Take This Challenge

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The home is a nice place for the Bible. The hand is a good place, as well. But I tell you, the heart and the head are the best places to store the Bible.

Do you ever ask yourself, “Why do I always cave in when temptation comes? Why can’t I be an overcomer? Where is my breakthrough?” 

Well, let me ask you this question: How much time are you spending reading, meditating, and studying the Word of God?

ACTION POINT:

Take this challenge this week. For each hour you spend watching television, spend that time in the Bible. For every hour you work out at the gym, spend that time in the Bible. Then write me and tell me what a difference this has made in your life.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Here’s My Heart—O Take and Seal It

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments.” Psalm 119:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In 1758 Robert Robinson wrote a hymn that echoes in my heart from time to time: 

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Do you ever wander from God? Then you know how it feels and how hard it is to return. If you feel far from God today, I implore you with all that I am to return to Him with all your heart.

ACTION POINT:

Make Psalm 86:11-13 your prayer today, “Teach me Thy way, O LORD; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name. I will praise Thee, O LORD my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify Thy name for evermore. For great is Thy mercy toward me: and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

You Can Have A Clean Heart and Renewed Mind

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to Thee; but his heart is not with Thee.” Prov.27:3
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A teacher asked a little boy to finish this proverb: “Cleanliness is next to...” And he said, “Cleanliness is next to impossible.” Well, friend that little boy wasn’t that far wrong, was he?

It’s amazing what people do to try and purify themselves – fast, pray, kneel, walk, self-flagellate, hibernate, isolate. But sadly, they discover that human efforts aren’t the pathway to purity because they keep doing what Zig Ziglar calls “stinkin‘ thinkin‘.” Before we can hope to have a life of purity, we must have a clean thought life.

God works from the inside out. He knows that you cannot purify the water by painting the pump.

ACTION POINT:
When was the last time you memorized a verse of Scripture? It’s easier to stay away from “stinkin’ thinkin’” when your mind is focused on the Word of God. This is a good time to memorize yesterday’s passage, Psalm 51:10-13: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” Start working on memorizing this passage today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Fellowship with Jesus When Our Heart Is Clean

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24:4-50

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

James Nicholson wrote a song which expresses the desire of my heart: 

“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; I want Thee forever to live in my soul. Break down every idol, cast out every foe; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Nothing beats closer to my heart than the yearning to be pure before my Lord. I know that sweet fellowship with Jesus that comes when my heart is clean. And nothing, no nothing, surpasses that in this world.

Are you failing in your Christian life because you are not pure? If you are, you’re not alone. It seems as though a sewer pipe of filth and debauchery has broken and poured out into our world. Someone has well said, “Not since Manhattan Island was sold for 24 dollars has so much dirt been sold so cheaply as it is here in America.”

ACTION POINT:

Take the words of that song and make them your prayer to the Lord right now. Then close with Psalm 51:10-13: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Pure Heart

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.” Psalm 119:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A child delights in what he has. 

A youth delights in what he does. 

An adult delights in what he is. 

The more mature you are, the more you will desire to be something—not just to have something or to do something, but to be something.

What do you desire to be today? Someone who is known for the way they dress? The deals they close? The house they live in? Or do you want others to know that you have a pure heart—a heart that is utterly devoted and surrendered to God.

ACTION POINT:

Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” They will know the unknowable, they will do the impossible, and they will see the invisible. I want to have a heart like that. What about you?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Our Only Answer

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The world wants to know what we should do about the problems of the world. What about the overcrowded prisons? Poverty? Rape? Murder? Do you know why we never solve the problems? Because we don’t see the real problem.

The sociologist says it is just a cultural lag. The psychologist calls it an emotional disturbance. The philosopher calls it irrational behavior. The communist calls it the human class struggle. The humanist calls it human weakness. The criminologist calls it anti-human conduct. The Bible calls it sin.

And the only answer for sin is Jesus, Who executes the will of God, expresses the love of God, and expounds the mind of God.

ACTION POINT:

The problems of our world are beyond solution—apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. God moves in answer to our prayers. Your effectual, fervent prayer “availeth much.” (James 5:16)

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Releasing the Old—Taking Hold of the Best

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“I will love Thee, O LORD, my strength.” Psalm 18:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever tried to get a bone away from a dog? It’s not too easy, unless you have something better for him. Try offering a T-bone steak, and that dog will drop his bone like a bad habit.

In the same way, the writer of Hebrews tried to encourage the Jewish Christians, new believers who had a tendency to cling to the old customs of the Old Testament, to leave the dry bones of ceremonies and feast upon the delights of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT:

It’s a lesson we all must appropriate in our lives. It can become comfortable for us to hold to our traditions, rather than try something new. But friend, there is no one and nothing that can compare with Jesus. You may learn to love Jesus better, but you can never love anything better than Jesus. Ask God to begin showing you the delights of a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers