The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.  —Proverbs 28:1 In 1996, Reverend Joe Wright, pastor of a large church in Wichita, Kansas, bravely stepped to the microphone of the Kansas House of Representatives to open a session in prayer. But it wasn’t the generic prayer to which the congressmen were accustomed. In part, he said: “We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.... “In the name of choice, we have killed the unborn. In the name of right to life, we have killed the abortionists.... “We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.” He then asked for wisdom and forgiveness and closed the prayer in Jesus’ name. As you can imagine, Wright’s prayer caused quite an uproar. But he stood strong...and said he wouldn’t apologize for stating what was true. In today’s secular and Godless culture, we need more people like Reverend Wright to take a bold stand for Jesus...people who aren’t afraid of declaring and defending the truth of God as revealed in His Word. Are you one of those people? When was the last time you took a stand for Christ? Maybe it wasn’t in front of a room full of congressmen, but perhaps in a personal conversation with an unbelieving friend. Today, I want to challenge you to memorize the verse at the beginning of this devotional, and live it out in your daily life. As a believer, you have the truth on your side! So you can be as bold as a lion as you live the Christian life. PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask the Lord to help you be bold and strong in your witness for Him.  Visit the Senior Living Ministries website The post Make a Stand for Jesus – Senior Living – August 28 appeared first on GodUpdates.

As a believer, you have the truth on your side! So you can be as bold as a lion as you live the Christian life.

Many pastors have longed for a taste of Charles Spurgeon’s preaching gifts and ministry success, but few have desired the pronounced suffering that accompanied them. Spurgeon’s published sermons show him a master of preaching to distressed souls, but he had to be distressed himself to do so. Sufferings were not coincidental or unfortunate in a pastor’s life; for Spurgeon, ministry and suffering were theologically connected, the pastoral package deal. Spurgeon argued suffering is necessary for faithful ministry, because of the distinctive relationship pastors have with Christ—they were his conduits of God’s grace to others. In preaching the gospel of Christ’s sufferings, they would become like Christ in his sufferings. Suffering is also necessary for ministers because of its benefits: it makes pastors experience the truths they preach to their people, keeps them humble, and gives them the sympathy necessary for their labors. All-Out Ministry Spurgeon’s life was filled with a mix of sufferings that came upon him in his remarkable ministry. For example, he preached more than 10,000 times, sometimes preaching while so sick that he had to be carried from the pulpit. His popularity and growing church created never-ending duties, but he did not skirt or delegate what he believed were key pastoral responsibilities. Spurgeon insisted ease in ministry is evidence of a false ministry, which will be hard to account for at the judgment seat of Christ: “The man who finds the ministry an easy life will also find that it will bring a hard death.” True ministers would have the marks of “stern labor” upon them; this was necessary, for how else were God’s people—sheep with many spiritual needs and diseases, who often rambled far and caused great trouble to their shepherds—to be adequately cared for? The pastor at ease was usually the one content to let a few sheep die! Spurgeon insisted ease in ministry is evidence of a false ministry. Spurgeon’s comments on strain in ministry must be appreciated in light of his practice of rest and renewal. For example, beginning in 1871, Spurgeon took yearly trips to Menton, France, for convalescence and recovery, usually for two months at a time. He taught and practiced rest for the sake of long-term usefulness. His strong remarks about strain in ministry are thus more related to his vision for pastoral identity than a superhuman prescription for pastoral practice. Blessings of Necessary Sufferings Aside from embracing strain in ministry, Spurgeon suffered a variety of other trials: various physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sorrows. His gout and other ailments caused him great pain and often took him out of regular pastoral duties for weeks at a time beginning in 1867, with his health steadily deteriorating from 1879 to 1892. His mental sufferings were also deeply challenging, especially his lifelong battle with depression, insomnia, and intense mood swings that came after the Surrey Music Hall disaster. Spurgeon believed suffering could benefit believers in various ways, and he particularly reflected on the good a variety of evils could produce for pastors. In times of ease and prosperity, pastors might rely on themselves and not look to God’s promises, consider eternity, or lean on the strength that comes from the Spirit. Through suffering, pastors learn to live the truths they preach. Spurgeon asked, “Does a man know any gospel truth aright till he knows it by experience?” Through suffering, pastors learn to live the truths they preach. Spurgeon’s theology of ministry ought to be the primary lens through which we see his sufferings, rather than his sufferings being seen as a decisive factor in shaping his ministry. His view of ministry led to his sufferings, motivated him to continue despite them, and was the consistent lens through which he interpreted the trials he patiently bore. Pastors also had to suffer particularly for their particular people. The pastor was to be the epitome of his people’s lives, undergoing their temptations that he might heal them, feeling their sorrows that he might comfort them. In their spiritual experience, “God’s sheep ramble far, and we have to go after them; and sometimes the shepherds go where they themselves would never roam if they were not in pursuit of lost sheep.” Pastors should interpret their temptations and trials as fitting them for ministry to their particular people. Spurgeon’s Insights for Today What does a minister do with his seemingly random physical, mental, and emotional vexations? How should a pastor respond to what appears to be an out-of-nowhere and troubling temptation? Does an intractable group at your church aiming for your resignation mean it’s time to look elsewhere? Spurgeon wisely directs those undergoing such bewildering trials toward immensely encouraging truths about a pastor’s identity: the pastor’s suffering is fulfilling his likeness to Christ, producing his humility, helping him experience what he preaches, and giving him sympathy for his tempted and tried people. In short, a pastor’s sufferings make him more like the Master he serves and more effective in his service.

People in every generation struggle to find their identity. According to a study by Horowitz Research and Vox Media, two in five Gen Zers want to be asked who they are. This is a shift away from wanting to be told who they are by society. This generation wants to own their identity. The study also revealed Gen Z prefers labels based on personality traits and preferences rather than on society’s emphasis on gender, race, and physical characteristics. The approach is more subjective, yet Gen Z’s preferences are just another version of the pursuit of identity based on superficial characteristics. Sarah Rice’s Gospel-Shaped Womanhood: How Losing Yourself and Finding Your Identity in Christ Changes Everything offers a countercultural perspective on identity. Books, social media, and podcasts offer women endless tips on how to be better versions of themselves. The prevailing culture teaches women to pursue salvation through self-definition and self-sufficiency. In contrast, Rice points women toward dependence on the God who created them. She argues we should find our identity in Christ. Gospel-Shaped Worth At a surface level, claiming our identity is in Christ “can seem like a trite theological simplification of our unique personhood” (25). However, Rice argues, “Our quest to find ourselves is driven by two bigger questions that plague us as women: Do I possess true worth? and What are the sources and measures of my worth?” (25). These questions require deep thinking and complex answers. Why are questions about worth so common? It’s because deep down we all feel unworthy. And, in reality, we are. In some circles, feeling unworthy is the sanitized substitute for sinfulness. That leads to the lie that Christianity should be about building our confidence. Yet when we struggle with our worth, it may be that we’re being convicted of our sinfulness before a holy God. It matters where we find our worth. Christ makes us worthy through the gospel. Our worth comes from him, not from our labels, our achievements, or ourselves. Christ makes us worthy through the gospel. Our worth comes from him, not from our labels, our achievements, or our selves. We’re measured by God’s standard, but as Rice points out, “Incredibly, Christ’s righteousness is credited to us, so that when God looks at believers, he sees the perfection of his Son rather than image-bearers marred by sin. In Christ, our position is worthiness before God, and his heart is full of affection toward us” (33). In Christ, women have gospel-shaped worth. Gospel-Shaped Empowerment Feminism promises to provide more rights and opportunities for women. At one level, this is biblical. The Bible teaches that women are image-bearers of God and are equal to men in worth and personhood. We can celebrate the good things women’s empowerment has wrought. However, the focus of women’s empowerment is often not simple equality. Rice explains, Largely, feminism is a movement of women seeking to empower women for the sake of fulfilling and glorifying women. . . . Christianity, on the other hand, is a movement of God by which the Spirit empowers women to know their true identity and fulfill a mission that’s bigger and more glorious than themselves” (48). Gospel-shaped women find freedom in living Spirit-empowered lives. Female empowerment often promises more than it can deliver. Rice argues, “Women cannot ultimately right all that is wrong. Women cannot remedy the human condition or redeem the cosmos. We cannot heal all the wounds of abuse and set every captive free” (52). Instead, we’re invited to trust in an unlimited God who knows all the abuses women have suffered and will make all things right and new through the sacrifice of his Son (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ is the example for women who seek to honor him. He denied himself. Similarly, Christian women should deny themselves. But this conflicts with many modern notions of womanhood, which equate “female empowerment with autonomy—a woman’s freedom to submit only to herself. Jesus, however, says real freedom comes only by knowing him and abiding in his Word through continual trust and obedience” (51). Gospel-shaped empowerment frees us from focusing on ourselves, because we see Christ’s example of self-denial. That empowerment leads to the transformation of every aspect of life. Gospel-Shaped Self In Strange New World, Carl Trueman writes, “The modern self assumes the authority of inner feelings and sees authenticity as defined by the ability to give social expression to the same.” As we’ve seen, this conflicts with what Scripture teaches about our identity. Christ is the example for women who seek to honor him. He denied himself. Similarly, Christian women should deny themselves. Our identity isn’t ours to own or create. Our Creator defines it. Authenticating our personhood via societal approval has no place in a Christian’s notion of identity formation. Rice says, “The goal of Christian women is not to be remembered but to faithfully serve a Savior who will never be forgotten” (177). A Christian woman doesn’t seek societal approval of her actions; she seeks the approval of her Savior who has already granted this through her new identity in the gospel. This foundational theme isn’t unique to Rice, but it’s necessary in a culture that consistently pulls in the opposite direction. Gospel-Shaped Womanhood is helpful because it begins the identity discussion on the most basic level. It makes a good prerequisite for reading books like Melissa Kruger’s Growing Together, which covers a broader spectrum of discipleship topics. Rice takes a simpler theological approach than Jen Wilkin’s In His Image, which begins with God’s communicable attributes as our foundation for identity. Those looking for a ground-floor entry into questions of identity will benefit from Rice’s book. This is a resource I’ll use for discipling women, especially new believers, on the nature of the gospel and how that affects every part of life, not just eternal salvation. And as Gen Z’s view of identity transitions away from the outer self to the inner, this book can help equip these young women to love the Lord their God with all their heart and mind.

Don Carson continues his lecture on the Olivet Discourse from Matthew 24:29–44, focusing on Jesus’s return as the culmination of his reign, which began with his birth and continues through his resurrection and ascension. Drawing from Daniel 7:13–14, Carson highlights the eschatological significance of Jesus’s victory over Satan and the signs preceding his return. Given the suddenness and unpredictability of Christ’s return, believers must remain vigilant and balanced in their understanding of the second coming.

The third anniversary of the ISIS-K bombing of Abbey Gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan- which left 13 U.S. service members dead and wounded many others, came and went with barely a mention from the Regime Media beyond Donald Trump’s observance of the grim anniversary at Arlington National Cemetery. The strongest acknowledgement of that withdrawal comes from an unlikely source. Watch as NBC Nightly News closes out their newscast with a report on the Afghan Youth Orchestra (click “expand” to view full transcript): NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 8/28/24 6:56 PM TOM LLAMAS: Finally, they come from a place where music has been banned, but after a daring escape these young people are finding harmony in a whole new place. Here's Richard Engel. RICHARD ENGEL: In the city of Braga, known as “the Rome of Portugal”, where tradition and history run deep, members of the Afghan Youth Orchestra are keeping their country's rich musical traditions alive. Because in Afghanistan now, this -- is a crime. Three years ago as U.S. troops left Afghanistan, the Taliban seized power. MUSICIAN: It was like we were dead. RICHARD ENGEL: You felt like you were dead? MUSICIAN: Yes, of course. ENGEL: For cousins Farida and Zora Ahmadi, it was a threat to their very existence. They were students at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music, established in 2010 in Kabul. The school was a direct challenge to the Taliban's extremism. For years the group tried to silence them, even dispatching a suicide bomber to a performance. So when the Taliban returned as rulers, the music stopped. The school's director, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, orchestrated a miracle, a mass evacuation of students and staff.  AHMAD SARMAST: It’s an opportunity for our students to dream once again. ENGEL: Today, the school and orchestra live on in Portugal, and their sacrifices are being recognized with an invitation to play Carnegie hall. It was bittersweet for Zora. ZORA: We were happy and sad at the same time. ENGEL: Sad for those left behind in Afghanistan where music remains banned and girls are not allowed more than a sixth grade education. The orchestra is fighting back with instruments. This August, they made it to New York City. STUDENT: Welcome to Carnegie Hall! No one has silenced us. ENGEL: Each concert is a protest. SARLAST: Each note is a protest. ENGEL: Bringing them one step closer, perhaps, to returning music and hope to their homeland. Richard Engel, NBC News. LLAMAS: We thank Richard for that special story. At first blush, this appears to be a story about the resilience of this youth orchestra that fled their country in order to remain together and play together- a rolling act of defiance of the Taliban and their prohibitions of music. But ever present is the fact that we, the United States, allowed the Taliban to return to power. It seems like a tiny blurb within the video but that’s all it takes. Three years ago, the Biden Administration implemented a withdrawal that failed, and got many people hurt. Some of them permanently. Some of them, fatally.  That barely-acknowledged capitulation is what enabled both the Taliban’s return to power, and the displacement of the youth orchestra. That reality is inescapable, even to a Regime Media that might wish it weren’t so.  

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