“Salvation” by Being a Good Person?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Romans 10:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The world thinks that sin is being bad and righteousness is being good. They say, “If I am just a good person, then I will go to heaven.” God seems like a Santa Claus, making a list and checking it twice, trying to find out if we are naughty or nice. That is just not so.

Righteousness lies only in Jesus Christ. He left heaven, came to earth, lived a perfect, righteous life. Then He suffered, bled, and died on a cross to atone for our sins. He was buried and raised to life by the power of God and has ascended into glory. His blood was applied to the mercy seat of God. That is righteousness.

Galatians 2:21 tells us, “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Do you know what that means? If you could be saved by being good, then Calvary was a blunder. If there were some other way for you to be saved, God would not have let His Son die upon a cross.

ACTION POINT:

Are you depending on your own good works to “get you into heaven”? What will enable you to stand before a holy God? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” Titus 3:5

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Sting Of Death Is Sin

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 

55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.  - Hosea 13:14

8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. 

9 It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."  - Isaiah 25:8-9

It's as if part of you has been ripped away!!! For indeed it has been!!! That constant sweet presence of that person you hold most dear to your heart has gone into eternity. This can be a comfort or it can bring shear terror! Why? The soul that dies in Christ goes to Him but the rebellious wicked unbelieving soul goes to Satan. There is no other place to which the soul can go, no holding place to see what your life merits. Why? Because our eternal destination is dependent on the power of the cross. Christ alone brings salvation! Not any merit of your life only your faith in Christ!!! The blood of Christ is the only ransom!!! 

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  - Revelation 7:17

13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45

And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  - Revelation 5:9

Recently an old friend died, he was in his 90's. He was a dear sweet man who loved his Lord, his friends and his family. We grieve but our grief is momentary because then comes the joy in the knowledge that through his faith "he is with Jesus"!!!

He is Risen!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.” Romans 6:9-10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The best news this old world has ever heard came from a graveside just outside Jerusalem. He is risen! On that day, life and death met in a tomb in mortal combat. Life won. Death died. In that tomb, Jesus won the victory over death.

There is no more timeless truth than this: Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. That’s a truth science cannot explain, history cannot repeat, and time cannot erode away. It is the Truth of all truths. And the Truth that proves Jesus is the Son of God.

Someone has said, “If Jesus Christ is still in that grave, nothing matters. But if He came out of the grave, nothing but that really matters.”

ACTION POINT:
Who are you going to tell today that Jesus is alive and has paid their sin debt? Ask God to lead you to someone and give you the boldness to share this life-changing Truth!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Running Your Race Without Distraction

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Runners train themselves to be focused on one thing – the finish line. They have one desire, and they are not going to let what is going on in the stands or who is lagging behind distract them.

Paul had the same sense. He, too, believed that you could not win a race by looking over your shoulder or glancing to the right or the left. You can’t see what is ahead when you’ve got your headlights on the rear bumper.

ACTION POINT:

Paul forgot his past glory, past mistakes, past grief, past everything. Paul refused to let his past keep him from reaching his goal. What are you doing in your race to claim the prize of a closer walk with God? Take a few minutes over the next couple of days to reflect upon what Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross. In light of that, analyze how you are running your race. What changes do you want to make to better run the race?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Does God Really Answer Prayer?

Yes! Every single sincere from the heart prayer, God does indeed answer.

We might not momentarily understand the answer.

We might think it was not answered in the way we wanted.

It was definitely answered according to His will in a manner that will glorify Him. 

He has a purpose for you also with whatever manner of circumstance He places you in.

The only way to know Him is through your intimate time in His holy word and fervent prayer for Him to reveal Himself. 

Our Power:

2 Corinthians 4:

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 

Our Hope:

2 Corinthians 4:

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 

Our Prayer:

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." - Matthew 21:22

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. - James 1:6-8 

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. - James 4:3

1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 

2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.  - Isaiah 59:1-2

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.  - Proverbs 21:13

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. - John 15:7

God Alone:

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  - Isaiah 55:8-9

What God Will Do:

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 

13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. 

14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 

15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 

16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.  - Psalm 103:11-16

All peoples in the whole Earth will praise His name for He alone is worthy!!!

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

11 for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. - Romans 14:10-12

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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. - 1 Timothy 2:3-6

What Did the Thieves on the Cross Really Want?

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

43 And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." - Luke 23:39-43

One thief blasphemed Jesus while the other begged for mercy!!!

Isn't that what today's man does?

Deny God's power and then beg for mercy?

It's not that the one thief was innocent and the other wasn't.

It's that one realized his need for a Savior and one mocked the Savior.

Eternity demands your soul!!

Where will you reside?

3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every one-to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 

9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 

10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.  - Isaiah 53:3-12

Are You in the “School of Trials”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Andrew Murray said, “Every child of God must at one time or another enter the school of trial.” And the Scriptures teach us that we are to count it a joy when God takes us into this school.

Just as there is no profit in the ground being made wet by rain or broken up by the plough if no seed is cast into it, so are children of God who enter into trial and have little blessing from it. The heart is softened for a time, but they know not how to obtain an abiding blessing from it. They know not what the Father has in view since they are in the school of trial.

Are you in the middle of a trial? Trust that the Lord will bring blessing as you trust in Him with all your heart. 

ACTION POINT:

Let 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 encourage you: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment (this slight distress of the passing hour) worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal (brief and fleeting); but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers