Do You Want Your Soul?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6

 

PONDER THIS

Did you know that the devil desires your soul and God desires your soul? How can we tell whether a thing is desirable or not? By the price someone will pay for it. Jesus, with His precious blood on the cross, died that a soul might be redeemed. Any appraiser will tell you the value of a piece of property is this: what someone else will pay for it.

I have an evangelist friend who was wasting his life. He was unsaved before he became an evangelist and before Christ took hold of him. He was throwing his life away, and somebody said to him, “Mike, if you had something that you didn’t want, but somebody else wanted it very much, rather than just throwing it away, would you give it to him?” Mike said, “Sure.” The man said, “Mike, you’re throwing your life away. Jesus wants your soul. Your soul is desirable.” A soul is desirable. Jesus paid His rich, red, royal blood for a soul.

How are you reminded of the value of a soul, both yours and others, by today’s devotion?

How should the worth of a soul motivate us to share Jesus with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time this week to share with another person what his or her soul is worth to Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Wasting First-Rate Enthusiasm On A Second-Rate Cause?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he who wins souls is wise.”

Proverbs 11:30

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

It's amazing what gets folks all excited. A Russian came to the United States during football season, and friends took him to a great bowl game. Afterward, they asked him what he thought about it.

Do you know what he said? “I've never seen so much first-rate enthusiasm for such a second-rate cause.”

What's the first-rate cause? What’s the most important thing? “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10).

Getting souls saved is what it's all about. “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

You may have members of your family who are lost. One day they will die, and you’ll say, “My God, why didn't I witness?”

ACTION POINT

Why don’t you say this week, “I'II make my life a life of one thing. This one thing I do.” It's time we got excited about what excites God, our Father, and that's winning people to Jesus Christ, committed to the cause of the Holy Spirit.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Investing in Heaven?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

In Luke 16:1-9, the Lord Jesus gave one of the strangest parables in the Bible. At the end of the parable, He explained to His disciples how it applies to us. He says, “Don’t let the children of this world be more shrewd than you are wise. Take what God has put into your hands and make friends for God. Win souls to Jesus. And when you die, they’ll welcome you into Heaven. Have some people waiting on you there.”

We often hear people say, “You can’t take it with you.” But I’ll tell you what you can do. You can send it on ahead. And the only way you can send it on ahead is to invest it in something that’s going to Heaven.

The only thing going to Heaven isn’t houses, lands, cars, stocks or bonds, but the souls of men.

ACTION POINT

Take the money you have, make plans for the future, and invest your money in something that is going to Heaven. Then when you die and go to heaven, they’re going to say, “Welcome home. Oh, I’m so glad to see you. I’m here because of your faithfulness.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are you going to Heaven alone?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy”

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Paul tells the church in Thessalonica: “When Jesus comes, my crown will be those I’ve led to Him.” Now that’s a crown that doesn’t rust or tarnish.

When you die and go to Heaven, are you taking precious souls with you, or are you going to Heaven alone? I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m concerned, because most people aren’t active soul winners. That’s tragic.

You say, “But, Pastor, I give my money.” I don’t care how much money you give. If you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I teach.” I don’t care how eloquently you teach. If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I attend faithfully.” I don’t care how much you attend. If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you’re not right with God.

Andrew Murray said, “There are two classes of Christians: soul winners and backsliders.” You are one or the other. If you don’t have a passion to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder if you know the Jesus I know.

ACTION POINT

There is a crown to run for. Run for the soul winner’s crown

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are We Just Shaking Hands?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There was a preacher who kept a painting in his study of a shipwreck. There were sailors in lifeboats reaching out their hands to people floating on debris from the ship. A little boy looked at the painting and asked his daddy, “Are those in the lifeboats trying to save those people or are they just shaking hands?”

I wonder about us. It is all right to have friends; in fact, I encourage you to do that. But are you doing more than just socializing? Wouldn’t it be a shame if all you did was shake the hands of those around you, when you could be serving and showing them the way to God through Jesus Christ?

ACTION POINT:

We don’t pray, live, and witness as if every day around us people are dying and going either to hell or heaven. May God have mercy on us. The need of the hour is for men and women to have a servant’s heart and a compelling desire to win our lost friends to Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Soul Captures

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.  - Proverbs 11:30

What is God's command to us?

18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

Speak the gospel!

It holds the truth of Jesus and how He alone brings salvation!

Don't hold to silly religious rules!

The law kills but the spirit offers mercy!

You are a living testament of God's Son!

who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. - 2 Corinthians 3:6

3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. - 2 Corinthians 3:3-4

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. - Daniel 12:3

let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. - James 5:20

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.

20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.

21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. - 1 Corinthians 9:19-22

Find strength if you’re being persecuted

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How much have you suffered because you’ve said something positive about Jesus? Have you refused to budge on an issue that would dishonor His name?

2 Timothy 3:12 says, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Not “may,” but “shall.”

There’s no escaping persecution for true Christians. We will be persecuted when we endeavor to “live godly in Christ Jesus.” On the other hand, if you’re not being persecuted, don’t say you must be doing a wonderful job. Very frankly, you’re doing a poor job. Let me ask you: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Regrettably, most people would have to say no.

ACTION POINT:

Get out of your comfort zone today. Witness to your neighbor; take a homeless person to lunch; take a walk in the park and tell someone that Jesus loves them. Check into a short-term mission trip; start a Bible Study. Step out of your cocoon.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Christmas Model for Missions

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18)

Christmas is a model for missions. Missions is a mirror of Christmas. As I, so you.

For example, danger. Christ came to his own and his own received him not. So you also. They plotted against him. So you. He had no permanent home. So you. They trumped up false charges against him. So you. They whipped and mocked him. So you. He died after three years of ministry. So you.

But there is a worse danger than any of these which Jesus escaped. So you!!

In the mid-16th century the missionary Francis Xavier (1506–1552), wrote to Father Perez of Malacca (today part of Malaysia) about the perils of his mission to China. He said,

The danger of all dangers would be to lose trust and confidence in the mercy of God. . . . To distrust him would be a far more terrible thing than any physical evil which all the enemies of God put together could inflict on us, for without God’s permission neither the devils nor their human ministers could hinder us in the slightest degree.

The greatest danger a missionary faces is not death but to distrust the mercy of God. If that danger is avoided, then all other dangers lose their sting.

In the end God makes every dagger a scepter in our hand. As J.W. Alexander says, “Each instant of present labor is to be graciously repaid with a million ages of glory.”

Christ escaped this danger — the danger of distrusting God. Therefore God has highly exalted him! As he, so you.

Remember this Advent that Christmas is a model for missions. As I, so you. And that mission means danger. And the greatest danger is distrusting God’s mercy. Succumb to this and all is lost. Conquer here and nothing can harm you for a million ages.

John Piper 

You're not born that way

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called, them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He also glorified. Romans 8:30

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One time a man came into a village and asked an old man living there, “Were any great men ever born here?” The old man answered, “No. Just babies.”

Great people are not born; great people are made, often born out of a crucible of testing, trials and suffering. Great people are continually investing in the lives of others, sharing God’s love, and showing His mercies.

There is no magic formula that instantly makes us sanctified. Salvation (justification) can take place in an instant when you put your faith in Christ. But sanctification is a process. Our calling is to be poured out into the lives of others for His glory.

ACTION POINT:

How can you be poured out into the lives of others? What does that mean? Well, a good start is to show His mercies to a lost co-worker or neighbor today. Pray for that opportunity, then watch to see how God provides!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Pray for His Fame

Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” (Matthew 6:9)

Dozens of times Scripture says that God does things “for his name’s sake.”

“He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt.” (Psalm 25:11)

“He saved them for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 106:8)

“For my name’s sake I defer my anger.” (Isaiah 48:9)

“Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12)

If you ask what is really moving the heart of God in all those statements (and many like them), the answer is that God delights in having his name known and honored.

The first and most important prayer that can be prayed is, “Hallowed be your name.” I used to think this is an acclamation. Like, “Hallelujah! The Lord’s name is hallowed!” But it’s not an acclamation. It’s a petition. Actually a kind of imperative or command. Lord, let it be! Cause it to be. May your name be hallowed. This is my request, my prayer. I am urging you to this: Cause people to hallow your name. Cause me to hallow your name!

God loves to have more and more people “hallow” his name. That’s why his Son teaches Christians to pray for it. In fact, Jesus makes it the very first and paramount prayer. Because this is the first and great passion of the Father.

“Lord, cause more and more people to hallow your name,” that is, esteem, admire, respect, cherish, honor, reverence, and praise your name. More and more people! So, you can see it is basically a missionary prayer.

John Piper 

Talk to Your Tears

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5–6)

There is nothing sad about sowing seed. It takes no more work than reaping. The days can be beautiful. There can be great hope of harvest.

Yet the psalm speaks of sowing “in tears.” It says that someone “goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing.” So, why are they weeping?

I think the reason is not that sowing is sad, or that sowing is hard. I think the reason has nothing to do with sowing. Sowing is simply the work that has to be done, even when there are things in life that make us cry.

The crops won’t wait while we finish our grief or solve all our problems. If we are going to eat next winter, we must get out in the field and sow the seed, whether we are crying or not.

If you do that, the promise of the psalm is that you will “reap with shouts of joy.” You will “come home with shouts of joy, bringing [your] sheaves with you.” Not because the tears of sowing produce the joy of reaping, but because the sheer sowing produces the reaping, and you need to remember this even when your tears tempt you to give up sowing.

So, here’s the lesson: When there are simple, straightforward jobs to be done, and you are full of sadness, and tears are flowing easily, go ahead and do the jobs with tears. Be realistic. Say to your tears, “Tears, I feel you. You make me want to quit life. But there is a field to be sown (dishes to be washed, car to be fixed, sermon to be written).”

Then say, on the basis of God’s word, “Tears, I know that you will not stay forever. The very fact that I just do my work (tears and all) will in the end bring a harvest of blessing. So, go ahead and flow if you must. But I believe — though I do not yet see it or feel it fully — I believe that the simple work of my sowing will bring sheaves of harvest. And my tears will be turned to joy.”

John Piper 

Are you a-musing yourself into oblivion?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Romans 13:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know what Napoleon said about China? “There lies a sleeping giant, and let him sleep, because if he awakens, he will shake the world.”

I believe the devil says that about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe the church is just that: a sleeping giant. We’re asleep because we have been chloroformed by the spirit of this age.

We’re bombarded on every side by all kinds of amusement. Do you know what amuse means? It’s a combination of two words. Muse means to think, and the alpha prefix in front of it means “not to.” We are a generation that is amusing ourselves into oblivion. And it’s time to wake up!

ACTION POINT:

Are you taking the Christian life seriously? If this were your last day on earth, how would you spend it? In amusement? Or in evangelism?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You a “Peace Corps” Member?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Matthew 5:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Several decades ago, you were really somebody if you joined the Peace Corps. But all this time later, how much peace has been established between brothers and sisters around the world as a result?

Do you know how to bring peace to earth and goodwill to all men? Introduce men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus Christ. That is the only way.

Churches are filled every Sunday, yet where do people go during the week? Are they sharing God’s salvation story with the lost? It’s not your faithful attendance to church that is going to bring peace to earth but your faithful sharing of the Gospel.

ACTION POINT:

Jesus said His mission was not to be a diplomat, not to be a peacemaker, but to bring death to hatred, strife, and sin through His reconciling blood. There is no other way to a holy God, but through the cross. Are you living like a child of God and telling others about Jesus?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Running for the Soul Winner’s Crown

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?For ye are our glory and joy.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

Here’s what Paul was saying to those in Thessalonica: “When Jesus comes, my crown is going to those that I’ve led to Him.” Now that’s a crown that doesn’t corrupt. When you die and go to heaven, are you going to take somebody with you, or are you going to heaven alone? “Must I go and empty-handed, must I meet my Savior so; without one soul with which to greet Him, must I empty-handed go?” Now I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m concerned because most people in church are not active soul winners. That’s tragic.

You say, “But, Pastor, I give my money.” I don’t care how much money you give. If you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I teach.” I don’t care how eloquently you teach.  If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I attend faithfully.” I don’t care how much you attend. If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you are not right with God.

Andrew Murray said, “There are two classes of Christians: soul winners and backsliders.” You are one or the other. If you don’t have a passion to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder if you know the Jesus I know.

My dear brother, my dear sister, there is a crown to run for. It’s the soul winner’s crown.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Running for the Soul Winner’s Crown

BIBLE MEDITATION
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.” 1 Thess.2:19-20
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Here’s what Paul was saying to those in Thessalonica: “When Jesus comes, my crown is going to those that I’ve led to Him.” Now that’s a crown that doesn’t corrupt. When you die and go to heaven, are you going to take somebody with you, or are you going to heaven alone? “Must I go and empty-handed, must I meet my Savior so; without one soul with which to greet Him, must I empty-handed go?” Now I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’m concerned because most people in church are not active soul winners. That’s tragic.

You say, “But, Pastor, I give my money.” I don’t care how much money you give. If you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I teach.” I don’t care how eloquently you teach. If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus, you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I attend faithfully.” I don’t care how much you attend. If you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you are not right with God. 

Andrew Murray said, “There are two classes of Christians: soul winners and backsliders.” You are one or the other. If you don’t have a passion to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder if you know the Jesus I know.

ACTION POINT:
My dear brother, my dear sister, there is a crown to run for. It’s the soul winner’s crown.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers