Monday, April 30, 2018

🏳️‍🌈✝️ The Widow's Offering


Written by Gene Markland

04/30/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________ 


Lillie showed up for her job as a greeter at Walmart just like every other day. A petite lady with a glorious smile, it seemed as if she knew everyone in town as one-by-one people came through the door calling out, "Hello Miss Lillie!" What she didn't know was that today would not be work as usual.

Lillie grew up as the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher in the early 1900's in a humble home filled with love in the hills of Tennessee. Life was a sweet challenge for Miss Lillie, losing her son in childbirth, and raising two beautiful daughters during the great depression.

During World War II she was called to come to a secret government facility in nearby Oak Ridge Tennessee to pick up her husband who had collapsed. He had worked 48 hours without sleep in a mysterious building where we now know the government had been developing the nuclear bomb which ended the war. Sworn to secrecy, he never spoke of the activity in that building…ever.

Miss Lillie was always faithful to God, her church, and her family. A faithful tithe payer and giver, she helped those in need, even taking some into her home. Her children and many grandchildren were always remembered on birthdays and Christmas, and her prayers helped them through many a crisis. Hers was a life of humble means, yet rich in spiritual heritage.

Jesus spoke of how mighty a humble widow could be when he was in the Temple watching rich people put their gifts into the collection box. A poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies, which were called mites, the least valued coins at that time. Jesus said, "I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them, for they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has" (Luke 21:3-4 NLT).

Though just a couple of mites, her gift was mighty. The Bible also tells the story of the Prophet Elijah who was told by the Lord during a great famine to "go and live in a certain city for there is a widow there who will feed you."

This poor widow only had enough food to make one final tiny meal for herself and her son. They were prepared to die of starvation after their last tiny meal. However, the Lord had other plans for her. The prophet told her that if she gave him the tiny meal, she would never go hungry again. She obeyed in faith and her mite-sized meal was traded for a mighty supply that never ran out as long as the drought lasted. This was one of the great miracles of the Bible (1 Kings 17).

It seems that a woman of God, though left alone and in need, is not forgotten by the Lord. She is truly special in His sight and He will provide for her. If you are a widow or a single mom, take encouragement from this fact. He is mindful of you.

Even as Jesus was dying on the cross he provided for his mother, a widow. He spoke to her and his beloved disciple John and said, "'Woman, he is your son.' Then he said to his disciple, 'She is your mother.' From that day John took her into his home" (John 19:26-27 NLT). The Lord truly loves the widow.

And Miss Lillie? That day on the job at Walmart would not be work as usual, for she had a surprise in store. The store manager and employees stopped what they were doing and gave her a surprise birthday party. None of them could believe that Miss Lillie was 80 years old! She was such an active and vital greeter.

This tiny elderly widow had a mighty impact on her world. When I get to heaven and see her, I'll give Miss Lillie, my grandmother, a mighty hug.

Copyright © Gene Markland, used with permission.

More from CBN, here

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Praise God - My REDEEMER LIVES!!!



04/30/2018


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


RIGHT LIVING!  I AM YOUR LIVING REDEEMER!  Even after your skin has been destroyed, you will see Me in your flesh - with your own eyes.  Before you knew Me, you were a slave to sin.  In order to redeem you - to deliver you from this bondage - I paid the full penalty for your sins.  The price was astronomical:  the sacrifice of My own blood!  So now you belong to Me, and you will live with Me throughout eternity. 

Since you were bought at such an immeasurable price, I want you to glorify Me in your body and in your spirit.  You glorify Me in your body by taking good care of yourself and abstaining from immorality.  Your life is a precious gift from Me, and I want you to live it fully - in ways that bring Me Glory and give you healthy pleasure.  You glorify Me in your spirit by delighting in Me above all else.  This is a most joyful pursuit!  

The world contains much beauty and many sources of enjoyment, but I outshine them all.  As you orient your spirit toward Me, I bless you with the Joy of My Presence.  This pleasure is independent of your circumstances; it flows from the fountain of My eternal Love.  Because you are My redeemed one, I take great delight in you.  I quiet you with My Love; I rejoice over you with singing! 
 
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes..."  Job 19:25-27 

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."  John 8:34 

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's"  1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV 


🏳️‍🌈✝️ What a Difference!



04/30/2018


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

The other day, I answered a phone call meant for my sister who was out of town. I hardly recognized the voice on the other end. It was my uncle calling to thank her for an article she had written about his late wife. The article was a tribute to the stand his wife had taken for the Lord during her life, despite my uncle’s stubborn refusal to follow Christ. 

Not long after his wife’s passing, he gave his heart and life to the Lord, and I marveled at the change in him and the things we talked about. Even in a long-distance phone conversation, it was obvious. He told me he just could not believe all the things he had allowed himself to miss out on during those many years. 

Every summer he would take his wife to our yearly camp meeting in Portland, but he would never go inside the church. He drove three hundred miles, but never attended a service! He told me that one of his new goals is to make at least one camp meeting. What a difference: new conversation, new hope, new joy, and a new expectation of what is ahead in his new life with Jesus.

As long as I have known this uncle, I never heard joy from him, but joy was very evident over the phone that day. While we spoke, I thought, This man lost his companion of nearly fifty years only a few months ago, but he has found a new life with Jesus. Because of Jesus, he can go on, and even be happy! When I hung up the phone, I thought of how thrilled my aunt would be to talk to him now. I was thrilled! I wanted to tell somebody about the “new” uncle I have, and since my sister was out of town, I decided to tell you.

God makes such a change in our lives that not only do we know about it, but so does everyone else. Thank God for the difference He makes in a life that is consecrated to Him!
 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Abram's Doubt, Sarai's Danger



04/30/2018


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


"When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.” - Genesis 12:12–13 

Even the greatest models of faith were sometimes weak and doubtful. Take Abram for example. God had recently promised to make him a great nation. Had Abram trusted God's promise, he would not have feared being killed by the Egyptians since he did not yet have any descendants. But he was afraid, and in his fear, he turned to his wife for protection rather than God — doing so at the price of his integrity and hers.

His plan to save himself backfired. Pharaoh took Sarai into his harem. Even with his marriage now in jeopardy, Abram did not own up to his lies. Instead, he basically allowed it to happen, receiving riches from Pharaoh's hands in exchange for his wife’s company. Thankfully, God, who is rich in mercy, protected Sarai from harm by sending a plague against Pharaoh's household, and all was revealed.

This story reminds us that doubt and fear can make us do all kinds of silly, sinful things. It also helps us understand that turning to anyone else but God for protection will only make the situation more complicated. Let's not follow Abram's example. Instead of trying to solve our problems on our own when we are afraid, let us turn to God, knowing He is always faithful to fulfill His promises.

Father, when hardships come, we are often filled with fear, as Abram was as he entered Egypt. In those moments, remind us to turn to you for protection, instead of to others, so that we do not fall into sin, but rather honor you in that situation and grow in our trust of you. Amen.

Go Deeper — The next time you are afraid, ask God to help you understand what you are afraid of losing. Then, invite Him to show you which of His promises you can cling to in your situation to calm your fears. Entrust whatever you are afraid of losing to God, knowing His will is good, agreeable and perfect (see Romans 12:1-4).

More from The Life, here

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Will a man rob GOD???


Written by John O. Reid (1930-2016)

04/30/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________


"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. (9) You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. (10) Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:8-10
The people of Malachi's day had let down; their attitude was ho-hum, and they did not realize it.

We belong to God, yet we can, and do, let Him down in many ways. The ministry, like the priesthood, can let down in doctrine and cause great shipwreck to the faith of God's people. We, too, can let down in our offerings: the offering of our lives. We can let down in our marriages by not loving our spouses, or we can let down in not correctly raising our children. God wants a pure heart within us, and He wants us to obey Him in every facet of our lives, not just in tithing. We can let down in study and prayer. We can let down in putting God first. This is short-changing God.

Consider what God did for us. He gave His Son, the finest offering that He could possibly give. Jesus Christ gave Himself - not under constraint, but willingly - for us and for everyone in this world! What should we be giving back? We should be doing our very best to overcome and thus not rob God in the giving of a complete and living sacrifice.

Because of the people letting down, God says, "You are cursed with a curse - even this whole nation!" The response might as well have been, "Well, times are tough!" God could just as easily query, "Well, why do you think times are tough?" He tells them, "It is because you have been cheating Me! Do you not understand that? You have been robbing Me! That is why times are tough! Do not shove me out of your lives. You are letting down spiritually and physically. That is why you are having tough times. You are cursed with a curse for stealing - the whole nation - cursed!"

How do we turn this around?
Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)
Why does God want food in His house? We must go back to the purpose for tithing. What kind of food does He want? He wants spiritual food. He wants spiritual teaching. He wants right teaching in order to perfect the people of God. This is why He wants food in His house.

The operation of God's house must run as He intends to perfect the heart and to change the people. "Prove me, test me, try me," God says, "and I will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing. I will empty it upon you. I will open the sluices of heaven!" This is a figure of speech showing that a great supply of blessings will come.

God is saying, "Bring your tithes with a right heart and attitude and I will open the sluice, or the floodgates, of blessings and pour them out upon you until you cannot receive it all!" The conditions are a right heart and a right attitude. We do not know if these blessings will be spiritual or physical, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the blessings are going to be there!
— John O. Reid (1930-2016)
To learn more, see:
Tithing



  Related Topics:
Living Sacrifice
Neglect
Overcoming
Spiritual Food
Tithing

More from The Berean, here

Sunday, April 29, 2018

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Only You, Lord - Can take the Distress in my life and turn it into JOY...



04/29/2018


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. – Psalm 86:7

Every Saturday morning, I tune in to a local talk-radio station and pick up advice from “The Garden Doctor” and “Mr. Fix-it.” I try to put all the helpful advice I hear to good use. When my children were very young, I would ask other mothers for advice on potty training or discipline. As my children grew older, I was thankful for a friend who would lend an ear whenever I was worried about my children’s choice of friends or their grades at school. There was always someone to whom I could turn for advice or consolation. I felt sure that if I asked the right question or talked to the right person, everything would be fine. I would find a solution.

Then one day my father called to tell me that my mother had been diagnosed with cancer, a type that is incurable. The only thing that could be done was a treatment to slow the cancer down. As soon as I hung up the phone, I fell apart. My heart was screaming over the unfairness! I needed help. My mom needed help. Who could I call on? 

My mind raced through the list of friends, but I realized that there was no advice that would make this situation better. Then, from the depths of my soul, I cried out to God, “Only You, Lord, can help. Only You understand.” I will never forget the wave of peace and the assurance of God’s love that came over me just then. All I needed was Him. 

Everyone will, at some time in life, face situations that seem hopeless and for which any human remedy is beyond reach, but God is more than just a friend who will listen and offer some advice. He is a Friend who will take the burden off our shoulders and give us peace and comfort in exchange.

Whether today is smooth sailing or a rough and stormy ride, we must be sure we spend time with our best Friend, Jesus. He will stick by us no matter what comes along.
 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Are you certain of things not seen?



04/29/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________ 


FAITH!  WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE ME.  This may seem obvious, but there are actually many people who try to approach Me without truly believing I exist.  Some people simply want to cover all their bases, so they toss up an occasional prayer to Me - just in case I might really exist and someday be their Judge.  Others cry out to Me at times of extreme distress and then forget about Me when the crisis is over.  This is not genuine faith, and it does not please Me at all.  Faith that pleases Me is much more substantial:  It perceives as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. 
 
I enjoy rewarding those who earnestly seek Me.  I don't expect perfection in your search for Me, because I remember that you are dust.  I do, however, rejoice in your seeking Me persistently - day in and day out.  This is extremely pleasing to Me, and I reward you in numerous ways:  I whet your appetite to know Me ever more intimately.  I gradually change the desires of your heart so they line up more and more with the contents of My heart.  When you are going through tough times, I pour out upon you tender, overflowing Love.  As you open your heart to receive this Love-flow, you are ravishingly pleasing to Me. 

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."  Hebrews 11:6 

"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]."  Hebrews 11:1 AMP
 

Saturday, April 28, 2018

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Firing of House Chaplain Causes Uproar on Capitol Hill


The Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, the House chaplain, has served in the role since he was nominated in 2011 by Speaker John A. Boehner, a fellow Catholic. Credit J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s abrupt decision to dismiss the House chaplain triggered an uproar on Friday over religion, pitting Republican against Republican and offering Democrats a political opportunity in a year already moving their way.

Mr. Ryan moved quietly two weeks ago to remove the chaplain, the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy — so quietly that some lawmakers assumed the Catholic priest was retiring. But in an interview on Thursday with The New York Times, Father Conroy said he was blindsided when Mr. Ryan asked him to resign, and suggested politics — specifically a prayer he gave in November when Congress was debating a tax overhaul — may have been a factor in the speaker’s decision.





Father Conroy prayed then for lawmakers to “guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.” Shortly after, he said, he was admonished by Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, who is also a Roman Catholic.

“Padre, you just got to stay out of politics,” he recalled the speaker saying.

As reports of the dismissal circulated in the Capitol, some Republicans, in a closed-door meeting on Friday morning, demanded an explanation from Mr. Ryan, while Democrats commandeered the House floor in a boisterous, if unsuccessful, attempt to force the House to investigate Mr. Ryan’s decision.

At the House Republican meeting, Mr. Ryan told lawmakers that complaints about Father Conroy’s pastoral care — not politics or prayer — led to his decision, according to several who attended. The speaker’s spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said simply that he had “made the decision he believes to be in the best interest of the House.”

But the dismissal appears to be an unforced error in a political year when Republicans cannot afford mistakes. The controversy exposed long-simmering tensions between Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians over who should be lawmakers’ religious counselor. And a public clash between Southern evangelical Republicans and Northern Catholics could play to the advantage of Democrats, who are pressing hard to bring working-class Catholic regions in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin back into the Democratic fold.

The controversy was heightened when Representative Mark Walker, Republican of North Carolina and a Baptist minister, said Thursday in an interview with The Hill newspaper that he hoped the next chaplain of the House might come from a nondenominational church tradition who could relate to members with wives and children.

Catholic Democrats quickly called his remarks anti-Catholic, as Catholic priests are celibate, and Mr. Walker’s spokesman later said Mr. Walker was not excluding a particular faith group. One Republican, Representative Peter T. King of New York, took issue with the comments.

“To be excluding one religion up front, that has all sorts of connotations coming from the evangelical community,” Mr. King said in an interview. He said he had received several inquiries from priests about Mr. Ryan’s decision, and he told the speaker, “This issue is not going to go away that quickly.”
A House Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said Mr. Ryan gave the Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, an additional reason for Father Conroy’s ouster: Mr. Ryan said he was upset that the chaplain had granted an interview to The National Journal.

In the interview, Father Conroy expounded on matters like sexual harassment and a possible spiritual crisis in Congress. He said he was asked during his job interview whether he had ever molested a child. And while he said he had never been asked to counsel a victim of sexual harassment or assault, he had handled cases of workplace abuse during his tenure in the House.

“Think about it: Who are the people that run for office?” he was quoted as saying. “Are they all highly skilled in every endeavor? No! They’re not. Many of them, I can tell you, don’t know how to say hello in the hallway, let alone work with office people that maybe they don’t think they have to listen to.”

Ms. Pelosi issued a statement arguing that Mr. Ryan did not have the authority to dismiss the chaplain. “I have expressed my forceful disagreement with this decision to the speaker,” she said. “It is truly sad that he made this decision, and it is especially bewildering that he did so only a matter of months before the end of his term.”

The outrage broke down largely along party lines. Of 148 members of Congress who signed a letter to Mr. Ryan demanding answers on why he ousted Father Conroy, just one, Representative Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, was a Republican.

“This will have ramifications,” Mr. Jones said Friday afternoon. “This is bigger than Father Conroy and the House of Representatives. This is about religion in America.”

The controversy was multifaceted, pitting evangelicals against Catholics but also resurfacing lingering anger over this Congress’s singular accomplishment, the 10-year, $1.5 trillion overhaul of the tax code.

To supporters of that legislation, especially to one of its chief architects, Mr. Ryan, the prayer issued by Father Conroy would have stung: “May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle,” the priest said in the midst of the debate. “May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”

Father Conroy, who was named to the post in 2011 by another Catholic Republican speaker, John A. Boehner, said that he did not regard his November prayer as political in nature.

“If you are a hospital chaplain, you are going to pray about health,” he said. “If you are a chaplain of Congress, you are going to pray about what Congress is doing.”

He said Mr. Ryan’s remarks to him afterward marked the only time anyone from the speaker’s office had chastised him for veering into the political realm.

“I’ve never been talked to about being political in seven years,” he said.

In an election that ultimately will revolve around President Trump, the controversy may well prove ephemeral.

“Whatever Democrats try to do, if they try to politicize this or capitalize on this, I just think it is way too obscure,” said Douglas Heye, a longtime Republican political strategist and a Catholic. “If you are having a larger conversation about ‘Catholic issues,’ Trump is going to dominate that.”

Ten years ago on Capitol Hill, the number of Catholic Democrats in the House was more than double the number of Catholic Republicans. Now it is nearly even.

Some on the left see an emerging issue for Mr. Ryan and his supporters. “Partisans will likely frame this as a Catholic versus evangelical contest,” said Christopher J. Hale, a strategist who did Catholic outreach for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. “They made a political football out of a good Catholic priest.”

The spat is particularly pointed because religious power in Washington has shifted drastically under Mr. Trump to white evangelical leaders. Unlike Mr. Obama, who relied regularly on a religiously diverse group of interfaith advisers, including prominent Catholics, Mr. Trump has elevated a select group of conservative evangelicals who routinely defend his political agenda, and it is rare to see a Catholic bishop in the White House.

Mr. Trump himself famously feuded with Pope Francis during his 2016 presidential campaign over Mr. Trump’s push to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico, which Francis called “not Christian.” Last year, some of Mr. Trump’s evangelical advisers sought to quiet Vatican criticism of the rightward direction of American Catholicism.

Before Francis became pope, the Vatican seemed to favor Republican mainstay issues, such as opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Francis’ rise helped reset the role of Catholicism in American public life, and prioritized political and economic messages on immigration and climate change.

The pope, like Father Conroy, is a Jesuit, an order of priests viewed by some as more liberal. Father Conroy’s resignation is all the more contentious in Catholic circles because Mr. Ryan is a Catholic conservative.

“We are a long way from Pope Francis at the White House and in the Capitol,” said John Carr, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. “The divisions are greater, they are more stark and they are more angry.”

On Friday, the Catholic Association, a more conservative group, came to Mr. Ryan’s defense. 
Maureen Ferguson, a senior policy adviser with the organization, called criticism surrounding his decision to ask Father Conroy to step down “downright absurd.”

“Anyone who knows Speaker Ryan knows he is a devoted Catholic,” she said. “Much ado is being made about nothing.”

For others, it far more serious. The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and an editor at large of America magazine, said he has heard from Catholics who are “dismayed” that a chaplain would be fired for apparently defending the poor, and he worries about the anti-Catholic dog-whistling.

“The implication that, as one legislator said, a ‘family man’ would be more suitable smacks of anti-Catholicism,” Father Martin said. “By that yardstick, Jesus wouldn’t qualify either.”


🏳️‍🌈✝️ GLORIFYING AND ENJOYING GOD IS A HIGHER PRIORITY than maintaining a tidy, structured life.



04/28/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________  

CONTROL!  GLORIFYING AND ENJOYING ME IS A HIGHER PRIORITY than maintaining a tidy, structured life.  Your heart resonates with this truth, but in practice, you usually strive to keep things under control.  I read your thoughts with perfect accuracy, so I know how easily you lose perspective.  
 
When "order" becomes your focus, you usually try to enlist My help in regaining control rather than asking Me to help you enjoy Me.  Nevertheless, I delight in your heartfelt desire to "kick up your heels" in celebration of who I AM - even though it's so difficult for you. 
 
Let's think together about this:  To glorify and enjoy Me as you desire, you need to relinquish control to Me.  You may feel as if this would involve giving up something valuable, because controlling things is a way you try to feel safe.  In reality, however, what I'm asking you to give up - the striving to maintain control - is something that frustrates you far more than it helps you.  Even if you succeed in creating a tidy life for a time, you will not be able to maintain it. 
 
Instead of wasting your energy on an impossible task, endeavor to celebrate your relationship with Me.  Learn to walk more consistently in the Light of My Presence.  Indeed those who walk in this Light can rejoice in Me all day long, exulting in My righteousness.  Glorify Me by living joyously in My energizing Light. 

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O LORD.  They rejoice in Your name all day long; they exult in Your righteousness."  Psalm 89:15-16

 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Doing What God Is Blessing


Written by Craig von Buseck

04/28/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________ 


The Bible tells us that when he was confronted with an enemy or an obstacle, again and again King David would "inquire of the Lord."

In 1 Samuel 30, we see that while David and his mighty men were off on a raid, the Amalekites came into their camp and carried off all the women and children. The Bible says that David faced danger from his own men who were distraught by this tragedy. But David turned to the Lord for help.
David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.  Then he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring me the ephod!" So Abiathar brought it.  Then David asked the LORD, "Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?" And the LORD told him, "Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!" (1 Sam. 30:6-8, NLT)
Often when facing a struggle we are tempted to turn from the Lord in anger or hurt. But these are the times when it is essential to turn to the Lord and to seek His face and His counsel. David could have given in to despair and run from God at that crucial moment, and that very well might have been the last thing we ever heard about him.

But he didn't run from God, he ran to God.

And there is another lesson here. David could have gone to the Lord and said, "I'm planning to go after the Amalekites. I pray you will bless MY plan."

But that's not what David did, and I believe this is a key to his success. He inquired of the Lord and ASKED, "Should I chase after this band of raiders?" Then he waited for the Lord to answer his question.

Many times we ask God to "bless what we're doing," and that is a good and important prayer. But the best thing is to seek God's plan in your prayers so that He would direct you to be "doing what He is blessing."

The Bible tells us that David listened to the voice of God and then followed His leading. And we are told that God blessed what David did:
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives.  Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. (1 Sam. 30:18-19, NLT)
Today, as you pray, ask the Lord that in every area of your life that you would be "doing what God is blessing." Then listen for God's voice, and when you hear it, jump into the stream of God's blessing. 
 
Copyright © Craig von Buseck, used with permission.

More from CBN, here

🏳️‍🌈✝️ God’s Checklist - It is so much more important than any Checklist we could put together. Are you paying attention to God's Checklist?



04/28/2018


_________________________________________________________________________________ 


Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. – Luke 12:40

As I prepared to go on vacation, I tried to make sure I was packing everything my family would need. The checklist I had prepared weeks in advance made the process of packing very efficient. I did not have to stand around trying to think of what might be missing; I just went through the list and made sure each item was in its place. 

While I was setting different items into our suitcases, I felt God ask me, “Are you also packing humility, forgiveness, and love?” I wondered what He was trying to tell me. He began to explain that He had a checklist, too, except His list was different from mine. As we communed together, God made it clear that He wanted me to measure myself up to His checklist: Did you forgive one who has hurt you today? Do you love those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you? Is the fruit of the Spirit manifested in your life?
While I thought on those questions, I began to thank God for admonishing me to review His checklist daily. As Christians, we are making preparations to go on a trip. This is the most important trip we will ever make, and we cannot afford to leave anything undone that God requires of us. God’s checklist is written plainly in His Word, and the Holy Spirit will help us by reminding us of anything we might be overlooking. He talks to our hearts—just as He spoke to me while I was packing—gently prompting us to make the necessary spiritual preparations.

To be ready for the journey that God has prepared for us, we need to study His checklist and listen for the Holy Spirit’s reminders about things that might be missing. Then, we must put our faith into action and start crossing things off the list. We want to be ready when God calls us to our eternal destination in Heaven, so let’s be encouraged and faithful to follow God’s checklist.
 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Talk about a dysfunctional family!


Written by Debbie West

04/28/2018


__________________________________________________________________________ 


“Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” - Genesis 37:3-4 
Talk about a dysfunctional family! Jacob and his sons definitely had issues. It would probably be fair to say that perhaps parents have one child in particular that they connect with more than their other children. But Jacob made it blatantly obvious to the rest of the family that Joseph was his pride and joy. The older brothers resented him for it. Of course, Joseph didn’t make things any easier for himself. He told his brothers about the dreams he had where he would rule over them. The older brothers hated him so much they plotted to kill him! That sounds like a soap opera storyline.

The hatred Joseph’s brothers felt for him fueled their vile plans to sell him into slavery. It was those very plans that led Joseph to Egypt where he eventually ruled as second in command under Pharaoh. His position saved the rest of his family from starvation and preserved God’s chosen people.

Many of us can find dysfunction in our own families, some more than others. But no family is perfect, no matter how it looks from the outside. As much as we may wish people would just act right, they may stay in their fears and dysfunction forever. God can and does heal hearts, but only if we cooperate with His work in us.

The good news is that God uses dysfunctional families. God’s plans will come to pass despite, or even as a result of, our messy lives.

Lord, help me to have grace for those family members who lead very dysfunctional lives. I know you can use us no matter what. Amen.

Go Deeper — The early patriarchs were not immune to character flaws. In fact, most of the “heroes” of the Bible stumbled many times in their walks with God. If you are struggling with dysfunction in your family, seek out a counselor, or contact a mentor here at TheLife.com
 Don’t walk through it alone.

More from The Life, here
 

🏳️‍🌈✝️ God will create a STRONG WALL around you {LGBTQI+ Included} when you chose to follow HIM


 Written by Charles Whitaker

04/28/2018 


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


 I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,"
declares the LORD. "I will save you from the hands of the wicked
and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel." Jeremiah 15:20-21

As God so often does, He attaches encouragement to His rebukes. God is in fact reminding the prophet of his original commission, as recorded in Jeremiah 1:18-19:
Today I have made you an armed city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the entire land—the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and all its people. They will attack you, but they won't defeat you, because I am with you and will rescue you. (Common English Bible)
It was the worst of times back then, yet not so bad as the coming Tribulation that we face today. God demands that His people be faithful. Should we come to doubt God's reliability and His faithfulness—should we come to feel He has abandoned us, His people—we may want to think hard about God's words to Jeremiah: “If you change your heart and return to me, I will take you back. Then you may serve me” (Jeremiah 15:18, New Century Version).

The ever-faithful God will not forget His plans for us, even though we may come to forget His promises to us.
— Charles Whitaker

To learn more, see:
A Tale of Two Complaints (Part Two)



 


More from The Berean, here

🏳️‍🌈✝️ Lunch or Saving George?


Written by Ellen Diederich

04/28/2018


__________________________________________________________________________________ 


"Obedience is better than sacrifice." 1 Samuel 15:22

Driving along the road I saw a dusty-haired hitchhiker. I heard a still small voice. Not an audible voice, a gentle nudge. Pull over. I did what any woman would do driving past a male hitchhiker, I kept driving.

Turn around. Attempting to ignore the inclination, I reasoned what's the point of stopping if unable to give him a ride? Pulling into the lot to turn around on an 85 degree cloudless day seemed foolish at best.

Turn around. Relentless urging continued and I did a quick donut and headed toward the hitchhiker standing outside the gas station. This was crazy!

The man was holding a sign: "Need Ride to Vegas." As I slowly inched my car to the curb, a metallic odor wafted by.

"Hey, I can't give you a ride, but something told me to pull over. Nice day out today."

I felt the need to establish a boundary here, so there would be no false hope of securing a ride to Vegas, or misconceptions of flirting.

"Hullo," he said gruffly, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm just on my lunch hour from work. And I've never done this before, but that still small voice inside told me to pull over."

"Whatever," he said, looking into the sun.

Nice response. I hoped he didn't have a knife.

"My name is Ellen. What's yours?"

"George."

Unsure of what to say to a man with what-looked-like his entire life in a bag, I silently prayed for wisdom.

"Can I pray for you, George?"

"Pray that someone would gimme a ride to Vegas," he said sarcastically.

"George, do you believe in God?"

"If he gets me a ride to Vegas I'll believe."

With shoulders slumped under his tangled hair, tanned skin and grey coat on a gorgeous late summer day, he broke the silence and looked in my direction; but not at me.

"Are you really on your lunch break?"

"Yes and three times I felt the urge to turn around. Can I talk honestly with you for a minute?"
"Sure," he said as he stared at his feet.

"I did not come to know Jesus until I was 39. I cried out to Him from a one-bedroom apartment and asked Him to help me," I said leaning further out the car window. "Have you ever asked God for forgiveness of your sins?"

"No, I don't believe in that stuff," he said sloping against the chain link fence.

"God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. I was a sinner, but one day I asked God for forgiveness and accepted by faith that Jesus died for my sins. I also asked Him to save me so that I wouldn't take a drink again."

"Did it work?"

"Yes, God loves to answer those prayers that bring Him glory. He is alive and wants to help you, too. Today could be the day of salvation for you, George."

I remembered stashing Gospel tracts in the glove compartment and pulled one out.

"Here is a tract that explains what I just tried to tell you. Before I came to believe, people frequently handed me tracts. I read each one, sometimes while drunk with one eye closed."
This commanded his attention as he knew I was speaking truth. He held the pamphlet and turned it over. The title was: "The Longest Road Home." When he opened the tract, he fell back on his heels.

"It has my name in it!"

As God would have it, the tract was a story about a hitchhiker named George.

"See how much God loves you, George! His Word says, 'God bears witness with signs and wonders.'" (Hebrews 2:4)

He coughed wiping his nose while fighting back tears.

"Three times God whispered for me to pull over and all I could think about was lunch."

"What are you 'gonna eat now? Someone just brought me Burger King."

"I'm not hungry anymore. Somehow meeting you filled me up," I said.

"Thanks," he said smiling for the first time. And like a man awakening from a lifelong nap, he looked rested and peaceful.

Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Copyright © 2012 by Ellen Diederich.

More from CBN, here

Friday, April 27, 2018

🏳️‍🌈✝️ The Anatomy of Division



04/27/2018


________________________________________________________________________________


 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions Galatians 5:20


Paul obviously saw anger and hostility as a basic element of human nature. Of all the negative attitudes that are part of the spiritual mark of the beast, hostility and anger are probably the most frequent expressions against God and others. But how often does the Bible show Jesus, our Model—the One we are to pattern our lives after—angry?

Consider this interesting observation that Solomon made: "Be not hasty in your spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:9). Jesus was no fool. Thus, we do not see much in the Bible about Him being angry. The Proverbs say, "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). It is not very frequent that an angry, hostile person speaks softly.

"By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bone" (Proverbs 25:15). "The discretion of a man defers his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression" (Proverbs 19:11). Anger hardly ever helps a situation. It divides. It almost invariably makes things worse. It forces the other person to defend himself, and then a vicious cycle is generated.
— John W. Ritenbaugh

🏳️‍🌈✝️ The Rising Star through Jacob


Written By Fab Batsakis

04/27/2018 


__________________________________________________________________________ 



“…A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”

Numbers 24:17

Jacob lived in Paddan Aram for many years. Then he received God’s instruction to return to his birthplace of Canaan, in Israel. He’d left his hometown due to family strife and so he could find a non-Canaanite woman.

In Paddan Aram, he’d had heartaches. Though what he touched turned into gold, the profit went to someone else. Jacob’s wages fluctuated 10 times. He ended up with two wives when he wanted only one. The one he loved couldn’t have children for years. Still, he didn't know if he’d be accepted back home.

Traveling with his large family, Jacob encountered a being along the way that calmed his fears. He recognized it to be the God of his forefathers he’d once seen in a dream (Genesis 28:10-21). God honored Jacob’s obedience to return home.

God’s proven faithfulness and mercy towards humanity are displayed through Jacob’s life. It is foretold repeatedly in the Bible that a king of kings, born out of Jacob’s family line, would bring hope, salvation, and righteousness to the whole earth. In our verse in Numbers, the king’s scepter represents the highest authority and as a star he would shine the light of truth through the darkness. That King is Jesus.

Like Jacob, when we live a life that honors God, who has allowed us to be part of His divine plan, our lives will turn out for the better. He even takes our hardships and uses them for good.

Father God, thank you for your faithfulness towards Jacob and his forefathers, and for giving us your son Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. Please fulfill your perfect purposes in my life and let me obediently follow you. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.

Go Deeper — Please read Genesis 28:10–21. You’ll be able to learn more about Jacob and God’s plan for his life. May it encourage you to obey God in His plan for yours.

More from The Life, here