In The Face Of Discouragement And Ridicule

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One evening I overheard my father and a friend of our family talking. “What’s Adrian going to do when he gets out of high school?” My dad replied, “Well, he wants to go off to college and study to be a preacher.” That man just laughed and said, “He won’t make it. He’ll never stick it out. He’ll quit.” This was a man that I admired and respected very much. I almost felt like crying. That’s what the world says about Christians, “They won’t stick it out. They won’t make it.” You see, the devil hasn’t changed his tactics. He’s still mocking and throwing cold water on our walks with the Lord. Get ready. If you don’t feel the flames of ridicule now, just wait.

ACTION POINT:

Have you ever told someone that they wouldn’t amount to anything? Has anyone ever told you? Send those lies back to the pit of hell and rest in the promises of His Word that you are deeply loved and bought with the price of the Savior’s own blood.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Words Of Life

For He alone is worthy!

He brings eternal life to those who are perishing.

Bow before His throne of grace and mercy.

"Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." - Acts 5:20

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. - John 6:63

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, - John 6:68

holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. - Philippians 2:16

46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. - Acts 13:46-48

Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen." - Acts 28:28

14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

16 And his name-by faith in his name-has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. - Acts 3:14-16

16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"

18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." - Acts 11:16-18

Glorify God In His Mercy

15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. - Romans 9:15-18

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

22 And have mercy on those who doubt;

23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. - Jude 1:20-23

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.  - Isaiah 30:18

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. - Matthew 5:7

32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" 

35 "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" 

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. - Romans 11:32-36

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.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:3-9

Authentic Faith Is Eager for Christ to Come

Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)

What must you do so that you may know that your sins are taken away by the blood of Christ, and that, when he comes, he will shield you from the wrath of God and bring you into eternal life? The answer is this: Trust Christ in a way that makes you eager for him to come.

The text says he is coming to save those who are “eagerly waiting for him.” So how do you get ready? How do you experience the forgiveness of God in Christ and prepare to meet him? By trusting him in a way that makes you eager for him to come.

This eager expectation for Christ is simply a sign that we love him and believe in him — really believe in him, authentically.

There is a phony faith that wants only escape from hell, but has no desire for Christ. That kind of faith does not save. It does not produce an eager expectation for Christ to come. In fact, it would rather that Christ not come for as long as possible, so that it can have as much of this world as possible.

But the faith that really holds on to Christ as Savior and Lord and Treasure and hope and joy is the faith that makes us long for Christ to come. And that is the faith that saves.

So I urge you, turn from the world, and from sin. Turn to Christ. Receive him, welcome him, embrace Christ not just as your fire insurance policy, but as your eagerly awaited Treasure and Friend and Lord.

John Piper

The First Step To Setting Things Right

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The Lord Jesus said, “Moreover if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault” (Matthew 18:15). You say, “He’s the one that did wrong. If he wants forgiveness let him come and ask for it.” But Jesus said, “No, you go to him.” Whether you are in the right or whether you are in the wrong, as a child of God, you are to go to that individual. Isn’t that what God did in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve sinned against God and the Bible tells us that God came looking for them: “Adam, where art thou?” That was not the voice of a detective. That was the voice of a God Who pursues us to forgive us.

ACTION POINT:

Stop right now and ask God to show you if you have an unforgiving spirit toward someone. Then, in His power and strength, call that person and ask his/her forgiveness. It’s going to be impossible in your strength, but remember, God does the impossible.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Words for the Wind

Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?” (Job 6:26)

In grief and pain and despair, people often say things they otherwise would not say. They paint reality with darker strokes than they will paint it tomorrow, when the sun comes up. They sing in minor keys, and talk as though that is the only music. They see clouds only, and speak as if there were no sky.

They say, “Where is God?” Or: “There is no use to go on.” Or: “Nothing makes any sense.” Or: “There’s no hope for me.” Or: “If God were good, this couldn’t have happened.”

What shall we do with these words?

Job says that we do not need to reprove them. These words are wind, or literally “for the wind.” They will be quickly blown away. There will come a turn in circumstances, and the despairing person will waken from the dark night, and regret hasty words.

Therefore, the point is, let us not spend our time and energy reproving such words. They will be blown away of themselves on the wind. One need not clip the leaves in autumn. It is a wasted effort. They will soon blow off of themselves.

Oh, how quickly we are given to defending God, or sometimes the truth, from words that are only for the wind. If we had discernment, we could tell the difference between the words with roots and the words blowing in the wind.

There are words with roots in deep error and deep evil. But not all grey words get their color from a black heart. Some are colored mainly by the pain, the despair. What you hear is not the deepest thing within. There is something real and dark within where they come from. But it is temporary — like a passing infection — real, painful, but not the true person.

So, let us learn to discern whether the words spoken against us, or against God, or against the truth, are merely for the wind — spoken not from the soul, but from the sore. If they are for the wind, let us wait in silence and not reprove. Restoring the soul, not reproving the sore, is the aim of our love.

John Piper 

God's Provision In Your Life

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A philosopher once said, “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.” I know what I want and I know what you want. I want to have some money in the bank and I want to have something there so that when tomorrow comes, then I don’t have to worry about it. Isn’t that what you want? We call that security. Question: is that really security? Who is more secure – the man who has a warehouse full of stale bread that the rats or thieves can get, or the man who has a father who is a very, very rich baker?

ACTION POINT:

Begin your prayer time today with the Lord’s Prayer and ask Him to help you be content. Bow before Him in humble adoration of His provision in your life. Then share the Bread of Life with someone who is hungry today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers