Do You Need a Friend This Christmas Eve?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

“…He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Some people over this holiday season feel so alone. One Christmas Eve I went to talk to a person who was hurting. I said, “Why don't you call a friend?” She said, "I don't have a friend." I said, "Oh yes, you do." And I told her His name. It is the One who said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." 

Greek scholars tell us this sentence, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," actually has five negatives in it. Now we say a double-negative is bad English, but evidently it wasn't bad Greek. Here's what it literally says: "I will never, no, not ever, no, never leave nor forsake you." 

Famed research analyst Dr. Abraham Maslow said, "The truth is that the average American does not have a real friend in the world." And psychiatrist Alfred Adler said, "All human failures spring from a lack of love.” People need someone to love, and they need to be loved. Without it, their lives are filled with fear and frustration. Hebrews 13:5 tells us we can face a new year with the certainty of His provision and with His companionship in our hearts and in our lives. 

ACTION POINT:

Who do you know that might need a call from a friend today? A new widow? An empty-nester? A stay-at-home mom? Make that call today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

You Will Die In Your Sin

So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come." - John 8:21

You must repent!

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. - Romans 2:4-5

18 If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.

21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul." - Ezekiel 3:18-21

1 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here I am, here I am," to a nation that was not called by my name. 

2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;  - Isaiah 65:1-2

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

God's Gift:

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:13-22

Why Frankincense and Myrrh?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And the LORD said unto Moses, ‘Take unto thee sweet spices…with pure frankincense…And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony [Ark of the Covenant] in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.’” Exodus 30:34-37.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In Bible times they worshipped the Lord by burning incense, a sweet perfume rising up to the nostrils of God. It was a symbol of worship—to be used in the worship of God alone. Frankincense tells of His sinless deity, the beauties, the fragrance, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Frankincense represents Jesus, our Intercessor, and His intercessory prayers for us. Its fragrance speaks of the love and mercy of God. 

Myrrh was used to embalm the dead. When the Lord Jesus Christ was being buried, they poured spices and myrrh into His grave clothes. “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:39). Myrrh to embalm the body of Jesus. The gift of myrrh speaks of his sacrificial death. He was born to die. 

ACTION POINT:

Give—worship—witness—serve. These are what a wise man will do. I wonder, are you really wise? Do you understand that He was born to die?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Symbol of Gold ~ His Sovereign Dominion

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart's desire…with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” Psalm 21:1-3.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Gold was a gift fit for a king. The wise men asked, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” Our verse today speaks of kings. They wear a crown, and it is a crown of gold. 

When the wise men brought gold, they were saying, “We recognize this child is the king of the Jews. He’s destined to reign. He has sovereign dominion.” 

“Well, how am I going to crown Him?” you may ask. You can crown Him the way they did—with gold. If all of your wealth is not under His control, you’ve not recognized Him as your sovereign king. He has a right to all you own. You say, “It’s mine.” If He is not Lord of everything you have, He’s not your Savior. His throne is not a duplex. 

ACTION POINT:

How will you serve Him? One way is to serve Him with your wealth. As the saying goes, “He has no hands but our hands.” Serve Him is by showing His love to those in need. He requires your absolute surrender to His lordship. He is the king.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Three Symbolic Gifts

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:10-11.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Many people think these three gifts were just incidental. No, they’re fundamental. These were not trinkets; these were treasures that didn’t occur by happenstance. This was something the wise men had planned. These gifts are highly symbolic. They carry deep significance. 

In the gifts the wise men brought to the young boy Jesus, gold speaks of His sovereign dominion—He was born a King. Frankincense speaks of His sinless deity—He is God in human flesh. Myrrh speaks of His sacrificial death—He was born to die that we might live. 

• He is King and they brought gold.

• He is God and they brought Him frankincense. 

• He is our Savior and they brought myrrh. 

Sovereign dominion, sinless deity, sacrificial death. 

ACTION POINT:

Because He is a King, He has my wealth. Because He is God, He has my worship. And because He died, He has my witness. All that I am, all that I have, all that I do, belongs to this One. That is wisdom. That’s what a wise man will do. Do some soul-searching today. Are you really wise?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Thank God for the Miracle of the Star

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” Judges 5:20.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

You know, the stars have to obey our Lord. In the Old Testament, the Bible says the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. Sisera was a general whose army had 900 chariots going to war against God’s people. Imagine—900 chariots! God sent such a tremendous rainstorm that his chariots bogged down and he was defeated. 

Later when they wrote a song to celebrate the victory, one of the stanzas says “the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” His kingdom came tumbling down. And ultimately Herod’s kingdom came tumbling down, for Herod stumbled over the stars—the Star of Bethlehem. 

Listen to me, the whole universe is against the person who is against God. But the whole universe lines up behind the one who seeks God. Whatever is necessary, God will do it to get the hungry heart who seeks after Him to Jesus. If you want Him, God is a God of might and miracle. 

ACTION POINT:

Some of you may be reading this by divine appointment because you’ve been seeking the Lord. Thank God for the miracle of the stars. The star was there to guide those wise men seeking Jesus. It tells me that whatever is necessary, God will guide your hungry heart if you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

God Made the First Move

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:13-14.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Three things brought the wise men to Jesus: The ministry of the Spirit, the message of the Scripture, and the miracle of the star. 

Who put the desire in their hearts to find the Christ child and to worship Him? The Holy Spirit. Do you know why we seek Him? Because He first sought us. Isn’t that true? “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Do you know why I love the Lord Jesus? Because God in grace and mercy put a desire in my heart to seek after Him. The Bible says that by our nature, our flesh, none of us would seek after God—no, not one—and that would have included these wise men. 

They didn’t come to Him because they were so intellectual. Don’t get the idea that because they were smarter than other men they came. No. They were wise, and that wisdom made them yielded to God; thus God the Holy Spirit could work in their hearts and draw them to Jesus. 

ACTION POINT:

Do you have a desire to know Him? To love Him? To serve Him? Do you find something drawing you to God? Remember His promise: You will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers