The Christian Perspective

Salt Lake City has been known as the home of the world headquarters of the Mormon church since 1847, but now it is known for something else entirely different. Salt Lake City is the gayest city in the U.S, according to Advocate.com.

That title was given according to a list of the “Gayest Cities in America, 2012,” which was released Monday on Advocate.com, an lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) news website. Instead of letting census numbers dictate which cities ended up on the list, the website sought to find the “per capita queerness” of each city by using “decidedly subjective criteria” to create a formula that determined the results.

This formula consisted of adding up points – which were assigned to cities based on things like the number of LGBT elected city officials, number of WNBA teams and the number of nude yoga classes – and then dividing that number by each city’s population.  Read More

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A few years ago, my husband and I were waiting for our dinner to arrive in a Thai restaurant, when a movement at the next table caught my eye. An older couple was finishing up their meal. The man was settling the check, and the woman was fishing two plastic containers out of her purse.

She shoveled their leftovers into the containers, wrapped them in a reused plastic bag (also from her purse), and proudly carted her DIY doggy bag out of the restaurant.

I felt embarrassed for them. Who could be so penurious as to bring their own doggy bag to the restaurant? Couldn’t they just enjoy the meal? Was it really so wasteful to use a restaurant’s takeout boxes for your leftovers?

“Let’s not ever become those people,” I told my husband.

Of course, the scene wouldn’t have bothered me save that I could easily see us becoming that couple. We were both raised in Christian families by parents who taught us the values of thrift and stewardship that we gratefully practice to this day.

Another way of putting this: There are jokes about people of both our ethnic backgrounds being cheap.

I married a wonderful man who will put even two spoonfuls of leftover macaroni and cheese in a tiny container in the fridge. That container will then, sometimes, migrate to the back of the fridge and begin sprouting colorful mold flowers. This is not all bad. For one thing, a full refrigerator uses energy more efficiently than an empty one. But it shows how, despite best thrifty intentions, food waste happens.

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Listen to today’s radio program!

Years ago, we went snorkeling in Hawaii with one of the local guys who knew the water really well. We were cruising along when we came to a net, and inside the net was a shark. The shark wasn’t moving, so we all got really close to get a better look at it. Then our guide proceeded to pull out his knife and start cutting the net to let the shark out. All of a sudden, the shark came back to life. If people could have walked on water-better yet, run on water-we would have done it right there. The animal was turning on the very one who was saving him.

That is how some people are. You try to help them, and they turn on you. It the whole idea Jesus was speaking of when He said, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” (Matthew 7:6Matthew 7:6
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6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  

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Sometimes people don’t want to hear what we have to say. If you are talking with someone about your faith, and they say, “You know what? Actually I really don’t want to hear about Jesus Christ. Just go away,” the natural inclination is to press on. But if someone doesn’t appreciate the holy truths of God, then don’t waste your breath. Go find someone who actually wants to hear it.

The Bible says that when Jesus was brought before King Herod, He did not say a word. Why? Because King Herod didn’t want to hear the truth, and Jesus knew that.

There are some people who simply don’t want to hear it. However, there are other people who do. So we need to pray for discernment to know one from the other.

Have Pastor Greg’s devotionals blessed you? Write to let him know at Greg@harvest.org!

©2010 Harvest Ministries; All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000

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“Making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:16Ephesians 5:16
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16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  

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Evil days call for good behavior.

The days we live in are certainly full of evil. Read any newspaper, and you’ll know what I mean. Can you imagine how it breaks God’s heart to create a perfect world, filled with every good thing, and then see it become as corrupt, debauched, and vile as it is today? Can you imagine how it must be for God to watch Christians who, in the midst of this evil world, are given opportunities to do good, yet bypass them without notice? The days are evil, and God gives us these opportunities to make things happen that matter—to fill up at least one moment of every day with something good, something righteous, something for Him.

“Because the days are evil,” the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:16Ephesians 5:16
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16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  

WP-Bible plugin, it’s important to walk wisely and make the most of our time. When opportunities for goodness do come, we should seize them. When God gives us an occasion to glorify Him (which in turn will bring a blessing on us), we must take the opportunity for His name’s sake. We must seize it in the midst of an evil day.

When I think of how God’s heart is broken over the evil of a world that He made for His own glory, I say to myself, If God gives me one small opportunity in the midst of an evil day to do something good, something to honor Him, or something to glorify Him, I’m going to grab that opportunity. Since the days are evil and it seems as though goodness is so scarce, you and I need to take every opportunity we can for manifesting goodness.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask the Lord to help you be aware of more opportunities that you can seize for manifesting goodness.

For Further Study:

According to Genesis 6:5Genesis 6:5
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5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. every...: or, the whole imagination: the Hebrew word signifieth not only the imagination, but also the purposes and desires continually: Heb. every day  

WP-Bible plugin, what did the Lord see in the days of Noah? What effect did that have on God (v. 6)? According to Hebrews 11:7Hebrews 11:7
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7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. moved...: or, being wary  

WP-Bible plugin, what did Noah do? What effect did Noah have on the world?

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

Additional Resources

• Free Sermon Downloads
• Strength for Today
• NAS MacArthur Study Bible (Hardcover)

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The beginning of the New Year is reigniting debate over the prediction of the end of the world, connected to the end of the ancient Mayan calendar.

Space.Com reported last month that the Mesoamerican civilization recorded a 365-day calendar not unlike the modern Gregorian version. The Mayans measured time with a short-count calendar lasting 52 years, and a long-count version completed every 5,125 years. Some believe that the end of the long-count cycle on Dec. 21, 2012ec. 21, 2012
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Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin marks the apocalypse given the Mayan calendar stops on that date.

“This long-count calendar is coming to an end on Dec. 21,” said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object program office at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to Space.com last month. “Of course, a new calendar would start on Dec. 22. It would be like saying our calendar ends on Dec. 31, and that’s the end of time, the end of days, that’s it, no regard for how a new cycle would begin.” Read More

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“God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.”, Philippians 2:9Philippians 2:9
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9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  

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God exalted Christ by giving Him a new name.

In today’s verse a question that arises is, What is the name that is above every name? To be consistent with Scripture, it has to be a name that goes beyond merely distinguishing one person from another. It has to be a name that describes Christ’s nature—revealing something of His inner being.

Only such a name would cause Him to be clearly ranked above all others. Paul wasn’t referring to a comparative name, but a superlative name—one that would set Christ above and beyond all comparison.

Change of name in Scripture indicates the commencement of a unique relationship. When God established His covenant with Abram, He changed his name to “Abraham” (Gen. 17:5Gen. 17:5
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5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. Abraham: that is, Father of a great multitude  

WP-Bible plugin). When God entered into a unique relationship with Jacob, He gave Him the name “Israel” (Gen. 32:22-32Gen. 32:22-32
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22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. ²³ And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. sent them: Heb. caused to pass ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. breaking...: Heb. ascending of the morning ²⁵ And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. ²⁷ And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. ²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. Israel: that is, A prince of God ²⁹ And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. ³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Peniel: that is, The face of God ³¹ And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. ³² Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.  

WP-Bible plugin). In the New Testament, Jesus called a man named Simon to follow Him, then gave him a new name: Peter (Matt. 16:18Matt. 16:18
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18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Peter: this name signifies a rock  

WP-Bible plugin). Those names were given to mark a definite stage in a person’s life.

God has done that throughout redemptive history. Philippians 2:9Philippians 2:9
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9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  

WP-Bible plugin affirms that God gave Christ a name. He already had many names—Jesus, Christ, Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah—but He received a new name.

Some assume that the new name is Jesus because verse 10 says, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” But that wasn’t a new name; it was bestowed at birth (see Matt. 1:21Matt. 1:21
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21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. JESUS: that is, Saviour, Heb  

WP-Bible plugin). Nor is the name Jesus above every other name (there have been a lot of people named Jesus).

The only name mentioned in Philippians 2:9Philippians 2:9
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9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  

WP-Bible plugin-11 that is above every name is Lord. In verse 11 Paul says, “Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” That is the only name God gave Christ that is above every name. Whoever is Lord is in control.

Let us exalt Christ our Lord by offering Him praise and living a holy life.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank Christ for being Lord of the universe as well as Lord of your life.

For Further Study:

Read Psalm 2. What are the key aspects? Is everyone happy about Christ’s position?

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

Additional Resources

• Free Sermon Downloads
• Strength for Today
• NAS MacArthur Study Bible (Hardcover)

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