Daily Devotional – November 1

Christian Truth

Romans 1:19-26 describes the progressive slide into moral degeneration that any culture experiences once they reject God as creator. Once a creator is denied, people start worshipping (making the object of their adoration) the creation instead of the creator. Romans chapter 1 states that the next step along this path is the distortion of sexuality from its obvious design to a distortion of sexuality in all possible forms. As we look at our degenerating society, the rampant spread of pornography, sexual promiscuity, and homosexuality is everywhere apparent. In the Western world today, this rejection of God has reached such a fantasy level that people have come to believe that they can even change their own sex from male to female (or vice versa) – even though every cell in their body testifies to their actual sex.

Pornography drives this sexual distortion and immorality. Forty million Americans between the ages of 12–60 visit porn sites on a regular basis.2 Not only is pornography widespread (with an estimated $12 billion dollars in 2017 sales), but it is celebrated and promoted as normal by the entertainment media. Yet, there is a deep internal shame experienced by those addicted to pornography. Those caught in the progressively degenerating trap of porn find themselves increasingly obsessed with the habit to the exclusion of healthy relationships and other productive activities. It is no wonder so few have time to ponder the reality of creation and God’s existence.

In one way, porn addiction is like the worst illness of the Old Testament - leprosy. Leprosy was a source of shame and hidden from others as long as possible. Once identified, lepers were cut off from healthy relationships and banished from society. Whether leprosy or porn, the victim struggles with shame. So what is the solution to porn addiction? The starting place is the return to acknowledging that all forms of sexual perversion are sinful - whether premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality, or pornography. Then, return God to the object of your adoration, find a way to hold yourself accountable, and allow God to transform your mind.  An excellent resource to help with this is a small book called Seven Times by Keith Grabill.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

~ Romans 12:2 Biology

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 22

Christian Truth

Did you realize the Chinese have known about a single Creator God for more than 4000 years? From the beginning of their history, the ancient Chinese worshipped a being they called “ShangDi” and acknowledged Him as the Creator of the universe and all life. ShangDi means “God above” or “Most High God.”

For more than 4000 years ago, the Chinese emperors also sacrificed an unblemished bull to ShangDi. Once a year, the emperor would sacrifice an unblemished bull in a ceremony accompanied by prayers and hymns of praise. This was called the border sacrifice. This sacrifice was originally done on the eastern border on top of Mount Tai in Shan- Dong. In the 15th century it was moved to Beijing, and the Temple of Heaven Complex was built for this purpose. (Today, the Altar of Heaven complex is a prime tourist attraction, and few people concern themselves with its origin and meaning.) Do you see the parallel with the practices of the ancient Israelites? Where did Adam make an offering to God and teach his sons to do the same? It was likely at the border of the Garden of Eden that they were forbidden to enter. Why sacrifice a perfect (unblemished) bull? This pointed to the sacrificial death of Jesus. The emperors continued doing this for thousands of years without realizing the significance of their actions. They had not been told that the sacrifice of the sinless Son of God (Jesus) had already taken place as a once-andfor- all payment for their sins. It was not until 1911 when the last emperor was deposed that the annual border sacrifices were stopped .

How did the Chinese know about a righteous, just, Creator God who required payment for their sinfulness? After the Flood of Noah’s day, people began to multiply on the Earth. After the Flood, the people built a tower, the Tower of Babel. God confused their languages and scattered them abroad. As the ancestors of the Chinese left the Tower of Babel, they settled in China, but they brought with them the same knowledge of God that the Hebrews had learned from their common ancestor – Noah. The ancient Chinese worshipped the God of the Bible; it was the faith of their fathers.

When the whole nation is guilty... the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.

~ Leviticus 4:13,15

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – October 11

Christian Truth

A recent study of beliefs in Iceland revealed that there was not a single individual under the age of 25 who believed in creation! In America, two-thirds of all church-going young people leave the church once they leave for college. Our young people are being taken captive by the “empty philosophies of this world.” How do we stop this loss of the next generation? A study on the brushing of teeth may give us some insight.

In a controlled study, one group of young people was told why brushing their teeth was good for them. A second group was given the same information but also warned that false reports would try to convince them that teeth-brushing was harmful to their teeth and told how to refute such lies. Then both groups were exposed to the misinformation. The results were stunning. Those that were told ONLY the benefit of brushing were far less likely to consistently brush than those who were both warned that they would be lied to about the dangers of brushing and told how to refute this misinformation.

Christians need to understand the implications of this simple study. For our young people to hold onto their faith and not be taken captive, they need to hear both the why the Bible is true AND to be warned about the lies the enemy will say about it. Young people need to understand the Christian worldview as well as the lies from other worldviews that attack Christian truth - such as Evolutionism, Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Communism, and Islam. All are widespread and rapidly increasing “empty philosophies” that are prevalent in our culture today.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,

~ Colossians 2:8a

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – September 17

Christian Truth

It is often AFTER the children leave home that parents wonder why their children have ditched the faith. One blogging mother, Natasha Crain, proposed a discerning question to determine whether your child is headed for the exit door or not.

Is your child asking you questions about Christianity? If they are not, they are headed for trouble!

• Just because they are not asking questions doesn’t mean they have answers to faith questions.
• They may have never been shown why Christianity is so radically different (and more logical) than other religious beliefs - including humanism and atheism.
• They may have already made the shift away from Christianity because of science indoctrination. Youngsters of Christian families experience real inner turmoil when experts sources contradict the Bible. Christian students believe and trust their teachers, as they should; however, we need to help them understand why the teacher has to teach from a non-biblical perspective.

If they are not asking questions about their faith, then when they leave home, they have a good chance of ditching the faith. Statistics find that around 2/3 of children who grew up in Christian homes are leaving the church.

Parents must be the first, at a young age, to challenge them on why they believe what they believe--why they did not evolve from green slime-- then you will know where they stand in their faith walk. Many parents are lulled into a false belief that their children are toeing the line until they leave home. Are your children asking questions about Christianity? If not, challenge them.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

~ 3 John 4

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – September 1

Christian Truth

Not everything we observe in our world has scientific explanations. The following is the testimony of a Nepal Christian as recorded by missionary Paul Michaels:

A teenager named Dal Bahadar had been cheating death for several years while traveling high into the Himalayan Mountains in search of yartsa gunbu treasure. He was young and strong - so why should he be afraid? On one trip, after searching and finding several days worth of the elusive worm-like parasitic fungus, he suddenly felt an oppressive weight come upon his legs and fell to the ground. For the next three days, the rest of his body felt quite normal while his legs continued to bear a weight that pinned him to the snow. Eventually, he realized that he was encountering a spiritual force. As soon as he bowed to his new lord, he was able to get up and travel back to his village. It was the beginning of being possessed with an evil spirit that chose to randomly empower Dal Bahadar to heal those who were sick. He became an influential “witchdoctor” fo rhis region.

Why he was chosen was as much a mystery as the powers that would unpredictably overcome him for the next seven years. Once these powers were newly manifested, his father-in-law sent him to a cave-dwelling Shaman to hone his powers. Some may think that possessing such power is a high calling, but Dal Bahadar found it to be a life of constant torment. He was continually sick and was trapped to serve his ruthless spiritual ruler. Possessing healing powers led others to revere him, but the physical and spiritual oppression drove his wife to find another man, and her abandonment only added to his torment.

Then one day a man from his village, Bhem, who had also been tormented with years of sickness, was made well by another healer. Everyone in the village was curious. How did this happen? Bhem told them, “A more powerful Ruler had healed him.” He had been told of the Redeemer-King, Jesus, and he believed in him. When Dal Bahadar heard this news, he begged Bhem to take him to this church in a village several hours away. He too wanted to be set free. As he attended the church each week, he heard the good news of God’s forgiveness comes through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. On his fourth visit, he believed in Jesus Christ, and the church prayed for him. A peace he had never known before began to flood his soul.

Dal Bahadar has now been a believer for four years, leads a small fellowship of Christians in the village of Sayakhola, and is one of the students being trained for church planting in Mugu. Now his life’s goal is to bring the freedom that Jesus offers to every village in the province of Mugu over the next five years. His treasure hunt for a healing fungus high in the Himalayan Mountains ultimately led Dal Bahadar to a far greater treasure.

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

~ Psalm 55:16-17

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – August 28

Christian Truth

Where in the Bible does it say the Earth is 6,000 years old? There is no place in the Bible that gives the exact date of creation. By studying the genealogies of Genesis, however, we can figure out an approximate timeline from Creation to the time of Abraham.

From creation week to Abram’s birth was 2008 years. If we round the number to 2000 years from creation to Abraham, and 2000 years from Abraham to Jesus, and 2000 years from Jesus to now, that’s about 6000 years since creation. If we trust the Bible to mean what it says, the Earth/universe is about 6,000 years old, NOT hundreds of thousands of years, NOT millions of years, NOT billions of years. Note- The Jewish calendar states the Hebrew year is 5779, (2018 A.D).

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

~ Genesis 1:1

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – August 17

Christian Truth

What is the greatest commandment? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and MIND (Luke 10:27). Christians are not to park their brains at the church door but are called to be thinking Christians. Here are some questions that can help you when discussing issues such as evolution.

1. What do you mean by__(Evolution or other terms)____?
2. How do you know what you are saying is true?
3. What difference does that make in your life? Or, So What?
4. What if you’re wrong?
5. What would you accept as evidence that you may be wrong?

Use these questions wisely. You can use them in two ways - as a hammer or pry bar. We want the pry bar. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, we are called to destroy speculations, not people!

We, as Christians, need to be soft-hearted toward people and hard-headed in our thinking.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

~ 2 Corinthians 10:5

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – July 31

Christian Truth

America is exactly paralleling the downward moral slide explained in Romans 1:18-32.

This passage expresses God’s displeasure at any who “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18 NKJV) about His existence and character. It states that it is creation that testifies to these things in an absolutely obvious way. In other words, creation can never be explained without our Creator. Yet, mankind accelerated down the path of trying to explain the origin of the universe and life without God about 200 years ago. In order to maintain this fantasy, only Darwin’s evolutionary view of origins is shown to students while the evidence for creation is suppressed.

The second stage of downward deterioration began after the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in 1925 as evolution moved toward becoming the only explanation for life being taught in our schools. Over several generations, this idea became the only framework through which teachers filtered their thinking about all of reality. The foolishness of believing that everything could make itself (without God) became accepted by the majority, “their foolish hearts were darkened…and professing to be wise they became fools” (Romans 1:21, 22 NKJV). God has defined foolishness in Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God....” Our education system is literally filled with people professing to be wise, yet they seem incapable of seeing the obvious - that life has a designer.

The third stage of deterioration occurred in the 1960s. Humans were created to worship, and once they reject the worship of their Creator, the creation itself becomes the center of their adoration. The radical environmental movement, starting in the 1960s, has at its core a spirit of “creation worship.” Symptoms abound inside and outside the Christian community: valuing eagle eggs and African lions far above aborted human babies and unfounded hysteria over global climate change. “[People] exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:25 NIV)

The fourth stage is actually a judgment of God upon our willful rebellion as he withdraws restraint upon our sinful nature. Whether a human is male or female is locked into every single one of the billions of cells that make up our bodies, and no amount of cross-dressing, hormone treatment, or surgery can change that reality. The ultimate fist-waving in the face of God is to believe that He will determine nothing about our lives, even our sexuality. Yet, “abandoned natural relations…  [men and women] were inflamed with lust for one another....” (Romans 1:26, 27 NIV). Over the last several decades, many countries in the western world have placed homosexual “marriage” on equal footing with Biblical marriage.

During the final stage of rebellion, God gives the culture over to a “depraved mind” and “every kind of wickedness” as people “not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-29, 32 NIV). As we look at the list in Romans1:29-31 - envy, murder, deceit, malice, gossip, arrogance, and so on – all are on the rise in America today. Just as in Sodom and Gomorrah, anyone standing against such evil will be persecuted, and ultimately, such a society will be destroyed – either from within or from without.

Notice that the downward slide started with the denial of a Creator. What is the solution? Perhaps part of the answer is sharing with others the evidence for a Creator to whom we are accountable.

that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them…being understood by the things that are made...

~ Romans 1:19, 20

If you love me, keep my commandments.

~ John 14:15

“If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilized morality to savage morality or Christian morality to Nazi morality.”

~ C.S. Lewis, chair of Medieval and Renaissance

Literature at Cambridge University

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.

Daily Devotional – July 1

Christian Truth

Peter’s sermon on the day after Pentecost resulted in three thousand souls being saved (Acts 2). The people who heard his message were familiar with the Old Testament; they believed in the Creator God and understood sin and its penalty of death. As Peter preached to the Jews, he was able to build on their existing foundation of truth and reality.

Compare this with Paul speaking to the Greeks in Acts 17:22-34. The Greeks did not believe in a separate Creator God who held them personally accountable for their lives and actions. To them the “gods” were really just part of the universe and world around them. They did not have the same background as the Jews. So what was Paul’s approach? He began by explaining that God was not part of the universe, but the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He began with creation.

Today, our culture does not know the Bible, and people increasingly think of evolution, i.e. creation itself, as their creator. We need to begin reaching the lost in our culture by explaining that there is a God, who is the literal supernatural Creator of everything. Unlike the Acts 2 crowd, our culture does not know the Bible. Americans have become like an Acts 17 culture. Just like Paul, we need to start with the evidence for creation in order to explain the God of the Bible to them.

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, ….”

~ Acts 17: 22-24

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

Daily Devotional – June 17

Christian Truth

Over twenty years ago, scientists first cloned a large mammal (a sheep named Dolly in 1996). Cloning is a process where the donor’s DNA is removed from the nucleus of a cell. The recipient’s fertilized egg DNA is removed and replaced with the donor’s DNA. The egg is then placed within the recipient’s womb. This will make an exact biological replica of the donor creature rather than the offspring being a blend of the characteristics of both the mother and father. Scientists have greatly improved their ability to clone creatures over the last twenty years, but it is still illegal in most countries to attempt to make exact replicas (i.e. clones) of ourselves. Why is this illegal, and if we could make an exact copy of ourselves, would such a person have a soul and be fully human? To answer such questions, one must consult an absolute source of truth outside of human opinion.

Let’s answer the last question. There is already a model for whether exact biological duplicates of human beings will have separate souls. Identical twins come from the DNA code of one egg that divides in such a way that two biologically identical human beings result. Yet, no-one would deny that, even though their DNA is identical, they are two separate people, having two different personalities, lives, and souls. In a similar way, a human clone, should we ever be foolish enough to monkey with God’s created biological machinery in order to produce one, would also have a soul and be accountable to God for his existence. Also, the process of cloning involves the killing of dozens, and sometimes thousands, of fertilized embryos in the effort to successfully produce one viable clone. This is why human cloning is and should be illegal. The entire process is a flagrant disregard for life and is the ultimate in dishonoring and ignoring our Creator - to whom all life owes its existence.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness :  and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; male and female created he them.

~ Genesis 1:26, 27 emphasis added

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.