All Things New

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." - John 9:1-5

6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud

7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. - John 9:6-7

14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them.

17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight

19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."

22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)

23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."

25 He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." - John 9:14-25

33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34 They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36 He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"

37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you."

38 He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?"

41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains. - John 9:33-41

Jesus saw this man as he was and then He saw what he could be.

It's true, that man was a sinner.

Through Christ only, there is forgiveness.

Just as you and I are sinners, Christ sees what we could be.

In the Old Testament sin was brought to all by the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

They were in rebellion just as we are.

We must humbly bow before His throne.

We must turn from sin and follow Him.

We must be yielded and still.

We must study His word to know Him.

We were blind because of sin but through Christ we can see.

Jesus makes all things new.

Thanks Pastor Jamin!

The Guilt Removed

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.” Daniel 9:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Isn’t it wonderful that to God belong mercies and forgiveness? You see, just as Daniel prayed, the basis of our prayer is the greatness and the mercy of God.   The basis of Daniel’s prayer was the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 

It is impossible to see the greatness of God and the mercies of God and not pray with confidence. 

ACTION POINT:

We need to pray, “God, cleanse us, restore us, revive us, renew us, refresh us.  We need revival in America.  Remove our guilt.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

What God Would Rather Do

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.” Jeremiah 18:7-8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In this passage, God is not just talking about the nation Israel. He’s talking about nations in general. God says, “When I get ready to judge a nation, if that nation will repent, then I will turn from the judgment that I had determined to send upon that nation.” 

Let me tell you something about the great heart of our God:  God is a God of righteousness, judgment, and justice, but God had rather show mercy than send judgment. 

America is ripe for judgment. God says, “When I get ready to judge a nation, if that nation will repent, then I will turn from the judgment that I had determined to send upon that nation.” We are in the eleventh hour, the clock is about to strike midnight, and we need to pray, “Oh God, hold back Your hand of judgment upon America.”

“If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

ACTION POINT:

A church steeple is something that is supposed to point us to God. Have you ever noticed that the closer the steeple gets to the top, the smaller it gets? The closer we get to God, the more we realize how insignificant and sinful we are. This is not a time for finger-pointing in America. This is a time for repentance of personal sin. I’m talking about the people in the pew. The Bible says the time has come that judgment begin at the house of God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Yes, God Is Holding Us Accountable!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments.” Daniel 9:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Daniel prayed, “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and Thy judgments.” You ask, “Did Daniel do all that?”  No, Daniel simply included himself in his prayer for his nation.

Does God hold me accountable for the abortion in America?  Yes!  Does God hold me accountable for the pornography? Yes!  For the drug addiction, alcoholism, materialism, humanism? Yes, He does. Friend, if the church had done what she ought to have done, and if we would do what we ought to do, then these problems would be healed.  And while we may not commit these sins, they are still our sins. Verse 20 of this same chapter makes it so clear: “While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel….”

Now, people who don’t know God aren’t going to confess the sin of this nation. Like Daniel, we must set our face and pray with reflection and repentance, confessing our sin and the sin of America. Only sin that is confessed is forgiven. 

ACTION POINT:

Have you ever set your face to prayer?  So much of our prayer, I hate to say, is casual prayer, prayer that comes with almost a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.  When are we going to set our face before God with fasting and determination?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Hypocritical Prayer

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession…” Daniel 9:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The greatest thing we can do for America is to pray for America. I am convinced if there were ever a need for prayer, this is the hour. It’s one thing to criticize that our children cannot pray in school. But I think it is unmitigated hypocrisy to carp and criticize about children not being able to pray in school unless we ourselves are prayer warriors, don’t you?  We must teach our children to pray in the home.  We are unvarnished hypocrites to criticize, yet not teach our children to pray—by both gentle instruction and by example. Our children are watching us and will model our behavior. 

ACTION POINT:

Teach your children how to pray in the home. Take them beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep.” We rattle off our little prayers. But have you really set your face to pray?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

There Is No Atonement For Sin Except Through Christ

Definition of atonement

Being reconciled to God

Definition of propitiation 

An atoning sacrifice

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

12 saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." 

13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me." 

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. - Hebrews 2:9-17

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:10

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:28

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. - Romans 3:21-25

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 

6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 

7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'" 

8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),

9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, - Hebrews 10:4-12

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. - 1 Timothy 2:3-6

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

The wrath of God must be satisfied!

There was or is none righteous enough to satisfy God's holy justice.

God being rich in mercy, sent His only Son to bring redemption to sinful man.

Jesus Christ was the atoning sacrifice!

Only Christ can bring about our reconciliation with God.

Without Christ as our blood sacrifice, we will forever be separated from God and His love.

The only thing you can do is repent of your sin and beg for forgiveness.

Faith in Christ as the Lamb of God is our hope.

Faith in Christ as Savior is our justification.

that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. - 1 Kings 8:60

With Daniel in the School of Prayer

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer, and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.” Daniel 9:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Only prayer can hold back the floodtide of sin in our nation and the floodtide of judgment. Only prayer can release the cleansing and healing hand of God.  And not just any prayer.  It’s not the arithmetic of our prayers; that is, how many they are. It’s not the geometry of our prayer, how long it might be.  It’s not the rhetoric of our prayer, how eloquent it may be.  It’s not the music of our prayer, how sweet our voice. Not the logic of our prayer, how eloquent we become. It’s not the method of our prayer, how methodical we are. But it’s the faith and the fervency of our prayer that counts with God.

ACTION POINT:

God has said in His Word that we are to confess our faults one to another and pray one for another that we may be healed. And “The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) Read Daniel chapter 9 today and see this in action.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers