Find strength if you’re being persecuted

BIBLE MEDITATION:

For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How much have you suffered because you’ve said something positive about Jesus? Have you refused to budge on an issue that would dishonor His name?

2 Timothy 3:12 says, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Not “may,” but “shall.”

There’s no escaping persecution for true Christians. We will be persecuted when we endeavor to “live godly in Christ Jesus.” On the other hand, if you’re not being persecuted, don’t say you must be doing a wonderful job. Very frankly, you’re doing a poor job. Let me ask you: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Regrettably, most people would have to say no.

ACTION POINT:

Get out of your comfort zone today. Witness to your neighbor; take a homeless person to lunch; take a walk in the park and tell someone that Jesus loves them. Check into a short-term mission trip; start a Bible Study. Step out of your cocoon.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

In Him, By His Flesh, Through His Resurrection

God, by Your mercy, open eyes, open hearts to Your truth so that they might see Your glory. Amen

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." - John 12:31-32

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. - Colossians 2:11-15

18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah 

20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.  - Psalm 68:18-20

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.  - Isaiah 53:11-12

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. - Hebrews 2:14-15

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. - Ephesians 2:13-22

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;

11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. - John 16:7-15

Make Satan Know His Defeat

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

The more real Satan appears in our day — the more obviously active — the more precious the victory of Christ will become to those who trust him.

The New Testament teaches that when Christ died and rose again, Satan was decisively defeated. A time of limited freedom is granted to him, but his power against God’s people is broken and his destruction is sure.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

“[Christ] himself likewise partook of the same things [flesh and blood], that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2:14)

“[God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:15)

In other words, the decisive blow was struck at Calvary. And one day, when Satan’s time of limited freedom is over, Revelation 20:10 says, “The devil . . . [will be] thrown into the lake of fire . . . and will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

What does this mean for those of us who follow Jesus Christ?

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies!” (Romans 8:33)

“[Neither] angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39)

“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

“They [the saints] have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Revelation 12:11)

Therefore, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you!” He has been defeated, and we have been given victory. Our task now is to live in that victory and make Satan know his defeat.

John Piper 

How to save people at risk

BIBLE MEDITATION:

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A man and his wife were walking through a wheat field in Alberta, Canada, early one evening with their young son. They forgot for a moment that their son was with them, and then suddenly they realized he wasn’t there. 

They searched to no avail, then ran back to the village to get help. Many people returned with the couple to search through the night. Then one man said, “Let’s lock arms and we’ll sweep across the field.” Then there was a cry: “I found him!” And everyone rushed together to the lifeless form of the little fellow who had died of exposure.

I wonder if there are people who are going to slip into a Christ-less eternity because as the Body of Christ, we haven’t joined hands soon enough. The Lord Jesus, seeing fields of grain that were ripe for the harvest, knew the urgency of the hour. He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work” (John 9:4).

He also said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2 ).

ACTION POINT:

What are you doing to welcome newcomers, disciple younger believers, or minister to the needs of others both in your church and outside your church? Ask God to give you opportunities to redeem the 168 hours He has given you this week in selfless acts of love for others.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What It Means to Pray for Your Enemy

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

Prayer for your enemies is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them.

You might do nice things for your enemy without any genuine desire that things go well with them. But prayer for them is in the presence of God who knows your heart, and prayer is interceding with God on their behalf.

It may be for their conversion. It may be for their repentance. It may be that they would be awakened to the enmity in their hearts. It may be that they will be stopped in their downward spiral of sin, even if it takes disease or calamity to do it. But the prayer Jesus has in mind here is always for their good.

This is what Jesus did as he hung on the cross:

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

And it’s what Stephen did as he was being stoned:

Falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60)

Jesus is calling us not just to do good things for our enemy, like greeting them and helping supply their needs (Matthew 5:47); he is also calling us to desire their best, and to express those desires in prayers, even when the enemy is nowhere around.

Our hearts should desire their salvation and desire their presence in heaven with us and desire their eternal happiness. May God give us grace to pray like the apostle Paul for the Jewish people, many of whom made life very hard for Paul:

My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

John Piper 

Find out what God wants for you

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? James 2:5

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Are you facing a struggle in your life today? Perhaps there is a decision that you need to make, but don’t know what to do. Friend, let me tell you the way to find what God wants for you. 

Take hold of the Lord with both hands and in faith tell Him, “Sink or swim, live or die, once and for all, now and forever, I’m going for You, God.”

John Dryden, the famous English poet, said, “Reason saw not, till faith sprung the light.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened.”

ACTION POINT:

You don’t know what God can do through you until you step out in faith. Take that step today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Two Ways to Remember Jesus

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. (2 Timothy 2:8)

Paul mentions two specific ways to remember Jesus: Remember him as risen from the dead. And remember him as the offspring of David. Why these two things about Jesus?

Because if he is risen from the dead he is alive and triumphant over death — including our death! “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

Which means that no matter how serious the suffering becomes, the worst that it can do on this earth is kill you. And Jesus has taken the sting out of that enemy. He is alive. And you will be alive. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).

But more than that, the resurrection of Jesus was not a random resurrection. It was the resurrection of the son of David. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David.” Why does Paul say that?

Because every Jewish person knew what that meant. That meant that Jesus is the Messiah (John 7:42). And that meant that this resurrection was the resurrection of an everlasting King. Listen to the words of the angel to Mary, Jesus’s mother:

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31–33)

So, remember Jesus, the one you serve, and the one for whom you suffer. He is not just alive from the dead, but he is alive as a King who will reign forever — of his kingdom there will be no end. No matter what they do to you, you do not need to be afraid. You will live again. And you will reign with him.

John Piper