When You Come to the Iron Gate..... Streams in the Desert

 When You Come to the Iron Gate

 Streams in the Desert

"Peter was kept in prison: but prayer (instant and earnest prayer) was made for him" (Acts 12:5, margin).

Peter was in prison awaiting his execution. The Church had neither human power nor influence to save him. There was no earthly help, but there was help to be obtained by the way of Heaven. They gave themselves to fervent, importunate prayer. God sent His angel, who aroused Peter from sleep and led him out through the first and second wards of the prison; and when they came to the iron gate, it opened to them of its own accord, and Peter was free.

There may be some iron gate in your life that has blocked your way. Like a caged bird you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping, you have only had to fall back tired, exhausted and sore at heart. There is a secret for you to learn, and that is believing prayer; and when you come to the iron gate, it will open of its own accord.

How much wasted energy and sore disappointment will be saved if you will learn to pray as did the Church in the upper room! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear; adverse circumstances will prove favorable if you learn to pray, not with your own faith but with the faith of God (Mark 11:22, margin). Souls in prison have been waiting for years for the gate to open; love ones out of Christ, bound by Satan, will be set free when you pray till you definitely believe God.
--C. H. P.

Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the man becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah on Carmel, bowed down on the ground, with his face between his knees, that was prayer--the man himself.

No words are mentioned. Prayer can be too tense for words. The man's whole being was in touch with God, and was set with God against the powers of evil. They couldn't withstand such praying. There's more of this embodied praying needed.
--The Bent-knee Time

"Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused."
--C. H. Spurgeon

Hope: The Anchor of the Soul..... Dr. Charles Stanley

Hope: The Anchor of the Soul

Dr. Charles Stanley

Hebrews 6:13-20

Hope is a healthy attitude. Anticipating good brings comfort to the mind and heart. In contrast, a state of hopelessness is a terrible condition in which to find oneself. It's overwhelming and depressing to think that what you're facing cannot be changed or resolved. For the person who has lost all hope, life looks like a long dark tunnel going nowhere.

Included in Proverbs is a verse that describes the result of this oppressive feeling: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). Emotional, physical, and even mental illness haunt a person who feels trapped in a bleak situation. But I want to tell you, my friend, that as long as there is a God, no situation is hopeless. In Him, we have the promise of the second half of that proverb: "Desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

Believers have a hope that anchors their souls. Our relationship with Jesus Christ brings us close to the throne of heaven, where we can cast all our burdens before an omnipotent God. Moreover, we can cling to Him through whatever trials are facing us. Because of the Lord's great love, He provides strength for weary bodies, peace for anxious minds, and comfort for grieving hearts. In short, He lights that darkened tunnel and tenderly guides us through trying situations. 

An anchor was a popular image in the ancient Mediterranean world. In an economy that depended on shipping, the anchor symbolized safety and steadiness. The writer of Hebrews used the word to remind believers that God has given a hope that holds firm in any storm.

Preparing for a Better Year..... BINU SAMUEL

 Preparing for a Better Year

BINU SAMUEL

“There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.” 1 Samuel 13:19 (NLT)

Growing up, I wasn’t much of an athlete, but there was one game which got my heart racing and my competitive juices flowing. Sword drills! It was a game we played at our church youth group, a little contest to see who could find a Scripture reference the fastest.

Its purpose? To entice the younger generation to know our Bibles, inside and out. Our youth group leaders knew the Word of God would help us stand firm in our faith as we got older and faced more challenges.

I recently came across a passage of Scripture which took me back to those sword drill days. In 1 Samuel 13:19, we read, “There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.”

For much of the Old Testament, the Philistines were the Israelites’ long-standing archenemy. They did everything in their power to ensure the Israelites had a limited arsenal of defense.

How did they accomplish this? By cutting off the Israelites’ defense system at its root.

The Philistines saw to it that the Israelites had no blacksmiths. No blacksmiths meant no weaponry. No weaponry meant no proper way to defend themselves. For decades, this put the Israelites at a great disadvantage, as they were constantly subject to neighboring bullies.

Friends, the enemy’s tactics have not changed.

The Bible is our sword. Hebrews 4:12a tells us so: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword …” (NIV).

The enemy knows the power our Bibles hold, so he does what he’s done for thousands of years. He attempts to cut off our defense system at the root.

Sure, the Bible has never been so accessible, but unfortunately, so are a million other things, and those other things fight hard for my attention … and usually win.

You see, Satan isn’t intimidated by the number of Bibles in my home. He doesn’t mind that I’ve downloaded it on my phone or read an occasional verse of the day. He doesn’t care that I have a sword if I never really use it.

Statistics indicate that individual Bible reading has taken a strong hit in the 2020 pandemic. We may be spending more time at home, but we are spending less time in the Word.

I know it’s not easy trying to juggle new norms with less outlets for relief, but if there ever were a time we need to be soaking in God’s Word, it’s now! When we open up our Bibles (or our Bible apps) and read His Word, breathing in the God-breathed Word, the Bible will do what it says it will do — cut between our soul and spirit, exposing our innermost thoughts.

The Bible is so multifaceted. It isn’t just sharp and convicting; the psalmist tells us God’s Word is also a “lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105, NLT).

Have you needed a guiding light this year?

Or when temptation comes our way, quick access to the Scriptures can give us discernment and protect us from sin. “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11, NLT).

Do you desire greater discernment and protection from sin?

No other book can transform our lives like this book can.

Sword drills were great, but we shouldn’t stop there! God’s living, breathing, active Word must get inside of us … only then will we have what it takes to experience victory over any and every situation that comes our way.

Friends, the enemy took away the Israelites' swords; let’s not let him take away ours.

Dear Jesus, thank You for the power Your Word has in our lives. Forgive us if we have been distracted. We ask You to give us the dedication we need to stay focused on You and on Your unchanging Word. Thank You for the hope we have in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Matthew 4:4, “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’” (NIV)

Praying God’s Will for One Another (James 5:16)..... By Lynette Kittle

 Praying God’s Will for One Another (James 5:16)

By Lynette Kittle

Today's Bible Verse: “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” - James 5:16

Prayer is powerful and effective, and God’s word tells us to pray for each other so that we can be healed of the wounds, hurts, disappointments, and failures suffered in a fallen world.

Yet even in praying for one another, an effort seeming so selfless and noble, we can be tempted to be prideful and to follow our own thinking in how to pray for each other.

In the “Jung Frankenstein” episode of the sitcom, Kings of Queens, the lead character Doug Heffernan (Kevin James), starts seeing a therapist about his overeating habits. When his wife on the show Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini), sees the positive results occurring from his visits, she starts thinking of the ways she would like him to grow and improve in ways to make her life better.

Her observances lead her to start passing notes to his therapist, pressuring him to direct her husband’s counseling sessions in ways that will benefit her. As she sees noted improvements in Doug’s behaviors and attitudes, Carrie starts adding more and more items to her list of what she wants the counselor to address.

How Am I Praying for Others?

While watching the show’s storyline play out, it challenged me to examine myself to see how I’m praying for others. It encouraged me to ask myself if I ever attempt to use the same type of approach with God, as Carrie did with Doug’s therapist?

Do I ever try to direct God through my prayers to do what I want Him to do in another’s life, instead of seeking His will in how to pray for them? Do I find myself asking God to lead my husband, children, coworkers, and friends in ways I want them to go?

Likewise, how do I pray for my enemies, for those who hate me? Am I praying out of my own hurt and selfish desires for them, or am I truly seeking to pray God’s will for their lives?

Scripture advises to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Yet how often am I tempted to think I know better how to pray for someone? Still, Romans 12:3 warns us to not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

Of course, unlike the counselor, we can’t push, bully, or twist God’s arm to do what we think He should be doing in their lives. However, when we submit to His will in how to pray for them, our prayers have the potential to be powerful and effective in their lives.

How Do We Pray God’s Will For One Another?

So how do we pray God’s will for one another rather than our own?

We can start by asking to God help us to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in praying for one another. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18)

As well we can filter our prayers for one another through God’s word, by correctly handling His word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), so that we are praying His will for them rather than our own.

The Redemptive Value of New Year's Resolutions..... by Mike Pohlman

 The Redemptive Value of New Year's Resolutions

by Mike Pohlman

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 3:13-14

Thinking about New Years and what resolutions I want to make this year. I, for one, see God's grace in the close of one year and the dawn of another. This yearly cycle gives us the opportunity to take inventory of where we stand in relation to our Creator; are we seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)? The New Year can be a time for "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead," to recommit ourselves to "setting our minds on things above" (Colossians 3:1-4).

To help me in this endeavor I've enlisted Steven Lawson and his fine book on Jonathan Edwards: The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards, of course, is probably best known for his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” But there is far more to appreciate about this eighteenth-century pastor. Benjamin Warfield referred to Edwards as a “figure of real greatness in the intellectual life of colonial America.” And Edwards scholar George Marsden considers him “the most acute American philosopher.” But perhaps the Englishman Martyn Lloyd-Jones said it best: “I am tempted, perhaps foolish, to compare the Puritans to the Alps, Luther and Calvin to the Himalayas, and Jonathan Edwards to Mount Everest! He has always seemed to me the man most like the Apostle Paul.”

Lawson's aim with his book is "to challenge a new generation of believers to pursue holiness in their daily lives" by focusing on Edwards' seventy "Resolutions" (Amazingly, Edwards wrote these resolutions in 1722 and 1723 when he was just eighteen and nineteen-years-old).

Lawson chose to focus on Edwards' "Resolutions" given how well they demonstrate the towering virtue of his life, namely, his piety. "In short, though Edwards was intellectually brilliant and theologically commanding, his true greatness lay in his indefatigable zeal for the glory of God."

Consider Resolution #1:

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and the most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

Edwards was resolved, regardless of the difficulty, to live for the glory of God, his own pleasure (in God) and the good of mankind generally. Profound and convicting.

Now, notice what this puritan - this relic of centuries ago - says in Resolution #2:

Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the aforementioned things.

We don’t usually associate Jonathan Edwards with “innovation” or “cutting edge thinking.” And yet, here he is resolved to continually dream up ways to advance the glory of God.

I want to do that this year. I want to be resolved to live for the glory of God, to find my pleasure in Him and the good of mankind generally. And I want to do this with a determined, vigorous and biblically-wise analysis of ways I can do it better.

Intersecting Faith & Life: What new ways can you think of to advance the glory of God, your pleasure in Him and the good of mankind? And don’t just think innovation. Perhaps what is "old" should become new again.

A Prayer to Keep God First This New Year..... By Debbie McDaniel

 A Prayer to Keep God First This New Year

By Debbie McDaniel

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” -  2 Cor. 5:17

Dear God,

Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you for all that you've allowed into our lives this past year, the good along with the hard things, which have reminded us how much we need you and rely on your presence filling us every single day.

We pray for your Spirit to lead us each step of this New Year. We ask that you will guide our decisions and turn our hearts to deeply desire you above all else. We ask that you will open doors needing to be opened and close the ones needing to be shut tight. We ask that you would help us release our grip on the things to which you’ve said “no,” “not yet,” or “wait.” We ask for help to pursue you first, above every dream and desire you’ve put within our hearts.

We ask for your wisdom, for your strength and power to be constantly present within us. We pray you would make us strong and courageous for the road ahead. Give us ability beyond what we feel able, let your gifts flow freely through us, so that you would be honored by our lives, and others would be drawn to you.

We pray that you’d keep us far from the snares and traps of temptations. That you would whisper in our ear when we need to run, and whisper in our heart when we need to stand our ground.

We pray for your protection over our families and friends. We ask for your hand to cover us and keep us distanced from the evil intent of the enemy; that you would be a barrier to surround us, that we’d be safe in your hands. We pray that you would give us discernment and insight beyond our years, to understand your will, hear your voice, and know your ways.

We ask that you would keep our footsteps firm, on solid ground, helping us to be consistent and faithful. Give us supernatural endurance to stay the course, not swerving to the right or to the left, or being too easily distracted by other things that would seek to call us away from a close walk with you.

Forgive us for the times we have worked so hard to be self-sufficient, forgetting our need for you, living independent of your spirit. Forgive us for letting fear and worry control our minds, and for allowing pride and selfishness wreak havoc over our lives. Forgive us for not following your ways and for living distant from your presence.

We confess our need for you… fresh… new… again. We ask that you make all things new, in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives, for this coming year. We pray for your refreshing over us.

Keep your words of truth planted firm within us, help us to keep focused on what is pure and right, give us the power to be obedient to your word. And when the enemy reminds us where we have been, hissing his lies and attacks our way, we trust that your voice speaks louder and stronger, as you remind us we are safe with you and your purposes and plans will not fail. We ask that you will be our defense and rear guard, keeping our way clear, removing the obstacles, and covering the pitfalls. Lord, lead us on your level ground.

We ask that you would provide for our needs, we ask for your grace and favor. We pray for your blessings to cover us, we pray that you would help us to prosper and make every plan that you have birthed in our heart to succeed. We pray that others would take notice of your goodness and could not help but to say, “These are the ones that the Lord has blessed.”

Help us to be known as great givers, help us to be generous and kind, help us to look to the needs of others and not be consumed by only our own. May we be lovers of truth, may the fruits of your spirit be evident in our lives - your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Shine your light in us, through us, over us. May we make a difference in this world, for your glory and purposes. Set you way before us. May all your plans succeed. We may reflect your peace and hope to a world that so desperately needs your presence and healing.

To you be glory and honor, in this New Year, and forever.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Ere Another Year Begins, Believe in Jesus ..... Charles Spurgeon

Ere Another Year Begins, Believe in Jesus

Charles Spurgeon

Jeremiah 8:20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead.

The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone - your summer and your harvest have passed - and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved.

Let me ask you - will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you - the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection - what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death for ever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!

Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. A brother's voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, NOW, NOW believe, and live.

"ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE;
LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE,
NEITHER STAY THOU IN ALL THE PLAIN;
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN, LEST THOU BE CONSUMED."

Streams in the Desert.....

 Streams in the Desert

"Peter was kept in prison: but prayer (instant and earnest prayer) was made for him" (Acts 12:5, margin).

Peter was in prison awaiting his execution. The Church had neither human power nor influence to save him. There was no earthly help, but there was help to be obtained by the way of Heaven. They gave themselves to fervent, importunate prayer. God sent His angel, who aroused Peter from sleep and led him out through the first and second wards of the prison; and when they came to the iron gate, it opened to them of its own accord, and Peter was free.

There may be some iron gate in your life that has blocked your way. Like a caged bird you have often beaten against the bars, but instead of helping, you have only had to fall back tired, exhausted and sore at heart. There is a secret for you to learn, and that is believing prayer; and when you come to the iron gate, it will open of its own accord.

How much wasted energy and sore disappointment will be saved if you will learn to pray as did the Church in the upper room! Insurmountable difficulties will disappear; adverse circumstances will prove favorable if you learn to pray, not with your own faith but with the faith of God (Mark 11:22, margin). Souls in prison have been waiting for years for the gate to open; love ones out of Christ, bound by Satan, will be set free when you pray till you definitely believe God.
--C. H. P.

Emergencies call for intense prayer. When the man becomes the prayer nothing can resist its touch. Elijah on Carmel, bowed down on the ground, with his face between his knees, that was prayer--the man himself.

No words are mentioned. Prayer can be too tense for words. The man's whole being was in touch with God, and was set with God against the powers of evil. They couldn't withstand such praying. There's more of this embodied praying needed.
--The Bent-knee Time

"Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused."
--C. H. Spurgeon

God Is for Us..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 God Is for Us

Dr. Charles Stanley

Romans 8:31-34

Throughout life, there will be times when our sins and failures lead us to conclude that God is disappointed or angry with us. How can He still love me after what I've done? If I'm really forgiven, why do I still feel so guilty? At such times, we need to fix our eyes on the truth of Scripture and ask the questions Paul posed in Romans 8.

If God is for us, who is against us
 (v. 31)? Our heavenly Father proved His loyalty to us when He delivered His own Son over to death in order to save us. Without Christ's atoning death on our behalf, we would face eternal separation from God.

Who will bring a charge against God's elect (v. 33)? No accusation against us can stand, since at the moment of salvation, the Lord justified us. This means we were legally declared righteous, while still in our sinning condition. No one can reverse this transaction and make us guilty again. To doubt our blameless standing in Christ is to declare His atonement insufficient to cover our sin.

Who is the one who condemns (v. 34)? Although Satan rails against us, Jesus' death and resurrection are proof that we are right with God. Christ took our condemnation and gave us His righteousness in return. Now He sits at the Father's right hand, interceding for us.

When doubts about the Lord's love and faithfulness arise, focus on truth. If we judge His loyalty to us by our circumstances or feelings, we will never get an accurate view of God. True security lies not in our good performance, but in our relationship with Christ, and no one can take that from us.

God Is Always Working in Your Behind-the-Scenes..... SHARON JAYNES..🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

 God Is Always Working in Your Behind-the-Scenes

SHARON JAYNES

“Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’” John 13:7 (NLT)

My husband, Steve, and I met at a Bible study while we were in college. There he sat with a Bible in his lap, Jesus in his heart and me wrapped around his little finger. Three months later, we were engaged. Six months after that, I became his wife.

The following year, we began to pray where we would live and work after graduation. We prayed. We fasted. We toured various towns and looked at many opportunities. After several months, we felt certain God was calling us to a little town called Pineville, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, where my husband had secured a job.

After graduation, we moved to Charlotte and set up house in a tiny apartment near the office where Steve would be working. The rent was half-price for the first three months, which was a huge bonus for a young couple with nothing but school debt on their balance sheet. Smiles all around.

However, when Steve went to the office to finalize his work schedule and management particulars, a trapdoor opened beneath his feet.

“Steve, I’ve been thinking about it,” the potential partner began. “I don’t think this is such a good idea after all. I’ve changed my mind.”

He extended his hand to my stunned 25-year-old husband and said, “Good luck to you, son.”

When Steve came home and told me the news, we were both shell-shocked. “What do you mean he changed his mind?” I cried. “He can’t do that! We’ve just moved here. He made a commitment!”

A host of raw emotions collided with real questions for God. How could we have been so wrong? Didn’t we hear You correctly? We prayed. We fasted. We wanted nothing more than to do what You wanted us to do where You wanted us to do it. Now, here we sit in a new city, with debt, no jobs and seemingly no future. What are we supposed to do?

I did not like this story! I felt like God had left us high and dry. But He hadn’t. He was simply moving the puzzle pieces into place for His perfect plan.

I think young Joseph, whose story begins in Genesis 37, must have felt the same way. God had given him two dreams about how his whole family would one day bow down to him. He was going to be a man of power. However, over the next several years, he was sold into slavery by his brothers, worked as a servant in the government official Potiphar’s household, falsely accused of attempted rape and thrown into prison.

I don’t know what Joseph was thinking or feeling, but my reaction would have been, This is not how the story is supposed to go! God, where are You? Get me out of here!

But at just the right time, the Pharaoh had a dream only Joseph could interpret — seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. The Pharaoh was so impressed, he made Joseph second-in-command of the entire kingdom, and he saved the entire nation from starvation.

Yes, Joseph’s life had taken some seemingly wrong turns, but they weren’t wrong turns at all. They were necessary turns to get him to just the right place at just the right time.

Our limited vision doesn’t allow us to see how God is working behind the questionable scenes in our lives, but we can trust He is. In fact, it may be precisely in the moments we understand Him the least that He is working the most.

Jesus told His disciples, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will” (John 13:7). Sometimes, it is only after the fact that what we thought were setbacks were God’s setups all along.

Three months after the devastating news that Steve’s job fell through, a position opened up that had not been available when we were first looking. If we had written out our best-case scenario, this situation would have exceeded it by far. We were living out Ephesians 3:20, “[God] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (NIV).

And remember the rent that was half-price for the first three months? It was three months to the day when Steve started in his new position. Who knew? God did. We often experience God’s provision and protection through the twists and turns of uncertainty. Sometimes, God doesn’t meet our expectations because He wants to exceed them.

I don’t know what you’re going through right now. This past year has certainly been a difficult year for all of us. But rest assured, God is working for your greater good. When we give up our need to know all the details, we can have a holy confidence independent of our circumstances.

God, I’ll be honest: I’m glad 2020 is coming to a close. And even though I don’t know what’s coming in 2021, I trust that You have a perfect plan. In a world of uncertainties, I am thankful Your steadfast love never changes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
John 5:17, “But Jesus replied, ‘My Father is always working, and so am I.’” (NLT)

Keeping Our Mouths in Check (Matthew 15:11)..... By Lynette Kittle

 Keeping Our Mouths in Check (Matthew 15:11)

By Lynette Kittle

Today’s Bible Verse: What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them - Matthew 15:11

When Jesus calls us to listen and understand, we want to tune into His words and pay close attention to what He is saying because it’s of utmost importance.

So what topic was significant enough for Jesus to call the crowd together? In Matthew 15:10, we read, “Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, 'Listen and understand.’" What did He consider so vitally important for them to hear and understand? He said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Matthew 15:11).

Nowadays we’re living in a topsy-turvy world people are more concerned about what they eat than what they say. A culture where millions could care less about what comes out of their mouths.

Perhaps you’ve been surprised by things you’ve heard said not only by secular voices but also by some Christians? Maybe your own words have caught you off guard at times?

If so, Scripture reminds us, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:26).

Facing Food Issues

Television networks like The Food Network and The Cooking Channel fuel our culture’s obsession with food. Although many believe this focus on food is a new, modern, and enlightened view that has emerged in our world today, Scripture reveals how it’s been an issue among people for a long time.

Matthew 15:12, describes how the religious leaders of the day responded to the comment by Jesus about what defiles a person. “Then the disciples came to Him and asked, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?'"

Food continues to be a very touchy subject, causing division among people who have varying attitudes and beliefs about its importance and value of it in our lives. Many individuals and groups are deeply concerned about how it’s grown, cooked, harvested, and eaten.

Where Does Life and Health Come From?

Eating superfoods today in the hopes of extending one’s life is a growing trend. Like the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, the devil is still misleading people to believe long life and health comes through the earth and the food they eat rather than through God (Genesis 3:4-5).

Romans 1:25 points out how people through the ages have exchanged the truth about God with a lie, by worshipping and serving created things rather than the Creator.

Jesus calls us to be more concerned with what we say than what we eat, because it’s not the food we put into our mouths that has the ability to dishonor us but rather the words that come out of it.

As Proverbs 18:21 explains, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Likewise, Proverbs 4:21-22 encourages us to keep God’s words in our sight and within our hearts because His words are life to those who find them and health to our whole body.