Silence is Golden #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Silence is Golden #RTTBROS #Nightlight  

"He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace."

 Proverbs 11:12 (KJV)

There is a quiet strength in knowing when to speak and when to simply be still. Solomon draws a sharp contrast here, the fool rushes to tear down his neighbor with words, but the man of understanding holds his peace. That word holdeth carries weight; it isn't passive silence born of indifference, it is a deliberate, disciplined choice. How often do we mistake the urge to speak our mind for wisdom, when the truly wise response is a closed mouth and a steady heart? The world rewards the loudest voice in the room, but God honors the one who has learned that not every thought needs an audience, not every offense demands a response, and not every conflict is ours to win. Friend, the next time your patience is tested and your tongue is ready to fire, pause. That pause may be the most powerful thing you do all day. A man of understanding holds his peace, because he knows that God's justice is far more reliable than his own reaction.

This Is the Day #RTTBROS #Nightlight

This Is the Day #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." — Psalm 118:24

You know, I was humming a little song this morning that I first learned in children's church, probably six decades ago. Maybe you know it too. "This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice, and be glad in it..." I caught myself singing it almost before I was fully awake, and I thought, now isn't that something. Here I am, all these years later, and that little song is still doing its work on my soul.

That simple round was written by Les Garrett, a New Zealand worship leader, back in 1967. He wasn't writing for Carnegie Hall or a great cathedral choir. He was writing something children could sing, something simple enough to wrap a young heart around. And yet that little melody has been circling the globe ever since, showing up in hymnals and children's programs and, apparently, in the early mornings of old preachers who need to be reminded of something important.

Because here's what Psalm 118:24 is actually doing. It isn't a gentle suggestion. It's a declaration. "This is the day which the LORD hath made." Not tomorrow, not the day things get easier, not the day the bills get paid or the diagnosis comes back clean. This day. The one you woke up to this morning, with all its uncertainty and its ordinary Tuesday-ness. God made this day on purpose, and He handed it to you.

The Psalm was written in a context of real deliverance. The writer had been through the fire, through rejection, through the kind of circumstances where it would have been very easy to greet the morning with dread instead of praise. And yet, right in the middle of all of that, he plants a flag and says, "We will rejoice and be glad in it." That "we will" is a choice, not a feeling.

I'm too soon old and too late smart on this one, but I've learned that some of the most powerful spiritual habits are the ones we learned when we were small. That little round I learned in children's church wasn't just a song. It was a posture of the heart being built into me before I even knew I needed it.

So let me ask you this morning, what are you doing with the day God handed you today? It is His gift. It won't come around again. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Let's pray. Lord, thank You for this day, this specific, unrepeatable day that You made and gave to us. Help us not to sleepwalk through it or spend it dreading tomorrow. Teach us to receive it as the gift it is, and to rejoice, genuinely rejoice, in it. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#ThisIsTheDay #Psalm118 #MorningDevotion #ChristianLiving #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe, it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros

To Speak or Not to Speak #NK #NormanKissinger #RTTBROS #Nightlight

To Speak or Not to Speak #NK #NormanKissinger #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy." — Proverbs 31:8-9

You know, I've been wrestling with something lately, and I bet some of you have too. It's this question that keeps coming up in my mind: when do we speak up, and when do we stay silent? In this age of the internet where you can post that you love apples and somebody's going to insult you for it, that's become a real dilemma for followers of Christ. There's so much noise out there, so many voices, and the stakes feel higher than they've ever been because thousands of people can see what we say in an instant.

For years, I pretty much stayed quiet online except for official ministry work, wishing people happy birthday, or thanking folks from my past. I'd see posts that were way off biblically, things that grieved my spirit, but I'd just assume somebody else would address it. I'd think to myself, "It's a slippery slope. You can hurt the kingdom by saying the wrong thing or saying the right thing the wrong way." And that's true, it is a slippery slope. But lately, the Holy Spirit's been convicting me that silence has its own cost.

Here's what I've been learning, and I'm too soon old and too late smart on this one: when we stay silent in the face of error, especially doctrinal error that's being spread by people who claim Christ, we're not just being careful, we're letting people slip into beliefs that aren't even close to biblical. Weak Christians, and let's be honest, even mature Christians sometimes, will hear stuff and believe it without questioning whether it lines up with what God actually says in His Word.

The problem isn't that Christians disagree on things, there's always been healthy debate about secondary issues. Arminian or Calvinist, charismatic gifts or not, end times views, all of that, good godly people can land in different places and still love Jesus and hold to the fundamentals. But when somebody starts building entire theologies on conjecture, making heroes out of people the Scripture doesn't even clearly vindicate, or worse, when they start chipping away at the virgin birth, the inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Christ, the necessity of holy living, that's when we've got to find our voice.

I think about the Apostle Paul. That man didn't stay quiet when error crept into the church. He wrote whole letters confronting false teaching. He stood up to Peter's face when Peter was being a hypocrite in Galatians. He warned Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul understood that truth doesn't defend itself, it needs voices willing to speak it clearly and boldly.

But here's the balance, and this is where we need the Holy Spirit's wisdom. Jesus himself stayed silent sometimes. He didn't answer every accusation, didn't engage every critic. There were moments when silence was the most powerful thing He could do. So we've got to be Spirit-led in this. We can't just respond to everything, we'd consume ourselves with arguing on the internet and accomplish nothing for the kingdom. But we also can't be so silent that error goes unchallenged and people drift into heresy.

What I'm finding is that we've lost something critical in our culture, we've lost the ability to think critically. People don't question what they read anymore. They see a post, it sounds good, it feels right, and they accept it without ever opening their Bibles to see if it's actually true. That's dangerous ground, because that's exactly how you slip from minor doctrinal error into full-blown heresy, one unchallenged assumption at a time.

So I've decided I'm going to speak up a little more. Not to every fool on the internet who just wants to argue, but when I see something that needs a biblical response, when I see teaching that could lead people astray, I'm planning to write something solid, something thought out, something that points people back to what Scripture actually says. Not because I'm right about everything, I'm certainly not, but because the gospel needs to stay clear and the foundations need to stay solid.

The question isn't really whether we should speak, it's when and how. When do we let something go because engaging would do no good? When do we speak up because silence would be being ashamed of Christ? These have always been questions for believers, but now with the internet, the whole world is watching. We need to be lighthouses in the ocean of this world, pointing people to solid ground. We need to stand on the inerrancy of Scripture and the traditional, conservative teaching of God's Word, and we need to communicate it effectively.

Let me ask you today: is the Holy Spirit nudging you to speak up about something? Or is He telling you to be silent and pray? Either way, let's not be people who just drift along accepting everything we hear. Let's be thinkers. Let's open our Bibles. Let's stand for truth with grace and boldness, knowing that history is just HIS story, and we're honored to be a part of it.

Let's pray: Father, give us wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent. Help us stand for truth without being unloving, and help us love people without compromising Your Word. Make us bold when we need to be bold, and humble when we need to be humble. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #Truth #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #StandForTruth #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros

The Great Exchange #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Great Exchange #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." — 2 Corinthians 5:21

You know, there's a quote from Martin Luther that's been rattling around in my head lately. He said, "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not."

Now, preachers never say anything short, but Luther managed to capture the entire Gospel in one beautiful sentence. This is what theologians call "The Great Exchange," and friend, if you can wrap your heart around this truth, it'll change everything.

Here's what happened at the cross. Jesus, who never sinned, not even once, took on all of my sin, all of your sin, every dark thought, every harsh word, every broken promise, every failure. He became what He was not so that we could become what we were not. Think about that for a minute. The sinless Son of God became sin itself so that sinful people like you and me could become righteous before a holy God.

It's like the ultimate trade, except it was completely one-sided. I brought nothing to the table but my mess, my brokenness, my rebellion. And Jesus said, "I'll take that. And here, take my righteousness, my holiness, my perfect record before the Father."

Paul puts it this way in Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

See, this isn't just theological talk. This is the exchanged life. When you come to Christ, you give Him your sin and He gives you His righteousness and His life. You died with Him on that cross, but you also rose with Him. Now Christ lives in you, and the life you're living isn't really yours anymore. It's His life, lived through you, by faith.

I'm too soon old and too late smart to have figured this out on my own. But here's what I know now: I don't have to work up righteousness. I don't have to earn God's approval. Jesus already did that. He took my place on the cross, and when God looks at me, He sees Jesus' righteousness, not my failures.

That's the cornerstone of the Gospel, friend. That's the foundation everything else is built on. Jesus became what He was not, that you and I might become what we were not. He became sin so we could become righteous. He died so we could live.

History is just HIS story, and this is the greatest exchange in all of history. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. That's the Gospel in a nutshell.

Let's pray: Father, thank You for the great exchange. Thank You that Jesus took our sin upon Himself so that we could receive His righteousness. Help us live in the freedom and joy of this truth every single day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #Gospel #Salvation #TheGreatExchange #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #BiblicalTruth #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros

The Plank in Our Own Eye #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Plank in Our Own Eye #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" — Matthew 7:3

You know, there's something I've been catching myself doing lately, and I bet you do it too. It's what the psychologists call the fundamental attribution error, but Jesus talked about it a couple thousand years before they gave it that fancy name.

Here's how it works: when I'm running late to church, well, I've got a whole list of reasons. The alarm didn't go off, one of the kids couldn't find their shoes, there was unexpected traffic, I had a rough week. I'm a complex person dealing with complex circumstances, right? But when you show up late? Well, that's because you're just not very organized. You don't manage your time well. You don't take commitments seriously.

See what I did there? I judge myself by my intentions and my circumstances, but I judge you by your actions. I give myself grace, but I give you a label.

The really convicting part is that Jesus addressed this head-on in the Sermon on the Mount. He painted this absurd picture of someone with a two-by-four sticking out of their eye trying to help someone else with a speck of sawdust in theirs. It would be funny if it wasn't so close to home.

Here's what I've learned, and I'm too soon old and too late smart on this: I don't know your story. I don't know what you're carrying. I don't know what kept you up last night or what phone call you got this morning. I don't know the burdens you're bearing that nobody else can see.

But God does. He knows all of it. And He looks at both of us with the same grace and patience.

Paul wrote in Romans 2:1, "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." Ouch. Every time I rush to judgment about you, I'm setting the standard by which I'll be judged.

The truth is, we're all doing the best we can with what we've got. We're all carrying more than anyone else can see. We're all complex people in complex circumstances, trying to navigate this broken world and honor God in the process.

So maybe today, when someone cuts you off in traffic or snaps at you in the hallway or shows up late or forgets that thing they promised, maybe we could pause. Maybe we could choose to see them the way we see ourselves, with complexity and grace. Better yet, maybe we could see them the way God sees them, with love and compassion and patience.

Because the measure we use for others, that's the measure that's going to be used for us. And I don't know about you, but I need all the grace I can get.

Let's pray: Father, forgive us for the way we so quickly judge others while making excuses for ourselves. Help us see people the way You see them, with compassion and understanding. Teach us to remove the beam from our own eye before we worry about the speck in someone else's. Give us Your heart for the people around us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Grace #Judgment #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #GoldenRule #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros

The Right Table #RTTBROS #Nightlight

 The Right Table #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." — Matthew 23:27

You know, I saw something on social media the other day that really stopped me in my tracks: "Don't beg for a seat at a table Jesus would flip over." Now that'll preach, won't it?

It got me thinking about all the times we exhaust ourselves trying to earn approval from systems and people that Jesus Himself would challenge. We bend ourselves into pretzels, compromise our convictions, water down our witness, all to get a seat at some table that looks impressive from the outside but is spiritually bankrupt on the inside.

Jesus had zero patience for religious performance. When He walked into the temple and saw the money changers turning His Father's house into a marketplace, He didn't politely ask for a seat at their table. He flipped the whole thing over. "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13).

Here's what I've learned, and I'm too soon old and too late smart on this: the tables that demand the most from us often offer the least in return. They want our conformity, our silence, our willingness to play the game. But Jesus came to flip those tables, not franchise them.

Think about the religious leaders of Jesus' day. They had the best seats, the longest robes, the public recognition. People were literally begging for their approval. But Jesus looked past all that religious window dressing and called it exactly what it was: dead men's bones dressed up to look alive.

The truth is, we spend so much energy trying to impress people who are impressed by all the wrong things. We're hustling for validation from systems that value appearance over authenticity, position over character, performance over transformation.

But here's the beautiful part of the story: while the religious elite were guarding their exclusive tables, Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. He was pulling up chairs for the outcasts, the broken, the ones who knew they needed a Savior. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (Matthew 9:12).

Jesus isn't asking you to beg for a seat anywhere. He's already prepared a place for you at His table. And let me tell you, that table is set with grace, mercy, and unconditional love. No performance required. No games to play. Just come as you are.

So maybe it's time to stop exhausting yourself trying to earn approval from tables Jesus would flip over. Maybe it's time to walk away from systems that demand you shrink yourself to fit in. Maybe it's time to remember that you already have a seat at the only table that truly matters.

History is just His story, and in His story, there's always room at the table for broken people who know they need a Savior.

Let's pray: Father, give us the courage to walk away from tables that require us to compromise our convictions. Help us find our worth not in the approval of man, but in Your unconditional love. Remind us that we already have a seat at Your table. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #TrustGod #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight #Authenticity #Grace

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros

The Lire Lie #RTTBROS

 

  The Lire Lie #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." — 1 Peter 1:3-4

You know, I came across a story recently that really got me thinking. Back in 2014, an Italian woman named Claudia Moretti inherited her uncle's house. While cleaning it out, she discovered a safe containing about $70,000 in old Italian lire. Can you imagine? She thought she'd hit the jackpot.

But when she rushed to the bank, her excitement turned to disappointment. Italy had switched to the Euro years earlier, and the deadline to exchange the old currency had passed in 2011. All that money, all that inheritance, was just paper. Worthless. It had an expiration date, and time had run out.

That story struck me because it's a picture of how temporary everything in this world really is. We spend so much time and energy building up treasure here, things we think will last, things we're counting on for security. The stock market, real estate, savings accounts, even family heirlooms. And listen, there's nothing wrong with planning for the future, that's good stewardship. But here's the thing, nothing down here comes with a guarantee.

Jesus put it this way: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal" (Matthew 6:19). Everything here has an expiration date.

But Peter tells us about a different kind of inheritance. One that's incorruptible, undefiled, one that doesn't fade away. This inheritance isn't sitting in some vault where inflation can devalue it or thieves can steal it. It's reserved in heaven, kept by the power of God Himself.

Think about that for a minute. Your eternal inheritance doesn't depend on the economy, on political changes, on whether you picked the right investments. It's guaranteed by the faithfulness of God, and friend, He's never defaulted on a promise. He's never changed the currency on us. What He says is ours, is ours.

I'm too soon old and too late smart on this, but I've learned that the only truly secure investment we can make is in eternity. Everything else might let us down, but God never will.

So here's my question for you today: where are you storing your treasure? Are you building your life around things that fade, or are you investing in the inheritance that lasts forever?

Because when everything else loses its value, when the currency of this world becomes worthless, we'll still have every single thing God promised us. That's a hope worth holding onto.

Let's pray: Father, thank You for an inheritance that never loses its value. Help us to invest our lives in what truly matters, in what lasts forever. Teach us to hold loosely to the temporary and cling tightly to the eternal. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #EternalLife #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #TrustGod #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

Be sure to Like, Share, Follow and subscribe it helps get the word out.

https://linktr.ee/rttbros