<p>Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.</p>
Read Acts 2:46–47
Day by Day continuing with one mind in the temple,and breaking bread from house to house,they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,praising God and having favor with all the people.And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.(Acts 2:46–47)
Read Acts 2:42
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teachingand to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.(Acts 2:42)
When the first body of believers gathered together, they devoted themselves to four essentials: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. This verse is not only descriptive of what the early church did; it is also prescriptive of what all churches must do.
Read Matthew 16:15–18
He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John,because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.You did not learn this from any human being.Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and uponthis rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”(Matthew 16:15–18)
Read 1 Peter 5:8–9a
Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.He prowls around like a roaring lion,looking for someone to devour.Stand firm against him,and be strong in your faith.(1 Peter 5:8–9a)
Over the years, I have discovered three simple truths about erosion. Rather than occurring rapidly, erosion is always slow. Instead of drawing attention to itself, erosion is always silent. And in place of being obvious, erosion is always subtle.
Read Matthew 16:18
Upon this rock I will build my church,and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.(Matthew 16:18)
I’m concerned about the intensifying embrace of postmodernism. The result of this is that we have eroded from a Christian era to a post-Christian era. I remember when we used to say that about Great Britain. I now say it about the United States of America, the land I love, a land I have served to help protect. But over the past decades we have slid into the murky waters of a post-Christian swamp.
Read Proverbs 29:7
Before closing off our study of intolerance, two more sayings are worth our attention:
The generous man will be prosperous,And he who waters will himself be watered. (Proverbs 11:25)
The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,The wicked does not understand such concern. (Proverbs 29:7)
Read Proverbs 30:11–14
This is an excellent time to bring out into the open even the slightest intolerance lurking in your life and place it before the Lord. The book of Proverbs offers a compelling reason to do so by painting a picture of someone we do not want to become.
Read Proverbs 29:7
Is intolerance one of your daily grinds? Be honest. Do you have difficulty leaving room for opinions you don’t agree with or the conduct of those who fail to measure up? I can think of a number of ways intolerance rears its head:
Read Proverbs 24:11–12
The founders of the United States formed this nation on the premise that each individual will one day stand before God and give an answer for his or her beliefs and conduct. The US was in fact the first modern state to establish an official policy of religious tolerance, which it formalized in the First Amendment to the Constitution:
Read Proverbs 19:11
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