Believers, if you want to honor God with your home you must:

• Put Jesus at the center of your marriage
• Teach your children the truth of Scripture
• Practice quick forgiveness with each other

September 12: Diversity in the Church

#Devotional

Amos 8:1–9:15; Acts 10:34–11:18; Job 21:1–16

In our comfortable and familiar church homes, we sometimes fail to see the Church as a community of ethnic and cultural diversity. When I returned from a year in South Korea, I was surprised when my family and friends made thoughtless generalizations about people I had come to know and love—some of them fellow believers in Christ. Most of these comments contradicted the multicultural picture of Christianity presented in the book of Acts.

Peter and the Jewish Christians in the early church underwent a shift in cultural perspective. When Peter came to Jerusalem after meeting with Gentiles, the Jews were shocked that he would eat with “men who were uncircumcised” (Acts 11:3). For so long, they had associated their religion with their identity as a nation and as a people group. Although they knew that God was extending this hope to the Gentiles, they needed to be reminded that Jesus was the Lord of all. Peter tells them, “if God gave them the same gift as also to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” (Acts 11:17).

The hope they expected had been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Now Gentiles were being added to their number. Peter testifies, “In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality, but in every nation the one who fears him and who does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34).

Strangely, Peter’s speech still needs to be heard today. We tend to confine our faith within comfortable borders—cultural, regional, or racial. We need to be challenged to see people from other ethnicities and cultural backgrounds as fellow followers of Christ. If God does not show partiality, then neither should we. The reign of Jesus extends over all people; God will draw His children from all corners of the earth, and there will be no “foreigners” in His kingdom.

How does your view of the Church need to be challenged?

September 12 - Who Is the Lamb of God?

#LifeOfChrist

“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me”’” (John 1:29–30).

On the day after he spoke to the delegation, John “saw Jesus coming to him.” In keeping with his role as a herald, John immediately called the crowd’s attention to Him, exclaiming “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

The concept of a sacrificial Lamb was a familiar one to the Jewish people. All through Israel’s history, God had revealed clearly that sin and separation from Him could be removed only by blood sacrifices (cf. Lev. 17:11). They were also aware that Isaiah’s prophecy likened Messiah to “a lamb that is led to slaughter” (Isa. 53:7). Though Israel sought a Messiah who would be a prophet, king, and conqueror, God had to send them a Lamb. And He did.

The title “Lamb of God” foreshadows Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross for “the sin of the world.” With that brief statement John made it clear that the Messiah had come to deal with sin. The Old Testament is filled with the reality that the problem is sin—a problem at the heart of every person (Jer. 17:9). All men are sinful and incapable of changing the future or the present, or of repaying God for the sins of the past.

So who is the Lamb of God? He is Jesus, the only One who has the remedy to your sin problem.

Ask Yourself

We know that our sin, though dealt with ultimately and eternally, continues to be a problem for us to face and address. Are you surprised at the strength and tenacity it still wields within you? How do you go about quieting its ferocious appetite and considering yourself dead to it (See Rom. 6:11)?

DAY 12: Why do people not respond to the gospel?

https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-09-12

The ever-existing Son of God is not an angel, nor a creature.

“When God brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Hebrews 1:6

Cannot die. Ever.

“They cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” Luke 20:36

Dear Muslims, we don't worship the same God as your god. Get this right.

September 12 (Saturday)

Dear Daughter,
Two pruned vines grow toward each other faster than two untouched ones — cut back, they reach for support.

Celebrate that hard seasons of correction in your marriage often made you both reach for God together, not apart.

What felt like loss was actually redirection.
'Two are better than one… if either of them falls' (Eccl 4:9-10).

What hard season pushed you and your husband closer to God together?
#DearDaughter #ReachTogether #StrongMarriage

The spread of islam, is the pronouncement of divine judgment.

Sep 12 (Sat) — RIDDLE-ORACLE

"The Lamp, the Oil, and the Waiting Bride"

Ten virgins, one bridegroom, and a single question that decided everything: was there OIL in the lamp, or only the appearance of light? Matt 25:1-13 is not first a story about the end times — it is first a story about MARRIAGE, about waiting, about what sustains a flame when the hour grows late and the Bridegroom delays. Five lamps went dark not because they never had fire, but because they never carried a reserve. 🕯️🫗

Here is the riddle for your covenant: a lamp burning bright at the wedding is not the same as a lamp still burning at midnight. The early flame needs no oil reserve — the wick alone will burn a while on excitement. But the marriage that lasts is the one that stored oil for the DARK STRETCH, the season when love must run on something deeper than feeling. What is your oil? Is it prayer stored in secret? Scripture hidden in your heart before the trial came? 🔥

And notice what the wise virgins could NOT do — they could not share their oil, could not transfer their years of quiet devotion to another in a moment of crisis (v.9). Your spouse cannot lend you a reserve you never built. This is the sober mercy in the riddle: the oil must be yours, stored long before the cry goes out, "Behold, the bridegroom comes!" 🌙✨

❓ If the hour grew unexpectedly dark tonight, does your marriage have oil stored, or only a flame that has been borrowing light?
❓ What reserve are you building today, in the ordinary hours, for a midnight you cannot yet see?

Let us search the Word together and tend the lamp before the darkness comes.
👉 t.me/StudyBibleFam
#StrongMarriage #StudyBibleFam

The cross tells us two things at the same time: Your sin was worse than you imagined. And God's grace is greater than you dared hope.

Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints.

Psalm 116:15

Pray for Nigeria.

Everything about abortion is vile.

It's selfish.
It's short-sighted, failing to see the long-term blessing kids are.
It's evil, as it's murdering the most defenseless among us.

Christians have a duty to speak against abortion, and the government has a duty to stop abortion now.

A small number of Christians getting involved in local politics can make a very big difference in the community.

It's important that they are wise and not just ideological but we need more Christians running for local offices.

As a parent of an athlete:

If we get more excited about our kids making a 3-pointer, scoring a goal, hitting a home run, or making a certain team… Than we do about them telling others about Jesus, living on mission, or serving others.

It's time to adjust our priorities.

“‘Blessed are the pure in heart’ should send us running to the cross.” —Ray Comfort

The cross of Christ is not a symbol of self-improvement. Jesus came to save dead sinners from eternal judgment, not to fix your temporary problems.

September 13: Who Can Bring Me Down?

#Devotional

Obadiah 1:1–21; Acts 11:19–12:25; Job 21:17–34

“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ ” (Obad 3).

Pride is an especially dangerous sin because it deludes us into elevating ourselves above everyone else. It can even lead us to betray or hurt other people. In this passage Obadiah addresses the Edomites, who lived in the hills above Judah. The Edomites should have helped Judah when they were attacked, but instead they conducted raids. They believed that they were superior to and had been wronged by the Judahites and that their actions were therefore justified. This type of pride puts us in a precarious position. No wonder the Bible addresses it often.

Pride can get the best of us when we place ourselves in the “clefts” above others. It usually emerges from one of two places: Either we believe that we’re as important as people tell us we are (the folly of the celebrity), or we believe that we’re better than everyone else and that others just don’t understand us. Either way, pride is dangerous. In the words of C.S. Lewis, “Pride always means enmity … not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.”

Job is also accused of pride—but unjustly. He confronts his persecutors about retribution related to pride: “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their disaster comes upon them? He distributes pains in his anger” (Job 21:17). Job recognizes the ultimate source of pride: a refusal to fear Yahweh. It’s difficult to maintain a superior position when we realize that everything we have comes from Him. When we fear Yahweh—when we acknowledge that He created and reigns over all things—we discover our rightful place. We can then lift Him back to the place He deserves—as ruler over us, our master.

What are you prideful about, and what can you do to remedy the problem?

September 13 - The Proper Response to the Lamb of God

#LifeOfChrist

“Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus” (John 1:35–37).

John looked at Jesus as He walked nearby, and repeated to his disciples what he had proclaimed to the crowds on the previous day: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Having heard their teacher speak again those powerful words, the two disciples followed Jesus. John’s willingness to unhesitatingly hand them over to Him is further evidence of his self-effacing humility and complete acceptance of his subordinate role.

That the two disciples followed Jesus does not imply that they became permanent disciples of His at this time. It is true that the Greek word for “followed” is used in John’s gospel to mean, “to follow as a disciple.” But it can also be used in a general sense. Andrew and John here received their first exposure to Jesus. Later, they became His permanent disciples (Matt. 4:18–22).

Since the Messiah, the Son of God—the Lamb of God—is here, the only proper response is to follow Him.

Having served his purpose as a witness to the true identity of Jesus, John the Baptist now fades from the scene (apart from a brief mention in John 3:23). The rest of the gospel focuses on the ministry of Jesus, something the Baptist himself would have approved of.

You can have the same kind of influence that John did by making sure that in addition to following Christ you also point people to Him.

Ask Yourself

What does “following” Jesus entail—not just in general terms but in real life? What does it mean on Friday nights when you’re alone with your free time, or on Tuesday morning when you’re busy with the usual routine? Think of what needs to change in moments like these if you’re to be a full-time follower.

DAY 13: What does Paul mean when he writes about being “in Christ” and someone being a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17)?



https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-09-13