Sunday, September 27, 2015

Our Unchanging Father



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
God made the mind of man. All true discoveries and all true knowledge in this world come from God. It is God’s Truth and we do not have to be afraid of it. But that doesn’t mean we are to casually stroll down the devil’s lane of godless philosophies.

God’s Truth doesn’t change like philosophies. Malachi 3:6a says, “For I am the LORD, I change not.” I don’t know whether that means anything to you, but it means an awful lot to me, dear friend.

ACTION POINT:
The same God who loved us enough to put His Son on the cross two thousand years ago still loves us with that same love today. We don’t have to worry when we come to God in prayer that we might catch Him in a bad mood. Now, if that doesn’t start your motor, you don’t have one.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Horn of Salvation Jesus


Horn of Salvation Jesus

"On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD." - Ezekiel 29:21


68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 
71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:68-79


3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:3


2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2


Christ alone brings salvation.
God, being rich in mercy, sent Jesus to rescue the sinner.
There is no other way!!
Sin is eternally deadly!
Satan is the author of sin and lies.
He wants your soul and will stop at nothing until he has you in darkness and you think there is no escape!
Praise God there is a way out!!
The power of Jesus is stronger!!
Come to the foot of the Cross, repent and have eternal life through Christ!!



23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23


8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8


23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23


8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8


4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Prayer-Christ-Redemption and the Trembling of Satan



Where does our power to confront Satan come from?
I mean yes it comes from God but I mean how do we get it?
Does God just drop it down from Heaven?
Does it spring from the water? 
Is it just floating in space?
No! 
God sends power when we, as the body of Christ, fall on our knees and pray!!!
You know why?
Because we show our dependence on Almighty God, the power of the Cross and we praise Him for He alone is worthy!!!
This is what makes Satan tremble!
He has been defeated from the start because God, who is rich in mercy, knew man would fall because of Satan and his cunning ways.
He prepared the way for salvation through His son!



4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 
7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" 
8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. - Hebrews 10:4-14



14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. - 2 Chronicles 7:14-16




5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. - James 4:5-10



The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  - Psalm 51:17



11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)
12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.
17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.
19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."
21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:11-28

The Law and the Gospel of God's Grace




“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.” - Romans 4:16

There are more than six billion people on the face of this earth. If you extracted from each one the very best character traits and put those things into one man, that one man would still have to bow before God and cry out for mercy to be saved.

We’ve got to quit trying to be saved by doing good things or being a moral person or even by keeping the Ten Commandments.
The law says “if.” The gospel says “therefore.”
The law says you must earn salvation.  The gospel says salvation is a gift.
The law demands holiness. The gospel provides holiness.
The law says run, but it doesn’t give us legs.
The gospel says fly, and it gives us wings of grace.

Read Romans 10. What application can you gain for your life from this chapter?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Friday, September 25, 2015

What If I Told You....

What if I told you that every evil thing you ever did was just washed away, forever forgotton by God's all seeing mind?
What if I told you of a merciful God who meets you where you are, sin filled and all?
What if I told you that you have been forgiven because God's Son (Christ) took the wrath due?
What if I told you God demands that all men repent or else face an eternity in Hell?
What if I told you God sent His sinless Son to give you salvation through your repentance and by the power of the Cross?


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.  - Psalm 103:11-14


When I think of the words "as far as the east is from the west", I picture Christ on the cross, taking the wrath of our sin and it just burning away, like it never even existed! The distance being immeasurable!! Wow! Forgiven is a mighty powerful word with eternal meaning!!!


"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.  - Isaiah 43:25



God knows man is but a breath!!!
His mercy toward man is great!!!


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. 
17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, 
18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.  - Psalm 103:15-19

They Died Waiting


Have you ever thought about how blessed we are to know the truth about Christ?
In the bible, we have many, after the fact, true accounts of Christ and His life, death and resurrection. 
The more reliable accounts of an historical event will give the soul that searches a clearer picture of the truth!
While different accounts will vary in minor facts, the meat of the accounts has to be the same.
As you well know when someone relates an account, each person will tell it in their own unique way! 
There is a large amount of faith involved in putting your faith in someone you have never seen, especially if your eternity is dependent on it.
God has made an allowance for this by our mere observance of everything He created on Earth and by what we see in the sky.

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
18 of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.
36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-
38 of whom the world was not worthy-wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. - Hebrews 11

Murmuring or Grateful?



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:14-15

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Do you know the problem with many of us when we obey God? We murmur about it while we are doing it! And God is taking notes, because halfhearted obedience isn’t obedience at all. Remember, God is looking at the heart, not the deed (see 1 Samuel 16:7).

Do you know why we murmur? Because we’ve taken our eyes off Calvary. Jesus didn’t murmur on the way to the cross. Oh no. Do you thank God for the pains in life? Or only the gains?

ACTION POINT:
Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers