Tuesday, 18 April 2017

Something to Show for a Life

PowerPoint Today - Daily Devotional with Pastor Jack Graham
 
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Dare to Believe
 
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In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

--Genesis 4:3-5

One thing I’ve noticed is that even with all of our advancements and achievements, our world is still long on war and short on peace.

The nations constantly fight and rage with one another…and people seem to be more in conflict with each other than ever before.

Have you ever wondered why there is so much terrorism and violence in the world today? And that it seems only to be growing? I think the answer is simple; violence is an evidence of a sinful nature…a nature that came through the fall of Adam and Eve.

This impact of sin even showed itself in the first set of siblings when Cain so violently killed Abel.  And after all of the millennia of history, we are still dealing with the same violence and sin.

The reason nothing has changed is that the real problem resides deep in the human heart. All of us have inherited a sinful nature from Adam and we all have the propensity to commit violent acts…even if it is only with the tongue.

This also explains why religion alone doesn’t solve the problem.  Religion is following a set of rules and traditions that are designed to make sinful people behave better. But religion can’t really change a person’s heart…and overcome a sinful nature.

Salvation from sin and its impact on life can only come from a personal relationship with the one true God through Jesus Christ—a relationship that involves a radical change of the heart.

Sin is the same problem today that it was for Adam and Eve and their children. And there is only one cure—a complete change of heart that comes through forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ.

So don’t be surprised by all the violence in the world today.  It’s the natural expression of the sinful human heart…just as it was for Cain and Abel.

The heart of our sin problem is the problem of the sinful human heart. 

Something to Show for a Life

by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”
2 Corinthians 9:6–8

The life of Harlan Sanders was certainly full. When he was a young man, he fed thousands of workers at the secret Oak Ridge nuclear weapons research facility during World War II. When he began trying to sell chicken in commercial settings, he struggled greatly financially. Then at sixty-five years of age he developed the franchise model that made Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants a fixture across America and around the world. After he sold his stake in the business, Sanders turned to philanthropic interests, establishing foundations that are still giving away millions of dollars each year nearly forty years after Sanders died. Colonel Sanders once said, “There’s no good reason to be the richest man in the cemetery.”
Each of us has the opportunity to make investments with the time, talents, and resources God has entrusted to us. We can do as little as possible, hoping to hang on to as much as we can. Or we can do as much as possible, hoping to make an eternal difference for God. The heart attitude that we have toward what we give to God’s work is the most important part—far more important than the amount of time or money we may invest. The Lord is looking for those who with a cheerful heart are sowing enough seeds to produce a bountiful harvest. These are the people who accomplish great things in the eyes of God, and live a life that makes a real difference.
 
Today’s Growth Principle: 
The decisions we make each day determine the results we will achieve with our lives.

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