Redeem the Time!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Procrastination. Just seeing the word makes me want to put off saying anything else. Are you under conviction in that area? One fellow said, “I started to procrastinate, then decided to put it off.”

Procrastination is a form of disobedience. When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, we can label our actions with all kinds of fancy words, but the bottom line is, it’s sin. The days are passing and time cannot be stopped. You can’t call a “time out” in life. And time can’t be stored like money in the bank. Really, the only thing you can do with time is use it or lose it.

ACTION POINT:
Someone has said, “Lost: One golden hour, studded with sixty diamond minutes. No reward offered, for it is lost forever." Redeem the time.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Weight of the World on Your Shoulders

Hear the words of the Lord!!!

Sovereign God:

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  - Isaiah 41:10

For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."  - Isaiah 41:13

Is it just in our genetic makeup to think we are in control?

Are we so deceived by sin that we fool ourselves into this belief ?

God did indeed give us the ability to think and make decisions but does that mean we are in control?

We have indeed been given free will and are accountable for all that goes along with it, good and bad!!

God's design for man was for him to be in an intimate relationship with Him. 

We make decisions as we humbly seek counsel from His word and are mindful of the ramifications of our actions. 

Worry:

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? - Matthew 6:27

Wisdom:

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.  - Psalm 90:12

God alone sustains man:

13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. - James 4:13-17

When Your Life Caves In

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When we come to a place where we don’t understand what’s happening…when everything seems to be caving in, there is Jesus. We always have the forgiveness of the cross, the victory of the empty tomb, and the hope of Christ’s imminent return.

When we go to the doctor and he tells us we have a malignancy. When we hear that we as a couple are infertile and cannot bear a child. When we have to declare bankruptcy. When we are laid off work. When we read a note that our spouse has left. When a loved one dies because of a terrorist act.

ACTION POINT:

We have a Savior…and we have a choice to believe or not to believe! At that time we can begin to murmur, criticize, grumble, or despair. Or we can yield to the Savior and hear Him say, “My child, no matter what is happening, this is how much I love you. Look to the cross. Look to the empty tomb. Look for Me. I’m coming again.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Male and Female He Created Them

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.

2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. - Genesis 5:1-2

4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?

6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." - Matthew 19:4-6

There are no substitutions for the role of male and female in God's creation. 

He has made it plain that our role is to be obedient to His word!
We were made, male and female, to pro-create.

As with many things, sin entered in and perverted the roles of male and female.

What God intended to be pleasing in His sight has become shameful!

I am going to stand before a holy God on judgment day just as all will. 

I will love all people and pray for all people but I will not exchange the truth for a lie!

I will not except sinful practices as normal.

Sin separates man from God!

Don't let Satan lull you into an eternity in Hell!

Lord, I pray for eyes to be opened. Let us love each other but not exchange the truth for lies. Give us courage to stand on Your promise of eternal life through Christ. Let us teach Your truth! Amen

Because He Said So

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you a parent? Then, you’ve probably told your children to do something and they asked why. And what did you say? “Because I told you. Period.”

I believe there are times when parents want their children to do things and they need to explain their rationale. It’s important to teach principles for living instead of mere commands and rules. But sometimes children are not able to understand, so the answer I just mentioned is one that simply communicates parental authority to a child.

ACTION POINT:

Leviticus is a book full of laws that no one understood logically. And yet did God stop to explain the law? No. He simply said, “I am the Lord your God.” He is above our need for explanations and deserving of our full obedience.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Only Intercessor

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 2:5-6

Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. - Galatians 3:20

6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. - Hebrews 8:6-7

5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. - 2 Corinthians 3:5-6

16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 6:16-20

So we go boldly before the throne of grace because of Jesus and God's mercy!!!

We study His word!

We keep His word in our hearts and on our minds!

We share the truth of the gospel to convict the lost and let the word lead them to salvation!!

We praise God for He alone is worthy!!

We thank Jesus for His sacrifice.

We honor Jesus with our obedience to God's commands! 

On the Proving Ground

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth.” Psalm 26:2-3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How do automobile manufacturers make sure their vehicles are safe for people to drive? They put their vehicles onto a proving ground. They’re driven hundreds of miles over rough roads and through water and heat—screeching, turning, twisting, hitting the brakes, accelerating to top speeds. They want to see if that automobile will stand the test.

It is the same with our spiritual lives. God gives the test first and the lesson afterwards. Read throughout Scripture and you will find this to be true. Joseph was tested. David was tested. Moses was tested. Peter was tested.

When God gets ready to prove you, He is not going to test you in the good times because that is not a test. Anybody can serve God in the sunshine. 

ACTION POINT:

The test is not how you behave when there is victory all around; the test is how you behave when God brings you to the wilderness. He wants to know what is in your heart. Are you fully devoted to God?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers