The Greater Miracle

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Savior.” Isaiah 43:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

It takes more of God’s power to save a soul through the cross of Jesus than it does to do any other thing. God had no difficulty creating the universe. The Bible tells us He spoke and it was so. But when God wrote salvation’s story, He went to great difficulty. Let me illustrate.

What if I held a service and had the power to straighten a cripple’s legs or to bring sight to the blind? The next service would be standing room only. Now I certainly want God to heal, but let me suggest a different scene. What if I held a service and a little girl walked down the aisle and gave her heart to Jesus? That is a greater miracle than opening the eyes of the blind, because the Son of God had to hang on a cross in agony and blood to purchase her salvation! Jesus did not come as a great healer or teacher, He came as a Savior.

ACTION POINT::

Ask God today to give you the heavenly view—for the angels in heaven rejoice each time one lost person receives eternal life. This is the greatest miracle.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Faithfulness, Not Miracles

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” Matthew 24:45-46

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

It is sinful for us to ask God to prove Himself by a miracle or sign, though I guess we have all done it.

When I was at Stetson University as a young boy having my quiet time in the prayer room, I asked God to move a chair from one side of the room to the other. I told him, “I already believe You and I don’t want to insult You, but what a confirmation it would be to my heart and life if You would just do this small miracle.” Isn’t that dumb?

I am so glad that God didn’t let the devil nudge that chair across that room and get me hooked on some kind of hocus-pocus. Jesus said that asking God for a sign, like this, is evidence of an evil, adulterous heart (see Matthew 12:39). Oh, that God would find us not looking for miracles but faithful in all we do in His name.

ACTION POINT:

Singer/songwriter Steve Green has sung, “May all who come behind us find us faithful.” Are those coming behind you looking ahead and finding an example in you? Are you faithful?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Lost World

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

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.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. - Romans 1:18-32

If you want to see the state of this world, look no further than your television.

Man is wicked!

When women, who are blessed by God to be able to give birth, stand and demand the right to kill their unborn children, you can be certain that judgement is coming.

This world is on a path to destruction!

Even our entertainment is tainted by filth, showing all manner of depravity.

This world is deep in sin!

We, the people are deep in sexual depravity, and idolatry.

Our spirits are wrecked!

Our moral compass is compromised!

When we expose that sin, we are attacked and called narrow minded.

The great news is, there is forgiveness through repentance.

Be mindful of God's grace through Christ.

Don't be indifferent.

Glorify God for He is holy, just, loving and full of goodness.

He alone is worthy.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked

8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);

9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 

11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,

13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.

14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!

15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.

18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." - 2 Peter 2:4-22

It's not too late, repentance is just a bowed knee and a humbled heart away!!

8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."

12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

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.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."  - Romans 10:8-18

Great teaching Pastor Rogers!!!

Complete Payment for Your Sin

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:25

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 

Propitiation is a big word that means satisfaction. Because God is a holy God, His anger and justice burns against sin. And He has sworn that sin will be punished.

There must be a satisfactory payment for sin.  But God said, “If I punish man for his sin, man will die and go to hell. On the other hand, if I don’t punish man for his sin, My justice will never be satisfied.”

The solution? God said that He would become our substitute. He would take the sin of mankind upon Himself in agony and blood – a righteous judgment and substitute for sin.

His wrath burned out on the cross when His only Son died as man’s propitiation for sin. And this is love (see 1 John 4:10).

ACTION POINT: 

Question: What can you bring Jesus today to repay Him for what He has done for you? Answer: Nothing could suffice. But “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my ALL!”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Promoted from Guilt to Righteousness

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 

Justification is God’s act whereby He declares those who have trusted in Christ to be as righteous as His Son is righteous. Salvation is not based on our works.

Do you know what God sees when He looks at me today? He sees Jesus Christ. You may be thinking, “That’s arrogant, Adrian.”  No, it’s not. It is the Bible. I am in Christ and therefore God cannot see my sins (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). He only sees the righteousness of His Son.

Justification is more than just a pardon. It is a promotion. God doesn’t just forgive our sins, He makes us righteous. Only God can take someone who is guilty and give that person righteousness. It is the saving work of God. What is the basis of our justification? His grace.

ACTION POINT:

Do you see yourself today as defeated, wrapped in the guilt of failure and regret? Look through another lens: the Father sees you clothed in white—the righteousness of His Son.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

His Safety Deposit Box

BIBLE MEDITATION: 

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:19

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 

Here are three reactions you need to have when you encounter suffering.

First, you are to rejoice in what God is allowing to happen. (see 1 Peter 4:13)  

Second, you need to review your life (see 1 Peter 4:17-18). Am I suffering because of something I have done? If the Holy Spirit convicts you that your suffering is a result of your sin, then you need to repent.

Third, when you review your life and discover that your suffering is for the cause of Christ, then simply rely on Him (see 1 Peter 4:19). It is not your problem. It is His problem. 

ACTION POINT:

In 1 Peter 4:19 we see the word “commit.” That is a banking term. It means to deposit something of value with someone else, to keep it safe. He will take care of you. You can bank on it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Attitudes and the Pitfalls of Theology

Jesus had enemies!

Satan, scribes and Pharisees just to name a few.

Satan tempted Him in the wilderness.

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. - Mark 1:12-13

So called holy men were His enemies!

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. - 2 Corinthians 4:4

33 saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.

34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise." - Mark 10:33-34

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. - Mark 8:31

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, - Mark 14:1

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. - Mark 15:11

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. - Acts 3:13-15

Scribes and Pharisees of our time:

The ones who are so wrapped up in doctrine and their knowledge of scripture that they totally miss Jesus and His teaching.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. - Mark 1:22

We have some of the same enemies but have to add our attitudes.

I know you will recognize these danger signs.

Self righteousness 

16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." - Mark 2:16-17

15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. - 1 Timothy 1:15-17

1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up.

2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. - 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Hypocrisy 

3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders,

4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.)

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" - Mark 7:3-5

Jealousy 

17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."

18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. - Mark 11:17-18

30 He must increase, but I must decrease."

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - John 3:30-36

Dishonesty

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." - John 14:5-7

28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?"

29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me."

31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

32 But shall we say, 'From man'?"-they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.

33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." - Mark 11:28-33

Greed

38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces

39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,

40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." - Mark 12:38-40

Pride

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

7 "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?

9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?

10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he said to the paralytic-

11 "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home."

12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" - Mark 2:2-12

24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.

25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him.

26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews."

27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!"

31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.

32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. - Mark 15:24-32

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebub," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."

23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?

24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,

29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-

30 for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." - Mark 3:22-30

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.

14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"

15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."

16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."

17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him. - Mark 12:13-17

23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."

24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?

25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong." - Mark 12:23-27

4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. - Deuteronomy 6:4-6

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. - Leviticus 19:18

29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.

33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. - Mark 12:29-34

Thanks Marshall, great and mighty teaching from our Lord!!