Faithful in Your Words

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” James 5:12 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In June we take time to focus on fathers, and I’ve discovered in talking with teenagers that many of them harbor bitterness and resentment. Much of that resentment is directed toward their fathers over the serious matter of broken promises. If you’re a dad who wants to restore your relationship with your teenager, one of the best things you can do is to remember those broken promises. Then go to them with a remorseful spirit and say, “I’ve asked God to forgive me, and I want you to forgive me.” Ask this question, “Have I ever made a promise to you that I’ve failed to keep? If so, I want you to tell me because I want to repent. I want you to believe that your dad is a faithful man.”

ACTION POINT:

Are you a man of your word? If not, start fresh today and make a commitment that you will stand behind your word. 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Things of Value

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Glory and honor are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place.” 1 Chronicles 16:27

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I heard about a little girl who loved her daddy so much she wanted to do something very special for him for Christmas. She decided to make him some house slippers. She went up to her bedroom every evening and worked. The times that she used to sit in her father's lap and talk disappeared. For months she worked alone. Finally, she came down on Christmas Day with those slippers and presented them to her father. 

He was appreciative of her nice gift. But he thought to himself, “How much more I would have valued her time just sitting in my lap and being with me than I value these slippers.” 

ACTION POINT:

Jesus values the time you spend with Him far more than the things you do for Him. Learn to sit at the feet of Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

God Already Knows

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” Genesis 22:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I don't know what your problem is today, but God already knows the answer. 

Abraham thought he had a problem when he was going up to sacrifice Isaac. He didn't know how his need was going to be met. But the moment Abraham started up one side of that mountain with Isaac, on the other side, a ram started up—the ram that was going to be the substitute for Isaac. 

Abraham never saw the ram, but God saw it. And I want to tell you, God knows a way for you. God has a plan for you—a plan for all of us.

ACTION POINT:

God's children are never to panic. Worry is an insult to Almighty God. Trust God—He already knows.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

A Depraved Diet

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.” 2 Kings 6:25

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A depraved diet was the mark in this day of famine, and a depraved diet is the mark in our day. Only today, we have a spiritual famine.

Today we're feeding on all sorts of depravity and filth. Do you know why millions of Americans are feeding on a depraved diet? Do you know why pornographic magazines are read by so many? Do you know why people are going to see these sick movies and so-called adult films? Why these dens of iniquity, these things they call night clubs, are filled with people? Because there's a famine for the Word of God. And anytime a man, a woman, a boy or girl is not properly fed, he will have a depraved diet.

ACTION POINT:
How do you change your diet and keep from doing these things? Not primarily by saying, “I'm going to be a good boy.” Load up on the Word of God. Feast on the honey, the milk, the meat of God’s Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Christ Is the Way to Holiness

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Gal.2:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Here is one of the greatest secrets of living a victorious life that I know anything about: holiness is not the way to Christ—Christ is the way to holiness.

Many times we think, “If I could pray enough, live purely enough, study my Bible thoroughly enough, or get my life holy enough, that would bring me closer to Jesus. It would bring me into a relationship with Him.”

But not so! It is Jesus Christ Who enables you to pray. It is Jesus Christ Who enables you to study the Bible. It is Jesus Christ Who enables you to live the pure life. Holiness is not the way to Christ—Christ is the way to holiness.

ACTION POINT:
Claim now the fullness of God’s power. Just as Elisha was identified with Elijah, so you must be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. The way to be like Him is to see Him and to worship Him and praise Him. Then you’re changed; you are made like Him. You become like what you spend time with.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Deny Yourself

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:
Do you want to be filled with the Spirit of God? Do you really? Are you willing to forsake self? God is not going to superimpose His mighty, dynamic power on your old self-life.

Some people think denying themselves is doing without certain kinds of food, going without sleep, or doing without certain pleasures. They think maybe if they go live in a monastery they'll be denying themselves.

But Jesus didn't say deny yourself things. It‘s not denying yourself things; it’s denying yourself. Simon Peter forsook his nets, but it was a long time before Simon Peter forsook Simon Peter.

ACTION POINT:
Self doesn’t want to die. Are you willing to say, “None of me and all of Thee”?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Sin is the Cause; Christ is the Cure!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Some would say that man is but the sum total of his environment and his body chemistry. If he does wrong, it's because he's like a computer that has been programmed wrongly. If he was raised in a bad neighborhood, he shouldn’t be blamed for breaking into stores or smoking dope. Or if he has a vile temper, perhaps he had an overbearing mother.

According to behavioral psychologists, these people may be pitied but not blamed. They may be sick, but they’re not sinful. They may be weak but not wicked. They need some sort of a psychological adjustment rather than salvation. 

ACTION POINT:
If we don't make a proper diagnosis, we'll never come up with the right cure. The thing wrong with our society today is we're spending too much time sweeping down cobwebs when we need to be killing spiders. The spider is sin; the cobwebs are the result that we see in society around about us.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers