Friday, June 2, 2017

Are You Feeding On The Word?


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Many churches are suffering a famine because so many pulpits are not feeding their flocks the heavenly bread. If you are not feeding on the Bible daily, you are either not saved or you are dying of spiritual malnutrition. The only strength we have is found when we feed upon the Word of God.

Job said, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). In other words, Job was saying that if he had to choose between eating physical bread or spiritual bread, he would rather have the Word of God.

ACTION POINT:
How I pray that everyone reading this will commit to a daily routine of exercising on their knees in prayer and feeding with the nutritious bread of God’s Word.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

You Are God's Signature


The God of the universe created you.
You are both spiritual and carnal.
Carnal is of the flesh.
Our old self, sin filled, separates us from Holy God.
Our soul is weak and is bent toward sin.
We pray "Lord, take away our sinful heart".
We pray "Lord, we believe You alone intercede for us".
God sent Jesus to give us access to forgiveness.
Without Him there is no payment for our sin.
Without faith there is no forgiveness.
Holy Spirit come lead us!
That payment is freely given by Christ to you when you acknowledge your sin before Him, repent and obey God's command.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

In these verses we see the carnal and spiritual battle!

5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. - Romans 7:5-25 

Our power is in Christ!

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

Life in Christ!

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:5-11

Christ is rejected by some!
What is your relationship with Christ?
Will you deny Him or fall before Him?
I'm not saying you will be perfect, far from it!
As long as we are in this human body, there will be a war going on!

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," 
8 and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. - 1 Peter 2:1-11

God, being rich in mercy, sent Christ to redeem our soul.
You are headed toward Hell unless you repent and accept mercy through Christ!

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. - Romans 5:8-11

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." 
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:31-39

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Dry Bones Arise For God's Glory



1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD."
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD." - Ezekiel 37:1-14

What You Might Miss Out On

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Isn’t it wonderful to know that the works of God are perfect? That God’s ways are perfect? And that His will is perfect?


Now, someone reading this may think, “But I don’t know about God’s will. I don’t want to give myself completely to Him or He might send me to a remote desert as a missionary.”


Let’s set the record straight. God’s will is not so much something that you surrender to as it is something that you get in on. God will choose for you what you would choose for yourself if you had enough sense to choose it!


ACTION POINT:
Let your prayer today be, "Help me, Lord, not to fear what I'll miss if I do Your will; help me to fear what I'll miss if I don't."


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Putting Down the Weights


BIBLE MEDITATION:
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There are certain weights that an athlete must choose to lay aside. They are not bad for other people, but they are bad for the athlete. In the spiritual realm, it is the same for Christians.


Paul tells us, “all things are not expedient.” The word “expedient” is similar to the word “expedition.” You see, Christians are going somewhere, and if something doesn’t speed us along the way, then it is excess baggage and we need to get rid of it.


ACTION POINT:
Ask God today, “Are there legitimate, lawful things in my life that are keeping me from running the race?” It might be a hobby, friendship, recreational sport, or a cabin in the mountains. It is not bad; it just keeps you from maximizing your life for the Lord Jesus Christ. You must lay it aside.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Will You Receive the Blessing God Sets Before You?


BIBLE MEDITATION:
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
God is setting before you this day a blessing and a curse. What determines whether you receive the blessing? If you obey. What determines whether or not you are going to receive the curse? If you disobey.


There are six blessings God wants to give you today in exchange for your obedience: plenty (Isaiah 1:19-20), peace (Jeremiah 26:13), protection (Exodus 23:22), power (Acts 5:32), purity (1 Peter 1:22), and perception (Psalm 119:100).

ACTION POINT:
Do you want Jesus to be real to you so that He’s not just someone that you know or read about? Maybe you want to do more than just “pray” to Him; perhaps you want to talk to Him, and you want to relate to Him. Then read John 14:23 and obey Him.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Beauty in Brokenness

Often the only way to freedom is war.
Falling to your knees in total despair.
War between good things and evil things.
Becoming aware of the sin that is taking away your freedom.
Freedom comes from obedience that is found in following Christ.
Be yielded.
Be still.
Repent.
The truth shall set you free!

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:31-32

17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. - Romans 6:17-18

22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. - 1 Corinthians 7:22-23

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. - James 1:25-27

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. - 1 Peter 2:16

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. - Matthew 6:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every one-to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  - Isaiah 53:3-11