No Peacocks in Heaven

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . .”

MATTHEW 5:3

 

PONDER THIS

When you come to Jesus Christ, you do not strut into His presence. The very word for “poor” comes from a root word which means, “to cringe, to cower, and to shrink back.” There are no peacocks in Heaven. Jesus said blessed is the person who is totally, completely, devastatingly bankrupt to the point of being reduced to being a beggar. And when that person comes to God he or she must say, “In my hand, no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling.”[1] That's where it begins. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Some people will agree they aren’t perfect. But they also believe they aren’t as bad as some other people. And I say, dear friend, you are not yet bankrupt. You've never seen yourself and discovered that the Bible says even your righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of a righteous and holy God (Isaiah 64:6). Take your sin seriously. You cannot minimize sin if you want a relationship with a holy God.

When was the last time you considered the depth of your brokenness and sin? Why do we tend to avoid this?

What is the sin you struggle to accept God’s forgiveness 

PRACTICE THIS

Confess your sin to God honestly, remembering that He is our only hope for peace.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Is Your Heart Open Before God?

PRAY OVER THIS

“And Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.’”

Joshua 7:20-21

 

PONDER THIS

There was a progression of Achan’s sin. He said, “I saw.” Then, he said, “I coveted.” Now an unlawful desire is beginning to build in his heart. The octopus of sin is beginning to wrap its tentacles around his soul. This was the time when he should’ve confessed. This was the time when he should’ve said, “Oh, God, something is growing in my heart that is wrong, unclean, and impure.” But he didn’t do this. Achan was a thief in his heart first. A man is not a thief because he steals, he steals because he’s a thief; it began in his heart.

First, he saw, then he coveted, then he took. You may believe you would never do such a thing. But if you put yourself in that situation—seeing unlawful things and letting covetousness grow—when that opportunity comes, you’re primed to take. Then he said, “I hid.” This is the worst of all. Many have buried some unclean thing, and the worst thing of all is to hide it and keep it hidden. Private sin is never really private. What you cover, God will uncover, but what you uncover, God will cover.

Is there an area of sin that is festering in your life? What have you done about it?

Why are we prone to hide our sins? What should we do instead?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess to God your sin as well as any desires in your heart that could lead to sinful action.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Protecting Your Family?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity.” Isaiah 59:1-3

 

PONDER THIS

I once heard about a man in the Blue Ridge Mountains who caught rattlesnakes for a living. One day he caught a huge rattler that had a rattle with fourteen segments. He put it in a box with a glass top on the box and was out in the fields plowing when his little boy slid the top off that box where that rattler was coiled. The rattlesnake sprung out of that box and planted his fangs in the cheek of that little boy. The little boy ran out of the house and into the yard to tell his father what had happened. The father watched the boy’s face begin to swell and then the child died.

Devastated, the man lifted his voice in anguish and said, “I would not trade my sons for all the rattlesnakes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” The company of the rattlesnake felt so harmless tucked away in a box, but it was still deadly. We cannot play with vices that will destroy our children. There is serious danger in letting sin have a foothold in our families. We may think, “It is just my problem to deal with.” But sin will hurt us and everyone around us if it is not surrendered to God and dealt with in His way.

What are some sin struggles you do not want to pass down to the next generation?

What are some ways we justify sin even though it has terrible effects on our lives and on our families?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess your sin to God and repent.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Confession to God Leads to Freedom

PRAY OVER THIS

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;’ for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 1:18-20

 

PONDER THIS

You may say, “Pastor, you made me feel bad with this message about sin, because, very frankly, my life has been touched by immorality.” I want to tell you something, that’s what this Book is all about—good news! It’s the bad news that makes the good news good. The Bible says of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, “it is the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16). God is a God of grace; God is a God of forgiveness; God is a God of another chance; and God is a God who says, “Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Hallelujah for such a Gospel. Thank God for this: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

There’s one thing God will never accept when it comes to sin, and that is an excuse. But when there comes a confession, thank God. The cleansing tides of Calvary sweep across the human soul and every blot, blur, and blemish is washed whiter than snow by Jesus’ blood.

When have you been overwhelmed with guilt? How did the Gospel impact you in that time?

Why do you think we feel tempted to give excuses and alibis instead of confessing our sin to God?

PRACTICE THIS

Share with a friend how the Gospel has impacted the way you experience sin, confession, and forgiveness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Can Be Cleansed from Sin

PRAY OVER THIS

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” Ephesians 5:1

 

PONDER THIS

Do you have any unconfessed, unrepented sin? I want to give you a testimony. You may think I’m bragging but I am not. I don’t have any unconfessed sin in my life—none. You say, “Oh, you think you’re a super Christian?” No, I’m a normal Christian. That is the normal Christian life. I would be a fool to stand up here and try and preach without the breastplate of righteousness.

Now, you’re not going to win the war with pornography if all you fight is pornography. What about honesty? What about pride? What about selfishness? You say, “Pastor Rogers, you mean to tell me you don’t have any problem fighting the devil?” I fight him all the time. “You mean to tell me you don’t fail?” I fail. I’m not saying I’m perfect. God knows I’m not. But I’m telling you there’s no reason that any man, woman, boy, or girl cannot be as pure and clean as the driven snow. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Why would I want to drag sin around? Why would I want to start the day with the baggage of sin when I can be clean? It’s so simple. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not some, all. Thank God for that.

When was the last time you confessed sin to God?

Why is it important to deal with our sin as it comes up instead of keeping it around?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray and talk to God about your sin. Consider all your sins, not only the ones that are most public or obvious.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Agree with Your Adversary

PRAY OVER THIS

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13

 

PONDER THIS

David tried to cover up his sin by having Uriah killed. Today’s verse reminds us that those who cover their sin will never prosper. Oh, would to God that as soon as David committed that sin with Bathsheba, he had said, “Oh my God, what have I done? God, forgive me. God, have mercy. God, I'll bring a sacrifice and make restitution. God, have mercy.” God would have had mercy, God would have forgiven him, and God would have cleansed him. It still would have been a terrible sin, but the Bible says to “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison” (Matthew 5:25). That means if you’ve done wrong, quickly confess it. As soon as you know, confess it, and don’t let that sin build up in your heart. But instead, David spent a year without confessing that sin.

When was a time you had an opportunity to confess sin but instead sought to hide it?

How can we learn from these times so that we respond differently in the future?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess before God any sin that is lingering in your life today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What Do You Do When You’re Angry?

PRAY OVER THIS

“The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.” Proverbs 19:11

 

PONDER THIS

Sudden anger is to be controlled. How do we control it? As a starting place, we have to confess it. There are a lot of us who don’t like to admit we get angry. You may say that you're not angry, but your stomach keeps the score. You’d be surprised what kinds of physiological, psychological, and spiritual problems occur when you have repressed anger or even expressed anger that is not handled properly.

When you find these feelings coming, confess them instead of repressing them. Bring it to the Lord and say, “There’s something moving in me that I don’t like.” Someone has said repressing anger is like lighting a wastebasket, putting it in a closet, and closing the door. It may burn itself out or it may burn the house down. The very first thing you need to do is open the closet door and say, “There it is Lord. That’s my wastebasket, and I set it on fire.”

What things cause you to burn with sudden anger?

How likely are you to turn to the Lord in these moments? How might you begin to do this if you don’t already?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of ways you’ve been sinfully angered in recent days. Confess these things before the Lord and ask Him to help you turn to Him in these moments of burning anger.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Covering Your Sin?

PRAY OVER THIS

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

(Proverbs 28:13)

 

PONDER THIS

Some are reading this who once walked with God. And you’re truly saved, but rather than confessing your sin, you’ve been covering your sin. There used to be a time when you praised God continually and experienced deep fellowship with Him. Jesus Christ was nearer and more real to you than the members of your family. But it’s all gone now, and sin is in your heart because you have failed to confess. You’ve covered your sin. How do we cover our sins? We cover our sins today by rationalization. We explain them away and reason that it really isn’t our fault. Or maybe we cover our sin by activity. We get busy, but we won’t confess our sin. We may even be busy with church work. David continued to be the king of God’s people, but he was covering his sin. Some cover their sin by hypocrisy. They act like nothing is there and nothing is wrong. But when we cover our sin, there’s no joy. There’s no peace. There’s no victory.

Is God speaking to you about ways you might be covering your sin or about specific areas of sin you might be attempting to hide?

How do you need to respond to Him today?

PRACTICE THIS

Invite the Lord to help you assess your heart rightly. Ask Him to show you clearly any place you are covering your sin, and then confess fully before Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Victory of Confession

PRAY OVER THIS

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

 

PONDER THIS

The victorious life is not living without any temptation, fault, or failure. We all sin; that's what John is telling us. But here’s the victorious life: we get on a higher plane, we get right with God, we’re walking in the light. And when we’re walking in the light, the minute we sin the Holy Spirit says, “You did wrong.”

Now here’s the Spirit-filled life: the moment you sin, at that time, that moment, that same moment, you immediately confess your sin. Do it! Immediately! Nobody else may even know you’ve done it. You may be at the dinner table and have said something or done something, and you can say, “Oh, God, in the name of Jesus forgive me.” He will and He does. Don’t wait.

What are some reasons you might delay in confessing sin before God?

In what ways do you think confessing sins immediately might boost your spiritual growth? In what ways would failure to confess sin immediately hinder your spiritual growth?

PRACTICE THIS

Stop right now and reflect on sin in your life that needs to be confessed. Confess it to God now, trusting that He will forgive you because of Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

It is never too early to start

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession…” Daniel 9:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

The greatest thing we can do for America is to pray for America. I am convinced if there were ever a need for prayer, this is the hour. It’s one thing to complain that our children cannot pray in school. But I think it is unmitigated hypocrisy to carp and criticize about children not being able to pray in school unless we ourselves are prayer warriors, don’t you?

We must teach our children to pray in the home. We are unvarnished hypocrites to criticize, yet not teach our children to pray—by both gentle instruction and by example. Our children are watching us and will model our behavior.

ACTION POINT

Are you teaching your children how to pray? Are you taking them beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep”? If your child can talk, it’s not too early to teach them how to pray.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Want to Be Clean? Fess up!

BIBLE MEDITATION

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

One minister I read said that bad behavior is the result of your environment and experiences. The idea of sin is out of date. But I want to tell you, sin is a reality. Sin is public enemy number one. But if we don't make a proper diagnosis, we'll never come up with the correct remedy. What’s wrong with our society today? We're spending too much time sweeping down cobwebs when we need to be killing spiders. The spider is sin—the cobwebs are the result we see around us.

Behavioral psychologists say man has all of these desires within him, and he's been restrained by blocked memories that squeeze him in. They say if he represses himself, he’ll end up with a neurosis or psychosis. And so they say, “Live it up! Do your thing, and whatever feels good to you, express yourself!”

They claim the opposite of repression is expression. No, friend. Let me tell you, it is not repression, not expression—it is confession.

ACTION POINT

If you have never confessed your sins to God and asked Him to save you, I have good news: You don’t have to be bound by sin. You can be saved right now. Romans 10:8-10 makes it so clear:

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach), “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Confessing?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Confess your trespasses one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed…” James 5:16a

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Most of us are not very good at confessing our faults. We’re pretty good at criticizing our friends, and we’re very good at castigating our foes; but we’re also very good about concealing our faults, right?

To err is human, and to cover it up is too. We don’t want anybody to know we have any faults. But let me tell you something. If you study the history of revival, you’ll find out that great revivals are not necessarily marked with great singing or great preaching, but with great confession of sin—not only to God but to one another. Where God’s people are broken, God seems to move. Think of the things that can take place when we confess our faults.

When we go to our brother and say, “I have sinned against God and I’ve sinned against you, and I want to make that right,” don’t you know, dear friend, that heaven begins to rejoice? The angels begin to sing, because there is fellowship and reconciliation.

ACTION POINT

Is there something God is bringing to your mind right now that you need to confess to Him? Is there a confession you need to make to someone else? When a wrong has been done, there’s no reconciliation until there is confession.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Ready to Make an Honest Confession?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does it mean to “confess your sins”? It doesn’t mean to simply admit your sin. Lots of people have admitted their sins, but they’ve never confessed their sins.

I’ve spoken to people many times and asked, “Do you know that you’re a sinner?” And they respond, “Yes, I know. We’ve all sinned.” But those people aren’t confessing; all they’re doing is admitting. There is a difference.

The word “confess” is a compilation of two words, “con” and “fess,” which together mean “to agree with,” “to say the same things as….” To confess your sins is to say with God the same thing God says about them.

ACTION POINT:

As you go before the Lord in prayer today, rather than just admitting you’ve sinned, agree with God about your sin. Then ask for His grace to overcome.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Don’t Be Like the Mule

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. (Psalm 32:9)

Picture God’s people as a farmyard of all sorts of animals. God cares for his animals, he shows them where they need to go, and supplies a barn for their protection.

But there is one beast on this animal farm that gives God an awful time, namely, the mule. He’s stupid and he’s stubborn and you can’t tell which comes first — stubbornness or stupidity.

Now the way God likes to get his animals into the barn for their food and shelter is by teaching them that they all have a personal name and then calling them by name. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” (Psalm 32:8).

But the mule will not respond to that sort of direction. He is without understanding. So God gets in his pick-up truck and goes out in the field, puts the bit and bridle in the mule’s mouth, hitches it to the truck, and drags him stiff-legged and snorting all the way into the barn.

That is not the way God wants his animals to come to him for blessing and protection.

One of these days it is going to be too late for that mule. He’s going to get clobbered with hail and struck by lightning, and when he comes running, the barn door is going to be shut.

Therefore, don’t be like the mule. “Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle.”

Instead, let everyone who is godly come to God in prayer at a time when he may be found (Psalm 32:6).

The way not to be a mule is to humble ourselves, to come to God in prayer, to confess our sins, and to accept, as needy little farmyard chicks, the direction of God into the barn of his protection and provision.

John Piper 

What if you got a note like this?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A young preacher was called out of a life of sin to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. While in the pulpit one day, he received a note in which someone had written all his past sins. In addition it read, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? And you’re up there telling people to get right with God!”

Do you know what the young preacher did? He read that note, bowed his head in prayer, stood up and said, “Ladies and gentleman I have received a note, and here is what it says.” Then in front of that whole crowd he read every one of those sins. Then he said,: “Yes, I am ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of my Savior!”

ACTION POINT:

What are some past sins in your life that are holding you back from fully proclaiming God’s power to others? Confess them. And bury them in His sea of forgetfulness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Relief of a Clear Conscience

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” Acts 24:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does it mean to have a clear conscience? As far as you know, there is nothing wrong between you and God. And there is nothing wrong between you and anybody else.

Do you jump every time the doorbell rings? Do you cringe when you see a police squad car approaching you? In Psalm 51:3, David knew the hounding of a bad conscience when he said, “My sin is ever before me.” Trust me, no torture the poets name can match that fierce unutterable pain of a bad conscience. You know you’ve sinned and yet you have done nothing about it.

The trials of life are easier to face when you have a clear conscience. Then when something bad happens you can know that you haven’t done anything wrong.

ACTION POINT:

Is there something nagging at you—something you know you need to confess to your Heavenly Father? What about something between you and someone else. There is no better day than today to make it right.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

A Defense Attorney Has Been Appointed For You

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The way to deal with your sins is for you to confess – that means, you are to begin by agreeing with God as to what He says about your sin. You need to also confidently deal with your sin. Now, what do I mean by that?

You have your own attorney when you go into the judge’s chambers for adjudication. According to God’s Word, you have an Advocate, which is another name for attorney.

The devil is the prosecuting attorney who points the accusing finger at us and says, “Look at him!” And Jesus, the defense attorney, stands by our side and says, “But Father, look at Me. I shed My blood for him.” Because Jesus died, our debt is paid. Hallelujah! Though our sins are as scarlet, He will wash them white as snow!

ACTION POINT:

Praise God today that your defense attorney is the Judge’s Son!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers