No One Knows the Day or the Hour

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Anybody who sets a date for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ may be crossing the line of blasphemy. The Bible teaches very clearly and plainly, and our Lord taught, that no one knows the time—no one.

Just before our Lord was taken up into glory the disciples asked Him, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power” (Acts 1:6-7). No one knows the day when Jesus Christ is coming again, but what a glorious day that will be!

ACTION POINT:

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. What encouragement do you need to share with someone today?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Embracing God's Light By Faith

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Matthew 4:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There are two witnesses for the existence of God to all people: 

One is the objective witness of creation. 

The other is the subjective witness of conscience. 

God speaks to a man and the man responds, “God, I want to know You and I need to know You. I do believe that You exist.” 

That’s faith, and he goes from faith to faith as he steps in the light until he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I believe with all my heart there’s never been a man or woman who ever lived on the face of this earth who died without some opportunity to have received Christ, had they lived up to the light God gave them.

ACTION POINT:

Is there someone in your life that claims to be an agnostic or an atheist? Try to engage them in a conversation about creation this week.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Just Shall Live By Faith

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Is God righteous? Yes.  And how is the righteousness of God revealed? It is revealed from faith to faith. God gives you truth. You believe that truth; God gives you more truth. 

The more you obey the light, the more light you get. 

The reason some of us don’t understand the Bible any more than we do is that we haven’t been living up to the light God has already given us. It’s time we began taking God at His Word and obeying it. If we begin obeying the small things we understand, God will enlighten our path to help us understand the things we don’t understand.

ACTION POINT:

Ask God today to give you understanding into the depths of His Word so that you can begin to share His truth in greater ways with the lost around you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Born Again, Saved For All Time

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever known anyone who was physically born twice?

Have you ever known someone who was spiritually born twice?

Nowhere in the Bible will you find a passage that describes anyone being saved twice. Once you come into the family, you’re in the family. 

Now there were times when I disappointed my parents. There were times when my father had to chastise me, but I am a Rogers. I will be a Rogers for all eternity. It’s the same way with your spiritual life. When you are born into the family of God, your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. It is fixed. It is done.

ACTION POINT:

Do you know a brother or sister in Christ who is doubting his/her salvation?

Encourage him/her with this Good News today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Faith In Our Great God

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How do you have faith? You look to Jesus, and faith is produced in your heart.

You don’t have to work up faith.

Suppose I needed to cross the Mississippi River and I wasn’t sure whether the bridge could hold me up or not. I could do one of two things. I could stand on the banks of the Mississippi and try to work up enough courage to make myself believe in that bridge, then timorously walk over that bridge. Or I could look at the semi-trucks traveling across the mighty steel and concrete of that bridge, believe, and boldly walk across in faith! In this case, faith is the by-product of seeing the strength of the bridge itself. In the same way, it’s not great faith in God that you need; it is faith in a great God!

ACTION POINT:

Attempt something so great in your life today that it is doomed to failure unless God is in it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Clean Before The Lord

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I heard of a missionary whose wife was very fastidious. They moved into a small hut, and soon she noticed that the floor was filthy. The first thing the wife wanted to do was to scrub that floor, so she scrubbed and scrubbed but to no avail. She began to wonder if she would ever get the floor clean. Finally, somebody told her the problem. It was a dirt floor! The more she scrubbed the more dirt she scrubbed up.

In the same way, we can never scrub off our sinful nature. All we do is reveal more of what is there.

I hate to tell you this, but we’re rotten to the core.

Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

ACTION POINT:

How dirty are you this morning? How clean must you be before you can talk with your heavenly Father? Claim the blood of Jesus and commune freely with your Father who loves you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Emptiness of Loss / The Fullness of Being Spirit Filled

That horrible ache that can't be fixed!!

That deep hole of emptiness that can't be filled!!!

Deep yearning, searching out why, wanting that suffering just to end!

Loss is inevitable!

You can't escape it!

It's effects start down deep in your soul and tears out your heart until you have no rest!

We must mourn, it helps release our pain.

We must mourn with God, letting Him carry our burden.

He alone has the remedy for heartache!

Abundant peace will come!

There is no time period attached to its arrival.

Waiting is the hard part.

Search the scriptures for your peace.

But we can never loose sight of the fact that death came to us because of sin!

In the garden where the first man and woman were placed, they broke fellowship with God, our maker, in that place He prepared for us. 

Forever changing the beauty of God's plan and making God sad he created His beings.

A place of beauty prepared by a loving God for His creation, that has been forever distorted by our own actions.

All is not lost!

God made the way of escape from a doomed life of sin. 

A most miraculous way to be forgiven, your slate wiped clean, making you a new creation by the most humble gift ever possible.

Death of a spotless Lamb, humbly, willingly, graciously and with an obedience unmatched by another.

Christ, on a cross, wholly taking your sin, being briefly separated from His Father God, but rising  the third day to His everlasting kingdom.

This is why we search for good coming out of tragedy. 

This is why we know that God uses tragedy to reach the coldest heart.

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. - Colossians 2:9-10

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. - Colossians 2:13-14