Unquenchable Fire At The End Of The Age

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." - Matthew 3:2

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." - Matthew 3:11-12

37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,

42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. - Matthew 13:37-43

What If It Were Today?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Two little girls were talking in school one day, and one said to the other, “I hear the school board is making an inspection of our school this week.”

The other girl’s desk was messy, so she said, “I’ll clean it up tomorrow.”

The first one asked, “But what if they come today?”

Her friend said, “You know, I think I’ll clean it up right now—and keep it clean.”

ACTION POINT:

If you knew that Jesus was coming to your house this afternoon, would there be any cleaning you would need to do? Any magazines or videos you would need to trash? Any pictures on the walls you would need to take down?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Letting Go Of This Place And Holding On To The Branch

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. - Hebrews 13:14

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. - 1 Peter 2:11

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. - Zechariah 3:8

1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 

2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 

3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 

4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 

5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 

6 "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 

7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 

8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 

9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."  - Isaiah 42:1-9

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." - Revelation 21:1-8

1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

4 And you know the way to where I am going."

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:1-6

22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 

23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.  - Isaiah 66:22-23

11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. - Revelation 3:11-12

Repentance Resistance Renewal

3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 

4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; - Psalm 130:3-5

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 

2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. 

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 

4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. 

5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. 

6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah  - Psalm 143:1-6

8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 

10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 

11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? 

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 

13 Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! 

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.  - Psalm 90:8-15

Have To? Need To? Or WANT To?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” 1 Corinthians 9:19

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

There are three reasons for obedience. A slave obeys because he has to. An employee obeys because he needs to. But a loving son obeys because he wants to.

So many of us live like slaves, when Jesus has said, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15).

ACTION POINT:

I don’t work for my salvation—that work has been done by my Lord. But I will work like any slave for the love of God. What about you?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Going Through The Valley

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Psalm 23 is perched between Psalm 22, which tells about the crucifixion of Jesus, and Psalm 24, which is a prophecy of the coronation of Jesus. It is beautiful trilogy about the Savior’s cross, the Shepherd’s crook, and the Sovereign’s crown.

Psalm 23 is the valley between the blood-drenched slopes of Mount Calvary and the sunlit peaks of Mount Zion. Thank God for every valley, because there must be a mountain.

ACTION POINT:

If you are in the valley today, remember that you wouldn’t be there had there not been mountains to cross. There is vision in the valley and hope in the hills.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Making The First Thing The First Thing

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.” Psalm 19:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I believe in church attendance, but if your relationship with the Lord and with others is suffering, then you need to stay at home and get on your face before God.

Sometimes a businessman will get very prosperous in his business—and at first it seems a good thing. He tells his wife, “Honey, you know how I couldn’t give you much when we got married? Well, now I can.” But soon the pursuit of a nice home and nice things consume him. A sadness descends upon his wife and children, and they lament, “Oh, Daddy….Oh, Husband…what we would give to just have you spend time with us.”

ACTION POINT:

What tragedy it would be if what you do for Jesus keeps you from Jesus. Stop the cycle today. If you know you’re a workaholic, stop it. If you know your walk is far from God, get it right.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers