Strengthened By Your Foes

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.” Numbers 14:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Joshua and Caleb faced formidable foes in the Promised Land, and yet what was their response to their enemies? “They are bread for us.” (Numbers 14:9).

What is bread? It is the staff of life. What happens when you eat bread? You are strengthened by it and you grow by it.

Paul also faced formidable foes. He wrote, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

Why isn’t the door to victory easy? Because if it were easy, then you would become weak in your effort to work out your faith in God. God places obstacles in your path to give you strength. “Wheaties” is not the breakfast of champions— giants are. God wants you to feed upon your difficulties and depend upon Him to make you a conqueror.

ACTION POINT:

What does it take to strengthen your body? What does it take to build your intellect? What does it take to grow love in relationships? Work. Read Philippians 2:12-13 and apply it to your life today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Would You Turn Down A Pardon?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:28

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

In 1829 George Wilson was adjudicated guilty and given the death sentence for murder. But Wilson had some friends who petitioned President Andrew Jackson for a pardon.

Jackson granted the pardon, and it was brought to prison and given to Wilson. To everyone’s surprise, Wilson said, “I am going to hang.”

There had never been a refusal to a pardon, so the courts didn’t know what to do. Discussion went all the way to the Supreme Court, and Justice John Marshall gave this ruling: “A pardon is a piece of paper, the value of which depends upon the acceptance by the person implicated. If he does not accept the pardon, then he must be executed.”

God loves you and wants to pardon you, but if you refuse Him, you will die and go to hell. Cast yourself upon Him completely, and receive the free gift of His forgiveness today.

ACTION POINT:

Have you repented of your sin and believed upon the atoning work of Christ’s blood on the cross? Being good doesn’t get you to heaven. It is only Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Give the Devil Plenty to Mourn About

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

People often ask me, “Why do Baptists immerse people—put them fully under the water—when a new convert to Christ is baptized?”  Because that’s what God’s Word teaches. When you go under the water, that is a picture of your death and burial. When you come up out of the water, that is a picture of your resurrection. “Buried with Him.” “Risen with Him.”

If I died and you took me to the cemetery and sprinkled a few granules of dirt on my head, have you truly buried me? No. The very word “baptism” means to immerse.

ACTION POINT:

Your baptism is a funeral service:  Dead to the old life. Raised to newness of life.  And the devil doesn’t like that. The baptismal is a liquid tomb, and the mourner who comes to that funeral is the devil. Let’s be sure he has plenty to mourn about.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God May Use Distress to Expand Your Influence

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” 1 Chronicles 4:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The story of Jabez is one of a man who wanted his influence to be enlarged. God can stretch you, as well.

If you ask that God enlarge your influence, be aware of this: For the Psalmist, Psalm 4:1 says that God enlarged him when he was “in distress.” You can expect that God may use distressing circumstances to do that in you. And the pain will be worth it all.

When God enlarges you, He does so to fill you with more of Himself. Don’t be satisfied with God’s filling a small place if God wants to fill a larger place.

ACTION POINT:

Are you ready to say, “God I want more. I want You to enlarge my coasts. I don’t want just a blessing. I want a blessing indeed”? We need to pray big prayers to a big God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Sitting on the Lukewarm Fence?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” Philippians 1:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

May God help us today in the midst of our lukewarm apathy toward the things that matter most to Him! If it’s worth anything, it’s worth everything. May God forgive those who will not go the second mile.

Now, in some things moderation is good, like eating, rest, recreation, exercise, and finances. But when it comes to spiritual warfare, moderation is a sin. When it comes to believing the Bible, moderation is a sin. When it comes to loving the Lord, moderation is a sin!

Suppose a wife asked her husband, “Honey, do you love me?” And he said, “Well, moderately.” She’d fix his wagon, don’t you think?

ACTION POINT:

Friend, if the world considers you a “moderate” when it comes to your Christianity, you are riding the fence of lukewarmness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Come This Morning to the Cleansing Basin

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Before a priest could enter the Holy of Holies, he had to stop by the basin and wash his hands and feet. He had already been washed from head to toe, but there is no floor in the tabernacle, only dirt. This final preparation before he entered God’s presence was to symbolize the washing away of the defilement of this world.

As you and I come into contact with the world, we are going to become defiled. We don’t need a bath all over. We are already saved. But each day we must ask God to search our hearts and cleanse us from our sins.

ACTION POINT:

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each of us came into the presence of God as seriously as the Old Testament priests? We should. Have you been to the cleansing basin this morning?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Let Your New Life Push Out the Old!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Our eyes delight to see those trees in autumn which turn glorious colors, then drop their leaves one by one. But there are certain trees that hold their leaves until spring. They wither and turn brown, but they don’t drop. Not until spring do these trees lose their leaves—when the new leaves push out the old leaves.

That’s exactly what happens to our old habits and our old lives when we find the Lord Jesus. The new life pushes that old life off.

ACTION POINT:

It’s not a matter of plucking off this leaf and knocking off that leaf. The Christian life is not forged in that manner. Our new life replaces our old life when we are born again.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers