Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

The story is told that as the evangelist D.L. Moody was crossing Lake Michigan to return home after a preaching trip, when a great storm came up. The winds and waves were so strong that the passengers began fearing for their lives. While some gathered in an urgent prayer meeting, Moody remained sitting calmly. When someone asked him why he wasn’t joining in their prayers, Moody replied, “I have one sister in Chicago and one in Heaven and I don’t care which I see tonight.”

Christians are not promised a life without troubles or hardships. We are going to face storms as we journey through life. Companies go under, jobs vanish, children get sick, friends betray us. All of these things are part of living in a fallen world, and Christians are not exempt from these trials.

The difference for Christians is that we have someone to help us. We have a loving Saviour to whom we can turn for help.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

A number of years ago a preacher went to the Champness Hall in Yorkshire, England, to hear Sir John Barbirolli lead the symphony. A friend sitting nearby looked out at the vast crowd in the great hall and asked the preacher, “When will we see the Champness Hall filled to capacity for a Christian service?” The pastor pointed to the members of the orchestra playing on the stage and said, “When we see eighty men willing to give absolute obedience to the will of Christ as these give to Barbirolli.”

One of the most effective temptations Satan uses against Christians who want to do what is right is to try to get them to go their own way rather than obeying God. The Lord is not looking for people to go their own way, but to go His way. Unless we are yielded to the commands of God, we cannot truly say that we are following Jesus.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

Though D.L. Moody was a greatly used evangelist, he had little formal education, and it frequently showed in his preaching. It is said that after he finished a sermon in London, a critic came and said, “You made several grammatical errors in your sermon today.” Moody admitted with regret that his language was often faulty. Then looking the man in the eye he said, “I am using all the grammar I know for God. What are you doing with the grammar you know?”

The Lord has given every one of us different talents and spiritual gifts for use in His work. His plan is that as each of us use those gifts together, the church will be built and strengthened. Without each one doing what he can do for the work, it will suffer and be hindered.

So, what are you doing with the gifts the Lord has given you?

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

One of the most important archaeological discoveries in history was made in 1799 when a soldier in Napoleon’s army found the Rosetta stone.

Dating to some two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Rosetta Stone unlocked secrets of the past, because it contained the same decree written in Egyptian hieroglyphics and Greek. By translating the known language, historians were able to develop an understanding of the Egyptian language.

The Bible is not a normal book. While it was penned by men, it was the Spirit of God that moved them to write the Word of God. When we trust in Christ, we are given God’s Spirit to help us discern the truths of God’s Word. When we diligently study God’s Word, we can know and understand what God wants from us.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

One of the men credited with starting the “Fitness craze” in America was Jim Fixx. His book, “The complete Book of Running” spent eleven weeks as the number one book in America, and Fixx became a frequent media presence. He was hailed as an authority on the health benefits of exercise. But in 1984, Jim Fixx died of a massive heart attack after finishing a workout run. He was just fifty-two years old.

The condition of the physical heart is central to our health, but the condition of our spiritual heart is even more important, for it is central to our spiritual health.

We may be able to conceal what is on the inside for a time, but when the harvest comes, the nature of our hearts will be revealed. By keeping our heart soft and tender to the things of God, we prepare our life for fruitful work for Him.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

At a time when Dallas Theological Seminary was in great financial difficulty, Dr. H.A. Ironside convened a group of leaders and prayed, “Lord, You own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please help us in this time of need.” That very day a check arrived in the mail for the $10,000 they needed. The note enclosed informed them that a rancher had sold some cattle and wanted to give part of the money to the Lord’s work!

Though the Lord certainly does not need our help or resources, His plan is for His work to be funded by His people. Every Christian needs to be involved in supporting and helping God’s Work in the world. These gifts are not giving God something that He lacks, but rather investments that provide for the work to continue, and that produce fruit in our own lives.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

When the woman the Bible describes as “a sinner” came and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and poured an expensive ointment on Him, she was expressing something remarkable - unshakable faith! She had been rejected, but Christ offered her hope for a brand new life.

There is only one source of salvation and deliverance from sin, and she was placing her faith completely in Jesus. In response, he told her that she had received the salvation she desired.

W.H. Griffith Thomas wrote, “Faith is the acknowledgement of our own inability and His ability.”

Everyone trusts in something. Far more important than the quality or nature of our faith is the object of our faith. It is only when we trust in Jesus that we find salvation.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

Marghanita Laski was a prominent author and critic in England during the last century. In addition to her artistic skills, she was noted for her opposition to religion. She was a leading voice for atheism. Yet not long before her death, she is reported to have told a guest, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”

The great gift of God’s forgiveness by grace through faith covers all of our sins. Some of us were saved at a young age before we had experienced the worst that the world had to offer. Others spent years in bondage, suffering deep consequences for their sin before finding freedom in Christ.

Yet, each of us stand in desperate need of God’s forgiveness. And God’s promise is that If you will humbly call out to Christ by faith, He will forgive all your sins.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

If you take a bag of carrots and a half dozen eggs and put them together into a pot of boiling water, they have opposite reactions. The carrots will become soft and tender, while the eggs will harden.

The same is true of the response to fire with wax and clay. The difference is not found in the medium of the testing, but in the nature of the material. So it is with our hearts.

Some people endure great hardship and suffering in their lives, but their faith is made stronger and their spirit sweeter. Others endure very similar circumstances but become angry and bitter at God for allowing bad things to happen to them. The difference is determiend by the condition of our hearts.

Keep your heart soft toward the things of God, and you will respond to the events of life properly.

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham.

The Scottish Pastor Ian MacLaren recounted visiting an elderly lady in his church and finding her weeping. When he asked her what was wrong, she told him that she felt she had not done enough for God with her life.

MacLaren then asked her to tell him about her sons. Her three oldest boys were all on the mission field. The youngest was preparing to leave and join one of his brothers in the work. She had reared her sons to desire to serve God more than anything else.

MacLaren told her, “And you say your life has been wasted …doing the trivial tasks. I’d like to have your mansion when we are called Home! It will be very near the throne!”

God is focused on faithfulness. The standard by which He measures our lives is what we have done in relation to what we have been given and the attitude with which we do it. God never overlooks the faithful service of His children.