Running Together

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I have a race to run. God has given you a race to run as well. Every man runs his own race. We’re not racing against each other to win the victor’s crown. We are in a pilgrimage together. I’m not trying to outrun you. And you’re not trying to outrun me. That is good news!

God has a plan for your life with particular speed bumps, detours, and hurdles to cross. And you are to stay in the race until it is over. But you are not running alone!

ACTION POINT:

Though we are not in the same race, we are in the journey together, so we encourage one another to win. And I want you to win the victor’s crown today! Run, my friend, run!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

People God Chooses to Do His Work

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” - 1 Corinthians 1:27

The people God chooses to do His work are plain, simple folks. All you have to do is look at the twelve men Jesus chose to be His disciples. Fishermen, a tax collector, a “zealot.” What a ragtag bunch! But they ended up “turning the world upside down.” And those who watched them exclaimed, “Why, these are ignorant and unlearned men!” (Acts 4:13). Maybe you didn’t make the “Who’s Who,” or worse, the “Who’s Not”! That’s all right. God has a plan for you. God knows what He is doing. He turns the table on the world’s idea of success. Wealth, fame, acclaim. None of these are necessary for you to be used of God.

What a glorious truth for you to share with someone today who may be feeling like they’re not worth much. Ask God to lead you to that someone right now.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Tell Us About This Jesus

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-

6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:1-9

This is a story straight from missionaries in the field.

We are in a hostile country for sharing the gospel of Jesus. 

We have seen people beaten, killed and taken away to where no one knows.

It is a reality, the gospel has a cost in this dark place.

Surrounded by men we didn't know, we are taken with no explanation to a strange place.

Door shuts tightly, darkened room, light comes on and we are surrounded by a group of male strangers.

We look at each other to say goodbye because surely we are about to meet Jesus face to face.

We silently pray, and then this man says "tell us about this Jesus".

We smile. 

They say"tell us about this Jesus".

They say "we want to know the reason for the peace the men who were beheaded on the video had, they showed such calm as they went to their death".

We smile again, knowing God alone has prepared the heart of these men for the gospel story!

Amazing truth, Lord we praise You!!!

5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 

6 "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 

7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.  - Isaiah 42:5-7

18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

Who Is Keeping You In God’s Hand?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When I talk about eternal security, inevitably I will hear, “Well, maybe your sins can’t take you out of the hand of God, but Satan can.”

In all due respect, I respond, “Pardon me. But that is foolishness. If Satan could take you out of the hand of God, why hasn’t he done it yet? Hasn’t he been nice to you? That would be a strange doctrine. You’re going to heaven by the grace of the devil!”

God saves us. God keeps us. What has been settled in eternity can never be undone by the ways of men or the schemes of the devil.

ACTION POINT:

Read Romans 8:38-39 today. These would be important verses for you to memorize.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

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