Reconciliation Leads to Revival!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know what God wants from you today? Reconciliation. That’s far more important than singing in the choir, preaching a sermon, serving in the nursery, or giving an offering. When we learn this, God is going to bring great revival to our churches.

Revival always begins when people begin to confess their faults to one another, pray for one another, and forgive one another. Revival isn’t raising the roof with a lot of emotion. It is getting the walls down. It is not just saying, “I am going to get right with God.” It is saying, “I want to get right with my brothers and sisters.”

ACTION POINT:

When we are reconciled, revival will come. And rejoicing will surely follow. And not any kind of rejoicing, there will be Holy Spirit joy when you know there is nothing between your soul and the Savior and nothing between your soul and a brother! Joy unspeakable!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Worthy

9 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, 

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."  - Revelation 5:9-10

Who is this God?

Who is His Son?

What will you do with this information?

God 

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

yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. - 1 Corinthians 8:6

one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Ephesians 4:6

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, - Acts 17:26

Son

1 "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. - Malachi 4:1-2

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:4-5

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." - John 8:12

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

46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment-what to say and what to speak.

50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." - John 12:46-50

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 

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. 

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.  - Isaiah 53

What will you do with this information?

Will you fear the Lord?

Will you bow in humble adoration?

16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.

17 "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. - Malachi 3:16-18

Wholehearted or Halfhearted?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “The light of the body is the eye: Therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Joshua chapter fourteen tells us something very interesting about a man named Caleb. Three times the Holy Spirit says Caleb “wholly followed the Lord God” (vv. 8, 9, 14). Every ounce of Caleb was given to the Lord.

This is the kind of heart you and I should have if we call ourselves Christians. The devil is going to intimidate a fainthearted man. And there’s only one way to stand against the devil. That is to give everything to Jesus Christ.  Indeed, God does not accept half-hearted religion.

It would be better for you to say that there is no God than for you to say that He doesn’t mean that much to you, He doesn’t make a difference in your life, He doesn’t stir your heart to love Him.

ACTION POINT:

God is looking for wholeheartedness. “With my whole heart I have sought Thee.” (Psalm 119:10) Can you say this to the Lord today?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Redeem the Time!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Procrastination. Just seeing the word makes me want to put off saying anything else. Are you under conviction in that area? One fellow said, “I started to procrastinate, then decided to put it off.”

Procrastination is a form of disobedience. When God tells us to do something and we don’t do it, we can label our actions with all kinds of fancy words, but the bottom line is, it’s sin. The days are passing and time cannot be stopped. You can’t call a “time out” in life. And time can’t be stored like money in the bank.  Really, the only thing you can do with time is use it or lose it.

ACTION POINT:

Someone has said, “Lost: One golden hour, studded with sixty diamond minutes. No reward offered, for it is lost forever." Redeem the time.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

When Your Life Caves In

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When we come to a place where we don’t understand what’s happening…when everything seems to be caving in, there is Jesus. We always have the forgiveness of the cross, the victory of the empty tomb, and the hope of Christ’s imminent return.

When we go to the doctor and he tells us we have a malignancy. When we hear that we as a couple are infertile and cannot bear a child. When we have to declare bankruptcy. When we are laid off work. When we read a note that our spouse has left. When a loved one dies because of a terrorist act.

ACTION POINT:

We have a Savior…and we have a choice to believe or not to believe! At that time we can begin to murmur, criticize, grumble, or despair. Or we can yield to the Savior and hear Him say, “My child, no matter what is happening, this is how much I love you. Look to the cross. Look to the empty tomb. Look for Me. I’m coming again.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Grief Is Not A Moment

We mistakenly think of grief as being a momentary thing, but it's not. It will extend over your whole lifetime. When you grieve the loss of a loved one, it comes in waves. Some moments feel unbearable. You question God, wondering if you did something to have caused this. You did not, it's the fallen sin-filled world we live in. Sin began in the garden where the first man and woman were disobedient to God. Just as you and I fall into rebellion. Sin brought death! Sin brought pain! So therefore, we suffer through grief, death, illness, depression, anxiety and a host of other uncomfortable things. But in the midst of suffering we have hope through Christ. We can still have joy because we know what is promised! Christ has conquered death! Hallelujah and Amen!! So we can be confident that God will be there in the midst of our suffering. We know that God lost a Son to death. And through that death came everlasting life to all who will believe on Christ for salvation. Christ willingly laid down His life. In victory Christ arose from death. This was according to the Fathers will.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. - 1 Thessalonians 4:13

16 Rejoice always,

17 pray without ceasing,

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, - Ephesians 5:20

17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." - John 10:17-18

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? - Romans 8:31-32

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-

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. - Romans 5:6-10

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. - Galatians 1:3-5

 Thanks Pastor John!!

Because He Said So

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you a parent? Then, you’ve probably told your children to do something and they asked why. And what did you say? “Because I told you. Period.”

I believe there are times when parents want their children to do things and they need to explain their rationale. It’s important to teach principles for living instead of mere commands and rules. But sometimes children are not able to understand, so the answer I just mentioned is one that simply communicates parental authority to a child.

ACTION POINT:

Leviticus is a book full of laws that no one understood logically. And yet did God stop to explain the law? No. He simply said, “I am the Lord your God.” He is above our need for explanations and deserving of our full obedience.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers