DAY 26 - DAILY QUESTION ABOUT GOD'S WORD (WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?)

June 19

Question: "What is the greatest commandment?"

Answer:Jesus was asked this very question by a Pharisee who was considered to be “an expert in the law” (Matthew 22:34-36). Jesus answered by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Jesus gives us two commandments that summarize all the laws and commands in Scripture. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 deal with our relationship with God and then our relationship with other people. One naturally flows out of the other. Without a right relationship with God, our relationships with others will not be right either. The cause of the world’s problems is that man needs to be reconciled to God. We will never love our neighbor as ourselves if we do not first love God with all our heart, mind and soul. All of man’s best efforts towards world peace will fail as long as men are living in rebellion against God.

When asked by another Pharisee how one could “inherit eternal life,” Jesus answered that it is by keeping these two commandments (Luke 10:25-37). Only two commandments to obey, yet how often do we, like this Pharisee, try to “justify” ourselves because saying we obey these commandments is much easier than really living according to them.

When carefully considered, Jesus’ answer was really a perfect response to not only the Pharisee of His day, but also to all modern day “Pharisees” who try measure a person’s righteousness by how well they conform outwardly to a series of laws or commandments. Both the Pharisees of Christ’s day and today’s many versions create a whole system of rules and regulations for people to live by and yet are guilty of breaking the most important commandments of all because they “cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but not the inside” (Matthew 23:25-26).

When we prayerfully consider Jesus’ words and the fact that all the laws and commands in Scripture can really be summarized by these two commandments, we understand just how impossible it is for us to keep God’s commandments and how often we fail to do so, and can therefore never be righteous before God on our own accord. That only leaves us with one hope and that is that God “justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). God’s law and our failure to keep it “brings about wrath” (Romans 4:15) but “God demonstrates His own love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

While we will never keep God’s commandments or be righteous before Him by our own efforts, Christ did. It is His sacrificial death on the cross that causes our sins to be imputed to Him and His righteousness imputed to us (Romans 4–5). That is why “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). After all, the Gospel of Christ “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” for “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

Because Jesus answered this very question and His answer is recorded in Scripture, we don’t have to wonder or search for the answer ourselves. The only question left for us to answer is do we live according to these commandments? Do we truly love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds, and do we really love our neighbor as ourselves? If we are truthful with ourselves we know that we do not, but the good news is that the law and commandments were given as “a tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith”(Galatians 3:24). Only as we realize our sinfulness and hopelessness will we turn to Christ alone as the only hope of salvation.

As Christians we strive to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and as our hearts and minds are transformed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we are able to begin to love others as ourselves, yet we still fail to do so which again drives us back to the cross of Christ and the hope of salvation that stems from the imputed righteousness of Christ and not from any merit of our own.

Recommended Resources:Logos Bible SoftwareandThe Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-first Century by Mark F. Rooker.

While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.

Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/greatest-commandment.html#ixzz2WcetffMb

DAY 26 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 19, 2013

June 19

American Minute for June 19th:

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The first formal "Father's Day" was celebrated JUNE 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd heard a church sermon on the newly established Mother's Day and wanted to honor her father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, who had raised six children by himself after his wife died in childbirth.

Sonora drew up a petition supported by the Young Men's Christian Association and the ministers of Spokane.

In 1916, Woodrow Wilson spoke at a Spokane Fathers' Day service. President Nixon, in 1972, established Father's Day as a permanent national observance.

On Tuesday, December 6, 1904, in his Fourth Annual Message to Congress, President Theodore Roosevelt stated:

"No Christian and civilized community can afford to show a happy-go-lucky lack of concern for the youth of to-day; for, if so, the community will have to pay a terrible penalty of financial burden and social degradation in the to-morrow....

The prime duty of the man is to work, to be the breadwinner; the prime duty of the woman is to be the mother, the housewife. All questions of tariff and finance sink into utter insignificance when compared with the tremendous, the vital importance of trying to shape conditions so that these two duties of the man and of the woman can be fulfilled under reasonably favorable circumstances."

On May 20, 1981, in a Proclamation of Father's Day, President Ronald Reagan stated:

"'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,' Solomon tells us. Clearly, the future is in the care of our parents. Such is the responsibility, promise, and hope of fatherhood. Such is the gift that our fathers give us."

On Father's Day, 1988, Ronald Reagan said:

"Children, vulnerable and dependent, desperately need security, and it has ever been a duty and a joy of fatherhood to offer it.

Being a father requires strength...and more than a little courage...to persevere, to fight discouragement, and to keep working for the family."

Reagan continued:

"With God's grace, fathers find the patience to teach, the fortitude to provide, the compassion to comfort, and the mercy to forgive.

All of this is to say that they find the strength to love their wives and children selflessly."

President Reagan ended:

"Let us...express our thanks and affection to our fathers, whether we can do so in person or in prayer."

Williams Jennings Bryan gave over 600 public speeches during his Presidential campaigns, with his most famous being "The Prince of Peace,” which was printed in the New York Times, September 7, 1913:

"Christ promoted peace by giving us assurance that a line of communication can be established between the Father above and the child below."

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DAY 25 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (HEALING) - JUNE 18, 2013

June 18

Jeremiah 17:14 (The Voice Bible)

14 Heal me, O Eternal One, and I will be healed.
You alone can save me; to You alone do I sing my praise.

DAY 25 - DAILY DEVOTION - JUNE 18, 2013

June 18

No Cover Up’s
Posted on October 15, 2012 by katherine


It’s amazing how everybody has hurt, pain & sorrow- its what you do with it? Do you put a band-aid on it & go on, do you try to find something to alleviate the pain, or do you try pushing it under the rug hoping no one ever pulls the rug out from under you?

Will you allow God to heal it all or just go on with life like nothing has ever happened to you?

Allow God to heal it all getting to the very root of the problem. God may spit in the mud & put that on your eyes for healing, tell you to dip 7 times in the Jordan, tell you to walk on the water to Him in the midst of the storm, turn your water to wine for rejoicing at a wedding, or may wait for your Lazarus to die & bring it back to life.

We serve a Big God who has un-stoppable & un-thinkable ways to bring hope, healing & restoration! Don’t allow anymore cover-ups.

Isaiah 53 says, Jesus bore your sicknesses & distresses. He carried your sorrows & pains. He was smitten & afflicted for you. He was wounded for your transgressions. He was beaten & bruised, and by HIS stripes YOU ARE HEALED!

http://dailyliveworship.com/blog/no-cover-ups/

DAY 25 - DAILY PRAYER (HEALING) - JUNE 18, 2013

June 18

Dear Lord of Mercy and Father of Comfort,

You are the One I turn to for help in moments of weakness and times of need. I ask you to be with your servant in this illness. Psalm 107:20 says that you send out your Word and heal. So then, please send your healing Word to your servant. In the name of Jesus, drive out all infirmity and sickness from his body.

Dear Lord, I ask you to turn this weakness into strength, suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy, and pain into comfort for others. May your servant trust in your goodness and hope in your faithfulness, even in the middle of this suffering. Let him be filled with patience and joy in your presence as he waits for your healing touch.

Please restore your servant to full health, dear Father. Remove all fear and doubt from his heart by the power of your Holy Spirit, and may you, Lord, be glorified through his life.

As you heal and renew your servant, Lord, may he bless and praise you.

All of this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Anonymous

DAY 25 - DAILY QUESTION ABOUT GOD'S WORD (IS IT SOMETIMES GOD'S WILL FR BELIEVERS TO BE SICK?)

June 18

Question: "Is it sometimes God's will for believers to be sick?"

Answer:The biblical doctrine of the sovereignty of God states that God is almighty over all. He is in complete control of all things—past, present and future—and nothing happens that is out of His jurisdiction. Either He directly causes—or He passively allows—everything that happens. But allowing something to happen and causing something to happen are two different things. For example, God caused the creation of the perfect, sinless Adam and Eve; then He allowed them to rebel against Him. He did not cause them to sin, and He certainly could have stopped them, but He chose not to for His own purposes and to bring about His perfect plan. That rebellion brought about all manner of evil, evil that was not caused by God but which was allowed by Him to exist.

Sickness is one manifestation of the two broad types of evil—moral and natural. Moral evil is man's inhumanity to man. Natural evil is composed of things like natural disasters and physical sickness. Evil itself is a perversion or corruption of something that was originally good, but is now missing something. In the case of sickness, illness is a state where good health is missing. The Greek word for evil, ponerous, actually implies a malignancy, something that is corrupting a good and healthy state of being.

When Adam sinned, he condemned all of humanity to suffer the consequences of that sin, one of which is sickness.Romans 8:20-22says, “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” God—the “one who subjected” the creation to frustration following the Fall—has a plan to eventually liberate creation from its bondage to sin, just as He liberates us from that bondage through Christ.

Until that day, God uses sickness and other evils to bring about His sovereign purpose, to glorify Himself, and to exalt His holy name. At times, He miraculously heals sickness. Jesus went through Israel healing all manner of sickness and disease (Matthew 4:23) and even raised Lazurus from the dead after illness killed him. At other times, God uses sickness as a method of discipline or as a judgment against sin. King Uzziah in the Old Testament was struck with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:19-20). Nebuchadnezzar was driven to madness by God until he came to understand that “the Most High rules in the affairs of men” (Daniel 4). Herod was struck down and eaten by worms because he took God’s glory upon himself (Acts 12:21-23). There is even at least one case where God allowed disease—blindness—not as punishment for sin, but to reveal Himself and His mighty works through that blindness (John 9:1-3).

When illness does come, it may not be the result of God’s direct intervention in our lives, but is rather the result of the fallen world, fallen bodies, and poor health and lifestyle choices. And although there are scriptural indicators that God wants us to be in good health, (3 John 2), all sickness and disease are allowed by Him for His purposes, whether we understand them or not.

Sickness is certainly the result of the fall of man into sin, but God is very much in control, and He does indeed determine how far evil can go (just as He did with Satan and Job's trials—Satan was not allowed to exceed those boundaries). He tells us He is all-powerful over fifty times in the Bible, and it is amazing to see how His sovereignty unites with the choices we make (both bad and good) to work out His perfect plan (Romans 8:28).

For those who are believers and suffering with sickness, illness, and/or disease in this life, the knowledge that they can glorify God through their suffering tempers the uncertainty as to why He has allowed it, something they may not truly understand until they stand in His presence in eternity. At that time, all questions will be answered, or perhaps more accurately, we will no longer care about the questions themselves.

Recommended Resources:Logos Bible SoftwareandWrestling with God: How Can I Love a God I'm Not Sure I Trust? by James Denison.



While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.

Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/sickness-will-God.html#ixzz2Wa44MjrX

DAY 25 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 18, 2013

June 18

American Minute for June 18th:

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The War of 1812 began on JUNE 18, 1812.

While Napoleon was invading Russia on the other side of the world, the British captured American ships and enslaved sailors.

They incited Indians to capture Fort Mims, massacring 500 men, women and children.

They captured the U.S. Capitol, burnt the White House and the Library of Congress.

They bombarded Fort McHenry, attacked on Lake Eire and New Orleans.

They captured Maine's cities of Eastport, Castine, Hampden, Bangor and Machias.

Outraged, many volunteered for the Army, including Davy Crockett.

On March 9, 1812, in a message to Congress, President James Madison stated:

"The British Government, through its public minister here, a secret agent of that Government was employed in certain States...in fomenting disaffection...and in intrigues with the disaffected, for the purpose of...destroying the Union...

The discovery of such a procedure...will not fail to render more dear to the hearts of all good citizens that happy union of these States which, under Divine Providence, is the guaranty of their liberties."

On June 1, 1812, President James Madison stated to Congress:

"We behold...on the side of Great Britain a state of war...Whether the United States shall continue passive under these progressive usurpations and these accumulating wrongs...shall commit a just cause into the hands of the Almighty Disposer of Events."

On June 19, 1812, in a Proclamation of War, President James Madison stated:

"I do moreover exhort all the good people of the United States...as they feel the wrongs which have forced on them the last resort of injured nations...to consult the best means under the blessing of Divine Providence of abridging its calamities."

President Madison, who had introduced the First Amendment in the First Session of Congress, proclaimed a National Day of Public Humiliation and Prayer, July 9, 1812:

"A day, to be set apart for the devout purpose of rendering the Sovereign of the Universe and the Benefactor of mankind the public homage due to His holy attributes; of acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the manifestations of His divine displeasure; of seeking His merciful forgiveness, and His assistance in the great duties of repentance...

and especially of offering fervent supplications that in the present season of calamity and war He would take the American people under His peculiar care and protection...turning the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which sway their councils against us, He would hasten a restoration of the blessings of peace."

On November 4, 1812, in his Fourth Annual Message, President James Madison stated:

"The war in which we are actually engaged in...was preceded by a patience without example under wrongs accumulating without end...

Appeal was accordingly made...to the Just and All-powerful Being who holds in His hand the chain of events and the destiny of nations...We prosecute the war with united counsels...until peace be so obtained...under the Divine blessing."

On February 24, 1813, President James Madison stated to Congress:

"Great Britain had already introduced into her commerce during the war a system...resting on a mass of forgery and perjury...making an unfortunate progress in undermining those principles of morality and religion which are the best foundation of national happiness....

The general tendency of these demoralizing and disorganizing contrivances will be reprobated by the civilized and Christian world."

On March 4, 1813, in his Second Inaugural Address, President James Madison stated:

"I should be compelled to shrink if I...felt less deeply a conviction that the war with a powerful nation...is stamped with that justice which invites the smiles of Heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termination."

On May 25, 1813, in a Special Session Message to Congress, President James Madison stated:

"The contest in which the United States are engaged appeals...to the sacred obligation of transmitting entire to future generations that precious...independence which is held in trust by the present from the goodness of Divine Providence."

On July 23, 1813, President James Madison proclaimed a National Day of Public Humiliation and Prayer:

"In times of public calamity such as that of the war...it is especially becoming that the hearts of all should be...turned to that Almighty Power in whose hands are the welfare and the destiny of nations...

For...He has blessed the United States with a political Constitution founded on the will and authority of the whole people and guaranteeing to each individual security, not only of his person and his property, but of those sacred rights of conscience so essential to his present happiness and so dear to his future hopes...

that He would pardon our manifold transgressions and awaken and strengthen in all the wholesome purposes of repentance...so He would...bestow His blessings on our arms in resisting the hostile...

If the public homage of a people can ever be worthy of the favorable regard of the Holy and Omniscient Being to whom it is addressed, it must be that in which those who join in it are guided only by their free choice, by the impulse of their hearts and the dictates of their consciences...that religion, that gift of Heaven for the good of man, freed from all coercive edicts...

and making no appeal but to reason, to the heart, and to the conscience, can spread its benign influence everywhere and can attract to the divine altar those freewill offerings of humble supplication."

On December 7, 1813, in his Fifth Annual Message, President James Madison stated:

"It has pleased the Almighty to bless our arms both on the land and on the water....On Lake Erie, the squadron under the command of Captain Perry having met the British squadron of superior force, a sanguinary conflict ended in the capture of the whole...

We may humbly repose our trust in the smiles of Heaven on so righteous a cause."

On September 1, 1814, in a National Proclamation after the British had invaded the Capitol, President James Madison stated:

"The enemy by a sudden incursion have succeeded in invading the capitol...though for a single day only, they wantonly destroyed the public edifices...

The glory acquired by their fathers in establishing the independence which is now to be maintained by their sons with the augmented strength and resources with which time and Heaven had blessed them."

On September 20, 1814, in his Sixth Annual Message, President James Madison stated:

"The capture of nearly a thousand American vessels and the impressment of thousands of American seafaring citizens...by the Government of Great Britain...

Our beloved country...persevering hostility...must carry with it the good wishes of the impartial world and the best hopes of support from an Omnipotent and Kind Providence."

On November 16, 1814, President James Madison proclaimed a National Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer:

"In the present time of public calamity and war a day may be recommended to be observed by the people of the United States as a day of public humiliation and fasting and of prayer to Almighty God...for...His blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace...

voluntarily offering...humble adoration to the Great Sovereign of the Universe, of confessing their sins and transgressions, and of strengthening their vows of repentance."

When the war ended, President James Madison addressed Congress, February 18, 1815:

"I lay before Congress copies of the treaty of peace and amity between the United States and His Britannic Majesty...We accord in grateful acknowledgments for the protection which Providence has bestowed upon us."

On March 4, 1815, President James Madison proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving:

"To be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnity as a day of thanksgiving and of devout acknowledgments to Almighty God for His great goodness manifested in restoring to them the blessing of peace.

No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States...

To the same Divine Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land...especially for the restoration of the blessing of peace."


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DAY 24 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (BLESSINGS) - JUNE 17, 2013

June 17

1 Peter 3:8-10 (The Voice Bible)

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded and show sympathy, love, compassion, and humility to and for each other—9 not paying back evil with evil or insult with insult, but repaying the bad with a blessing. It was this you were called to do, so that you might inherit a blessing. 10 It is written in the psalms,

DAY 24 - DAILY DEVOTION - JUNE 17, 2013

June 17


Worship Is…
Posted on June 9, 2013 by katherine


Worship is NOT singing a pretty song, seeing how loud we can get the bass/drums, nor trying to get the perfect lighting or smoke/fog ambiance.

WORSHIP IS…

Abiding in the Vine- Letting Him live through You

Arising in Faith, Bearing good fruit, Breaking forth into Joy

Desiring more of Him, more than yesterday

Drawing nigh to Him, Delighting yourself in the Lord

Declaring who He is & what He has already done

Falling at His feet & crying, Worthy is the Lamb

Following Him all the days of your life

Forgiving because He forgave you

Gazing at His beauty, Praying one for another

Loving Him with all your heart, mind & soul

Glorifying the King,

Giving Him all your fears, worries, cares & concerns

Praising Him ahead of the miracle

Confessing His Word over your life everyday

Counting your blessings

Remembering His body that was beaten, bruised, crushed, pierced & wounded

Standing in faith when you don’t see the answer

Singing a new song to the Lord

Seeking Him while He may be found

Trusting the Lord with all your heart

Leaning not on your understanding but acknowledging Him

Letting His kingdom come & His Will be done in & through you

Opening your heart to Him

Passionately pursuing His presence

Putting all your Hope in Him

Protecting the anointing He has given you

Hanging tough when all others give up

Believing the Impossible & not backing down

Being a light in the darkness- let your little light shine

Stirring yourself up in your most holy Faith

Keeping your heart burning hard after the things of God

Guarding His presence & keeping it always before you

Making a decision to use every breath to sing His praises & honor Him in everything you do

Winning the lost at all costs and Walking faithfully & uprightly with God, till your last breath!

http://dailyliveworship.com/blog/435/

DAY 24 - DAILY PRAYER (BLESSINGS) - JUNE 17, 2013

June 17

Lord, we come before you with thanksgiving and praise. We just want to say thank you for the love you show us, and for Your unending grace. We ask You father this day that you assist us to seek You, and that You will keep us and guide us. Please don’t allow us to fall, but keep us surrounded by your protective hands. Bless this nation Lord, as so many of us need You and do not have a clue where to turn. We know that we have a Father that can move mountains, and we ask in the name of Jesus that You will keep us. Forgive us for our sins, as we have forgiven others whom have forgiven us.


Thank You Father, and we ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Raheem Framer

Chicago, Illinois USA