Set Free and Redeemed

The battle is won.

Victory belongs to Christ Jesus!

You are set free by the Lamb of God !

According to the mercy of God and by His power bestowed on His Son to be the only worthy sacrifice to satisfy your sin guilt, you have been redeemed!

So what will you do with this gift?

Will you call on Jesus? 

Declare your sin, ask for mercy and repent! 

But this gift, if received in faith, goes far beyond your gift. 

You have a command from Jesus to share this gospel gift with the world by making disciples from every nation!

God alone is sovereign over all things.

He will accomplish His purpose!

And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,  - Revelation 5:9

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

9 "For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. 

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.  - Isaiah 48:9-11

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  - Habakkuk 2:14

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. - Ephesians 1:4-6

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 

7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."  - Isaiah 43:6-7

7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. 

8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.  - Psalm 106:7-8

15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." - Romans 9:15-17

29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,

31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.

32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" 

35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" 

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. - Romans 11:29-36

18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

Parenting Isn’t for Cowards!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Thou shalt keep therefore His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.” Deuteronomy 4:40

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What happened to letting children be children? May God have mercy on us who stand by while boys and girls date at the age of ten, go steady by the time they’re thirteen, get married by the age of seventeen, and get divorced before they’re old enough to vote. As Dr. James Dobson has written, “Parenting isn’t for Cowards.” May God give us wisdom to help young people who are standing in tall dry grass with boxes of matches!

ACTION POINT:

Are you a parent? I challenge you today to get back to the Word of God. Stand up to the pressures of society. Corral your teens into your home with love. Form a prayer group of parents and teens. Do whatever it takes to rescue your children before it’s too late.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

“I'm Okay—You’re Okay”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.” Proverbs 30:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Postmodernism tells us that there is no absolute truth. Whatever you believe is okay. Whatever I believe is okay, too. Whether they agree or not doesn’t matter.

But in this age of postmodern thought, we must contend with this basic truth: Truth stands alone. It doesn’t require human interpretation. And let me add that in discussing Christian Truth, there is a divine disturbance that occurs. I don’t believe we can be neutral about real truth. If Jesus is God, then we must bow down and worship. If Jesus is not God, we ought to boot Him out the door as a liar and a lunatic. You must decide. There is no neutral ground. Either you are with Him, or you are against Him.

ACTION POINT: 

Pray for the hundreds of believers who are in jail around the world because they did not stand on neutral ground. They boldly proclaimed Christ knowing that doing so would cause them to be imprisoned or even killed.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Saved from Sin’s Penalty, Power, and Presence

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Some people get confused about when salvation happens. Let me see if I can shed some light on this subject. Salvation can be explained by using three verbal tenses in the English language.

The moment you repent and believe upon Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are saved from the penalty of sin.

After that, you enter a process of sanctification where you are being saved from the power of sin.

When you get to heaven, you will be saved from the presence of sin.

What happens when you enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? You are justified immediately in your spirit. You are sanctified progressively in your soul. And you will be ultimately glorified in your body.

ACTION POINT:

Using Psalm 32:7, 41:2, 121:7-8, praise God that the preservation of your salvation is His job and not yours.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

All The Ends Of The Earth

There is only one true living God.

He spoke the world into existence.

He created heaven and all the universe.

Even though you deserve death, God is offering you salvation through His Son Jesus.

God will accomplish His holy purpose.

God created you for His purpose.

By His mercy alone are you offered the gift of salvation.

21 Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. 

22 "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.  - Isaiah 45:21-22

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other.  - Isaiah 45:18

I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.  - Isaiah 45:12

5 I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 

6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 

7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.  - Isaiah 45:5-7

"It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. - Jeremiah 27:5

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. - Malachi 1:11

16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 

17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence. 

18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!  - Psalm 115:16-18

3 "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; 

4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. 

5 "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?  - Isaiah 46:3-5

9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 

10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'  - Isaiah 46:9-10

He has declared that we can be forgiven by the death and resurrection of His Son!

Will you bow?

Chosen Before Time Began

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Ephesians 1:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Did you know that God chose you before He laid the foundations of the earth? You talk about “old time religion”!  Well, friend, you can’t get much older than that! Before there were any trees, mountains, birds, and bees, God chose you to be one of His children. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “God certainly must have chosen me before I came into this world because He never would have chosen me afterward.”

That means you and I cannot take credit for our salvation. First John 4:19 says, “We love Him, because He first loved us.” Somebody asked a little boy, “Have you found the Lord?” And the little boy said, “I didn’t know He was lost.” How miraculous that God has chosen us. When left alone to ourselves, we would never have chosen Him.

ACTION POINT:

Though His love for us is a divine mystery, it can bring great assurance to a believer’s heart to know “He first loved us.” Allow God’s Word to teach you further what it means to be chosen. Read Matthew 20:16, 24:22; Luke 10:20; John 6:37-39; Romans 8:28-39; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Ephesians 1:9-11; 2 Timothy 1:9.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

A Perfect Picture of Substitution

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

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, - ESV 1 Peter 3:18

Sinner, be aware that it was your place to die for your sin!

Christ, being obedient to God the Father, willingly took your place on the cross to die for your sin.

Do you understand this great mercy? 

The wrath of God for sin must be satisfied!

There is a penalty to be paid!

There is a debt that is owed to God by man that man can't satisfy!

This debt was paid in full on the Cross by Christ because He alone was worthy and acceptable as payment!!!

You have been justified by Christ!

23 But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone,

24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. - Romans 4:23-25

23 But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone,

24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. - Romans 4:23-25

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,

26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:24-28

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:2

he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, - Colossians 1:22

For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. - 2 Corinthians 13:4