A Re-post From David C. McCasland of Our Daily Bread

A Life That Shined

September 15, 2013 — by David C. McCasland

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Matthew 5:3-16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:16

Bible in a Year:
Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

According to the International Basketball Federation, basketball is the world’s second-most popular sport, with an estimated 450 million followers in countries around the globe. In the US, the annual NCAA tournament in March often brings mention of legendary coach John Wooden. During his 27 years at UCLA, Wooden’s teams won an unprecedented 10 National Championship titles. Yet, today, John Wooden, who died in 2010, is remembered not just for what he accomplished but for the person he was.
Wooden lived out his Christian faith and his genuine concern for others in an environment often obsessed with winning. In his autobiography, They Call Me Coach, he wrote, “I always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.”
John Wooden honored God in all he did, and his example challenges us to do the same. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Show me the way, Lord, let my light shine
As an example of good to mankind;
Help them to see the patterns of Thee,
Shining in beauty, lived out in me. —Neuer

Let your light shine—whether you’re a candle in a corner or a lighthouse on a hill.

A Re-post From Bill Crowder of Our Daily Bread

Unfailing Mercy

September 14, 2013 — by Bill Crowder

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Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Read: Luke 22:54-62

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. . . . Great is Your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23

Bible in a Year:
Proverbs 19-21; 2 Corinthians 7

As I strolled through Chicago’s O’Hare airport, something caught my eye—a hat worn by someone racing through the concourse. What caught my attention was the message it conveyed in just two words: “Deny Everything.” I wondered what it meant. Don’t ever admit to guilt? Or deny yourself the pleasures and luxuries of life? I scratched my head at the mystery of those two simple words, “Deny Everything.”
One of Jesus’ followers, Simon Peter, did some denying. In a critical moment, he denied three times that He even knew Jesus! (Luke 22:57, 58,60). His fear-filled act of denial caused him such guilt and heartache that, broken by his spiritual failure, he could only go out and weep bitterly (v.62).
But Peter’s denial of Christ, like our own moments of spiritual denial, could never diminish the compassion of God. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). We can take heart that even when we fail, our faithful God comes to us in mercy and compassion that never fails!

Thank You, Father, for Your new and never-
failing mercies. Forgive me for the times I deny
You and fail others, and teach me to run to
You for Your overflowing compassion.

Being imperfect emphasizes our dependence on God’s mercy.