Grace 809

Dr. Kevin Leman gives an example of how to phrase your words to avoid conflict with your spouse.

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Generally speaking, firstborns are leaders, middle children are peacemakers, and the babies of the family are playful. And while it’s challenging to understand your children’s dynamics when it comes to their birth order, these traits hold true for you and your spouse, as well. Dr. Kevin Leman helps you understand how birth order plays a role in the way you interact as a married couple and shares advice on how to manage challenges in your relationship that often stem from your placement in your family of origin.
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Guilt sucks the life out of our souls. Grace restores it.

No one had more reason to feel the burden of guilt than did the apostle Paul. He had orchestrated the deaths of Christians, an ancient version of a terrorist. Yet, Paul gave his guilt to Jesus. Period. He surrendered it to Jesus. As a result he could write, “I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:13-14 TLB).

What would the apostle say to the guilt-ridden? Simply this: Rejoice in the Lord’s mercy. Trust in his ability to forgive. Cast yourself upon the grace of Christ and Christ alone!

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

Supporters who make donations totaling $1000 (or the equivalent value of satoshi) or more will receive the honored title of Berean.

We read of the Bereans in Acts 17:10-15. The key verse for our purposes here is verse 11b, which says, ”The Bereans were eager to hear what Paul and Silas said and studied the Scriptures every day to find out if these things were true.”

Our first Value-for-Value supporter to attain this level is Brother John of Canada. Thank you, Brother John of Canada for your many years of support and encouragement.

Paul of Seattle

Kirsty

Today is Tuesday, so we’ll read from History. We’ll read 2 Chronicles 6-10.  I’ll have some comments after the reading. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “We Are the Foreigners.”

In chapter 6, we see that the Temple that King David first thought to build, but which God said he could not build because he had been a man of war, his son Solomon has now completed, as had been promised by God.

And there is a great time of sacrificing and dedication, lasting for seven days.

Can you imagine what a great time this was? How joyous the people must have been! 

And Solomon offered a great prayer of dedication, in which he asked the Lord that if the people ever stray from God, and suffer the consequences brought upon them by God as judgement, if they then rededicate themselves to Him, that He would forgive them. 

In chapter seven, God appeared to Solomon in the night and responded to his prayer. This was the second time that God appeared to him. The first time of course was when He asked Solomon what he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom, discernment, and understanding. And God said, ““I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16I have chosen and consecrated

British evangelist J.John brings encouragement for anyone who needs to change their perspective on their circumstances. He suggests that we try to see things from God’s perspective by looking up, looking in, looking back, looking around, and looking ahead.

Receive a copy of Jesus Christ - The Truth and an audio download of "How to Change Your Perspective on Life" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

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Many years ago I spent a week visiting the interior of Brazil with a longtime missionary pilot. Wilbur and Orville had a sturdier aircraft! I could not get comfortable. I kept thinking the plane was going to crash in the jungle, and I’d be gobbled up by piranhas. I kept shifting around, looking down, and gripping my seat—as if that would help. Finally, the pilot had enough of my squirming. He looked over at me and shouted over the airplane noise, “We won’t face anything that I can’t handle. You might as well trust me to fly the plane.”

Is God saying the same to you? Examine the truths which sustain your belief in God. Make sure one of them is etched with the words, “My God is sovereign!” Then, be anxious for nothing.

Read more Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

Today is Monday, so we’ll read from the Law. We’ll read Numbers 25-28  I’ll have some comments after the reading. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “One Righteous Man.”

In Numbers 22-24 Balak tried to get Balaam to curse God’s people because was afraid that they were a threat to him because they were so numerous. He wanted to drive them from his land. Balak was sure that if Balaam would curse them, he would be able to defeat them. 

But God told Balaam that these were His people, and he should not curse them. God would not allow it. God protected His chosen people from outside threats.

But here in chapter 25, what happens? Israel brings a curse on themselves *from God* because of their own behavior.

They begin to commit sexual sin with the women of Moab, apparently in the service of their god of fertility, Baal-Peor.

I have often heard the argument that prostitution is a victimless crime, especially if both parties are willing participants. Of course that’s hogwash. But I’m not here to discuss prostitution and the damage it causes. What I do want to say is that God’s judgement on Israel as a result of this sin should tell you everything you need to know about how the God of the universe thinks about it.

God told Moses to  “Arrest all the leaders of the people, and hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.”

So those who had a responsibility to lead the people in righteousness, and who seem to have even participated in this great sin, were to be executed. And later in the chapter, we learn that God sent a plague on the rest of the people. Twenty-four thousand died from the plague, and it was only because Phinehas killed with a javelin one of the Israelites and the Midianite woman he was publicly having sex with at the entrance of the Tabernacle that God stopped the plague. 

Sexual immorality is not something that we should take lightly, beloved.

That’s the lesson that comes through loud and clear.

But there’s another lesson that I mentioned in passing at the beginning of my comments.

God did not allow Israel to be attacked from without. But because of moral and spiritual breakdowns within, they almost came to a terrible end. If it wasn’t for the zeal and indignation of Phinehas, the plague that God unleashed on them might have ended them.

It was the action of one righteous man that stopped the destruc

Transcript

Today is Epistles Sunday. We’ll begin the book of Hebrews by reading chapters 1-4  I’ll have some comments after the reading. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “The Sweet Spot.“

We do not know the author of the book of Hebrews, but we do know to whom it was written: Christian Jews, and for their benefit (as well as ours), most of chapter one is dedicated to establishing who Jesus is in light of the Old Testament. 

Chapter 2 begins with this sentence: 1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Whenever I study the Bible and come across the word “therefore”, I ask myself, “What’s the therefore there for?” The word “therefore” is a link between two thoughts. It’s like saying “Because of what I just said, now I’m going to say this.” 

So in this case, the therefore refers to the message of chapter one, namely the truth of who Jesus is. 

Chapter two, verse one could say: “Since Jesus is God, we need to really pay close attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” 

I grew up here in southern California, and I lived within about a half hour’s drive to the beach. When I was in high school I learned how to surf. For some time, I would go surfing almost every day. When you’re surfing, you often spend a lot of time sitting on your board waiting for the next wave. Waves often come in sets, and there could be several minutes between sets. So you’re just sitting on your board, watching for the next set. 

Many times here in southern California, there are currents in the water that flow parallel to the beach. If you were standing on the sand looking out at the water, the current could be from left to right or right to left. 

Now, an interesting thing about these currents is that when you are in the current, you can’t feel it. You are carried along in the current at the exact same speed as the current, so you don’t have a feeling of movement. The only way you know you’re moving is if you look at some sort of landmark on the beach, you’ll see that you are moving in relation to that landmark. Maybe it’s a lifeguard tower, or a towel or big rock.  

Sometimes the current is quite strong. So if you are sitting on your board, you can easily be carried quite far from where you started. It takes no effort at all to find yourself 100 yards or more from where you began. To stay in that “sweet

Transcript

Today is gospel Saturday. We’ll finish the book of John by reading chapters 19-21. And next Saturday, we’ll begin reading the last book in what we’re calling the Gospels section of the Bible. The book of Acts. I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. And I have another praise to share with you today. I’m calling today’s episode “One Word.“  

In chapter 19 we read about the crucifixion of Jesus.

In chapter 20 we read about His resurrection.

In chapter 21 we read about some of the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection and before His ascension. 

Needless to say, every event spoken of in these three chapters is worthy of further comment, but there is just one word in these three chapters that gets to me every time I read it. One word. Can you guess what that word is?

Mary.

Here she is, standing at the opening of the tomb that had held Jesus’ broken body, utterly broken hearted that someone has apparently taken him away, and all she wants is for this person who she thinks is a gardener to tell her where they have taken him. She is weeping, and nearly inconsolable. All she can think of is finding her Lord.

How do I know this? Here’s how. In nearly every mention of a person coming in contact with an angel, we are told that the person is terrified. So many times, Scripture reports that the angel says, “Be not afraid.”

But here, Mary sees *two* angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been, and we don’t read anything about Mary being frightened at all. The angels asked Mary why she was crying, and she answers them like she was talking to a normal person. All she can think of is finding her Lord.

And then she turns around to leave, and Jesus is standing there. But she doesn’t recognize him. We aren’t told why. Maybe she couldn’t see clearly because of the tears in her eyes. Maybe she didn’t even look directly at him. Maybe her gaze was directed at the ground. Maybe Jesus’ appearance was altered in some way. Whatever the reason, she did not recognize Him.

So she said to him, ““Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

And that’s when it happened. He said her name. “Mary.” In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice…” There was something about the way Jesus said her name that made the reality of who this was standing in front of her cause her to cry “Teacher!”, and she either fell on her knees and hugged his legs, or just hugged Him while they were standing. Such a joyful

Rebekah Lyons reminds couples that you need to be intentional about cultivating community.

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