Sunday, September 27, 2015

CONSIDER THE POOR

CONSIDER THE POOR
READ:  Matthew 25:31-40
The righteous considers the cause
of the poor.  Proverbs 29:7 NKJV
The year was 1780, and Robert Raikes had a burden for the poor, illiterate children in his London neighborhood.  He notice that nothing was being done to help these children, so he set out to make a difference.  
He hired some women to set up schools for them on Sunday.  Using the Bible as their textbook, the teachers taught the poorest children of London to read and introduced them to the wisdom of the Bible.  Soon about 100 children were attending these classes and enjoying lunch in a safe, clean environment.  These “Sunday schools,” as they were soon called, eventually touched the lives of thousands of boys and girls.  By 1831, Sunday schools in Great Britain reached more than a million children-all because one man understood this truth:  “The righteous considers the cause of the poor” (Proverbs 29:7 NKJV).
It’s no secret that Jesus cares greatly for those who struggle.  In Mathew 25, He suggests that followers of Christ show a readiness for the Lord’s return by helping the hungry to get food, helping the thirsty to get a drink, helping the homeless to find a home, helping the naked to get clothes, and helping the sick or imprisoned to receive comfort (vv.35-36).
As we bear witness that Jesus Christ is inout hearts, we honor our compassionate Savior by considering those on God’s heart.
Awaken my heart, Lord, to those You care about, including the poor and helpless, the hungry and homeless, the troubled and hopeless in our world.
Open your heart to God to learn compassion,
and open your hand to give help.

INSIGHT
Today’s Bible reading is a portion of what is sometimes referred to as the Olivet Discourse, our Lord’s last recorded public sermon before going to the cross.  Matthew 24:3 says that Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, where He delivered this message on the future judgment and the  establishment of the kingdom.  Jesus spoke to them of tribulation, of the coming of the King, and of the need to have a prepared heart.  It’s a sober message, yet one that ends with Jesus calling His followers to a heart of service that reaches out to hurting people with compassion and generosity.  BLLL CROWDER

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


JUST AS I AM

Today's promise: God forgives all sins, no matter how big
Just as I Am
"Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God I come! I come!"

Charlotte Elliot (1789-1871)


A simple invitation
"The simple message of the song 'Just as I Am' was so popular in the early days of Billy Graham's evangelistic crusades that it became a regular part of the response to each appeal to make a public commitment for Christ.

Charlotte Elliott seemed to have everything going for her as a young woman. She was gifted as a portrait artist and also a writer of humorous verse. Then in her early thirties she suffered a serious illness that left her weak and depressed. During her illness a noted minister, Dr. Caesar Malan of Switzerland, came to visit her. Noticing her depression, he asked if she had peace with God. She resented the question and said she did not want to talk about it.

But a few days later she went to apologize to Dr. Malan. She said that she wanted to clean up some things in her life before becoming a Christian. Malan looked at her and answered, 'Come just as you are.' That was enough for Charlotte Elliot, and she yielded herself to the Lord that day.

Fourteen years later, remembering those words spoken to her by Caesar Malan in Brighton, England, she wrote this simple hymn that has been used to touch the hearts of millions who have responded to Christ's invitation to come just as they are."

from The One Year Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown (Tyndale) entry for June 22
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


Saturday, September 26, 2015

A NEW CREATION

A NEW CREATION
 Read Acts 9:10-22

If anyone is in Christ, the
new creation has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Early in my work life I had a coworker who seemed to delight in using God’s name as a profanity.  He mercilessly taunted Christians who were new to their faith or who tried to talk with him about Jesus.  On the day I left that job to move to another community and a new place of employment, I remember thinking that this man would never become a follower of Jesus.

Two years later I visited my old workplace.  He was still there, but never have I witnessed such a dramatic change in a person!  This man, so antagonistic to faith, was now a walking, talking example of what it means to be a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  And now, more than 30 years later, he’s still telling others how Jesus “met him where he was-sin and all.”

It occurs to me that the early Christians must have seen something similar in Paul, their fiery persecutor-a riveting example of what it means to become a new creation (Acts 9:1-22).  What great hope both of these lives are to those who think themselves beyond redemption!

Jesus sought Paul and my former coworker-ams me.  And He continues to day to reach the “unreachable” and model for us just how we can reach people too.  RANDY KILGORE

Lord, I want to learn to reach out to others and share Your love and forgiveness.  Teach me and help me to step out in both faith and trust.

No one is beyond the reach of God.

INSIGHT
A true encounter with Jesus always results in change.  However, this change is not merely stopping negative behavior; true change begins to do positive things.  Saul immediately “began to preach” (v. 20).
J.R. HUDBERG

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


DEALING WITH PERSECUTION AND INJUSTICE

For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:

Dealing with Persecution and Injustice

Please prayer about this and ask our Lord what we should be doing:
"There is an extraordinary silence in the West," said Rhys-Davies on Adam Carolla's podcast posted Monday night. "Basically, Christianity in the Middle East and in Africa is being wiped out — I mean not just ideologically but physically, and people are being enslaved and killed because they are Christians. And your country and my country are doing nothing about it."


Dealing with Persecution and Injustice

Persecution is not only on the way. It is not merely knocking at the door; it is in our home. Persecution has made the words of the Bible cry out with renewed vitality:
       In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)

As Jesus warned, evil is so deceptive that the persecutor will justify the worst abominations:

       They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. (John 16:2-3)

Many believe that cutting Christian heads off is a righteous act. If you are like me, your first reaction is to scream out in righteous indignation and want revenge. However, anger is too much to bear on a 24x7 basis. Consequently, I have found much relief in the words of our Lord:

       Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:1-8)

The first place to turn is always to the Lord, where we are to “trust in the Lord… delight…in the Lord… commit your way to the Lord.” He will take care of it. When we allow our anger to take charge, “it leads only to evil.”

Yet, in the Lord’s hands, our anger can be used productively. Notice that the Psalmist mentions “the justice of your cause.” Once we trustingly give our concerns to the Lord, we are not to sit on the sidelines and watch our neighbor’s house burn down. Instead, we are to take up the “cause” and pursue “justice” with the promise that our Lord will make “your righteousness shine like the dawn” and “your cause as the noonday sun.”

However, we do not pursue this “cause” with desperation but with confidence and joy:

       Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ… I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)

Just trust that our omnipotent God can change our fear into confidence so that we might be able to reflect the reality of the Gospel.

However, we cannot hide our eyes from the suffering of our brethren:

       Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? (Proverbs 24:11-12)

We often fail to be the Good Samaritan. However, we must confess our sin and ask Him to equip us to do better, no matter how many times we fail.

Finally, be assured that the victory is the Lord’s. From the Lord comes our confidence and not from ourselves. He has promised to rescue us and to punish our oppressors, as the Psalmist guarantees:
       For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever… Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. (Psalm 37:28-29; 34-38)

This message is disdained in the progressive West. According to their thinking, there should be no distinctions among people, even among the innocent and the guilty. We should all be one. However, the distinctions are obvious and undeniable. To deny them is to be willfully blind and to destroy society! Some people will rape and kill; others will protect and build up. Some deserve punishment; others deserve commendation.

Besides, knowing that God will bring justice frees us up to personally love and forgive others, even as we support the just role of the civil government (Romans 13:1-4).

Knowing that God will bring justice also psychologically unburdens us. God has planted justice in our heart. This means that we are tormented at the sight of injustice. In order to move on in life, we require that justice be done, that the murderer of our daughter be found and punished. This is pleasing before our God who “loves the just.”

One day, there will be justice, and our hearts will be perfectly at rest. It is this hope that allows us to confidently proceed.




BLOG - http://www.mannsword.blogspot.com
New York School of the Bible: http://www.nysb.nyc/



THE TRUTH ABOUT GRACE

Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:


The Truth about Grace

The Bible is all about grace – the mercy of God to us sinners. However, it is also about obedience and sanctification. While we are saved by grace through faith alone, without the need for good deeds (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:27), we are saved through a faith that is not alone. While works are not necessary for salvation, we are saved through a faith that works. Consequently, James wrote:

       But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (James 2:18; all verses are from the NIV)

This statement reflects the fact that faith produces fruit. One that doesn’t produce fruit is not a real faith but a dead one. If we trust in Christ, we will do what He tells us to do! This faith also endures to the end.

In contrast, pastor and dispensational theologian, Charles Stanley, believes that a saving faith need not endure:

       The Bible clearly teaches that God’s love for His people is of such magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand. (Eternal Security, 74)

Stanley believes that even the “believer” who becomes an unbeliever remains in Christ:

       Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy. Christ will remain faithful. (93)

Of course, “Christ will remain faithful,” but to whom? Will He remain faithful to someone who had merely a passing “faith?” Or is the real faith – the Biblical gift of faith – one that will endure, however battered it might be?

According to Stanley, saving faith need not endure. Why not? He believes that if we have to do anything to maintain our faith, that means that salvation depends on us and, therefore, isn’t a free gift “lest any should boast.”

However, many verses insist that we must continue in faith in order to be saved:

       “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)

       But now he has reconciled you… if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel… (Colossians 1:22-23)

       …show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:11-12)

In fact, if we fail to believe to the end, we were never saved:

       We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. (Hebrews 3:14; 6)

A real faith is an enduring faith. If we don't persist to the end, we never had faith to begin with. How can this be? Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman at the well that a true faith is like a fountain that continues to flow:

       “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Jesus’ words demonstrate that the real gift of faith has legs. It is pregnant with living water and will never quit until we are delivered into our eternal home.

A real faith inevitably produces good fruit, as Jesus preached in His Sermon on the Mount:
       "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:15-19)

A bad tree – the false prophets - does not produce good fruit. Instead, without true faith, they will face the fires. However, regarding the obedience of faith, McDavid, Richardson, and Zahl (MRZ) insist that a good tree need not produce good fruit:

       "We pontificate about the proper response to the Gift, as if God is subject to our code of manners. At Christmas, for example, what if you forget to send a thank-you immediately? What if, when you do, it is a shabby piece of work? What if you never send one? Will the gift be revoked? Again, any gift premised on the recipient's correct response to it is not much of a gift at all.

According to MRZ, God does not require any response to His gift. Consequently, the gift of life need not produce any fruit.

This represents a mild form of antinomianism (“against law”). This understanding either rejects or minimizes the claims of the law for obedience. MRZ minimize obedience by claiming that faith’s obedience to the gift of God is entirely unnecessary.

According to dispensational theologian, Lewis Sperry Chafer:

       Scripture is violated and the whole doctrine of grace confused when salvation is made to depend on anything other than believing. The divine message is not “believe and pray”…”believe and repent”…If they were as essential to salvation as believing they would never be omitted from any passage wherein the way to be saved is stated. (Major Bible Themes, 187).

Chafer and many others believe that if any requirement is added to grace, besides faith, then grace is no longer grace. However, the requirement of repentance for salvation is scripturally indisputable (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Tim. 2:24-26).

But is “the whole doctrine of grace confused when salvation is made to depend on anything other than believing?” Although there are confusing elements when we combine obedience to faith alone, the association of the two is undeniable:
       Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)

Paul declares that if we are saved by grace through faith, there will be the fruit of obedience “which leads to righteousness”:

       The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

       For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

A real faith must be accompanied by obedience! John also argues that the new life in Christ must be characterized by fruit:

       If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

If we do not walk in the light, we are not purified from all sin. John is even more explicit in the next chapter that a changed life must be the product of a changed faith:

       The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)

Jesus also declared that if we do not display the fruits of salvation, we do not have salvation:

       "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Such evildoers never had saving faith. Clearly, “evildoers,” those who do not confess and repent of their sins, cannot enter the kingdom. These very same evildoers will be condemned:
       "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28-29)

But doesn’t this requirement of holiness (Heb. 12:14) minimize grace if not do away with it entirely? Not if this requirement is met by grace! John explains that if we really have that gift of a new life and the indwelling Spirit, we will no longer continue in the practice of sin:

       No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)

       We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (1 John 5:18)

We cannot take credit for this, since it is the work of the Spirit. Paul even confessed that he gave the Spirit credit for all of his labors:

       But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Granted – it is difficult to explain how our efforts are, before all else, the fruit of the Spirit. However, Scripture links God’s grace and sovereignty together with our efforts towards obedience without apology. Paul claims that we have a responsibility in regards to our salvation but then claims that even our obedience is the result of the work of God:

       --continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)

We even find this same perplexity in Hebrew prophecy:

       They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” (Jeremiah 32:38-40; Ezekiel 36:25-27)

Israel will walk in obedience, not because they are doing something meritorious, but because of the grace of God. In light of this, MRZ and Chafer are not upholding grace but minimizing it and the extent of its work in our lives.

       I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

It is grace that gives birth to obedience and the new heart that brings it about. Hence, our entire lives, not just salvation, are bathed in the grace of God. It is this grace that not only gives us a new heart but also fruitage. Our entire lives are the fruit of His workmanship:
       For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

If we do not bear any signs of His workmanship, of good fruit, we are not His. However, often, we do not see it and are stricken because of this. Instead, we are far more conscious of our sins and spiritual failures. However, our Lord has given us assurance, even when we fall into such despair:

       If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:9-10)

The requirement of obedience doesn’t eliminate grace. It complements grace! How? Without the requirement of obedience along with our constant failures, we would become insensitive to grace. Even worse, we would feel that we are entitled to grace. However, it is the grace of our Lord and his requirement that we live in obedience that silences pride and highlights grace:
       Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (Romans 3:19-20)

It is through the law and the obedience that it demands that we become conscious of sin and are humbled, thereby made fit for service. Peter had been humbled. Instead of obedience, he denied the Lord three times, probably remembering that those who deny Jesus, Jesus will deny.

However, it was to Peter that Jesus returned with the command to “feed My sheep.” Peter had been humbled by his disobedience, but now he was made ready to serve.

We too need to be humbled daily by the commands of our Lord. It is only through the tears of brokenness that we can glory in grace.

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



THE MOST LETHAL SECULAR WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:


The Most Lethal Secular Weapon of Mass Destruction

A speaker at one secular humanism meeting strenuously advocated for the promotion of evolution. According to him, evolution is the best tool available to dismantle the Christian faith, and, for good reason.

Theistic evolutionist and former co-head of the Biologos Foundation, Karl Giberson, had written that evolution had undermined much of his biblical faith:

       “Acid is an appropriate metaphor for the erosion of my fundamentalism, as I slowly lost confidence in the Genesis story of creation and the scientific creationism that placed this ancient story within the framework of modern science. Dennett’s universal acid dissolved Adam and Eve; it ate through the Garden of Eden; it destroyed the historicity of the events of creation week. It etched holes in those parts of Christianity connected to the stories—the fall, “Christ as the second Adam,” the origins of sin, and nearly everything else that I counted sacred.” (Saving Darwin, 9-10)

However, I think that events have proven that secular humanism has a far more lethal weapon: free sex! How has modern secularism succeeded with this weapon? It has promoted free sex from all of its many and powerful pulpits – the schools, the media, the universities, Hollywood, and the courts. Its sermon is simple and persuasive:

       If you fear to follow your sexual passions, you are puritanical, imprisoned by ancient taboos, and missing out on life!

And we all have sexual passions. Especially for the youth, these passions are a consuming fire looking for an outlet. They are an open vat of gasoline awaiting a spark or the right encouragement, and secularists are more than ready to provide this encouragement.

Why? For one thing, those who engage in deviant sexual practices know that it is wrong. The one who masturbates before computer porn or commits adultery knows it’s wrong. Therefore, when anyone points an accusing finger, he reacts angrily. Instead, if his wife accuses him of always wearing blue shirts, he will laugh, because he does not feel the slightest degree of guilt for this.

Meanwhile, Jesus was hated for speaking the truth. Why?

       “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” (John 7:7)

Whenever we live for Christ, we are a reminder to the world that its sexual conduct is evil:

       But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)

To a world that has violated its own conscience and sexual mores, we are a smell of death, a reminder of their guilt. This is the way we were as teens. When we violated our moral standards and those of our parents, we became distant from them. The presence of our parents was like a light revealing our sins and shame. We, therefore, resented them and tried to distance ourselves, feeling “their disapproval.”

But was it their disapproval, or were we merely projecting our own feelings of guilt? We felt guilty and defensive and became convinced that they were the source of our guilt. We therefore ran from their light and preferred the darkness of those who lived and believed as we did.

This is what Jesus taught:
       This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light.” (John 3:19-21)

If we hate the light because it exposes our sins, we also hate the church, “the pillar of truth,” for the same reason. We complain that the church is judgmental, even though it is our own conscience that judges us and eventually separates us from the church.

If we live like Jesus, we will be drawn to Him, as He stated:

       “If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17)

If we live in opposition to Jesus, we will be drawn away from Him. And the secularist is not ignorant to this fact. If free sex and the allure of exploring one’s sexuality entice our youth, they will then be repelled by the church, no matter how loving the parents or the pastor. I have known numerous such parents who have been rejected by their children who demanded clear and unambiguous affirmations for their sexual lifestyle. In order to “keep” their children, some parents and pastors have tragically acquiesced.

However, they have not acquiesced in accordance with reason but in opposition. It seems that nothing will destroy us quicker than sexual sins. We don’t even have to look at the stats. Scripture tells us all that we need to know:

       Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and RECEIVED IN THEMSELVES THE DUE PENALTY FOR THEIR PERVERSION. (Romans 1:26-27)

       Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins SEXUALLY SINS AGAINST HIS OWN BODY. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

While sexuality was given to us as a blessing from God, blessings, wrongly used, can also become agents of self-destruction, also impacting others.


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


HOW WELL ARE YOU RUNNING THE RACE?

Today's promise: God has conquered all our enemies
How well are you running the race?
Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what I should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT


Running the Race
As he watched athletes training for and competing in their games, Paul saw an illustration of the struggles and victories of the Christian life. Although our final victory over death through Christ is always assured, we must strive for daily victory over the issues and temptations we face now.

We discipline ourselves, not in order to earn salvation, but to experience the joy and victory God intends for us now!

Look hard at your spiritual life. Are you vigorously participating in the game, barely keeping pace, or merely watching from the stands?

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

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT LOSING YOUR FAITH?

Today's promise: God has conquered all our enemies
Are you concerned about losing your faith?
Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? (Even the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day, we are being slaughtered like sheep.') No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39 NLT


We are God's People
"We are not babes in the woods — we are God's people and, no matter how it looks now, we are going to inherit this earth and rule it. The devil may be prince of this world, but the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and He will set up His kingdom and His people will be in charge of it." 
Vance Havner

Quoted in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes (Tyndale House) p 420


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

WHY DO WE LIE?

Today's promise: Lies will be exposed
Why do we lie?
"There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception.

Then Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us but to God."

As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. …

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what happened. Peter asked her, "Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?"

"Yes," she replied, "that was the price."

And Peter said, "How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this — conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out, too.…"
Acts 5:1-9 NLT


Holding back
"The sin Ananias and Sapphira committed was not stinginess or holding back part of their money; they were free to choose whether or not to sell the land and how much to give. Their sin was lying to God and God's people by saying they gave the whole amount while they were holding some back for themselves, trying to make themselves appear more generous than they really were. This act was judged harshly because dishonesty and covetousness are destructive in a church, preventing the Holy Spirit from working effectively."

from the TouchPoint Bible with commentaries by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 949
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


WHAT'S WRONG WITH A LITTLE PLAGIARISM?

Today's promise: Lies will be exposed
What's wrong with a little plagiarism?
"I hate and abhor all falsehood, but I love your law."
Psalm 119:163 NLT


Kidnapping of the Brainchild
"In an essay for Time magazine, Lance Morrow writes about "kidnapping the brainchild":

book critic for a newspaper plagiarized an old essay of mine. Someone sent the thing to me. There on the page, under another man's name, my words had taken up a new life — clause upon clause, whole paragraphs transplanted. My phrases ambled along dressed in the same meanings.…It argued and whistled and waved to friends. It acted very much at home. My sentences had gone over into a parallel universe, which was another writer's work.…The thoughts were mine, all right. But they were tricked up as another man's inner life, a stranger's…

The Commandments warn against stealing, against bearing false witness, against coveting. Plagiarius is kidnapper in Latin. The plagiarist snatches the writer's brainchildren, pieces of his soul…

The only charming plagiarism belongs to the young. Schoolchildren shovel information out of an encyclopedia. Gradually they complicate the burglary, taking two or three reference books instead of one. The mind (still on the wrong side of the law) then deviously begins to intermingle passages, reshuffle sentences, disguise raw chunks from the Britannica, find synonyms, reshape information until it becomes something like the student's own. A writer, as Saul Bellow has said, "is a reader moved to emulation." Knowledge transforms theft. An autonomous mind emerges from the sloughed skin of the plagiarist."

Lance Morrow, "Kidnapping the Brainchild,", Time, 3 December 1990, 126. Quoted in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes by R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale) p 133

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

COME TO YOUR SENSES

Today's promise: Lies will be exposed
Come to your senses
"When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger!"
Luke 15:17 NLT


Resisting forbidden fruit
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first volume of C. S. Lewis's famous Chronicles of Narnia series, which features four British children during World War II who are magically transported into the world of Narnia. There they are given the heroic task of helping to undo the curse cast by an evil witch, which has kept the land frozen in a perpetual winter.

Soon after arriving in Narnia, Edmund is separated from the other children and encounters the White Witch. She offers him a magical candy that he finds addicting; eating it puts him under her power. With deadly accuracy Lewis paints a picture of the way sin affects us. It doesn't announce itself as sin; it draws us in with something that seems pleasant and comforting but becomes addictive, blinding us to what is good and attracting us to what is evil.

The charms of the magical candy eventually wear off. The turning point comes when Edmund is finally moved to compassion for someone besides himself. The story echoes the parable of the lost son, who succumbs to sin and then comes to his senses, repents, and returns home to his overjoyed father."
adapted from How Now Shall We Live? Devotional by Charles Colson (Tyndale) pp 625-26
With the movie version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe available, now is a good time to read this classic tale and some of the many helpful books about it, including Walking Through the Wardrobe by Sarah Arthur (Tyndale, 2005)


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

STAYING PURE

Today's promise: Lies will be exposed
Staying pure
"How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules. I have tried my best to find you — don't let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
Psalm 119:9-11 NLT


Piling on
In the game of football it's called "piling on": You're already down when suddenly you get pummeled again by your opponent. In real life it's called spiritual warfare, and it's often disguised. You're suffering through a hard time when suddenly the enemy comes at you with what actually looks like relief.

Ah, how vulnerable we are in such moments! After all I've had to endure lately, I think I deserve a little break! How easy it is to rationalize! Would it really be so wrong for me to ________? Why not?

Of course, this is the nature of temptation. On the front end, sin looks "heavenly." On the back side, it is always hellish and makes bad situations worse.

Our only hope is in living out the promise that God's Word can keep us from sin. By filling our hearts and minds with the truth of God's Word, we are able to recognize the enemy's lies. That is how we stay pure in hard, tempting times (see Matthew 4:1-11). It is how we avoid Satan's deceptive attempts to hit us again when we're down.

Praying God's Promise:
God, when I hide your Word in my heart, I can keep from sinning! Grant me the wisdom to seek you and to hide your Word in my heart. I need discernment to apply your truth to everyday situations, especially when I am going through difficult times.

from Praying God's Promises in Tough Times by Len Wood (Tyndale) pp 170-71

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

A TWO-WAY STREET

Today's promise: God forgives all sins, no matter how big
A two-way street
"Come now, let us argue this out," says the Lord. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool."
Isaiah 1:18 NLT

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." 

2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT


About this week's promise:
"The situation referred to in these verses is what we call a "two-way street." We move in humility and repentance toward God, against whom we have sinned. In turn, God moves toward us with forgiveness and restoration. When we obey God, he will send blessing. And when we disobey God, we have the option of humble repentance. Blessings can flow again if our repentance is genuine and not merely a ploy to get "back on God's good side."

This two-way principle is also at work in all our human relationships. When sin has damaged a relationship, we can be restored through honest repentance, met with forgiveness. Sometimes, both parties must repent and forgive, because the fault is shared.

from the TouchPoint Bible with commentaries by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers (Tyndale) p 381

For more on this week's promise, check out these Tyndale resources:

Radical Forgiveness by Julie Ann Barnhill - for Women (2004)
Forgiven by Karen Kingsbury - Fiction (2005)
Why Sin Matters by Mark McMinn (2004)

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