Saturday, April 12, 2014

What Is Meekness?


BIBLE MEDITATION:
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What does it mean to be meek? First, let me tell you what it is not before I tell you what it is. 

Meekness is not weakness. The word “meek” means yielded. It literally has the idea of strength under control. When an animal, especially a horse, is domesticated, it is trained so a rider can sit on its back or so it can pull a plow. The proper term for this process is that the animal has been ”meeked.” It has been broken. Now it yields to the rider or the yoke. Now the animal exhibits strength under control. That’s what meekness is. 

ACTION POINT:
Read Matthew 11:29 and 21:5. What does Jesus say about Himself and how can you emulate Him?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Friday, April 11, 2014

Aftermath

I was watching a show on TV about lawyers. It's a good show, well as good as one can be now days! It's definitely a show about the wickedness of man, his sinful ways and the way the world is! It's full of the things the world deems acceptable, spouses not honoring their marriages, lots of people consuming alcohol, business men cheating clients, unnatural sexual relations and in general the way the world rolls! This episode was different in that one of the main characters was murdered. Doing just an everyday thing, he was at work, defending a client, then it all went bad, just as in real life, unexpected, everything changed.
I was reminded how unpredictable everyday is! We go off to jobs, to school or shopping, thinking we will return home but sometimes that's not the case! Sometimes you don't come home!! Don't trust in what the world tells you! Search scripture and pray!

John 3:
35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 9:
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)
12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.
17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.
19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."
21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Are you ready for eternity? 

I listened to one of the characters trying to explain that the murdered lawyer was in heaven with God. Another character asked how she knew this and she said because he was a good man. Nothing could be further from the truth!! No one is good but God! You can not get to heaven by being good! You can only get to heaven through the blood of Christ which was shed for the forgiveness of sin! You must repent! Christ is the only acceptable payment God has deemed worthy for our debt payment! Christ died so that we might live! Salvation is a gift of grace, freely given to those who will believe in the power of Christ. This gift was bought with a price that man can never fully know or understand! A total innocent, crucified, scourged and beaten. 
God's Son, being obedient to His Father, endured our punishment. 

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Phil.2:
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.


We are called to be the salt of the earth! What does this mean? Everything around us is decaying from sin! We are to share the gospel to stop this certain death and eternal destruction! We are commanded to be a light in a dark and evil world!

Lev.2:13
You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

Col.4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

1 Peter 3:15
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Lord, have mercy on us! Help us teach You in truth! Let us sting with Your word of truth as Your word brings people to humble repentance! Amen

Poor in Spirit What Does It Mean?

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? Jesus is talking about being a beggar. He is saying, “Blessed are the beggars.” He’s not talking about finances here. He’s talking about a person being poor spiritually. 

Before a person can enter into the kingdom of heaven, he must first admit that no matter how much he may have in the material realm or psychological realm, he is absolutely and totally spiritually bankrupt and a beggar before God. If he doesn’t see that, he will never, ever get into the kingdom of heaven. 

ACTION POINT:
I’ve often said that I am just one beggar showing another beggar where to find food. Do you see yourself as a beggar in need of the Bread of Heaven?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Blessed Is the Man Who Trusts in the Lord

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us beatitudes—attitudes that ought to be. They are not platitudes. They are attitudes that deal with Christian character. 

Your reputation is what others think about you, but character is what God knows about you. 

The beatitudes do not say, “Blessed are what you have,” or “Blessed are what you do,” but “Blessed are what you are.” Most of the people in the world are doing what? They are seeking happiness. If you seek happiness you’ll never find it. But if you get right with God, blessedness will find you. 

ACTION POINT:
Have you been finding your self-worth in what you have or what you do? Confess it before the Lord and meditate on the attitudes you ought to have in Matthew 5:3-11.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Letting Your Shepherd Set Your Pace

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Ps.23:2
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Sometimes I hear folks tell young people, “Make all the money you can, just so you make it honestly.” That’s not good advice.

If you make all the money you can, you are going to be making money when you should be doing something else. You are going to be making money when you ought to be alone with God.

I’m not against making money. I’m simply saying that we need to stop and prioritize our lives. Do you know what I think God does with some of us? He makes us to lie down. We won’t do it unless He makes us.

ACTION POINT:
Why not stop right now and pray, “Lord Jesus, You don’t have to make me lie down. I’d rather slow down. I want to be still and know that You are GOD! Show me how.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Happiness, the Byproduct of Righteousness

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Happiness is something you stumble over on your way to serving Jesus. 

When you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ, happiness is the byproduct of righteousness. People who are trying to be happy are focusing their energy at the wrong target. If you will seek after righteousness, then you will be happy. 

What you need is to drink of the Spirit. 

What you need is to feed on the Word of God. 

The deepest need of your heart will be met only in Jesus. 

ACTION POINT:
Ask the Lord to fill you with His presence, to fulfill the deepest need of your heart in Him and Him alone. Now trust Him to do it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Monday, April 7, 2014

The Reason You Are Stressed

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 6:30

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Do you know the reason we’re stressed? Because we think our needs are not going to be met. We say, “Oh my goodness, I’m not going to have what I need!” 

Jesus tells us not to worry about what you are going to eat. And don’t worry about what you are going to wear. He’s saying only one thing is important His righteousness. These things don’t even take significance until your deepest needs are met. You are to find your satisfaction in Him. If you don’t find your satisfaction in Him, you’re going to be stressed. 

ACTION POINT:
Are you stressed out about something today? Turn it over to Jesus and turn your focus to Him. Let Jesus meet your needs and transform your heart today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers