When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36

From Dr. Jim Denison: More From Dr. Jim Denison Here! DENISON FORUM

I am so very thankful for Dr. Denison’s Biblical Worldview reporting!!!!!

Susan Thompson-Gaines recently staged her third annual “Kindness Yard Sale” outside her home. The two-day event was a “kindness” sale in two ways. One: You could pay whatever you chose for any item; if you wanted to hand over $5 for twenty dresses or $10 for a bike, she simply thanked you. Two: She will spend the money not on herself but to help others.

After last year’s sale, she and her husband threw a virtual beach party for a group of people living with Alzheimer’s disease, kept an outdoor pantry filled with food, and added coffee pods to a teacher’s lounge. They also helped 111 neighborhood children write letters to Santa; Thompson-Gaines then wrote each child a personalized letter from Santa and gave them a wrapped present under a tree adorned with ornaments from people across the neighborhood.

This year’s sale raised more than $11,000. People across the next year will be helped by her remarkable kindness as a result.

My recent travels in Vermont

What Susan Thompson-Gaines does with her “Kindness Yard Sale” is both extraordinary and ordinary. She touches hundreds if not thousands of lives with her unusual generosity, but her yard sale is something nearly anyone with a yard could do. It requires no advanced degrees, special skills, political influence, or financial wealth.

She typifies the best of humanity. And that’s my paradoxical point today.

I am writing after spending last week with Janet in Vermont. We had always wanted to see this beautiful state in the fall, and our experiences exceeded our expectations. The mountains are majestic, the changing leaves are magical, the small towns (many are called “villages”) are quaint and picturesque, and the people are hardworking and welcoming.

And yet, surrounded by such reminders of God’s creative genius and grace, the vast majority are apparently oblivious to his presence and power. World Population Review ranks Vermont as the third-least religious state in the US, one percentage point ahead of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. According to Baptist leaders, 97 percent of the state’s population is unreached with the gospel.

The people we met appear to be doing the best they can to be the best they can. So far as many seem to know, that’s the best anyone can do.

But that’s not good enough.

A Divided America! Spiritual Warfare! Supreme Court’s Popularity Shifts After Abortion Decisions

Yesterday at the First Baptist Church of Glenwood our discussion on the State of the Union was shared in Sunday School and in my message, even more at lunch. We all agree that as long as America kills God’s babies, the condition of America will continue to resemble Sodom and Gomorrah and get much worse. Satan is having his way with so many Americans. Spiritual Warfare is hot and heavy in America and too much of the Church is silent on so many of the Satanic issues we are facing. We talked about the great need that we all carry out The Great Commission to reach the lost! I always offer the solution to all the problems we face, BIG and Small! JESUS! JESUS! The Great Commission is a command from our LORD! What will your report card look like? I always have in the back of my mind, “What if God has a report card for me?” America is on track to be in much worse condition in just 6 months. America may go on for hundred of years or more…..but it will not even look close to what it looks like today. Think about it! Remember, It is a sin to predict when Jesus will return! We are here for such a time as this! Build bridges of love and trust with the lost. Hate will get us know where!

From Thomas D. Ice of Liberty University:

Biblical Prohibitions Against Date-Setting
It is enough for something to be stated only once in the Bible for it to be true,
but when God says something many times the emphasis should make such
assertions even clearer. I am listing the specific passages below so that we can
readily see these important biblical admonitions:
• Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels
of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Mark 13:32 is an exact parallel.
• Matthew 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day
your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 24:44 “For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is
coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
• Matthew 25:13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the
hour. Mark 13:33-37 is a parallel passage.
• Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the
Father has fixed by His own authority;
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you
have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full
well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

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The Supreme Court announced last week that it would hear arguments on a Mississippi law that bans abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in medical emergencies. The news was the latest evidence that abortion and the court are going to remain big political issues.

People say, “Abortion is not mentioned in the Bible” In the Ten Commandments it states Thou shall not Kill. Does your Pastor preach and teach on the Ten Commandments? Are they taught in Sunday School? Does your Church have Sunday School? Are they posted in your Church? In your home?

Supreme Court’s popularity shifts after abortion decisions

From Dr. Jim Denison this morning:

“They had been with Jesus”

For today, let’s close with this fact: all people are created by God with a “Christ-shaped emptiness” (paraphrasing Pascal), whether they know it or not. When lost people meet Christians in whose lives Christ is active, empowering, gracious, and compelling, what they are missing draws them to the only One who can satisfy the deep hunger of their souls.

When the religious authorities “saw the boldness of Peter and John . . . they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Will the people you meet today say the same of you?

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From Last Week: