Topic: We’ve Got the Power! — Thursday October 19, 2017.
Read: Romans 7:14–25, Bible in a Year: Isaiah 56–58; 2 Thessalonians 2 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
The loud crackling noise startled me. Recognizing the sound, I raced to the kitchen. I’d accidently tapped the start button on the empty coffee maker. Unplugging the appliance, I grabbed the handle of the carafe. Then I touched the bottom of the container to ensure it wasn’t too hot to place on the tile counter. The smooth surface burned my fingertips, blistering my tender skin. As my husband nursed my wound, I shook my head. I knew the glass would be hot. “I honestly do not know why I touched it,” I said.
My response after making such a mistake reminded me of Paul’s reaction to a more serious issue in Scripture—the nature of sin.
The apostle admits to not knowing why he does things he knows he shouldn’t do and doesn’t want to do (Rom. 7:15). Affirming that Scripture determines right and wrong (v. 7), he acknowledges the real, complex war constantly waging between the flesh and the spirit in the struggle against sin (vv. 15–23). Confessing his own weaknesses, he offers hope for victory now and forever (vv. 24–25).
When we surrender our lives to Christ, He gives us His Holy Spirit who empowers us to choose to do right (8:8–10). As He enables us to obey God’s Word, we can avoid the searing sin that separates us from the abundant life God promises those who love Him.
Prayer: Lord, thanks for breaking the chains that used to bind us to a life controlled by our sinful nature.
The Holy Spirit transforms us through His love and by His grace. Insight:
In Romans 7 the apostle Paul laments that sinful tendencies within us sometimes win out over righteous impulses. In what ways can we yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to experience more righteous living?
This message was written By Xochitl Dixon [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]
Topic: Our God Is A Many-Sided God — Thursday October 19, 2017.
“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty,but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” Exodus 6:3
The bible is not careful to tell us God’s origin. It is a case of take it or leave it. In the beginning God! God is the beginning that began the beginning. He doesn’t have to tell you where he is from. In the beginning God, you either accept it or nothing. He spoke things into existence. That is why you can’t study him. You know him by revelation. The more you make him the subject of your pursuit, the more of himself he will reveal to you. In the scriptures, he is revealed as Saviour. But while you are still grappling with the fact that he is the Saviour, he shows another side of himself. He reveals that he is not just the Saviour, but the healer. While you are still grappling with that, he reveals himself as the Great Provider. Beloved, you become what you behold of Him. That is why you must keep on serving him. You cannot discover who God is just by one shot at it. You must keep on following him. There is no retirement and there are no holidays. It is a continuous process. And that is what keeps you at the cutting edge because he keeps revealing different facets of himself to you.
This God is our deliverer. He is our peace. He is the most high God, El Elyon. He’s the mighty God, El Gibor. He’s El Olam, the Everlasting God. He keeps on revealing different parts of himself as you keep on pursuing. So you cannot know him just because of one encounter. You meditate and meditate on his word until you become the word, and the word is made flesh and you behold his glory. You cannot behold his glory until the word becomes flesh in your life. Further reading: John 1:1-14, Exodus 3:13-16
Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.
Key Verse: “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year” (Deuteronomy 14:22).
“If you want only net blessings, pay on the net. If you want gross blessings, by all means, pay on the gross,” Seve Steward wrote in his article: Yes, God’s Word Is Clear. “When we consider giving a tenth of our net [income] versus our gross [income], we are really asking, ‘How much can I give without giving too much? This kind of nonverbal response is rooted in selfish nature that resists God’s request that we help build his kingdom by giving to our local church.” Our text reveals one of the Old Testament concepts that was sustained by the new covenant in Christ. And so, the misconceptions surrounding its veracity are totally unnecessary. Tithing required that the Israelites give 10 percent of the crops they grew and the livestock they raised, to the temple. The law also required multiple tithes which included one each for the Levites, the use of the temple and the feasts, and the poor of the land. Our text also points to a set of categories which must needs be affected by our piety: the Levites (full or part-time ministers in the house of the Lord); the strangers (within and without the Church); as well as the destitute.
These all make up the family of God, and should be treated as such. The destination of our tithe, it must be noted, is clearly elucidated in our text to be where “…the Lord thy God shall choose to set His name there”. In our dispensation, the local Church where we receive spiritual nourishment should be deemed appropriate to receive the tithe.
Tithes and offerings should be given with pure motives and reverent attitude of worship to the Lord for His innumerable mercies. You must make up your mind to obey God always. Do not give reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves and cherishes a cheerful giver. As you do so, you relive Christ’s sacrificial life here on earth till He comes.
Thought for the day: Gross Kingdom investments never yield net dividends.
Bible Reading in one Year: 2 Kings 16-17
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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World famous supermodel Ashley Graham says her pastor follows her on Instagram, where she posts revealing photos of herself in swimsuits and lingerie.
“When I’m shooting lingerie or Sports Illustrated, I’m aware that my pastor follows me on Instagram. You should be the same person from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed,” Graham told Elle UK.
Graham, who was the first plus-size model to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition, revealed in a recent interview that she grew up in a Christian background.
“When I moved to New York, I got away from God. Then I realized that living here, you need something to keep you grounded or you’ll go crazy,” Graham says in the interview.
“I think that faith is definitely something that got me through the hard times in fashion. It got me through the hard times with body confidence, and the terrible decisions that I had made. My faith is something that brought me back to finding truth and value in who I am,” she says in another interview.
Graham and her husband, Justin Ervin, met at church in 2009, and they chose to abstain from sex until they were married.
In an excerpt from her book posted to Glamour, Graham writes:
Eventually I joined a church. I didn’t go there to find a boyfriend; I truly wasn’t looking for anyone other than the person I wanted to be. One Sunday my volunteer position was to stand in the elevator welcoming people, passing out candy and pushing the button to the eighth floor. When two tall men walked in, I didn’t bat an eye. One nudged the other and said, “If you don’t talk to her, I will.” His friend left the elevator, but he stayed on.
I shrugged. This guy wasn’t my type. With his short hair, ill-fitting, baggy Old Navy jeans, white Hanes T-shirt, and Converse sneakers, he exuded a major nerd factor. But there was something sweet about Justin, and I was at church, so I had to be polite. He rode up and down with me a few times, and he seemed to be looking into my soul when we talked. He was smart and funny and had traveled the world. So I agreed to go out for coffee. …
My romance with Justin was innocent and sweet. He cooked for me. We went rollerblading and biking; we did karaoke, went to the movies, took an improv class together. Because we weren’t sleeping together—for Justin, abstinence was a firm commitment to his faith—we never tempted ourselves by going over to each other’s apartments late at night. But we’d go to late movies or take walks through the city together. We had a spot on 14th Street and Seventh Avenue where we loved to sit and chat.
Jessilyn Justice is the director of online news for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor’s family in Alabama, she attended Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She’s passionate about sharing God’s goodness through storytelling. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.
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REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLeaves are pictured on a warm autumn morning in Bursins, Switzerland, October 27, 2016.
Fall has definitely started at the Shenandoah National Park, coloring the foliage with a burst of red, orange and yellow.
According to the Shenandoah’s website, autumn hues are starting to pop up in different areas of the park, from Front Royal to Rockfish Gap. The maple tree in the Meadow Spring Parking at mile 33.5, for example, showcases a happy swirl of cherry, orange, and lime. Some of the sumacs have also started changing colors, while others have remained a deep green. Those found at the Spitler Knoll Overlook are especially dramatic, with an explosion of hues resembling the Mardi Gras feather boas.
Some of the maples located at the Swift Run Gap are also reportedly transitioning from lime to golden to scarlet, while the leaves of the hickories and birches at the Park’s South District are turning orange. The trees that are putting up a show this week, however, are sassafras. The ones near Calf Mountain Overlook, about seven miles from Skyline Drive’s southern, are reportedly glowing a luminous light red.
“The scene-stealer this week, though, is sassafras. Sassafras trees, like sumacs, are the mood rings of the Appalachian woods. In the Park this week you can see the whole gamut of sassafras shades – single trees glittering jewel-tones of both crimson and green, startling as mangoes in every stage of ripeness, or dressing themselves in classic monotones like auburn, paprika, and Velveeta orange,” the website describes.
This year’s fall is noticeably different from the usual, according to the Washington Post. The temperature is too warm and there is hardly any rain. These anomalies are said to be the reasons why the autumn colors are slow to arrive.
In Pennsylvania, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has already warned the citizens that the usual burst of fall hues might not be as brilliant this year. Still, reports indicate that the foliage at the farther north of the state has reached peak colors, while other areas are bound to change soon.
The graffiti was daubed across Waverley Baptist Church in Melbourne. (Coalition for marriage Australia/Christian Institute)
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Christians who hold a biblical view of marriage are “bigots” and should be “crucified,” according to same-sex marriage supporters who vandalized churches in Australia.
Last week, two churches in Melbourne were daubed with graffiti, including a Nazi swastika.
It is the latest in a string of reports of abuse suffered by marriage supporters in the country. In recent weeks, a mother received death threats and a Christian lost her job simply for expressing opposition to the redefinition of marriage.
‘Disturbing and Concerning’
Pastor Drew Mellor of Glen Waverley Anglican Church said the graffiti left older parishioners fearing for their safety.
Following the incident, the church released a lengthy statement outlining its belief in a biblical view on marriage—that it is the union of one man and one woman.
And David O’ Brien, Senior Pastor of Waverley Baptist Church (the other church that was vandalized), said the incident was “disturbing and concerning.”
Intolerance
Coalition for Marriage (Australia) said both incidents exposed the intolerant attitude of same-sex marriage supporters.
Speaking for the group, Monica Doumit said: “One thing that this process has revealed is that, despite the rhetoric, ‘Yes’ campaigners do not actually believe in a tolerant society, where people are allowed to ‘live and let live.’
“Rather, they will target those who disagree for abuse, for boycott, or for some other type of punishment.”
Abuse
Mother Cella White received “relentless” abuse online after appearing in an Australian TV advert encouraging people to vote against redefining marriage.
“I knew it was a touchy subject so I was well aware of the backlash to likely come my way by taking part in the ad, but it’s hostile out there.”
But despite the abuse, the mother of four said it has not stopped her from voicing her opinion on the issue.
‘It’s OK to Vote No’
And an 18-year-old was dismissed from her job for publicly sharing her opposition to same-sex marriage on Facebook, after she changed her profile picture to say “It’s OK to vote no.”
Madeline, who is a Christian, was working as a contractor for Capital Kids’ Parties in Canberra.
Her employer, Madlin Sims, said this was “homophobic” and could not be tolerated.
The country is currently holding a postal vote answering the question: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”
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Muslim children (WikiImages/Pixabay/Public Domain)
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Massachusetts high school students pretended to be Muslims in the “Islamic” city of Jerusalem as part of a class assignment used in Newton Public Schools to teach about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a new report revealed.
One father was particularly upset when he discovered his daughter had been assigned what he described as an inflammatory pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel article, according to the report. The man was allegedly told by the school’s principal that lessons the next year would be even more upsetting to him.
The class assignment, “Cities: Connecting the Islamic Word,” was published in an excerpt from a book by CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting.
“As our concluding project on the Islamic world, you will work in groups to simulate a historical hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in class,” a teacher wrote in the assignment description. “Each of you will be part of a group of Muslim pilgrims from one of the following eight Islamic cities or regions, around a rough time period.”
One of the eight “Islamic” cities is Jerusalem, and students are instructed to set up a “tent,” which will display newspaper articles about “their” cities and cultural artifacts to represent their Islamic “hometowns.”
“Citizens of Newton have been waging a minor war with school officials for years now, trying to get them to use balanced curriculum in their teaching materials on the subject of Islam and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Judicial Watch Senior Investigator Bill Marshall told Fox News.
Marshall detailed his investigation, alongside chairman of Citizens for National Security Dr. Bill Saxton, in an op-ed for the American Thinker. The results of the research compiled by Saxton and Marshall were used in the CAMERA report.
Newton parents and residents contacted Saxton, who heads CFNS, a Florida-based research organization that vets textbooks for factual accuracy to get them corrected or removed. Saxton spearheaded the two-year effort with Marshall at Judicial Watch to get the release of nearly 600 pages of teaching material from the Newton Public Schools.
Saxton told Fox News the Newton school board and superintendent were “very uncooperative” and “non-transparent” regarding what was in their textbooks.
“I’m not sure we got everything,” Saxton said. “[But] we got so much damning material to go ahead with it.”
He added: “Parents and grandparents have absolutely no idea what their children and grandchildren are reading and hearing in school about history and geography. How many of them have read or looked at their textbooks, for example?”
Marshall said the teaching materials “use as little, if any material on the violent history of Islam.” In one lesson plan on the “Spread of Islam,” the teacher’s notes indicate Muslim conquerors acted “decently” to their subjects.
“When you hear so much caterwauling from the left about religion being mixed in the school, it’s a little troubling when kids are being asked to go on an imaginary hajj,” Marshall said.
Saxton called it an example of a “purposeful attempt to indoctrinate our impressionable high-schoolers with the ‘virtues’ of Islam at the expense of Christianity, Judaism and other religions.”
Newton Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.
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Donald Trump is no wallflower. He’s never had a problem attracting attention or making headlines, whether as a business tycoon, media mogul, presidential candidate or leader of the free world.
But few might make the connection that Trump’s presidential run, his meteoric rise or his unexpected journey to the White House is tied to an ancient Middle East paradigm from 3,000 years ago.
In his new book, The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times (TheParadigmMystery.com)—out for less than a month but debuting in the top five of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal book charts—best-selling author Jonathan Cahn reveals a mystery that still has many in wonderment: Donald Trump’s rise to power.
The Paradigm not only reveals the mystery behind Trump, but how ancient writings parallel many occurrences of today, including how the billionaire would beat Hillary Clinton, how he would light a fire under believers and Christians leaders and how his policies would help pull America from the very dismal place the country was headed—spiritually, economically and culturally.
“Almost no analyst saw it coming,” Cahn said. “President Trump’s rise to power has mystified almost every observer. He has defied all explanations. But is the mystery behind Donald Trump revealed in an ancient blueprint? The answer is a definite ‘yes.’ A nearly 3,000-year-old Middle Eastern template reveals the phenomenon of Donald Trump in such detail, that it even speaks of his strategy, his actions, his personality and his race to the nation’s highest position. The ancient blueprint also details his campaign against the nation’s former first lady, and even pinpoints the year of his victory and ascent to power. Beyond the details, The Paradigm reveals the mystery behind the man and the reason for that ascent to power.”
The Paradigm, which topped all the major best-seller lists, reveals a newly uncovered master blueprint and ancient template that foretells many events of modern history. The Paradigm also removes the veil behind the leaders, governments, events and scandals of modern times. Its disclosures are so detailed and its revelations so precise that it even speaks of events before they happen. The book will undoubtedly anger some but will amaze and stun many others with its discoveries.
Cahn, who caused a stir throughout America and the globe with the release of his instant New York Times best-seller The Harbinger, which sold over 2 million copies, followed that earth-shattering work with The Mystery of the Shemitah and The Book of Mysteries, also New York Times best-sellers. In fact, the mysteries of the immensely popular The Harbinger continue and are intertwined with the mysteries of The Paradigm.
The Paradigm also addresses these powerful questions:
Could events that transpired almost 3,000 years ago be determining the news of modern times, and with it, the issues of our lives?
Is it possible that an ancient mystery, a paradigm from almost 3,000 years ago, reveals and determines not only the American presidency, but also the timing of current events—in some cases even down to the exact dates?
Could the ancient paradigm have pinpointed the exact date of 9/11 before anyone had any idea? Could it have determined the exact years of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Osama bin Laden, Donald Trump and others?
And what does the ancient paradigm say about what is yet to come—our future? Could it even contain a warning critical for this hour and crucial for all to hear?
The Paradigm is published by Frontline, an imprint of Charisma House.
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There are two words for time in the New Testament. The first is chronos, and it refers to clock time or calendar time. It’s where we get our English word chronology.
Chronos is sequential—past, present, future. And it is linear, moving in only one direction.
According to Greek mythology, Chronos was a short god with muscular legs and winged heels. He moved so fast that once he passed you, he was impossible to catch. To symbolize the transience of time, Chronos had a full head of hair in front but was bald in back. In other words, you can’t grasp the present once it’s past.
Finally, and most significantly, chronos is a human construct. It’s how humans measure time, but God exists outside the space-time dimensions He created. So we have to be very careful not to put Him on our clock, in our box.
The second word for time is kairos, and it refers to the opportune time. Chronos is quantitative; it counts minutes. Kairos is qualitative; it captures moments. It’s the critical moment or the appointed time—”for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). It is carpe diem, “seize the day.”
Kairos is an archery term that denotes an arrow fired with sufficient force to penetrate the target. Better yet, it’s the archer’s paradox. Logic suggests that an arrow be aimed right at a target. But if it’s a long distance away, a seasoned archer knows a vast array of variables will affect the flight path. The arrow must actually be aimed off-target in order to hit the target. The ability to evaluate those variables is kairos.
Time management, as in chronos, is important. The psalmist tells us to “number our days” (Ps. 90:12). And I believe in Vince Lombardi time: if you aren’t 15 minutes early, you’re late.! But the apostle Paul took the idea of time management one step further when he told us to “redeem the time” (see Eph. 5:16, NKJV). It’s not the word chronos; it’s the word kairos. And it literally means “making the most of every opportunity” (Eph. 5:16, NIV)
If you miss the opportunity, it’s an opportunity cost. It might even be a sin of omission. If you make the most of an opportunity, it can turn into a defining moment.
I recently spoke at a congressional retreat during a very tense political season. In fact, I had to weave my way through a thousand protestors and a police barricade to get into the hotel where the event was held. My rule of thumb is, if I have an opportunity to preach the gospel, I’ll preach to either side of the aisle. That’s the example Paul set in his “all things to all people” ministry (1 Cor. 9:22).
The devotional I shared was during the first session of the day, an optional session, so I was impressed that a few dozen members of both the House and Senate showed up. To be honest, I was a little nervous and had a difficult time figuring out what to say.
But as is often the case, the highlight wasn’t anything I said. It was a prompting that went past protocol. I felt impressed to ask everyone to kneel for prayer. I wasn’t sure how these national leaders would respond to it, but I took the risk that I felt the Holy Spirit was asking me to take.
In a way I never could have predicted or planned, it turned into a holy moment, holy ground. The spiritual and emotional response was visceral. Is kneeling going to solve all our political problems or resolve all our political tensions? No, but it’s not a bad place to start.
Chronos time may be measured in minutes, but life is measured in kairos moments. Discerning those moments is part of hearing God’s voice. Hearing Him means discerning the holy moments when you need to drop to your knees. It’s discerning the critical moments when you need to make a difficult decision. As a parent, it’s discerning the teachable moments that can turn into defining moments for your kids.
I hate to admit it, but I miss more kairos moments than I seize. Sometimes I let fear dictate my decisions. I’m afraid of feeling awkward or looking foolish, so I fail to step out in faith. Sometimes I’m too preoccupied with my own problems to discern God’s promptings. But listening to those whispers and obeying them can turn an ordinary day into the adventure of a lifetime!
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church, known as one of the most innovative and influential churches in America. He’s also the New York Times best-selling author of a dozen books, including Chase the Lion and his newest, Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God. Visit him at markbatterson.com.
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On the heels of shooting down a bill that would have harmed churches, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill allowing nonbinary people to select a third gender on their driver’s license.
While liberals praise the move, conservatives see the negative impact of such a bill.
“We believe government documents need to reflect biological facts for identification and medical purposes,” California Family Council CEO Jonathan Keller says. “Secondly, the bill advances a falsehood; that being male or female, or no gender at all is a choice each person must make, not a fact to celebrate and accept. Laws like this will simply erase any meaningful gender definitions, if being male or female is completely divorced from biological facts.”
According to CNN, the bill, SB179, makes California the first state in the country to offer the nonbinary option for people who want their documents to match their gender identity. While most recent bills that Brown, a Democrat, signed will go into effect January 1, 2018, this bill will take effect in 2019.
According to the SF Gate, the bill does not say how the nonbinary option will be abbreviated, leaving that decision to state agencies, but it is likely to be listed as X or NB.
Jessilyn Justice is the director of online news for Charisma. Born and raised in a pastor’s family in Alabama, she attended Lee University and the Washington Journalism Center. She’s passionate about sharing God’s goodness through storytelling. Tell her what you think of this story on Twitter @jessilynjustice.
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3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God’s presence 3) Hear God’s voice clearly! Click here to draw closer to God!
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