Prayer Motivator Minute #913

Charles Spurgeon said, “If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word – prayer.”

This is Daniel Whyte III with the Prayer Motivator Minute #913 here to remind you that there is still great power in prayer to God Almighty in the holy Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our prayer motivator verse from the Word of God today is Hebrews 4:14-16 which says: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Our featured prayer motivator quote today is from Steve Swartz. He said: “Cultivate your trust and familiarity with the Lord in prayer now so that when the hammer comes down, when the dam bursts, and when the earthquake hits, the door to the throne room of God is well-oiled and will open easily when you run through it.”

PRAYER

Now, if you are listening today, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time,

Remember, friend, Pray, Think, Do! God Bless You!

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Soul-Winning Motivator Podcast #162

Welcome to the Soul-Winning Motivator Podcast #162.

This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. As always, it is so good to be with you today to challenge you, encourage you, exhort you, and motivate you to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ right where you are to those who are not believers in Christ. Even though we will share some instructions on how to witness for the Lord from time to time, we believe that most Christians do not need to learn how to witness for the Lord, they just need to go and do it; so our aim is more motivational than instructional.

Our soul-winning Passage from the Word of God today is 1 Corinthians 9:21 which reads: “To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.”

Allow me to share with you some insights regarding this Scripture from the Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable:

Likewise when Paul was with Gentiles (“to those who are without law”), he behaved as a Gentile (“as without law”). This would have involved eating what they did, among other things.

The references to law in this verse may be confusing. In describing Gentiles as being “without law,” Paul did not mean that Gentiles are totally lawless. He meant they were not under the Law of Moses like the Jews were.

Paul wanted his readers to understand that, even though he did not observe the Mosaic Law when he was with Gentiles (Gr. anomos), he was still under God’s authority (ennomos).

As a Christian, Paul was not under the Law of Moses, but he was “under the Law (law) of Christ”. The law of God for Jews, before the Cross, was the Law of Moses, but His law for Christians, in the present age, is the Law of Christ. The Law of Christ is the code of responsibilities that Christ and His apostles taught, which the New Testament contains. Some of the same commands are in the Mosaic Law, although the codes—the Mosaic Law and the Law of Christ—are not the same.

“This is one of the most difficult sentences in the epistle, and also one of the most important, for in it Paul shows how the new relation to God which he has in Christ expresses his debt of obedience to God.

Our soul winning quote today is from Vance Havner. He said: “It is not our business to make the message acceptable, but to make it available. We are not to see that they like it, but that they get it.”

Our soul winning devotional is part 27 of our series titled “The Master Plan of Evangelism” from Robert E. Coleman.

Consecration – The Proof of Love

Supreme obedience was interpreted to be the expression of love. This lesson was underscored most emphatically on the eve of His death. As the disciples gathered around Him in the upper room following the paschal meal, Jesus said: “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. . . . He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my words; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. . . . If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love. . . . This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I have told you”.

Demonstrated by Jesus
Absolute obedience to the will of God, of course, was the controlling principle of the Master’s own life. In His human nature He continually gave consent to the will of His Father, which made it possible for God to use His life fully according to its intended purpose. Repeatedly He sounded it out: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to accomplish his work”; “I seek not my own will, but the will of Him that sent Me”; “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love”. It could be summed up in His cry of Gethsemane: “Not my will, but thine be done”.

The cross was but the crowning climax of Jesus’ commitment to do the will of God. It forever showed that obedience could not be compromised—it was always a commitment unto death.

The worldly minded religious leaders stated the truth when they said in derision: “He saved others; Himself He cannot save”. Of course, He could not save Himself. He had not come to save Himself. He came to save the world. He came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many”. He came “to seek and to save that which was lost”. He came to offer Himself a sacrifice unto God for the sins of all people. He came to die. There was no other way that the inviolable law of God could be satisfied.

This cross, having already been accepted in advance, made each step that Christ took on the earth a conscious acceptance of God’s eternal purpose for His life. When Jesus therefore spoke about obedience, it was something that the disciples could see incarnated in human form. As Jesus put it, “Ye should do as I have done unto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them”. No one could miss this lesson. Just as Jesus found His blessedness in doing His Father’s will, even so His followers would find theirs. This is the sole duty of a servant. It was true of Christ, and nothing less can ever be accepted as worthy of His disciple.

In our next episode, we will look at Consecration – The Principle in Focus

* * * * * * * * Let’s Pray * * * * * * * *

Dear friend, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, may I encourage you to get to know Him today.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Until next time,

Keep the soul winner’s fire!

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This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #432, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 3:7-8.

7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

________

That was Amos 3:7-8. Now here is the sense of it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

Just as one event does not take place unless another necessary event has already happened, so the sovereign Lord does nothing regarding the history of Israel without first revealing His plan to His servants the prophets. But once this revelation has occurred—once the lion has roared and attacked, once the sovereign Lord has spoken—Israel’s judgment is sure to follow. Major changes in Israel’s history were preceded by revelations from God; He seldom acted without first giving warning through a prophet. A-hi-jah prophesied the schism in Solomon’s empire. An anonymous prophet forecast Josiah’s reform. A-hi-jah predicted the death of A-bi-jah and the end of the dynasty of Je-ro-bo-am I. Elijah prophesied the deaths of Ahab and Jezebel, and the extermination of Ahab’s descendants. Elijah also predicted the death of A-ha-zi-ah. Elisha forecast Moab’s defeat by Je-ho-ram and Je-ho-sha-phat. Elisha repeated Elijah’s prediction of the fall of Ahab’s dynasty. Je-ro-bo-am II regained lost Israelite territory in fulfillment of an unrecorded prophecy by Jonah. Isaiah predicted the collapse of the Assyrians in their invasion of Jerusalem and the extension of Hezekiah’s life. Judah’s exile to Babylon was repeatedly foretold—to Hezekiah by Isaiah, to Ma-nas-seh by anonymous prophets, and to Josiah by Hul-dah the prophetess. And Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would commission the rebuilding of the temple. The Lord always revealed His major plans in advance to His servants the prophets. The prediction could precede the event by years or even centuries, but the fulfillment was always certain. Since the Lord had now roared His judgment like a lion, who could but fear the outcome? And since He had revealed His intentions to Amos, what could he do but prophesy God’s message?

____________

Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

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This week more than 500 evangelical students will hear Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear and Yaqeen Institute founder Imam Omar Suleiman discuss how evangelicals and Muslims can find a way forward “in a time of unprecedented division and distrust.”

The conversation, hosted by the Veritas Forum, will be held Thursday (March 5) at North Carolina State University and is co-sponsored by the school’s Muslim Students Association, its Cru and InterVarsity clubs, and Neighborly Faith, an organization focused on transforming evangelicals’ attitudes toward Muslims.

“We’re trying to host what some might see as an unlikely conversation to be had in such a public forum, when we think about how isolated these communities have historically been from one another in our country, particularly since 9/11,” said Neighborly Faith director Kevin Singer, who is a doctoral student at the school and will moderate the discussion.

Most of the attendees will be deeply conservative evangelical students who likely have never held a conversation with a Muslim before and do not have Muslim friends, Singer noted.

“They probably don’t know how to have a mutually beneficial conversation with a Muslim in a way that feels faithful, so we’re hoping to show a model of charitable discourse that maintains conviction,” he said.

Being on a Southern campus, Singer said, the event may end up addressing some “cultural notions about Islam within the Christian faith and in this particular region.”

Imam Omar Suleiman, left, with Rev. Andy Stoker at
First Methodist Church in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Omar
Suleiman

Suleiman told RNS he feels well-equipped to address such misconceptions: Having grown up in New Orleans and now living in Dallas, where he teaches Islamic studies at Southern Methodist University and often meets with evangelical leaders both in public and in private, Suleiman says he is intimately acquainted with Southern church life.

A prominent activist for civil rights and interfaith issues who is known for denouncing extremism, Suleiman has faced hostility from multiple sides, including threats from the Islamic State group. Commentators from the Christian right such as pastor Robert Jeffress have criticized him, as well.

So far, the imam said, the response to the event has been positive, with the exception of a stray social media comment.

Suleiman said he hopes the minority of Muslim students in the audience will glean something from the conversation, too.

“A lot of times we shy away from spaces where we think we won’t be welcomed in the fullness of ourselves as Muslims, but if we speak to the beautiful themes in our religion then that will resonate with people,” he said. “If we want to be bridge builders, we need to be consistent in our call for bridge building. We can’t only build bridges with people we’re comfortable with. We have to get over this apprehension that if we talk to people that we don’t agree with on everything, then we’ll lose what makes us unique as Muslims.”

Suleiman said such a public event, with a Muslim leader on stage beside a significant evangelical figure like Greear, sends a critical message of hope to both communities about the “possibility for dialogue.”

Source: Religion News Service

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The last thing Eugene Cho wanted to write a book about was politics.

In fact, Cho said he quit writing his latest book, “Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging Politics,” four times.

The pastor, author and founder of the nonprofit One Day’s Wages kept imagining the criticism he would receive. Nowadays, he noted, it seems like there is no “middle ground” in politics or anything else, “no nuance in how we’re navigating certain conversations.”

But he also kept feeling compelled — by the Holy Spirit, he said — to finish the book.

“There’s a lot of folks in the middle that are trying to bumble and stumble our way through,” he said. “We take our faith seriously, we know politics matters because it informs policy and that impacts people, and we’re just trying to figure that out as best as we can as followers of Jesus.”

“Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk” released this weekend ahead of Super Tuesday (March 3), when the largest number of states vote in primary elections and caucuses on one day.

In the run-up to November’s general election, Cho said, “I would say obviously this is an important election.”

He’s not naïve, he said. He believes God is sovereign. But he also believes that doesn’t preclude him from caring about what happens.

“God is sovereign and I choose to care and I believe that it matters,” he said.

“Politics and foreign policies impact real human people, and so, yes, it does matter. But, you know, I won’t go as far as to say it’s the most important and everything for all eternity is going to hinge upon this election.”

He also would never encourage Christians to vote reflexively with a single political party — either Republican or Democrat.

Cho talked to Religion News Service about the 10 commandments of engaging in politics in his book “Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk” and about a better way for Christians to take on the subject in a contentious election year. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I wrote the book for three groups of people: There’s a group of folks that have altogether disengaged from politics for whatever reason, including some folks that believe politics isn’t really part of the responsibility of Christians in any form or fashion. I’m also writing this book for a group of folks that I feel like have made politics our idolatry of our time — that we’re so obsessed by it, it justifies everything we do because of our ideology. And then I think there’s another group of people that are kind of enamored by the power of politics, and rather than our theology informing our politics, it feels as if our politics informs our theology.

I think this is part of the reason why there are a lot of folks just wondering why and how are Christians acting in the way they are or choosing to say certain things during this political climate and season.

“Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk: A
Christian’s Guide to Engaging
Politics” by Eugene Cho. Courtesy
image

I think it’s actually OK to identify with a political party. I think it’s OK to support a politician. I think it’s OK to donate to a campaign. I don’t think those things are bad. But I think there is a distinction when we’re so immersed in a particular party and its power that we’re unwilling to think objectively and to discern and realize that it’s just crazy to think a political party can monopolize or encapsulate the kingdom of God.

It’s a question I often get from folks that are just trying to navigate these waters: Are you a Republican or Democrat? That’s the question we often ask people. We want to box them in and identify them in this way. And my response to people is, “Well, what are we talking about? What is the topic we’re talking about?” Because it’s impossible, at least for me, to identify exclusively with only one political party.

And I think that’s what I mean: When we go to bed with a particular political party, if we’re not careful, we end up being more tribal, and we’re unwilling to challenge our own party or sentiments or views. One of the things I write about in the book is my concern that our politics is shaping our theology rather than our theology shaping our politics.

The word politics has kind of a negative connotation for some, and I think what we have to understand is that politics is just a natural process of governance of any healthy society. And, as Christians, we’re called to love God and love people. When we read the Sermon on the Mount, when we read the Beatitudes, it gives us an ethic of how we’re to live our lives, including how we interact with other people, as well.

So the reason why politics matters is because it informs policies which ultimately impact people. And the last time you and I checked out the Bible, God cares about people, including those who are forgotten or marginalized or vulnerable. So, yes, I think it really matters.

I hear a lot of pastors also push back at me and say, “Christians — and pastors especially — shouldn’t discuss politics at all.” But if we’re not discipling our church folks, if we’re not having these conversations, the reality is they’re being discipled by other things, other people, other sources, other cable news, other pundits. And that’s, I think, part of the reason why we’re in this conundrum.

Source: Religion News Service

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