The peace treaty God will never sign

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One of the strangest verses that ever fell from the lips of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is this: “Think not that I have come to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword.” That’s incredible, because the Bible calls Him “the Prince of Peace.” What is He talking about, then?

He is saying, “I came with a sword to put a line of demarcation between truth and error, between light and dark, between sin and righteousness.”

When God’s standard of righteousness is set, there will always be division. Without righteousness there can be no peace. Peace can never come where sin remains. God will never make a peace treaty with sin, never!

ACTION POINT:

Some people think when others act righteously that they are acting religiously, and sometimes not very peacefully. How can you stand in the gap for peace AND righteousness?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of The Resurrection

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you."

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." - Matthew 28:1-10

Do you really know Jesus?

Your warning system!

Are you flying blind?

What if your whole world blew up?

What is your unconfessed sin?

Is it pornography, drugs, alcohol, sexual sin or a combination of many?

Are you striving to be holy?

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,

7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.

9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

2 "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. - Revelation 2:2-5

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  - Psalm 103:11-12

Wake up before it's too late!

Sin destroys!

Confess!

Run from sin!!

Turn!

Repent!

There is great power in the cross!!

Christ will redeem you!!

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26

Thanks Pastor Kevin!!

The Liberating Power of Forgiveness

Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48)

A woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee’s house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him.

Indeed, she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long.

Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he strengthened her faith by saying, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: “Your sins have been forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace.” He declared that past pardon would now yield future peace.

So, the issue for her was faith in God’s future grace, rooted in the authority of Jesus’s forgiving work and freeing word. That is the way every one of us must battle the effects of well-placed shame — not false shame, but shame that we really should feel, but shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us.

We must battle the unbelief of crippling shame by taking hold of the promises of future grace and peace that come through the forgiveness of our shameful acts.

“With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:4)

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6–7)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

All of us need forgiveness. And we will need it tomorrow. Jesus died to provide it today and tomorrow. Today or tomorrow the reality is this: God’s forgiveness liberates us for our future. It frees us from crippling shame. Forgiveness is full of future grace.

When we live by faith in future grace, rooted in God’s forgiveness, we are freed from the lingering, paralyzing effects even of the shame we deserve to feel. That’s what forgiveness means.

John Piper

Do you act like a World War II orphan?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” Psalm 9:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

After World War II, a group of humanitarians placed orphan boys in tent cities to care for them. But the boys would wake up in the night from nightmares. A psychiatrist surmised that their fear was because they had such an uncertain future.

He decided to feed the boys a big meal each night, then give them each a piece of bread. He instructed them to hold the bread in their hands so it could be their breakfast. Somehow just holding in their hand a piece of bread helped them to sleep all night.

When you go to bed tonight, I want you to have bread—not in your hand, but in your heart. He is the Bread of Heaven and His name is Jesus!

ACTION POINT:

Take a walk with the Lord today. Tell Him your fears. Confidently place them before the Lord. Trust in His love to provide.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Seek Your City’s Good

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. . . . But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4–5, 7)

If that was true for God’s exiles in Babylon, it would seem to be even more true for Christian exiles in this very “Babylon-like” world. What, then, shall we do?

We should do the ordinary things that need to be done: build houses; live in them; plant gardens. This does not contaminate you if you do it all for the real King and not just for eye service as men-pleasers.

Seek the welfare of the place where God has sent you. Think of yourself as sent there by God for his glory. Because you are.

Pray to the Lord on behalf of your city. Ask for great and good things to happen for the city. Ask that they happen by God’s power and for his glory. Never lose sight of the ultimate good that the city needs a thousand times more than it needs material prosperity. Christians care about all suffering — especially eternal suffering. That’s the greatest danger every city faces.

But neither God nor his people are indifferent to the health and safety and prosperity and freedom of the city. We all want these things, and Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). In fact, the Lord says in Jeremiah that loving your city is a way of loving yourself: “In its welfare you will find your welfare.”

This does not mean we give up our exile orientation. Peter says that Christians are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) and Paul says “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). In fact, we will do most good for this world by keeping a steadfast freedom from its beguiling attractions. We will serve our city best by getting our values from “the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). We will do our city most good by calling as many of its citizens as we can to be citizens of “the Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26).

So, let’s live — let’s do so much good (1 Peter 2:12) — that the natives will want to meet our King.

John Piper

Are you sharing the gospel with someone but getting nowhere? Here's what's going on...

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus saith unto Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Jesus answered, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:3-5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

If you know someone who’s not a Christian, don’t try to argue with them. Nobody was ever argued into the kingdom of Heaven. Anything someone can argue you into, you can be argued out of. The problem is, they cannot see. Would you scold a blind man for not seeing? But a blind man would be foolish to say there’s no light just because he cannot see it.

There is light, but man needs more than light. He needs sight. “...Except a man be born again, he cannot see….” He may have 20/20 sight, but spiritually he’s blind. “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18). The eyes may be fine, but the heart is blind.

Maybe you’ve shared the Gospel with people—even members of your own family—but they haven’t a clue as to what it’s all about. They never will, until the Holy Spirit opens their understanding.

ACTION POINT:

It takes more than preaching for someone to be saved; it takes the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray, “O God, open the eyes of those who have been blinded, that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God, might shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Before I ever preach, I get on my knees and pray, “O, God, for those who need Jesus Christ, give them sight.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Five Reasons to Be Fearless

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

The reason God wants us not to be afraid concerning money or other things of the world is because that fearlessness — that freedom from anxiety — will magnify five great things about him.

First, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Shepherd. “Fear not, little flock.” We are his flock and he is our Shepherd. And if he is our Shepherd, then Psalm 23:1 applies: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” — that is, I shall not lack anything I truly need.

Second, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Father. “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” We are not only his little flock; we are also his children, and he is our Father. He really cares and really knows what you need and will work for you to be sure that you have what you need.

Third, not being anxious shows that we treasure God as King. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He can give us the “kingdom” because he is the King. This adds a tremendous element of power to the one who provides for us. “Shepherd” connotes protection and provision. “Father” connotes love and tenderness and authority and provision and guidance. “King” connotes power and sovereignty and wealth.

Fourth, not being afraid shows how free and generous God is. Notice, he gives the kingdom. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He doesn’t sell the kingdom or rent the kingdom or lease the kingdom. He is infinitely wealthy and does not need our payments. So, God is generous and free with his bounty. And this is what we magnify about him when we are not afraid, but trust him with our needs.

Finally, not being afraid — not being anxious — shows that we trust that God really wants to do this. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It delights him. He is not begrudging. It makes him glad to give us the kingdom. Not all of us had fathers like this, who were made happy by giving instead of getting. But that sorrow is not the main thing any more, because now you can have such a Father, and Shepherd, and King.

So, the point of this verse is that we should treasure God as our Shepherd and Father and King who is generous and happy to give us the kingdom of God — to give us heaven, to give us eternal life and joy, and everything we need to get there.

If we treasure God in this way, we will be fearless and God will be worshiped.

John Piper