PAUL POINTS THE WAY

Today's promise: Those who trust in God are no longer guilty

Paul points the way

On the Sabbath [Paul and Barnabas] went to the synagogue for the services. After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: "Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it."

[After recounting God's plan from Moses to Jesus, Paul said] "Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God — something the Jewish law could never do. Be careful! Don't let the prophets' words apply to you. For they said, 'Look you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it.'"

Acts 14:13-41 N LT

About this week's promise

Have you ever had a guilty feeling about something? Perhaps you did something wrong and felt guilty about it. Perhaps you have magnified the feeling of guilt beyond the "wrongness" of the act that precipitated the guilty feeling. Or perhaps you feel justly guilty for a sin, and you don't know what to do about it. The best way to relieve justifiable guilt is to confess the sin to God and ask him to forgive you. Forgiveness is the only cleansing agent that can remove both guilt and a guilty feeling about a sin.

From the TouchPoint Bible
(Tyndale House) p 1207

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

TAKING ROOT

TAKING ROOT

READ:

Matthew 13:1-9

Some fell on stony places,

where they did not have

much earth; and they

immediately sprang up.

-Matthew 13:5

A small area of my yard just couldn’t seem to get going.  The grass always seemed sparse in that spot, no matter how well I watered it.

So one day I stuck a shovel into this troublesome real estate and discovered the problem:  Just below the surface was a layer of stone about three inches deep.  This led me to replace the stones with rich topsoil in which new seeds could take root.

Jesus talked about seed and soils.  In a parable in Matthew 13 about what happens when the seed of the gospel is sown on various kinds of ground, He said that seeds that land on stones and “not much earth” grow quickly but then die in the sun (vv. 5-6).  He was speaking of one who has heard and received the gospel, but in whose life the message doesn’t take root.  When trouble comes, this person-who is not a genuine believer-falls away.

How grateful we can be for Jesus’ words that conclude this parable:  “He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit” (v.23).  What a reminder of both the privilege and the responsibility that accompanies our salvation.

Praise God for the seed of the gospel and the soil of spiritual growth. –Dave Branon

Lord, I would be soil in which You can plant

Your Word with its promise of fruit;

I want to be open to You every day,

So what You have planed takes root. –Hess

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A heart open to God is soil in which

The seed of His Word can flourish.

INSIGHT

The gospel of Matthew places great emphasis on the teaching ministry of Jesus.  One of Jesus’ preferred methods of teaching was to use parables.  Chapter 13 contains parables on the kingdom.  There, Jesus explained why He taught this way (vv.10-17).  In this chapter, He taught a total of eight stories that describe what the “kingdom of heaven is like”:  the sower or soils (vv.1-9, 18-23), the wheat and weeds (vv.24-30, 36-43), the mustard seed (vv.31-32), the leaven (v.33), the hidden treasure (v.44), the pearl of great price (vv.45-46), the fishing net (vv.47-50), and the householder (v.52).

Have a blessed day and weekend.

God Our Creator’s Love Always.

Unity & Peace

SHOULD EVOLUTION CONTINUE TO HAVE A MONOPOLY OVER TEACHING SCIENCE?

Your Brother Daniel

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

Should Evolution Continue to have a Monopoly over Teaching Science?

Should Intelligent Design (ID) be taught in the public school science classes? A recent survey revealed that 40% of American would favor this, while 32% are opposed.

Meanwhile, several academies of school maintain that such questions shouldn’t be decided by the public but by the experts. Indeed, in many areas of our lives, we do allow the expert opinion to predominate. Isn’t this why we have experts!

However, others would respond that the evolution vs. ID debate isn’t simply a matter of expert testimony. It involves many other factors like our values and worldviews. At stake are questions that involve the meaning of life and whether natural processes are capable of explaining everything we encounter on planet earth and beyond. (Also, there are many questions about whether or not evolutionary science is capable of touching the question of origins – something that might fall more into the domain of history than science.)

Evolution is part of a worldview called naturalism that maintains that everything can be explained in terms of natural laws. However, others will point out a conundrum – Is it possible that natural laws can explain the origin of the natural laws?

Evolutionists will respond, “We are biologists! We aren’t concerned about the origins of the cosmos, as interesting as these questions might be! Evolution is only concerned about the origin of species!”

However, when we examine the science classroom – not just evolution – it seems that any discussion of ID as an explanation of any scientific phenomena has become verboten! It is simply not permitted! This means that “science” has now become defined as methodologies that attempt to identify naturalistic causation. This virtually has given naturalism a monopoly over all public education. Consequently, vast sums of money and resources are committed to finding natural explanation while none is committed to questioning this underlying worldview.

For those who represent ID, this constitutes a suffocating bias – perhaps even the establishment of the state religion of naturalism.

Although there might exist various understandings of evolution, naturalistic evolution remains the controlling orthodoxy. To deviate could mean expulsion from the university, as many instances of this have proven. ID seeks to infuse a bit of fresh air into the sciences, some healthy competition, and some needed insights, as even some atheists have conceded.

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO?

Today's promise: God has wonderful plans for your life

How do I know which way to go?

Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalm 25:4-5 NLT

Pay attention and grow wise, for I am giving you good guidance. Don't turn away from my teaching.

Proverbs 4:1-2 NLT

I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths. If you live a life guided by wisdom, you won't limp or stumble as you run.

Proverbs 4:11-12 NLT

Facing options

Sometimes we're faced with several options, and we don't know which way to go. In Psalm 25, David asked God for guidance. Perhaps he remembered when, as a shepherd boy, he had to show the right path to his sheep who were wandering away. Just as he knew which path would lead to safety for his sheep, God knew the path that would lead to everlasting life. Just as those sheep that looked to him for direction were in the least danger, so David knew he needed to look to God for direction.

Today, God still leads us by his truth — his written Word and his Spirit, which helps us to understand it. Are you not sure which path to take? Pray as David did and read what God has already said in his written Word. He will show the right road to follow.

Adapted from The One Year Book of Bible Prayers (Tyndale House) entry for September 9

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

WHERE CAN WISDOM BE FOUND?

WHERE CAN WISDOM BE FOUND?

READ:

James 3:13-17

If any of you lacks wisdom, let

him ask of God. –James 1:5

Wisdom is the beauty of holiness.  James says wisdom is reasonable; flexible; forgiving; peaceful; caring; given to friendly visits, small acts of courtesy, and kind words.  It is humble, transparent, simple, gentle, and gracious to the core (James 3:17).

Where can wisdom be found?  It comes from heaven (1:5).  “Wisdom,” wrote Charles Spurgeon, “is a beauty of life that can only be produced by God’s workmanship in us.”

It’s good to ask from time to time:  “Am I growing in wisdom?”  After all, life is relentlessly dynamic.  We’re either growing sweeter and wiser as the days go by, or we’re growing into foolish or even sour-faced curmudgeons.  Into what are we growing?

It’s never too late to begin growing in wisdom.  God loves us with an ardent, intense affection that can deliver us from our foolishness if we yield ourselves to Him.  His love can make the most difficult nature into a miracle of astonishing beauty.  It may hurt a little and it may take a while, but God relentlessly seeks our transformation.  When we ask, His wisdom will begin to rise in us and pour itself out to others.

We have this promise:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to [you]” (1:5). – David Roper

Lord, please put an end to our foolishness and

turn our hearts toward the wisdom that comes

only from You.  We ask You now to take our

lives and transform them into Your likeness.

***************************************

True wisdom begins and ends with God.

INSIGHT

According to James, wise people are humble and not motivated by jealousy or self-centeredness (vv.13-14).  They are “pure,” characterized by honesty and integrity; “peaceable,” maintaining harmonious relationships with others; “gentle,” mindful of others’ feelings, and “willing to yield,” because they’re open to reason.  “Full of mercy,” they willingly help those in need, “without partiality and without hypocrisy” (v.17).  Wise people aren’t measured by how much they know, but by how well they live (v.13).  Wisdom is demonstrated by character not intelligence; the contents of the heart not the heart.  According to Solomon, the wisest man on earth, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

Have a blessed evening

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

TOO BLESSED

TOO BLESSED

READ:
Psalm 107:1-8

Oh, that men would give thanks
to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to
the children of men. -Psalm 107:8

On my daily commute to and from the office, I have plenty of time for reading-bumper stickers on cars, that is.  Some are surly, others clever, and still others downright distasteful.  One bumper sticker I saw recently however, gently challenged my heart about the way I often engage life.  The sticker simple said, "Too blessed to complain."

I must confess that I felt convicted as I pondered those words.  Too often I find myself lamenting moments in life that don't go my way, rather than focusing on the wonderful gifts my heavenly Father has given me.  Reading that simple message that day brought me a renewed commitment to be more actively and intentionally grateful because my God has been good to me in more ways than I could ever count.

Psalm 107 is a song that seeks to rectify thankless thinking.  The psalmist (who many think was King David) makes a plea to hearts grown cold with ingratitude, repeating four times, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (vv.8, 15, 21, 31).  Even in the worst of times, we have much to be thankful for.  May we learn to thank God for His goodness to us! - Bill Crowder

Count your blessings-name them one by one;
Count your blessings-see what God hath done;
Count your blessings-name them one by one;
Count your many blessing-see what God hath done. - Oatman
*************************************************************************
We don't need more to be thankful for,
we just need to be more thankful.

INSIGHT
Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving (vv.1, 22), extolling God as Redeemer (v.2).  The psalmist cites various groups in peril (vv.4, 10, 17), and describes how the Lord had redeemed and rescued them from adversity bondage, foolish ways, or danger (vv.4-32).  He called on the worshipers to "give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works."  This refrain is repeated in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31.  Celebrating God's sovereignty and mighty powers (vv.33-43), this psalm ends with an invitation:  "Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord" (v. 43 NLT).

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

HOW CAN HOPE FOR THE FUTURE HELP ME LIVE TODAY?

Today's promise: God has wonderful plans for your life

How can hope for the future help me live today?

What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.

Romans 8:18-25 NLT

"Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life."

Matthew 19:29 NLT

Facing trials

We have strength and courage to face the trials of this life because we can look beyond them to the glory that God has in store for us. We know the sacrifices we make now will be rewarded by God.

Adapted from The Promise Bible
(Tyndale House) p A53

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