file:  /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940817.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                   Wednesday, August 17, 1994
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READ:  Psalm 14

               "LIVING LIKE AN ATHEIST?"

          "The fool has said in his heart,
                 'There is no God.'"

                    Psalm 14:1

A Gallup poll taken in 1993 indicates that only about 4
percent of the world's population are atheists.  It appears
that God is quite popular!

But in reality, far more than 4 percent of the people in the
world behave as if there is no God.  They don't deny His
existence with their lips, but they do in their hearts and
lives.  They are like the fools described in Psalm 14 who
deliberately ignore God because they do not want to turn
from their self-centered ways of living and obey Him instead.

This denial of God occurs today even among those who acknowl-
edge the miraculous survival and growth of the church in
countries where there has been terrible persecution.  But
instead of recognizing this as a strong reason to take God
seriously, they reject the gospel and live by the values of
the world.

The best way to avoid acting like an atheist is to practice
godliness.  We who know Christ must cultivate a deep gratitude
to the Lord for His salvation and exemplify purity, honesty,
and confidence in His goodness.  As practicing Christians, we
are to be the salt and light in our world (Matt. 5:13-16).
When we are, Jesus said we will lead others to "glorify (our)
Father in heaven" (v. 16).

    -Herbert Vander Lugt

 Lord, may our lips and lives express
    The blessed gospel we profess;
  So let our works and virtues shine
    And speak of Him who is divine.

    - Anon.


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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As the salt of the earth, Christians should make others
thirst for the water of life.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Jeremiah 40-42

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Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1994, used by permission of
Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA.
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