My top ten arguements for the existence of God outside of the Bible:

- Contingency Argument (Leibnizian Cosmological Argument)
- Kalam Cosmological Argument
- Fine-Tuning Argument
- Moral Argument
- Argument from Reason (Lewis, Reppert, Moreland)
- Argument from Consciousness
- Transcendental Argument for God (TAG)
- Teleological (Design) Argument
- Argument from Objective Mathematical and Logical Truths
- Ontological Argument (especially Plantinga's Modal Ontological Argument)

August 5: Patterns and Prophecies

#Devotional

Isaiah 9:1–10:19; Luke 3:1–38; Job 3:1–16

Luke sees the events surrounding Jesus’ life through the lens of Isaiah. For Luke, Jesus’ life is Isaiah’s prophecy made tangible and complete. Jesus is the anticipated Messiah, prophet, and savior. Even John the Baptist’s role in Jesus’ life is based on Isaiah’s prophesy. Luke repeats the metaphor of “the wilderness” from Isaiah—used by the prophet to describe the time when the Israelites would come out from their captivity in Babylon—to cast John the Baptist as a central figure in God’s work.

The wilderness metaphor doesn’t originate with Isaiah. He uses it to represent the second time God’s people entered the land He promised them (the term originally comes from the time when the Israelites roamed the wilderness after the exodus). Luke quotes Isaiah in casting John the Baptist as “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight! Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled, and the crooked will become straight, and the rough road will become smooth, and all flesh will see the salvation of God’ ” (Luke 3:4–6; quoting Isa 40:3–5). For Luke, the smoothing of the rough road represents a change in the spiritual landscape, and the flesh that sees the salvation of God means the message is not just for the Jewish people but for all people—including Luke himself.

Luke builds upon this connection by identifying Jesus as the child that is prophesied in Isaiah (Luke 1:26–28):

“For a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will grow continually, and to peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and sustain it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this” (Isa 9:6–7).

Luke is adept at the art of connecting the Testaments. He tells us directly that he’s quoting Isaiah, and in doing so, he illustrates that God works by building current events on the foundation of past events. Those events form the basis of prophecy—God’s way of telling us both what He has done and what He will do in times to come.

Although the way God works is too great for us to comprehend, He allows us to see patterns in His work; we just need to look for them and believe they are there. If we focus on God’s works and the echoes and harmonies between them, our perspective on the events of our lives changes dramatically. We glimpse the reality that God is not only at work in today’s matters, but He is also using them to prepare and signify the events that are to come. The patterns are as important as the events, as God uses both to reveal Himself to us.

What patterns are you noticing in your life? How do you believe God is working through you now and will continue to work through you in the future?

August 5 - Undaunted Faith

#LifeOfChrist

"Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven’” (Matthew 9:1–2).

Christianity’s most distinctive message is the truth that God can forgive sin. The essence of the gospel is that Christ’s atoning death can free people from the penalty of sin. If Jesus can heal diseases and disabilities, He can surely provide cleansing for the consequences of sin. The men who brought the paralytic to the Lord undoubtedly believed this very strongly.

Those with crippling disabilities have always had to endure social stigma and neglect. But in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day and much earlier, the stigma was especially pronounced because everyone believed chronic ailments stemmed directly from someone’s sin. Bildad told Job, “If your sons sinned against Him, then He delivered them into the power of their transgression” (Job 8:4; cf. 4:7; John 9:1–2).

The paralytic here likely had the same understanding concerning sin and disease, thus he was determined at any cost to see Jesus for forgiveness and a resultant physical healing. Christ saw the determination of his faith as his friends worked through the crowd to get the paralytic in front of Him. That aggressive approach revealed their hearts of faith. In all his physical ugliness and spiritual neediness, the man threw himself upon Jesus’ mercy.

The paralyzed man came to the Lord in true humility and poverty of spirit, which God requires of all seeking hearts (Matt. 5:3). Jesus sometimes healed people of little faith, but He was especially willing to heal those of great faith, as with the men and his friends.

Ask Yourself

Why does God choose to work through our faith? Why would He want to include our cooperation as part of His healing activity? What might He be requiring of you as He deals with a certain need in your life?

DAY 5: In Romans 7:7–25, is Paul describing his own experience as a believer or unbeliever?


https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-08-05

The wicked scheme against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them.

Psalm 37:12

In these end times, anyone else noticing this more and more.

Non-negotiable truths of Christianity:

The Trinity
The deity & humanity of Christ
The virgin birth
The sinlessness of Christ
Penal substitutionary atonement
Justification by faith alone
Salvation by grace alone
The authority of Scripture
The bodily resurrection
The return of Christ

AI can write articles, code, emails, music, and business plans.

But it cannot do things like repent...worship...love God...or bear the image of God.

Folks, never confuse intelligence with personhood.

“‘Blessed are the pure in heart’ should send us running to the cross.” —Ray Comfort

Dear Daughter,
Ask the tree bent sideways by every coastal storm: it did not survive by resisting the wind, but by rooting deeper.
Your covenant will be bent. Let it bend toward Christ, not away from him.

Deep roots forgive what shallow ones cannot.
'That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… rooted and grounded in love' (Eph 3:17).

Where do your roots need to go deeper this week?
#DearDaughter #RootedNotBroken #StrongMarriage

The Church doesn't need another celebrity. It needs another generation of men who fear God more than applause.

Speak GRACE over your home today! 🗣️🌱 Let no rotten word come from your mouth, only what builds up! Eph 4:29 ❤️

What blessing will you speak today? #StrongMarriage #August

Christians, your greatest enemies aren't the government, the culture, or the media.

It is the spiritual forces of darkness around us, and it is the sinful heart you carry into every room.

What is one Bible verse that has carried you through a difficult season?

I'll start:
Romans 8:28

Frequently, when I read the Old Testament, I think, "Seriously? Again? When will these Israelites learn?!?"

And then I realize... I'm the same as them.

Ouch, that mirror hurts.

The church does not need to become more worldly to reach the world. It needs to become more faithful to Christ.

There’s a kind of joy that changes everything. A joy that makes death gain and self-denial sweet. A joy so rooted in the beauty of Jesus Christ that it frees us from fear, fills us with love, and glorifies God forever.

This is Christian joy — and it’s no ordinary joy.