Is God’s Love Conditional?

[God] gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 4:6–8)

James teaches us that there is a precious experience of “more grace” and God “drawing near” to us. Surely this is a wonderful experience — more grace and a special nearness of God. But I ask: is this experience of the love of God unconditional? No. It is not. It is conditional on our humbling ourselves and our drawing near to God. God “gives [more] grace to the humble. . . . Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

There are precious experiences of the love of God that require that we fight pride, seek humility, and cherish the nearness of God. Those are the conditions. Of course, the conditions themselves are the work of God in us. But they are no less conditions we fulfill.

If this is true, I fear that the unqualified, biblically careless reassurances today that God’s love is all unconditional may stop people from doing the very things the Bible says they need to do in order to enjoy all the peace that they so desperately crave. In trying to give peace through “unconditionality” we may be cutting people off from the very remedy the Bible prescribes.

To be sure, let us proclaim, loud and clear, that the divine love of election, and the divine love of Christ’s death, and the divine love of our regeneration — our new birth — are all absolutely unconditional.

And let us declare untiringly the good news that our justification is based on the worth of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice, not ours (Romans 5:19, “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous”).

But let us also declare the biblical truth that the fullest and sweetest experiences of the grace of God and the nearness of God will be enjoyed by those who daily humble themselves and draw near to God.

John Piper 

Don’t Let An Election Steal Your Song

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:3-4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Habakkuk cried out in verse 1, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save?’” He says, “God, I have been praying and praying. Why is Heaven silent? Why don’t You hear my prayer?”

Then he realized, in such a day, the just are going to live by faith.

Put your faith in God—that He is King evermore. That’s how you’ll live in this day and age. Faith is what keeps us going in dark days.

Faith sees beyond the physical to the spiritual, beyond the present to the future, beyond the temporary to the eternal. Faith does not judge by the appearances of the hour.

Don’t lose your faith. Faith cannot fail. Sin cannot win. Faith is the only message that will see us through, the only force that can change anything.

If we want a better land and life, we have to live by faith. Government cannot make us better; only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do that.

ACTION POINT:

When Habakkuk wrote his book, he said, “It’s for an appointed time” (Habakkuk 2:3). I believe it was for today. He said, “Tell the minister of music not to stop singing.” Don’t let anything steal your song. Keep on singing. Keep on praising. Keep on believing. Keep on loving. Our God reigns! “And the just will live by his faith.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Love One Another Gladly

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

John Piper 

When you vote today, follow 5 principles….

BIBLE MEDITATION:

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

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Today in the US is an important election day. I trust God every one of you will vote. Dr. Francis Schaeffer, a brilliant mind and one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our time, gave us 5 principles to keep in mind when we vote. These principles have nothing to do with personalities or political parties. They are principles. 

1. The dignity of human life. 

2. The importance of the traditional family. 

3. Religious freedom of speech in schools, both public and private.

4. Human rights and the need for justice in our world. 

5. The compassionate use of accumulated wealth.

These five principles ought to be in the heart and mind of every child of God. Pray over these; then based on God’s Word, make your determination. God will give you wisdom in this matter.

ACTION POINT:

Pray it from your heart, “God, bless America, and God, give us space to repent. And may the ones of Your choosing be elected to lead us.” Remember, “to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Do You Neglect Your Salvation?

How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

Is there a sense of greatness in your mind about your salvation? Or do you neglect it?

Do you respond to the greatness of your salvation? Or do you treat it the way you treat your last will and testament, or the title to your car, or the deed on your house? You signed it once and it is in a file drawer somewhere, but it is not a really great thing in your mind. You rarely think about it. It has no daily effect on you. Basically, you neglect it.

But when you neglect your great salvation, what are you really neglecting? Here’s what he is saying when he says, “Don’t neglect your great salvation!”

Don’t neglect being loved by God.

Don’t neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by almighty God.

Don’t neglect the sacrifice of Christ’s life on the cross.

Don’t neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith.

Don’t neglect the removal of God’s wrath and the reconciled smile of God.

Don’t neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ.

Don’t neglect the radiance of God’s glory in the face of Jesus.

Don’t neglect the free access to the throne of grace.

Don’t neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God’s promises.

This is indeed a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. Don’t neglect so great a salvation. Because if you do, will there be an escape from judgment? That’s what the writer asks: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

So, being a Christian is a very serious business — not a sour business, but a serious business. We should be blood-earnest about being happy in our great salvation.

We will not be deflected by this world into the fleeting and suicidal pleasures of sin. We will not neglect our eternal joy in God — which is what the goal of this salvation is. We will gouge out our eyes rather than be lured away from such a great salvation.

John Piper

Are You Going to Be A Dropout Citizen?

“Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;” Leviticus 26:8

When it comes to the political scene and government, there are some people who have dropped out all together. They have the idea that if you get involved in government, somehow that’s the “social gospel.” They see the political scene as being dirty and worldly. And some have been intimidated by the great debate between church and state. And so people have just hunkered down, trying to “hold on till Jesus comes.” 

We can’t drop out. Edward Everett Hale, author of the story “The Man Without a Country” once wrote:

“I am only one, 

But still I am one.

I cannot do everything, 

But still I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

I am only one in a small voice.  But a lot of small voices together can do something. Believe that and act upon it. Jesus said, “Occupy till I come.”

Is there someone who has wronged you and you seek revenge? Do you have a need to have your rights exalted above others? Read and apply the truth of Philippians 2:3-11.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

True Love

Love is forgiving!

1 Corinthians 13:5 CSB

is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs.

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die."

10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. - Job 2:7-10

Three cause of bitterness!

1. What people say about us!

1 "My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. 

2 Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation.  - Job 17:1-2

Words can be a tool to administer grace and encouragement or a weapon for destruction.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. - James 3:6

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. - James 3:7-10

Physical wounds heal much quicker than emotional wounds!

2. What people think about us!

If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me,  - Job 19:5

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.  - Proverbs 11:12

People are cruel.

3. What people do to us!

All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.  - Job 19:19

Family and friends may abandon you but God will never leave you!

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6

Two problems with bitterness

1. It is unreasonable!

Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.  - Job 5:2

Don't waste your time on what has been.

2. It's unhealthy 

23 One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure, 

24 his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. 

25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity.  - Job 21:23-25

Three cures for bitterness

1. Reveal your hurt

"Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.  - Job 7:11

Revealing your feelings is the beginning of healing!!

2. Release your offender

And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. - Job 42:10

Only by the grace of God can you give forgiveness

Christ has given you forgiveness!

3. Refocus your life

11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.

12 And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.

15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations.

17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days. - Job 42:11-17

Let that bitterness go!!

10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

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 103:10-12

Receive God's forgiveness 

Extend God's forgiveness 

Thank you Pastor Kevin!