Friday, March 18, 2016

Wait…and Listen for God to Speak to You


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth.” Psalm 29:3 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Some people think it’s a waste of time to simply sit at God’s feet and listen. It is not a waste of time to wait on God any more than a woodsman is wasting time when he sharpens his axe. 

In his booklet “Tyranny of the Urgent,” Charles Hummel wrote, “When we fail to wait prayerfully for God’s guidance and strength, we are saying, with our actions if not our lips, that we do not need Him….Prayerful waiting on God is indispensable to effective service. Like the time-out in a football game, it enables us to catch our breath and fix new strategy….The need is not the call. The call must come from the Lord, Who knows our limitations.” 

ACTION POINT:
Read Psalm 29. Count how many times the phrase “voice of the Lord” is repeated. Spend at least that many minutes listening for His voice and trusting He will speak His will to you.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

I Ask for Mercy


Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” - Luke 23: 42-43

The Polish astronomer Copernicus, through his writings and education, changed the concepts of what men think about the universe and how the universe runs. He was a brilliant man. But when Copernicus came to die, he did not see himself as an astronomer but as a sinner in need of forgiveness. He asked that this epitaph be inscribed on his gravestone: “Lord, I do not ask the kindness Thou didst show to Peter. I do not dare ask the grace Thou didst grant to Paul; but, Lord, the mercy Thou didst show to the dying robber, that mercy show to me. That earnestly I pray.”

Do you want that today? Do you want the mercy that God showed to the dying thief? He will show it to you and save you today.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Is Jesus Real?



For my grand babies!!

Rev.1:8
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.


Rev.22:13
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."


John 17:3
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.


1 Peter 1:8
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 



John 20:26-29
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”



With the sweet innocence of a young child, this question was asked by one of my grand kids. 
Showing great concern as to whether Jesus is real was the question.
Would you know how to respond?
I will attempt to search for the truth of the matter as I turn to God's holy word.
First, let me say this.
No one has seen the physical body of Jesus except the ones who were alive in the years when Christ walked on earth.
Second, let me state what faith is.
It is hope in things yet unseen.
We receive that faith from God's holy written word, the Bible.
Who gives us faith to believe?
Our Creator, our Father, our God!
There is tangible evidence of God in creation so man will be without excuse.
Things that no man could have made, stars, sun, moon, air, planets etc.
We can't see air, but we know it's there because we need it to breathe and live.
Such is the quest for truth of the knowledge that confirms Christ existence!
He gave His life so that we may have eternal life!
Not only is His existence confirmed by nature and scripture, but history as well.
Josephus, a first century Jewish scholar and historian writes of Jesus in the "Antiquities of the Jews".
Tacitus, a Roman governor writes in the "Annals" of the crucifixion of Christ.


Romans 10:14-17
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.


Acts 26:
18 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.'


Heb.11:1-3
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.


Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,



Luke 24:
46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should su er and on the third day rise from the dead,
47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.


Mark 8:12
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."


I can not physically show you Christ. 
I can show you in His creation, things that were not made by man. 
His word has been proven faithful and true by what was prophesied before He came and was indeed fulfilled in scripture in the New Testament. 
We await His return with a glad heart but we want Him to delay His Coming for the harvest is not complete! 
My prayer for you is to receive God's truth through faith, based on Christ's death and resurrection! 
Being assured by the power in it, that has been divinely given by God! 
It will never change!
The evidence is clear! 
Some will see and receive by faith and be glad! 
Let's do our part in presenting the gospel accurately with love and concern for their eternal souls destination depends on it!


Ephesians 1:17-23
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

What Happens When You Worry


BIBLE MEDITATION:
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What happens when you worry? You bring tomorrow’s difficulty into today.

God didn’t give you grace for tomorrow’s difficulties. He only gives you grace for today.

When you reach into tomorrow’s troubles, you overload today’s circuit. Worry doesn’t take the sorrow out of tomorrow, it takes the strength out of today. When you meet tomorrow, you’re out of breath because you’re already overloaded from today. Worry, therefore, does not make you ready for the future, it really makes you unready.

Yesterday is just a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today has all the cash you can handle. Spend it wisely.

ACTION POINT:
Worry will eat your lunch! It’ll eat your breakfast and dinner, too! Confess your worries as sin (because they are). Put your concerns at the throne of Almighty God, trusting Him to provide.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Letting Go


I have seen death, up close.
My brother died of cancer.
It is ugly and it is brutal.
I bet you know someone who is dying.
I mean really at deaths door.
In our foolish hearts, we are not planning for eternity.
Do you know the reason we are dying?
Sin!

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

4 "O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! 
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah 
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 
7 "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.  - Psalm 39:4-7


If you stop and think, we all live like we have unlimited time.
Never mind the fact that we are all dying, a little each day. 
The minute we are born, we begin to die.


47 Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man! 
48 What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah  - Psalm 89:47-48


Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.  - Psalm 139:16


So, how do we let go?
We hold onto God's words about eternity and what He has promised through His Son, Jesus.
He tells us He is making plans for us to join Him!
He tell us how to join Him!
He tells us we will know each other just as we do here on Earth.
You ask, how do I know these things? 
God has left us encouragement in the Bible.
God has left us warnings in the Bible.
God has commanded we tell others!!
God warns, Satan will do everything in his power to keep you from the truth, that Jesus has the authority to save you from Hell.


17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. - Revelation 1:17-18


16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18


knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. - 2 Corinthians 4:14


"'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.  - Deuteronomy 32:39

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Equal Parts of Difficulty and Grace


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” Matthew 6:34 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
In the crucible of His wisdom and the ecology of His grace, God has ordered some trouble for you today. And every day of your life. 

We’ve been blessed with difficulties. Yes, you read right—blessed! The worst thing that could happen to us would be not to have any difficulties. If that were the case, we’d never know our need of the Lord. So God in essence says, “I’m going to give you sufficient difficulty for the day.” 

God gives you enough difficulty to draw you close to Him, but then God gives you enough grace to meet those difficulties every day. 

ACTION POINT:
Is there a difficult circumstance in your life? If so, thank God for sending it your way to make you more like Jesus. Now ask for His grace to be victorious through it!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Free from the Ghost of Guilt!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There are two days that can steal the joy from today. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. 

Paul exhorts in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

We are to forget the past—the guilt, the glory, the grief, and the grudges. Paul was one who was guilty, along with others, for the stoning of Stephen. He said he was the “chiefest of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). But Paul buried that guilt in the grave of God’s forgetfulness. 

Maybe you’ve done something so horrible that you’re gripped with fear to think someone would find out what you’ve done. Have you repented? Then don’t be haunted by the ghost of guilt. 

ACTION POINT:
Have you done something worse than being an accessory to the murder of one of the leaders of the New Testament Church? If Paul can be forgiven, my friend, you can be forgiven!


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers