Justice, Mercy And Grace

BIBLE MEDITATION::

“...the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: 

There are three words that came together at Calvary:

justice

mercy

grace

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.

But wait a minute; grace is more than that! It is grace that gives at great cost to the giver. It is not cheap. Grace cost the life of God’s Son. Jesus gave freely of Himself in agony and blood.

Did you know that grace has to chase us down? If God didn’t run faster than us, we would never be saved! Grace seeks to give to vile and wicked people that which they don’t deserve and can never deserve.

ACTION POINT:

Are you a grace-giver? Find someone today and do a favor for them – something for which they couldn’t possibly repay you. Perhaps it will even be for a stranger you will never see again.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Forgiveness Cycle

And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:4)

Who forgives whom first?

On the one hand, Jesus says, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” (Luke 11:4)

On the other hand, Paul says, “As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13)

When Jesus teaches us to pray that God would forgive us, “for we ourselves forgive,” he is not saying that the first move in forgiveness was our move. Rather, it goes like this: God forgave us when we believed in Christ (Acts 10:43). Then, from this broken, joyful, grateful, hopeful experience of being forgiven, we offer forgiveness to others.

This forgiving spirit signifies that we have been savingly forgiven. That is, our forgiving others shows that we have faith; we are united to Christ; we are indwelt by the gracious, humbling Holy Spirit.

But we still sin (1 John 1:8, 10). So we still turn to God for fresh applications of the work of Christ on our behalf — fresh applications of forgiveness. We cannot do this with any confidence if we are harboring an unforgiving spirit. (Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23–35. He refused to forgive his fellow servant who owed him ten dollars, though he claimed to be forgiven ten million. He showed by his unforgiving spirit that the king’s mercy had not changed him.)

Jesus protects us from this folly by teaching us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). That’s why Jesus says we ask for forgiveness because we are forgiving. This is like saying: “Father, continue to extend to me the mercies purchased by Christ, because by these mercies I have been forgiven, and I forsake vengeance and extend to others what you have extended to me.”

May you know God’s forgiveness afresh today, and may that grace overflow in your heart in forgiveness toward others. And may that sweet experience of grace in your life give you added assurance that, when you go to God to experience fresh, blood-bought forgiveness, you will know that he sees you as his forgiven and forgiving child.

John Piper 

God's Grace Takes The Initiative

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When I was in the sixth grade, I wrote a love note to Joyce Louise Gentry. Then she became my bride and my beloved. Do you know, she still has that note? From that time on she began to take an interest in me. Do you know why? Because I first loved her.

Do you know what the Bible is? It is God’s love letter to you. It is God saying to you, “I have set my eye upon you. I love you!”

You’re not saved by doing good works. You’re not saved by joining a church. You are saved by the grace of God that said, “I love you” first.

ACTION POINT:

When was the last time you wrote a love letter?

When was the last time you received one?

Spend some time today and write a love letter to the Lord.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Included in the Covenant

There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.” (Psalm 132:17–18)

Who will benefit from the promises God made to David?

Here is Psalm 132:17–18 again: “I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

Now connect that with Isaiah 55:1, 3, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! . . . And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”

From this side of the cross, here’s how I would paraphrase that promise: Whoever comes to God through Jesus Christ, his Son, thirsting for what God is for us in Christ, rather than depending on who we are or what we do, God will make with that one a covenant.

Remember how the Bible comes to an end in Revelation 22:17? “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” This is not just the Jews of Isaiah’s day. This is anyone who comes to Christ to satisfy the thirst of his soul. “I will make with [that one] an everlasting covenant!”

What covenant? A covenant defined and secured by God’s “sure love for David.” Isaiah 55:3, “I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” I take that to mean that I am included in the Davidic covenant. What David gets, I will get in Christ Jesus.

And what does that include?

A horn will sprout for me. That is, great strength will fight for me and protect me. There will be a God-prepared lamp for me. That is, light will surround me and darkness will not overcome me. There will be a crown for me. That is, I will reign with the Son of David and sit with him on his throne. “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne” (Revelation 3:21).

It is an astonishing thing that we will benefit from the promises made to David. God means for us to be astonished. He means for us to leave our devotions astonished at the power and authority and surety with which we are loved by God.

John Piper

The Powerful Influence Of Music

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“. . . and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Satan is waging a battle to control the thought life of America’s teenagers. The typical teenager listens to an average of 10,500 hours of rock music from the seventh to the tenth grade. That’s only 500 hours shy of all the time he/she spends in school from first through twelfth grade!

Do you have any idea of the fatalism that is bombarding the airwaves everyday into young people’s heads? The National Education Association estimates that a percentage of the 5,000 teenage suicides we have in America every year are caused by the fatalistic music of today’s youth. Somebody has said, “You let me write the songs that a nation sings, and I don’t care who makes its laws.”

ACTION POINT:

Is there a teen in your life? If so, spend some time this week talking with them about the music they listen to and the healthy choices they need to make to take back the ground that Satan is trying to conquer with his onslaught of fatalistic music.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Five Purposes for Suffering

For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

We seldom know the micro reasons for our sufferings, but the Bible does give us faith-sustaining macro reasons.

It is good to have a way to remember some of these so that, when we are suddenly afflicted, or have a chance to help others in their affliction, we can recall some of the truths God has given us to help us not lose hope.

Here is one way to remember: 5 R’s (or if it helps, just pick three and try to remember them).

The macro purposes of God in our sufferings include:

Repentance: Suffering is a call for us and others to turn from treasuring anything on earth above God. Luke 13:4–5: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Reliance: Suffering is a call to trust God and not the life-sustaining props of this world. 2 Corinthians 1:8–9: We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Righteousness: Suffering is the discipline of our loving heavenly Father so that we come to share his righteousness and holiness. Hebrews 12:6, 10–11: “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” . . . He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Reward: Suffering is working for us a great reward in heaven that will make up for every loss here a thousandfold. 2 Corinthians 4:17: This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Finally, Reminder: Suffering reminds us that God sent his Son into the world to suffer so that our suffering would not be God’s condemnation but his purification. Philippians 3:10:

. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings.

So, it is understandable that the Christian heart would cry out in suffering, “Why?” since we don’t know most of the micro reasons for our suffering — why now, why this way, why this long? But don’t let that ignorance of the micro reasons cause you to overlook the massive help God gives in his word by telling us his macro purposes for us.

“You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11).

John Piper 

Fear Not

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

The devil is the sinister minister of fear. When he clamps his icy fingers of fear on your heart, do you become afraid of what he’ll do to you if you take a stand for God? Don’t be afraid. Fear is an insult to God, who said, “I will be with thee.” Fear will destroy you.

Are you a worrywart? One lady said, “Don’t tell me it does no good to worry. Most of the things I worry about never come to pass.” Be not dismayed. God will take care of you.

ACTION POINT:

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what your fears are, then confess them as sin. Repent, then reach up and take hold of His right hand that is outstretched to sustain you and give you the victory! 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers