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

Have you ever felt like your needs were not important to God?

When Hudson Taylor was sailing to China to begin his missionary work, his ship was in great danger. The wind had died, and the current was carrying them toward sunken reefs which were close to islands inhabited by cannibals.

Everything they tried was to no avail. The Captian was desperate, and confided as such to Bro. Taylor. Then, Taylor told the captain, “There are four Christians on board. Let us each pray and ask the Lord for a breeze.”

After a brief time of prayer, Taylor told the first officer to let down the sails because he believed a wind would begin to blow. Within minutes the wind did begin to blow, and it carried them safely past the reefs.

Knowing that our prayers touch the heart of our loving Father in Heaven and that He can meet any need, we should be confident that He will hear and answer when we cry out to Him.

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

Since the days of John the Baptist, Baptism has been part of the Christian faith.

In Acts 8, we are given one of the clearest examples of believer’s baptism in the New Testament. In this chapter we see the Ethiopian Eunuch, who believed on Jesus and was immediately baptized.

The Bible teaches that baptism is for anyone who has personally accepted Christ as Saviour. Every believer should submit themselves for baptism because it shows on the outside what Jesus did on the inside.

There are three important reasons to be baptized:

1. Christ commands it (Matthew 28:19).

2. Christ was our example (Matthew 3:13).

3. Believers in the Bible practiced it (Acts 2:41).

What a joy that we can follow the Biblical example of Christ and others through baptism.

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

In 1995, Wayne Black thought it would be a great idea to have “I’m Wayne Black” tattooed across his forehead. Unfortunately, when he was confronted by the police as a suspected thief, he insisted he wasn’t Wayne Black.

Many people struggle with their identity today. Yet, as a Christian, my identity is secure in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that my life was purchased by His blood and I belong to Him.

Further, when I was baptized, I made public my faith and identity with Christ. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision. It pictures for us the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It also pictures for others that I, too, have died to self, and am made alive to live for Christ today.

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

Not too long ago, a man shared that he was having problems with getting his son to clean his room when he was told. The son would agree, but never quite got around to it. As soon as his son graduated High School, he thought it would be a good idea to join the Marines. And it was there that the son finally learned what ‘now’ meant!

Obedience is one of the clearest forms of love and respect that we offer to others. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Do you love Jesus? Christ was clear that your love would be obvious through your heart of obedience. When we obey Christ in living a life of holiness, in witnessing to others, or by loving people, we are really demonstrating our love to the Lord.

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

If you have had a good father, then you understand that there were times when he had to provide a loving discipline. A good father understands the goal of discipline is to direct the heart of the child to love the Lord with all their strength.

The Bible teaches us that we have a heavenly Father that loves us with a perfect love. It is a love that is unselfish and even in times of discipline is for our good. Hebrews says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth…”

The Bible teaches us that as a Christian, our sin doesn’t destroy the relationship we have with God, We will always be His child. But Sin does hurt our fellowship.

Even in our sin, we find that God loves us and will bring a chastening to restore the fellowship that has been broken by sin, which reminds us that we belong to Him.

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

Do you remember singing the song, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he”? Many of us learned this song in Sunday School about a greedy tax collector whose heart had been changed by Christ.

The Bible says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature…” Zaccheaus is an example of the change that Christ makes in a life. When he becomes your Lord, then we are transformed from the inside out.

Just as there were visible signs of this transformation in Zaccheaus’ life, there should also be visible signs in our life as well.

We should hunger for the Word of God. We should try to obey God’s commands. We should love other believers. What evidence of God’s salvation is there in your life?

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

 In 1773, John Fawcett was a young pastor of a poor church in England. But his powerful preaching and writing had gathered the attention of a much larger church, who extended the call for him to be their pastor and he accepted.

But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcett’s few belongings, his wife Mary declared, “I cannot bear to leave!” And John with the same love for the people he had ministered to, agreed. They unloaded the wagons and chose to remain with those people for the next 50 years.

From this experience he wrote the song, “Blest be the tie that binds.”

Christ’s coming was out of a the immense love that God has for us. And this perfect love of God casts out all fear. Now, because of this unconditional love, we can find a tie that binds our hearts to the heart of God.

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

If you’ve ever experienced a time of loneliness, you can sympathize with Anne Murphy. At the age of just 51, she found herself a widow. She had no source of income, nor any way of supporting herself or her children, but God still provided for her during her trial. It was in this valley that she wrote of the “Constantly Abiding” presence of God.

There's a peace in my heart that the world never gave,

A peace it cannot take away;

Though the trials of life may surround like a cloud,

I've a peace that has come here to stay!

Constantly abiding, Jesus is mine;

We are promised by the Lord, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The abiding presence of the Lord brings us an assurance that we are never alone because we belong to Him.

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

I recently read about a doctor, who was visiting with a patient. As the patient was coming off of anesthesia, the sound of church bells could be heard ringing in the distance. She smiled and whispered softly, “I must be in heaven!” As her eyes opened, she saw the Doctor standing there, and with disappointment, she said, “No, I can’t be, there’s Dr. Campbell.”

There will be times in life when we feel disappointment even from people that we trust.

The good news is that while we may be disappointed from some of the most important people in our lives, God will never disappoint us because the Lord “cannot lie.” His promises will never fail. And the greatest promise is that of eternal life for those that call upon him. Take confidence in the promises of God, and be encouraged by His faithfulness to us because He will never disappoint us.

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

As a kid, we had many opportunities to go to the theme park “Six Flags over Texas.” There were many things I enjoyed, but what caused a dread of fear was when someone said they wanted to ride the roller coasters! 

I was deathly afraid of the entire experience. From the clackitey-clack of the coaster climbing to the top of the tracks, to the big free-falls, the insane speeds, and the feeling of being out of control culminated to spark fear in my heart.  

As an Adult, I realized that my fear was not based on fact. Those coasters were designed to keep you safe. Truth was the answer to my fear.

Many people today are filled with fear about eternity, but the Bible says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you have asked the Lord to save you, then you belong to Him. So, trust in God’s promises (truth) to overcome your unrealistic fear.