Thursday, November 30, 2017

God’s Large Down Payment—for You



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Corinthians 1:22


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What does this mean, that God has given us the “earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”?  When a man in Jesus’ day intended to buy something he couldn’t afford to purchase at that moment, he would put down “earnest” money. The greater the down payment, the greater the indication that full payment will be made.


For instance, if you’re selling your home for $100,000 and a prospective buyer gives you $5, don’t look for that person again. But if he gives you $50,000, he means business, and you know he’s coming back.


In today’s terminology, we would say that God has given us a down payment of the Spirit.


ACTION POINT:
Do you think God is going to forfeit His Holy Spirit? No. God is not going to forsake you!  He has too much invested in you!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Always Be Ready to Give an Answer





BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your faith. In seminary, we call this “apologetics.” Contrary to what you might think, this does not mean you are to apologize for your faith! Instead, “apologetics” comes from the Greek word that means “to give a defense, as in front of a judge.”

Can you defend your faith? It is not enough for you to demonstrate your faith; you must also defend your faith. If you ran into someone who was dying, and he asked you to share your faith with him, could you? You need to be ready.

You need to also be reasonable. You need to study God’s Word and know what it says about salvation, sin, heaven, and hell. Are you ready?

ACTION POINT:
If not, get ready today. There’s no better time.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Thankful When You’re Counting Pennies



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.” Habakkuk 3:17-19


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
In Habakkuk’s day, there was an economic recession. There were no cows in the barn. “Yet…” he writes. Oh, how I love that “yet” in verse 18. “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Where was his joy? In the Lord, not circumstances.


If you depend on circumstances, you can’t say “rejoice always,” because circumstances change. You lose your job. You lose your health. You lose your friends. You lose your prestige. If that’s where you’re getting your joy, and that changes, you can’t say, “Yet will I rejoice.” But Habakkuk said, “Yet will I joy in the God of my salvation.”


Where are you getting your joy? From the Lord? I hope you are. There’s one way we can find out. If you’re getting your joy from your job, we can take your job and see if you still have your joy. Maybe you’re getting your joy from your health. You say, “No, it’s from the Lord.” If your health fails, see if you still have your joy.


ACTION POINT:
The only joy anyone can have is in the Lord, because He never changes. Your joy can be threatened if you get it anywhere else. It’s not wrong to joy in your health or your job. But that kind of joy that can be threatened. You need a joy which supersedes that. Psalm 16:11: says, “Thou will show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy.” Rejoice in the Lord always.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Monday, November 27, 2017

Within the Holy of Holies



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Hebrews 6:19-20


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The Old Testament temple had three parts: the outer court, the inner court, and the innermost court. The innermost court was called the “inner sanctum” or the “Holy of Holies.” Only the priest could go in there.


Once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people. He would lift up a corner of the heavy veil and slip under. Then, he would sprinkle blood upon the Mercy Seat. If anyone went in without the blood, there was sudden death.


When the veil of the temple was torn at Jesus’ death, it was torn from top to bottom so no one would think a person did this. By His death, Jesus was saying that there were no more animal sacrifices necessary. Now, every believer can enter the Holy of Holies.


ACTION POINT:
Have you been there today?


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Above All, Love!



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Why is love so important?


First, because it is the greatest virtue. Love supersedes faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13).


Second, because it is the greatest command. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).


Third, love is the greatest testimony. What is really going to make your community wake up and believe that your church is really the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? The size of your building? The way your lawn looks? The signage at the street? No. The way you love God and show love to others.


ACTION POINT:
Nothing can motivate a lost sinner like the heartfelt love of Jesus Christ.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Today is Tomorrow



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I read some research by psychologist William Morriston who reported that 94% of the 3,000 persons he surveyed were enduring today in order to get to tomorrow.


Do you know anyone like that? Perhaps you are one of those.


Tomorrow, you’re going on vacation. Tomorrow, you’re going to get the house cleaned. Tomorrow, you’re going to start your diet. Tomorrow, you’re going to balance your checkbook. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.


The only problem is…tomorrow never arrives. When it gets here, it is today. And today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.


ACTION POINT:
It is always today. Act accordingly!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Happiness Is A Choice



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.” Psalm 7:17


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Did you know that happiness is a choice?
A man said to a beggar one day, “Good day my friend.”
The beggar answered, “Well, thank you, but I never have a bad one.”
The man responded, “Well, may God give you a happy life, my friend.”
And the beggar replied, “I thank God that I am never unhappy.”
The man was speechless. And the beggar continued, “When I have plenty to eat, I thank God. When I am hungry, I thank God. If it is God’s will for me to endure this, then whatever is God’s will for me makes me happy.”
He chose to be happy.


ACTION POINT:
What do you want? Do you want to be happy? Then choose to be happy today no matter your circumstances…by praising God.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving: The Highest Expression of Faith



BIBLE MEDIATION:
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:15


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
If worry is the opposite of faith, then thanksgiving is the expression of faith—in fact, the highest expression. You say, “I don’t know if I have as much to thank God for as some other people.” Well, the apostle Paul was in a filthy Philippian jail waiting possible beheading when he wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”


I’ve noticed that unthankful people are never happy people. They’re filled with bitterness, fear, negativism, selfishness and self-pity.


You see, God has blessed you.  You may not think so because you’re measuring blessings by the barometer of health, wealth, and happiness. 


My friend, let me tell you what blessings we have.  “Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits…” (Psalm 68:19).  God has loaded your wagon.  How often?  Every day! “It is of the LORD’S mercies we’re not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Every day you wake up to blessings.


ACTION POINT:
Thank Him for spiritual blessings and thank Him for simple blessings: good, clean water. Enough food. Shelter. The simple things. We are so blessed. Refuse to worry, but carry everything to God in prayer. Rejoice in the presence of the Lord.  Rely upon the power of the Lord. Reflect on the provision of the Lord.  Rest in the peace of the Lord.  Do everything with thanksgiving. 


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Stronger, Not Weaker

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What does Paul mean in this verse when he says that he “takes pleasure” in all of these difficult circumstances? He is trying to communicate that if his money were taken, he would have greater riches. His weakness becomes his strength.


When Paul was isolated and placed in solitary confinement, then Jesus was near. His weakness became his strength. If they beat him and he hurt, then he had the fellowship of Christ’s suffering—his weakness became his strength. If his body became crippled and he was no more able to lean upon the arm of his flesh, then he had to lean on the Everlasting Arms. Paul took pleasure in these things.


ACTION POINT:
God is waiting to make you strong. There is power in our suffering. Suffering is not going to hurt you; it is going to strengthen you.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Running Together

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” 1 Corinthians 9:24


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I have a race to run. God has given you a race to run as well. Every man runs his own race. We’re not racing against each other to win the victor’s crown. We are in a pilgrimage together. I’m not trying to outrun you. And you’re not trying to outrun me. That is good news!


God has a plan for your life with particular speed bumps, detours, and hurdles to cross. And you are to stay in the race until it is over. But you are not running alone!


ACTION POINT:
Though we are not in the same race, we are in the journey together, so we encourage one another to win. And I want you to win the victor’s crown today! Run, my friend, run!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Monday, November 20, 2017

An Extreme Make-Over Is Underway



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” Romans 8:30


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Dr. Scofield, who edited the Scofield Bible, says that “predestination is the effective exercise of the will of God by which things before determined by Him are brought to pass.” That is, God says He is determined to do something and then He does it. God’s wisdom is sovereign.


What did God predestinate? That those whom God foreknew will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, who is the Firstborn.


God had one Son and He said, “I want more just like Him.” And so God is redeeming a whole race of people, so that all these people might be conformed to the image of God’s Son.


If you are saved, you are predestined to be like Jesus. When God foreknew that you would receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then He said, “It is settled. You will one day be like My Son.”


ACTION POINT:
Thank God for what He has done and is going to do, in shaping you into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Who Is Keeping You In God’s Hand?



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When I talk about eternal security, inevitably I will hear, “Well, maybe your sins can’t take you out of the hand of God, but Satan can.”


In all due respect, I respond, “Pardon me. But that is foolishness. If Satan could take you out of the hand of God, why hasn’t he done it yet? Hasn’t he been nice to you? That would be a strange doctrine. You’re going to heaven by the grace of the devil!”


God saves us. God keeps us. What has been settled in eternity can never be undone by the ways of men or the schemes of the devil.


ACTION POINT:
Read Romans 8:38-39 today. These would be important verses for you to memorize.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Is There Enough “Goodness” in Your Cup?



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There is none good, no not one. If you asked every single human being on planet earth to deposit in a cup all of his or her goodness, there would not be enough goodness in that cup to save even one person!


Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as “filthy rags” in the sight of God. The cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Jesus took our sin upon the cross. Jesus took our shame upon the cross. Jesus took our suffering upon the cross. And by His death, He paid the sin debt and now we have His righteousness.


In 1906, Jessie Brown Pounds wrote these words: “I must needs go home by the way of the cross, there's no other way but this; I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light, if the way of the cross I miss.”


ACTION POINT:
Get this clear with yourself: Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own? Your accumulated lifetime of “good works”? Or the righteousness of the sinless Lamb of God, Who became your substitute on the Cross and paid your sin debt in full?


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Friday, November 17, 2017

Whose Clothes Are You Wearing?



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There are some who may be reading this who are going to be absolutely speechless when they stand before the King of Heaven. They are church members, but they’re not saved. Instead, they’re dressed in the rags of self-righteousness rather than the wedding garment of His righteousness.


In 1834 hymn writer Edward Mote wrote this timeless pledge, “When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.”


ACTION POINT:
It would be tragic indeed for those who acted in every conceivable religious way to think they can come to the wedding without Christ’s righteousness. I’m not trying to get you to doubt your salvation, but I want to ask you, are you saved? How do you know?


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Thursday, November 16, 2017

When Your Feet Are Slipping…



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.” Psalm 73:1


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, started his psalm by talking about the purity of a person’s heart and the goodness of God. Then he says, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped” (Psalm 73:2).


He had the idea that when he got right with God, that he wouldn’t have any more troubles. Are you sure about that? Yes! Psalm 73:13-14 says, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.”


He said, “I got right with God and I still have problems!” He had a false expectation that the Bible doesn’t necessarily give. Christians are not due preferential treatment.


ACTION POINT:
Seek the Lord through His Word and in prayer. You will find the presence of God is enough, even in the midst of our trials.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Hungry for God


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:16


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
One day I was eating in a cafeteria in New York when the door of the restaurant opened and a man ran in. He rushed to a table that had been abandoned by patrons just shortly before. He began to stuff his mouth with the leftovers when the management discovered him. He rushed out like a squirrel scurrying to safety. No pride. He didn’t care what people thought.


A man who is starving is dead serious about the matter of getting food. He’s focused. He’s only got one thing on his mind—where is his next meal? He’s not concerned about popularity, position, or possessions.


What are you hungry for today? Is Jesus enough to satisfy your appetite?


ACTION POINT:
When a person is thirsty or hungry enough, he will pay any price.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Lord Of Hosts


Jehovah Sabaoth
God Our Power

Storms are coming!
Life will deal you blows!
Your life, at some point will fall apart!

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, 
7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? 
8 O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?  - Psalm 89:5-8

God Almighty offers relief!
This is the power of God!

For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth- the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!  - Amos 4:13

None can compare!
God answers prayer.
He will never forsake you.
He sees your pain and brokenness.

The Lord of Hosts prevents defeat!
God of heavens army.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 
8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!  - Psalm 24:7-8

Don't let fear rule you!
God is able!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31


Thanks Pastor Kevin!!






Ask for Help from the Teacher

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Psalm 119:18


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever thought you could just go to the Bible and pull some truth out of it for your life? Let me tell you friend: you cannot do that. Your mind will never comprehend the things of God apart from the Holy Spirit illuminating you.
First, we must lay our intellectual pride in the dust, and with open arms and a heart of faith, approach God’s Word for wisdom, discernment, and knowledge. Then He will teach us.


ACTION POINT:
It took a supernatural miracle to write the Word of God. It takes a supernatural miracle for you to understand it. When God begins to write His Word upon your heart, you are going to lead a supernatural life! Ask Him for that!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Monday, November 13, 2017

Breaking Free From the Comparison Trap



“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6



Have you ever noticed that we buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like? We try to keep up with the Jones family, but when we finally catch up with them, they refinance! Let me exhort you to get off that comparison treadmill and onto the pathway of serenity. You are accepted right now in Christ. God does not change you so He can love you. He loves you so He can change you! God loves you as much as He loves Jesus. If you are saved, you are in Christ. And where is He? He is seated in the heavenlies. You are also seated in those heavenly places, even though you still have your address on planet Earth. You are enthroned with Him.



When was the last time you compared yourself with someone else? It’s time to get yourself unharnessed from the comparison yoke and break free as a child of the King!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Sunday, November 12, 2017

What Is True Humility?

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” James 4:10

Have you ever wondered what humility is all about? True humility is not thinking negatively about yourself. It is agreeing with what God says about you. The grace of God will exalt a person without inflating him and humble a person without debasing him. I am what I am because of Christ. In this life, you are not going to be sinless, but as you deal with sin in your life, you can come closer to being free from sin. Sinless? No. Blameless? Yes. As you confess and stay prayed up, you can be blameless.

Do you have a concordance in your Bible? Do a study on the subject of “humility.” Start with Philippians 2:5-11.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Power Of The Gospel


For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Romans 1:16

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. - John 1:1-18

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, - Romans 1:1-5

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. - Jude 1:3-5


Sola Scriptura means scripture alone.
Our Salvation is through Christ alone, shared through God's Almighty word in the form of the Scriptures.

During the Reformation, ordinary people challenged what they had been taught by Church leaders. They hungered for the truth of the Gospel. Even before this period, there were Saints who searched the Scriptures for the light. In general though, the masses were not taught the wonder that is salvation through Christ alone. They were taught to blindly follow priest and their dictates, no questions asked. 

Moses brought the law which made us aware of our sin.

Please read and study your bible. The Bible is the living word of God. Do not blindly trust anyone with this gift in which God reveals Himself to you. How can you know the truth without God's revelation? Even today, many are led astray by false doctrine. There are many false religions, there are many who twist God's word and many who set themselves up as gods. The final authority in which we hope is The Lord Jesus Christ!

Showing Genuine Love For Others


BIBLE MEDITATION:
 “Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Psalm 18:35


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Can a person donate to the poor and not have love? Can a person work in a soup kitchen for the homeless and not have love? Yes.
You say, “A person wouldn’t do that!” Oh yes, they would…if they had a guilty conscience. Sometimes it is neater to write a check or donate some used things than to give of our time.


Do you know what the world needs? Not more money, though I’m sure they’d be glad to take it. First Corinthians 13:3 says, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving of yourself to others.


ACTION POINT:
Ask God to show you the ways you can show His genuine love to others.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Friday, November 10, 2017

Accusation vs. Conviction: Learn to Tell the Difference!



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:7-8


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The devil accuses you of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin. Do you know the difference? The devil accuses you to drive you from Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts to draw you to Christ.


The devil wants you to get under a load of guilt so you’ll say, “I’m no good. I can’t live the Christian life. There’s something wrong with me. God doesn’t hear my prayers. It doesn’t do me any good to go to church.”


When you believe those lies, you let the devil drive you away from God! He accuses you to destroy you.


The Holy Spirit convicts you to reclaim you. He is trying to correct you and bring you back, that you may know the fullness of joy. The Holy Spirit draws you to Christ that you may confess your sins and be cleansed!


ACTION POINT:
Confess, be cleansed, and go your way rejoicing!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Thorns


7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10


Satan afflicts God's people with intentions of destruction, death and misery.
But in the midst of these torments, God is working to save.

9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. - 1 Corinthians 4:9-13

31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:31-32

Our hope is in Christ alone!

9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. - 2 Corinthians 1:9-10

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, - 2 Corinthians 4:7-13

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. - 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

So where are you placing your hope?

Precious Lord, keep us from chasing emptiness. Let us be filled with the abiding hope that is Christ. Amen

Shake Off Fear—Embrace Blessing!


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Did you know that fear can cause you to forget things? Now, I’m not talking about forgetting a phone number or someone’s name, though it may cause you to forget things like that. Instead, I’m referring to fear that causes you to forget the blessings, the anointing, the power of God—all these possessions you have because you are saved!


It happened to Timothy, who was mightily gifted and graced by God for the ministry that God had given him.  Yet he forgot this in the midst of fear, and Paul had to remind him (see 2 Timothy 1:6). He had taken his eyes off of God and focused on fear so much that he couldn’t see anything else.


Let me tell you something friend: You are tremendously blessed! If you get your mind distracted by fear, then you will fail to see your blessings in Christ. Fear will blow out every light in your soul, take the blue out of your sky, and the joy out of your life.


ACTION POINT:
Friend, wake up and count your blessings. Rejoice, for you are in Christ!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers