Zondervan Inspire

The Genius of Jesus

From the Editor: What a friend we have in Jesus. Not just an ordinary friend, but the master of the universe.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Jesus' contribution to human knowledge extended widely. In Finding God Beyond Harvard, Kelly Kullberg writes, "Jesus taught a culture how to value women and children. He understood ancient empires, Rome, agriculture and the natural world, ethics and human relations. He taught how a life of gratitude yields the fruit of health, joy, and purposefulness. He was a skilled carpenter. He even taught Peter a few things about fishing.

"He also lived with authority. He didn't teach chemistry; he turned water into wine. He didn't teach weather patterns; he calmed a storm. He didn't teach medicine; he healed hurting people and instructed his followers to heal in his name. He didn't teach moral philosophy; he forgave and enabled us to forgive. He didn't teach a course on world hunger; he fed the multitudes and commanded his followers to feed them also." Read More from This Book.

 

From A Faith and Culture Devotional: Daily Readings on Art, Science, and Life by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington


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Worth Betting the Farm On

From the Editor: I can't think of a better post to close out the year with. I'll still be sending out the Daily Inspiration emails, but I won't be posting on the blog again until Monday, January 5, as I'll be taking some needed time off.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

There is simply no one more worth trusting that Jesus. There is no one whose understanding of life has come close to his. There is no one who affected history like him. There is simply no other source — no book, no guru, no hunch, no personal experience — worth betting the farm on. As Elton Trueblood so well said, "A Christian is a person who, with all the honesty of which he is capable, becomes convinced that the fact of Jesus Christ is the most trustworthy that he knows in his entire universe of discourse."

Jesus is in the life-changing business. From the very beginning all kinds of people were drawn to him and would come to him — satisfied people, messed-up people, lepers and injured people, forgotten people, despised people, prostitutes, tax collectors, admired people, wealthy people, religious leaders. There was something about this man Jesus that made their hearts cave in and then be born again. Read More from This Book.

 

From Faith and Doubt by John Ortberg

 

Follow Me

From the Editor: As Jesus called people to be his disciples when He walked the earth, so he's still calling people to follow Him today.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:57–62). Listen to Luke 9:49–62 and Watch the Inspiring Video.

 

From Inspired By ... The Bible Experience™: The Complete Bible Now Including the Complete TNIV Bible Text to Read Along.

 

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Technorati tags: Blair Underwood, Bible, Angela Bassett, Free MP3 Downloads, Jesus, Zondervan

Surely I Will Help You Now

From the Editor: In these times of trouble, it's good to know that God is there for us.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

This morning may each of us hear the Lord Jesus speak to us, saying, "'I myself will help you.' It's a small thing for Me, as your God, to help you in your time of need, especially when you consider what I’ve done for you already. What! Not help you? I bought you with My blood. What! Not help you? I died for you, and if I've already done what is greater, will I now not do what is less? Help you? This is the very least I will ever do for you, for I have done much more for you in the past and will do much more for you in the future.

"Before the world began I chose you and made the covenant for you. I set My glory aside and become a man for you, and then I laid down My life for you. If I did all this, surely I will help you now...." —Charles Spurgeon. Read More from This Book

 

From Look Unto Me: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon by Jim Reimann

 

Let Your Light Shine

From the Editor: Let us let our light shine before others this holiday season.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). Listen to Blair Underwood as Jesus (Matthew 5:14–22) and Watch the Inspiring Video.

 

From Inspired By ... The Bible Experience™: The Complete Bible

 

He Wants You to Be with Him

From the Editor: This picture reminds me of some of the children I ministered to in El Salvador two summers ago. It was amazing to watch them respond to God’s love.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Jesus places a high value on his relationship with us. How high a value? He died on the cross to make a relationship with him possible (see John 15:13). He wants us to be with him where he is for all eternity (see John 17:24). Look again at these two facts, and let them overwhelm you for just a moment: He died for you. He wants you to be with him.

The way in which Jesus values his relationship with us is one of the greatest motivations for pursuing stronger relationships with each other. John puts it this way: "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other" (1 John 4:11). Read More from This Book.

 

From The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay

 

Build on the Rock

From the Editor: Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Obedience provides a foundation in our lives that will enable us to weather the storms.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for those who come to me and hear my words and put them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But those who hear my words and do not put them into practice are like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete" (Luke 6:46–49). Listen to Luke 6:41–49.

Extra: Listen to Denzel Washington in Song of Songs

From Inspired By ... The Bible Experience™: The Complete Bible

His Very Best

From the Editor: I believe our definition of what is “best” needs to change. God values our faith, which is “of greater worth than gold.” God’s best can mean painful and uncomfortable trials (1 Peter 1:3-7).

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

It seems the entire world is searching for happiness, love, and fulfillment. Yet so many of us search for these things everywhere except where they truly can be found — in God alone. Even as believers in Him, we as Christians often have a warped view of God, seeing Him as somewhat stingy, carefully doling out His blessings — a little here and a little there. Yet the apostle Paul wrote, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

In essence, Paul is asking us this question, "Isn't it absurd to think that if God gave us the very life of His Son, that there is anything He would willingly withhold from us? After all, He has already given us the very best!"

From Look Unto Me: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon

by Jim Reimann

Divine Authority to Forgive

From the Editor: Whenever I encounter someone who says that Jesus is not God, this passage that so clearly points to the divinity of Jesus often comes to mind.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God (Luke 5:20–25).
Listen to Luke 5:17–25  |  Watch the Inspiring Video

From Inspired By ... The Bible Experience™: The Complete Bible

Prepare the Way

From the Editor: As we enter another Christmas season, let us prepare the way for God in our lives.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

"A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God's salvation'" (Luke 3:2b–6).
Listen to Luke 3:1–9  |  Watch the Inspiring Video

From Inspired By ... The Bible Experience™: The Complete Bible