Turning the Tide

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  For this is good and acceptable and right in the sight of God our Savior.” I Timothy 2:1-3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When I was a boy in Florida, we lived at the seaside. I love the water and one of the things that always intrigued me as a boy was the changing of the tide. As we’d go out fishing, my brother and I would always be cognizant of the tides because we would come and go by the tides. The tides were important to us.

There are tides in nations too. America saw a tide of revival sweep in twice—in the First and Second Great Awakenings. But today we’ve seen a different tide. At this lowest point, when the tide is as low as it can get, may God grant that we see the tide begin to turn, back the other way, back to decency in America, back to standing up for the unborn.

ACTION POINT:

We need to look up. Only God can help us. We need to confess up and turn from our wicked ways. We need to speak up and we need to stand up for what is right.  Pray 1Timothy 2:1-3 today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

God Has Ordained Human Government

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings and raiseth up kings….” Daniel 2:21

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does the Word of God have to say about government?  It teaches that God has ordained human government. The prophet Daniel said that God is the one who removes kings and God is the one who sets up kings. And Romans13 teaches that the powers that be are ordained of God.

What about wicked governments? Did God set them up? It may surprise you to learn, yes, He did. That does not mean they are God’s will. God would much rather have righteousness. But by and large people get the kind of government they deserve. Wicked leaders are God’s reward for a wicked people. 

ACTION POINT:

What are we to do as a church?  What is my responsibility so far as government is concerned?  First of all, we are to pray for our government.  We need to pray for leaders even if they are wrong “For this is good and acceptable and right in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:3). I am calling upon you to confess your sins personally and our sins nationally. And I am calling upon you to pray for America as Daniel prayed for his people—in the power of the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is prayer time in America.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

You Are the Salt

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Edmund Burke wrote, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” When it comes to the political scene and government, there are some who have dropped out all together. They have the idea that if you get involved in government, somehow that is the “social gospel.”  So they’ve just hunkered down, trying to “hold on till Jesus gets here.” They see the political scene as being dirty and worldly. And some have been intimidated by the great debate between church and state.

We can’t drop out.  It’s impossible to think that God would have ordained government and told His people to stay out.  Who else does that leave to run things?

Others with misguided zeal have tried to bring in the kingdom of God by political machinations. That cannot be done either. So where do we get the answers?  We’re not going to get the answers today from the politician who may have his personal ax to grind or from the ungodly and the humanists who don’t believe the Word of God, or from finger-bumping philosophers who don’t know the Word of God. The only place we’re going to get the answers, I believe, is from the Word of God.

ACTION POINT:

We need to confess and turn from our wicked ways.  We need to speak up and stand up for what is right. Let your speech be seasoned with salt.  But stand up, speak up and come out from under the rock. Stand on the rock and speak up for the Lord Jesus Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Power In Worship

Our God lives!

Our God reigns!

We gather together to praise Him!

We sing and we voice that our God is real!

He gives blessings, He corrects, He forgives and we praise Him.

Are you in a season of darkness, trials, and temptation?

Is there sickness?

Is there persecution?

Are your children in rebellion?

Are there marital troubles?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

He is there, He is constant and He will deliver you.

He alone has the power to save, deliver, and raise you up.

When the enemy attacks, go to your knees, grab that bible to be fed the power that overcomes.

It cost you to be faithful.

When your faith is small God is bigger.

He will carry you.

He will listen to the faithful.

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 

26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 

27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! 

28 If you say, 'How we will pursue him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him,' 

29 be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."  - Job 19:25-29

Thanks Pastor Kevin!!

God Reigns, Rules, Overrules and Overrides

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever He will.”  Proverbs 21:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God can change a ruler, God can remove a ruler, and God can overrule a ruler.

You ask, “Should I pray for my leader if he’s wicked?” You ought to pray all the more for him. Why?  Because the Bible says, “I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” 1Timothy 2:1-3

The greatest responsibility in America is not in the White House but in the church house. We’re to pray for our government. Pray for those who are in authority.

ACTION POINT:

Would you pray for America right now? You might pray, “Oh God, bless America. Lord, we deserve judgment, but we need mercy. Bring this nation, Lord, back to You. The troubles that we see in our land are tokens of Your love to bring us to our knees. Lord, it’s beyond us. God, we need You in America.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Waiting Time Is Not Wasted Time

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know the story of Joshua and how the wall of Jericho fell down after the Israelites marched around it once a day for six days, then seven times on the seventh day? Why not just walk around Jericho one time? I think it was because God was testing their faith.

God was teaching them that waiting time is not wasted time. Isaiah 28:16b says, “He that believeth shall not make haste.” God is never in a hurry, like we are. We get upset when we miss a section in a revolving door! God is also never late. He knows what He is doing.

ACTION POINT:

Do you know what our problem is? We’ve been around Jericho six times and we’re ready to quit. Say with the psalmist: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Most Meaningful Prayer Request

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know what the average prayer request is about? Physical healing. “Pray for my aunt who is a Christian and she is about to die.” “Pray for my saved uncle who is having heart surgery.” How many prayer meetings have you been to where people asked for prayer for their lost neighbor who is going to hell?

More often than not we are more interested in keeping the saints out of heaven than we are in keeping the lost out of hell. It is not a tragedy to die and go to heaven. It is a tragedy to die and go to hell. Friend, it’s time we elevated our prayers outside of the physical realm of life into the spiritual realm.

ACTION POINT:

Take a look at your prayer list today—where are the lost who need to be saved? What are you doing to help them find their way?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers