Deeper understanding of God's grace

Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV)

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Prayer Requests

Today's Prayer Requests

Vera Bankston-Jones | FATHER GOD, Father never want to be a burden to anyone let alone myself. Yet when I call on your name you are there to say me from me and everything around me! Forgive me my sins and continuously bless me with your grace!....... Selah

Frances | Pray for me: I been diagnosed with MS and I rebuke this disease in Jesus name. Please help me through prayer for me to behealed in Jesus name amen.

vijay aggarwal | Plz pray for money in abundance for a comfortable life

gift ngosa | I need a break through in my life and family

Kevin Jeanes | Please pray for my friends Ryan and Luke who just left rehab early before there program was suppose to be over. Please pray for my recovery as well and anxiety spells. thank you so much!

Mikaela | I am putting my boyfriend before god. I need insight on how to put god first while keeping a happy relationship........ God Bless

Jesse James carter | Please pray for continued help keeping my sin at bay and to lead my family toward the light. Also we are in desperate need of finances. I was suspended from work because of my sins. Now my family is paying the price. We are being evicted  iday. And we have no where to turn. No food. Only a car on a donut and some faith. Please ask the Lord to give us strength to get through what I caused. I go back to work next week. Glory to him. But the landlord will not work with me. Eviction is filled. I know God will see us through. Im worried though. Pray for my faith. Thank you and bless you.

Sins Enticing Trap

Today's Scripture: Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1 (KJV)

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Scripture Meaning

The use of the Proverbs. (1-6) Exhortations to fear God and obey parents. (7-9) To avoid the enticings of sinners. (10-19) The address of Wisdom to sinners. (20-33)

Verses 1-6: The lessons here given are plain, and likely to benefit those who feel their own ignorance, and their need to be taught. If young people take heed to their ways, according to Solomon's Proverbs, they will gain knowledge and discretion. Solomon speaks of the most important points of truth, and a greater than Solomon is here. Christ speaks by his word and by his Spirit. Christ is the Word and the Wisdom of God, and he is made to us wisdom.

Verses 7-9: Fools are persons who have no true wisdom, who follow their own devices, without regard to reason, or reverence for God. Children are reasonable creatures, and when we tell them what they must do, we must tell them why. But they are corrupt and wilful, therefore with the instruction there is need of a law. Let Divine truths and commands be to us most honourable; let us value them, and then they shall be so to us.

Verses 10-19: Wicked people are zealous in seducing others into the paths of the destroyer: sinners love company in sin. But they have so much the more to answer for. How cautious young people should be! "Consent thou not." Do not say as they say, nor do as they do, or would have thee to do; have no fellowship with them. Who could think that it should be a pleasure to one man to destroy another! See their idea of worldly wealth; but it is neither substance, nor precious.

It is the ruinous mistake of thousands, that they overvalue the wealth of this world. Men promise themselves in vain that sin will turn to their advantage. The way of sin is down-hill; men cannot stop themselves. Would young people shun temporal and eternal ruin, let them refuse to take one step in these destructive paths. Men's greediness of gain hurries them upon practices which will not suffer them or others to live out half their days. What is a man profited, though he gain the world, if he lose his life? much less if he lose his soul?

Verses 20-33: Solomon, having showed how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here declares how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God. Christ himself is Wisdom, is Wisdoms. Three sorts of persons are here called by Him:
1. Simple ones. Sinners are fond of their simple notions of good and evil, their simple prejudices against the ways of God, and flatter themselves in their wickedness.
2. Scorners. Proud, jovial people, that make a jest of every thing. Scoffers at religion, that run down every thing sacred and serious.
3. Fools. Those are the worst of fools that hate to be taught, and have a rooted dislike to serious godliness. The precept is plain; Turn you at my reproof. We do not make a right use of reproofs, if we do not turn from evil to that which is good.

The promises are very encouraging. Men cannot turn by any power of their own; but God answers, Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. Special grace is needful to sincere conversion. But that grace shall never be denied to any who seek it.

The love of Christ, and the promises mingled with his reproofs, surely should have the attention of every one. It may well be asked, how long men mean to proceed in such a perilous path, when the uncertainty of life and the consequences of dying without Christ are considered? Now sinners live at ease, and set sorrow at defiance; but their calamity will come.

Now God is ready to hear their prayers; but then they shall cry in vain. Are we yet despisers of wisdom? Let us hearken diligently, and obey the Lord Jesus, that we may enjoy peace of conscience and confidence in God; be free from evil, in life, in death, and for ever.

Scripture Application

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we start the Book of Proverbs with Chapter 1. In our text today we see the outline for this book which is wisdom that keeps a man from sin.

We see these warning signs to keep a person from sins destructive. In making application we see the voice of wisdom as it speaks from the past failures of those who have fallen before. Today the world is enticing us to fall into this trap of sin. Verse 10 tells us if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. How about you? Do you see sins trap of sin? Let us learn from our text today to see the wisdom of learning from those who have fallen before in sins enticing trap.

Transgender military ban: Religious reactions to Trump banning

WASHINGTON  - Religious leaders were quick to react to President Trump’s tweeted announcement that transgender people will not be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow … Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” he wrote Wednesday (July 26) in three tweets. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming … victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”
Cheers and condemnation poured forth from religious leaders:

Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council

“I applaud President Trump for keeping his promise to return to military priorities - and not continue the social experimentation of the Obama era that has crippled our nation’s military. The military can now focus its efforts on preparing to fight and win wars rather than being used to advance the Obama social agenda.”

Tim Wildmon, president of American Family Association

“AFA applauds President Trump for his courageous decision to end the usage of our military for social engineering and political correctness. American families deserve a military that is focused solely on readiness and national defense.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League

“It’s a sad day when the President of the United States declares that transgender Americans are unwelcome in the United States military. This policy is deeply objectionable - it devalues individual Americans and is blatantly discriminatory. We’ll fight against this unpatriotic ban of transgender troops. We cannot let bigotry stop Americans from serving their country.”

Roy Speckhardt, executive director, American Humanist Association

“President Trump is dragging America backward with his attacks on transgender patriots in the military.”

Jason Torpy, president, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers

“There is little justification to oppose open Transgender service as well as full health care support for servicemen and veterans for full sexual reassignment. This order serves to harm military readiness and deeply insults already-serving transgender patriots in the military.”

Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance

“President Trump’s outrageous and bigoted ban on transgender people in the military is a gift to the Religious Right and an affront to the Constitution. Thousands of transgender Americans serve admirably in our nation’s armed services. The President’s announcement is a cruel and gratuitous attack on these service members who want nothing more than an equal opportunity to serve their country.”

Tom Spoehr, Emilie Kao and Ryan Anderson, analysts at the Heritage Foundation

“At a time when growing foreign threats are stretching our military’s resources, our priority should be on maintaining military readiness and directing taxpayer funds towards mission-critical purposes. Respecting the dignity of all people does not mean subjecting taxpayers to the tremendous medical costs of sex reassignment and allowing the enlistment of individuals whose resilience to the rigors of combat is uncertain.”

Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc Jewish Action

“President Trump’s disgusting move to ban transgender people from military service is made especially appalling by its timing, with today being the 69th anniversary of the desegregation of the U.S. military. We must call out this decision for what it is - discrimination against transgender people and a cheap attempt to gain electoral victories in 2018.”

The Rev. James Martin, Jesuit priest and author

“Transgender people are beloved children of God, seeking their way to union with God, and to self-understanding, just like all of us are.”

Rachel Held Evans, Christian author

“Every week of this administration has been awful, but this week nearly takes the cake. Transgender friends: You are loved & valued & whole.”

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church Dallas

“I applaud President Trump for exercising his judgment as Commander-in-Chief to make America safer and more secure by allowing our armed forces to concentrate on ‘decisive and overwhelming victory’ rather than serving as a petri dish for social experimentation.”

James Dobson, president, Family Talk

“It is heartening to have a commander-in-chief who puts the expert opinions of his generals and military officials ahead of the destructive forces of political correctness and identity politics. I support the president’s decision and commend this administration for having the courage to protect our military from what would only amount to an enormous and costly distraction.”

Set Leaders Free

What it takes to let leaders lead

We all have high hopes for our small groups. We want to see people growing closer to God and each other. We want to see this growth translate into the fruit of character, good works, and new people coming to faith in Jesus. Unfortunately, our desire for change and growth doesn't mean we'll see them.

While there are many factors that contribute to healthy and impactful groups, one key is having capable leaders who are given the freedom to lead. Conversely, one thing sure to stifle group health and impact is micro-managing a leader. Real leaders want to lead. When they're merely puppets, they'll become frustrated and irritated. When leaders are micromanaged, your ministry's most effective leaders will quit taking leadership positions.

To create an environment where leaders are given the freedom to lead and leaders are aligned with the mission of the church, coaches and staff must do four essential things.

Be clear about the things that are important for your church.

Creating an environment where leaders are given the freedom to lead begins long before they start leading a group. However your church has communicated what's truly important (whether you call it your mission, purpose, or DNA), you should communicate it so well that everyone in the church understands-not just your leaders. Then by the time people are ready to lead, they already understand what your church is about, and their group members have the same understanding without any additional teaching.

It's not enough, though, simply to communicate what your church is about. You need to make sure that people moving toward leadership are, in fact, aligned with your church. You don't have to give them a multiple-choice test, but you should at least have a conversation that clarifies their understanding and agreement with the core values of the church.

You'll never feel comfortable giving away leadership to someone unless you believe you're on the same page. A basketball coach wouldn't put a player on the court who couldn't articulate the play. In the same way, we can't put people into leadership positions if they can't articulate how our church has chosen to pursue the mission of Jesus together.

When you're confident someone understands this and is prepared to lead within your church's framework, it becomes much easier to let them lead.

Have a good method for selecting and training leaders.

At our church, this process is pretty organic. We don't have a 10-step process for leadership selection, but we have identified characteristics we look for in small-group leaders. Depending on the ethos of your church, this process may look like a series of conversations or a leadership class people need to complete. There is no one right way to select and train leaders, but there is a wrong way.

Here's what the wrong way looks like:
"Hey, small groups start up in two weeks and we need to offer a couple more groups."
"Okay, umm, what should we do?"
"Well, I just thought we could make an announcement on Sunday and see if anyone volunteers. If they don't, we could call people until we
find someone."


Your small groups are too important to throw just anyone into leadership! In a smaller church like ours, we can pretty easily watch people's behavior and get a good idea of who would be capable of leading. We also identify people who aren't prepared to lead right now but show many characteristics that would make them good leaders in the future. Then someone from our Leadership Team intentionally connects with them to help them develop. Larger churches may need a more delineated process for identifying and developing future leaders.


When you're confident in a person's character and abilities, it frees you to take your hands off and let them lead. On the flipside, if you believe a leader is untrustworthy or incompetent you will naturally be looking over his or her shoulder.



Cred: Trevor Lee of smallgroups

Peculiar Mercies

Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?

So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen. - Romans 9:18
Let's be clear. There is a mystery in God's story that we will never fully solve. That mystery begins in the fact that God is "rich in mercy" (Eph. 2:4), yet doesn't give his mercy to all people with the same measure. Upon some he lavishes his mercy. With others, he withholds mercy.

Romans 9 refers, in particular, to the example of God's mercy as seen in the Exodus. He showers his mercy upon Moses and the Israelites, while choosing to harden Pharaoh's heart. On the surface, this might seem capricious and unfair. But we must remember, first of all, that Pharaoh participated in the hardening of his heart. He was not a victim of divine whim, but someone who chose to reject God's will.

Moreover, we should know that God's purpose in hardening Pharaoh's heart was to display his power and fame throughout the earth (9:17). In other words, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart was part of God's plan to let the whole world know him in truth. God was working through Pharaoh so that all people might see him and ultimately be drawn to him. We will never know for sure why God chose to harden rather than soften Pharaoh's heart. But our trust in God's goodness allows us to live with this mystery.

Moreover, God chooses to show mercy according to his own will, and this fact reminds us to be grateful for what we have received. God hasn't showered his mercy upon us because we deserved it, but because of his inscrutable grace.








Mark D. Roberts is the author of several books including Can We Trust the Gospels? His article is adapted with permission from the original article "The Mystery of God's Mercy" at TheologyofWork.org. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures quoted are taken from the New Living Translation.

Prayer Requests

Today's Prayer Requests

Gloria | Please pray for me , I don't want to lose my home I been looking and looking for work and still no luck, and I don't have a clue how I'm going to pay my bills, it's a person leaving me high and dry, that is unappreciative of what I done , for him and his child now I'm left without nothing , my family at each other throats because of one evil family member which is my niece, please please please send your prayers to the Lord for me , because sometimes I feel like he just don't listen to me anymore ...signed: So heart broken .

Step w |  I'm asking God to continue to use me n prepare my tools while on my Missouri I'm asking him to financially bless me so- I can bless others

Paul Molun Hrangbung  | Please pray that Short Stay Home established for HIV+ people of Meghalaya, India may abound with the require financial supply-like the rent money, food needs etc and also that those who come & stay for a while may receive the love of Jesus as we share with them. Thank you.

Josiah Chambers || Salvation for me