Sunday, July 16, 2017

Worthy to Die, Living for Jesus



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried…” Revelation 2:10a

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Polycarp was the pastor of the early church in Smyrna. He was asked to renounce his faith in Christ and offer a pinch of incense to Caesar. He refused and said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and in nothing hath He wronged me; and how, then, can I blaspheme my King, Who saved me?” When they heard that, they clamored to burn him at the stake. They brought their wood and heaped it around his feet. And then Polycarp prayed, ““I count it a blessedness to be thought worthy of a place among the martyrs of Jesus Christ.” And when that fire was kindled around his feet, he was heard singing and praising the Son of God.

ACTION POINT:
Most of us will not die at the stake, be carried to the wall and shot, or be imprisoned for the Lord Jesus Christ. We may not have a chance to die that way, but can we not die to this vile world?  Can we not die to our plans and our ambitions?  And can we not say that Jesus Christ is Lord?


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Sin Salt Judgement Grace Forgiveness Reconciliation


What is sin?
Anything that is against God's teaching.
He gave us a guide, the bible.
He gave us laws or you could say commands to make us aware of our sin.
When we don't obey, we become lawbreakers.
The good news is " while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"
We start out in sin, then the gospel is spoken and eyes are opened.
They repent, when the salt of the earth (Christians) speak the words of hope found in Christ.
We teach them that judgement will come.
We teach them the pitfalls of sin and how grace and forgiveness were bought with the only acceptable ransom.
Christ death and His resurrection are the ransom.
We teach them that Christ is the only way to be reconciled to a Holy God.
God will not withhold His wrath from those sinners who remain in sin.
So, how can we teach Christ to sinners if we don't engage in conversations with them? 
Did Christ shy away from sinners?
No he did not.
He spoke the words of life to those who are perishing.
Let us speak the words in love, not sparing the truth.
Let Christ bring about the new creation through the power that is The Cross.
Be careful you are truly grounded in His word and His power for sin will stain. 


4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:4-10

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 7:7-25

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. - Romans 3:19-20

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

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. - 1 John 2:1-3

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:48

16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16-17

For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  - 2 Corinthians 6:2

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:11-15

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Will you repent?

That’s what Brought Me to Christ



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.” Luke 6:29

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Someone asked an army officer, “Why are you a Christian?” He said, “One day we went out on a march. We slugged through the mud all day long. Our boots were dirty, and our clothes were heavy. When we came into the barracks, we were cross and irritable.”

“There was a young man who had already come in, cleaned up, and was kneeling down by his bed saying his prayers. I became so irritated I took one of my muddy boots and hit him in the head with it.” He said, “The young man paused for a moment and then continued praying. But when I awoke the next morning, my boots were beautifully polished and set by my bed by that young man. That’s what brought me to Christ.”

ACTION POINT:
You know, it is when God’s people suffer as Christians that this world begins to look at us. Now we may not want it.  We may not ask for it. Certainly I’m not asking for it.  But if it comes, let us suffer as Christians, as the Bible says.  Oh dear friend, from the human viewpoint it is misery. From the Satanic viewpoint it is mystery. But from the divine viewpoint it is ministry.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Friday, July 14, 2017

How to Understand the Bible



BIBLE MEDITATION:
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts.”
Psalm 119:100

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
People sometimes can’t understand why they don’t understand the Bible. Well, the way to understand the Bible is to obey the Bible. And the way to understand the verses you don't understand is to obey the verses you do understand.

“More than the ancients” is a way of saying the accumulative wisdom of the ages. David is saying, “ I haven't been off to the university perhaps, or I haven't studied abroad, but I keep God's Word and therefore God reveals to me His truth.”

The only way you can really understand the Bible is for God to reveal it to you, and God doesn't reveal it to rebels.

ACTION POINT:
Keep God's Word, and through it God will reveal His truth. Some of you know what God wants you to do, but you're not doing it. And you wonder why you've come up against a roadblock when you try to read the Bible.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Obedience Traditions Sacrifice



The traditions of man are not what the Lord wants from you.
Man places high regards on traditions while God wants a humble obedient heart.
Jesus sacrificed all to bring you hope.
That hope and faith in Christ is all we have.
We can work until we fall dead. 
The works you do help others but do not bring salvation.
You better have the true sweet knowledge that Christ alone brings salvation.
Put your faith in Christ The Living Sacrifice, set traditions aside, and be obedient to God's commands.


He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? - Matthew 15:3

he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. - Matthew 15:6

6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 
7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  - Mark 7:6-7

“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5

11 "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 
12 "When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 
13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. 
18 "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  - Isaiah 1:11-20

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,
19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,
20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. - 1 Peter 3:18-22

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."
9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! - Mark 7:8-9

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

In Whom My Soul Delights


You are His servant!
It's Jesus who you must obey!
God delights in His Son!
We are His hands and feet, right now, this day!
We shine with the light of hope found in Christ and His salvation!
God gives you breath, every single moment!
Let's set the captives free!!!


1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 
3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 
5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 
6 "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 
7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 
8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."  - Isaiah 42:1-9

77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."  - Luke 1:77-79

A Gentle Spirit



BIBLE MEDITATION:
“He that is faithful l in that which is least is faithful also in that which is much.” Luke 16:10


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
In order to be a missionary, a man had to appear before the superintendent of missions. His appointment was set for five in the morning. It was a snowy morning, but he was there. He waited until eight o'clock. Finally the superintendent came and asked him two simple questions.


Then he said, “Thank you. You're dismissed.”


The aspiring missionary said, “Thank you for your time.”


In his report, the superintendent wrote, “This man will make an excellent missionary. He came at an early hour without a murmur; that shows self-sacrifice. He was there on time; that shows character. He waited without grumbling; that shows patience. He answered very simple questions in a straightforward manner; that shows humility.” 


ACTION POINT:
When God asks you to do something, it may not make sense or seem important, but let God determine what's important. 


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers