No Condemnation
Some believers are plagued by feelings of condemnation. Either they think they'll never live up to God's expectations for them or they're nearly drowning in guilt over past sins. These men and women cannot seem to shake the sense that God is displeased with their puny efforts at being Christ like.
The book of Romans confronts this lie head-on: "There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). When the Savior went to the cross on our behalf, He lifted the blame from our shoulders and made us righteous before God. Those feelings of condemnation do not belong to us; they are from Satan. He amplifies our guilt and feelings of inadequacy and then suggests that's how the Lord feels about His "wayward child." Nothing could be further from the truth. Our sins are wiped clean, and we are chosen and loved by God.
Condemnation is reserved for those who reject the Lord (John 3:36). Sin is a death sentence (Rom. 6:23). Anyone who chooses to cling to sin instead of seeking divine forgiveness must pay the penalty, which is an eternity separated from God. Two synonyms of condemn are 'denounce' and 'revile.' Those words certainly describe Jesus' statement to unbelievers in Matthew 25:41: "Depart from me, accursed ones."
There is no condemnation for those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. The believer's penalty for sin is paid, and he can stand blameless before God. Trust in the Lord's love and let go of Satan's lie. God's beloved children are covered by His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Don't Get Lost in Your Troublesby Max Lucado
Our minds cannot be full of God at the same time they are full of fear! Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord! (Isaiah 26:3 TLB).Are you troubled, restless, sleepless? Then rejoice in the Lord’s Sovereignty. I dare you. I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!
Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV).
Hidden in His Loveby Max Lucado
Do you ever think… If people only knew–if my secrets were ever made public, I’m not sure what I’d do! Or maybe I do….!
It is time to let God’s love cover all things in your life. All the secrets. The hurts. The mornings you woke up in the bed of a stranger? His love will cover that. The years you peddled prejudice and pride? His love will cover that. Every promise broken, drug taken, and penny stolen. Every cross word, cuss word, and harsh word. His love covers all things! Let it!
Discover with the psalmist, “He loads me with love and mercy.” Picture a giant dump truck full of love. There you are behind it; and God lifts the bed until the love starts to slide until you’re hidden, buried, and covered in His love!
“Hey, where are you?” someone asks. You say, “In here—covered in love!”
Lonelinessby Max Lucado
We’ll try anything to get rid of our loneliness. But should we? Should we be so quick to drop it? Could it be that loneliness is a gift? A gift from God? A friend turns away. The job goes bad. Your spouse didn’t understand. The church is dull. One by one he removes the options until all you have left is God. He would do that? Hebrews 12:6 tells us, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” If he must silence every voice, he will. He wants you to discover what David discovered and to be able to say what David said, “You are with me.”
Loneliness. Could it be one of God’s finest gifts? Scripture says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” If a season of solitude is his way to teach you to hear his song, don’t you think it’s worth it? So do I.
My Crazy Thoughtby Max Lucado
My family consisted of me, two sisters and a brother. We were siblings because we came from the same family. I’m sure there have been times when they did not want to call me their brother, but they didn’t have that choice. Nor do we. When I see someone calling God Father and Jesus Savior, I meet a brother or a sister—regardless of the name of their church or denomination.
What would happen—I know this is a crazy thought—but what would happen if all the churches agreed, on a given day, to change their names to simply church? What if reference to any denomination were removed and we were all just Christians? Then we Christians would not be known for what divides us; instead we would be known for what unites us—our common Father. Is it a crazy idea? Perhaps. But I think God would like it. It was his to begin with.
“Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God” (Romans 15:7).
The Power of a Sound Mind
“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
The gift spoken of in the previous verse is based on a transfer of authority from God, and we are exhorted to “stir up” that gift (2 Timothy 1:6) because God did not give us a “spirit of fear.” The word deilia stresses timidity or cowardice, not terror. The gift does not function well if we are too timid to use it.
The gift referred to is not power. That spiritual gift comes with dunamis—the innate ability to “do” the gift. Whatever the Holy Spirit has gifted us with upon our entrance into the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), that gift comes with the power necessary to implement and use it.
The gift also comes with love. Again, love is not the gift, it is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes with the gift. Were it not for the reflection in us of the unilateral and sacrificial love of our Redeemer, these supernatural gifts could well be misused, distorted, and abused for personal glory. Diotrephes misused his gift, failing to employ the spirit of love (3 John 1:9).
The unique Greek word sophronismos (sound mind) is a combination of the verbs “to save” and “to control.” Its basic meaning would be “safe control” or “wholesome control”—perhaps even “control that saves”—the perfect combination of abilities that empower the gift, the love that keeps the gift focused on others, and the “safety controls” to keep it from unwittingly doing damage.
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). HMM III
For Ever and Ever...
“The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” (Exodus 15:18)
The Bible is a book of eternity, its words “for ever . . . settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). The theme of eternity is prominent throughout; in fact, the words “for ever,” “everlasting,” and the like occur more than 600 times. Many occurrences (49, to be exact) seem to make the concept even more complete, being combined either as “for ever and ever” or “from everlasting to everlasting.”
The first of these is in our text: “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” He is the eternal King of all creation! How beautiful and appropriate it is, then, to find that the last (the 49th) of these occurrences tells us that we—His redeemed saints—also “shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
To note just a few of the other truths that will last for ever and ever, consider first of all the creation: “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. . . . For he commanded, and they were created. He that also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Psalm 148:3, 5-6). Not only the world of God but also the Word of God shall endure eternally. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. . . . So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever” (Psalm 111:7-8; 119:44).
On the other hand, those who reject God and His Word will endure forever but will be forgotten forever. “Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever” (Psalm 9:5). “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” (Revelation 14:11).
“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him” (Psalm 103:17). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). HMM
True Christian Fellowship
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 1:6)
This one-chapter epistle of Paul to his friend Philemon is essentially a personal request by Paul that Philemon forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and receive him back into “the church in thy house” as a new Christian, recently won to Christ (vv. 2, 10, 15-16). Our text is Paul’s prayer for Philemon and is similar to prayers by him for other believers (e.g., Colossians 1:9-10). It is an appropriate prayer on behalf of any fellow Christian. Its emphasis is on the blessings and responsibilities of true fellowship.
The “communication” of which Paul speaks is the Greek word koinonia, meaning “fellowship.” That is, genuine Christian faith involves a sharing of one’s life with others of “like precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1). That fellowship becomes “effectual” (literally, “full of power,” from the Greek energes, “energizing”) only through recognizing and appreciating all the blessings we have received through Christ.
Paul pointed out that he himself should be counted as a “partner” with Philemon (v. 17). Here the Greek is koinonos, practically the same as koinonia. Both Philemon, the wealthy Colossian master, and Onesimus, his runaway bondservant, were Paul’s spiritual children (v. 19), so they all theoretically shared “every good thing” in fellowship through Christ. Thus, Paul offered to repay anything Onesimus had stolen or any other losses, should Philemon so insist (vv. 18-19).
The demands of Christian fellowship thus might cost Onesimus his freedom, Paul his helper, and Philemon his property. True fellowship is not mere Christian socializing. It is the sharing of love and concern, time and talents, possessions and even life itself, as need and circumstance demand, with others in the household of faith. HMM
Power of the Holy Spirit
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” (Acts 1:8)
This promise of our Lord signaled the beginning of the immense change from the old covenant to the new. Prior to the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16) on the day of Pentecost, the saints of God were empowered both selectively and infrequently.
We, however, upon whom the “better thing” has come (Hebrews 11:40), are all temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Since we have been “quickened” (made alive) by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 3:18), we surely should then “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). What, then, is the dunamis (power) that the Holy Spirit provides to us?
Obviously, the power comes from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit Himself (Ephesians 3:16-20). Our flesh has “no good thing” (Romans 7:18) to provide for an empowered, Spirit-filled life. Apart from the dwelling of God’s Spirit in us (Ephesians 1:14), we would be unable to live righteously (John 15:5).
But thanks to the omnipotent and omniscient Creator, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts to use in Christ’s assembly to mature and to encourage each other (Ephesians 4:7-16). The Holy Spirit also grants us the ability to develop His “fruit” in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Then, with the encouragement and maturity we gain through our churches, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit being obvious in our daily lives, the great privilege of sharing the gospel with the lost becomes a delightful exercise of “power” (Romans 1:16) that is clear, not only in careful words of testimony, but in and through a life empowered by the Holy Spirit (1Thessalonians 1:5). HMM III
Paying Attention to How We Live
Luke 12:16-21
One day we’ll give an account of ourselves to the Lord (Romans 14:12). We must, then, pay attention to how we live.
The rich man in Luke 16:19-31 made the tragic choice of living for himself without regard for the Lord. He also made two other mistakes.
The rich man’s other mistake was to prepare everything for himself and nothing for others. Crumbs falling from his table (v. 21) were the only form of assistance he gave a poor man named Lazarus. The one who had much wealth did not share it with the one who had little. Jesus explained what our priorities should be to love the Lord wholeheartedly and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27).
We see the rich man’s mistakes repeated in another parable. This time a wealthy man builds bigger barns to store crops so he will have plenty for the future. God calls him a fool for such shortsightedness (Luke 12:20).
The Bible repeatedly warns us to pay attention to spiritual matters—the Lord is to have first place in our lives and be the center of our affections. He urges us to store up heavenly treasure by caring for the lost and hurting people around us. On whom is your attention focused?
Spiritually Shortsighted
Luke 16:19-31
In Luke 16, Jesus told a story about a rich man who lived for himself and ignored God. After death, he experienced the consequences of his choices—eternal separation from the Lord.
Jesus described him as one who lived in luxury every day (v. 19), providing for himself the best that money could buy but giving little to the poor at his gate. It is important to realize that this man wasn’t judged harshly by God because of his wealth. The heavenly Father is not opposed to our success. Nor was the man separated from the Lord because of his lack of charity toward others. He did not deliberately harm others but, rather, overlooked those in need and focused on himself.
Scripture says we were created to be in a relationship with the Father through faith in His Son. The rich man ignored God and paid the ultimate price. Our eternal destiny depends on our decision about Christ.
Despite what our culture thinks, life is not about us. It’s about having a relationship with the Lord. Whoever accepts Christ’s gift of salvation will live eternally with Him in heaven. Those who reject God will suffer. If you know any spiritually shortsighted people, pray that they will trust in Jesus.
The Work of the Believer
The world's definition of success differs greatly from God's. Take the role of a pastor, for example--it would be easy to accept accolades for church growth, as many people equate high attendance numbers with a minister's effectiveness. But the Lord desires that we obey Him with humility. Whether we draw a crowd or not, success is measured by obedience.
This looks different for each believer. Some Christians have very visible jobs, so their efforts are public and obvious. Others serve Christ in quiet, less noticeable ways.
God bestows upon His followers gifts tailored to each one's ordained assignments. The Holy Spirit reveals our calling, and we're to give our best effort. Of course, no matter what the task may be, the result will be worthless unless the Father breathes life into it. In other words, we are entrusted with God-appointed work. He assigns the duty, provides the skills, and causes growth. The Lord deserves all of the glory. We are blessed simply to be a part of His plan.
As mere vessels that God uses, we should be thankful for anything He accomplishes through us. And by giving Him all the credit, we need never feel defeated with disappointment. Rather, in spite of how things may appear, we trust Him to achieve His good purpose.
Honor is misplaced unless it goes directly to the One who creates, sanctifies, and sustains. God created you for specific tasks to further His kingdom. He wants to use your life--and will allow you to watch His powerful hand at work. Listen for His leading, and praise Him for all He accomplishes.
Starving for a Holy Life - by Greg Laurie -
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.-Psalm 42:1
I don't know about you, but I'm not a happy person when I'm hungry. I get irritable. In fact, the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning isn't prayer. I'm just being honest. The first thing I think of is food. I want food. I need food.
My wife, on the other hand, can go halfway through the day and then say, "I think I forgot to eat lunch."
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if that is even humanly possible. How do you forget to eat lunch? I count down the minutes until lunch. By 9:30 I'm already wondering how long it will be until lunch.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of another kind of hunger, a spiritual hunger. He said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6 NKJV).
The word "blessed" Jesus used here also means "happy." When you're emptied of sin, you're hungry for God. And a happy person will desperately, passionately desire a righteous life.
When someone says, "I don't really feel like I need to read the Bible that much. And I don't really desire to be in church that much, either."
If that is the case, then I'm sorry for them, because they're missing out. "Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," Jesus said, "for they shall be filled."
The psalmist was hungering and thirsting for righteousness when he wrote, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God" (Psalm 42:1 NKJV).
When you're hungry for God, the only thing that will satisfy you is God. Are you starving for a holy life? Do you hunger for God's best for you? If so, then you can take practical steps to get it.
Empty Pursuits - by Greg Laurie -
But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.-John 4:14
My wife, Cathe, likes Indian food. During some of her childhood she lived in Malaysia, where she ate all kinds of exotic Asian and Indian food.
I, on the other hand, don't really like Indian food. I grew up in Southern California, where I ate hamburgers and French fries. I also ate TV dinners. I don't know whether you could actually call TV dinners from the 1950s and 1960s food, but that is what I ate.
So when I go to an Indian restaurant with Cathe every now and then, I'll order some rice, bread, and something with chicken. And all I know is that afterward I'm still hungry and want something to fill my stomach. It just doesn't leave me satisfied.
In the same way, we can chase after all the things the world says will satisfy us. But in reality, it will leave us empty. And we can learn this the hard way or the easier way.
Let me appeal for a moment to those who are still young: Don't find this out the hard way. I know people who have wasted decades of their lives figuring this out the hard way. Figure it out at an early age. You don't have to waste years of your life.
Those of us who are older know a few things because we've lived life. And I can tell you this: you can miss a lot of misery. At the ripe old age of seventeen, I started on a course that I'm still on today. And I've never regretted being on this path of following Christ. Not once.
Chasing after other things won't satisfy you, but Christ will. He is the Bread of Life that will satisfy your spiritual hunger. He is the Living Water that will satisfy your spiritual thirst.
Burned Out and Bummed Out - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.-Psalm 78:7
In 2018 Russia unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile that supposedly can hit any target on Earth. NATO has nicknamed it (and I'm not making this up) Satan 2.
We're living in a crazy world. And in some ways, it's a hopeless world. There's a sense of hopelessness pervading many young people today. In fact, I've read that suicide is up among ten- to fourteen-year-old children. They give hopelessness as the reason, and it's all around us.
The Bible tells a story about two men who were burned out and bummed out. They felt that Jesus let them down. They felt, honestly, that Jesus failed in His mission. Even though Jesus constantly spoke about the fact that he would die on a cross, it still came as a shock to them.
So when they saw the beaten, traumatized, bloodied body of Jesus hanging there, it devastated them. They thought Jesus was coming to overthrow the Roman government and free Israel from the occupying force. But that never was His plan.
He didn't come to wear a crown of gold; He came to wear a crown of thorns. He didn't come to sit on a regal throne; He came to die on a wooden cross.
Jesus talked about it. He said it again and again. But somehow they collectively missed the memo.
They didn't want to think about the horrible events that happened, so they decided to get out of town. And who joined them on the road? It was none other than Jesus himself. Then He took them on a personally guided tour of the Old Testament, showing them all the passages pointing to the coming Messiah.
Maybe you've lost hope today. Maybe you've had a tragedy come your way that has rocked your world in some way. Jesus can restore your hope.
How to Foster True Friendships
All people long to be in genuine relationships. God created us with this need, as we were not meant to live in isolation.
Our world is so driven by technology that many people today try to ease their loneliness through computer relationships. However, this can never satisfy or compare to the human fellowship that the Creator designed. But healthy friendships don't just happen. They require intentional effort.
Yesterday, in looking to Jonathan and David for a biblical model of godly companions, we saw how mutual respect is vital in a healthy friendship. Now, let's look at two more aspects of their relationship. These two men had an emotional love for one another; their hearts were knit together (1 Sam. 18:1). When one man experienced joy or sadness, the other man felt it too.
They also had genuine devotion to each other, which is a type of commitment that involves giving: to show loyalty, Jonathan gave his friend material items--his robe and weapon. But these two men also selflessly offered more: Jonathan even risked his life and future kingship in order to save David from execution. Notice, too, that Jonathan was often the initiator, and the one who gave more. He was a prince, whereas David was a lowly shepherd. Social status shouldn't interfere with cultivating a true friendship.
We were designed for true companionship based on mutual respect, genuine love, and commitment. This requires not only time and selfless devotion but also transparency--which means being real, even about our faults. Taking such a risk requires trust. Such relationships are well worth the effort.
Fear of the Lord
�Then had the churches rest . . . and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.� (Acts 9:31)
There is something of a paradox in this requirement to �fear the Lord.� On the one hand, we �have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear� but have received �the Spirit of adoption� (Romans 8:15). On the other hand, we are told to �cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God� (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Our text insists that we are to be �walking in the fear of the Lord.� Obviously, the context illustrates a lifestyle of godly behavior that is produced by our attitude toward God�s sovereign majesty and unique holiness as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. We should �worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth� (Psalm 96:9).
It is clear that the �beginning of knowledge� (Proverbs 1:7), the �beginning of wisdom� (Proverbs 9:10), and the �instruction of wisdom� (Proverbs 15:33) are founded in the fear of the Lord. It is also clear that the fear of the Lord is that which mimics God�s hatred of �evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward [perverse] mouth� (Proverbs 8:13).
But the one who fears the Lord also knows �strong confidence� (Proverbs 14:26) and has an unwavering satisfaction in his or her life (Proverbs 19:23). Indeed, such godly fear promises to prolong our days (Proverbs 10:27) and to be a �fountain of life� that keeps us from the �snares of death� (Proverbs 14:27).
Knowledge of God should produce a �godly fear� (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve in the Kingdom�fear of His power and holiness and omniscience�yet also provide a steadfast rest in the knowledge that we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), gifted not with timidity, but with a spirit of �power, and of love, and of a sound mind� (2 Timothy 1:7). HMM III
�Then had the churches rest . . . and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.� (Acts 9:31)
There is something of a paradox in this requirement to �fear the Lord.� On the one hand, we �have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear� but have received �the Spirit of adoption� (Romans 8:15). On the other hand, we are told to �cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God� (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Our text insists that we are to be �walking in the fear of the Lord.� Obviously, the context illustrates a lifestyle of godly behavior that is produced by our attitude toward God�s sovereign majesty and unique holiness as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. We should �worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth� (Psalm 96:9).
It is clear that the �beginning of knowledge� (Proverbs 1:7), the �beginning of wisdom� (Proverbs 9:10), and the �instruction of wisdom� (Proverbs 15:33) are founded in the fear of the Lord. It is also clear that the fear of the Lord is that which mimics God�s hatred of �evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward [perverse] mouth� (Proverbs 8:13).
But the one who fears the Lord also knows �strong confidence� (Proverbs 14:26) and has an unwavering satisfaction in his or her life (Proverbs 19:23). Indeed, such godly fear promises to prolong our days (Proverbs 10:27) and to be a �fountain of life� that keeps us from the �snares of death� (Proverbs 14:27).
Knowledge of God should produce a �godly fear� (Hebrews 12:28) as we serve in the Kingdom�fear of His power and holiness and omniscience�yet also provide a steadfast rest in the knowledge that we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), gifted not with timidity, but with a spirit of �power, and of love, and of a sound mind� (2 Timothy 1:7). HMM III
My King of Old
�The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.� (Psalm 74:16-17)
The 74th Psalm is a sad lamentation over the apparent triumph of the enemies of God, but its central verse is a beautiful statement of faith: �For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth� (Psalm 74:12). Then, in support of his faith, the psalmist remembers the mighty creative acts of God in ancient times, giving assurance that He could, indeed, work salvation in these present times.
Those who believe that man is the measure of all things, sufficient unto himself, ignore how dependent all people are on God�s provisions. The very rotation of the earth, with its cycle of day and night, has set the basic rhythm of biological life, and it was God�not man�who �divided the light from the darkness� (Genesis 1:4).
There is even the testimony in Genesis that God �prepared the light� before He prepared the sun (Genesis 1:3, 14), thus rebuking all those who later would worship the sun as the source of the earth and life.
God also �set all the borders [or �boundaries�] of the earth.� This refers both to the emergence of the continental land masses after the Flood and then also to the enforced scattering of the peoples from Babel into all the world, when He �determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation� (Acts 17:26).
He has even made �summer and winter, and day and night [that] shall not cease� (Genesis 8:22). God did all this�not man! Evolutionary humanism is futile foolishness, and one day soon God will answer the cry of the psalmist: �Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily� (Psalm 74:22). HMM
�The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.� (Psalm 74:16-17)
The 74th Psalm is a sad lamentation over the apparent triumph of the enemies of God, but its central verse is a beautiful statement of faith: �For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth� (Psalm 74:12). Then, in support of his faith, the psalmist remembers the mighty creative acts of God in ancient times, giving assurance that He could, indeed, work salvation in these present times.
Those who believe that man is the measure of all things, sufficient unto himself, ignore how dependent all people are on God�s provisions. The very rotation of the earth, with its cycle of day and night, has set the basic rhythm of biological life, and it was God�not man�who �divided the light from the darkness� (Genesis 1:4).
There is even the testimony in Genesis that God �prepared the light� before He prepared the sun (Genesis 1:3, 14), thus rebuking all those who later would worship the sun as the source of the earth and life.
God also �set all the borders [or �boundaries�] of the earth.� This refers both to the emergence of the continental land masses after the Flood and then also to the enforced scattering of the peoples from Babel into all the world, when He �determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation� (Acts 17:26).
He has even made �summer and winter, and day and night [that] shall not cease� (Genesis 8:22). God did all this�not man! Evolutionary humanism is futile foolishness, and one day soon God will answer the cry of the psalmist: �Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily� (Psalm 74:22). HMM
We Are Valuable
by Max Lucado
Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance. Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated? Where hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged? The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists.
This is man�s value system. But it is not God�s. His plan is much brighter. In God�s book man is heading somewhere. He has an amazing destiny.
We�re being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Jesus. We�re going to live with him. Share the throne with him. We count. We�re valuable.
Jesus� love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: A person is worth something simply because he is a person. That�s why Jesus treated people the way he did.
You have value simply because you are!
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