DAILY, WEEKEND, AND HOLIDAY INTERNET EVANGELIZE TO THE WORLD MINISTRY

February 27: Reality Can Bite Leviticus 23–25; John 10:1–21 ; Song of Solomon 8:6–9 Reality shows are all about people who are known or want to be known—they have celebrity syndrome. The root cause of this obsession is probably, like most things, a disconnect from our Maker . As people disconnect from the God who made us, we seek affirmation from other sources. And as wrong as this desire may be, our culture makes it feel like second nature. The Jewish people Jesus spoke to also felt displaced. They were people who had lost touch with their guide—their shepherd. Jesus is the answer to their call. Echoing Ezekiel 34:11–24 , He says, “I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.” But Jesus goes one step further by adding, “and I lay down my life for the sheep” ( John 10:14–15 ). Jesus promises that He will know us, and by echoing the very words of God , He is claiming that He is the God of Israel — ...

Bible in a Year :   Numbers 17:1–19:1-22     Mark 6:30–56

Rev. Lynwood F. Mundy James 4:13-17 Insight  James warns the rich against arrogant boasting, a worldly and materialistic outlook, and exploiting the poor ( James 4:13–17 ;  James 5:1–6 ). Instead of helping believers who were suffering because of persecution, rich believers were exploiting them ( James 2:5–7 ). In contrast, we’re to use our material wealth to do good ( James 4:15–17 ). James reminded self-confident and arrogant wealthy believers who believed they had the future in their hands not only to be aware of the uncertainties, brevity, and frailty of life but also to trust in God who controls it ( James 4:14 ). Alluding to Christ’s parable of the rich man in  Luke 12:16–21 , he warns that trusting in their own selves is sin. The apostle Paul gave similar advice in  1 Timothy 6:17–19 .

By: Rev. Lynwood F. Mundy James 4:13–17 Do Not Boast About Tomorrow 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow ( M   let us )   we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit” ;   14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? ( Job 7:7; Ps. 102:3; 1 Pet. 1:24 )  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.   15 Instead, you ought to say, ( Acts 18:21; 1 Cor. 4:19 )  “I f the Lord wills , we shall live and do this or that.”   16 But now you boast in your arrogance. ( 1 Cor. 5:6 )  All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, ( [ Luke 12:47 ]; John 9:41; 2 Pet. 2:21 )  to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.   The New King James Version . Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Print.

Change The older I get, the more resistant to change I am. The other day I was saying to Susan, “I wish there was a drive-in theater around here so we could go to a movie.” Never mind the fact that now we can see whatever movie we want by going to an indoor theater or renting one, both of which we never get around to doing. I wanted to return to the “good ol’ days” and see a movie the way we did when we were first married. Change, even change for the better, can be difficult to accept. For instance, the other day I read that some members of the deaf community are slow to accept the introduction of cochlear implants—a [device] that helps many deaf children hear. This [device], according to Jack Wheeler, the CEO of the Deafness research foundation, “could conquer newborn deafness in America.” At first glance, this news is great news! Deaf children will be able to hear. But not to some of the leaders in the deaf community who call the use of the implant “cultural genocide” and e...

Reflect & Pray When facing [a] sudden change, how do you respond? What do you think an appropriate faith response to life’s surprises should look like? Father , forgive me for the times I worry over things I couldn’t anticipate or can’t control and help me to find my rest in You .

Thursday, February 27, 2020, | Triodion and Great Lent First Thursday of Great Lent Dark Vestments Old Testament Isaiah 2:11–22 Old Testament Genesis 2:4–19 Old Testament Proverbs 3:1–18   Byzantine Lectionary (Gregorian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print. Thu, Feb 27, 2020 (Feb 14, 2020) | Triodion and Great Lent Cheesefare Thursday Epistle Jude 11–25 Gospel Luke 23:2–34, 44–56   Byzantine Lectionary (Julian) . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print. Thursday, February 27, 2020, | Triodion and Great Lent Cheesefare Thursday Epistle Jude 11–25 Gospel Luke 23:2–34, 44–56   Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) . Faithlife; Bellingham, WA, 2015; 2015. Print.