THE GOSPEL: OUR FAVORITE STORY

Romans 1:16-17

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

The gospel is our favorite story

and we’re obligated to tell everybody about it...

• because we’re not ashamed of it.

(Romans 1:16; cf. Mark 8:38; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23; 2 Timothy 1:8, 12)

• because it’s God’s saving power for everyone who has faith.

(Romans 1:16-17; cf. Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11)

• because that’s the way He makes us right and gives us life.

(Romans 1:17; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9)

Thanks Pastor Jim!!

It Is Yours, Lord—Everything

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matt.16:24
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Very early in our marriage, Joyce and I got on our knees and made a solemn vow before God that all we had would belong to Jesus Christ. We would not really own title to anything.

Now, we might hold title as far as men were concerned, but everything we owned would belong to the Lord. If He wanted it, He could have it. If He wanted to use it, if He wanted to destroy it, if He wanted to give it away, if He wanted to give more, that was His business.

Have you done that? Have you transferred everything to Christ? It’s not your fame, it’s your faith. It’s not your ability, it’s your availability. It’s not your scholarship, it’s your sacrifice.

ACTION POINT:
Stop now this moment and think about what you have. Are you willing to “transfer the title”? Tell the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the true owner of all you have—including your abilities.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Keeping the Faith

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I believe with all my heart that the call needs to go out today more clearly than ever before for Christians to keep the faith.

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, “The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell.”

We are but one generation away from paganism. If this generation doesn't keep the faith and pass it to the next, there will be no faith.

ACTION POINT:
Are you passing the faith to the next generation? Here is your commission from the Lord: “Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.” Deut.11:18-20

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Stay the Course and Finish Well

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim.4:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Do you know the way to finish the course? Keep looking to Jesus.

I’ve been preaching the Gospel for over 50 years, and God knows I have my faults and sins. He also knows I have repented and aim to get right with Him each and every day. I am far from perfect, but I can say that this same God has kept me on course. He has kept me preaching the Gospel.

Finishing the course that God has planned for us is never easy. It takes discipline and hard work. It takes picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and starting over. One of these days you are going to have to look back on your life. And I hope you will be able to say that you fought as a warrior and finished as an athlete.

ACTION POINT:
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” ( Heb.12: 1-2). Keep short accounts with God. Confess quickly. Get back on the track.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

After “Fighting the Good Fight”

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Tim.6:12 
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Some of the greatest spiritual defeats you will ever have will follow some of your highest spiritual victories. Jonah, Moses, and Elijah – all these men learned this. Why does this happen?

Because we are tired and feel we can just coast awhile. We think, “Didn’t God bless and give us a great victory?”  But what we forget is that the devil is clever. He knows just when to pull the rug out from under us.

Let me give you a little advice: Although the residual effects of yesterday’s blessings will bless you, you cannot coast on yesterday’s blessings. God has made you so that you cannot live by experiences. You must live by Jesus Christ one day at a time.

ACTION POINT:
Every time you experience victory, be on your guard. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) This is the time to be “on alert,” and more submitted than ever to Jesus as Lord.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Prioritizing Your Work and Rest

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep.” Ps.127:2
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
In the book of Jonah, we learn that Jonah reached a place of physical despondency (see Jonah 4:3 and 8). He wanted God to kill him.

Have you ever reached a place of despair and thought that everything and everyone was against you and you didn’t know what to do? Maybe you just needed to lie down and get some sleep.

Now, that may not sound like the most spiritual thing to do, but we cannot abuse our bodies without suffering the consequences. And being a child of God does not make you immune to physical exhaustion. 

ACTION POINT:
Have you ever heard of burn out? Where do you think we got that phrase? There is enough time in the day to gracefully do everything God wants us to do. We must determine what that is—and isn’t. Begin each day with the prayer: “Father, what do You have for me today?  Help me to focus on that, and not the distractions.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Him—Just Him

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I heard of a lady who memorized so many verses of Scripture that she quoted them back to the Lord in praise to His name. When she grew old and began to lose her memory, she could only remember one verse, “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” She would quote it over and over.

Soon her memory deteriorated more, and all she could remember was just the phrase “committed unto Him.” It brought her much comfort. Finally she came to a place where all she could say was “Him.”

ACTION POINT:

You can distill the Bible down to that one word, “Him.” Can you tune all of your life to that one note of praise? Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers