You Won’t Believe the #1 Cause of Marital Conflict

BIBLE MEDITATION

“He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 5:10

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

I can say without a shadow of doubt that money is the root of all kinds of family problems. Many of our families are in financial bondage, and it’s the devil's plan to keep you there.

One of the most helpful things American families can learn is the difference between needs and wants. We have wants that aren’t genuine needs, and the desire for more and more things isn’t making us happy.

Surveys of married couples show that the number one problem in homes is not sex, children, or in-laws, but finances. Many young couples today think they have to get in three years what it took their parents thirty years to accumulate, and they can go out and get it with the false god of credit.

Your personal value is revealed not by money but by godliness. You don't need wealth to give you contentment, and what you do accumulate, you're not going to be able to keep. You’ll never see a hearse going along with a U-Haul attached behind it. There are certain things we cannot keep and certain things we cannot lose.

What are you leaving behind? The greatest wealth you have is not in the bank. If you have children, your greatest wealth is your children. Prosperity is posterity.

ACTION POINT

What legacy are you leaving in the hearts and lives of your children? Faithfulness to God? Love for His Word? Knowing how to pray and hear from God? Missionary statesman Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

LWF Adrian Rogers

The Most Liberating Discovery

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

No one had ever taught me that God is glorified by our joy in him — that joy in God is the very thing that makes our praise an honor to God, and not hypocrisy.

But Jonathan Edwards said it so clearly and powerfully:

God glorifies himself towards the creatures also [in] two ways: (1) by appearing to . . . their understanding; (2) in communicating himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying the manifestations which he makes of himself. . . . God is glorified not only by his glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. . . .

[W]hen those that see it delight in it: God is more glorified than if they only see it. . . . He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it.

This was a stunning discovery for me. I must pursue joy in God if I am to glorify him as the surpassingly valuable Reality in the universe. Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship. Indeed the very essence of worship — being glad in the glories of God.

We have a name for those who speak their praises of God when they have no pleasure in what they praise. We call them hypocrites. Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Matthew 15:7–8). This fact — that authentic praise means consummate pleasure and that the highest end of man is to drink deeply of this pleasure for God’s glory — was perhaps the most liberating discovery I have ever made.

John Piper 

Bible Study

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.  - Isaiah 9:6-7

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. - Ephesians 2:14-18

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. - 1 Corinthians 15:25

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. - John 14:10-14

You Are Free to Sin But that Is Not Freedom

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

You may say, “I don't want to belong to Jesus; I want to be free.” Well, you will only become free when you belong to Jesus Christ.

If a train says, “I don't want to run on these tracks; I want to be free,” how far do you think it will go? Here's a kite tied to a string. It says, “I don't want to be tied to a string, I want to be free.” The string breaks and down it goes. If a tree planted in the earth says, “I don't want to be planted in the earth; I want to be free,” and it's jerked up from the earth, will it live? Freedom is found in Jesus Christ.

Everything that is truly free is functioning as God made it to function. Just as a train was made to run on rails, God made you to serve the Lord Jesus Christ—to know Him, love Him, and keep His laws. Freedom is found in Jesus Christ, “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

ACTION POINT

You are free to sin, but that's not freedom. It's only freedom to die and go to Hell. Real freedom comes from Jesus Christ. Yield your life to Jesus Christ. Then you will know the true freedom only He can give you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Make War with Unbelief

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17)

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

John Piper 

Bible Study

27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'  - Acts 17:27-28

9 Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us." 

10 Thus says the LORD concerning this people: "They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins."  - Jeremiah 14:9-10

7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." 

8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! 

9 All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. 

10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 

11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. 

12 I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and I am God.  - Isaiah 43:7-12

14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 

17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 

18 known from of old.'

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, - Acts 15:14-19

Are You Playing Marbles with Diamonds?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Therefore. a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

You’ve heard of the famous South African diamond mines. It is said they were discovered when a man saw some little boys playing on the ground with shiny rocks. He watched how they splashed in the sunlight. He stopped, stooped down, picked up one of them, and found out it was a diamond.

Here were little boys playing marbles with diamonds! I'm afraid that's what people today are doing when it comes to sexual purity. God has given something so beautiful, so wonderful to us, yet we misuse it and transgress every protection He placed around this sacred gift.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, man has trampled on this treasure. In modern times, things began to spin out of control with the moral and sexual revolution of the 1960s. We were told that the parameters found in the Word of God concerning the physical relationship between a man and woman are no longer applicable. Truths and commandments revealed to us in Holy Scripture were labeled ridiculous and out of date.

What has been the result of our grasping this valuable treasure and playing with it in the dirt like marbles? Children at a younger and younger age are stripped of their innocence. Our homes are coming apart at the seams. We’re witnessing the slaughter of millions of precious unborn babies who are being put to death, depression has skyrocketed. As the family unit falls apart, more young people are taking their own lives, and our nation is in chaos.

ACTION POINT

This is the reason the Bible says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).

God was saying, “Don't adulterate, don’t contaminate, something so precious and lovely.” Marriage, as God created it, is to be honored and protected. Value purity. Treasure it as a rare diamond.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Our Good Is His Glory

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

One common objection to Christian Hedonism is that it puts the interests of man above the glory of God — that it puts my happiness above God’s honor. But Christian Hedonism most emphatically does not do this.

To be sure, we Christian Hedonists endeavor to pursue our interest and our happiness with all our might. We endorse the resolution of the young Jonathan Edwards: “Resolved: To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

But we have learned from the Bible (and from Edwards!) that God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of his glory by spilling over in mercy to us — to us sinners, who desperately need him.

Therefore, the pursuit of our interest and our happiness, even if it costs us our lives, is never above God’s interest and God’s happiness and God’s glory, but always in God’s. One of the most precious truths in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him — in him!

When we humble ourselves like little children and put on no airs of self-sufficiency, but run happily into the joy of our Father’s embrace, the glory of his grace is magnified and the longing of our soul is satisfied. Our interest and his glory become one.

When Jesus promises in Matthew 6:6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” this is a reward he wants us to seek. He does not lure us with joy we shouldn’t have! But this reward — this joy — is the overflow of turning away from human praise, and going into our closet to seek God.

Therefore, Christian Hedonists do not put their happiness above God’s glory. They put their happiness in God himself and discover the glorious truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

John Piper 

Bible Study

9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."  - Revelation 5:9-10

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 1:18-21

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; - 2 Peter 2:1-4

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Are You on the Brink?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

Hebrews 6:4-6

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Have you ever been to the supermarket and over near the deli, they’re giving away little samples of cheese? It tastes so good! You love it and say, “Give me 3 pounds of that.” You carry it to the register, and the checker says, “That’ll be $30, please. It’s imported from lower Mongolia…very rare.” You say, “Well, just put it back. I know what it is and how it tastes, but I’m not going to pay that high a price.”

Our passage from Hebrews chapter 6 is very interesting. It talks about something that’s impossible. It’s totally 100% impossible for some people to be renewed to repentance and get right with God.

Who is this talking about? Those who at one time were enlightened, their eyes were opened. They’ve tasted the power of the Word of God.

These aren’t saved people who’ve lost their salvation, but people who come up to the brink of salvation. After they know the truth and have nibbled at it, with eyes wide open they say “No” to God, refuse Christ, trampled beneath their feet His precious blood, and as it were, crucify Jesus again. In so doing, they commit a greater sin than those who nailed Jesus to the cross at Calvary.

ACTION POINT

Here’s the good news: If you want to be saved, that means the Holy Spirit is working in you. Anyone who wants to be saved can be. Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus. Believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead. You will be saved (Romans 10:9). Who may come? “Whoever” (Revelation 22:17). You can come and take the water of life freely. Come to Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of a Superior Promise

I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, my translation)

An essential element of joy is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love.

And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, “I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.”

The picture is one of open spaces. The word frees us from smallness of mind. “God gave Solomon . . . breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). The word frees us from threatening confinements. “He brought me out into a broad place” (Psalm 18:19).

Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The freedom he has in mind is freedom from the slavery of sin (John 8:34). Or, to put it positively, it is freedom for holiness.

The promises of God’s grace provide the power that makes the demands of God’s holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear and confinement. Peter described the freeing power of God’s promises like this: “Through [his precious and very great promises] you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:4).

In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption and sinful desire by the power of a superior promise.

How crucial is the word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the word of God!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

John Piper 

Bible Study

18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. - Acts 3:18-21

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. - Colossians 2:12-15

4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. - Romans 7:4-6

24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. - Galatians 3:24-29

Family Worship Can Be Easy

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Therefore, you shall lay up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 11:18-19

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

When your children are little, it’s always good to have family worship, to start the day with the Word of God. But how do you do it successfully?

Joyce and I tried all kinds of things with our kids for family worship. I want to give you one of the simplest, easiest forms of family worship. I don’t know why I didn’t discover it a long time ago. It’s such a blessing. You can still do this with your grandchildren, and with your grown children at breakfast when they’re with you.

We just let one of the little children old enough to read take the Bible and choose a proverb. They can choose it at random. If it’s the seventh day of the month, choose from the seventh chapter of Proverbs, and read a proverb, just one. Or, since Proverbs has 31 chapters—basically the same as the number of days in the month—they can choose a proverb from the corresponding day. And let that child explain what he thinks that proverb means. Then everyone else just talks about it for a few moments.

It is so simple. But when your children are learning those proverbs and having to think about what they mean, you’re giving them distilled wisdom, a nugget of truth they can carry with them to school and to work.

ACTION POINT

Give your children and grandchildren wise instruction, but let that instruction be joined with training. “Train up a child.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Live Confident in God’s Sovereign Power

The immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe . . . (Ephesians 1:19)

The omnipotence of God means eternal, unshakable refuge in the everlasting glory of God no matter what happens on this earth. And that confidence is the source and power of radical obedience to the call of God.

Is there anything more freeing, more thrilling, or more strengthening than the truth that God Almighty is your refuge — all day, every day, in all the ordinary and extraordinary experiences of life?

If we believed this, if we really let this truth of God’s omnipotence get hold of us, what a difference it would make in our personal lives and in our ministries! How humble and powerful we would become for the saving purposes of God!

The omnipotence of God means refuge for the people of God. And when you really believe that your refuge is the omnipotence of God Almighty, there is a joy and a freedom and a power that spills over in a life of radical obedience to Jesus Christ.

The omnipotence of God means reverence, recompense, and refuge for his covenant people.

I invite you to accept the terms of his covenant of grace: Turn from sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ; and the omnipotence of God Almighty will be the reverence of your soul, the recompense of your enemies, and the refuge of your life — forever.

John Piper 

Bible Study

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." - Revelation 21:8

42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

48 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'

49 For everyone will be salted with fire.

50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." - Mark 9:42-50

40 For the one who is not against us is for us.

41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. - Mark 9:40-41

And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." - Mark 9:29

Every Day Can Be Sweeter Than the Day Before

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” Hebrews 3:15

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

We hear people say, "Well, get right with God—you may die." Let me change that: "Get right with God—you may live." And if you live, you can live with Jesus.

Don't get the idea that being a Christian is paying some sort of penalty to get into Heaven…like taking bad medicine to get well. You don't like the way it tastes, but you choke it down.

I would be a Christian even if there were no Heaven or Hell, just to be able to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Now, there is a Heaven and there is a Hell, but serving Jesus is so wonderful, I’d do it even if there weren’t. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and… have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Oh, there are sorrows. We have troubles. Persecutions, certainly. Unsaved people have them too. But God’s child has Someone to bring his sorrows to. A Christian has a hope and a strength and looks forward to the day when they'll be no more sorrows, no more suffering when Jesus takes every tear and turns it to a pearl; the day He takes every hurt and turns it to a hallelujah.

ACTION POINT

We have a loving Savior. How wonderful to know the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Get right with God now, because you may live.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Life Hangs on the Word of God

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we also go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

John Piper 

September 25

1 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that was not called by my name. 

2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; 

3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; 

4 who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; 

5 who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. 

6 Behold, it is written before me: "I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap 

7 both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds." 

8 Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,' so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. 

9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. 

10 Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me. 

11 But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, 

12 I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in." 

13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; 

14 behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. 

15 You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name, 

16 so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. 

17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 

18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 

19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 

20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 

21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 

22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 

23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. 

24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 

25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD.  - Isaiah 65

1 Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 

2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. 

3 "He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; 

4 I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight." 

5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: "Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy'; but it is they who shall be put to shame. 

6 "The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the LORD, rendering recompense to his enemies! 

7 "Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. 

8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. 

9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?" says the LORD; "shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?" says your God. 

10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 

11 that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance." 

12 For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. 

13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 

14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies. 

15 "For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 

16 For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many. 

17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.

18 "For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory,

19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 

23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. 

24 "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." - Isaiah 66

1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? 

3 Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. 

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, 

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 

6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; 

7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. 

8 Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. 

9 Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. 

10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 

12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 

13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 

14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. 

15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. 

16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 

17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. 

18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 

19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 

20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. 

21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. 

22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 

23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. 

24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. 

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. 

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 

27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

29 "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." 

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.  - Proverbs 31

9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.

12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.

19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon.

24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings.

25 Grace be with all of you. - Hebrews 13:9-25

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48 You are witnesses of these things.

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.

51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. - Luke 24:45-53

Is Your Church Built on These Essentials?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Any great church is built on these four things that begin with the letter B.

The Book–the inspired, infallible Word of God.

The Blood–the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Birth–the new birth.

The Blessed Hope–the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You need to be part of a community of faithful believers. Don’t be a “bone on your own,” like the dry bones in Ezekiel. God tells us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). He wants us to find a Bible-believing church and connect with the people there.

ACTION POINT

If you’re looking for a church, find out if they take a stand on the Book, the Blood, the Birth, and the Blessed Hope. If they don’t, saturate that place with your absence. Look for one that does.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jesus’s Pursuit of Joy

[Look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Does the example of Jesus contradict the principle of Christian Hedonism? Namely, that love is the way of joy and that one should choose it for that very reason, lest one be found begrudging obedience to the Almighty or chafing under the privilege of being a channel of grace or belittling the promised reward.

Hebrews 12:2 seems to say fairly clearly that Jesus did not contradict this principle.

The greatest labor of love that ever happened was possible because Jesus pursued the greatest imaginable joy, namely, the joy of being exalted to God’s right hand in the assembly of a redeemed people: “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross!”

In saying this, the writer means to give Jesus as another example, along with the saints of Hebrews 11, of those who are so eager for and confident in the joy God offers that they reject the “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) and choose ill-treatment in order to be aligned with God’s will.

It is not unbiblical, therefore, to say that at least part of what sustained Christ in the dark hours of Gethsemane was the hope of joy beyond the cross. This does not diminish the reality and greatness of his love for us, because the joy in which he hoped was the joy of leading many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

His joy is in our redemption, which redounds to God’s glory. We share the joy with Jesus and God gets the glory.

John Piper 

September 24

1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. 

2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. 

3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 

4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. 

5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. 

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, 

7 and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. 

8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; 

9 but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." 

10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples. 

11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." 

12 And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.  - Isaiah 62

1 Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." 

2 Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? 

3 "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. 

4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. 

5 I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. 

6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." 

7 I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 

8 For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely." And he became their Savior. 

9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 

10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. 

11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, 

12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, 

13 who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. 

14 Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name. 

15 Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. 

16 For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name. 

17 O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. 

18 Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. 

19 We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.  - Isaiah 63

1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence- 

2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! 

3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 

4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. 

5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 

7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. 

8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 

9 Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people. 

10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 

11 Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. 

12 Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?  - Isaiah 64

1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. 

2 Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 

3 I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 

4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? Surely you know! 

5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 

6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. 

7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, 

9 lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. 

10 Do not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be held guilty. 

11 There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. 

12 There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. 

13 There are those-how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! 

14 There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind. 

15 The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. Three things are never satisfied; four never say, "Enough": 

16 Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, "Enough." 

17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. 

18 Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: 

19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin. 

20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong." 

21 Under three things the earth trembles; under four it cannot bear up: 

22 a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is filled with food; 

23 an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress. 

24 Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: 

25 the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; 

26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs; 

27 the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank; 

28 the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces. 

29 Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: 

30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; 

31 the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him. 

32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. 

33 For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife.  - Proverbs 30

1 Let brotherly love continue.

2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" 

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hebrews 13:1-8

36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!"

37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

38 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"

42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

43 and he took it and ate before them.

44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." - Luke 24:36-44