The Settling of You Sin Account

Hell is waiting for the un-redeemed sinner.

Heaven is waiting for grace redeemed sinners.

Which are you?

Is Your church teaching salvation is from Christ alone?

Going to church, being a member, being sprinkled as a baby, baptism, these things profit and teach but will not save you from eternal punishment!

Your good deeds, being a decent person will not save you from hell!

If this was so, the cross would be emptied of the power of Christ!

How are you redeemed (delivered from sin)?

Deliverance comes by Christ alone! 

He paid the price it takes, commanded by God the Father, to redeem souls from hell.

There is no other way!

Do you believe and know that Christ died for you? 

He alone is able to satisfy the wrath of God! 

Wrath that was yours until the resurrection of Christ.

His blood cleansed your sin.

He defeated Satan's hold on your soul, and brought you to everlasting life with Him!

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. - Colossians 2:13-14

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, - Acts 3:19

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. - 1 Corinthians 2:2

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. - 1 Corinthians 1:17

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. - Romans 7:4

33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - John 3:33-36

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." - Acts 17:24-31

Beware of Serving God

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24–25)

We do not glorify God by providing his needs, but by praying that he would provide ours — and trusting him to answer, and living in the joy of that all-providing care as we lay down our lives in love for other people.

Here we are at the heart of the good news of Christian Hedonism. God’s insistence that we ask him to give us help so that he gets glory. “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15). This forces on us the startling fact that we must beware of thinking he needs us. We must beware of serving God, and we must take special care to let him serve us, lest we rob him of his glory. “God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25).

This sounds very strange. Most of us think serving God is a totally positive thing. We have not considered that serving God may be an insult to him. But meditation on the very meaning of prayer makes this plain.

In the novel, Robinson Crusoe, the hero, took Psalm 50:12–15 as his favorite text to hope in as he’s stranded on the island: God says, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. . . . Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Which means: there is a way to serve God that would belittle him as needy of our service. Oh, how careful we must be not to preempt the mighty grace of God in Christ. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He aims to be the servant. He aims to get the glory as the Giver.

John Piper 

Are you a part of the “Second Creation”?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.

Colossians 1:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There are two beginnings in creation.

The first occurred when God created the heavens and the earth. He spoke and—just like that—from His fingertips flew this vast, measureless universe. How simple it was for God to create this universe.

The second is when His creature, man, becomes a new creation in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). When God reconciled us through His Son, it took every drop of Jesus’ blood. There was no other way to be saved apart from the death of Jesus—the perfect sacrifice. There still isn’t another way.

ACTION POINT:

None of us were here for the first Creation. But we can all be a part of the Second Creation! If you have received the salvation Jesus bought with His blood—thank Him that He’s made you a new creature…a second creation!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are you praying the wrong prayer?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:18b-19

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Many of us praying for our unsaved friends, family, and neighbors are directing our prayers in the wrong way. We’re saying, “Oh God, help them to see.” But they are blind—they cannot see!

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 explains what’s going on: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

First, we must bind the one who is blinding them. We’re not in a battle of flesh and blood. We’re in a battle with Satan himself, and we will never successfully invade his territory until we first bind him (see Mark 3:27).

Jesus gave us “authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).

ACTION POINT:

We must begin to exercise our authority in Christ over the demonic hosts of hell set forth against us, our loved ones and the church. Daily resist him and every demonic spirit in the name of Jesus, through His shed blood, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and command him to leave.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

We Can Do Nothing

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Suppose you are totally paralyzed and can do nothing for yourself but talk. And suppose a strong and reliable friend promised to live with you and do whatever you needed done. How could you glorify this friend if a stranger came to see you?

Would you glorify his generosity and strength by trying to get out of bed and carry him? No! You would say, “Friend, please come lift me up, and would you put a pillow behind me so I can look at my guest? And would you please put my glasses on for me?”

And so your visitor would learn from your requests that you are helpless and that your friend is strong and kind. You glorify your friend by needing him, and by asking him for help, and counting on him.

In John 15:5, Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” So we really are paralyzed. Without Christ, we are capable of no Christ-exalting good. As Paul says in Romans 7:18, “Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”

But John 15:5 also says that God does intend for us to do much Christ-exalting good, namely bear fruit: “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” So as our strong and reliable friend — “I have called you friends” (John 15:15) — he promises to do for us, and through us, what we can’t do for ourselves.

How then do we glorify him? Jesus gives the answer in John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” We pray! We ask God to do for us through Christ what we can’t do for ourselves — bear fruit.

John 15:8 gives the result: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.”

So how is God glorified by prayer? Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need.

John Piper 

Judgement Is Without Mercy

Christ is our mercy.

He suffered, died and has risen.

His blood cleanses from unrighteousness.

Forgiveness brings us to repentance.

Christ alone gives salvation.

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  - Psalm 103:8

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. - James 2:1

49 "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 

50 Did not my hand make all these things?' 

51 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." - Acts 7:49-53

Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? - Jeremiah 23:29

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." - Ezekiel 18:32

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

This World Grieves Me

Wicked people! 

Our crude talk!

Our hateful actions!

An air of entitlement.

Lack of integrity!

Liars!

Drug users!

Alcoholics!

Sexual predators!

Abusers!

No adequate punishment for crime!

Political opponents willing to do anything for power!

No wonder there is so much turmoil!

Guns are blamed.

But it's the wicked ones behind the guns.

Mentally ill running loose without meds because of privacy concerns, just plain irresponsible.

Satan has had his way, and the world is clueless.

Witness opportunities are abundant!

Let us share Christ to the lost.

Knees are for praying.

Mercy is there, but only by repentance.

There is no free ride, change is waiting for those who will fall before His throne of grace.

Will you repent?

Trust Christ today for salvation!

"Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.  - Jeremiah 14:7

For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.  - Psalm 25:11

23 "Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?

24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. - Jeremiah 23:23-24

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? - James 4:1-12

pray without ceasing, - 1 Thessalonians 5:17