Thursday, April 30, 2020

You Can Find God's Will


BIBLE MEDITATION

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" 1 John 5:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Do you know why our prayers sometimes are not answered? We’re saying, “Not Thy will, but mine be done.” Let me tell you something: prayer is not some exercise where you talk God into doing what He doesn’t want to do. You’ll never do that. Prayer is not bending God’s will to fit your will. Prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it. Do you know where man got into trouble? In the Garden of Eden when the first Adam said, “Not Thy will, but mine be done.”

ACTION POINT

Thank God for the second Adam, the Lord Jesus, who prayed in another garden, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Ask yourself, “Am I submitted to the will of God? Is there something I’m holding back? Show me, Lord, what I need to surrender.”


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Fifteen Tactics for Joy

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

In this life of sin and pain, joy is embattled. Just like faith. And Paul says to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). So it is with joy. We must work for it and fight for it. Paul said to the Corinthians, “We work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24).

How then shall we fight for joy? Here are 15 pointers.

Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift.
Realize that joy must be fought for relentlessly. And don’t be put off by the paradox of these first two pointers!
Resolve to attack all known sin in your life, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Learn the secret of gutsy guilt — how to fight like a justified sinner.
Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see — to see God for who he is.
Meditate on the word of God day and night.
Pray earnestly and continually for open heart-eyes and an inclination for God.
Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.
Spend time with God-saturated people who help you see God and fight the fight.
Be patient in the night of God’s seeming absence.
Get the rest, exercise, and proper diet that your body was designed by God to have.
Make a proper use of God’s revelation in nature — take a walk in the woods.
Read great books about God and biographies of great saints.
Do the hard and loving thing for the sake of others (your verbal witness and deeds of mercy).
Get a global vision for the cause of Christ, and pour yourself out for the unreached.


John Piper 

Bible Study

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:14

For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.  - Psalm 21:6

8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. 
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!  - Psalm 36:8-10

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." - John 14:6-7

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Release Your Bitterness



BIBLE MEDITATION

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice”
(Ephesians 4:30-31)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Bitterness creates a climate for the devil. Did you know the devil is bitter? In Revelation 12:17, you find the devil, pictured as a dragon, pursuing the nation Israel. The devil has bitterness, a vendetta against God’s holy people, and he is pursuing. He’s trying any way he can to hurt them.

I’ve seen some Christians with bitterness in their hearts. I don’t know where they got it. Evidently someone hurt them. But the real problem is, there’s a root of bitterness down in their heart. In this, they’re like the devil.

ACTION POINT

Are you bitter? If so, in that regard, you are like the devil. If you’re not careful, before long you’re going to be full of the devil. Don’t let another day go by without bringing that bitterness to God and asking Him to help you release it.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Day Is at Hand

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. (Romans 13:12)

This is a word of hope to suffering Christians. It’s a word of hope to Christians who hate their own sin and long to be done with sinning. It’s a word of hope to Christians who long for the last enemy Death to be overcome and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).

How is it a word of hope for all these?

“The night” stands for this age of darkness and all its sin and misery and death. And what does Paul say about it? “The night is far gone.” The age of sin and misery and death is almost spent. The day of righteousness and peace and total joy is dawning.

You might say, “2,000 years seems like a long dawn.” From one standpoint it is. And we cry, How long, O Lord, how long will you let it go on? But the biblical way to think goes beyond this lament of “How long!” It looks at world history differently.

The key difference is that the “day” — the new age of the Messiah — has really dawned in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the end of this fallen age. That is, the end of this fallen age has, as it were, broken in to this world. Jesus defeated sin and pain and death and Satan when he died and rose again. The decisive battle of the ages is over. The kingdom has come. Eternal life has come.

And when dawn happens — as it did in the coming of Jesus — no one should doubt the coming of day. Not even if the dawn draws out 2,000 years. As Peter says in 2 Peter 3:8, “Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” The dawn has come. The day has arrived. Nothing can stop the rising of the sun to full day.

John Piper 

Bible Study

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. - Revelation 21:4-7

36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." - Luke 20:36-38

25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. - 1 Corinthians 15:25-28

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:11-15

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

We Need Revival


BIBLE MEDITATION

“Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” Psalm 85:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

What we need is a sweeping revival. Decline occurs in nine cycles. People go from:
Bondage to spiritual faith
Spiritual faith to courage
Courage to liberty
Liberty to abundance
Abundance to selfishness
Selfishness to complacency
Complacency to apathy
Apathy to dependence
Dependence back again to bondage

ACTION POINT

This cycle is being revealed today in our nation’s current status. But I'm telling you, it’s time some of us took our place and prayed for God to send a mighty revival. Pray for repentance across our nation. Pray for our nation to return to Him. It’s not too late with God!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Great Exchange



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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (Romans 1:16–17)

We need righteousness to be acceptable to God. But we don’t have it. What we have is sin.

So, God has what we need and don’t deserve — righteousness; and we have what God hates and rejects — sin. What is God’s answer to this situation?

His answer is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who died in our place and bore our condemnation. “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he [God] condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). Whose flesh bore the condemnation? His. Whose sins were being condemned? Ours. This is the great exchange. Here it is again in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ’s obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us. Our sin on Christ; his righteousness on us.

We can hardly stress too much that Christ is God’s answer to our greatest problem. It is all owing to Christ.

You can’t love Christ too much. You can’t think about him too much, or thank him too much, or depend upon him too much. All our forgiveness, all our justification, all our righteousness is in Christ.

This is the gospel — the good news that our sins are laid on Christ and his righteousness is laid on us, and that this great exchange becomes ours not by works but by faith alone. “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Here is the good news that lifts burdens and gives joy and makes strong.


John Piper 

Sin-Sorrow-Death The Sin Caused Things


It seems we spend half our lives asking why these things happen. 
Are we really so out of touch with the Bible and its teaching that we don't have a clue? 
The downward spiral started in the garden of Eden where sin began. 
That downward spiral will continue until Christ burst forth in the eastern sky to claim His bride, the church.
Praise be to God that these three sin caused things are not the end!!
Christ came to reconcile these sin caused things on the cross.
God gave Him the power to redeem sinners and conquer sin, sorrow and death.
If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. 
You become a sojourner here on Earth waiting to go back home.
These sin caused things will come, but Christ is your Redeemer!
The battle us won!
We are victorious in Christ alone!
Will you surrender to the only One who is able?
Confess!
Repent!
Claim your blood bought pardon! 
Let Your eternity be secure through the blood of Christ that cleanses all unrighteousness!


17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:17-18

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,"
18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.
21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. - 2 Peter 1:16-21

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. - 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"- 
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 2:7-16

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. - 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. - 1 Corinthians 11:3

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. - Colossians 1:15-23

Bible Study

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" - John 7:37-38

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." - Mark 8:36-38

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.  - Psalm 40:9-10

Monday, April 27, 2020

Have You Opened His Door?


BIBLE MEDITATION

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” Revelation 3:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

A man once told me, “Back in the depression, we had three meals a day. We had oatmeal for breakfast, corn meal for dinner, and no meal for supper.”

You may feel like that. You may not feel as if you have much now. But I don’t care what is set on your table today, Friend, listen—when you become a Christian, whether or not you have a freezer full of filet mignon, it makes no difference. There’s Someone else who prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Christian, you eat at the King’s table.

ACTION POINT

If you have opened the door to Him, you feast in Him. You are in the Lord’s fellowship. You sit at His table! And no matter how poor you are, you eat with the King! Open your heart’s door to the Lord Jesus Christ.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Children of a Singing God



And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mark 14:26)

Can you hear Jesus singing?

Was he a bass or a tenor? Was there a down-home twang to his voice? Or was there an unwavering crystal pitch?

Did he close his eyes and sing to his Father? Or did he look into his disciples’ eyes and smile at their deep camaraderie?

Did he usually start the song? Or did Peter or James, or maybe Matthew, do it?

Oh, I can hardly wait to hear Jesus sing! I think the planets would be jolted out of orbit if he lifted his native voice in our universe. But we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken; so, Lord, go ahead, do it! Sing!

It could not be otherwise but that Christianity be a singing faith. The founder sang. He learned to sing from his Father. Surely they have been singing together from all eternity. Don’t you think so? Would not infinite eternal happiness in the fellowship of the Trinity sing?

The Bible says the aim of our singing is “to raise sounds of joy” (1 Chronicles 15:16). No one in the universe has more joy than God. He is infinitely joyful. He has rejoiced from eternity in the panorama of his own perfections reflected perfectly in the deity of his Son.

God’s joy is unimaginably powerful. He is God. When he speaks, galaxies come into being. And when he sings for joy, more energy is released than exists in all the matter and motion of the universe.

If he appointed song for us to release our heart’s delight in him, is this not because he also knows the joy of releasing his own heart’s delight in his own image in his Son by his Spirit in song? We are a singing people because we are the children of a singing God.


John Piper 

Bible Study

15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 
16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 
17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence. 
18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!  - Psalm 115:15-18

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 
2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" 
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 
7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 
8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.  - Psalm 115:1-8

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.  - Psalm 124:8

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. 
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.  - Psalms 121

Sunday, April 26, 2020

You Have 3 Problems

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

I once met a lawyer on an airplane. We began to talk about what we like to read. I said, “I read newspapers, books, journals, devotional studies, but primarily the Bible.”

He said, “If you don’t read any further than that, how do you know what to talk about when you speak to people?”

I said, “Sir, man only has three problems: sin, sorrow, and death.”

He answered, “There are more than that.”

I replied, “No, only three.”

“Oh,” he said, “there are other problems.”

I said, “All right, tell me another.”

He thought for a long time, came back, and said, “Man only has three problems.”

That’s true. And the cross of Jesus Christ is the only answer to those three problems. You give me all of the wisdom of this world—but there is no other answer apart from the cross.

ACTION POINT

The Jews look for a sign; it is the Cross. The Greeks want wisdom; it is the Cross. To this world it is foolishness, but to God, it is not foolishness. Now, thank God for the message of the Cross. If mankind really has only three problems, when you think of yours, what category do they fall into? Jot down a list of what you consider right now your top ten problems. In prayer bring that list before the Lord. Surrender them to Him, ask Him to speak to you, and listen for His direction.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Were Made for God


“For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.” (1 Samuel 12:22)

The name of God often refers to his reputation, his fame, his renown. This is the way we use the word “name” when we say someone is making a name for himself. Or we sometimes say, that’s a “name” brand. We mean a brand with a big reputation. This is what I think Samuel means in 1 Samuel 12:22 when he says that God made Israel a people “for himself” and that he would not cast Israel off “for his great name’s sake.”

This way of thinking about God’s zeal for his name is confirmed in many other passages.

For example, in Jeremiah 13:11 God describes Israel as a waistcloth, or belt, with which God chose to highlight his glory, even though there were times when Israel was temporarily unfit. “For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.” Why was Israel chosen and made the garment of God? That it might be a “name, a praise, and a glory.”

The words “praise” and “glory” in this context tell us that “name” means “fame” or “renown” or “reputation.” God chose Israel so that the people would make a reputation for him. God says in Isaiah 43:21 that Israel is “the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

And when the church came to see itself in the New Testament as the true Israel, Peter described God’s purpose for us like this: “You are a chosen race . . . that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

In other words, Israel and the church are chosen by God to make a name for him in the world. This is why we pray first and foremost, “Hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). This is why we pray, “Lead us in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake” (see Psalm 23:3).

When we speak of being a God-centered people, remember, this is because we are joining God in his God-centeredness. And on this side of the cross, that means being a Christ-dependent, Christ-exalting people. “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).


John Piper 

For His Glory


23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." - Jeremiah 9:23-24

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." - Mark 8:38

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!  - Psalm 105:3

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  - Psalm 23:3

9 "For my name's sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.  - Isaiah 48:9-11

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.  - Isaiah 42:8

"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.  - Isaiah 43:25

"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. - Malachi 3:6

but you are the same, and your years have no end.  - Psalm 102:27

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  - Numbers 23:19

Bible Study

23 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." - Jeremiah 9:23-24

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  - Numbers 23:19

9 "For my name's sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.  - Isaiah 48:9-11

20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 
28 Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; 
29 let him put his mouth in the dust- there may yet be hope; 
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. 
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever, 
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 
33 for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. 
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, 
35 to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, 
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve. 
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? 
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? 
39 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? 
40 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! 
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: 
42 "We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. 
43 "You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; 
44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. 
45 You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.  - Lamentations 3:20-45

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Paul’s Salvation Was for You


Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. . . . I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:13–14, 16)

Paul’s conversion was for your sake. Did you hear that? Here it is again: “I received mercy for this reason, that Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” That’s us — you and me.

I hope you will hear this very personally. God had you in view when he chose Paul and saved him by sovereign grace just the way he did.

If you believe on Jesus for eternal life — or if you may yet believe on him for eternal life — Paul’s conversion is for your sake. The point of his conversion happening the way it did is to make Christ’s incredible patience vivid for you.

Remember that Paul’s pre-conversion life was a long, long trial to Jesus. “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus asked on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4). “Your life of unbelief and rebellion is a persecution of me!” And yet Paul tells us in Galatians 1:15 that he had been set apart by God for his apostleship since before he was born. That’s amazing. It means that all his life up to the point of his conversion was one long abuse of God, and one long rejection and mockery of Jesus — who had chosen him to be an apostle before he was born.

That is why Paul says his conversion is a brilliant demonstration of Jesus’s patience. And that is what he offers us today.

It was for our sake that Jesus saved Paul when and how he did. To “display his perfect patience” to us (1 Timothy 1:16). Lest we lose heart. Lest we think he could not really save us. Lest we think he is prone to anger. Lest we think we have gone too far away. Lest we think our dearest one cannot be converted — suddenly, unexpectedly, by the sovereign, overflowing grace of Jesus.

John Piper 

Do You Value Wisdom?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” Proverbs 16:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

I was interested to note in the newspaper an event when several billion dollars was physically moved from one bank to another—$7.5 billion, to be exact. And there to watch and protect was an army of one hundred policeman and guards—all with their guns, tear gas, and all forms of electronic communications—because, of course, everybody wants money, don't they? People would do anything to get their hands on that money.

I wonder, if they had a truckload of wisdom going down the street, how many policemen do you think they’d have needed to guard it?

ACTION POINT

It will be a great day in your life when you begin to seek after wisdom with the same intensity and commitment as you seek after money. Is there an idol of gold in your life? Do your savings account, your retirement fund, or your investments claim more of your attention and time than your Heavenly Father? If so, confess it. He already knows anyway. Then ask Him to empower you to restructure your priorities. Cast away any idols.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Eternal Life Giving Spirit


There is only one life giving Spirit, Christ Jesus!
He was ordained by God for this purpose.
Because of Him alone, we have victory!
From the beginning, Satan brought sin. 
But Christ has overcome!
Satan is defeated and Christ is Lord!
There is salvation for eternal life found only by the precious blood bought pardon.
Christ redeemed sinful man.
You must repent!
Sin destroys!

Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. - 1 Corinthians 15:45

then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. - Genesis 2:7

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. - Romans 5:14

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. - John 5:21

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." - John 6:33

39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." - John 6:39-40

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. - John 6:54

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. - John 6:57

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. - Romans 8:2

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. - Romans 8:10

April 25

14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.
15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
16 And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?"
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able."
19 And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me."
20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
21 And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
23 And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes."
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead."
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"
29 And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,
31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."
32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. - Mark 9:14-32

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.
2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,
6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go.
7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.
8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,
9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.
11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done in love.
15 Now I urge you, brothers-you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints-
16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.
17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,
18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. - 1 Corinthians 16

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 
2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." 
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 
4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 
9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge- 
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. 
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 
12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 
14 "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 
16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."  - Psalms 91

1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it."
5 Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance."
6 Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal.
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.
10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day."
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman."
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. - Ruth 4