Who’s the Boss?

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2^nd Corinthians 1:20

I must admit I have watched the TV show Cake Boss. After all, you gotta love a guy who uses power tools to make cakes.

I recall an episode in which the “team” made a wedding cake for a very good customer’s daughter for her wedding. The daughter was portrayed as a spoiled brat with no gratitude.

Upon seeing her wedding cake the daughter exclaimed “ewe, that’s the ugliest cake I’ve ever seen”. Much to the dismay of Carlo the baker. He immediately scrambled to make this cake work. When he left the room to retrieve his catalog to “dress it up” for her, the daughter found cake dye and ruined the cake.

When Carlo came into the room he was devastated only to hear the girl say “now you have to make me a new cake!”

Well the next scene is Carlo being interviewed later saying “for all I care she can go buy an Entenmann’s cake”.

After speaking with a desperate mother Carlo agrees to make another cake. He now has to convince his team, who is ready to go home, to stay and help. At first it was an overwhelming NO! But then Carlo asked them to do it for him.

The team came together and the cake was made. How many times do we put aside our own understanding and hear God say “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”. Our passage from 2^nd Corinthians sums up what God did thru His Son Jesus by accomplishing every promise for a lost and undeserving world. It reminds us that whether we are afflicted or comforted, it should be for “The Team”.

The team of bakers put aside the fact that this girl was undeserving, because Carlo, whom they dedicated they’re allegiance ask them. Like Jesus, “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. Shouldn’t we also come together and accomplish a task “for the Glory of God”? We never know who’s watching. – Rob Russomano is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Amos 7-9; John 8:1-27

Quote of the day: When trouble comes to you and doesn’t lead you to worship God, you have wasted a lot of trouble! Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Let my cry come before  you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. Psalm 119:169-170

Pursuing Our Destiny, Part 17–The Discipline of Celebration

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4, ESV)

 Albert Einstein said, “You can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle.”  He understood the quality/practice of celebration.  Dallas Willard defines this practice for us when he says, “We engage in celebration when we enjoy ourselves, our life, our world, in conjunction with  our faith and confidence in God’s greatness, beauty, and goodness.”

My wife and I have a 13 year-old Cairn Terrier.  Brandy and I go for a walk every morning about 6:00 a.m.  Through the spring and summer, we enjoy sunrises, flowers, birdsong, and fresh air.  Because I believe all those things come from God and are a reflection of his “greatness, beauty, and goodness,” every morning is a celebration!

Let’s think of another context.  Last weekend I shared in a memorial service for a man who loved God, his family, and people.  Almost 200 people attended the service, and we laughed and cried as we listened to stories and looked at pictures.  We celebrated the man’s life as a reflection of God’s “greatness, beauty, and goodness.”

This past Sunday, I officiated, along with Bill Welte, at the blessing of Ed & Vicki Weiss’ wedding.  Through music, word, and symbol (communion and the lighting of the unity candle), we shared in their joy and the work God has done in their lives.  The whole afternoon and evening led us to celebrate God’s “greatness, beauty, and goodness” as revealed in their lives and their love.

Each time I drive on the grounds at America’s Keswick, I find reason to celebrate.  Sometimes I celebrate the beauty of the sun on the lake.  Other times the vivid colors of all the flowers fills my heart with celebration. Often celebration comes when I meet someone on campus who warms my heart with a smile or a kind word.  And, who cannot celebrate when a man from the colony gives witness to God’s transforming work in his life!  We rejoice in all these things that reflect God’s “greatness, beauty, and goodness.”

How do you choose to live? I’ve met those people who suck the joy out of my life by their refusal to celebrate anything.  I must admit that I don’t like being around people who can’t see God’s “greatness, beauty, and goodness.”  We don’t need to live that way.  The “greatness, beauty, and goodness” of God is all around us.  We can see it in nature.  We can see it in the varied events of life.  We can see it in people!  The Apostle Paul nailed it when he gave us this instruction:  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”  (Philippians 4:4, ESV)

Choose to build the practice/discipline of celebration into your life.  You’ll be glad you did!  — Pastor John Strain recently retired from full-time pastoral ministry but is still actively speaking. He is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Amos 4-6; John 7:28-53

Quote of the day: Fear knocked. Faith answered. No one was there! Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Let my cry come before  you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. Psalm 119:169-170

Foundational Shifts

 “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20 (ESV)

Only fools say in their hearts “There is no God”. Never a truer statement and guess where we find it…God’s Word that’s where. And for those of us who know Psalm 53 this first verse goes on to say…”They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.” May we add yet another true statement made by God’s Word.  When we parallel this with what we see in at the end of Romans 1:20 one might come into agreement with what John Gill said in his commentary when he wrote, “The very Heathens, who have only the light of nature, and are destitute of a revelation, have no colour or pretext for their idolatrous practices, and vicious lives; nor have they, nor will they have anything to object to God’s righteous judgment against them, or why they should not be condemned.”

I was reading an excerpt from Ken Ham’s “The State of the Nation” article and was thrown back by the accusation but really had to nod my head in agreement. Ken wrote this, “Because many churches and Bible colleges/seminaries have compromised God’s Word with the pagan religion of the age (millions of years/evolution) that tries to explain life without God, the church has helped undermine biblical authority in America. In doing so, Christians have actually paved the way for the nation’s change, helping (unwittingly in most cases) to build a worldview-foundation that is becoming more man-centered and less Bible-centered.” I don’t know about your church but where I am we almost break-out fist fights over a new earth verses an old earth during our Men’s Bible study.

But let’s get real…to say that all of the beauty and wonder of God’s creation came about randomly, spent any amount of time “evolving” or can be cloned to perfection in a test tube is ridiculous. The person who believes in the theory of evolution makes a choice to believe it. As my friend from Brooklyn shared with me once, “I believe they make that choice because the lifestyle they want to live has no place for God. If there is a Creator, then there is a God. If there is God, then there is a Judge. If there is a Judge, then there is a judgment. And if there is a judgment, they will have to stand there one day. So they have to try to find a way to write God out of the script.”

These are the very people who would have a serious problem with me if I told them I believed that the new fancy-smancy 7-something-7 airplane they just came out with (that has had electrical issues) was created by a tornado that swept across the local junkyard that I live near and it magically appeared in my front yard and sat there in all its glory waiting to take me to some island below the equator. They may feel the need to spend hours arguing with me that it took the efforts of countless engineers, designers and workmen at Boeing to build it while I spent time looking for my bathing suit and fishing pole.

But I think we know intuitively there is a Master Designer behind it all. God has revealed Himself in many ways to every person, everywhere. He has given us the testimony of His own creation. Yet people will look at something as intricate and amazing as the human body and the creation around us and say it all came about randomly. “So they are without excuse” needs to be taken seriously folks. Is your faith built upon the “rock” of God’s Word, or the “sand” of man’s opinion? What can you do to fend off the foundational shifts that try to invade God’s Word? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Amos 1-3; John 7:1-27

Quote of the day: ”Think about it. One is either for Christ or against Him! What has happened is that the religion of naturalism (atheism) has been imposed on the public education system (and on the culture as a whole).”—Ken Ham

Verse to Memorize:  Let my cry come before  you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. Psalm 119:169-170

The Powerful Word of God

For the word of God is living and active, shaper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and the  spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Hebrews 4:12-13

In just a couple weeks we will finish the last of the memory verses listed at the bottom of each Freedom Fighter from Psalm 119. If you have been following those verses you will know that the entire Psalm is devoted to the power of God’s Word.

Recently I read this powerful insight into the Word written decades ago by the evangelist, the late Billy Sunday:

Twenty-seven years ago, with the Holy Spirit as my guide, I entered the portico of Genesis and went into the art galleries of the Old Testament; on the wall hung pictures of Enoch, Noah, Jacob, Abraham, Elijah, David, Daniel, and other famous prophets of old.

Then I passed into the music room of the psalms where the Spirit swept the keyboard of my nature …

 Then I stepped into the prophetic room and saw through the telescopes various stars, some pointing to far-off stars and others nearby stars, but all concentrated upon the Bright and Morning Star …

 From here I went to the correspondence room where Matthew, Mark. Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and Jude sat at their tasks, penning their epistles to the church.

 Then I passed last of all into the throne room of the Revelation and saw the King sitting high upon His throne.

 Wow! What a great picture of the Word of God. We most likely have multiple copies of the printed Word at our disposal as well as various electronic editions. But the big question is when was the last time you cracked open the Bible to read it for yourself?

Has it been a week? A month? A year? Then my brother, stop what you are doing and open the Word as allow it to speak to YOUR heart. Why not start with Psalms and read a one each! Invite the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. And guess what? He will do it! Do it today. Don’t delay.

Running the race with joy,

Bill Welte

President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Lamentations 3-5; John 6:45-71

Quote of the day: This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book. – Dwight L. Moody

Verse to Memorize:  Let my cry come before  you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word. Psalm 119:169-170

The Power Curve

Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed.  And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.

~from Psalm 106

Oh beloved, it is true.  There is within us sometimes an epic battle and it seems that we are about to lose.  We look at the strange fire around us and are fascinated by the sounds and curves and smells it gives off….

Stop right there.

And beloved, grace abounds in this chief of sinners writing this entry.  However, what also abounds in believers like him (and you!) is not just the forgiving aspect of grace when we fail – but the Unlimited Power to stay away from the temptation to mix our old lives with the New Life we have in Him!

It does seem that the problem we have today is not like the simple choices made by heroes like Job (I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman… from ch. 31 of that epic poem), or Joseph (…How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?… from Genesis 39).  Rather, us “modern” believers want to keep wondering how much of the world we can work into our lives and still have everything work out OK.

Ummmm…. are you still wondering friend?  Stop.  The answer is zero.  Always has been.  Always will be.

But we do not like the answer.  So, we will often continue to look for ways to mix just a “little of this”, or a “little of that” into our situation.  And always upon always, the result is disastrous.

However, a stunning truth of His Word is that every single one of us is, in and of our own selves, are completely unable to do the right thing.  We will fail every time.  Even though there may be a delay in our failure, every attempt will end in disaster.

Enter the good news… Even more stunning is the truth that, in Him, by Him and through Him, we simply will not and cannot fail…  Really.

Oh friends, read as Paul hammers the pages of his introduction to his letter to the Ephesians and simply tells it like it is.  “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, …that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion…, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

 Can we see it?  The same Power that swallowed death with Life is the Power we have against sin.  We have but to yield to it, reckon this truth true, and simply begin to walk in it.  The question is not whether this is possible.  The question always is whether or not we will, like Phinehas, pick up that javelin and heave it at the offending garbage in our lives.

Do you want the Power?  It is available to all who ask for it.  And that beloved, is the question.

When obedience is in the ascendant, He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist you with all His Almighty power.

~ Oswald Chambers

Makala Doulos is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a follower of Jesus Christ

 Daily Bible Reading: Judges 16-18; John 5:25-47

Quote of the day: The biggest cult is the cult of the comfortable. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do keep your commandments. – Psalm 119:165-166

Pursuing Our Destiny, Part 16–The Discipline of Worship

Give unto the LORD the glory due His name;

Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 29:2, ESV)

 Prior to coming to First Baptist Church of Toms River, my wife and I served at Columbia Bible College & Seminary.  I had the privilege for the first two years of our time there to work for Robertson McQuilikin, the president of the institution.  He spoke in chapel one morning, talking about taking personal retreat time.  His normal practice was to take his Bible and a hymnal, and he would spend his time away praying, reading, and singing.  His retreats were times of worship.

The spiritual discipline of worship enables us to fulfill the instruction of the psalmist, but it also provides us with a regular way to express our own thoughts concerning God’s greatness and majesty.  The word “worship” comes from two old English words, one that means “worth” and one that means “ship.”  When we put them together, worship is the act of having worth or being worthy.  Worship in the Christian tradition means to declare worth, to attribute worth.  We speak, sing, or act in ways that declare the worthiness of God to receive our praise and honor.

Don Whitney, in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life says that this spiritual discipline of worship involves speaking, listening, and doing.  We worship when we pray or sing or give a word of testimony.  Listening to God’s Word read, taught, or preached is an act of worship.  When we serve in any way, when we give our tithes and offerings, when we share our time or talents, we are worshiping.  Even the most menial jobs, when done for God’s glory, are acts of worship.

We should also note that worship in both the Old and New Testaments has a personal form and a corporate form.  Scripture is clear that the two forms aren’t an either/or practice.  Rather, we are to be both/and worshipers.  There is a place for us to be alone with God—notice all the times Jesus got alone with the Father—but there is also the necessity for us to worship with other believers.  We must never forget the clear words of the writer of Hebrews:  . . . not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

I like the way Kelli Mahoney explains worship to teens: As we practice the spiritual discipline of worship, we learn to experience God in His glory.  We easily identify His works in our lives.  We seek out our time with God in prayer or conversation.  We never feel alone, because we always know God is right there with us.  Worship is an ongoing experience and connection with God.

Allow me to suggest two things each of us can do to develop the spiritual discipline of worship.  First, we can commit ourselves to a daily time of quiet devotions that include some time ascribing to God His worthiness of our praise and honor.  Secondly, we can commit ourselves to weekly times of worship with brothers and sisters in Christ.  That worship includes singing God’s praise, offering Him our praise in prayer, and listening to and receiving God’s Word through the reading of Scripture and preaching.

No time is better than now.  How can you build the discipline of worship into your life this week? – Pastor John Strain is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and is available for pulpit supply.

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 13-15; John 5:1-24

Quote of the day: There is only one alternative to obedience to Christ, and that’s disobedience. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do keep your commandments. – Psalm 119:165-166

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

“Heaven and earth may pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Luke 21:33)

As we remember the anniversary of 9/11, I want to share with you the devotional I wrote for our devotional book, REAL VICTORY FOR REAL LIFE:

            Our nation will never forget the day that changed our lives forever. Little did we realize how personal September 11^th would be for the ministry of America’s KESWICK. Like many ministries, we were getting ready to begin a service of remembrance for our community, staff and the men of the Colony of Mercy. As I was preparing to walk to the Auditorium, I received word that this tragedy had impacted our ministry.

 

Don and Jean Peterson were actively involved with the ministry. In addition to being conference attendees, both were burdened for the Colony ministry. Don served for a number of years as a volunteer counselor and Jean became a faithful prayer warrior. Seeing Don’s passion and vision for the ministry, we invited Don to serve on our Board of Trustees. He was a man of purpose, determination, integrity and commitment.

The Petersons were scheduled to leave for California for a family reunion on the morning of September 11. Arriving early at the airport, they were bumped to an earlier flight. They were assigned to Flight 93 that crashed on a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Several months after the tragedy we heard that a Bible had been found at the crash site. Selfishly we were hoping that it belonged to Don or Jean. When the rescue teams arrived at the crash site, there were only two things visible – a tire and Don Peterson’s Bible. Tucked inside Don’s Bible was a list of men from the Colony of Mercy that he would be praying for during the trip.

Don loved the Word of God. He believed that the Word was true and that it could change and transform lives. How about you? Do you love the Word of God? Are you spending time each day reading, meditating and memorizing the Word? It will change and transform your life. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 11-12; John 4:31-54

Quote of the day: What we cannot understand, we can endure with God. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do keep your commandments. – Psalm 119:165-166

There Is No Plan “B”

“Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.”                                                                                                                              Psalm 37:5

One of the hurdles I’ve struggled with is the “alternative”. I was never one to commit or stay with the original plan. As a matter of fact one of my biggest obstacles was I would tend to find another way, a better way.

Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t be so narrow minded that we don’t lend ourselves to suggestions or be prepared to adjust. I’m saying when it comes to our commitment to the Lord and our dedication to follow there should be no “Plan B”.

When I entertain an option or if I think that God needs my help it’s easy for me to simply “relapse” to my way of thinking. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding “ has got to be my mindset in a world that tells us to be “open minded” and “do what feels good”.

I have been in a relationship with someone who always had a “Plan B” attitude towards the commitment we made and it was a draining experience. There is nothing better than to be part of a relationship or team that has a “no matter what” attitude. To be men that can be counted as dependable and trustworthy.

Out of all the messages I’ve heard this summer the ones that refer back to the sacrifice Jesus made by going to the cross touched me the most. This plan of salvation that God has put into action which cost Him His Son is given to us to proclaim to a lost and dying world, The Way. There is no “Plan B”. – Rob Russomano is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves on the full-time staff at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 9-10; John 4:1-30

Quote of the day: All of us fail. Use your failures as a guidepost to lead you on. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do keep your commandments. – Psalm 119:165-166

Don’t Stumble and Fall

“Great peace have those who love Law, nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165

This week’s memory verse from Psalm 119:165 was one of those verses that I had glossed over in my yearly Bible reading. For some reason last year that verse just jumped off the page and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.

Several years ago I fell off a moped with my daughter Julie and the end result was a broken bone in my leg. Ever since that break I have found myself being much more aware of where I walk whether it be walking up or down stairs, noticing icy patches during the wintertime, or even walking in new places. That broken leg experience has caused me to be much more aware because I don’t want to fall and break my leg (or as I am aging – my hip! ).

But more than being concerned about my physical walking, I should be even more concerned about stumbling and falling in my Christian life. The Bible talks much about our walk so that we will not stumble and fall.

In the ministry of addiction recovery we will refer to a man who has gone back into his or her addiction as having a “fall.”  The word fall really doesn’t paint the picture like God’s Word does. The “fall” really refers to my sin. And every one of us struggles and does battle with sin in our lives. We are all one step away from stumbling and falling.

If you are concerned about blowing it, messing up and becoming another statistic, cheer up. One of the ways that you and I can keep from messing up, stumbling and falling is to stay connected in our daily walk with the Lord. We need to be digging daily into God’s Word and allowing His word to penetrate our hearts and minds.

I have not met anyone yet who has had a minor or major fall that when asked the question,  “How is your quiet time with the Lord?” they have responded.  “It’s going great!” Sin will keep you and me from fellowship with the Lord and almost always when things are heading south a common denominator will be a lack of intimacy with the Lord on a daily basis.

John wrote in in his letter to the church at Ephesus: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent, and do the work you did at first.” (Revelation 2:5) If you are at that place where you have stumbled and fallen, get up, shake the dust off, repent and run into the arms of Jesus. He’s there waiting for you.

If you are one of those guys who are so proud that you don’t think you’ll ever fall – heed this warning: “Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) Everyone of us is capable of falling and is one decision away from blowing up.

A good promise for you to circle in your Bible is Jude 24: “Now to HIM who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen!

Great peace comes from loving the Word of God. How is your quiet time? Are you connected to the Vine? If not – today is a good day to repent and reconnect.

Running the race with joy,

Bill Welte
President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 7-8; John 3:19-36

Quote of the day: It’s always too soon to quit but never too late to start. Dr. Adrian Rogers

Verse to Memorize:  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do keep

Just Cruising?

 Mathew 8:23-25

 Ruth and I love to cruise. From the moment you step onto the ship, your greatest concern is do I want 2 desserts or 3? The ships staff is there for your every need, want and desire.

Entertainment of every sort, from Broadway styled shows to rock climbing. You can sleep all day, read a book or just soak up the rays. And, you get to cruise from port to port experiencing new and exotic sights, sounds and smells.  Calm seas, hot sun, salt air. It feels like a slice of heaven on earth.

The truth is, that’s not the reality of life. Its not just one long cruise where everything goes your way.

If I had to guess, I’d have to say that when the Disciples got in the boat with Jesus, this was kind of what they imagined—“WE’ER IN THE BOAT WITH JESUS—THIS IS GREAT!!”  They were expecting smooth sailing across a calm sea under a moon lit sky. What a surprise when things got rough and then it all broke loose—just like our lives.  One moment things are going along pretty smooth and then—BAM!! The bottom drops out!  Now what?

In those minutes between when the seas got rough and the disciples finally called on Jesus to calm them, I wonder what was going through their minds—really going through their minds.

“He can’t really be the Son of God—look at the mess He has us in.”

“If He was really God, He would know how scared I am and give me some comfort.”

“If this storm gets any worse, I’m jumping overboard and swimming for shore.”

Admit it, all of us at some time or other have gotten our knickers in a not because things have gotten a bit rougher than we planned on and Jesus is not doing what we expect. We signed up to cruise—when we should have been part of the crew following our Captain.  So—what’s going on in your heart when the seas get rough? Are you resting in the peace and knowledge that Christ is in control of everything or are you getting a little “tense” because He’s not livening up to our “calm seas cruise” expectations?

Lord, let my heart be at peace even in the roughest seasons of life, knowing that You are in control of everything!  Amen – Steve Schmidt serves on the full-time staff is a regular Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 148-150; John 1:29-51

Quote of the day: How many times have we had to reach the end of our own resources before we remembered to trust in God, the one steadfast resource of our lives? We’re all in need of a  spiritual exodus day by day. When our faith causes difficulties, our first response is to fall back on our familiar resources-people, things, self – and only when these do not help can we truly lean only upon God for our needs.Joel Gregory

Verse to Memorize: Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. The entirety of Your word is truth, and everyone of Your judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:159-160