This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #16.

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”

Song of Solomon 1:2 reads: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.”

Nothing gives the believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. He has enjoyment as others have in the common mercies of life, he can be glad both in God’s gifts and God’s works; but in all these separately, yea, and in all of them added together, he doth not find such substantial delight as in the matchless person of his Lord Jesus. He has wine which no vineyard on earth ever yielded; he has bread which all the corn-fields of Egypt could never bring forth. Where can such sweetness be found as we have tasted in communion with our Beloved? In our esteem, the joys of earth are little better than husks for swine compared with Jesus, the heavenly manna. We would rather have one mouthful of Christ’s love, and a sip of his fellowship, than a whole world full of carnal delights. What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling paste to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality? What is time’s mirth, in its best trim, compared to our Lord Jesus in his most despised estate? If you know anything of the inner life, you will confess that our highest, purest, and most enduring joys must be the fruit of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. No spring yields such sweet water as that well of God which was digged with the soldier’s spear. All earthly bliss is of the earth earthy, but the comforts of Christ’s presence are like himself, heavenly. We can review our communion with Jesus, and find no regrets of emptiness therein; there are no dregs in this wine, no dead flies in this ointment. The joy of the Lord is solid and enduring. Vanity hath not looked upon it, but discretion and prudence testify that it abideth the test of years, and is in time and in eternity worthy to be called “the only true delight.” For nourishment, consolation, exhilaration, and refreshment, no wine can rival the love of Jesus. Let us drink to the full this evening.

PRAY.

Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:

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 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” 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 that 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 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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This is Daniel Whyte III with The Scripture & The Sense Podcast #401, 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. 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 1:2.

2 And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

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That was Amos 1:2. Now here is the sense of it.

The FaithLife Study Bible reads:

Amos was not a professional prophet and did not come from a prophetic background. He was a shepherd and likely was the owner of his flock, not merely a hired hand. He also tended sycamore figs. Little else is known about him.

The book of Amos can be divided into three sections. The first briefly introduces the prophet and conveys eight messages of judgment, each introduced with a phrase stating the words belong to Yahweh. The first six messages condemn foreign nations for injustice and oppression. The seventh tells of judgment against Judah for rejecting God’s law, while the eighth message—the longest—takes aim at Israel. The kingdom is judged for injustice, sexual immorality, and rejection of God’s guidance, including a rejection of his prophets.

The second section includes three messages of judgment introduced by a command to hear this word. These messages are all directed at the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos accuses them of oppressing the poor and worshiping improperly, especially at the wrong place—Bethel, rather than Yahweh’s ordained place of Jerusalem in Judah. King Jeroboam II of Israel, and most of the kings of Israel before him, encouraged worship of Yahweh at Bethel rather than Jerusalem—this politically motivated decision was tantamount to heresy. But despite the words of rebuke and discipline, Israel refused to turn back to God.

The third section of Amos presents three visions of the judgment that awaits Israel. Between the first and second visions, a brief narrative episode tells of a priest from Bethel who attempts to stop Amos from prophesying in Israel. Here, we see the pitiful effects of the disunity among God’s people, created from selfish ambition and spurred by the separation of worship sites. The third vision tells of what will come after judgment.

Amos focuses on God’s concern for justice. The nations surrounding Israel are judged and will suffer for their oppressive actions. However, contrary to what the Israelites might have expected, their position as God’s chosen people will not protect them from disaster. In fact, their relationship with God sets a higher standard for them. If they persist in their injustice, they will suffer just like the other nations.

Amos also critiques the people of Israel for improper worship. Their rituals are worthless if the worshipers do not also seek justice. In addition, Israel’s worship involves improper sacrifices (such as leavened bread) being offered at improper worship sites (such as Bethel and Gilgal). Amos’ warnings of judgment do not merely proclaim disaster; they also invite repentance.

The message of Amos is a call to reflect on our interactions with other people. Regardless of our place in the world, all of us enjoy some degree of privilege over others, and we need God to help us recognize how our attitudes and behaviors might be unfair, unjust, or even oppressive. Without committed action that advances God’s justice, anything we do to worship Him will amount to an empty ritual. But when we turn to God in repentance and seek His ways, we will encounter His transforming presence dwelling among us. This is the promise in the closing images of Amos: God will lift up His people and give them a beautiful and fruitful future.

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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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This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Daily Devotional Bible Reading Episode #66. Where I read three chapters of the Holy Bible in the King James Version a day with my family as a part of our family devotions, to encourage you to read the Holy Bible in a year’s time. We are using a modified version of the Five Day Bible Reading Plan. It is modified because we read the Bible everyday and not just five days a week. The benefit of using the Five Day Bible Reading Plan is: you can read the entire Bible in a chronological reading plan that helps the Bible make sense. Today we are reading Leviticus 6, Leviticus 7 and Luke 17.

Warren Wiersbe said, “The world changes – circumstances change, we change – but God’s Word never changes.”

Thomas Watson said, “Highly prize the Scriptures. Can he make a proficiency in any art, who doth slight and deprecate it? Prize this book of God above all other books..”

Leviticus 6
1 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;

3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:

4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,

5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.

6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:

7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

8 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

9 Command Aa’-ron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

11 And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.

12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aa’-ron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar.

15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord.

16 And the remainder thereof shall Aa’-ron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.

17 It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.

18 All the males among the children of Aa’-ron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.

19 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

20 This is the offering of Aa’-ron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an e’-phah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.

21 In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the Lord.

22 And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the Lord; it shall be wholly burnt.

23 For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.

24 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

25 Speak unto Aa’-ron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord: it is most holy.

26 The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

27 Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place.

28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.

29 All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.

30 And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

Leviticus 7
1 Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.

2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.

3 And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,

4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:

5 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a trespass offering.

6 Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.

7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.

8 And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.

9 And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.

10 And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aa’-ron have, one as much as another.

11 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord.

12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.

13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.

15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.

16 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:

17 But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.

18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.

19 And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.

20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

22 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

23 Speak unto the children of Is’-ra-el, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.

24 And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.

25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.

26 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.

27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

28 And the Lord spake unto Mo’-ses, saying,

29 Speak unto the children of Is’-ra-el, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord shall bring his oblation unto the Lord of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.

30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the Lord made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the Lord.

31 And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aa’-ron’s and his sons’.

32 And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

33 He among the sons of Aa’-ron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.

34 For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Is’-ra-el from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aa’-ron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Is’-ra-el.

35 This is the portion of the anointing of Aa’-ron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the Lord in the priest’s office;

36 Which the Lord commanded to be given them of the children of Is’-ra-el, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.

37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;

38 Which the Lord commanded Mo’-ses in mount Si’-nai, in the day that he commanded the children of Is’-ra-el to offer their oblations unto the Lord, in the wilderness of Si’-nai.

Luke 17
1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Je-ru’-sa-lem, that he passed through the midst of Sa-mar’-i-a and Gal’-i-lee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Je’-sus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Sa-mar’-i-tan.

17 And Je’-sus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

20 And when he was demanded of the Phar’-i-sees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

26 And as it was in the days of No’-e, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that No’-ah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sod’-om it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot’s wife.

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

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PRAY
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When I was a teenager I wanted to get wisdom and knowledge, so I set out the read the big family Bible that many families had in those days. But I couldn’t get past Genesis 2 before I got bored with reading the Bible. I found out later in life that you have to believe on Christ and get saved before you can understand the Bible. So here is how I became a Christian and how you can too:

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 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” 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 that 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 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

This year’s Super Bowl–bound San Francisco 49ers remind Earl Smith of the family-like unity the Golden State Warriors had when they won the NBA Finals in 2015.

And Smith would know. He serves as the chaplain for both teams.

From society’s perspective, Smith has ministered to the greatest and the least. His work as a chaplain started in California’s San Quentin State Prison, where he witnessed 12 executions and played chess with prisoners including Charles Manson. More recently, it has brought him to the sidelines of professional sports at its peak, celebrating big wins beside celebrity athletes like the Warriors’ Steph Curry.

“By virtue of who these guys are, they are the best of the best,” Smith said in an interview with CT, calling from Miami, where the 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday. “They’re famous, yet if you allow yourself to be locked in on the fame, you might negate the opportunity to present Christ in a proper way.”

Most weeks during the season, Smith’s work resembles the work of any pastor. He prepares and leads the team Bible study, goes through a book study with the 49ers coaching staff, conducts a Saturday night chapel service, and makes himself available for counseling. Meanwhile, he’s spending his own daily time reading Scripture and meeting with his pastor.

Smith said people will often ask him about which players on the 49ers team are Christians, and in response he likes to ask them which people in church are Christians. His point is clear: “Only Christ knows the true commitment of the heart.”

A graduate of Bishop College and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, he focuses on spiritual themes that tap into the players’ interests: hope, trust, and accountability. He studied portions of the Lord’s Prayer with them, looked at different ways that David expressed his relationship with God in different Psalms, and talked about what the Lord can do with faith as small as a mustard seed. At the beginning of the season, he gave each player a tiny glass bottle, and with each victory he gave the players a mustard seed to put in their bottles.

This is the 49ers’ seventh Super Bowl appearance, and their second since Smith became the team’s chaplain in 1997.

Chaplaincy is a ministry of presence, of faithfully being there through the highs and lows. While there have been a lot of highs in a winning season, it’s not always a bad game or a bad record that hits the team spiritually.

During his years on the sidelines, Smith has seen losses far more devastating than failure to advance in the playoffs. He recalled a 2005 preseason game when he escorted 49ers lineman Thomas Herrion off the field after a win and prayed with the team in the locker room. When the prayer concluded, Herrion collapsed and died of heart failure. Smith stepped up to support a traumatized team and coaching staff after an unimaginable loss of one of their own.

As team chaplain, he makes a point to get to know a player’s spouse, parents, and children. He inquires about babies who have been born and family members who are unwell. And Smith said he always makes sure players’ parents have his phone number if they ever need him.

“I believe that in any ministry, it’s important not to just focus on the individual with the spotlight, but also those in the shadow,” he said in an interview with CT.

Just last month, third-string quarterback C. J. Beathard learned that his brother, Clayton, had been killed outside a Nashville bar. “There was nothing I could do other than hold [Beathard] while he grieved. I believe that is the presence that you have,” he said. “It’s not what you say, it’s just your presence, and how you’re there.”

Source: Christianity Today

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Daryl Jones knows what it’s like to get ready for Sundays. As a wide receiver in the NFL in the early 2000s, he played four seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

But this Sunday, as the eyes of the world turn toward America’s biggest football game, Jones is getting ready for an even bigger Sunday. Less than 20 minutes away from Hard Rock Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LIV, Jones will preach the Gospel at The Rock Fellowship Church, a church he planted in Miami in 2016.

The Send Network and Florida Baptist church planting missionary said his experience as an NFL player and a wide receiver for the 2001 national champion Miami Hurricanes has helped him get the new church off the ground.

“When you play Division I college football, are part of a national championship team and play in the NFL, a part of your wiring is that you’re crazy,” Jones said. “We think we can do some crazy stuff. We have a challenge. We can run through the wall, and we’re going to be OK. I don’t want to use the word ambition, but we were not afraid of risk. We’re not afraid to step outside of our comfort zone because we know that is where we’ll really grow.”

Jones is part of a growing brotherhood of Send Network church planting missionaries who are engaging the community hosting the upcoming Super Bowl with the Gospel. North American Mission Board (NAMB) research indicates that 78.8 percent of the South Florida area is in need of the Gospel.

The Send Network, NAMB’s church planting ministry, has 43 church planters working to reach the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach that surround the city of Miami.

James Peoples, the director of Send Network Florida, noted that the state is growing quickly, and a third of its 21 million residents live in South Florida.

“We need more churches. We need revitalization and healthy churches, but we need to plant new churches as well,” Peoples said.

Tim Wolfe, who began his role as the Send City missionary for South Florida earlier this month, said as he has traveled the area, the level of spiritual need he has seen has underscored the need for new church starts.

“It makes you weep, just thinking about the desperate need for people to hear about Jesus,” Wolfe said. “We believe everything is about the Gospel.”

The diversity of the northwest Miami area where The Rock Fellowship Church is located makes it an ideal fit for Jones and his family. Jones is an African American from Dallas, and his wife is Chinese-Jamaican.

The church looks like the surrounding community. People from around 10 different national origins call the church home. About 30 percent of the church is Hispanic, even though Jones doesn’t speak Spanish.

Source: Baptist Press

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In their latest tactic aimed at oppressing people of faith, Chinese authorities have now started banning Christian funerals.

FAITHWIRE: China Continues Monitoring Mobile Phones, Flagging Phrases Like ‘Almighty God’

According to a report in Bitter Winter, communist officials have even been arresting family members and halting proceedings mid-service if they deem the ceremony to be too religious in nature. The action is part of China’s wider policy to sinicize the Christian faith and ensure the country’s religious culture is aligned with the political ideals of President Xi Jinping.

“The situation is quite adverse, and some believers don’t even dare to accompany the deceased to the graveyard,” an elder of a government-sanctioned Three-Self church explained to Bitter Winter.

The restrictions are also being enshrined in law. For example, in one city in the province of Henan, an ordinance has been passed that prohibits “visiting groups, choirs, orchestras, and other groups” from performing anywhere other than a church.

FAITHWIRE: Shocking Leaked Memo Reveals Grim Reality of China’s Anti-Religion Prison Camps

“The government prohibits religious funerals, and doesn’t allow church choirs or orchestras to perform during them,” the church elder added. “Pastors can only sneak into believers’ homes for a hurried prayer.”

In another Henan town, a law was passed that prevents ministers from “using religion to intervene in citizens’ weddings and funerals or other activities in their lives.”

There was even an instance of police officers halting the funeral of a local preacher because they deemed that the service was proliferating “religious propaganda.”

The family of one Christian man said they were outraged when government officials instructed that they must hold a secular funeral, even though he was a faithful follower of Jesus for years.

FAITHWIRE: China Gov Using Facial and Fingerprint Scanning on Christians as They Enter Church

“When my father died, village officials threatened to arrest us if we didn’t conduct a secular funeral. We did not dare to go against them,” the villager explained. “My father had been a believer for several decades. He is persecuted even after death.”

Open Doors USA estimates that there are roughly 100 million Christians currently residing in China. Despite it being one of the harshest environments on earth in which to live as a believer, the underground church continues to explode in numbers.

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BEIJING (AP) — The Philippines on Sunday reported the first death from a new virus outside of China, where authorities delayed the opening of schools in the worst-hit province and tightened quarantine measures in a city that allow only one family member to venture out to buy supplies.

The Philippine Department of Health said a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan was admitted on Jan. 25 after experiencing a fever, cough, and sore throat. He developed severe pneumonia, and in his last few days, “the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement, however, the condition of the patient deteriorated within his last 24 hours resulting in his demise.”

The man’s 38-year-old female companion, also from Wuhan, also tested positive for the virus and remains in hospital isolation in Manila.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved a temporary ban on all travelers, except Filipinos, from China and its autonomous regions. The U.S., Japan, Singapore and Australia have imposed similar restrictions despite criticism from China and an assessment from the World Health Organization that they were unnecessarily hurting trade and travel.

The death toll in China climbed by 45 to 304 and the number of cases by 2,590 to 14,380, according to the National Health Commission, well above the number of those infected in in the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which broke out in southern China and spread worldwide.

Meanwhile, six officials in the city of Huanggang, neighboring the epicenter of Wuhan in Hubei province, have been fired over “poor performance” in handling the outbreak, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It cited the mayor as saying the city’s “capabilities to treat the patients remained inadequate and there is a severe shortage in medical supplies such as protective suits and medical masks.”

After Huanggang, the trading center of Wenzhou in coastal Zhejiang province also confined people to homes, allowing only one family member to venture out every other day to buy necessary supplies.

With the outbreak showing little sign of abating, authorities in Hubei and elsewhere have extended the Lunar New Year holiday, due to end this week, well into February. The annual travel crunch of millions of people returning from their hometowns to the cities is thought to pose a major threat of secondary infection at a time when authorities are encouraging people to avoid public gatherings.

All Hubei schools will postpone the opening of the new semester until further notice and students from elsewhere who visited over the holiday will also be excused from classes.

Far away on China’s southeast coast, the manufacturing hub of Wenzhou put off the opening of government offices until Feb. 9, private businesses until Feb. 17 and schools until March 1.

With nearly 10 million people, Wenzhou has reported 241 confirmed cases of the virus, one of the highest levels outside Hubei. Similar measures have been announced in the provinces and cities of Heilongjiang, Shandong, Guizhou, Hebei and Hunan, while the major cities of Shanghai and Beijing were on indefinite leave pending developments.

Despite imposing drastic travel restrictions at home, China has chafed at those imposed by foreign governments, criticizing Washington’s order barring entry to most non-citizens who visited China in the past two weeks. Apart from dinging China’s international reputation, such steps could worsen a domestic economy already growing at its lowest rate in decades.

The crisis is the latest to confront Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has been beset by months of anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong, the reelection of Taiwan’s pro-independence president and criticism over human rights violations in the traditionally Muslim northwestern territory of Xinjiang. Economically, Xi faces lagging demand and dramatically slower growth at home while the tariff war with the U.S. remains largely unresolved.

New Zealand announced Sunday it is temporarily banning travelers from China to protect the South Pacific region from the virus. The 14-day ban applies to foreigners leaving China but not to New Zealand residents. New Zealand also raised its travel advice for China to “Do not travel,” the highest level.

Among a growing number of airlines suspending flights to mainland China was Qatar Airways. The Doha-based carrier said on its website that its flights would stop Monday. It blamed “significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by a number of countries” for the suspension of flights.

Indonesia and Oman also halted flights to China, as did Saudi Arabia’s flagship national carrier, Saudia.

Saudi Arabia’s state-run media reported that 10 Saudi students were evacuated from Wuhan on a special flight. It said the students would be screened upon arrival and quarantined for 14 days.

This weekend, South Korea and India flew hundreds of their citizens out of Wuhan. They went into a two-week quarantine.

On Sunday, South Korea reported three more cases for a total of 15. They include an evacuee, a Chinese relative of a man who tested positive and a man who returned from Wuhan. India reported a second case, also in southern Kerala state.

South Korea also barred foreigners who have stayed or traveled to Hubei province within the last 14 days from entering the country.

Indonesia flew back 241 nationals from Wuhan on Sunday and quarantined them on the remote Natuna Islands for two weeks. Several hundred residents protested the move, with one saying, “This is not because we do not have a sense of solidarity with fellow nationals. But because we fear they could infect us with the deadly virus from China.”

A Turkish military transport plane carrying 42 people arrived in Ankara from Wutan Saturday night. The 32 Turkish, six Azerbaijani, three Georgian nationals and an Albanian will remain under observation for 14 days, together with 20 personnel who participated in the evacuation, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Vietnam counted its seventh case, a Vietnamese-American man who had a two-hour layover in Wuhan on his way from the U.S. to Ho Chi Minh City.

The virus’ rapid spread in two months prompted the WHO on Thursday to declare it a global emergency.

That declaration “flipped the switch” from a cautious attitude to recommending governments prepare for the possibility the virus might spread, said the WHO representative in Beijing, Gauden Galea. Most cases reported so far have been people who visited China or their family members.

WHO said it was especially concerned that some cases abroad involved human-to-human transmission.

“Countries need to get ready for possible importation in order to identify cases as early as possible and in order to be ready for a domestic outbreak control, if that happens,” Galea told The Associated Press.

Both the new virus and SARS are from the coronavirus family, which also includes those that cause the common cold.

The death rate in China is falling, but the number of confirmed cases will keep growing because thousands of specimens from suspected cases have yet to be tested, Galea said.

“The case fatality ratio is settling out at a much lower level than we were reporting three, now four, weeks ago,” he said.

Although scientists expect to see limited transmission of the virus between people with family or other close contact, they are concerned about cases of infection spreading to people who might have less exposure.

Copyright 2020. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Bible teacher and best-selling author Sheila Walsh believes prayer is the “single most underused weapon in the Church.”

“Over the last two-and-a-half years, I’ve had this burning thing inside of me that every morning I wake up with this word ‘prayer’ on my heart,” Walsh told The Christian Post. “I’ve been a Christian for many years, but I didn’t understand the importance of prayer.”

“I kept recalling the words of Corrie Ten Boom: ‘Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?’ In other words, is it what guides my life, or is it a last resort? I am convinced there’s nothing the enemy would love more than for us to stop praying.”

Walsh knew she wasn’t alone in her struggle. She spent two years researching what God says about prayer, looking at how the early Church fathers viewed prayer, and even penned a survey asking women what they thought about prayer. The results, she said, were astonishing.

“So many women said they got bored, distracted, felt like they were repeating themselves when they prayed,” she recalled. “Others asked, ‘Why bother to pray when God already knows all?’ or, ‘I prayed and God didn’t answer, so why would I keep praying?’”

“That,” she added, “gave me a fresh passion to provide women a practical, step-by-step handbook as to how to pray through some of the toughest times of life.”

The Scottish-born evangelist is gearing up for the Feb. 4 release of her latest book, Praying Women: How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say. In it, she teaches women to experience the power of prayer through conversation with God by inspiring them to develop a lifestyle of prayer.

While researching for her book, Walsh said she discovered that for many women — herself included — the most difficult time to pray is in times of pain and suffering. Yet Walsh stressed the importance of “processing your pain in the presence of God.”

“I believe Satan makes us feel like we don’t want to pray; it’s a strategy of the devil,” Walsh posited. “We do have an enemy who would love to make sure that we don’t pray. I think sometimes when we’re walking through painful situations, we think, ‘God, you’re powerful enough to have changed this, but you didn’t.’ We get confused in our pain and the last thing we want to do is pray.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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