Right From The Heart Ministries | Right to the Point

Daily Devotional

May 31, 2020

Dad’s POWER PACKED Phrase #3

Motivational speakers inspire us. Yet, speaking that stirs our emotions rarely have as great of a life-changing impact as leaders and communicators who repeat truth, guidelines, and the mission to those they are called to lead. It has been...

“Repetition is more lasting than impact.”– George B. Wright, Sr.

Daily Devotional

May 30, 2020

Dad’s POWER PACKED Phrase #2

I remember as a boy seeing very moving stories about illiterate adults finally learning to read. Yet, lately I have come to realize that for most of history the majority of people were illiterate. Few gifts are greater than...

“A person who does not read is no better off than a person who cannot read.”– George B. Wright, Sr.

Daily Devotional

May 29, 2020

Dad’s POWER PACKED Phrase #1

This was my Dad’s favorite saying. In his honor, I am beginning a series of devotionals from my Dad’s top ten “power-packed phrases.” This was his favorite “One Christian life can make a difference.” It was his favorite because...

“One Christian life can make a difference.” – George B. Wright, Sr.

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Motivational speakers inspire us. Yet, speaking that stirs our emotions rarely have as great of a life-changing impact as leaders and communicators who repeat truth, guidelines, and the mission to those they are called to lead.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It has been said that the average adult needs to hear something six times before it sinks in. When I pastored the same church for 38 years, we had a very clear mission and core values that I tried to teach on at least once a year. After being their pastor for 15 or 20 years, I worried that they would get tired of the same subject year after year, thinking “I’ve heard this before.” But it was just the opposite. Referring back to that foundational mission and core values helped them refocus their energy and dedication as to why the church existed. It renewed their motivation and commitment to be and do what we were called to do.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Jesus did this over and over when He told His followers and disciples to “follow me.” This statement alone captures Christianity

I remember as a boy seeing very moving stories about illiterate adults finally learning to read. Yet, lately I have come to realize that for most of history the majority of people were illiterate.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Few gifts are greater than learning to read. Yet sadly, the overwhelming majority of American adults read very little, especially men. But it is really true: “The person who does not read is no better than the person who cannot read."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is most true when it comes to reading God’s Word. If a nation

This was my Dad’s favorite saying. In his honor, I am beginning a series of devotionals from my Dad’s top ten "power-packed phrases."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This was his favorite “One Christian life can make a difference.” It was his favorite because he wanted his life to make a difference for Jesus. It was his passion.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I wish you could have known him. He was my hero. He was the finest Christian I have ever known. And everyone who knew him would say that their favorite thing about him was how he lived. He was something else.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Was it his faith? Love? Joy? Integrity? Yes, to all of the above. But most of all it was his encouragement. He had the gift of encouragement.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The gift of encouragement isn’t someone who tries to make you feel better, but someone, who when you

As we discussed yesterday, God is the one who brings about spiritual fruit in our lives; our role is to abide in Christ. A branch unattached to the vine is unable to bear fruit. Likewise, apart from Christ, we cannot become more like Him.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To abide in Christ means to stay close to Him or to dwell with Him. This can take various forms: spending time in prayer and Bible study, serving in your local church, living a life of obedience to Christ’s commands, and sharing your faith with others, to name a few. When we abide in Christ, our lives are sure to reflect Him.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Rightfully understanding our role to abide takes all of the pressure off of us! Often, people think we have to earn God’s favor or salvation: if we are good, God will accept us. Jesus reverses the order! Instead, we are good because He has accepted us. The more we spend time with Jesus, the more we begin to look like Him. Fruit-bearing is a byproduct of our relationship with God.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What happens in our lives when we abide in Christ? First, our prayer lives are transformed. We begin to pray more God-centered prayers. Second, our love for God and neighbor increases. From this, we see people coming to Christ through our witness and ministry. We know God more, and therefore we love our neighbors more. Third, God deepens our joy. We see beyond our present trials and suffering and look to eternity. Last but not least, when we abide in Christ, God is glorified.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus make it possible for us to abide in Him. God’s role is to bring about spiritual fruit; our role is simply to remain in Him. Take some time today to consider your part in fruit-bearing. Do you find yourself attempting to take God’s role? Are you trying to earn his favor by doing good things? If so, remember the Gospel. You cannot save yourself; only God is capable of redeeming you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Think about different ways to abide in Christ. When we abide in Christ, God will bring about great fruit in our lives.

In John 15, Jesus uses an agricultural allegory to explain how His followers are to bear spiritual fruit. This means becoming more like Jesus and making disciples. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In addition, spiritual fruit can refer to those who follow Jesus as a result of our co-laboring for the Gospel.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So, what do we do to bring this "fruit" about in our lives? This is the beautiful part: Our role is simply to abide. God’s role is to bring about fruit. In verse 1 of John 15, Jesus explains that He is the Vine and God is the Vinedresser. Later on in the chapter, we are referred to as branches. Branches cannot bear fruit if they aren’t connected to the Vine. Jesus is saying that our spiritual fruit can only come through Him.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Jesus also talks about God as the Vinedresser or Gardner. He has two roles: to prune branches that bear fruit and to cut away dead branches. Gardeners will prune fruit-bearing branches in order to increase their yield in the coming seasons. God does this in our lives, too. This pruning process can often be painful and uncomfortable. It involves the cutting away of habits and thoughts that do not align with God. However, God’s pruning is always done with care and precision. He only prunes that which is fruitful, and He does so in order to produce more fruit.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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His second job is to cut away dead branches. This can refer to people who don’t truly know Christ. They may profess to be believers, but their lives have no likeness to God’s. In other words, they are not bearing any fruit. If your life is not bearing fruit, you may want to question your connection to the Vine.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Pruning is a painful process and often feels uncomfortable. Nonetheless, it is necessary for our spiritual health. Is there anything in your life that needs to be cut back? Ask God to make you more like Him. #rfthministries #dailydevotional #bibleverse

It’s very difficult for most of us to understand the sense of intense hunger and intense thirst that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:6. This type of hunger and thirst is hard for Americans to grasp because the majority of Americans are not often worried about having enough to eat. The kind of hunger Jesus is describing is an obsessive hunger and an incredible thirst – but not for physical food, but righteousness. And righteousness is not something we can achieve. It’s something we can only receive through faith in Jesus Christ. When we accept this righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The Holy Spirit gives us a hunger for God’s Word and it

Matthew 5: 4 begins: “Blessed are they that mourn.” But how can mourning lead to happiness? Well, Jesus isn’t speaking about the mourning or grief of a great loss. The loss of a loved one we care about, the loss of a job, or a crushing failure is not what this word for ‘mourning’ means. This use of

Time Magazine ran a cover story in the summer of July 2013 entitled “The Pursuit of Happiness,” stating that only about 1/3 of Americans would call themselves "very happy." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Even seven years later, this topic of restless emptiness in our hyper-affluent culture remains relevant. The "pursuit of happiness" is in our national DNA. It’s a core component of who we are; Thomas Jefferson engraved it into our consciousness.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Still, so many seem to struggle to really experience true happiness. What is the key to obtaining this seemingly elusive "happiness?” Jesus offers us a radically counter-cultural view of how to discover happiness, or what He refers to as spiritual joy.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Blessed means ‘happy’ or

Have you ever been camping with a toddler? Everything is new and exciting, especially, that captivating bonfire. Why is it that toddlers seem to gravitate towards what could cause the most harm? Growing up is hard. So many rules and do’s and don’ts. But what can appear to be unfair restrictions are often helpful guardrails inviting us to experience what’s best.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In the same way, God offers us guardrails for life. And if we claim to trust God with our lives but refuse to listen to the truth of His word, He will often get our attention one way or the other. You see, God is passionate about two things: His glory and our good. He knows what is best for us and what we need. When we wander away from His truth, we can count on Him leading us back through grace and love. He is not afraid of our rebellion and sin, and He will never give up on us. But God will open our eyes so that we can recognize our need for Him. The Bible calls this discipline. God wants us to see what is right, good, and true because He knows what we need.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Discipline, or correction, is never easy. We often believe that God corrects us out of anger. That idea, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. Just like any good parent, God’s correction is out of love. In fact, He’s working to lead us back to His love and grace. I know this might be difficult to believe. Learning from our mistakes is rarely fun. But even though the challenging times, God is opening our eyes to see where we went wrong and ultimately recognize our need for a Savior.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Is God trying to get your attention? Are you experiencing some of God’s tough love at the moment? Don’t fight it and don’t run from it. Instead, let it lead you back to God’s love and grace. He wants you to know His best and He loves you enough to reveal it to you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Adapted from a sermon by Senior Pastor George Wright, Shandon Baptist Church, SC #rfthministries #dailydevo #dailytruth #dailydevotional #bible #godisbigger #godcan #godsplan #letgoandletgod

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RFTH Leadership Podcast

Join this father–son duo as they discuss leadership through a Biblical lens, offering timeless principles to navigate modern obstacles leaders face from the church to the boardroom.

Check out Episode 1: Finishing Strong

What does it take to finish strong? Perhaps a better question is: How do you want to be remembered? From writing your life’s purpose statement to recognizing the impact everyday small decisions have on reaching those goals, join George and Bryant Wright as they discuss what it takes to finish strong in both life and leadership.

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RFTH Operations during COVID-19 and an update from RFTH Founder Bryant Wright, speaking in his capacity as President of International Relief Organization Send Relief, regarding the Coronavirus

The Right From the Heart Offices in Marietta, Ga will be participating in Social Distancing in an effort to reduce the impact of the Coronavirus in our community. As a result, our staff will minimize their presence in the office for the forseeable future. We will be monitoring the situation and responding as events unfold. The staff will continue to work, albeit remotely and can be reached through the Main Office phone (678-388-1860) or email at info@rfth.org.

The staff is committed to continuing our Daily Devotions and our presence on broadcast and social media while much of the world is practicing some degree of social isolation. We certainly appreciate your continued financial support during this difficult time, as we endeavor to reach,teach, and disciple people for Jesus Christ. click here to make a donation

Please take a moment to watch the brief message (click below) from Bryant Wright providing an update on a conference call he and other CEOs of non-profit/relief organizations participated in with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Surgeon General Adams.

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The 28th Annual Right From The Heart Golf Tourney has been rescheduled for Sept. 28th at The Golf Club Of Georgia!

Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

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Informational Meeting-Upcoming Bible Study Tour of the Holy Land

June 7, 2020

Click below for more information on our Bible Study Tours of the Holy Land, led by Bryant and Anne Wright

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