How to Serve a Bad Boss

Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7–8)

Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7–8 in connection to your job.

1) A call to radically Lord-centered living.

This is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. With good will render service “as to the Lord and not to man.”

This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me to do this? What effect will this have for the Lord’s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living and working.

2) A call to be a good person.

Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, “With a good will [render service] . . . whatever good anyone does.” Jesus said that when we let our light shine, men will see our “good works” and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers.

Paul’s aim is to empower Christians, with Lord-centered motives, to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul’s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor.

4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain.

Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: “Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” This is amazing. Everything! “Whatever good anyone does.” Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued and rewarded by the Lord.

And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything — as if you could put him in your debt. He owns you, and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward us for all the good things done in faith.

5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven.

The Lord will reward every good thing you do — “whether he is a bondservant or is free.” Your supervisor may think you are a nobody — a mere bondservant, so to speak. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn’t matter. The Lord knows you exist. And in the end no faithful service will be in vain.

John Piper 

Death Rehearsal

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life. And 11:59 pm on December 31 is like the moment of my death.

The 365 days of the year are like a miniature lifetime. And these final hours are like the last days in the hospital after the doctor has told me that the end is very near. And in these last hours, the lifetime of this year passes before my eyes, and I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? Will Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, say “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)?

I feel very fortunate that this is the way my year ends. And I pray that the year’s end might have the same significance for you.

The reason I feel fortunate is that it is a great advantage to have a trial run at my own dying. It is a great benefit to rehearse once a year in preparation for the last scene of your life. It is a great benefit because the morning of January 1 will find most of us still alive, at the brink of a whole new lifetime, able to start fresh all over again.

The great thing about rehearsals is that they show you where your weaknesses are, where your preparation was faulty; and they leave you time to change before the real play in front of a real audience.

I suppose for some of you the thought of dying is so morbid, so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your best to keep it out of your minds, especially during holidays. I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice. I have found that there are few things more revolutionizing for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death.

How do you get a heart of wisdom so as to know how best to live? The psalmist answers:

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

Numbering your days simply means remembering that your life is short and your dying will be soon. Great wisdom — great, life-revolutionizing wisdom — comes from periodically pondering these things.

The criterion of success, that Paul used to measure his life, was whether he had kept the faith. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). Let this be our test at year’s end.

And if we discover that we did not keep the faith this past year, then we can be glad, as I am, that this year-end death is (probably) only a rehearsal, and a whole life of potential faith-keeping lies before us in the next year.

John Piper 

The Door of Mercy Is Still Open

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

2 PETER 3:8-9

 

PONDER THIS

Some people ask, “Why hasn’t Jesus come?” But God hasn’t forgotten. The other question people ask is, “When exactly is Jesus coming?” Jesus has not yet come because God has kept the door of mercy open. Jesus is going to come suddenly like a thief in the night.

Only God knows the perfect timing. We know it will happen, and we hold onto the certainty that Jesus is coming again. Since the Day of the Lord will come, how should we live now? We know how to live from Scripture. We are to be transformed to be like Him and we are to share the Gospel until He returns.

What are some ways God called His people to live according to Scripture? Why is living out God’s Word important in preparing for the Second Coming?

What keeps you from rightly preparing for Jesus’ Second Coming?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray and ask God for boldness and hope as you faithfully wait for His Second Coming.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

How to Serve a Bad Boss

Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7–8)

Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7–8 in connection to your job.

1) A call to radically Lord-centered living.

This is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. With good will render service “as to the Lord and not to man.”

This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me to do this? What effect will this have for the Lord’s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living and working.

2) A call to be a good person.

Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, “With a good will [render service] . . . whatever good anyone does.” Jesus said that when we let our light shine, men will see our “good works” and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers.

Paul’s aim is to empower Christians, with Lord-centered motives, to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul’s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor.

4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain.

Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: “Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” This is amazing. Everything! “Whatever good anyone does.” Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued and rewarded by the Lord.

And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything — as if you could put him in your debt. He owns you, and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward us for all the good things done in faith.

5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven.

The Lord will reward every good thing you do — “whether he is a bondservant or is free.” Your supervisor may think you are a nobody — a mere bondservant, so to speak. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn’t matter. The Lord knows you exist. And in the end no faithful service will be in vain.

John Piper 

Do the Small Things

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

LUKE 16:10

 

PONDER THIS

You need to be faithful in the small things. All big things are made of little things. For example, your body has various members; these members have various parts; and these parts have cells, which are made up of molecules. Vast as the ocean is, it is made up of drops; the drops are made up of molecules; and the molecules are made up of atoms. All the millions and billions of years that may have been or ever will be are made up of ages; the ages are made up of years; years are made up of days; days are made up of hours; and hours are made up of minutes and seconds. Everything big is made of something small. So, if you’ll be faithful in the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.

Do you know what the big things in life are made of? Little acts, little words, little thoughts. You can’t have the much without having the little. We need to ask God to grow our faithfulness. We must be faithful in the small things and the secret things because who we are in secret is who we are—nothing more; nothing less.

What are the small things in life you often overlook? How will you view the small things differently moving forward?

What are some of the ways you have seen the importance of the small things in life?

PRACTICE THIS

Do the small things to the best of your ability today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Faithful in the Body Christ?

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you;” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our un-presentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.”

1 CORINTHIANS 12:20-25

 

PONDER THIS

You need to be faithful to your church. Romans 12:5 says, “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Simply put: I belong to you, and you belong to me. So don’t say, “It’s none of your business what I do, pastor.” It is plenty of my business, just like what I do is plenty of your business. We are members one to another in the Body of Christ, and we owe to one another a fearful loyalty. The Bible teaches that we are to be faithful to the fellowship with other believers; we are to attend a local church.

Do you know what is happening today? Some people claim to be Christians who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they do not belong to nor are they faithful to a local church. Such a thing was unheard of in the Bible. To be a Christian meant that you were faithful to the fellowship that you attended—when people gathered, you were there. If you stopped attending, they assumed that you were lost, that you were an apostate, that you went back on God. Now people say, “Well I, I believe in Christianity, but I am not a member of a local church.” But we need to be faithful to the local church. We should be in the house of God on a regular basis, bringing in our tithe, our Bibles, our love, and our influence as we gather week after week.

What is the difference between being a member of a church and being faithful to a church?

Where does church fall in your priority list right now? What has made it difficult to be faithful to your church?

PRACTICE THIS

Thank your pastors or church staff members for how they stay faithful to your church by sharing their gifts.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Preserves the Faithful

“Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.” PSALM 31:23

 

PONDER THIS

Many years ago, my wife and I visited Yellowstone National Park. We were fortunate to stay in the old lodge just outside the geyser known as Old Faithful. Every sixty-five minutes, it would spew water a hundred and seventy feet in the air. You could set your watch by it. Now, there were more spectacular geysers in the park, but people love this one because, as the name suggests, it can be counted on.

Faithfulness is a basic, fundamental ingredient of character. You will not know God’s blessing apart from faithfulness. You want God to watch over you and take care of you? God preserves the faithful. Faithfulness is God’s requirement for your stewardship. Faithfulness is God’s measurement for your blessing.

One day, we’re going to stand before God, and the reward or the lack of reward will be according to our faithfulness. I want to hear Jesus say to me, “Adrian, well done my good and faithful servant.” Do you have that same desire? Faithful people are people who can be counted on to live with integrity, not just in our relationship with God but in our relationships with others too.

What does faithfulness look like in your everyday life? Why is it important to keep growing in faithfulness?

How have you struggled with faithfulness? What could help you remain faithful when life is hard?

PRACTICE THIS

Find an accountability partner to pray with and encourage you in your quest to be faithful.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Our Job is to Be Faithful

PRAY OVER THIS

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:30-31

 

PONDER THIS

We are not really in the truest sense soul winners. The Holy Spirit is the soul winner. He is a soul winner through us and to that degree we are soul winners. That means our job is not to be successful; our job is to be faithful. Our job is to make the message clear and help people understand. They can’t understand unless we show them. Why didn’t God send an angel down there to tell this man how to be saved? Angels don’t know the joy that salvation brings because they haven’t experienced it. We are privileged to do something angels cannot. The man said, “How can I understand unless I have help?” He wanted Philip to come and sit with him. And Phillip was able to walk him through God’s Word and show him how it pointed to Jesus.

We must preach the Christ of God. Philip didn’t preach to him about economics. He didn’t preach to him about the social and political situation in Ethiopia. He preached Jesus. That is our role when we share our faith with others. The Holy Spirit is the One who will convict and win souls for Christ.

What intimidates you about sharing your faith with others?

How will you be faithful to share Jesus with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for someone you know who does not have a relationship with Jesus. Ask God to place faith questions on his or her heart like He did with the Ethiopian eunuch.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Are You Giving Your All to God?

PRAY OVER THIS

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

Luke 16:10

 

PONDER THIS

When I played football, I was always grateful if I had the ball and a man was down the field in front of me, throwing blocks and moving those obstacles. Do you know God does some downfield blocking for you? You may not even know He’s been doing it. It’s not merely enough to know the will of God, not enough to only have direction. We’ve got to have power, where God makes our paths straight for us through the wilderness. God’s done that for me so many times. God has given me a job, and a message, and then He just picks me up and carries me. He’ll do that for you too. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Look in verse 6, “In all your ways acknowledge Him.” Look in verse 9, “all your increase.” When your worship, your walk, and your wealth are given over to Him, you’ll know the will of God. Put those “alls” in there! Don’t play games with God! Are you serious about knowing and doing the will of God? You say, “Oh I wish I knew the will of God.” Just do it in the small things. Do it in the things nearest to you. “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.”

What is a small thing you need to entrust to God today?

Which “all” do you struggle with the most from today’s devotion?

PRACTICE THIS

Surrender to God your all. Journal about this surrender so you can recall this moment you entrusted your life to Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Faithful in the Small Things?

PRAY OVER THIS

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

Luke 16:10

 

PONDER THIS

Be faithful in the small things. Big things are made up of smaller things. One example is the ocean which is made up of many drops of water. And all of those drops of water are molecules. And all those molecules are atoms. Think of all the ages and ages of time. Time is made up of ages, but ages are made up of millenniums; and millenniums are made up of centuries; and centuries are made up of years; and years are made up of months; and months are made up of weeks, and weeks of days, and days of hours, and hours of minutes, and minutes of seconds, and seconds of milliseconds. Everything big is made up of something small.

That’s the way your life is. Your entire life is not just one or two big decisions; it is day by day. It is that honesty; it is that smile; it is that kindness; it is that warmth; it is that integrity. When you’re faithful in the little things, faithfulness in the big things follows.

Who do you know that is faithful in the small things?

Identify a moment or moments where you struggle to be faithful in something small.

PRACTICE THIS

Write down the small responsibilities you have in a day and consider how you could be faithful in those things.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

We are Called to be a Faithful Witness

PRAY OVER THIS

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

 

PONDER THIS

When God says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16), by implication God is saying you shall bear faithful witness. Jesus Christ is called “the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5), and we’re to be witnesses to Him. My home and your home ought to be witnesses to the saving power of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When the Bible says the Early Church took the Gospel from house to house (Acts 5:42), that does not mean someone went door to door. It means the Gospel goes from the Jones’ house to the Smith’s house, and from the Smith’s house to the Brown’s house, and so forth. In other words, one family becomes a witness to another family. Our families are to bear witness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Has Jesus Christ saved you? Has He changed your home? Is He real to you? A witness tells what he or she has seen and heard. Jesus did not call you to be His lawyer. A lawyer argues a case. A witness simply shares what he’s seen and heard. Just tell people what Jesus Christ has done for you and how you know He has done it. Don’t give witness about things you don’t know; witness about things you do know. If you fail, that’s even a part of your witness. Tell how you failed and how God forgave you and gave you another chance. Your neighbor is waiting to hear the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Who has been a faithful witness of Christ to you?

How do you interact with your neighbors? Does your life give evidence that you are a witness for Christ? Explain.

PRACTICE THIS

Serve a neighbor today by witnessing about what Christ has done in your life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Death Rehearsal

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

For me, the end of a year is like the end of my life. And 11:59 pm on December 31 is like the moment of my death.

The 365 days of the year are like a miniature lifetime. And these final hours are like the last days in the hospital after the doctor has told me that the end is very near. And in these last hours, the lifetime of this year passes before my eyes, and I face the inevitable question: Did I live it well? Will Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge, say “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)?

I feel very fortunate that this is the way my year ends. And I pray that the year’s end might have the same significance for you.

The reason I feel fortunate is that it is a great advantage to have a trial run at my own dying. It is a great benefit to rehearse once a year in preparation for the last scene of your life. It is a great benefit because the morning of January 1 will find most of us still alive, at the brink of a whole new lifetime, able to start fresh all over again.

The great thing about rehearsals is that they show you where your weaknesses are, where your preparation was faulty; and they leave you time to change before the real play in front of a real audience.

I suppose for some of you the thought of dying is so morbid, so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your best to keep it out of your minds, especially during holidays. I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice. I have found that there are few things more revolutionizing for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death.

How do you get a heart of wisdom so as to know how best to live? The psalmist answers:

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. . . . So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:5–6, 12)

Numbering your days simply means remembering that your life is short and your dying will be soon. Great wisdom — great, life-revolutionizing wisdom — comes from periodically pondering these things.

The criterion of success, that Paul used to measure his life, was whether he had kept the faith. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). Let this be our test at year’s end.

And if we discover that we did not keep the faith this past year, then we can be glad, as I am, that this year-end death is (probably) only a rehearsal, and a whole life of potential faith-keeping lies before us in the next year.

John Piper 

Are You Faithfully Walking Each Day?

PRAY OVER THIS:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-29)

PONDER THIS:

Do you want to know what victorious Christian living looks like primarily? It’s not soaring like an eagle or running like a deer; it’s walking day by day for Jesus Christ. It’s fixing breakfast, dressing the kids when you can’t find but one sock, getting them off to school on time, and praising Jesus all the way.

Being faithful in the small things may seem simple, but it’s no small task. It’s cleaning toilet bowls, doing the game-old grind on the job. It’s serving God in good days and bad days, hot days and cold days, every day, every way, day after day, night after night, week after week, walking with Jesus. In many ways, it is more difficult to be faithful in the ordinary things of life than it is in the biggest moments of life. It’s one thing to have soaring power; it’s another thing to have surging power, but it's something wonderful to have sticking power to stay, to walk and faint not, to “keep on keeping on” for the Lord Jesus.

What are the ordinary things of life that God has called you to be faithful in today?

Why is it often easy to overlook these things in search of “more important” pursuits?

PRACTICE THIS:

As you practice the ordinary things of life today, seek to continually be mindful of God’s presence with you and to lean on Him for continued faithfulness in everything.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Uses the Faithful

PRAY OVER THIS

“Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.” 1 Samuel 17:49

 

PONDER THIS

There was a story of a man who worked in a bank office as a clerk and was being considered for a promotion. But he was in the cafeteria line and did not know that the bank president was behind him. In that moment, the man picked up a pat of butter that would cost just a few cents and slid it under a piece of bread, so he wouldn’t have to pay for it at the checkout.

The president of that bank, looking over his shoulder, thought, “If that man cannot be trusted with something like this, I cannot give him a promotion.” For a few pennies and a little bit of butter, he lost his opportunity to advance with the company. He was not faithful in that which was small and could not be trusted with larger things.

I wonder how many times God has had to pass us by for the same kind of reason. God could use David because he was faithful, starting with sheep. This would have been insignificant to many, but David was faithful in that which was least. In protecting the sheep, he slew a lion and a bear. And when the time came to battle Goliath, David slew him too through the power of God.

What are the small things God is calling you to be faithful in today?

Why are we often tempted to believe the little things don’t matter to God?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out the “little things” you feel that God is calling you to be faithful in right now. Act on this list, seeking obedience to God, even in the seemingly small matters of life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Danger of Drifting

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)

We all know people that this has happened to. There is no urgency. No vigilance. No focused listening or considering or fixing of their eyes on Jesus. And the result has not been a standing still, but a drifting away.

That is the point here: there is no standing still. The life of this world is not a lake. It is a river. And it is flowing downward to destruction. If you do not listen earnestly to Jesus and consider him daily and fix your eyes on him hourly, then you will not stand still; you will go backward. You will float away from Christ.

Drifting is a deadly thing in the Christian life. And the remedy for it, according to Hebrews 2:1, is: Pay close attention to what you have heard. That is, consider what God is saying in his Son Jesus. Fix your eyes on what God is saying and doing in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

This is not a hard swimming stroke to learn. The only thing that keeps us from swimming against sinful culture is not the difficulty of the stroke, but our sinful desire to go with the flow.

Let’s not complain that God has given us a hard job. Listen, consider, fix the eyes — this is not what you would call a hard job description. In fact, it is not a job description. It is a solemn invitation to be satisfied in Jesus so that we do not get lured downstream by deceitful desires.

If you are drifting today, one of the signs of hope that you are born again is that you feel pricked for this, and you feel a rising desire to turn your eyes on Jesus and consider him and listen to him in the days and months and years to come.

John Piper 

Be a Faithful Parent | Part II

PRAY OVER THIS

…and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Hebrews 11:23b-24

 

READ THIS

Hebrews 11 tells us the story of the Prophet Moses, who was kept alive for the Lord’s service through the faith of his parents, Amram and Jochebed. There are four principles to learn from the indispensable faith of these parents. Yesterday, we looked at the first two, faith’s vision and valor, and today we will look at principles three and four.

Third, we see faith’s venture; Moses’ parents did not have a spirit of fatalism, rather, they did their part to protect their son, trusting God to do the rest. When facing challenges, we must do all we can do with a spirit of optimism. If it is God’s will, we can trust that He will move Heaven and Earth for our children.

Finally, Amram and Jochebed displayed faith’s victory.

Hebrews 11 notes that because Moses’ values were established in him by his parents, he valued his faith more than all the riches of Egypt. Moses embraced the virtues of knowing Christ eternally and rejected the vices of this world, refusing to be called Pharaoh’s son. (See Hebrews 11:24.)

CONSIDER THIS

What makes it difficult to entrust those in our lives to God’s care and not our own? Why is this worth it?

Where do you need to renew your trust in Christ and reject the things of the world as Moses did?

DO THIS

Take time to write out ways you might be following the world instead of God. Pray over this list, asking God to help you renew your trust and commitment to Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Be a Faithful Parent | Part I

PRAY OVER THIS

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child. Hebrews 11:23a

 

READ THIS

It takes a family to raise a child, and it takes faith to make a family. The most powerful and influential people on Earth are mothers and fathers of faith.

Hebrews 11 tells us the story of the Prophet Moses, who was kept alive for the Lord’s service through the faith of his parents, Amram and Jochebed. There are four principles to learn from the indispensable faith of these parents. Today, we are looking at the first two of these principles.

First, we note faith’s vision; Moses’s parents recognized that he was the special handiwork of God. It is our responsibility to see our children as specific, individual creations of God, and raise them accordingly.

Second, we recognize faith’s valor. Amram and Jochebed hid Moses for three months because the King had commanded that baby boys be killed. By faith, they recognized this physical conflict as a spiritual conflict between the gods of Egypt and Almighty God, and “they were not afraid” (Hebrews 11:23b). In these treacherous days, raising children is a spiritual battle, and our only hope is a solid faith in Jesus Christ.

CONSIDER THIS

Who are the spiritual children God has given you—whether biological or otherwise?

How might God use you to encourage those with whom you have spiritual influence? How does the idea of spiritual parenthood connect to the reality of the Body of Christ being a family?

DO THIS

Encourage the children in your life today—whether biological or spiritual—by affirming the unique gifts God has given them.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You a Faithful Student?

PRAY OVER THIS

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

 

READ THIS

If we want to live holy lives, to be sanctified and powerful in the Lord, we must learn how to be faithful in studying God’s Word. Today and tomorrow we will look at four ways to do just that.

First, if we want to understand the Bible, we must receive the saving Author of the Bible. Without Christ, we are spiritually blind, as 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Anyone can read the Bible and appreciate its beauty, history, and moral precepts; but a person will never know the deep meaning of God’s Word until being born again. When Christ is in our hearts, our eyes are opened, our hearts are stirred, and our minds are enlightened to the things of Scripture. Only then can we understand and obey His commands.

Secondly, we must recognize the sovereign authority of the Bible. All Scripture is “breathed by” God, inspired by Him. The Bible interpreted by the Holy Spirit is the final authority—not human reason or conscience.

CONSIDER THIS

Why is it important that you receive Christ before you can receive His Word?

How does the authority of the Bible impact your life?

DO THIS

Think about what it means for the Bible to have authority in your life. Make a list of everything you can think of that would change in your life if you gave the Bible complete authority?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Need a Credit Card to Buy Poverty

BIBLE MEDITATION

“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

The one thing money can’t buy is poverty. You need credit cards for that. And many are buying it. Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, was telling some of us in a small meeting about a time when he was up late at night playing Monopoly with his family, and he was killing everybody. He had all the great properties, Boardwalk and Park Place, and he had hotels on all of them. He owned the railroads. You couldn't get around the board without paying him.

He was just raking in the money, making everybody in the family mad. After a while, he had it all stacked up and finally just wiped everybody out. They were so mad at him, they got up and went to bed, and he sat there looking at that pile of play money and those properties.

There he was, the winner. Jim said, “I had to put it all back in the box. I thought to myself, ‘Isn't that like life? We spend all our lives getting it all away from everybody else, and when it's over, they don't like us. And we put it all back in the box.’”

ACTION POINT

One day you're going to put it all right back in the box. And one day you’ll be put in a box. The greatest legacies have nothing to do with money. What will your children remember about you? Leave them a godly example to follow. Teach them the power of prayer and how to pray.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Will You Be Faithful?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“…and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” Revelation 2:10b

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

If others in past centuries—and some even today—have reddened the mouths of lions, faced firing squads, languished in prisons, and been scorched in the flames, can’t we go out today, back to school, back to the office, and live for Jesus Christ? God help us if we don’t. God empower us to do it!

In this evil hour, sin-bound, self-bound, hell-bound men and women need a Savior. And we need revival. We’ll have it when there are Christians with burning hearts, brimming eyes, and bursting lips, who fear nothing but sin and who love nothing but Jesus Christ.

Who among us will be faithful unto death? We’re not to be fearful; we’re to be faithful. God help us that we shall.

ACTION POINT

Pray with me: We realize, Lord, that most of our lives we’ve had it relatively easy. Help us not to be ashamed of Jesus. Help us not to deny Him. Help us to fear none of the things that shall happen, but to be faithful to death. Lord, we are so grateful for the good times we have and for the joy we have. We don’t want to be morose about whatever is to come, but help us that we might see things clearly and understand Your Word. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers