Being Spirit-Filled

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “...Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Acts 9:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

So many Christians want to be Spirit-filled, but have they ever asked why God should fill them with His Spirit?

I want you to imagine a man pushing a car into a service station. It has no battery in it. The car has four flat tires, a hole in the gas tank, and half the wires are disconnected. The attendant comes out, looks at this rattle trap, and says, “May I help you?”

The man says, “Yeah, fill ‘er up.”

What do you think that attendant would say? “What for?” would be appropriate.

I think God sometimes says, “What for?” to us. Instead, we need to just sign the contract at the bottom and say, “Lord, You fill it in.”

ACTION POINT:

Bow before the Lord, open your hands, and say, “Lord, It’s all You. I am nothing but a vessel for You to use. Use me as You will.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Christianity, More Than a Creed or Code

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“...and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are Christians fools for believing in Jesus? Are we serving a false God? If you go to the tomb of Confucius, you’ll find it’s occupied. If you go to the tomb of Buddha, you’ll find it’s occupied. If you go to the tomb of Jesus, you’ll find it empty. He is a risen Savior.  Now that’s very important, because you can take Confucius out of Confucianism and still have Confucianism, and you can take Buddha out of Buddhism and still have Buddhism. But you cannot take Jesus Christ out of Christianity and still have Christianity because Christianity is not a code. It’s not a creed. It’s not a cause. It is Christ Himself.

ACTION POINT:

You have a hope that the world needs to hear about. Who can you share that hope with today?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

God’s Provision in the Midst of Suffering

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Over and over again, people will ask me this question, “If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” There’s never an easy answer to that question when someone is grieving or suffering, but God has taught me that the universe has a disease. And God cannot remove the pain until the last vestige of sin is gone. The worst thing that could happen to human beings would be if we were to live in a world cursed by sin, and yet the world seem to be a paradise. We would never come to God.

ACTION POINT:

God has showered this world with immeasurable mercies. Focus today, not on the suffering, but on the provision of God’s grace.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Whoever Captures Souls Is Wise

They are all around us!

Souls who are searching!

We have a soul that was created for everlasting life by God Almighty!

We are unique!

We have been given a command, by God Almighty, to speak the truth of His word!!

The word of God, the Holy Bible, is a living testimony of His power to save through His Son, Jesus Christ!!

These words were given to man to convict him of his sin, hopefully driving him to his knees to ask Christ for forgiveness, ultimately causing man to repent and follow Christ!

Let us be fruitful, capturing souls for all eternity!

The day of reckoning will come!

We all will be judged!

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.  - Proverbs 11:30

Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. - Ezekiel 18:4

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,

20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. - James 5:19-20

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

18 They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions."

19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

22 And have mercy on those who doubt;

23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. - Jude 1:17-23

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.

13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

The Ultimate Act of Forgiveness

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Suppose someone were to punch you in the nose? And suppose in an act of compassion you were to say to that person who punched you, “I forgive you.” And suppose they responded, “There’s no need for you to forgive me. I’ve already forgiven myself.” You’d feel a little cheated. Only the one who was punched can forgive the hitter.

Sin is a clenched fist in the face of God, and only God can forgive sin. There’s enough Gospel dynamite in 1 Peter 3:18 to blow the sin, the hatred, the sorrow, and the sickness out of anybody’s life, but that dynamite must be ignited by the spark of faith.

ACTION POINT:

Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? Maybe someone from whom you need to ask forgiveness? Go do it now. Tomorrow may never come.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Complete Confidence in the Lord

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There must be complete confidence in the Lord to take care of us because this complete confidence will lead to constant compliance. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us we are to trust with all our heart (not just part of it), and we’re to acknowledge Him in all our ways (not just some of our ways).

God won’t take part of it. You can’t say, “Lord, I want Your will in my social life, but I don’t want Your will in my business life.”  Or, “I want Your will in my church life, but I don’t want Your will in my relationships.” You just can’t do that. If He’s worth part of it He’s worth all of it.

ACTION POINT:

What are you holding onto today? Give it all to Jesus. Instant obedience will bring incredible blessing.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

It Is Not God

There are many false religions!

There are many false gods!

There are many idols!

Many are hand-made by man in his futile attempt to stop that feeling that something is missing from his soul! 

It just can't be explained nor stopped!

So, he continues his search!

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.  - Isaiah 65:1

1 Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. 

2 To me they cry, "My God, we-Israel-know you." 

3 Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him. 

4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. 

5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? 

6 For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.  - Hosea 8:1-6

Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God. - Leviticus 19:4

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." - Daniel 2:44-45

They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.  - Deuteronomy 32:21

26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 

27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 

28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 

29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; 

30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"  - 1 Chronicles 16:26-31