mark on the crime scene and everyone who imagines them.

It is impossible to hear stories like this, of heinous murders, of calculated school shootings, without retreating to the deepest whys and hows of life. The abrupt ending to these lives is another wretched symptom of a sick and desperate world. The problem of evil is a problem that confronts us, sometimes jarringly. The problem of pain is only intensified by the personal nature of our experience with it.

The first time I heard Samantha’s story my numbed mind was startled by this property of tears. I had no idea that our tears were so personally our own. Samantha’s tears solved the case because there were none others like hers. They were unique to the eyes they came from, intricately a part of Samantha herself. In the pains and joys that cause us to weep and to mourn, we leave marks far more intimate than I ever realized. We shed evidence of our own makeup, leaving behind a complex, yet humble message: I was here, and my pain was real. There are a lot of really bad and unhelpful things that people say in the face of tragedy and to those who mourn. For me this brings new meaning to the wisdom of being silent with the grief-striken, sharing tears instead of advice.

There is something deeply necessary in the Christian hope that pain will one day be removed and tears will be no more. We are rightly comforted by the hope of a God who will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the weeping and the promise that there will one day be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.(2) But perhaps there is something deeply necessary about a God who has marked our tears so specifically even now, declaring that our pain is far from a generic or empty occurrence.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Property of Tears →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Too Much Talk Leads to Sin

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In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent. — Proverbs 10:19

We all need to learn how to establish and maintain boundaries with our words. Proverbs 10:19 in the NIV states, When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. In other words, people who talk a lot will often find themselves in trouble.

Because our words carry so much power, we need to learn to say only what needs to be said. Almost every time we have a problem with somebody, it’s over something we have said or that person said. There may be other elements—something somebody is doing, for example—but the main cause of the argument most of the time is something that was said. If we learn to speak only what is wise and necessary, then we will have much more peace.

Power Thought: I speak words of wisdom that are filled with God’s power.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Does Glorious Things 

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“Thank the Lord for all the glorious things He does; proclaim them to the nations. Sing His praises and tell everyone about His miracles” (Psalm 105:1,2).

How long has it been since you have taken time to meditate upon and list all the glorious things the Lord has done for you and how long has it been since you have shared them with your family, your neighbors or even strangers? Of course, your list may differ from that of your neighbors or of fellow believers in your local church or from mine. But among those glorious things that He has done are: He has, by His Holy Spirit, drawn us all to Himself; He has created within our hearts a hunger for His love; and through faith in Christ we have become His children; our sins have been forgiven and we now have the joy of living every moment of every day in vital union and fellowship with Him – all this with the certainty that we shall spend eternity with Him. Mere human words could never express the gratitude that wells up within one’s heart at the thought of God’s great gifts. The word “alleluia” is universal and is spoken in all languages as an expression of praise to God and no word is more appropriate.

My personal list of blessings also includes a godly, praying mother who lived her Christianity and dedicated me to Christ before I was born, and followed me – as she did all her other children – with her daily prayers; a wonderful father who, I had the privilege of introducing to Christ after I became a Christian and seeing him begin to experience that peace which comes from knowing Christ; a godly wife who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and shares my commitment to serve Him as our Lord and Master whatever the cost, wherever He leads us.

I thank Him for sons who love Him, and who have committed their lives to serving Him wherever He leads; a daughter-in-law who shares the love and conviction of her husband; a marvelous staff of thousands of godly men and women who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and hundreds of thousands of co-laborers who undergird me and this ministry.

The glorious things that He has done are without number. Yes, we must sing His praises and tell everyone about His miracles. We must proclaim the glorious things he has done to all the nations!

Bible Reading: Psalm 113

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will meditate upon the glorious things God has done for me and I will sing His praises and tell everyone about His miracles. I will give my prayer and financial support to helping proclaim His greatness to all the nations of the earth.

 

http://www.cru.org

Uncategorized

Max Lucado – Do-it-Yourself Christianity

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Do-it-yourself Christianity isn’t much encouragement to the done in and worn out!  “Try a little harder” is little encouragement for the abused. At some point we need more than good advice; we need help. Somewhere on this journey we realize that a fifty-fifty proposition is too little.  We need help from the inside out. The kind of help Jesus promised.

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it does not see him or know him. But know him, because he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Note the dwelling place of God…in you. Not near us or above us, but in us! In the hidden recesses of our being dwells, not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God. Imagine that!

Read more When God Whispers Your Name

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn photos spark furor

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Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is threatening legal action against those responsible for leaking nude photos of herself and then-boyfriend Tiger Woods. Dozens of such photos of the couple and other celebrities are reportedly being released onto the internet.

Here’s my question: If Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods followed biblical morality, would they be in this position? They were never married, yet they obviously behaved as if they were. The seventh commandment would have prevented the humiliation that is now transpiring.

We can ask a second question of the other celebrities whose intimate photos are now being published: Why do these photos exist? I’m not defending those who are distributing them, of course. But if the celebrities obeyed Scripture regarding modesty (1 Timothy 2:9–10), lust (Matthew 5:28), and stewardship of our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19), we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Here’s my third question: When you heard about the photos of Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn, did the immorality of their relationship come first to mind? Or is such sexuality so common today that you’re desensitized to it morally?

In a culture as hedonistic as ours, one of Satan’s most effective tools is the “everyone’s doing it” strategy. Three results please him and grieve our Lord:

One: We participate in ungodly activities because they’re now “normal.” One survey reports that only 11 percent of Christian singles are waiting to have sex until they’re married.

Two: We stop teaching biblical morality to our children. Scripture calls us to teach God’s precepts “diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7). But it’s hard to teach what we don’t believe. If we think sex outside of marriage is normal, so will our kids. Continue reading Denison Forum – Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn photos spark furor →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Overcoming Jealousy

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Psalm 37:4

Now that we have a clear picture of what jealousy is and the detrimental impact it can have, we need to examine practical ways to remove the problem from our life. If you’ve discovered that you are affected by envy, follow these steps today:

  1. Acknowledge that jealousy exists in your life. Be honest with yourself, and do not allow the envy to fester in the back of your mind.
  2. Admit you are in conflict with the Lord. This step is important because it will prevent you from dismissing jealousy as normal or acceptable behavior.
  3. Thank God for what He’s doing in the other person’s life. Perhaps He is performing a mighty work—praise Him for it!
  4. Do something nice for the person. This may seem impossible, but the act of doing a good work—even if you don’t feel like it—will start to short-circuit the negative feelings you have.
  5. Ask the Lord to show you how He views the individual. This is a most helpful step, since it causes us to look beyond our own perspective and see the other person as someone valuable to God.
  6. Refocus your attention on what God is doing in your life. His plans for you are just as big and important as His plans for the person you envy.

There’s one additional step for you to take: Adopt a Psalm 37:4 mindset. When you truly delight yourself in the Lord and trust Him to bless you according to His plans and purposes, you’ll no longer feel a need for jealousy in your life. Then deep contentment will replace the old sense of envy and dissatisfaction.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 46-48

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Ripe for Harvest

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Read: John 4:35–38

Bible in a Year: Psalms 110–112; 1 Corinthians 5

Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.—John 4:35

In late summer, we went for a walk in the New Forest in England and had fun picking the blackberries that grew in the wild while watching the horses frolicking nearby. As I enjoyed the bounty of the sweet fruit planted by others perhaps many years before, I thought of Jesus’s words to His disciples: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for” (John 4:38).

I love the generosity of God’s kingdom reflected in those words. He lets us enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labors, such as when we share our love for Jesus with a friend whose family—unbeknown to us—has been praying for her for years. I also love the implied limits of Jesus’s words, for we may plant seeds that we will never harvest but someone else may. Therefore, we can rest in the tasks before us, not being hoodwinked into thinking that we are responsible for the outcomes. God’s work, after all, doesn’t depend on us. He has all of the resources for a bountiful harvest, and we are privileged to play a role in it.

I wonder what fields ready for harvest are before you? Before me? May we heed Jesus’s loving instruction: “Open your eyes and look at the fields!” (v. 35). —Amy Boucher Pye

Creator God, thank You for Your great generosity in entrusting us to do Your work. May I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.

We can reap what others have sown.

INSIGHT: Context is significant for understanding the meaning of a passage in Scripture. The context for today’s passage gives some eye-raising information to the original reader. These verses follow the story of the woman at the well. She was a Samaritan, a people-group the Israelites hated.

Jesus’s words “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35) follow John’s statement that the people “came out of the town and made their way toward him” (v. 30). In other words, Jesus was telling the disciples that God’s harvest of people was right in front of them and from a group they would have least expected.

This is partly why Jesus says we reap what we have not worked for. The disciples had not worked for the harvest of Samaritans; indeed, they probably never would have dreamed of working for such a harvest. But our God is a great gardener and He grows fruit where we cannot.

How can you express your trust in God to bring a harvest where there doesn’t seem to be one coming? J.R. Hudberg

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Spiritual Geography

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Many years ago, I had the opportunity to travel across the country from Massachusetts to Montana. While I had often traveled across the country on family vacations, I had never driven through South Dakota. But on this trip I was able to see quite a bit of the state that makes up part of the Great Plains in the United States. Having lived near the city, I remember being struck by the vast expanses of what appeared to be uninhabited land. Rolling grasslands, without many trees, offered a view of the landscape that was as far as it was wide. I remember wondering why anyone would make a home in such a desolate place.

Several years after this trip, I read Kathleen Norris’s book Dakota and marveled at her poignant description of this land. Her memoir both enticed me and made me wary of life in the Dakotas. The opening paragraphs of her book explain why:

“The high plains, the beginning of the desert West, often act like a crucible for those who inhabit them. Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it, before it bestows a blessing… This book is an invitation to a land of little rain and few trees, dry summer winds and harsh winters, a land rich in grass, and sky and surprises.”(1)

She concludes by saying that “the land and the sky of the West often fill what Thoreau termed our ‘need to witness our limits transgressed.’ Nature, in Dakota, can indeed be an experience of the holy.”(2)

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Spiritual Geography →

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A Powerful Compass

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And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]… – Colossians 3:15

People who do things they don’t have peace about have miserable lives and don’t succeed at anything. If you are doing something, like watching television, and you suddenly lose your peace about what you are doing, you have heard from God. He is saying to you, “Turn it off. Go the other way.” If you lose your peace when you say something unkind, God is speaking to you. It will save you a lot of trouble if you will stop talking or apologize right away.

God leads His people through peace. Anytime you lose your peace you are hearing from God. There is nothing more powerful than the compass of peace in your heart. Follow after it. Follow peace!

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Put God to the Test 

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“Oh, put God to the test and see how kind He is! See for yourself the way His mercies shower down on all who trust in Him” (Psalm 34:8).

Sam wanted to receive Christ, but he was reluctant. Somehow, he just could not bring himself to make that necessary commitment of the will to exercise his faith and receive Christ. Because of unfortunate experiences in his youth, he had a distorted view of the goodness of God.

I encouraged Him to make his commitment, but he still hesitated. Finally, I turned to that wonderful promise of our Scripture for today and asked him to read it. As he read, the Holy Spirit gave him the faith to believe that he could trust God.

Put God to the test. Taste and see how good and kind He is. Sam discovered that day, and for the rest of his life, the faithfulness and the goodness and the kindness of God.

Do you have reservations, uncertainties, fears about the trustworthiness of God? If so, I encourage you to place your trust in Him, and you will find, as millions have found, and as I have found, that God is good, faithful, and true.

Similarly, you and I can put God to the test and find a friendly haven in the midst of enemy territory. More important, perhaps, is the certainty we can have that God does hear and answer our prayers – in situations where He and He alone knows the end from the beginning and can provide deliverance.

How vital to the supernatural life to know that we have immediate access to the God of the universe, the very one who alone can guarantee victory and deliverance.

Bible Reading: I Peter 2:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that, as a believer, I am constantly in “enemy territory,” I will trust God and encourage others to trust Him moment by moment for deliverance, for I know that He is just and kind and good. He is a loving, heavenly Father whom I can trust. I will encourage others to put God to the test and see how kind He is, to discover for themselves His mercies that He showers on all who place their trust in Him.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Come to Me

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There is a correlation between the way you feel about yourself and the way you feel about others. If you are at peace with yourself you will get along with others. The converse is also true. If you don’t like yourself, if you are ashamed, embarrassed, or angry, other people are going to know it. Unless the cycle is interrupted!

Which takes us to one of the kindest verses in the Bible.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives” (Matthew 11:28-29).

“Come to me,” the verse reads! Let Christ be kind to you…and as you do, you’ll find it easier to be kind to others.

Read more When God Whispers Your Name

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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Denison Forum – President announces new Afghanistan strategy

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Last night, President Trump announced a new strategy for winning America’s longest war.

Our troops have been in Afghanistan for almost sixteen years; more than two thousand American soldiers have died there. The president plans to deploy more troops to continue training Afghan forces, with the goal of defeating the Taliban and securing the country.

Meanwhile, the news has been dominated by the first total solar eclipse to be seen coast to coast in America since 1918. Millions of people watched what the Associated Press is calling “the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history.”

I was one of them. I was also one of the millions who watched the president’s speech live.

I could have read about either event after it happened. Viewing them personally changed neither of them. It’s not as though I had nothing else to do.

Why, then, was watching the eclipse and the president’s address as they occurred so important to me?

There is something in us that wants to witness history. We want to be part of the big events, the significant moments that will be discussed far into the future.

Continue reading Denison Forum – President announces new Afghanistan strategy →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Consequences of Jealousy

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Romans 13:13

In learning about the nature of jealousy, perhaps you realize that you do, in fact, struggle a bit with this problem. Maybe you envy a friend, neighbor, or coworker in a way you’ve never really considered. If so, it’s important to recognize this is a danger in your life that must be addressed.

As we realize how envy corrupts various aspects of our life, we can learn to identify when we have a problem. Prayerfully review this list of some consequences of jealousy:

Fear. You’re afraid of not getting what you want or of losing what you have.

Competitiveness. You aggressively strive to outperform others.

Critical spirit. Undermining the success of others becomes a goal.

Comparison. You measure your success against others’ accomplishments.

Divided mind. Someone else’s success becomes a constant distraction.

Anger. Hostility is a natural product of jealousy and bitterness.

Insecurity. You never feel as if you have enough, because you place a higher value on what someone else has.

Lack of peace. Jealousy and peace can stand in opposition to each other; you simply can’t have both.

Illness. Emotional turmoil can take a toll on physical health.

Remember that jealousy is a land mine that maims or destroys whoever triggers it. However, recognizing its destructive consequences may encourage you to remove this issue in your life. Then, with the Lord’s help, you can begin the journey toward healing and restoration.

Bibl in One Year: Jeremiah 41-45

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread –Be Still

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Read: Psalm 46:1–11

Bible in a Year: Psalms 107–109; 1 Corinthians 4

The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress.—Psalm 46:11

“We’ve created more information in the last five years than in all of human history before it, and it’s coming at us all the time” (Daniel Levitin, author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload).  “In a sense,” Levitin says, “we become addicted to the hyperstimulation.” The constant barrage of news and knowledge can dominate our minds. In today’s environment of media bombardment, it becomes increasingly difficult to find time to be quiet, to think, and to pray.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” reminding us of the necessity to take time to focus on the Lord. Many people find that a “quiet time” is an essential part of each day—a time to read the Bible, pray, and consider the goodness and greatness of God.

When we, like the writer of Psalm 46, experience the reality that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (v. 1), it drives our fear away (v. 2), shifts our focus from the world’s turmoil to God’s peace, and creates a quiet confidence that our Lord is in control (v. 10).

No matter how chaotic the world may become around us, we can find quietness and strength in our heavenly Father’s love and power. —David C. McCasland

Heavenly Father, we bring our noisy lives and our cluttered minds to You so that we can learn to be still and know that You are God.

Each day we need to be still and listen to the Lord.

INSIGHT: Getting away to a quiet place can be a way to settle our thoughts. But sometimes the thought of being alone with our thoughts is uncomfortable. Psalm 46 speaks to us about being quiet in the presence of “the God of Jacob,” who is our fortress. Jacob (later named Israel) was a rascal, a liar, and a fugitive from his family.

Jacob struggled with God and God determined Jacob would know Him (see Gen. 32:22-32). It is through Jacob’s line centuries later that Jesus was born to offer us peace and forgiveness.

What could it mean to be still before God, who desired to lovingly father people like Jacob and who desires to be in intimate relationship with each of us? Mart DeHaan

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Estranged

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Traveling through the fields of her own country in the midst of a great famine, a young woman named Ruth became a widow. Yet though her family would have been nearby to help, she chose to follow her mother-in-law to another land. And thus, to her already diminished role as widow, she added the disparaging status of “foreigner.”

I have not spent much of my life as a foreigner, though my short bouts with being a cultural outsider remind me of the difficulty and frustration of always feeling on the outside of the circle. Just as the distance between outside and inside seems to be closing, something happens or something is said and you are reminded again that you don’t really belong. It can be both humbling and humiliating to always carry with you the sober thought: I am out of place.

This story from the book of Ruth scarcely neglects an opportunity to point out this reality for Ruth. Long after hearers of the story are well acquainted with who Ruth is and where she is from, long after she is living in the land of Judah, she is still referred to as “Ruth the Moabite” or even merely “the Moabite woman.” Her perpetual status as an outsider brings to mind the vision of Keats, and the “song that found a path/ through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home/ She stood in tears amid the alien corn.” She stood in strange and foreign fields and was forever being reminded that no, she was the stranger.

Continue reading Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Estranged →

Today in the Word

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – LIGHT, DARK, SIN, AND FORGIVENESS

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1 JOHN 1:5-10

An eighth-century Christian named Alcuin of York prayed: “Almighty and merciful God, the fountain of all goodness, who knows the thoughts of our hearts, we confess that we have sinned against you, and done what you see as evil. Wash us, we implore you, from the stains of our past sins, and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things so that, being delivered from the bondage of sin, we may produce the good fruits of repentance.”

Today’s passage frames repentance in terms of three key truths. First, a foundational truth: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (v. 5; see 1 Tim. 6:16). What does this mean? He is holy; in Him there is no evil at all. He is truth; in Him there is no falsehood at all. He is perfect; in Him there is no flaw of any kind.

Second, an applied truth: We must walk in the light (vv. 6–7). Our lives are the evidence of our faith. If we claim to have a relationship with God but do not choose holiness and truth, we prove ourselves liars. Being God’s children means we need and want to be where He is and where fellow believers are. If we claim to have a relationship with God, it will also be seen in our unity and fellowship with one another.

Continue reading Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – LIGHT, DARK, SIN, AND FORGIVENESS →

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – His Ways Will Satisfy 

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“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you” (Romans 12:2).

“The trouble with living sacrifices,” someone has well said, “is that they keep crawling off the altar.” That may be true. We “crawl off the altar” when we sin, and the only way to put ourselves back on the altar is to breathe spiritually – confess our known sins in accordance with the promise of 1 John 1:9 and appropriate the fullness of the Holy Spirit as we are commanded to do by faith (Ephesians 5:18).

When we do this, we will be living supernaturally and our lives will produce the fruit of the Spirit in great abundance.

Only by being filled with the Spirit, and thus realizing the fruit of the Spirit, can spiritual gifts be effectively utilized in witnessing and building up the Body of Christ.

We begin by totally yielding ourselves by faith to Christ in a full irrevocable surrender to His lordship.

“He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now He lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. So look upon your old sin-nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God – every part of you -for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for His good purposes” (Romans 6:10-13).

Bible Reading: Romans 12:3-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Knowing that God’s ways will really satisfy me, I will seek first His kingdom, resist the devil at his every appearance and watch with joy as he flees.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – God Has Not Left You Adrift

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Spiritual life comes from the Spirit! (John 3:6). Your parents may have given you genes, but God gives you grace. Your parents may be responsible for your body, but God has taken charge of your soul. You may get your looks from your mother, but you get eternal life from your Father, your heavenly Father.

God is willing to give you what your family didn’t. Didn’t have a good dad? God will be your Father. The Scripture says, “Through God you are a son; and, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir” (Galatians 4:7 Phillips).

Didn’t have a good role model? Try God. He has not left you adrift on a sea of heredity. The past does not have to be your prison. You have a say in your life. You have a choice in the path you take. Choose well! Choose God!

 

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Why today’s eclipse matters after today

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Fred Espenak is known as “Mr. Eclipse.” The retired NASA astrophysicist has traveled all over the world to see twenty-seven total solar eclipses.

Today, for the first time in thirty-eight years, he can stay in America.

The last total eclipse in the United States was in 1979. The last time a total eclipse was visible from coast to coast was June 8, 1918.

Today, as Newsweek explains, the moon will block the sun, casting us into “a short-lived night in the middle of the day.” The “path of totality,” where the full eclipse will be visible, crosses fourteen states from Madras, Oregon, to Columbia, South Carolina. People not on this path will see a partial eclipse if they live in North America and even parts of Africa, Europe, and South America.

Do not view the eclipse directly—you could damage your retinas permanently. You could view it through special glasses (avoid fakes), photograph it with your phone, or see it through a pinhole viewer. Or you could live stream it on NASA’s website.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Why today’s eclipse matters after today →

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –The Source of Jealousy

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Galatians 5:17-21

Most likely, you have been caught off guard by a wave of jealousy at some point in your life. Was it a spiritual attack? Did the enemy make you covetous? Was someone or something working to make you resentful?

The answer—which may surprise you—is no. Jealousy actually springs from within us, even though we might try to deflect the blame. For example, we may say, “Well, they just shouldn’t have that. They don’t deserve it, so I’m perfectly justified in feeling this way.”

Do you see what is actually going on here? We are not only feeling envious of someone, but we’re also saying that our jealousy is the other person’s fault! That’s simply not true. We are each 100 percent responsible for our own feelings of envy.

Jealousy is a product of the flesh. In the Bible, it is listed among such sins as idolatry, immorality, drunkenness, and sorcery—sins that stand against our holy God and are described as “earthly, natural, demonic” (Gal. 5:17-21; James 3:15).

Envious feelings can lead to unhealthy comparison of one’s own success to someone else’s. That pattern can grow into a competition to outperform others—and may result in fear and resentment. What a horrible way to live!

Though jealousy is a common emotion, it has no place in a believer’s life. So each of us should try to look objectively at the motives of our heart. Are you plagued with an attitude of jealousy today? If so, lay your honest feelings out before the Lord, and ask Him to cleanse you of this sinful attitude.

Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 37-40

 

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