The Path of Choice

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  - Psalm 146:3

You do have a choice!

You can repent from sin, turn towards Christ for forgiveness and walk in newness of life by way of His incredible gift of salvation.

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

Your other choice is to follow pagan idols and false religions to your eternal destruction.

We will not kill you if you deny the power of Christ.

We do not demand you follow Him but pray you will see the light that comes from serving a risen Savior.

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' - Acts 26:18

Now as with all choices, their will be a cost.

God has called you to be holy as He is holy. 

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, - 1 Peter 1:14-15

Now that is not to say we will be perfect, we still have a heart that is prone to sin.

There is a constant battle between our spiritual side and our sinful heart.

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 

10 "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."  - Jeremiah 17:9-10

Christ said, "he would draw all ".

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." - John 12:31-32

Satan is defeated and Christ is King and Lord.

So your choice is yours!

Your choice to kill in the name of a false religion is yours!

Your choice to follow a path that leads to destruction is yours!

There is an eternity!

Your soul, created by almighty God, was made for an eternity.

Man will be without excuse! 

God has made His glory know to all by His creation!!!

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. - Romans 1:19-21

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:7

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.  - Psalm 146:4

There is coming a time of judgement for you.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, - Hebrews 9:27

Jesus gave His life for you!!

His death and resurrection provided the way for you to be reconciled to God for all eternity!!

What are you going to do with this choice?

Is There Enough “Goodness” in Your Cup?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There is none good, no not one. If you asked every single human being on planet earth to deposit in a cup all of his or her goodness, there would not be enough goodness in that cup to save even one person!

Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as “filthy rags” in the sight of God. The cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Jesus took our sin upon the cross. Jesus took our shame upon the cross. Jesus took our suffering upon the cross. And by His death, He paid the sin debt and now we have His righteousness.

In 1906, Jessie Brown Pounds wrote these words: “I must needs go home by the way of the cross, there's no other way but this; I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light, if the way of the cross I miss.”

ACTION POINT:

Get this clear with yourself: Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own? Your accumulated lifetime of “good works”? Or the righteousness of the sinless Lamb of God, Who became your substitute on the Cross and paid your sin debt in full?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Hungry for God

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One day I was eating in a cafeteria in New York when the door of the restaurant opened and a man ran in. He rushed to a table that had been abandoned by patrons just shortly before. He began to stuff his mouth with the leftovers when the management discovered him. He rushed out like a squirrel scurrying to safety. No pride. He didn’t care what people thought.

A man who is starving is dead serious about the matter of getting food. He’s focused. He’s only got one thing on his mind—where is his next meal? He’s not concerned about popularity, position, or possessions.

What are you hungry for today? Is Jesus enough to satisfy your appetite?

ACTION POINT:

When a person is thirsty or hungry enough, he will pay any price. 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Ask for Help from the Teacher

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Psalm 119:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever thought you could just go to the Bible and pull some truth out of it for your life? Let me tell you friend: you cannot do that. Your mind will never comprehend the things of God apart from the Holy Spirit illuminating you.

First, we must lay our intellectual pride in the dust, and with open arms and a heart of faith, approach God’s Word for wisdom, discernment, and knowledge. Then He will teach us.

ACTION POINT:

It took a supernatural miracle to write the Word of God. It takes a supernatural miracle for you to understand it. When God begins to write His Word upon your heart, you are going to lead a supernatural life! Ask Him for that!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

When Your Feet Are Slipping…

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.” Psalm 73:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, started his psalm by talking about the purity of a person’s heart and the goodness of God. Then he says, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped” (Psalm 73:2).

He had the idea that when he got right with God, that he wouldn’t have any more troubles. Are you sure about that? Yes! Psalms 73:13-14 says, “Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.”

He said, “I got right with God and I still have problems!” He had a false expectation that the Bible doesn’t necessarily give. Christians are not due preferential treatment. 

ACTION POINT:

Seek the Lord through His Word and in prayer. You will find the presence of God is enough, even in the midst of our trials.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

MADE SONS AND DAUGHTERS: THE GOSPEL & ADOPTION

Adoption, in Scripture, is both theological and missional. (Rom. 8:15; Jas. 1:27)

The World is Fallen (Gen. 3:16-19; Tit. 3:3; Eph. 2:1-3)

• The Fall has changed our experience of family in this world.

• There is no aspect of the institution of family where Satan is not actively working to steal, kill, and destroy.

• The road to adoption led Jesus to a cross.

God is a Father (Matt. 3:17; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 2:10; Hos. 1:1-3)

• Jesus came so that God could adopt us as sons and daughters. 

• Christian, God loves being your Father.

• God wants His children to come to Him in prayer, remembering that we aren’t simply subjects in His kingdom, we are sons and daughters in His family.

The Faith is a Family (1 Jn. 3:1-2; Gal. 2:11-16; 3:27-29; Gen. 12:1-3; Eph. 1:3-5; Rom. 8:15-19, 

21, 23)

• To come into “the faith,” is actually to be connected to a family.

What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father.... If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.... Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption. (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 225-226)

• The gospel creates a family that transcends the boundaries of biology, culture, economics, race.

• “Adopted” is a verb, not an adjective. We were adopted, and now we’re God’s children.

Thanks Matt!!! 

Understanding the Spirit of Adoption

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” - Romans 8:15

It is tragic, but many will never accept their sainthood. A while back, it was in vogue for believers to make comments like “I’m saved, but I’m not a Christian.” Then the person would explain, “Well, I’m not worthy to call myself a Christian because I’m not living like one.” Let me nail this down for you. Have you believed upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and repented of your sins? Have you called upon Him to save you from the judgment of hell? If so, then you are the next of kin to the Trinity. You are a child of the King! Since you are part of God’s family, Jesus is not only your Lord and Savior, but He is your Friend and Brother.

Have you felt like you couldn’t call yourself a Christian because of your sin? Then get on your knees and repent of the sin of unbelief that keeps you from knowing you are a child of the King!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers