Penetrate the Culture

Devotionals by The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans:

In His Presence: Colossians 3:17

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world . . . Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-14, 16).

When we look closely at a culture that is deteriorating, we will probably see the people of God withdrawn from that culture. For example, when Christians began abandoning inner city and urban neighborhoods, taking their skills, resources, and moral influence with them, those neighborhoods deteriorated. When Christians left the public school system, moral values were systematically erased until they became almost illegal to teach. When Christians vacated the media, a spiritual approach to defining everything we hold dear went with them. When Christians decided to get out of politics, righteous political decisions left with them.

God’s people have been called to penetrate society. Of course, evangelism is always first because without forgiveness of sins, anything else we give a person is temporary. We have been called first and foremost to win people to Christ. But after a person receives Christ for eternity, he must represent Christ in history. Christians must give out hope; no earthly institution offers real hope for the world.

One Minute Please

The absence of righteousness in our culture has everything to do with the absence of God’s people penetrating the culture. When there is no yeast, the bread stays flat.

Source:  Are Christians Destroying America? Pp. 31-34.

How to Save a Nation in Trouble

Devotionals by The Alternative

Tony Evans

In His Presence: 2 Chronicles 7:11-22

“[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land”(2 Chronicles 7:14).

King Solomon reigned over Israel. In 2 Chronicles 6, Solomon had just finished building God’s temple and had offered up a prayer of dedication. In this prayer, Solomon was basically saying that he wanted to lead this people as God wanted him to lead. After the prayer, God’s glory came down to the temple and filled it. The people offered sacrifices and held a feast. Later that night, the Lord appeared to Solomon and told him that if the people ever rejected His ways and turned away from Him, the prayers of His people would be heeded.

God will deal with a nation that turns its back on Him. If a culture wants to be free of God, He will let it have that freedom. But freedom from God brings dire consequences. Pagans do not normally turn to God when things get rough. But this Scripture isn’t addressing pagans; it is addressing “My people who are called by My name” (v. 14). The people who are supposed to pray for their nation are God’s covenant people. In the Old Testament, His covenant people were the Jews. In the New Testament, the covenant people are the church—the body of true believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Sin-bearer and Redeemer.

One Minute Please

God will pay attention to our prayers when we come to Him humbly, seek His face, and turn from our ungodly behavior.

Source:  Are Christians Destroying America? Pp. 124-132.

The Only Worthwhile Purpose

Dr. Tony Evans

In His Presence: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

Have you been duped when it comes to purpose? The only purpose worth living for is God's purpose. Paul said: "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). If you live with this goal in mind, God will change the way you live. You will stop just being alive and you will start to really live. You will live the abundant life through God's grace because you aren't just living for yourself anymore. You are not here for you, but for God.

You will have stability. You can get off the roller coaster of emotions that comes when you live according to your circumstances. Even when things are bad, you are good because God is good. When Jesus was asleep on the boat in the middle of the storm, His disciples asked, "How can He sleep at a time like this?" Jesus could sleep peacefully because He knew where He was going—He was going to the other side. One of the great blessings of living in purpose is that you can rest. You can rest because you know all things will be used for God's purpose, and you can rest because you know you are going toward God.

You will be provided for. God always supplies that which He has ordained. If you are outside of His purpose, you have to take care of yourself. But if you are walking in His purpose, He will meet all your needs.

One Minute Please

Following God's purpose may not change your place in life, but it will change the way you live your life.

Transformed by Temptation

Devotionals by The Alternative

Tony Evans

In His Presence: Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone (James 1:13).

Temptation can be defined as a solicitation to do evil. Remember, nothing can come your way without divine approval. Whether it’s a test or a temptation, positive or negative, it has to flow through God’s fingers first. He has to allow the devil to tempt us, and at the same time He is testing us. If a temptation comes to you, God had to allow it to come, but He is not the source of that temptation. We find this truth in the story of Job. Satan said the only reason Job was serving God was that God was so good to him, so God allowed the devil to tempt Job. So Satan solicited Job to curse God. This was a test that showed Job’s faithfulness to God when he didn’t give in to the temptation.

One Minute Please

God allows temptation for our development, not our destruction.

Transformed by Trials

I think I'm just going to make Tuesday #TonyEvansTuesday... Here's the link to the original post!

Transformed by Trials

Tony Evans

In His Presence: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials (James 1:2).

The television show “Extreme Makeover” puts people through all kinds of adverse circumstances so that they might look better than they did when they started the makeover process. They undergo surgical procedures, grueling workouts, and physical pain in order to be transformed into something beautiful.

One of the primary ways God makes us more like Christ is by allowing us to face trouble. To conform us into the image of Christ, we don’t just need minor surgery--we require major transformation. In fact, God has to put a brand new nature inside us.  Just as a sculptor chips away at a piece of marble to turn it into a beautiful sculpture, God uses trials to chip away at us, sculpting us to resemble the image of Christ.

One Minute Please

Like a photographer developing his film in a darkroom, God develops a beautiful photograph of Christlikeness in us when we go through dark times.

Firstfruits Are the Best

Devotionals by The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: 

In His Presence: Leviticus 22:17-25

Whenever you give God your firstfruits, you not only give Him the first, you give Him the best. In Malachi 1 the Israelites brought God the worst of their leftovers for their sacrifices—the sick, blind, and lame animals. Sometimes that is what we bring God—our leftover time, energy, and devotion. We come to God when we’re not at our peak.

The story of Cain and Abel serves as a reminder that God is not pleased with those who do not offer firstfruits. “Abel, on his part also brought the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard” (Genesis 4:4-5). Cain wound up killing his brother over this incident. Abel brought God the best because he believed God desired and deserved the best. By his offering, Cain showed that he thought God only deserved something, not the best.

If we’re not worshiping God by bringing Him our firstfruits, we are likely giving our firstfruits to something else. What gets your best time and your undivided attention? You give those to whatever is your priority.

Regarding money, “firstfruits” refers to the tithe, or the tenth. You must bring the whole tithe before you bring an offering. Deuteronomy 14:23 says we are to give the tithe “that [we] may learn to fear the Lord.” Whenever we give the tenth first, we’re honoring God as God.

One Minute Please

God wants the prime cut of your life; He doesn’t want the leftovers.

Christlikeness

Christlikeness

Tony Evans

In His Presence: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

Christlikeness is the Spirit of God inspiring the ability to emulate the person of Christ in and through your life. How do you know if you are Christlike? Your conduct will be consistent with the character of the Savior. You constantly grow more into His image, becoming more like Him this year than you were last year, more like Him today than you were yesterday.

The Spirit is so powerful, it liberates the dead body to enjoy the new life that Jesus provided by His death and resurrection.

For more devotionals by Dr. Tony Evans, click here.