‘I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.’ Acts 23:1 NKJV At the Mark Twain memorial in Hartford, Connecticut, you will find these words framed: ‘Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Truly yours, Mark Twain, New...
‘Be of good courage, and do it.’
‘Arise, for this matter is your responsibility but we will be with you. Be of good courage, and do it.’ Ezra 10:4 NKJV You probably haven’t heard of Harlow Curtice because he wasn’t a graduate from a prestigious university; he was a country boy with only a high-school...
Use What God Has Given You
‘One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.’ Proverbs 11:24 NIV Jesus taught His disciples to be distributors of His blessing and ‘first responders’ to those in need. That’s why He involved them in the process; He was...
‘Do’ God’s Word
‘God will bless you for doing it.’ James 1:25 NLT Dr David Jeremiah tells of a well-known seminary professor who spent a summer studying in Jerusalem. In his apartment building lived an orthodox Jewish rabbi with whom he studied Hebrew throughout the summer. One day...
Understanding True Holiness
‘Holiness unto the Lord.’ Zechariah 14:21 KJV Holiness should always be ‘unto the Lord’. Any time we make it ‘unto men’, it’s wrong and misguided because it’s just pride and pretence. Jesus condemned the Pharisees not for their acts of piety, but because they...
Dealing With Our Sin
‘Against You, You only, have I sinned.’ Psalm 51:4 NKJV We need a new way of looking at sin; a fresh understanding of it that recognises it involves denial and moral blindness. And the only way to see it clearly is through the eyes of the One we’ve sinned against....
Live For Something Greater Than Yourself
‘Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.’ John 12:24 NLT Jesus said, ‘Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels.’ Someone has estimated that one kernel of...
The Power to Change
‘I will strengthen you and help you.’ Isaiah 41:10 NIV We go to seminars and conferences looking for a painless cure by which our lives can be zapped and changed. We go on diets. We start exercise programs and our enthusiasm runs strong for about two weeks. Then we...
When You Don’t Understand
‘The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us.’ Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV When you don’t understand what’s happening in your life, start with what you know for sure; namely, that God is good all the time, and His ‘love for those who...
Get A ‘Preparation Perspective’
‘We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.’ 2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV Paul writes: ‘Our goal is to please Him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.’...
Most Recent Devotional Readings
Don’t give up on your Saul
‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for…Saul, for he is praying.’ Acts 9:11 NIV Has everyone else written off your Saul? ‘He is too far gone.’ ‘He is too hard, too addicted, too old, too cold.’ Joseph believed one day he would be reunited with the...
Jangan menyerah pada Saulus Anda
‘Pergilah ke jalan yang bernama Jalan Lurus, dan carilah di rumah Yudas seorang dari Tarsus yang bernama Saulus. Ia sekarang berdoa.’ Kisah Para Rasul 9:11 Apakah semua orang telah menghapus Saulus Anda? ‘Dia terlalu jauh.’ ‘Dia terlalu keras, terlalu kecanduan,...
You must care for the needy (3)
‘Blessed is he who considers the poor;’ Psalm 4 1:1 NKJV In October 2022, Forbes stated there were 2,668 billionaires in the world. It’s incredible to think that one individual, let alone 2,668 individuals, can be worth billions of dollars, and yet there are billions...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (3)
‘Berbahagialah orang yang memperhatikan orang lemah!’ Mazmur 41:2 Pada Oktober 2022, Forbes menyatakan ada 2.668 milliarder di dunia. Sungguh luar biasa untuk berpikir bahwa satu individu, apalagi 2.668 individu, dapat bernilai miliaran dolar, namun ada miliaran...
You must care for the needy (2)
‘He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.’ Jeremiah 2 2:16 NIV When he was a theology student, Jim Wallis and some of his classmates took scissors to the Bible and cut out every verse about poverty, wealth, justice, or oppression. And would...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (2)
‘Serta mengadili perkara orang sengsara dan orang miskin dengan adil. Bukankah itu namanya mengenal Aku? demikianlah firman TUHAN.’ Yeremia 22:16 Ketika menjadi mahasiswa teologi, Jim Wallis dan beberapa teman sekelasnya membawa gunting dan memotong setiap ayat...
You must care for the needy (1)
‘Their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.’ Acts 6:1 NIV Since the government didn’t care for widows and orphans back in New Testament times, the church took on that responsibility. Unfortunately, bias raised its ugly head, and Jewish...
Harus peduli kepada yang membutuhkan (1)
‘Pembagian kepada janda-janda mereka diabaikan dalam pelayanan sehari-hari.’ Kisah Para Rasul 6:1 Karena pemerintah tidak mempedulikan para janda dan yatim piatu pada zaman Perjanjian Baru, gereja mengambil tanggung jawab itu. Sayangnya, ada diskriminasi, para janda...
You’re a reflector
‘But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,’ 2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV As the old saying goes, ‘You become like the company you keep.’ Paul explains it this way: ‘But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of...
Anda seorang reflektor
‘Dan kita semua mencerminkan kemuliaan Tuhan dengan muka yang tidak berselubung. Dan karena kemuliaan itu datangnya dari Tuhan yang adalah Roh, maka kita diubah menjadi serupa dengan gambar-Nya, dalam kemuliaan yang semakin besar.’ 2 Korintus 3:18 Seperti kata...