Thursday, January 28, 2016

ARE YOU BREATHING THE SWEET AIR OF FORGIVENESS?

Today's promise: God is always willing to forgive us
Are you breathing the sweet air of forgiveness?
Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all.
Psalm 65:3 NLT

The sweet air of forgiveness

If you doubt God's forgiveness, allow the words of Romans 8:32 to strengthen your faith. If God gave up his only Son for you, so surely he will not hold back his forgiveness!
Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?
God's forgiveness is different than human forgiveness. Isaiah 43:25 declares that when God forgives sin, he forgets them forever.
"I — yes, I alone — am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again."
Human forgiveness often comes with hidden strings. We say we forgive, but later, at a crucial time, we yank the string and pull the offense back into view. Saying "I forgive you" comes easily, but truly forgiving and forgetting is much more difficult. Knowing our tendency to store past offenses and hold grudges, we assume that God does the same.
But the Bible proclaims that God will never think of our sins again. Does God take sin seriously? Definitely! Sin is so serious that it deserves the death penalty, eternal death.
Does God want to forgive sinners? Certainly! God sent Jesus to take the punishment for sin, dying on the cross in our place. All who repent and trust in Christ can be forgiven.
Can we trust God to forgive us? Of course! Release that load of guilt. Stand tall and breathe the sweet air of forgiveness.
From Living Water for Those Who Thirst Tyndale House Publishers (2000), pp 37-8


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HOW DOES YOUR LIFE REFLECT GOD'S FORGIVENESS?

Today's promise: God is always willing to forgive us
How does your life reflect God's forgiveness?
Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness of sins.
Acts 13:38 NLT

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 NLT

Proclaiming God's forgiveness

Proclamation of the Good News of God's forgiveness is what my Christian testimony is all about. That includes forgiveness within my marriage. There is great testimony of God's power when I forgive Teresa as He has forgiven me.
Nothing about myself wants to forgive. It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that I am able to forgive. Forgiveness is a divine reality that I must first receive from my Creator. Only then can the Spirit prompt me to share that forgiveness with others.
I remember when God humbled me with this truth through the words of Isaiah 53:4-6. Christ took on my sickness of selfishness and price and carried my pain to the cross. Jesus was pierced for my harsh words and snippy attitudes with my wife. He was crushed by my "white lies" and subtle dishonesty. The Savior took on the punishment for my years of neglecting my wife and forgetting my kids.
Because of Christ's forgiveness, Teresa and I can proclaim that it is possible to live in harmony with one another. We are grateful to be able to proclaim God's work in our marriage, to be able to demonstrate to those around us that we don't go to sleep with unforgiveness or bitterness in our hearts. This testimony has only been possible through the divine provision of His forgiveness.
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Devotions for Couples by David and Teresa Ferguson, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for June 5


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THEOLOGICAL THINKING: RESOLVING THE APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS


THEOLOGICAL THINKING: RESOLVING THE APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com


If we are to live a vibrant and confident Christian life, theological thinking cannot be a mere option. Rather, we are instructed to continually meditate on Scripture:

* “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:2-3)

When we meditate on the Word, we try to understand it, but we are faced with numerous apparent contradictions that we need to resolve.

Some of these "contradictions" are being thrust upon us by our post-Christian society. For example, in his zeal to flaunt Bible "contradictions," New Testament critic, Bart Ehrman, claims that the Pastoral Epistles present a different means of salvation than Paul's other Epistles:

* For Paul himself, only through the death and resurrection of Jesus can a person be saved. And for the Pastorals? [Ehrman regards the Pastorals as forgeries]. For women, at least, we're told in 1 Timothy 2 that they will "be saved" by bearing children. (Forged, 100)

This is a contradiction, right? Not exactly! Ehrman fails to tell us that "saved" can be used in at least two different ways:

1. Saved from eternal damnation, or
2. Saved from death!

The verse that Ehrman cites as a proof of a contradiction, actually means that a woman bearing a child will be saved from the threat of death, not damnation:

* “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”(1 Timothy 2:13-15)

Her life will be physically "saved" through the ordeal of childbearing. This verse has nothing to do with eternal salvation. How can we be sure that Paul is using definition #2? The context takes us back to Eve's original sin and the curse:

* To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” (Genesis 3:16)

In light of this, 1 Timothy promises that the woman "will be saved [from death] through childbearing." Contradiction resolved!

If we fail to reconcile these apparent contradictions, they will whittle away at our growth, confidence, clarity, and our willingness to be a light. If you have not had a child, this verse might have destroyed your confidence that you indeed belong to Christ. This uncertainty might either give rise to doubts about your salvation or even doubts that the Christian Faith makes any sense at all.

When we do theological thinking, we attempt to resolve the paradoxes in order in understand Scripture in a consistent and harmonious way. Only after we do this, can we live consistently and confidently. We have no other reasonable choice.

Here is another confusion-making verse:

* “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” (I John 3:6 ; NKJV)

This verse is also particularly disturbing. We all sin, and John even admits this (1 John 1:8-10), but here, John warns us that if we do sin, we are not saved!

How do we react to this? Most of the time, we just shelve our doubts, thinking that they will no longer bother us. However, it doesn't work that way. If we fail to resolve this matter, our doubts will inevitably resurface in other areas. Instead, we have to confront them.

Often, we lack the knowledge and training to do so. This is why God has given the church teachers and pastors:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:11-14)

To resolve this problem, we will need a pastor, teacher, or at least a good commentary to inform us that "to sin" in 1 John can also be translated, "to keep on sinning" as the ESV translates it:

* “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:6 ESV)

Consequently, it is not sins that damn us, but an unrepentant lifestyle of purposeful sinning.

This brings our understanding into harmony. What a relief! However, this relief is purchased at the price of seriously meditating on the Word - theology - to resolve these problems. And this brings rest and peace.


THE VANISHING HOPE FOR A NATURAL EXPLANATION

In There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, Antony Flew concluded that DNA required an intelligent cause:

* “It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design.”

* “I now believe there is a God…I now think it [the evidence] does point to a creative Intelligence almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together.”

How does the atheist respond? The atheist might admit that there is no natural answer yet available but, eventually, there will be one.

However, there are many problems with this response:

1.     It is merely an expression of faith.

2.     There is no evidence that anything occurs as a result of natural laws or forces. These laws of science might instead be emanating from the mind of God.

3.     This model assumes, without evidence, that there is a conflict between a scientific- and a God- explanation. However, if the elegant, immutable, and universal laws of science originate with God, then science depends on God. In this case, science and God are in partnership. Therefore, every scientific explanation should also tip its hat in God's direction.

4.     Even if the laws of science are natural, each can only account for one limited action. For example, gravity can only attract. It cannot write poetry or fry an egg. It only works according to formula. However, there are many things for which formula cannot account - products of intelligence, like a book. DNA for another.

No wonder the world's leading atheist turned to theism.



New York School of the Bible: http://www.nysb.nyc/


BEFORE THE PHONE

BEFORE THE PHONE
READ:  PSALM 18:1-6
In my distress I called to
the LORD.  Psalm 18:6
As a mom of young children I’m sometimes susceptible to panic.  My first reaction is to call my mom on the phone and ask her what to do with my son’s allergy or my daughter’s sudden cough.
Mom is a great resource, but when I read the Psalms, I’m reminded of how often we need the kind of help that no mortal can give.  In Psalm 18 David was in great danger.  Afraid, close to death, and in anguish, he called on the Lord.
David could say, “I love you, LORD” because he understood God was a fortress, a rock, and a deliverer (vv.1-2).  God was his shield, his salvation, and his stronghold.  Maybe we cannot understand David’s praise because we have not experienced God’s help.  It may be that we reach for the phone before going to God for advice and help.
Surely God puts people in our lives to give us help and comfort.  But let’s also remember to pray. God will hear us.  As David sang, “From his temple he hear my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (v.6).  When we go to God, we join David’s song and enjoy Him as our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.
Next time you reach for the phone, remember also to pray. 
 KEILA OCHOA
Dear Lord, help me to remember You are my deliverer, and You always hear my cry.
Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.
INSIGHT
Psalm 18 seems to be a song of retrospective understanding.  In many of David’s psalms we find him being pursued and hunted, first by Saul and later by Absalom.  During those times of flight and danger, David sometimes questioned God’s faithfulness, love, and care-wondering why the Lord didn’t intervene on his behalf.  In Psalm 18, however, we see a more reflective David.  He looked back on his journey and saw continuous evidence of the presence and protection of God along the way (vv. 1-3; 16-19; 25-29; 35-36; 47-50)-even in the seasons of life where that evidence seemed scarce.  Now, looking back, David affirmed what he had questioned-the faithfulness of God.  BILL CROWDER
Have a blessed night.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.
Unity & Peace


WHAT IS IT?

WHAT IS IT?
READ:  Exodus 16:11-31
When the Israelites saw it, 
they said to each other, “What
is it?”  -  Exodus 16:15
My mother taught Sunday school for decades.  One week she wanted to explain how God supplied food for the Israelites in the wilderness.  To make the story come alive, she created something to represent “manna” for the kids in her class.  She cut bread into small pieces and topped them with honey.  Her recipe was inspired by the Bible’s description of manna that say it “tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).
When the Israelites first encountered God’s bread from heaven, it appeared on the ground outside their tents like frost.  “When [they] saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’” (v.15) The Hebrew word man means “what,” so they called it manna.  They discovered they could grind it and form it into loaves or cook it in a pot (Numbers 11:7-8).  Whatever it was, it had a baffling arrival (Exodus 16:4, 14), a unique consistency (v.14), and a short expiration date (vv. 19-20).
Sometimes God provides for us in surprising ways.  This reminds us that He is not bound by our expectations, and we can’t predict what He will choose to do.  While we wait, focusing on who He is rather than what we think He should do will help us find joy and satisfaction in our relationship with Him.  
JENNIFER BENSON SCHULDT
Dear God, please help me to freely accept Your provision and the way You choose to deliver it.  Thank You for caring for me and meeting my needs.
Those who let God provide will always be satisfied.
Have a blessed night.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.
Unity & Peace



Tuesday, January 26, 2016

WHEN QUESTIONS REMAIN

WHEN QUESTIONS REMAIN
READ:  Job 23:1-12
He knows the way that
I take.  -  Job 23:10
On October 31, 2014, an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into the Mojave Desert.  The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived.  Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why.  The title of a newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions remain.”
Throughout life we may experience sorrows for which there are no adequate explanations.  Some are catastrophic events with far-reaching effects while others are personal, private tragedies that alter our individual lives and families.  We want to know why, but we seem to find more questions than answers.  Yet even as we struggle with “Why?” God extends His unfailing love to us.
When Job lost his children and his wealth in a single day (Job 1:13-19), he sank into an angry depression and resisted any attempted explanations by his friends.  Yet he held out hope that someday there would be an answer from God.  Even in the darkness Job could say, “[God] knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (23:10).
Oswald Chambers said, “There will come one day a personal and direct touch from God when every tear and perplexity, every oppression and distress, every suffering and pain, and wrong and injustice will have a complete and ample and overwhelming explanation.”
Today, as we face life’s unanswered questions, we can find help and hope in God’s love and promises.  DAVID MCCASLAND
For  more on this topic, read Why Doesn’t God Answer Me? at:
When we face unanswered questions, we find help and hope in God’s love.
INSIGHT
The date and author of the book of Job is unknown.  Some scholars suggest that Job lived at about the same time as Abraham and that Moses is the author.  When Job’s three friends heard about his sufferings (Job 1-2), they offered an explanation.  Over three rounds of debate (Job 4-14; 15-21; 22-27) they argued with Job that suffering is always a result of sin (4:7-9; 8:4-7).  Rejecting their explanations, Job sought to find an answer directly from God (23:1-5).  At a time when Job needed Him most, God was seemingly absent (vv.8-9).  Yet despite the silence and lack of answers, Job entrusted himself to God’s ways and drew strength from God’s Word (vv.10-12).     SIM KAY TEE
Have a bless night.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

HAVE YOU FELT YOUR SIN WAS BEYOND FORGIVENESS?

Today's promise: God is always willing to forgive us
Have You Felt Your Sin Was Beyond Forgiveness?
And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…
Joel 2:32NLT
"I assure you that any sin can be forgiven, including blasphemy; but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin." He told them this because they were saying he had an evil spirit.

Mark 3:28-29 NLT

"But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."

Mark 11:25 NLT
Nothing can ever separate us from his love…

Romans 8:38 NLT


Can any sin be forgiven?

The Bible commands us to forgive others when they have wronged us and to seek forgiveness when we have wronged others. We must do this to follow the example of God, who extends to us the ultimate pardon — forgiveness for our sins.
Forgiveness is not based on the magnitude of our sin, but the magnitude of the forgiver's love. No sin is too great for God's complete and unconditional love. The Bible does mention one unforgivable sin — an attitude of defiant hostility toward God that prevents us from accepting his forgiveness. Those who don't want his forgiveness are out of his reach.
adapted from TouchPoint Bible with devotional commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers, Tyndale House Publishers (1996), p 1199

A Christian will find it cheaper to pardon than to resent. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.
HANNAH MORE


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


Monday, January 25, 2016

HAVE YOU BEEN PARALYZED BY THE FAILURE TO CONFESS?

Today's promise: God is always willing to forgive us
Have you been paralyzed by the failure to confess?

When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable and groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them.
I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time.
Psalm 32:3-6 NLT
Confessing instead of hiding

We find many ways to get around admitting our sin. We rationalize our sins away. We try to drown out the guilt with all types of distractions. But over time, our sins deplete our will to pray. David was intimately familiar with all the ways one can try to hide sin. He had exhausted himself covering up his own sins. But everything changed when he finally gave up running away from his sin: "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you."
Like David, we can find our prayer life renewed when we freely confess our sins to God. Confess your sin and let God restore your prayer life to what it can and should be.
Prayer for today:
Dear Lord, I don't want to hide my sins anymore; I want to confess them to you today …
From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton, Tyndale House Publishers (2000), entry for January 4

On the other hand…

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them quite so much.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


HOW HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED GOD'S FORGIVENESS?

Today's promise: God is always willing to forgive us
How have you experienced God's forgiveness?
Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.
1 Kings 19:3-4 NLT

Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him.
Luke 17:4 NLT

About this week's promise

Since forgiveness is an expression of love, a person whose life has an endless supply of love should be demonstrating an endless supply of forgiveness. We can experience unlimited love in our relationship with God. It is this resource that makes it possible for us to forgive others again and again. First, we recognize that God forgives us time and time again. Second, we want to express God's love in a world that needs desperately to witness it.
adapted from TouchPoint Bible with devotional commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers, Tyndale House Publishers (1996), p 904
Digging Deeper
For more on forgiveness, see Radical Forgiveness by Julie Ann Barnhill, Tyndale House Publishers (2004).

Julie Ann Barnhill helps women understand and embrace the power of Christ to eradicate sin and establish a new life of freedom. Enjoy her typically sassy yet vulnerable style as Julie shares from her own and other women's experiences. Along the way you'll see what real forgiveness looks like in everyday life and relationships.

It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
"I can forgive, but I cannot forget," is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive."
HENRY WARD BEECHER


EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD


EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com
An atheist challenged me to give him evidence for the existence of God. I quoted former atheist and astronomer Alan Sandage:
* "As I said before, the world is too complicated in all of its parts to be due to chance alone. I am convinced that the existence of life with all its order in each of its organisms is simply too well put together. . . . The more one learns of biochemistry the more unbelievable it becomes unless there is some kind of organizing principle—an architect."
The atheist retorted that this observation wasn't evidence. Instead, I would have to produce scientific findings and peer-reviewed studies. I had to play according to his rules.
I thought about this and applied it to something else I was sure about - my wife's existence! I didn't need a peer-reviewed study to assure me that she existed. It is enough for me to see her and to see the things she had done for me and for our apartment.
Admittedly, I cannot see God, but I can see what He has done for me and also His work, just like Sandage had seen.
What did Sandage see that had made him reject atheism? He observed that an Architect must have been the Designer of this world. How did he know that blind chance could not have accounted for it? We all have a lot of experience with intelligent causes and non-intelligent causes. We therefore know that non-intelligent causes cannot account for computers, iPads, and even DNA.
Okay, there is a lot we don't know, but based upon what we do know, non-intelligent causes cannot build TVs or telescopes. These require intelligence.
In There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, Antony Flew concluded that DNA required an intelligent cause:
* “It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design.”
* “I now believe there is a God…I now think it [the evidence] does point to a creative Intelligence almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together.”
Flew did not need a peer-reviewed study to come to his final conclusion. However, science had revealed the "unbelievable complexity" of DNA and unable to provide any natural explanation for it. And Flew knew that there would be none forthcoming.
Besides, peer-reviewed studies never conclude, "God did it," but neither do they conclude, "Natural forces did it." It seems instead that science, by itself, is unable to pass judgment on this question, and I told my atheist friend as much.


OUR WORLDVIEW IS THE LENS THROUGH WHICH WE SEE

Our worldview can either bring reality into sharp focus or it can distort and prevent us from seeing what is right in front of our eyes.

Atheist Nobel Laureate, Francis Crick, also approached the evidence with a
worldview. However, rather than preventing him from seeing the evidence, it caused him to reject it:

* “An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have to have been satisfied to get it going."

Why then does he reject the miraculous? Because there is no place for it within his atheistic worldview, which demands a natural answer. Meanwhile, when a theist is confronted with the same evidence, he concludes otherwise.

Former atheist, Sir Fred Hoyle, concluded in favor of an Intelligent Designer:

* "Biochemical systems are exceedingly complex, so much so that the chance of their being formed through random shuffling of simple organic molecules is exceedingly minute, to a point indeed where it is insensibly different from zero." So, there must be "an intelligence, which designed the biochemicals and gave rise to the origin of carbonaceous life." (Norman Geisler is the source of these quotations.)

Why are people unwilling to revise their worldview when confronted with overwhelming evidence against it? Often, they don't want to.

Atheist Aldous Huxley wrote:

* "I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning; consequently, assumed it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find reasons for this assumption.... For myself, as no doubt for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom." (Ends and Means, 1937, pp. 270, 273, emp. added).

Not everyone rejects God in favor of sexual freedom. However, Huxley demonstrated, very transparently, that we have reasons for our world-views that might have nothing to do with the evidence.


New York School of the Bible: http://www.nysb.nyc/


CARELESS WORDS

CARELESS WORDS

READ:  James 3:1-12

The  tongue is a small part
of the body, but it makes
great boasts. -  James 3:5

My daughter has had a lot of ill health recently, and her husband has been wonderfully caring and supportive.  “You have a real treasure there!” I said.

“You didn’t think that when I first knew him” she said with a grin.

She was quite right  When Icilda and Philip got engaged, I was concerned.  They were such different personalities.  We have a large and noisy family, and Philip is more reserved.  And I had shared my misgivings with my daughter quite bluntly.

I was horrified to realize that the critical things I said so casually 15 years ago had stayed in her memory and could possibly have destroyed a relationship that has proved to be so right and happy.  It reminded me how much we need to guard what we say to others.  So many of us are quick to point out what we consider to be weaknesses in family, friends, or work colleagues, or to focus on their mistakes rather than their successes.  “The tongue is a small part of the body,” say James (3:5), yet the words it shapes can either destroy relationships or bring peace ad harmony to a situation in the workplace, the church, or the family.

Perhaps we should make David’s prayer our own as we start each day:  “Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).  MARION STROUD

Father, please curb my careless speech and put a guard on my tongue today and every day.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Proverbs 25:11 NKJV

INSIGHT
MARION STROUD  went to be with the Lord on August 8, 2015.  Since 2014 she had been writing devotional articles for Our Daily Bread that have touched the lives of readers around the world.  Marion worked as a cross-cultural trainer for Media Associates international, helping writers produce books for their own culture.  She had been a role model for writers for many years and is missed by hundreds of friends.

Have a blessed night.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.
Unity & Peace



HONORING GOD

HONORING GOD

READ:  John 15:1-5

[Jesus said,] “If you remain in 
me and I in you, you will bear
much fruit.”  John 15:5

The church services was still in progress, and we had some visitors there that morning.  The speaker was only half-way through his sermon when I noticed one of our visitors walking out.  I was curious and concerned, so I walked out to talk with her.

“You’re leaving so soon,” I said, approaching her.  “Is there a problem I can help with?”  She was frank and forthright. “Yes,” she said, “my problem is that sermon!  I don’t accept what the preacher is saying.”  He had said that no matter what we accomplish in life, the credit and praise belong to God.  “At least,” the woman moaned,”I deserve some credit for my achievements!”

I explained to her what the pastor meant.  People do deserve recognition and appreciation for what they do.  Yet even our gifts and talents are from God, so He gets the glory.  Even Jesus, the Son of God, said, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19).  He told His followers, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5).

We acknowledge the Lord as the one who helps us to accomplish everything.          LAWRENCE DARMANI

Lord, let me not forget to acknowledge You for all that You do for me and enable me to do.

God’s children do His will for His glory.

INSIGHT
John 15 forms the middle section of Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse-His final extended teaching time with His disciples before going to the cross.  He focuses on our deep dependence upon Him by using the comparison of a vine and its branches (vv.1-8).  Then He describes His great love for us that should result in our love for one another (vv. 9-17), our identification with Him as opposed to this world (vv. 18-25), and the reassuring ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives (vv.26-27).  These words not only form strategic preparation for His disciples ahead of His suffering and death, they also speak of His ongoing love for and commitment to all His children.          BILL CROWDER

Have a blessed night.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.
Unity & Peace


Saturday, January 23, 2016

HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO LIFT UP A DISCOURAGED LEADER?

Today's promise: Overcoming discouragement brings great blessing
Have you been able to lift up a discouraged leader?
Commission Joshua and encourage him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them the land you now see before you.
Deuteronomy 3:28 NLT
Discouraged encourager

When people spoke with Pastor Larry, they couldn't help feeling better about themselves. But the community he worked in deteriorated. Many people left for better jobs and were replaced by transient families with fewer skills. Schools and stores changed overnight.
Larry felt alienated in a community that once embraced his encouragement. He was ready to throw in the towel. Then an elderly woman named Pearl visited him. "I've watched you for nearly 10 years as you consoled, shepherded, and ministered to this community. You've been an encouragement to everyone," she said.
"Then why are so many people leaving and being replaced by individuals hostile to God's Word?" Larry asked.
"God has brought them to you to grow in your ministry," Pearl said. "I believe God gifted you with an encouraging heart for a time such as this."
Larry thanked Pearl for her honesty, then excused himself to go home. As he approached his house, a family of three greeted him. "Thank you, Pastor," said the father. "We've been to three other cities but never really felt at home till we arrived here."
David Farr in God's Men.
Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotionals by the editors of Men of Integrity magazine (Christianity Today, Intl), Tyndale House Publishers (2002), p 209.

Don't be discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.
STONSIFER


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HOW DO YOU REMIND YOURSELF OF GOD'S LEADING IN THE PAST?

Today's promise: Overcoming discouragement brings great blessing
How do you remind yourself of God's leading in the past?
Joshua said to the people, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: …I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him to the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendent through his son Isaac.… Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people.… With your very own eyes you saw what I did.… Finally, I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave you victory over them, and you took possession of their land.… When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you. There were also many other s who fought you. … It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. I gave you land you had not worked for, and I gave you cities you did not build—the cities in which you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.
Joshua 24:2-13 NLT


Joshua's story of hope

Joshua reminded a discouraged people of all the times God had provided for them and demonstrated his goodness. Reviewing past blessings can encourage us to continue to serve God faithfully. Keep records—through a journal or a scrapbook—of the love God has shown for you. When you need encouragement, review what God has already done, revisiting the mementos of his work in your life. And read the Bible in order to refresh your knowledge of the many blessings God has given his people throughout history.
adapted from TouchPoint Bible with devotional commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers, Tyndale House Publishers (1996), p 208


Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

COMMUNISM: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A NATION REJECTS GOD?

COMMUNISM: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A NATION REJECTS GOD?

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com


The Communist atheist nations rejected God more proactively than any other nations. What was the result? Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918 – 2008) was a Russian writer, and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in literature. He wrote revealingly about his own nation:

                  “Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” (‘Voice from the Gulag.’)

At a recent book fair, I asked a Communist:

                  How can you, in light of the universal horrors that have accompanied each instance of Communism, still be promoting this genocidal ideology?

He insisted that there were Communist/Atheist success stories and gesticulated excitedly towards the literature on his book table. He added that Cuba specifically stood out as a success story.

I knew that Communist Cuba had been an economic flop, but perhaps its “success” could be measured by other indicators. I admitted that I wasn’t aware of a massive genocide in Cuba. I therefore googled “genocide in Cuba,” prepared to find that perhaps Cuba had been an exception to what happens when atheists reign.

However, I found that this small island had slaughtered 125,000 of its own, and for what?

Communism/Atheist had presented the world with an alluring vision of a workers’ paradise. It is therefore not surprising that many were willing to give it a try. However, what is surprising is that this ideology still has its proponents after such unmitigated horrors over such a short period of time.