What an awesome God we serve; there is none like Him! What graciousness He bestows on us, revealing Himself to us in so many ways. As you listen to Bill Johnson narrate these Decency Minute scripts by clicking on their titles, take some time to reflect on the many ways that our God shows us who He is, revel in His goodness in revealing truth, and blesses us through these revelations of Himself. In the following Decency Minutes we see such experiential knowledge through the written Word, in suffering, and through the appearing of the Word Incarnate Himself, Jesus the Christ.
Our hope is that the following will give you pause for thought, petitions to pray, and the promotion of preparing your heart and mind to live for Him, wait on Him, and rest in Him.
What’s Happened in China Can Happen Here
Study the origins of the Chinese language and you’ll see that Biblical truth is engrained in their pictographic words. They once knew Biblical truth. As the Chinese nation rejected Biblical truth, they became vulnerable to evil.
Voice of the Martyrs reports: “The persecution of Christians is increasing throughout China. President Xi Jinping has established himself as a modern-day emperor, whose Chinese Communist Party seeks to control every aspect of religious expression in the country.
“Party officials have ordered churches to begin all meetings with patriotic, pro-communist songs rather than Christian hymns and to place a portrait of President Xi in a prominent location inside the church.
“Churches are also expected to install cameras that enable police to monitor all activities and identify everyone present. Online worship has been outlawed, and uncooperative pastors are arrested and given long prison sentences.”
If America rejects truth, shouldn’t we expect a similar fate?
Leftist soccer star Megan Rapinoe has long used her platform to push LGBT ideology and disparage America. Last week after her career ended with an injury, she’s now attacking God, stating: “if there was a God, this is proof that there isn’t.”
What arrogance! To unbelievers, and sadly even some Christians, God is treated like a genie in a bottle whose only purpose is to fulfill our wishes. As R.C. Sproul once stated: “Somehow we assume that God owes it to us to give us a life free from suffering.”
Believers know that suffering has a purpose – that all things work together for our good and His glory.
Proverbs 3 says: “toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” Pray that God will humble Megan Rapinoe and that she will find the grace of salvation that none of us deserve.
The holiday season is upon us. Next week, we meditate on the infinitely broad spectrum of blessings which the LORD has poured out on us. Following that begins the season where we meditate on His ultimate blessing.
Jonathan Gibson writes, “Although the longings, hopes, and expectations of the coming, conquering son are met in Jesus’ first coming, it does not change the reality that God’s people are a waiting people.
“Since the days of the early church, Christians have observed a time in the church calendar for a focused concentration on the second coming of Christ, known as Advent- as the centuries passed, the season became more directly connected to Christmas – a time to consider Christ’s second coming as Christians reflected on His first coming.”
Our nation and our world wanders further and further from the Lord, so let’s not forego the opportunity this year of worshipfully focusing our meditation on Him, our one, true Hope.
As you step into this weekend, I leave you with the challenging words of puritan Thomas Brooks:
“God in the great day will declare to men and angels how often His people have been pouring out their souls before Him on such and such corners and secret places, and accordingly He will reward them. And Christians, did you really believe and seriously dwell on this, you would (1) walk more thankfully; (2) work more cheerfully; (3) suffer more patiently; (4) fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil more courageously (5) lay out yourselves for God, His interest and glory, more freely; (6) live with what providence hath cut out for your portion and more quietly and contentedly; and (7) you would be in private prayer more frequently and abundantly.”
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