Wednesday, May 13, 2015

THE RICHES OF OBEDIENCE

THE RICHES OF OBEDIENCE

READ: Psalm 119:14, 33-40

I have rejoiced in your laws as
much as in riches.  Psalm 119:14 NLT

Publicly operated lotteries exist in more than 100 countries.  In a recent year, lottery ticket sales totaled more than $85 billion in just the US and Canada, only part of the total sales worldwide.  The lure of huge jackpots has created a mindset among many that all of life’s problems would be solved “if I won lottery.”

There’s nothing wrong with wealth itself, but it has the power to deceive us into thinking that money is the answer to all our needs.  The psalmist, expressing a different point of view, wrote:  “I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches….I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word” (Psalm 119:14, 16 NLT).  This concept of spiritual treasure is focused on obedience to God and walking “in the path of [His] commandments” (v.35).

What if we were more excited about following the Lord’s Word than about winning a jackpot worth millions?  With the psalmist we might pray, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness.  Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (vv.36-37).

The riches of obedience-true riches-belong to all who walk with the Lord.

Dear Lord, may I commit each day to standing on the unchanging truth of Your Word and to growing in my relationship with You, the only measure of success in this life and in eternity.

Success is knowing and loving God.

INSIGHT
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible.  Its 176 verses are presented in 22 stanzas of 8 verses each, and each stanza corresponds to the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Because it is an acrostic song, Spurgeon said it could be called “the alphabet of love,”  for it unfolds God’s loving provision of wisdom for His children.

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


GOD WILL CATCH YOU

God will catch you
There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. 
Deuteronomy 33:26-27 NLT

When you are at the end of your rope, God is there to catch you — but not before. 
Erwin W. Lutzer

God's everlasting arms

Our world seemed to be falling apart. My husband was severely depressed, and his business was crumbling. As I tried to support and nurture our children, help my husband, and take up the slack financially, I became drained physically, spiritually, and mentally. I cried out to God in exhaustion, and I felt his everlasting arms underneath me. Quieting my racing heart, the Lord reminded me that although my own resources might be exhausted, his resources were limitless.
During that difficult season I experienced God as my refuge when there was nowhere else to turn, and I felt his security in the middle of a very uncertain, insecure time.
In today's passage Moses praises the Lord and assures the Israelites that God will be with them no matter what adversity or trial they encounter — that he is their refuge and underneath them are his everlasting arms. Do you need to feel God's everlasting arms carrying you today because your strength is exhausted? Do you know someone who is in desperate straits and needs God's help? Pray these verses for yourself or for someone else, and proclaim God's faithfulness.
LORD, there is no one like you! You ride across the heavens in majestic splendor to help us when we cry out to you. May we experience you today as our refuge and sense your everlasting arms of protection and love holding us. I praise you for your faithfulness and unparalleled power!
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 9.

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

OUR ONLY SAFETY

Today's promise: God is our security
Our only safety
The Lord protects the upright but destroys the wicked. 
Proverbs 10:29 NLT

The center of God's will is our only safety. 
Betsie ten Boom

A refuge and a ruin

Early explorers who dared to cross oceans quickly learned a valuable lesson: The currents of the sea could carry them to their destination, if followed correctly. Those currents could also divert them from their journey, if ignored. The very same current can have either a positive effect or a negative effect on a sailing vessel; it all depends on the knowledge and the response of the crew.
God's wisdom is, in some ways, like the currents of the sea. It can carry us where we need to go. It is our refuge, the means to keep us safe and bring us to our desired destination. But only if we follow it. The benefit of His wisdom only applies to those who are willing to line up with it and set their course accordingly. Otherwise, those same beneficial currents will lead to ruin.
History is filled with millions who have tried to follow a path contrary to God's wisdom. It may be a false religion or philosophy, a personal ambition, a political agenda, an economic strategy, or any other things that we humans, in our ignorance, may set our hearts on. Millions have sailed against the currents of God and failed. Their end is miserable. What looked so promising was found to be futile.
Do you have a personal agenda? Plans for your future? Examine them closely and ask yourself if they are thoroughly consistent with God's ways. If not, you could sail comfortably for thousands of miles, thinking you're headed toward the right destination, only to find out you're far, far away. Even slight variations in the beginning can lead you way off course in the end. Plan now. Learn the currents. Take refuges in the wisdom of God.
Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 14.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: God is our security

TRUSTING IN GOD'S PROMISES

Trusting in God's promises
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 
Psalm 138:2 NLT

God makes a promise, faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly awaits it. 
unknown


Precious promises

When David Livingstone had to pass through the most dangerous country of the fierce native chief Mburuma and decide whether to furtively sneak through at night or go by day and risk being killed, he staked his life on the promise of Jesus' presence in Matthew 29:19-20: "Go and make disciples of all nations.…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He wrote in his journal, "t is the word of a Gentleman of the most sacred and strictest honor, so there's an end on it!" Livingstone knew that God backs up his promises with all the honor of his name, so he proceeded in broad daylight, trusting in his Savior's promise. God fulfilled his Word, and Livingstone made the crossing safely because the Lord Jesus was beside him, just as he said he would be. God's promises are just as true and alive today for those who will pray them, trust them, stand on them, and walk in them.
THANK YOU, FATHER, for backing your promises by all the honor of your name. It is a mighty and powerful and trustworthy name! I give thanks to you for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Help me to move forward under your direction in the light of your unfailing and precious promises.
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for June 20.


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

LET HIM SEE

Let him see
Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs." Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes and let him see." The Lord opened his servant's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 
2 Kings 6:15-17 NLT

God's strength is greater

The Aramean army was advancing. Enemy horses, troops, and chariots were everywhere, surrounding the city with the express purpose of seizing Elisha. No wonder his servant was petrified when he woke up to the sight of a massive army bearing down on them. When the servant cried out to his master, Elisha shared how he perceived in spirit the might of the Lord, which was far greater than the forces opposing them. And when Elisha prays for God to open his servant's eyes so that he, too, can see what Elisha has seen, immediately he perceives the horses and chariots of fire protecting them.
The Lord is ready to open our eyes afresh for each new situation and to show us his vast resources. His strength and might are far greater than the enemy's, but we, like the servant, see "through a glass darkly," and we need for God to open our spiritual eyes.
LORD, grant me the light this day in the unseen realm to see how your strength is greater than any foe that threatens to assail me. Open my eyes, Lord! Remind me of your awesome power and unlimited resources, and then let me take courage because you are fighting for me!
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for June 24.
Digging Deeper: looking for a devotional that's easy to take with you? Try the new "mini" series:
The One Year® Mini for Women
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The One Year® Mini for Moms
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Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: God is our security

FREED BY "FOOLISHNESS"

Today's promise: God honors truth
Freed by "foolishness"
So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. 
1 Corinthians 1:20 NLT

We were deceived by the wisdom of the serpent, but we are freed by the foolishness of God. 
St. Augustine

The wisdom of the world

The wisdom of the world would never have chosen a cross for its salvation. The wisdom of the world always chooses the path of obvious victory. It knows nothing of the deeper battles and subtleties of faith. It acts on what it sees on the surface and grabs as much visible glory as it can. It will not wait; it seizes the day.
We are not born of that spirit. We are born of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God will lead us to the Cross. He points us to eternal realities, not temporary glory. While earthly wisdom tells us to get what we can while we can get it, God's wisdom shows us the reality of eternity that lies beyond the visible nature of this corrupt world. It shows us the Resurrection beyond the Cross.
Those of us who seek true wisdom do not simply desire information from God. We want to know what He is like. We must come to see Him as the source of all truth, and we must take our cures from Him. We shouldn't be satisfied with Him just telling us what to believe. We need to see it in action.
God has given us the answer, of course. We can examine the wisdom of Jesus, which led Him to death for a greater good. What He did in surrendering to the Cross was absolute foolishness in the eyes of the world. And it still is. But we can see beyond the Cross if we are wise, and based on what we see, we can walk toward it with confidence.
Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for April 14.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: God is our security

Friday, May 8, 2015

ALL ABOARD

ALL ABOARD
Read: 2 Peter 2:1-13
The Lord is…longsuffering
toward us, not willing that
any should perish.  2 Peter 3:9

One day when I dropped my husband off at our local train station, I watched as the conductor scanned the area for stragglers.  A woman with wet hair bounded from the  parking lot and up into the train.  Then, a man in a dark suit strode to the platform and climbed aboard.  The more late-comers sprinted to the tracks and boarded at the last moment.
Just as the conductor was patient with people boarding the train, God patiently waits for people to come to know Him.  However, someday Jesus will return and “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10).  When this happens, or when our physical bodies die, it will be too late to establish a relationship with God.
“The Lord is…longsuffering toward us,”  Peter says, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (v.9).  If you have delayed deciding to follow Christ there is good news-you can still commit yourself to Him.  “If you declare with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him for the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NIV).  He is calling.  Will you runic His direction?

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see, on the portals He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me:  “Come home.”  WILL L. THOMPSON
Now is the time to choose the Lord.

INSIGHT
Peter wrote to a persecuted and suffering group of Christians, which is why he highlighted the faithfulness of God.  Peter wanted them to remember that the Lord would fulfill the promise of His second coming (v.13).

Have a blessed day and weekend.
God Our Creator’s Love Always.
Unity & Peace


ENCOURAGING A LIFE-LONG LOVE OF GOD IN YOUR CHILDREN

Encouraging a Life-long Love of God in Your Children
Passing your faith to the next generation has been a biblical mandate from God to parents since the garden of Eden. It was inscribed on the hearts of every Jewish family in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, and it continues for parents today. But how do we do this in a meaningful and natural way?
On May 12, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. (EST), Our Daily Bread Ministries will present a live webinar entitled “Growing Faith: Talking with Your Kids About God.” This engaging discussion with host Tim Jackson will feature special guests Crystal Bowman and Teri McKinley, the mother-daughter writing team who authored the Our Daily Bread for Kids devotional book and who have some creative ideas for parents to help their children on their journey of faith.
We will explore some of the challenges Christian parents face when trying to pass along their faith. We will also offer ways to share biblical truth that encourages exploration of who God is and His love for His children. Crystal and Teri will share their experiences and offer ways for you as a Christian parent to do the following:
Embrace the idea of passing on faith to the next generation.
Introduce your children to biblical truth in a natural way.
Overcome fear of talking about God and faith with your kids.
Understand you don’t have to have “all the answers.”
Identify what is age-appropriate spiritual content for kids.

Introduce an attitude of discovery and truth instead of indoctrination.

THE TOUGH WORK OF LOVE AND RACIAL RECONCILIATION

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

The Tough Work of Love and Racial Reconciliation

It is difficult to overcome barriers - racial, religious, and ideological. We generally want to be validated – to hear things that support our feelings and worldview. This is even more true when accompanied by deep and enduring hurts.

Recently, I challenged a dear brother who is involved in Jewish evangelism. In his newsletter, he wrote:

       Antisemitism has one cause – Satan.

I responded:

       Understandably, you do not want to blame the victim or give additional ammo to the anti-Semite. Nor do we want to give needless offense to the Jewish community and to further alienate them from the Gospel by suggesting that they have played a role in bringing misfortune upon themselves. Nevertheless, we cannot leave out the fact that the Jews have been in rebellion to their God to this very day, and this rebellion has removed God’s protection and left them vulnerable to Satan.

I argued that we cannot leave this important factor of repentance out. The Prophets of Israel certainly didn’t. To leave out the need for Israel’s repentance is also to leave out God’s plea to the Jewish people to return and be healed. Ultimately, to leave this out is to leave them in a state of alienation from their God.

I don’t think that he appreciated my response. Nor would the Jewish people! No one wants to hear censure. I can even hear my mother saying, “We’ve suffered enough!”

But what does it mean to love? To tell people what they want to hear or what they need to hear? A dear Christian sister, who has devoted herself to the needs of disenfranchised youth, mostly of color, explained how she was able to meaningfully enter into their lives through listening and empathizing, and I commended her for this.

She related a story of her taking her youth group to the white residential area where she had grown up. She was understandably horrified when a white person asked them what they were doing there. The youth also were deeply hurt. At this point, what would love require of her? To affirm their worldview:

1.     That African Americans remain victims of a racist exclusionary system built on white privilege, or…

2.     That this nation has made tremendous strides. There are no longer any Jim Crow laws. All are guaranteed equal rights and equal access to the courts, elected office, the vote, and education. However, racial stereotypes remain in the hearts of many on BOTH sides of the divide, for understandable and also sinful reasons. Therefore, we all must examine ourselves, the way we see things, and the things that we might be doing to perpetuate the divide. We must all take responsibility to repent of our own sins and to walk in love. With the help of God, we are not merely victims, but individuals with dignity who can make a difference.

Which course should the sister have taken? Should she have reinforced the worldview of the youths that they are still victims and are purposely being excluded from American society – a worldview which would inevitably provoke their anger and hostility?  Or should she have challenged this worldview with a more productive and possibly more accurate perspective? Should she have said:

       This has to be painful, but most whites are no longer that way. We should even try to understand the concerns of the ones who do discriminate. Many whites are aware of the hate directed towards them by African Americans. They are also aware that they have become victims of black-on-white-crimes, which far exceed white-on-black crimes. They are also aware of the many white women who have been sexually assaulted by black men. Meanwhile, there are hardly any white men raping black women.

This is probably not what her youth would have wanted to hear, but it might have been what they needed to hear. Scripture warns us that:

       Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:19-21)

What will win respect for the African American? What will bestow dignity upon them? Not hatred, not anger, not unforgiveness, but patience when wronged:
       For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:19-21)

This applies to all of us! It also pertains to the white shopkeeper when African American youth enter his store. For Christ’s sake, he must greet them as fellow human beings, bearing the image of God and not the image of a potential thief. He must treat them with the dignity, for love “is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:5-7)


However, this isn’t even my primary concern. Instead, I am deeply grieved at how the embrace of the first worldview – the victimization narrative – has impacted the Body of Christ with anger, alienation, and a deep distrust for people of other races. Likewise, I am disturbed by any narrative that separates us.

I grieve for the church - its wounds, divisions, mutual suspicions - the walls we build. I too have been hurt and have built my walls! However, it is through unity in this Body that we can tear down the walls and impact the world for Christ, as Jesus prayed:
       "My prayer is… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23) 

Love and unity are not options. As His children, we must pursue these! If we are not pursuing love, we are not pursuing our Savior!

I long to see us touching the lives of one another in love for the sake of Christ, even for the sake of this blind world, so that they might know our Savior. But how inadequate we are! Let us pray that the Lord will equip us with His love unto love!


TEACH THE TRUTH

Today's promise: God honors truth
Teach the truth
Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. 
John 17:17 NLT


Truth is unchanging

"Hey, Mom, guess what we learned in school today?" Victor took off his raincoat and dropped it on the floor inside the back door.
"Did you know that people used to think the world was flat?" Victor said.
"Did they?" Mom said, dropping her mouth in an expression of shock. "If it's not flat, what shape is it?"
"It's round," Victor said. "You know that."
"You're right," Mom admitted. They sat down in a chair next to a freestanding globe in the corner of the front room. "But all those years people  thought the world was flat, was it flat or was it round?"
Victor thought for a moment before answering firmly, "Round."
Mom nodded, "That's right, Victor. You see what people thought didn't change what was true, did it? Let me ask you one more question, Victor. Some people say the Word of God isn't true. What do you think about that?"
Victor pondered his mom's question for a long minute before answering. "What they think doesn't matter, does it, Mommy?" Victor answered.
"You're right, Victor," Mom said. "Because truth doesn't change."
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Josh MacDowell's Family Devotions by Bob Hostetler, Tyndale House Publishers (1997), p 122.


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

BOUND TO BE TRUE

Today's promise: God honors truth
Bound to be true
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who…keep their promise even when it hurts. 
Psalm 15:1,4 NLT

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. 
Abraham Lincoln


Breach of contract

A man I was discipling was involved in a difficult suit with his partners; they had committed acts that had breached contracts and given them substantial liability.
His business partners wouldn't admit, much less deal with, the problem. So my friend arranged a luncheon during which he introduced me as his personal lawyer. His partners were surprised and even irritated as we began talking about the case, but after about 30 minutes they seemed relieved to finally be confronting the issues.
After about two hours, everyone agreed they would try to settle the case. My friend, who was mostly responsible for the problem, agreed to bear a disproportionately larger part of the financial settlement.
The case was settled within 30 days. Its impact on the reputation and customer base of the firm was minimal, and the partners saw my friend in a new light. He was someone who had courage, conviction, and conscience. He was a man of character.
Phil Downer in Eternal Impact
Rather than looking out for selfish gain in the courts, believers are commanded to work out disputes with justice and fairness. At the heart of such resolution of problems is the commitment of believers to "keep their promises even when it hurts" (Psalm 15:4).
Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for May 3.


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

THE LIVING TRUTH

Today's promise: God honors truth
The living Truth
Jesus said…"I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."
John 18:37 NLT


A wife prays for her husband's salvation

After a rather gentle talk [one evening] about Christianity, [my wife Davy] went to bed, leaving me lying upon the sofa in front of the fire reading.…A half hour passed. I let the book fall and switched off the lamp. Gazing upon the glowing coals, I wondered with a strange mixture of hope and fear whether Christ might be in very truth my God. Suddenly I became aware that Davy was praying beside me — she had stolen into the room in her nightgown and knelt down by the sofa. I looked at the quiet figure for a few moments. I have never seen her pray. Then she spoke.
"When I was in bed," she said very softly, "it seemed to me that God was telling me to come to you. I have prayed to God to fulfill your soul."
She paused a moment, and then she whispered: "Oh, my dearest — please believe!"
Moved almost to tears, I whispered back — a broken whisper, she wrote in the Journal [the book we both kept of our searching for God and truth] — I whispered, "Oh, I do believe." I was shaken by the affirmation that swept over me.
"Hold to this moment," she murmured. "Hold to it when doubts come. This is the truth — I know it it."
Sheldon Vanauken in A Severe Mercy
Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda, general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), p 1657.


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

SO GOOD, IT HAS TO BE TRUE!

Today's promise: God honors truth
So good, it has to be true!
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! 
Psalm 32:2 NLT

No, it's so good it has to be true. 
George MacDonald (when someone protested 
that the plan of salvation is too good to be true)


I never paid the bill

When I was boy, my mother would go to Margulie's grocery store, get what she needed, and tell Mr. Margulie to put it on her bill. Every once in a while, Mama would send me to Margulie's for something and tell me to put it on our bill. As I got older, I realized that Daddy had paid the bill. By the time I charged the next piece of bologna, the first piece had already been paid for.
God says blessed is he who goes down to Mr. Margulie's store. When he gets there, his books are clean because Daddy has already paid the bill. God says that when you come before him and sincerely repent, the record of that sin is paid for in full. There's no record of your past bill.
Kenneth G. Ulmer 
in Spiritually Fit to Run the Race
Some of us can confess to bringing home something from a toy store without paying for it. We were probably six or seven years old, and we thought we'd pulled a fast one. But, of course, Mom and Dad always found out. They warned us that we might be doing time on the rock pile for pilfering that box of Legos, and they dragged us back to the store. As we walked up to the owner with the Legos, we thought we were doomed. In most cases, grace entered the picture. The owner didn't call the police, but he did scare us half to death with a warning never to steal again. For most of us, that fixed our wagon once and for all.
Like the storeowner, God could hold our sins against us, but he doesn't. He doesn't because Jesus has already paid for the Legos. For that, we "sing with joy to the Lord" (Psalm 33:1).
Adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotions from the editors of Men of Integrity, a publication of Christianity Today International (Tyndale, 2002), entry for May 12.


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

WHAT DO YOU SERVE YOUR MIND?

Today's promise: God honors truth
What do you serve your mind?
Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 
Philippians 4:8 NLT

No one would allow garbage at his table, but many allow it served into their minds. 
Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979)

Watch your diet

What would we expect of someone who feeds only on fast food and unhealthy snacks filled with sugar and fats? A healthy body? Long life? No, we would expect physical health to be largely the product of physical intake. Is it any different in the spirit?
Modern culture is saturated with unhealthy spiritual food — from the lusts of the flesh and the eyes, to the human pride of the self-life, to elaborate and deceptive worldviews and philosophies. Hundreds of television channels, dozens of newspapers and magazines, unlimited cyberspace images, and a number of other media compete for our attention. We let many of them actually win our attention. And much of what we feed on is unhealthy. In our pursuit of wisdom, our minds often hunger for genuine nutrition.
"You are what you eat" applies not only in the physical world, but also in the spiritual. There's no way to take in junk without becoming junky.
God calls us to watch our diets. It pleases Him when we care for His temple, our bodies. But it pleases HIm much more when we care for our minds. Our thought life is where His Spirit most prefers to work, shaping uncluttered hearts and imparting wisdom to uncluttered minds. Even so, we do not make a smooth highway for Him into our souls. Through our entertainment, we let ourselves be bombarded by an incessant PR campaign for the ways of the world. Find a balance. Watch what goes into your mind. Without hindrance, let His thoughts nourish you.
Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for April 4.
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


Sunday, May 3, 2015

ONE WHO SERVES

ONE WHO SERVES

READ:  Luke 22:24-27

Yet I am among you at the One
who serves.  - Luke 22:27

I’m nobody’s servant”  I cried out.  That morning the demands of my family seemed too much as I frantically helped to find my husband’s blue tie, while feeding the crying baby and recovering the lost toy from under the bed for our 2-year-old.

Later on that day, as I was reading the Bible, I came across this verse:  “For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27).

Jesus didn’t have to wash His disciples’ feet, yet He did  (John 13:5).  There were servants who did that job, but Jesus chose to serve them.  Today’s society insists that we should aim to “be somebody.”  We want the best-paying job, the highest position in the company, the top leadership in church.  Yet whatever position we are in, we can learn from our Savior to serve.

We hold different roles as parents, children, friends, workers, leaders, or students.  The question is this:  Do we carry out those roles with an attitude of serve?  Even though my everyday routine is sometimes tiring, I’m thankful the Master will help me because I do want to follow His steps and willingly serve others.

May God help us to do this each day.  KEILA OCHOA

Dear Lord, I know that You did not come to be served, but to serve.  Sometimes I fail to think of others, but I want to be like You.  Please give me a heart like Yours.

We need a servant’s attitude to be like Jesus.

INSIGHT
Verse 24 says that the disciples argued about who was the greatest.  This was an ongoing dispute because on two earlier occasions they had displayed their desire to be first.  They fought while returning to Capernaum (Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48) and again on one of their trips into Jerusalem (Matthew 20:17-28; Mark 10:32-45).  Now here, just hours before Jesus was crucified, while the disciples were observing one of their most sacred feasts, the Passover meal, they quarreled over who was the greatest (Luke 22:14-24).  Rebuking them, Jesus said that true greatness is determined not by hierarchical authority (v.25) but by service and humility (v.26).

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


SEEING THE DIFFERENCE

Today's promise: God honors truth
Seeing the difference
If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today not to follow after other gods and worship them. 
Deuteronomy 28:13-14 NLT

In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the differences between things; and it is Christ who gives us light. 
Augustus Hare (1834-1903)


The head and not the tail

When reading Deuteronomy 28, it is pleasant to focus on the blessings in Moses' message, yet we cannot avoid the fact that there were two sides to this oracle. Blessings would rain on the children of Israel as a result of their obedience, but harsh consequences awaited those who served other gods.…When the children of Israel turned from God, they would return to him only when they realized that they had placed themselves under the yoke of a far less benevolent master. Therein lies the curse — willingly abandoning a loving God to follow one whose intent is not to bless but to destroy. God still longs to bless us, but there is another who prowls about seeking to destroy those who are precious to God. Choose today to serve the God who longs to make you the head and the not the tail.
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 5.


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

MERCY IN SPITE OF WICKEDNESS

Today's promise: God protects his people
Mercy in spite of wickedness
You will know I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness, says the Sovereign Lord. 
Ezekiel 20:44 NLT

God the Redeemer

Have you ever given God reason to be angry with you? Compare your sins with the sins of Israel. As you read through the Old Testament, you discover the truth that seems to shock most people: At no time in Israel's history did they ever remain faithful to God. Of course, there were periods of collective obedience.…But as soon as the blessings flowed, their hearts wandered, and once again they fell into their evil ways. Their lives were steeped in a constant pattern of rebellion and unfaithful living.
Ezekiel records just one of the many times God responded to Israel's unfaithfulness. God says to them, "In this also your fathers blasphemed me by forsaking me.…You continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day.…You say, 'We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.'.…As I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord" (Ezekiel 20:27, 31-36). Once again Israel had provoked the wrath of God, and now they sat awaiting his judgment. If there was ever a time that Israel deserved to be wiped from the face of the planet, it was this moment. Now their sentence was at hand. Hold on to your chairs because here comes the gavel!
"You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices" (Ezekiel 20:44, NIV, italics mine).
And what is God's name? Redeemer. Deliverer. Savior. What is the judgment he hands down? He plans to redeem them. Again. He deals with them according to his goodness, not their evil. He forgives them. Not because they deserve it but because it is God's nature to forgive.
Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for March 17.


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

Friday, May 1, 2015

POVERTY, THE CHURCH, AND ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS

Please Pray!


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

Poverty, the Church, and Entitlement Programs

Christians are routinely bashed for not being concerned about the poor. This charge is based upon our lack of support for “entitlement” programs.

Meanwhile, many are now calling for “income equality” as a basic “human right,” and even claim that this is a Christian thing. But is it? Certainly, concern for the poor is a high biblical priority. Here are some examples:

THE SABBATH  “Observe the sabbath day… Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. (Deut. 5:12-14)

The Sabbath was even a rest for the least of people. Such mercy for the poor was in direct contrast to all other ancient cultures:
       “Tacitus, Juvenal, Plutarch make merry over the idea of presenting one day in every seven to the worker! The far-reaching humanitarian significance of the Sabbath was, of course, undreamt of by them.” (J.H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs)

       “Subordination of the rights of property to those of humanity…a new conception in the history of the world-a conception that could as little have been derived from Egypt as from Greece and Rome.” (Hertz)

       “Among the Romans, the idea of property took precedence over theidea of humanity. Thus, if the debtor was unable to repay a sum advanced to him, the Roman creditor could imprison him in a private dungeon, chain him to a block, sell him into slavery, or kill him…pity for the poor was looked upon as sickly sentimentality, unworthy of a free man…Virgil praises one of his heros because he never felt any sympathy for sufferers through want; Seneca thinks it natural to recoil in horror from a poor man; and Paulus declares feeding the hungry to be cruelty because it prolongs a life of misery.” (Hertz)

According to Mosaic Law, the poor were never to become a permanent underclass. Therefore, debts had to be cancelled every seventh year – an historical anomaly among the nations:

THE SABBATH YEAR:

       At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. (Deuteronomy 15:1-3)

THE JUBILEE:
       Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. (Leviticus 25:10)

Land was the means of wealth and security. When the poor would lose their land, they would also lose their means of income. Therefore, the land had to revert to the family to whom it had been originally allocated.

THE THIRD YEAR TITHE:

       At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)

This was not intended for the able-bodied but for the needy. We do not know to what extent it provided for their needs.

GLEANING:

       "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 23:22)

The law of gleaning did not encourage laziness. Instead, the gleaners would have to forage strenuously for scarce resources.

LOANS:

       If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

Jesus seems to have only reiterated the Mosaic laws:
       Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:42)
These loans weren’t gifts. They had to be paid back or else the Israelite might have to sell himself as a servant until the debt is paid off. Giving was never to be administered in a way that created dependency but in a way that would help the needy to escape dependency.

Those who received the loan had to be treated with dignity. The loaner could not simply enter into the home of the indebted one. His dignity had to be preserved:

       When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. (Deuteronomy 24:10-11)

Although the indebted might have to provide security on his loan in case of default, the loaner could not deprive the indebted of his means of repaying the debt:

       Do not take a pair of millstones--not even the upper one--as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man's livelihood as security. (Deuteronomy 24:6)
Christians, therefore, rightly want to give in a way that will help and not hinder. If giving creates dependency and laziness, it is destructive. Instead, compassion argues that the lazy should reap the appropriate consequences of their laziness so that they might wake up:

       He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. (Proverbs 10:5)

       Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24)

       A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. (Proverbs 13:4)

       One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. (Proverbs 18:9)

Consequently, Paul argued that the lazy should not be enabled in their laziness:

       For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thess. 3:10)

When giving is not coupled with wisdom, it can damage:

       As for younger widows, do not put them on such a [support] list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. (1 Tim. 5:11-12)

Giving can also elicit contempt and an entitlement mentality. The Occupy Movement believes that they are entitled to the money of others. They decry the riches of the “one percent” and even talk violently against them, as if they have committed a great injustice. (Sometimes, it is a matter of injustice. But if this is so, then it must be mediated by the courts, or new laws must be passed to protect the poor. However, the Occupiers have never seemed able to articulate what the new laws should look like.)

From where do their threats come? They have been told that they are entitled to more, and that they have been unjustly cheated out of their “human rights.” While poverty is sometimes a matter of justice, it is not always so. It might instead be the product of other causes, including laziness and substance abuse.

It is therefore important to exercise discernment and wisdom. Many entitlement programs have actually hurt those who were supposed to be helped by them, creating dependency and an angry entitlement mentality:

We hardly need another polemic about the failure of America’s “war on poverty.” After decades of bitter wrangling and torpid inaction, there is at last a broad consensus that the welfare system is a cure no less malignant than the disease it was intended to remedy. Liberals and conservatives, politicians and program administrators, social workers and taxpayers have all been forced to acknowledge that the poor are not best served by our current lumbering and impersonal entitlement bureaucracy. They never have been. They never will be. On this, we now all agree.

If the poor are to be equipped with the tools of self-reliance and initiative, they must first restore family ties and community connections that have been sundered by privation and irresponsibility. Promiscuous philanthropy does little to solve the long-term dilemmas of social disintegration. It is little surprise then that programs that emphasize personal accountability, family responsibility, and community cooperation are much more likely to succeed than programs that simply dispense aid as sheer entitlements.

How can we truly help the poor? First, we have to understand their must fundamental needs. Gracey Olmstead writes:

       In his excellent essay at the end of the book, Peter Greer references a World Bank survey from the 1990s, in which surveyors asked financially poor people throughout the developing world how they would describe poverty. “The poor did not focus on their material need,” writes Greer. “Rather, they alluded to social and psychological aspects of poverty.” They referenced poverty in terms “shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness.” 

Can we give in a way that helps the needy recover their sense of dignity? Many Christian aid groups have! In The Tragedy of American Compassion, Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World Magazine, argues that, for 300 years, the church has been doing a good job of addressing the needs of the poor:

       Faith-based groups a century ago helped millions out of poverty and into homes. Local organizations had the detailed knowledge and flexibility necessary to administer the combination of loving compassion and rigorous discipline that was needed.

Caring for the poor is not an option, it is a Christian duty! However, this duty must be wisely fulfilled, or it will damage the ones we are to help.