Freedom and Liberty in Worship

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Formalism and worship are two separate things. When you are worshiping the Lord, there needs to be freedom and order. Worship is not real quiet music and everyone sitting still and not smiling. That’s not worship. Some people say, “Well that’s a dignified service.” Perhaps they don’t know the difference between reverence and rigor mortis.

If you study worship in the Bible, you’ll find out that worship was marked with brightness, spontaneity, and joy. The early Christians had something that fire could not burn, that swords could not kill, that water could not drown, that jails could not hold. They knew the holiness, the loveliness, and the glory of God in a life-changing way.

ACTION POINT:

Read Psalm 5:7 and 29:2 and take some time today to worship God in joy and truth.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

“Authority Over” Comes from “Under Authority”

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” Philippians 2:8-9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Sometimes we underplay Jesus’ humanity to prove that Jesus was God. But if you think of Jesus masquerading as a man instead of truly being a man, then you’ve missed out on a blessing. You see, it is the humanity of Jesus Christ that teaches us how we are to live as Christians in this world.

And how did He live? He said, “He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:29). He lived in subjection to His Father. And because He chose to submit, God gave Him authority.

ACTION POINT:

Here is the principle to live by: We will never be “over” until we are willing to be “under.” Authority does not develop on its own. It always comes from a higher source of power.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Someone Loves You Perfectly

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you gripped with fear about something? Do not give in to despair. There is hope. Love is the answer to overcoming your fear because love is the Christian’s security blanket.

When you were a child, did you have a teddy bear or a blanket that gave you a sense of security—something you wanted to hold close to you and get wrapped up in? Well, dear friend, the Holy Spirit of God is the believer’s warm, loving security blanket. Have you read the verse, “Perfect love casteth out fear”? It may not have rung true to you because you are thinking, “I can never manage to achieve “perfect love.” But this is not the way to look at this verse. Listen to it in The Living Bible, which says, “We have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly.” God’s perfect love can eliminate all dread. It is not our love for Him, but His perfect love for us that will cast out our fears. 

ACTION POINT:

The question isn’t “Am I brave enough?” The question is “Do I trust His love enough?”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

What Is Outside His Control?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The fourth and fifth chapters of Mark give us marvelous illustrations of all the things God has placed under the authority of our Lord Jesus. You’ll find Jesus stilling the storm (vv. 4:35-41); He is the Master over disaster. You’ll find Him healing a demon-possessed man (vv. 5:1-20); He has authority over demons. Next, Jesus heals a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years; even disease is under His domain (vv. 5:24-34). Finally in these chapters He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead; Jesus has authority over death (vv. 5:38-43). 

Whatever befall—disaster, demons, disease, or even death—Jesus Christ is Lord! 

ACTION POINT:

“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He [the Father] put all things in subjection under His [Jesus’] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:19b-22 NASV). Friend, meditate upon this passage and rest in Him today, for He has it all under His control.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The LORD of the Angel Armies

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does “the Lord of hosts” mean? It literally means the Lord Almighty, and it speaks of the greatness of God. One translation puts it, “the LORD of the angel armies.”

In his hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther uses the Greek word for “the Lord of hosts” when he writes, “Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.”

When David faced Goliath, he used the same name for God. “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45). Though Goliath was a huge man, David said he wasn’t too big to hit if God was on his side.

ACTION POINT:

What does it do for your spirit today to know that you have with you the LORD of hosts? This same Lord, the Lord Almighty, says, “And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The God of the Second Chance

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever felt like you have used up God’s reservoir of forgiveness? Perhaps you’ve thought, “I don’t have a right to come and ask Him to forgive me again.” Friend, it doesn’t matter how many times we have sinned.

Suppose you came back to God the 5,000th time with the same sin. Will He forgive you? Yes indeed, He will. As far as He is concerned, it is the first time you have come to Him. Why? Because He has forgotten all the other times.

Our God doesn’t hold grudges. He does punish sin, but He doesn’t hold grudges. The God of Jonah, David, Mark, Peter, and Jacob is your God and my God. I have come to Him so many times and asked Him for a second chance. And guess what? He has given it.

ACTION POINT:
If He can give Jonah, David, Jacob, etc., a second chance, He will certainly give you another chance. Failure is not final. 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Dwelling Place

You are the dwelling place of Christ. 

We no longer need a priest to intercede for us.

We no longer need a prophet, we have direct access to God's holy marvelous word!!!

We must share the hope we have found in Christ!!

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. - Romans 12:1

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? - 1 Corinthians 3:16

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:18-22