Tag Archives: spirituality

Denison Forum

Denison Forum – Sending the Bat-signal in ‘times of trouble’

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The Bat-signal was projected onto City Hall last night in Los Angeles, but Batman did not respond. Adam West, who played the superhero in the 1960s television series, died last week at the age of eighty-eight. However, he was only one of eight men to play the role over the years, five of whom are still alive.

Lewis G. Wilson was the first and least successful Batman, playing the role in 1943. Critics complained that his voice was too high and that he had a Boston accent. Robert Lowery played the role in 1949, then Adam West took over on the TV series that ran from 1966 to 1968. Next came Michael Keaton in 1989, followed by Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and now Ben Affleck.

(A bit of movie trivia: two years after the Batman series went off the air, West was offered the role of James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. He turned it down, believing that Bond should always be played by a Brit.)

The popularity of movie superheroes is at an all-time high—Marvel is releasing at least two films a year, and DC is making more than ever before. One columnist explained, “In times of trouble, people tend to wish for someone who is bigger than them to help them. . . . When things get scary, we all want someone to save us, to tell us things will be okay.”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Understanding the Christian Life

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Galatians 1:11-17

Have you ever wondered why some new Christians seem to soar in their new-found relationship with the Lord while others nosedive within a few weeks? Let’s consider what makes the difference.

Those of us who have been Christians for a long time might forget that salvation involves a change not only in lifestyle but also in thinking and understanding. Shortly after encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul pulled away to Arabia for a time. Before the apostle could start his ministry, his mind had to be reprogrammed, so he needed to learn from the Lord (Rom. 12:2). Similarly, new believers coming into faith with old misconceptions need to understand what salvation really means.

Let’s look at some terms that help explain what is meant by “being saved”:

Born again (John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17). New birth means new life. It implies starting over; the old life isn’t simply renovated but is actually replaced by a new one.

Converted (1 Thess. 1:9). Converting something means changing it, like money that’s exchanged from one currency to another, or energy that’s changed from one form to another. The Christian life must involve change.

Receiving Christ (John 1:12). We often think of salvation as something God gives us, but it is more than that. When someone trusts in Christ, that person welcomes the Lord to live within his or her heart.

Think about how you thought and lived before you knew the Savior, as compared with now. In what ways do you see genuine change? Ask God to reveal areas in which the life of Christ needs to become more evident.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 23-28

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Bond of Peace

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Read: Ephesians 4:1–6

Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 1–3; Acts 2:1–21

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.—Ephesians 4:3

After I confronted my friend by email over a matter on which we had differed, she didn’t respond. Had I overstepped? I didn’t want to worsen the situation by pestering her, but neither did I want to leave things unresolved before she went on a trip overseas. As she popped into my mind throughout the following days, I prayed for her, unsure of the way forward. Then one morning I went for a walk in our local park and saw her, pain etched on her face as she glimpsed me. “Thank You, Lord, that I can talk to her,” I breathed as I approached her with a welcoming smile. We talked openly and were able to resolve matters.

Sometimes when hurt or silence intrudes on our relationships, mending them seems out of our control. But as the apostle Paul says in his letter to the church at Ephesus, we are called to work for peace and unity through God’s Spirit, donning the garments of gentleness, humility, and patience as we seek God’s healing in our relationships. The Lord yearns for us to be united, and through His Spirit He can bring His people together—even unexpectedly when we go walking in the park. —Amy Boucher Pye

Have you experienced an unexpected encounter that revealed God working in a situation? How might you work toward peace and unity today?

God desires unity among believers.

INSIGHT: When Paul wrote his New Testament letter to followers of Christ in Ephesus, he wrote out of his own experience. When he urged his readers to work through their disagreements with humility, gentleness, and patience, he knew that it takes more than personal resolve. He had once lived with a head full of knowledge and a heart running on empty. As Paul wrote to men and women who had hurt one another with anger, lies, and bitterness (Eph. 4:25-32), he helped them see beyond their own blind spots. He wanted them to know that learning to love one another isn’t something we can do through our own ability. He asked the Spirit of God to reach deep into their hearts and open their eyes to God’s immeasurable love for them (3:14-19) and reminded them that even when we can’t see the way forward—and back to one another—there is a Spirit who can do far more for us than we could ever ask or think (v. 20). Mart DeHaan

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Unstoppable Story

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“You can’t stop stories being told,” Dr. Parnassus tells his relentless foe with religious assurance in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The world of belief-systems and worldviews is indeed a complicated playground of stories, storytellers, passions, and allegiances—and this is one film which certainly attests to that complicated dance. What makes the interplay of story most complicated is our inability often to name or even perceive these interacting powers in the first place. That which permeates our surroundings, subconsciously molds our understanding, and continuously informs our vision of reality is not always easy to articulate. The dominant culture shapes our world in ways we seldom realize—and often in ways we cannot even perceive—until something outside of our culture comes along and the scales fall from our eyes.

Further complicating this is the fact that we often do not recognize certain systems for the metanarratives that they are or else we grossly underestimate the story’s power on our own. Whatever versions of the story we utilize to understand human history—atheism, capitalism, pluralism, consumerism—their roots run very deep in the human soul. This is why Bishop Kenneth Carder can refer to the global market economy as a “dominant god,” or consumerism, economism, and nationalism as religions.[1] These deeply rooted ideologies are challenged only when a different ideology or imagination comes knocking, when a different faith-system comes along and upsets the imagination that powerfully orders our world.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Just Obey

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But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.—1 Corinthians 2:14 AMPC

Many non-Christians don’t really understand the Gospel. This isn’t a new thing that is unique to our day. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he pointed out that the Greeks thought it was foolish. And to the natural mind, it is. God sent Jesus, the sinless One, to earth for the express purpose of dying for wicked, sinful people. To unbelievers that is foolish. The natural man cannot understand the power of the Gospel—it can only be “spiritually discerned.”

This is just as true in daily living. Sometimes God speaks to us, and if we try to explain it to people who don’t know Jesus, it doesn’t make sense. For example, I remember one couple that went to Africa as missionaries. They had no denomination or large church behind them, providing support. They sold everything they owned, including their wedding rings.

“Their wedding rings?” a skeptical relative asked. “You mean God wouldn’t provide for you, so you had to do it yourself?”

The wife smiled. “No, I think we had to decide if comfort and having things like everyone else was more important than serving Jesus.” The couple never doubted they were doing the right thing, but it never made sense to the skeptical relative.

It is difficult for many people to hear God speak and to obey without question. But Jesus did just that—and not only on the cross. John 4 relates the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. What most modern readers don’t get is the introduction to the story: It was necessary for Him to go through Samaria (John 4:4 AMPC). Jesus had been in Jerusalem, and He wanted to go north to Galilee. The country of the Samaritans was in between, but Jesus didn’t have to take the route that passed that way. He could have taken another route and avoided going through Samaria. Most Jews avoided going through Samaria because they hated the Samaritans for mixing and marrying with people from other nations.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Are Kings

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“The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God’s gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Jack protested angrily, “Why should I be held accountable for the sin of Adam? Why should I be judged and condemned to eternal punishment because of the disobedience of someone who lived centuries ago? I resent that his action should involve me.” I asked my young student friend if he remembered the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor followed by the declaration of war by then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “Yes,” he said, “I’m a student of history and I remember that event very well.” I reminded Jack that every able-bodied man who was of age was automatically conscripted to join the United States Army to do battle against Japan. “Yes,” he said, “I know.”

“Don’t you think it unfair, following your logic, that the President of the United States should make a decision that would affect young men like yourself? Remember that tens of thousands of them died on the field of battle. Was that fair?”

“Well,” he replied, “that was the only decision that could be made. We had to protect our homeland. We had been attacked and had to defend ourselves.”

“So it was with Adam,” I explained. “The wisdom of the Almighty Creator was attacked by Satan in the Garden of Eden and the battle was lost when Adam and Eve, the epitome of God’s creation, surrendered to Satan’s tempting lies. God, in His sovereignty, wisdom and grace caused the results of the disobedience of Adam to be borne by the rest of us in the human race. But the judgement of God which demands penalty for sin was intercepted by God’s love. while we were yet in our sins God proved His love for us by sending the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us. Now, through accepting God’s free gift by faith, we can become kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ.”

Simply stated, one man, Adam, through his disobedience to God, introduced sin into the world, and one man, Jesus Christ, through his obedience to God, paid the penalty for that sin for all who would believe and trust in Him.

Bible Reading: Romans 5:14-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Christ has overcome the sin I inherited from Adam by liberating me from the king of death, and making me a king of light. As an expression of my deep gratitude for His love and grace, I will seek every opportunity to communicate this good news to others who still live in darkness that they, too, may enjoy the abundant supernatural life which I now enjoy.

 

http://www.cru.org

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – More Sponge, Less Rock

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Make God’s presence your passion. How? Be more sponge and less rock. Put a rock in the ocean, and what happens? It’s surface gets wet. The exterior may change color, but the interior remains untouched. Yet place a sponge in the ocean, and notice the change. It absorbs the water. The ocean penetrates every pore and alters the essence of the sponge. God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere—above, below, on all sides.

We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Everything within you says harden the heart. Run from God; resist God; blame God. But be careful. Hard hearts never heal. Spongy ones do. The Psalmist determined, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence!

From You’ll Get Through This

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – ‘It would have been a massacre’

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Congressman Steve Scalise remains in critical condition this morning. At least six people including Scalise were hospitalized after yesterday’s shooting at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia. The alleged gunman, James Hodgkinson, was killed.

Sen. Rand Paul was in a batting cage when the shooting started. He heard fifty or sixty shots. Then members of Scalise’s security detail began returning fire. Rand later told reporters, “I do believe that without the Capitol Hill police, it would have been a massacre.”

The attack by a Bernie Sanders supporter on Republican congressmen was condemned by Sanders as “despicable,” who added that his “hopes and prayers” were with the victims. Today we are not Democrats or Republicans but Americans. This was an attack on our democracy.

Meanwhile, officials report this morning that at least seventeen people died in the fire that engulfed an apartment tower in London yesterday morning. The London Fire Brigade commissioner said, “In my twenty-nine years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale.” The death total is expected to rise as more bodies are found.

In a day when we are more insulated from mortality than any generation in history, such tragedies bring the reality of death into focus.
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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Only Obedience Will Do

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1 Samuel 15:1-35

The most obvious way to step out of God’s will is to commit deliberate sin. In fact, this is so apparent that you might wonder why I’m pointing it out. The reason is that I often hear believers try to justify partial obedience.

King Saul tried to justify ignoring the Lord’s instructions. After God ordered the Israelites to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their holdings, they spared the choicest beasts as well as the leader, Agag. Pleased with himself, Saul announced that he had done as commanded. But when Samuel questioned him further, Saul tried to blame the people (1 Samuel 15:15). A king’s subjects, however, cannot act in so brazen a manner without his knowledge and permission.

Saul didn’t stop there. He argued that the animals had been saved so they could be sacrificed to the Lord. He must have sounded quite righteous to his own ears. But Samuel was not fooled. He called Saul’s action by its proper name—insubordination (v. 23).

Our reason for partial obedience may sound logical, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re still in rebellion. Excuses and justifications won’t sway God in the slightest. He doesn’t alter His will to accommodate human desires or common sense. Instead, He looks for and takes delight in a faithful follower.

Are you trying to rationalize a decision or behavior? Perhaps you’ve offered reasons for pursuing a certain path. Or maybe you tried bargaining with God. I assure you He isn’t moved by any arguments. Remember: Partial obedience is disobedience in His eyes. And no sin is worth being outside His will.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 19-22

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Rhythms of Grace

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Read: Matthew 11:25–30

Bible in a Year: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.—Matthew 11:29

A friend and his wife, now in their early nineties and married for sixty-six years, wrote their family history for their children, grandchildren, and generations to come. The final chapter, “A Letter from Mom and Dad,” contains important life-lessons they’ve learned. One caused me to pause and take inventory of my own life: “If you find that Christianity exhausts you, draining you of your energy, then you are practicing religion rather than enjoying a relationship with Jesus Christ. Your walk with the Lord will not make you weary; it will invigorate you, restore your strength, and energize your life” (Matt. 11:28-29).

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Jesus’s invitation in this passage begins, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? . . . Walk with me and work with me. . . . Learn the unforced rhythms of grace” (The Message).

When I think that serving God is all up to me, I’ve begun working for Him instead of walking with Him. There is a vital difference. If I’m not walking with Christ, my spirit becomes dry and brittle. People are annoyances, not fellow humans created in God’s image. Nothing seems right.

When I sense that I’m practicing religion instead of enjoying a relationship with Jesus, it’s time to lay the burden down and walk with Him in His “unforced rhythms of grace.” —David C. McCasland

Lord Jesus, I come to You today to exchange my frenzied work for Your pathway of grace.

Jesus wants us to walk with Him.

INSIGHT: How could Jesus offer rest and relief to His followers while knowing the road ahead was steep and difficult? (see Matt: 10:17-24, 34-36). A careful reading of Matthew’s gospel answers such questions. In His day, Jesus was a breath of fresh air. He wasn’t like the self-righteous teachers who had a moral principle for every problem. He was a giver. When He sent His disciples out to announce the good news of His coming, He gave them the ability to do life-giving miracles to show their credibility (10:1). Imagine the exhilaration they must have felt at the end of a hard day. They were discovering for themselves what it meant to reach out to sick, oppressed, and troubled people by the Spirit Jesus gave them, rather than by the strain and monotony of religious duty.Now the offer is ours to accept. Our Lord invites us to come to Him and discover His “unforced rhythms of grace” and rest. The promise is for the joy of what He can do in us and in the lives of those He inspires us to love and serve. Mart DeHaan

 

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Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Insane or In Person?

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“I’m inclined to suspect that there are very few atheists in prison,” notes Richard Dawkins.(1) In his book The God Delusion, the Oxford biologist sets forth the staggering estimation that post-Christian secular societies are far more moral than societies that operate from a religious foundation. He recounts the horrors carried out in the name of God, moving past the monstrosities of the 20th century at the hands of atheist regimes by claiming their atheism had nothing to do with their behavior. When it comes to behaving ethically, he is insistent that believers are worse than atheists.

British statesman Roy Hattersley, himself a fellow atheist, disagrees. In an article published some time after Hurricane Katrina hit U.S. shores, Hattersley makes some observations about the kind of people doing disaster work long after the disaster has been forgotten. “Notable by their absence are teams from rationalist societies, free thinkers’ clubs and atheists’ associations—the sort of people who not only scoff at religion’s intellectual absurdity but also regard it as a positive force for evil.”(2) His words are bold, even if strewn with typical condescension. He continues:

“Civilised people do not believe that drug addiction and male prostitution offend against divine ordinance. But those who do are the men and women most willing to change the fetid bandages, replace the sodden sleeping bags and—probably most difficult of all—argue, without a trace of impatience, that the time has come for some serious medical treatment.”

Those who confess the truthfulness of Christianity—and so choose to embody its message—have confounded the world for ages. Throughout the second century there emerged a great number of rumors regarding the curious beliefs and practices of Christians. After all, the leader these people claimed to follow was a criminal executed by Roman authorities. There was thus a great deal of suspicion surrounding the motives and behavior of Christians. Why would anyone follow a man who had been crucified? Why would they choose to die rather than renounce their faith? Why would they treat those who hate them with kindness?

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Follow Peace

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Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. —Romans 8:6 AMPC

People hesitate to follow their desires, because they don’t know how to divide their soul from their spirit. If they can’t discern the difference between the desires of their flesh and Spirit-led desires, then they don’t know when God is truly leading them to do something.

But you can learn to know if God is leading you or not. When God gives you a desire for something, He will give you peace along with it. You may not be excited, but you will have peace, if the thing you desire is from God. Wait for peace today.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

 

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Simple, Wonderful Message

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“He brought them out and begged them, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and your entire household” (Acts 16:30- 31).

The story is told of a man who was very fond of the famous general, Robert E. Lee. He was eager for his four-year-old son to admire and respect this great, southern, Civil War general as much as he did. So every day, as they strolled through the park near their home, they would stop in front of the statue of General Lee astride his beautiful horse, Traveler, and the father would say to his little David, “Say good morning to General Lee,” The little lad would dutifully wave his hand in obedience to his father’s instructions and say, “Good morning, General Lee.” Months passed and one day, as they again stood in front of the statue of General Lee, the father said, “Say good morning to General Lee,” which the boy did. But as they walked on through the park together, David asked, “Daddy, who is that man riding General Lee?”

One of the biggest problems we have in life is communication. To David’s young mind the horse was more important that the rider. We all have a tendency to filter information through our own experiences. What I say is not necessarily what you hear, and what you say may not be what I hear. This is true even in communicating the gospel.

The most joyful news ever announced is found in Luke 2:10,11:” ‘Don’t be afraid!’ the angel said. ‘I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem!'” Yet that simple message has been diluted and profaned through the centuries.

One evening, I presented this message to a very mature, intelligent layman.

“Does it make sense?” I inquired.

It was as though a light suddenly went on and, for the first time, he understood what the gospel was all about. “Of course it does,” he answered.

“Would you like to receive Christ right now?”

“Of course I would. If what you say is true, I should think everyone would want to know Christ.”

If Spirit-filled, trained communicators properly presented the gospel, the majority of people would want to receive Christ.

Bible Reading: John 1:9-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will seek to present the good news of God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ in such a logical, joyful, Spirit-filled way that those who hear will want to know my wonderful Savior. And I will trust God to use me to train other Christians as well to be better communicators of the greatest news the world has ever heard.

 

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Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Enjoy God’s Presence

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You will never go where God is not! Envision the next few hours of your life. Where will you find yourself? In a school? God indwells the classroom. On the highways? His presence lingers among the traffic. In the hospital, the boardroom, the living room, the funeral home? God will be there.

Acts 17:27 says, “He is not far from each one of us.” Each of us. God doesn’t play favorites. All people can enjoy God’s presence. But many don’t. They plod through life as if their only strength was their own. As if their only solution comes from within and not from above. They live God-less lives. Lay claim to the nearness of God. Grip God’s promise like the parachute it is. Repeat it to yourself over and over: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

From You’ll Get Through This

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – What Burger King can teach us about truth

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Burger King has nearly doubled its profits in recent years. Its sales have grown by $4.2 billion; it opened 735 new restaurants worldwide last year. Who is responsible for such remarkable success? One of the youngest restaurant CEOs in history.

Daniel Schwartz was thirty-two years old when he took over the fast-food chain four years ago. He worked the broiler, assembled sandwiches, took customer orders, and even scrubbed toilets and washed the floors. Along the way, he discovered that Burger King’s menu needed to be simplified greatly and that corporate expenses were far too high.

Though his home is in Miami, he spends most of his time traveling. “I literally live on American Airlines’ 737 commercial airplane,” he told a reporter. The reason: “I believe in MWA—management by walking around—so I spend as much time as possible traveling and visiting franchise partners. You only learn by walking around and meeting people.”

Shifting topics, Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday. He called the accusation that he participated in or was aware of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign a “detestable and appalling lie.”

Meanwhile, former NBA player Dennis Rodman is back in the news after returning to North Korea. The State Department has declared that he is not acting in any official capacity. Rodman tweeted, “I will discuss my mission upon my return to the USA.”

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley –Getting Out of Step

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1 Samuel 13:5-14

Saul had everything going for him. Besides being the son of a highly respected man, he had good looks and a nice physique (1 Samuel 9:1-2). Since God chose him to lead Israel at a time when the nation had some formidable enemies, we can surmise that he was also a courageous and charismatic leader. Even the prophet Samuel was impressed and spoke admiringly at Saul’s coronation: “Surely there is no one like him among all the people” (1 Samuel 10:24).

But despite Saul’s many positive attributes, he tragically spent much of his reign out of step with God. The king’s errors in judgment were mostly due to an inflated sense of self-importance. One blunder would set off a sin-filled chain reaction, as we see in his desperate quest to kill David (chapters 18-26).

The Lord hates arrogance. When people think more highly of themselves than they should (Rom. 12:3), they stop relying upon divine guidance in making decisions. Terrible consequences result from such wrong thinking. For example, the king thought so much of himself that he ignored the law and offered a pre-battle sacrifice in Samuel’s place. Because Saul refused to submit himself to God’s command, the Lord handed the kingdom over to a man who would (1 Samuel 16:13-14).

Pride always drives a person away from God’s path. With each misstep, an arrogant man or woman wanders farther into a spiritual wilderness. Nothing of lasting value can be found in such a desolate place. But the Lord will gladly welcome back the wayward. Blessing and joy await those who walk in step with Him.

Bible in One Year: Psalm 15-18

 

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Consider the Clouds

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Read: Job 37:1–16

Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21

Do you know how the clouds hang poised?—Job 37:16

One day many years ago my boys and I were lying on our backs in the yard watching the clouds drift by. “Dad,” one asked, “why do clouds float?” “Well, son,” I began, intending to give him the benefit of my vast knowledge, but then I lapsed into silence. “I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I’ll find out for you.”

The answer, I discovered, is that condensed moisture, descending by gravity, meets warmer temperatures rising from the land. That moisture then changes into vapor and ascends back into the air. That’s a natural explanation for the phenomenon.

But natural explanations are not final answers. Clouds float because God in His wisdom has ordered the natural laws in such a way that they reveal the “wonders of him who has perfect knowledge” (Job 37:16). Clouds then can be thought of as a symbol—an outward and visible sign of God’s goodness and grace in creation.

So someday when you’re taking some time to see what images you can imagine in the clouds, remember this: The One who made all things beautiful makes the clouds float through the air. He does so to call us to wonder and adoration. The heavens—even the cumulus, stratus, and cirrus clouds—declare the glory of God. —David H. Roper

We are amazed at You, wonderful Creator, as we look at Your world. You deserve all the praise our hearts can give and so much more!

Creation is filled with signs that point to the Creator.

INSIGHT: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1). The word glory is often misunderstood. In Psalm 19:1, the Hebrew word for glory is kabod, meaning “weight, significance.” God’s eternal significance is seen in the fact that He brought a universe into existence! In the New Testament, the Greek term for glory is doxa, which speaks of honor, dignity, or praise. The God who created the universe and sent His Son for our rescue is to be praised because of who He is and because of all He has done.As you observe God’s created world today, what evokes a spirit of worship and praise? Bill Crowder

 

http://www.odb.org

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Disruption

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The streets were cluttered with trash instead of decorated with flowers. The houses had tarps for roofs, and often no roofs at all. The river water served for bathing, elimination, and drinking water. Bloated stomachs were not full; they were ravaged by parasites. Giant sloths hung lazily from the lush trees seemingly unaware, unaffected, and unbothered by the poverty and disease around them, and pet monkeys and parrots had ample food thrown their way. Yet countless numbers of children searched for food or other treasures among the dirt and filth of garbage piles. Still, laughter, singing, and smiles abounded, and the diverse landscape exuded an exotic vibrancy.

These composite impressions come from a visit to Brazil, a vast country that is both geographically and culturally rich, and which has some of the most impoverished areas in the world. This visit to Brazil several years ago was a vivid example of the experience of personal disruption. Growing up in suburban Illinois, with uniformly similar looking roofed houses, and with more than enough resources to take care of my needs and wants did not prepare me for this encounter with a land of unspeakable beauty and desolation. My disruptive encounter prompted many questions: Why did I have so much when others had so little? What could I do to make any real difference in their situation, and if I could make a difference, what would that look like? More importantly, was this encounter for me to make a difference, or for a difference to be made in me?

Disruption, as Webster’s New Riverside Dictionary defines it, can either be seen as an event that creates confusion and/or disorder, or can be seen as something that interrupts.(1) Of course, disruption creates both. When our beliefs are contradicted by our experience or challenged by competing and compelling alternatives, we feel disruption. When we encounter something radically different than anything we’ve known or experienced, such as I did in Brazil, we experience disruption. Disruption upends assumed expectations, interrupts our perceived self-efficacy and control, and complicates all that we’ve come to rely on and trust.

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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Your Future Is in the Lord

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. —Luke 4:18-19 KJV

I come from a background of abuse; I was raised in a dysfunctional home. My childhood was filled with fear and torment. The experts say that a child’s personality is formed within the first five years of his life. My personality was a mess! I lived in pretense behind walls of protection that I had built to keep people from hurting me. I was locking others out, but I was also locking myself in. I was a controller, so filled with fear that the only way I could face life was to feel that I was in control, and then no one could hurt me. As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone who has the kind of past I do ever be really all right? It’s impossible!

However, Jesus said that He came to make well those who were sick, brokenhearted, wounded, and bruised—those broken down by calamity.

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I could be set free. I had to have a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that my future was not determined by my past or even my present.

You may have had a miserable past, you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly, your future is not determined by your past or your present!

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.

 

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Produce Lovely Fruit

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“You didn’t choose Me! I chose you! I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using My name, He will give it to you” (John 15:16).

Some time ago I asked a leading theologian and dean of faculty of a renowned theological seminary if he felt that one could be a Spirit-filled person without sharing Christ as a way of life.

His answer was an emphatic, “No!” On what basis could he make such a strong statement? The answer is obvious. Our Savior came to “seek and to save the lost” and He has “chosen and ordained” us to share the good news of His love and forgiveness with everyone, everywhere.

To be unwilling to witness for Christ with our lips is to disobey this command just as much as to be unwilling to witness for Him by living holy lives is to disobey His command. In neither case can the disobedient Christian expect God to control and empower his life.

There are those who say, “I witness for Christ by living a good life.” But it is not enough to live a good life. Many non-Christians live fine, moral, ethical lives.

According to the Lord Jesus, the only way we can demonstrate that we are truly following Him is to produce fruit, which includes introducing others to our Savior as well as living holy lives. And the only way we can produce fruit is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bible Reading: John 15:7-15

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: My part of the “bargain” is to share the good news which will produce lovely fruit; God’s part is to provide the wisdom, love and power, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, to be a fruitful witness. “Lord help me to be faithful in my part, knowing You will be faithful in Yours.”

 

http://www.cru.org