Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Why did God Choose Weak, Foolish Things?



BIBLE MEDITATION:

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What wisdom is there in dying on a cross? The Greeks couldn’t understand it, and yet that is the wisdom of God. 

God is so wise that the person with the highest IQ cannot figure Him out. If you could come to God with your intellect, then God is not fair, because all of the smart people would have a head start, and the rest of us would be left standing in the shadows. Your spirituality would be based upon your intellect.

Someone once said, “The Bible is like a pool. Shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink of water without fear of drowning and so deep scholars can swim in it and never touch bottom.”

I’m so glad God “hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25). God has made salvation through faith in Christ Jesus so simple, even a little child can understand it.

ACTION POINT:
It’s not that God is so high that few can figure Him out; it is that God has placed Himself at such a level that few of us will get down low enough to see God revealing Himself to us.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Jesus Will Trample All Our Enemies



Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (1 Corinthians 15:24)

How far does the reign of Christ extend?

The next verse, 1 Corinthians 15:25 says, “He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” The word all tells us the extent.

So does the word every in verse 24: “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.”

There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ will not overcome as the enemy of his honor.

And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone.

Jesus Christ is now, in this age, putting all his enemies under his feet. Every rule and every authority and every power will be conquered.

So, remember that the extent of Christ’s reign reaches to the smallest and biggest enemy of his glory in your life, and in this universe. It will be defeated.


John Piper 

Do You Know Who Your Enemy is?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Your adversary the devil is prowling about like a roaring lion. Don’t underestimate his power.

Satan is an enemy you need to respect like an electrician who has respect for the wires that carry deadly voltage. He knows where the insulation is, and he knows how to handle electricity. If an electrician loses his respect for this power, he is going to be in serious trouble.

ACTION POINT:
Everything may be going great for you right now. You’ve got money in the bank, a good job, good health. You’re dancing through the forest, picking wildflowers. But behind a bush is a lion so deadly, he can pounce on you and swallow you whole. You’ve got to be vigilant.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Monday, August 26, 2019

Giving God Control


It's hard for us all to do!
We just have to face it, things are really always in His control.
We only have to look to the story of Pharaoh, the plagues and how God hardened his heart.
It was during circumstances that would definitely have brought us to our knees.
On your knees is a good place to be! 
Begging God for guidance, trusting a sovereign God who is able.
Trusting a God who is working behind the scenes, who orchestrates Your every move!
Even when the world tells you that things are this way.
Like when you are told you are dying from cancer, but God tells you otherwise!
Like when you are told "you will never walk again" but God says " I'm in control, only trust Me, then you walk, leaving the docs scratching their head!
Like when you are told the baby you are carrying is dead but is born healthy, because God said "only trust Me".
These things are indeed miracles but to a sovereign God who is the great "I Am" they are a part of Who He is.

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?  - Psalm 56:3-4

18 "What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! 
19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. 
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him."  - Habakkuk 2:18-20

22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
25 He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way." - Daniel 3:22-29

7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." 
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! 
9 All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. 
10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 
11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. 
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and I am God. 
13 Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?"  - Isaiah 43:7-13

Shadows and Streams

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:31–34)

God rejoices in the works of creation because they point us beyond themselves to God himself.

God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us to look at his creation and say: If the mere work of his fingers (just his fingers! Psalm 8:3) is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!

These are but the backside of his glory, as it were, darkly seen through a glass. What will it be to see the glory of the Creator himself! Not just his works! A billion galaxies will not satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul’s end.

Jonathan Edwards expressed it like this:

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. . . . [These] are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the ocean.

This is why Psalm 104 comes to a close in verses 31–34 with a focus on God himself. “I will sing praise to my God while I have being. . . . For I rejoice in the Lord.” In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons or the water spiders or the clouds or the great galaxies that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouths with eternal praise. It will be God himself.


John Piper 

How God Sees You


BIBLE MEDITATION:

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:8

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God has imputed His righteousness to every believer. What does that mean? Instead of your sin being added to your account (like running up a credit card bill), His righteousness is applied to your account! Not only has He forgiven us, not only has He covered our sins, but He gives us His righteousness.

This truth is also called “The Great Exchange.” Listen to what the Bible says in  
2 Corinthians 5:21—
For He [God the Father] hath made Him [Jesus] to be sin for us, [Jesus] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

It’s utterly astounding, isn’t it? I fail, but God will not impute that to me. If God were to impute my sin to me, then when I fail, I would be lost again. How much sin would it take to make me lost? Just one-half of one sin.

You see, I’m not going to Heaven because I’m perfect. I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. No one is perfect. But we have received Christ as our righteousness. And in His eyes, we are perfect.

ACTION POINT:

Stop right now and thank God that out of His great heart of love for us, He sent His Son, Jesus, who took upon Himself our sin, and through His blood, we are cleansed. We now have, placed in our account, His own righteousness.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Discipleship 101


Core Christian values everyone should share

1. Worship God
2. Make disciples 
3. Love people
4. Share Jesus

We are family.
We love people.
We worship God.
We share Jesus with the lost!

What does it mean to make disciples?

Daniel 2:49- 3:18

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.
47 The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. - Daniel 2:46-49

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, "You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."
7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.
9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.
11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." - Daniel 3:1-18

Responses to Your Commitment to Christ

1. Some people will reject you!

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. - Daniel 3:8

False worshippers will resent you!
They will see the convicting truth that they are lacking in worship.

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by him this man is standing before you well.
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:8-12

Your friends will turn on you!

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, - Acts 4:13-15

Though none go with me, I still will follow!

2. Some will attack you!

There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." - Daniel 3:12

Trouble will come!
Expect attack!
Look to Jesus, He will walk with you!
He is our sustainer!

18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. - John 15:18-21

There's a cost!!

3. Some will be angry with you!

Persecution comes, maybe even death!
Look at what Christ endured!
Don't give up, fight!

4. Some will question you.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? - Daniel 3:13-14

Are you sure? 
Have you considered the cost?
Satan's attacks begin!
Beginning with "where's your God now"?

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you."
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14 So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." - Genesis 22:1-18

5. Some will test you!

Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" - Daniel 3:15

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' 
29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." - Acts 17:24-32

Is your faith worth testing?
The fate of Jesus and His disciples:
Christ-crucified 
Bartholomew-martyred
James-stoned to death
Andrew-murdered
John died alone on a island
James son of Zebedee-executed with s sword
Philip-crucified
Matthew-killed by a spear
Jude-crucified
Simon-murdered
Peter-crucified upside down

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

God's love never fails!
Serve Him!

Thanks Pastor Kevin!!!