Are you facing giants?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Mark 11:23

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Did you ever play “king of the mountain” as a child? When you were on high ground, you could shove the others down, even though they were entrenched and determined to overtake you.

In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb faced a city of giants, and yet because he had wholly followed the Lord, he had the strength of the Lord and said, “Give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:11-12).

Where did this man, now in his eighties, get his courage? Where did he get his confidence? He got it from the word of God. Listen to me, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). It doesn’t come out of the head; it comes out of the heart. The reason Caleb could appropriate the promises of God and those promises became a living, vibrant reality to him is that he had a character committed to the Lord.

All of us face giants every day – giants of doubt, fear, discouragement, financial ruin, sickness, broken relationships. Do you think the giants in the Promised Land took God by surprise? God knew they were there all the time – they were part of His purpose to strengthen His children’s faith.

ACTION POINT:

It’s time you got a bulldog grip on the Word of God and believe what He says to be true.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Proclaiming The Gospel

So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. - Romans 1:15

Rome was the crossroads to many people's!

Saul (Paul) was the persecutor of Christians.

He despised them and all they stood for.

However God had another plan for Saul.

While on the road to Damascus, Saul heard a voice and a bright light shone around him.

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"

5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."

11 And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,

12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."

13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name."

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;

19 and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. - Acts 9:1-19

26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. - Acts 9:26-28

Modern Day Saul (Paul-His Conversion)

Jesus changed Saul. 

Jesus took the most horrible and made him a new creation.

There is power in the name of Jesus, to change the darkest heart.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. - Romans 1:16

Jesus can cleanse your past.

Sin was in the beginning, in the garden, through the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan.

We chose to sin just as they did.

While you are still in your own sin, Christ died for you.

You are cleansed from all unrighteousness through the blood of Christ.

You are redeemed by a Savior who is able.

There is forgiveness in Him alone!

He supplies your need.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. - 2 Timothy 1:8-14

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. - Philippians 1:21

There is someone out there that needs Jesus.

Is your heart broken for those who are perishing?

Will you tell them?

He will save you!

Pray without ceasing.

Be born again!

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:13

Thanks Pastor Scott!

The Command That Creates

Anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

When Jesus commanded Lazarus to rise from the dead, how did he obey that command? John 11:43 says, “He [Jesus] cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’” That was a command to a dead man. The next verse says, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips” (John 11:44).

How did Lazarus do that? How does a dead man obey a command to live again? The answer seems to be: The command carries the power to create new life. Obedience to the command means doing what living people do.

This is extremely important. The command of God, “Rise from the dead!” carries in it the power we need to obey it. We do not obey it by creating that life. We obey it by doing what living people do — Lazarus came forth. He rose. He walked out to Jesus. The call of God creates life. We respond in the power of what the call creates.

In Ephesians 5:14, Paul says, “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” How do you obey a command to wake up from sleep? If your house has poisonous carbon monoxide in it, and someone cries out, “Wake up! Save yourself! Get out!” you don’t obey by waking yourself up. The loud, powerful command itself wakes you up. You obey by doing what wakeful people do in the face of danger. You get up and leave the house. The call creates the waking. You respond in the power of what the call created — wakefulness.

I believe this is the explanation for why the Bible says paradoxical things about new birth; namely, that we must get ourselves new hearts, but that it is God who creates the new heart. For example:

Deuteronomy 10:16: “Circumcise your heart!”

Deuteronomy 30:6: “The Lord will circumcise your heart.”

Ezekiel 18:31: “Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!”

Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.”

John 3:7: “You must be born again.”

1 Peter 1:3: “God caused us to be born again.”

The way to obey the command to be born is to first experience the divine gift of life and breath, and then to do what living, breathing people do: cry out to God in faith and gratitude and love. When the command of God comes with the creating, converting power of the Holy Spirit, it gives life. And we believe and rejoice and obey.

John Piper 

Is it okay with God to be a rebel?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Every rebel has a reason for his or her actions. You’ve probably heard a young person say, “Well, my dad drinks, so I smoke pot.” Do you know what kind of reasoning that is? Brute beast reasoning, like Peter mentions in 2 Peter 2:12.

“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.”

This young person doesn’t think he has to obey his father. And he further reasons, “He’s not worthy of my obedience.” And it’s not only young people who think this way. We see it in adults too, and it’s rampant in entertainment and the media. But is this okay with God? Does He give us His permission to live this way?

Do you know the only people who can demand perfect parents? Perfect children. The only people who can demand a perfect pastor is a perfect church member. Only perfect citizens can demand a perfect politician! You don’t carry a license for rebellion. There are ways to reason together in a church, home, government and nation.

ACTION POINT:

A spirit of rebellion among its citizens will bring a nation to its knees. Jesus gave His life to reconcile us. Can you live otherwise?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Experiential Key

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

We know that faith in God’s future grace is the experiential key to generosity, because in 2 Corinthians, Paul holds out this wonderful promise: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

In other words, if you want to be free from the need to stash away your money, if you want to overflow with an abundance (of grace!) for every good work, then put your faith in future grace. Trust the promise that “God is able to make all grace abound to you” in every future moment for this very purpose.

I just called faith in future grace the “experiential key” to generosity, so as not to deny that there is a historical key as well. There is a key of experience, and a key of history. When talking about the grace they received, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the historical key of grace, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Without this historical work of grace, the door of Christ-exalting generosity would remain closed. That past grace is an indispensable key to love.

But notice how the past grace in this verse functions. It is made the foundation (Christ became poor) of future grace (that we might become rich). Thus the historical key to our generosity operates by putting a foundation under the experiential key of faith in future grace.

Thus, the experiential key to love and generosity is this: Put your faith firmly in future grace — namely, that “God is able (in the future) to make all (future) grace abound to you” — so that your needs are met, and so that you will be able to overflow with the love of generosity.

Freedom from greed comes from the deeply satisfying faith in God’s future grace.

John Piper 

What is your measure of faith?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have so much faith, others have weak faith, and some have no faith at all? Is God unfair? No, God is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34). He has given to every man a measure of faith (see Romans 12:3).

And so, what is faith? Let me first say what it is not.

Faith is not positive thinking or optimism. It is not a feeling that you can do something. It is not a hunch or looking on the sunny side of the street.

Faith is getting a word from God and acting upon it. You see, you can get a word from God and believe that word. That is belief. But when you act upon it, that is faith. Faith is belief with legs on it.

ACTION POINT:

Today is the day that you put your foot of faith upon the promises of God and say, “That promise is mine!”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Passionate for God and Truth

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (Romans 3:3–4)

Our concern with truth is an inevitable expression of our concern with God. If God exists, then he is the measure of all things, and what he thinks about all things is the measure of what we should think.

Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God.

Ponder these four sets of texts on God and truth:

1) God Is the Truth

Romans 3:3–4 (God the Father): “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar.”

John 14:6 (God the Son): Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 15:26 (God the Spirit): “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

2) Not Loving the Truth Is Eternally Ruinous

Second Thessalonians 2:10: The wicked will perish “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

3) Christian Living Is Based on Knowledge of the Truth

First Corinthians 6:15–16: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?”

4) The Body of Christ Is Built with Truth in Love

Colossians 1:28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

May God make us passionate for him and for truth.

John Piper