We Must Repent

Romans 3:10-12

10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 

11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

As a fellow sinner who has a daily need to repent of my sin, I will pose a question to you!

Who is the judge of man?

Is it his neighbor?

Is it a peer?

Is it the world?

Or is it the Creator of the universe who made man and everything in it?

This Creator has very clearly, in His word, told us to spread His gospel of truth with the expectation of persecution.

Why then are we so shocked when the world condemns us for speaking the truth?

When we speak the truth of God’s holy word, it forces us to examine ourselves.

It is uncomfortable!

We are wicked by our very nature so we want to do as we please!

God did indeed give us free will but that free will of rebellion or obedience will bring consequences, bad and good!

Are we prepared to stand before God?

We will be judged on whether we presented the gospel in truth or whether we changed the doctrine of God to suit man.

God is a God of love but also "The Judge" who will judge the sins of His people!

Unforgiven sin is to be punished!

This world has continually grown wicked with each passing day.

There will come a time of judgment.

You will die.

You have an appointment with a holy God who has the right to judge you.

You can deny that and Him.

Your free will works for good or evil.

God has made a way for you to rest assured in His salvation and forgiveness.
Jesus Christ, whom God His Father sent as the only acceptable
ransom is drawing all men to Himself.

The purchase price, death of a sinless man, Jesus Christ.

Christ, the propitiation of my sin and your sin, even when the world denies the truth.

Christ is the only way for eternal salvation!

The assurance of grace is found in the resurrection of Christ on the third day!

God has shown His power in creating life from tiny cells and raising the dead.

Man will be without excuse for his unbelief. 

Creation is solid evidence and can't be denied!

Will you stand before God politically correct or as a humble soul who spoke the truth of the bible in love to a world headed for eternal hell?

God is the Creator and judge of man.

Ps.50:6

The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah 

Ecc.3:17

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

We preach the truth of salvation in Christ.

Acts 10:42-43

42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

We will be persecuted because the world will hate us.

2 Tim.4:1-5

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

All face death and judgment.
Heb.9:27

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Power and authority of Christ.

John 12:32

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Romans 5:18-21

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Tim.2:5-6

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

Heb.2:9

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

1John 2:2

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Eternal separation, some forgiven, some not forgiven

1Cor.6:9-11

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Lord, I pray for hearts to be changed by Your Word! Amen

Thank God for the Miracle of the Star

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” Judges 5:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

You know, the stars have to obey our Lord. In the Old Testament the Bible says the stars and their courses fought against Sisera. Sisera was a general whose army had 900 chariots going to war against God’s people. Imagine—900 chariots! God sent such a tremendous rainstorm that his chariots bogged down and he was defeated.

Later when they wrote a song to celebrate the victory, one of the stanzas says “the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” His kingdom came tumbling down. And ultimately Herod’s kingdom came tumbling down, for Herod stumbled over the stars—the Star of Bethlehem. 

Listen to me, the whole universe is against the man who is against God. But the whole universe lines up behind the man who seeks God. Whatever is necessary, God will do it to get the hungry heart who seeks after Him to Jesus. If you want Him, God is a God of might and miracle.

ACTION POINT:

Some of you may be reading this by divine appointment because you’ve been seeking the Lord. Thank God for the miracle of the stars. The star was there to guide those wise men seeking Jesus. It tells me that whatever is necessary, God will guide your hungry heart if you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

God Made the First Move

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:13-14
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Three things brought the wise men to Jesus: The ministry of the Spirit, the message of the Scripture, and the miracle of the star.
Who put the desire to find the Christ child and to worship Him in their hearts? The Holy Spirit. Do you know why we seek Him? Because He first sought us, Isn’t that true? “We love Him because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19. Do you know why I love the Lord Jesus? Because God in grace and mercy put a desire in my heart to seek after Him. The Bible says that by our nature, our flesh, none of us would seek after God—no, not one—and that would have included these wise men.
They didn’t come to Him because they were so intellectual. Don’t get the idea that because they were smarter than other men they came. No. They were wise, and that wisdom made them yielded to God; thus God the Holy Spirit could work in their hearts and draw them to Jesus.
ACTION POINT:
Do you have a desire to know Him? To love Him? To serve Him? Do you find something drawing you to God? Remember His promise: You will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Wise Men Will See Him

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Wise men seek the Lord. Do you seek the Lord? Is that the burning ambition of your heart and life? You say, “Well, I come to church.” I’m not talking about that. Think about these men from the east. Do you know where “the east” was? They’re talking about Babylon. Three hundred miles across Syrian Desert, distance and difficulty.

Now, Christmas cards picture them coming on camels. I don’t know how they came, but I know how they didn’t come…by airplane, bus, automobile, or motorcycle. I know where they didn’t stay. They didn’t stay in the Holiday Inn. 

And they came in spite of danger. It was the time of King Herod, insane with jealousy and rage, who had had his own wife and three sons murdered. These men in the face of that danger said, “We have come to seek Jesus Christ.” Wise men will seek Him in spite of distance, danger and difficulty.

Wise men who seek Him will see Him. When they came into the house, they fell down and worshipped Him. It’s worth seeking Him because, friend, when you seek Him, you will see Him. “Ye shall seek Me and find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) They searched, found Him and saw Him.

ACTION POINT:

Do you have a desire to know Him? To love Him? To serve Him? Do you find something drawing you to God? That my friend, is Someone. He’s the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the ministry of the Spirit. Hallelujah!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Are You A Wise Man?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, ‘Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.’” Matthew 2:1-2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Not all “wisemen” are wise men. You may be a great entrepreneur, a great businessman, engineer, or nuclear physicist. You may be a physician, lawyer, a gifted artist. But if you don’t know Jesus, you’re not truly wise. There’s a kind of wisdom that’s not wisdom at all; it’s the wisdom of this world. “PhD” may stand for “phenomenal dud” if you don’t know Jesus,

Omar Bradley, a great American five-star general, once said, “We’re living in a time when our achievement, our knowledge of science, has gone far beyond our power to control it. We have too many men of science and too few men of God. We’ve brought about brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We’re living in a time of nuclear giants and spiritual pigmies.”

That’s well said. What is real wisdom? Number one, wise men will seek Jesus.

Do you know the mark of wisdom, how to determine wisdom? Just tell me what motivates you, tell me the consummate ambition of your life, and I can tell you clearly whether you’re wise or not just by what you seek. The apostle Paul summed up his life in one sentence: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) What he meant was the source, the substance, the subject, the satisfaction of his life was Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Could you put your life in a sentence like that? “For me to live is Christ.” Pause and think about that.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Stars and Scars of Christmas

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But Thomas, one of the twelve…was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said unto them, “Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.” John 20:24-25

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

At Bethlehem there was a bright star pointing the way to Jesus. But there is a darker side to Christmas. Consider the scars of the Lord Jesus. They’re not incidental. They are so fundamental that Jesus carried those scars with Him to heaven. 

Did you know that the only man-made thing in heaven are the scars of Jesus Christ? When He went back to heaven, He took some souvenirs of His visit with him…the scars in His hands and side. He has kept those scars as a lasting memorial through all eternity. When Jesus comes again, one of the ways we will know Him is His scars. Zechariah 13:6 says, “And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? And He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.”

ACTION POINT:

I want you to imagine our risen Savior. See Him on the throne of His glory. See in His hands the print of the nails, because He bears them for all eternity. I want you to see those nail-scarred hands reaching to you right now. Would you not like to put your hand in that hand and say, “Save me, Lord Jesus. Thank You that You are the God-man. Thank You that, as a man, You suffered in order to save me.” Pray it and mean it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Do You Have Peace in Your Heart?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I was trying to witness to a man one time. I knew him well. He was what you would call a self-made man, pretty comfortable in his status in life. He was standing in front of his house. We had a friendly conversation, but when I broached the subject of Jesus he said, “Oh, I’m fine. I’m fine like I am. You see that house? It’s paid for. There’s my wife on the inside. She loves me and I love her. I have my retirement income. I’m doing quite well, thank you.” 

I said, “Sir, may I ask you a question?” “Well, sure,” he answered. I said, “Oh no, don’t say that lightly. I want to ask you a question and I want you to think about it and answer me honestly. Will you?” He said, “Of course.” I said, “Sir, do you have peace in your heart?” He said, “I told you, I’m fine.” I said, “No, you said you would answer the question. Now answer it. Do you have peace in your heart?” 

His chin began to quiver and his eyes brimmed with tears. He said, “No! I don’t have peace. How did you know?” I said, “Because the Bible says ‘There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.’” (Isaiah 57:21)

The only real peace you will ever know is found in the wonderful name of Jesus.

ACTION POINT:

Do you have peace with God? If you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to pray a prayer like this: “Dear Jesus, I need You. I’m a sinner. I’m lost. I don’t want to die in my sin and go to hell. I need You, Jesus. I trust You, Jesus. I believe You’re the Son of God. You paid for my sin debt with Your shed blood on the cross. Thank You, Lord, for doing that. Thank You for saving me. Now give me the courage to make it public. In Your name I pray, amen.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers