Word for Today, Sun, 03 Jul 2005: Saving a Nation
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and
rejoice in it.
Tomorrow in the USA we celebrate the declaration of our nation's
independence from the taxation and rule of Great Britain. We
also celebrate freedom. As US citizens, freedom means things
like freedom of speech and freedom from the requirement of
cultural customs.
However, for the Christian, freedom means the freedom to worship
God as we see fit, and in fact, besides the concerns over high
taxation, many people came to the United States of America in the
first place so that they could freely worship God the way that
they chose, rather than the way that the king or queen, or anyone
else, attempted to dictate to them.
Some of those freedoms are beginning to be challenged. Perhaps
you don't see it that way. I'm cautious about it. My freedom to
worship God as I see fit is one of the most important things in
my life.
Please thank God for the freedoms that we have in Christ, the
freedom from the hold of sin on our lives.
I have been challenging you for a while now:
Have you read your Bible yet today? If not, please do so now.
Challenge: Read the Bible every single day. By the end of the
week, read at least one book of the Bible. If you want to take
on a really large book like one of the major prophets, take as
long as you need, but don't let it be an excuse for avoiding the
Bible. If you are a novice, you might be better off starting by
reading some of the shorter letters in the New Testament, and
start getting into reading the four Gospel books about the life
of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). IF you have not read
the entire Sermon on the Mount by now, I really exhort you to do
so - it is a tremendous work. You can find so many parallel
accounts of the things Jesus said by reading the letters of Paul,
but Jesus puts things out there directly and plainly in this
sermon. You can read the main account of it in Matthew chapters
five through seven.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the love that You have so graciously shown to us,
though I find myself undeserving of Your kindness. I pray for
Your constant direction in my life, help for all of my troubles,
forgiveness for my failures, hope in You for my future, and a
desire to reach others with the love that You have lavished upon
me.
Help me to faithfully read Your Word, just as I have exhorted
everyone to do, not for reading's sake alone, but in order that
we can fix our minds upon you, learn Your Way, and actively seek
You first in everything that we think, say, and do.
You are the love of my life. I am SO glad that You found me.
Move in me, that I may move out and share what You have done and
are doing in my life, even now. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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In Touch Early Light Devotional
Sunday July 3, 2005
How To Save A Nation
2 Chronicles 7:14
To our flesh, changing the direction of a nation seems somewhat
impossible. With all the other objects or ideals people worship
outside of God, it's no wonder that the thought of seeing an
entire nation turn to God seems unlikely, especially when it
appears godless men and women are running the country.
However, we must remember that whoever is in authority over us is
placed there by God.
"It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings
and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge
to men of understanding" (Daniel 2:21). Kings, mayors, governors,
senators-they're all placed in their positions of authority by
God. And they can be removed by God just as easily.
And through our prayers-contrite and humble-God can turn a nation
of rebels into a nation of disciples. "If ... My people who are
called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and
turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven,
will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles
7:14).
Do you want to see God move in your nation? Get on your knees
and make the biggest difference you can possibly make as a
Christian: ask God to turn the nation to Him.
IN TOUCH is now available on Comcast on Demand! Visit our
special Comcast page for more information about this incredible
opportunity to watch Dr. Stanley anytime.
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others across the globe. Join the Impact Team today!
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--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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