Love Beyond Doubt

by Alistair Begg

Jeremiah 31:3
Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells His Church His love thoughts. "He does not consider it sufficient to declare them behind her back, but in her very presence He says, 'Behold, you are beautiful, my love.'1 It is true, this is not His ordinary method. He is a wise lover and knows when to hold back the intimation of love and when to declare it; but there are times when He will make no secret of it, times when He will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of His people" (R. Erskine's Sermons).

The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits to the love of Jesus. He takes the things of Christ and reveals them to us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more certain than either of these

If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the believer personally of the Savior's love for him, the evidence would not be one bit more satisfactory than that which is born in the heart by the Holy Spirit.

Ask the Lord's people who have lived the nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the love of Christ toward them has been a fact so clear and sure that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence.

Yes, dear believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and then our faith has soared to the heights of assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the shoulder of our Lord, and we have not questioned our Master's affection for us. The dark question, "Lord, is it I that will betray You?" has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the kisses of His mouth and killed our doubts by the closeness of His embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls.

Three Things That Can Keep You from Following Christ

Colin Smith

I will remove from you your heart of stone.  Ezekiel 36:26
Here are a couple more worthless stones in the human heart that can keep you from following Jesus Christ:

1. Comfort. “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27 NIV

If your heart is set on maintaining a comfortable life, that will keep you from following Christ. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that there will be a cost, and there will be pain in following him. So if your heart is set on choosing the easiest path, you will not follow Christ very far.

2. Cherished Sin. “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19 NIV

How many people have been kept from following Christ because their heart is set on pursuing a sexual impulse—whatever that may be? Satisfying the sexual appetite has become a god for many people today. If that’s what matters most to you it will keep you from following Christ.

3. Self. "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5

Do you see what Satan was saying: “Eve, why should God be God and not you? You can be your own god! You can decide for yourself what is good and what is evil.” You cannot be a worshipper of God so long as you are set on being your own god. The desire to be your own god is a stone in the heart that resists Jesus Christ.

Are any of these things keeping you from following Christ?
[Based on the sermon series "Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul"] 
For more resources by Colin Smith visit Unlocking the Bible, where you can request a free sample of LifeKEYS Daily devotional, listen to the radio program, or browse other gospel-centered, Christ-exalting resources. You can also follow Colin on Twitter.

Be Careful of Nice People

Tim Challies

"Now you be nice to your sister.” “Make sure you play nice tonight.” “He is such a nice young man.” As human beings, it seems that we are drawn to niceness. We like nice people and encourage people to behave in nice ways. We dislike people who aren’t nice or who don’t behave in nice ways. We teach our children to be nice and juxtapose niceness with a host of vices: grumpiness, cruelty, mean-spiritedness.

In Galatians 5, Paul contrasts the qualities of fleshly, worldly people with the qualities of Spirit-filled, godly people. He lists the fruit of the Spirit, those character traits that ought to mark God’s people, saying, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (vv. 22–23). Conspicuously absent from Paul’s list is niceness. Kindness is there; patience and gentleness too. But not niceness.

Why isn’t niceness a fruit of the Spirit? Because niceness is a hollow trait that a human can generate even without the inner working of the Holy Spirit. Niceness may require some force of will in the face of disagreement or controversy. It may require restraint. But it does not require an inward transformation.

True love, true joy, true faithfulness and gentleness—these are all qualities for which we are completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s work in conforming us to the image of Christ through the Word of God. As we immerse ourselves in God’s Word, as we carefully seek God and His will through the Bible, the Holy Spirit gradually but surely grants us these qualities in growing measure. Now we are able to love—truly love—whereas before we could only hate and brood and love selfishly; now we are able to display patience whereas before we would always explode with anger or perhaps simply simmer with anger; now we are able to be gentle whereas before we were so consistently harsh.

But niceness? Niceness doesn’t require that work of the Spirit. In fact, niceness is often a clever ruse Satan employs to fool us into following ungodly leaders. Be careful around nice people. Evil and ungodly men often rely upon niceness to cover their sin. Where Christians can be fast and blunt in defending the truth, unbelievers—and especially unbelievers claiming to be Christians—can look good in contrast. They can seem so nice as they nicely undermine the very foundations of the Christian faith. Their smiles, their soft words, their sympathetic questions, their niceness—these are all tools designed to mask their opposition to God.

It is not bad to be nice. It is not an evil trait. But it is far better to strive for the higher qualities, the Spirit-given qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law, because such Spirit-given qualities cannot be faked forever.

Two-Way Promises

Ann Spangler

A wonderful future awaits those who love peace. (Psalm 37:37)
Though most of us think of God’s promises in positive terms, as we should, Scripture is full of promises that sound frighteningly negative. These reverse promises serve as warnings for those who show little regard for God and his ways.

The first promise for today, from Psalms, is one you can build on. It’s like bedrock for those who belong to Christ and pursue his ways. But what if you are doing just that and feeling anything but peaceful? Notice that Psalm 37 promises a wonderful future but not necessarily a wonderful present. Every life holds challenges and sorrows that must be endured with faith and trust. At such times we can cling to this promise from Romans: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (8:28). We will all know times of peace and times of difficulty because we are not yet inhabiting the future God has promised.

But for the wicked, Isaiah proclaims, there will be no true peace. How could there be, since peace comes from knowing God and from trusting him enough to obey him? A life in perpetual rebellion is a life in perpetual turbulence. Though things may look peaceful on the outside for a time, on the inside things tend to fall apart because there is no central core to hold us together.

The peace we long for depends not only on God’s promise but on our obedience. Step by step, as we place our trust in Christ, doing what we know he wants us to do, we can be confident that we are moving closer to the wonderful future God has promised for all those who love peace. 

Why We Choose to Follow Christ

Colin Smith

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36, NIV

If slaves could set themselves free, they wouldn’t really be slaves, would they? But Christ says, “I can set you free.”
Christ does not drag you, kicking and screaming, to follow him. We follow Christ because we want to. God shines his light into your mind and pours his love into your heart. What happens? The rockets of the will start moving in a new direction.

Christ sets the will free in regeneration so that, gladly and freely, you choose to follow Christ! Paul says, “We make it our aim to please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). Do you see how wonderful that is? It is the evidence of this miracle in your life.
Will we always choose what’s best after we become Christians? No. The freedom Christ promises is not freedom from the struggle with sin, but freedom from slavery to sin. You will fail, because the prevailing disposition of your soul is not the only disposition of your soul.

There may be times when you fall into pride or lust or lies or greed, but at the core of your being, you know that is not what you want. You want to honor Christ. You want to walk in purity and to grow in holiness. You want that because you are a new creation in Christ.

So be who you are! True freedom is when what God calls you to do and what you most want to do turn out to be the same thing. That is the freedom Christ gives. If you have this freedom you are free indeed!

Do you have this freedom?
[Based on the sermon series "Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul"] 
For more resources by Colin Smith visit Unlocking the Bible, where you can request a free sample of LifeKEYS Daily devotional, listen to the radio program, or browse other gospel-centered, Christ-exalting resources. You can also follow Colin on Twitter.

A New Struggle

Colin Smith

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)

Christ gives his people a new heart and a new Spirit, but then he also gives us a new struggle. Don’t expect the road ahead to be easy.

That’s what we learn from both the story of David and the story of Jesus. After David was anointed he had to put up with Saul. What happened after the Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism?

The Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. He launched out into public ministry where he faced intense opposition and the relentless demands of the crowds. Then he goes to a cross where he suffers and dies in agony—no crown yet.

There was a great struggle between the day of Christ’s anointing and the day when he rose from the dead and ascended in power and glory to take his seat on the throne. The pattern for David was the pattern for Jesus, and the pattern for Jesus will be the pattern for us!

Christ gives you a new heart. He fills you with his Spirit. Then it’s back into the world with all its pressures and relentless demands – back to that difficult marriage, that secular school, that hostile environment. Why? To honor Christ there!
So Christ offers us a new heart, a new spirit, and a new struggle. Saul had none of them. David had all of them. Saul lived with a crown, and in the end he lost it. David lived without a crown, but in the end he gained it.

Which of these two would you rather be?   

[Based on the sermon series "A Tale of Two Kings"]
For more resources by Colin Smith visit Unlocking the Bible, where you can request a free sample of LifeKEYS Daily devotional, listen to the radio program, or browse other gospel-centered, Christ-exalting resources. You can also follow Colin on Twitter.

How God's Servants Honor Him

Colin Smith

David came to Saul and entered his service.  1 Samuel 16:2
It was a not long before Saul rejected David, and in this way, David points forward to Jesus Christ. He too served sinners who hated and despised him in return.

Jesus was the Lord’s anointed, bringing good to everyone, yet he is rejected. He came to his home town in Nazareth, announcing that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him to preach good news to the poor. But by the end of the service they were ready to kill him (Luke 4:29).

Jesus came to the land of the Gerasenes and delivered a man, who had terrorized the whole town, from demons. This same man, who had been a danger to himself and to the whole community, now sat dressed and in his right mind, and the people said to Jesus, “Please go away!”

Jesus came to Jerusalem with words of eternal life and they arrested him, scourged him, and nailed him to a cross: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).

Think of all the people who saw Jesus or heard him speak during his more than three years of ministry. How many of them actually became his followers? Relatively few.
The entire company of believers in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost was only 120. Of the large crowds who at one time followed him, “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).

Your experience will be the same. Your life will touch the lives of many others who may not come to faith and repentance, but by doing them good you bring honor to Christ.

Have you been given the opportunity to honor Christ this way? 
[Based on the sermon series "A Tale of Two Kings"] 
For more resources by Colin Smith visit Unlocking the Bible, where you can request a free sample of LifeKEYS Daily devotional, listen to the radio program, or browse other gospel-centered, Christ-exalting resources. You can also follow Colin on Twitter.

"Word" of the Year

Dr. James Emery White

Here, in a single image and a single designation, is one of the greatest reflections of the massive change in culture – and the separation of generations – of our day:

Yes, it is a pictograph; or as it is more commonly called, an emoji. But not just any emoji. It is called the “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji.
But there’s more.
Oxford Dictionary has named it the 2015 “Word of the Year.” And for the first time, that “word” is a pictograph. While emojis have been around since the late 1990s, “2015 saw their use, and use of the word emoji, increase hugely.” This particular emoji was selected because it was identified as the most used emoji globally in 2015. 
In case you are a closet Luddite, an emoji is “a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication.” The term itself is Japanese in origin “and comes from e ‘picture’ + moji ‘letter, character.’ The similarity to the English word emoticon has helped its memorability and rise in use.” An emoticon, by the way, is a “facial expression composed of keyboard characters, such as :), rather than a stylized image.”
So why is this such a reflection of our day?
First, because it reflects the cultural revolution that has come with technology in general, and the smartphone world in particular.
Much of the 90’s was pre-internet (except for very, very early adopters). And the smart phone? Non-existent. The ubiquitous nature of those two things alone would decisively divide any generation. “Growing up with a supercomputer in your pocket connected to most of the world’s population and knowledge,” writes David Pakman, “has created an irreversible pattern of behavior unlikely to revert to the ways of previous generations.” Or as an article in the New York Times noted, “a 14-year-old in 2015 really does inhabit a substantially different world than one of 2005.” 
A second reason it’s a key reflection of our day is because it transcends linguistic borders. It is a form of communication that matches the inter-connected world of the internet that knows no geo-political or language boundaries. 
But a final reason that it’s such a key reflection of our day is because it reflects the changing nature of communication itself. I have long argued that there is a need to recapture a sense of the visual if we are going to connect with this world (read “The Importance of the Visual”).
But when it comes to reaching the latest and largest Generation – Generation Z – emojis are part of their language. The research of Sparks and Honey has found that Generation Z “speak in emoticons and emojis. Symbols and glyphs provide context and create subtext so they can have private conversations. Emoji alphabets and icon ‘stickers’ replace text with pictures.” 
You may want to re-read that last paragraph. It’s a stunning evolution in the very nature of language. 
A language we best learn to speak – if, that is, we want to reach the next generation.
James Emery White

Sources
“Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2015 is…,” Oxford Dictionaries Blog, November 16, 2015, read online.
Hannah Furness, “Oxford Dictionary swaps Word of the Year for public's favourite emoji,” The Telegraph, November 17, 2015, read online.
David Pakman, “May I Have Your Attention, Please?,” August 10, 2015, Medium.com, read online.
Alex Williams, “Move Over Millennials: Here Comes Generation Z,” The New York Times, September 20, 2015, read online.
“Meet Generation Z: Forget Everything You Learned About Millennials,” Sparks and Honey, June 17, 2014, read online.

Aggressive

Dr. James Emery White

There are a lot of traits one might wish upon pastors and church leaders. Holiness, selflessness, humility… but I find that most of them embody such traits. They are good and Godly people.
So if there is one trait that I would wish upon pastors and church leaders around the world, it would be a trait that many do not already have or aspire to; a trait that I find strikingly absent.
I would wish them to become more aggressive.
If your mind instantly leaps to someone who starts fights or quarrels, that’s not where I’m going.
I mean aggressive in the best sense of the word. As Webster’s definition puts it, aggressive as in “ready or willing to take issue and engage in direct action; full of enterprise and initiative; bold and active; pushing.”
When I think of aggressive leaders, I think of,
…“make it happen” leaders,
…people who don’t immediately take “no” for “no,”
…catalysts for change,
…those who take charge in the heat of battle,
…upsetters of the status quo,
…backbone,
…rabid animals for growth,
…righteous anger,
…creators of action,
…courage,
…someone who is “hungry,”
…top-of-the-line, competitive athletes for the Kingdom of God.
Speaking of athletes, it was said of Michael Jordan – arguably the greatest basketball player ever – that whenever he walked on the court, he was dangerous. There was an aggressive intensity to his game that was threatening to any opponent.
I have a framed, limited edition, signed print of Michael Jordan in my office. The picture of MJ is epic, and the signature is nice, but it has always been the words that have captured my attention:
“It is a rare person who comes along and raises the standards of excellence, who captures the hearts of many, and who inspires a group of individuals on to achieve the impossible.”
May that kind of aggression mark us all.
James Emery White

About the Author
James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated, is available on Amazon. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.

What Do You Believe?

Ann Spangler

Joan Didion’s memoir The Year of Magical Thinking chronicles her grief in the year following the unexpected death of her husband, fellow writer John Gregory Dunne. Perhaps the bleakest moment in that chronicle is when she quotes her late husband, stating with hopeless finality that “no eye is on the sparrow.”
Though she probably didn’t intend it as an insult, the words jumped off the page at me like a slap. It was such a blatant contradiction of everything I believe to be true. Later, it occurred to me that Didion’s statement sums up our own struggle as people of faith. When life is bleak beyond imagining, what do we really believe? What do we think is going on? Either God’s eye is on the sparrow or it is not. Either God really has counted every hair on every head or he has not. Either Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about when he spoke of God as a loving and forgiving Father or he did not. It’s as simple and as hard as that.
When life is going well, it’s easy to assert the truths of the gospel. But when we are overtaken by crushing sorrows or mounting difficulties, what do our hearts tell us then?
Most of us can remember times when God came through for us in the midst of great difficulty. Let’s not forget the evidence of his faithfulness when new challenges arise, giving in to fear rather than drawing on faith to sustain us. Let’s let times of suffering strengthen us rather than weaken us, trusting that God knows how to get us through.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

Ann Spangler

Two weeks ago I felt like a magnet for trouble. A series of problems with a vacation property I own were conspiring to turn one family’s stay into “the worst family vacation ever.” As a part-time landlady, I enjoy creating memorable vacation experiences for people. This just wasn’t the kind of memorable I had envisioned. I cringed at the thought that the story of their week at my place might enter their family lore as the worst vacation ever. To ease the sting, at the end of their stay I gave them a check for half the rent, thereby turning the most profitable week of summer into a sizable loss for me. Ouch!
Then a problem cropped up with one of my children, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Then my elderly mother started having difficulties. Then something happened with my other daughter. On and on it went—a great, rolling tumbleweed of trouble heading my way.
One thing about nonstop trouble is that it can help you put life’s difficulties into proper perspective. Yes, I felt bad that my renters thought they were renting a three-bedroom condo when it was only a two-bedroom condo, and that a previous renter had walked off with the pots and pans, and that the maids forgot to leave the sheets, and that the toilets backed up, and that the plumber was expensive, and that I had to make two sixty-mile round-trips to the property, and that I didn’t get any writing done that week. But at least the sun was shining the whole week and the pool worked and the beach was lovely and nobody died. After a while, you learn how to find a little brightness in the cloudiest of skies.
What troubles are you facing right now? Ask God to help you see at least a little bit of light in the midst of them—not the kind that emanates from an oncoming train, but the kind that comes from perceiving the daylight on the other side of the tunnel.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us’” (Luke 2:15).
“Let’s go straight to Bethlehem.”
That’s what the shepherds said to each other, and that’s good advice as we begin this musical journey through Advent. Whenever you start a long trip, you need to prepare yourself. What better way to start than by singing one of our most beloved Christmas carols?
Here’s what we know about “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” It started as a Latin hymn hundreds of years ago. It was used in Catholic churches first, then later by Protestants. It has been translated into more than 100 languages. Though its origin is obscure, traces of the song go back to the 13th century. Various authors have been proposed, including Saint Bonaventure and the Portuguese King John IV. We can, however, say with certainty that in 1743, John Francis Wade produced a standard Latin translation called “Adeste Fidelis,”
The origin of the melody is likewise shrouded in mystery. Wade may have written it also, though we can’t be sure. The definitive English translation dates to 1841 when Frederick Oakley translated Wade’s four verses into English. Additional French verses were translated in 1885.
The first verse calls us to come to Bethlehem and worship:
O Come All Ye Faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels.
The second verse invites us to join the angels in singing praise to God:
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, Sing all ye citizens of heaven above Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
The third verse directly addresses the Lord Jesus Christ:
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
Then the refrain calls us to respond in adoration to the Lord:
O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Older hymnals contain verses we rarely sing today. Here’s one chock full of good theology:
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created;
That verse teaches us Jesus was God incarnate even when he was in his mother’s womb. He is begotten, not created, because he eternally existed with his Father in heaven.
During this Advent journey, I will link to a YouTube version of each day’s song. I hope you’ll take time to listen and sing along. Let’s listen to a beautiful version of O Come All Ye Faithful by Celtic Woman.
Lord Jesus, as we begin this Advent journey, we pray to know you better and love you more each day. Amen.

Silent Night

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, and she gave birth to her first son” (Luke 2:6-7 NCV).
No matter what you’ve heard, a mouse had nothing to do with it.
The story goes like this. In 1816 Joseph Mohr wrote “Stille Nacht” as a poem in Mariapfarr, Austria. Two years later Mohr had become the assistant pastor at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Oberndorf. According to legend, the church organ broke down on Christmas Eve. Desperate for music for the service that night, he gave his two-year-old poem to his friend and local schoolteacher Franz Gruber, who composed a melody for guitar (since the organ was broken). Remarkably, he completed the music in time for the Christmas Eve service.
Now that’s the basic story, and it may be true. The part about the broken organ was added later. And someone embellished the story by adding the detail that a mouse got inside the organ and ate the bellows.
Here’s what we know. Mohr wrote the words and Gruber composed the melody. We also know it was written first for guitar, not for the organ. As the story goes, the hymn would have remained obscure except for the organ repairman who heard “Silent Night” and began to spread the word about this new Christmas carol. The song gained popularity when a singing family called the Strassers performed 'Stille Nacht' at a Leipzig concert in 1832. It came to America when the Rainer family first performed the carol outside Trinity Church in New York City in 1839. It has been translated into 300 languages and dialects. Today it is regarded as the most popular Christmas carol in the world. Its peaceful tones can be heard in outdoor candlelight services, house churches in China, and in magnificent cathedrals.
Mohr and Gruber had no idea a song written for a small parish church would spread across the world. In contrast to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” evokes the quiet intimacy of a young couple with their sleeping baby. Yet this is not just any baby. He is the “holy infant” whose birth brings “the dawn of redeeming grace.” Even in the manger, he is “Christ the Savior” and “Jesus, Lord at thy birth.”
The first verse sets the tone:
Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy infant, so tender and mild Sleep in Heavenly peace
In 1859, the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving Trinity Church in New York City, produced the translation we use today. In 1914, during the Christmas Truce of World War 1, German and English troops joined in singing “Silent Night” on the battlefield because it was the one carol soldiers on both sides knew.
Let’s listen to this beautiful version by the all-boy English group Libera.
Lord, in these busy days, may I never be too busy for you. I pray that I may walk in “love’s pure light” so that others may see Jesus in me. Amen. 

The ultimate purpose is to glorify Jesus

"How be it when He, the Spirit of truth is come He shall glorify Me” (Jesus) John 16:14. If the "The chief end of man is to glorify God" as theologians proclaim, then the Holy Spirit is behind all that brings glory to the Lord Jesus, for He is God. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:12.

 

"Let this mind be in you...He (Jesus) humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" Philippians 2:5-11. No wonder such songs as "There's just something about that name" and "Jesus is the sweetest name I know" and "O how I love Jesus" bless our hearts to sing them. They exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.

 

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" 1 Peter 5:6. In other words, be like Jesus! Believe God, He will exalt you in due time, when you can handle it. One of the most amazing things is that when people get mad and curse, they curse with Jesus name. “The Name of God is blasphemed” Romans 2:24. There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:12. Then one day so many will hear Him say “Depart from me, I never knew you” Matthew 7:23. Remember, Jesus said, “I know my sheep” John 1:14. These then were NEVER once saved, once sheep and then fell from grace and went to hell. Maybe we should pray this prayer "Hallowed be thy name." Matthew 6:9. Doesn't it rip your heart to hear someone take the name of Jesus in vain? No wonder when the disciples asked Jesus, "Teach us to pray" Luke 11:1. The first thing He taught was to pray "hallowed be thy name" Matthew 6:9. God knows by what we pray if we exalt His name! “There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:12. “Jesus is the sweetest name I know, and He’s just the same as His lovely name and that’s the reason why I love Him so.

 

For Jesus is the sweetest name I know”.

The Holy Spirit strengthens the inner man

Concluded from yesterday...

 

How strong you really are will show up when the adversities show up and they will! I and all of my preacher friends have gone through some deep, deep waters. The strength you have inwardly will carry you through far more than you can imagine.

 

MEMORIZE: “Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven” Mathew 6:20.

The Holy Spirit strengthens the inner man

Continued from yesterday...

 

We must be “strengthened in the inner being.” We are “strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner being” Ephesians 3:16. This is another ministry of the Holy Spirit today. You don’t get this strength just by picking up your Bible on Sunday as you go to church. We must get the strength we need by reading and feeding on the meat of the Word of God every day. Start reading and go through the whole New Testament and then the old Testament or go through the New Testament again and underline verses that feed you the most as you go. Now you will be ready and prepared to hear God’s man bring you a message God has put on his heart for just you and the one sitting next to you. Make sense? One of the most important things now is to minister what God has given you to your wife and children. WOW, that really makes sense. They are your most precious possessions God ever gave you and you know that for sure.

 

...to be concluded tomorrow!

The Holy Spirit strengthens the inner man

"I pray that . . . (God) may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being Ephesians 3:16). All of the outward visible things of this life are peanuts compared to the inner man and invisible things of this life. “For the things that are seen are temporal” 2 Corinthians 4:18. All of the gold and silver and precious stones won’t be worth the snap of your finger in eternity. We all know that but the world, the flesh and the devil will blind us to that fact. God tells us, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal (and here is the whole answer, WHY?) For where your treasure is there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:19-21. Make sense?

 

to be continued tomorrow

Be Careful How You Use Your Tongue

Proverbs 18:20-21, “A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

It is very easy for us as believers to allow the wrong words to come out of our mouth. Jesus taught us this truth, “…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Matthew 12:34. We should pray daily that God would use our mouth right. We should ask the Lord to develop the right heart, the right thoughts, and the right words to speak. We should also ask for help to prevent the wrong attitudes from coming out of our life. For that reason, every day I pray that God would let me speak words of praise and thanksgiving that I would glorify, honor, and bless. That He would help me not complain, grumble, back-bite, judge, or blaspheme.

There are several things that we see from this passage of Scripture that are absolutely clear:

1. We should be careful how we use our tongue.

2. We should look for good and uplifting words.
Someone said years ago, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That is a cute little children’s saying but it is so untrue. Words can destroy.
  3. Choosing your words wisely will bring joy to others and to yourself.
So be careful what you choose to say.
  4. Don’t be quick with your tongue.
You can damage a person for life. The quote “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” is true.

Your friend,
David Teis

The Christmas Plan

Christmas was required in God’s plan because the righteous life he requires was not attained by Adam or any of his fallen descendants. God, prompted by grace, chose to fulfill the holy human standard himself. The incarnate Deity chose to live the life we should have lived – the perfect childhood, the spotless teenage years and the righteous adult life.

Had we been able to present to the Father the righteous life he requires so that we could perfectly enjoy his presence and his presents, God would not have needed to become a man and live among us. But we couldn’t, so he did. Were it only our sins that needed a payment, Christ could have arrived on the day of his crucifixion. But our deficiencies were more than our acts of transgression (doing the things we shouldn’t do), our problems included the “Romans 3:23” (failing to do the things we should do).

It is with gratitude that we celebrate his advent as an infant, because we know that as our sins were atoned for on the cross, so it was that all our human deficits began to be rectified by one perfectly-lived life starting that very night in Bethlehem.
-- Pastor Mike

Our Righteousness

by Dr. Charles Stanley
Ephesians 2:1-10
Anyone who thinks of himself as a pretty good person ought to take a look at God’s assessment of humanity. He says we all come into the world spiritually dead and are ruled by Satan, his world system, and our own sin nature, or flesh. In the Lord’s eyes, we are children of wrath who deserve only punishment.

On the other hand, God is so pure and holy that He is totally separated from all sin and cannot look upon it with any favor or approval (Hab. 1:13). Everything He does is appropriate and beneficial; by comparison, even mankind’s righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Yet even though we have nothing of value to offer Him, the Lord wants us for His own and has done everything necessary to draw us close.

Those of us who have placed faith in Jesus Christ have been made spiritually alive in Him, and all our sins have been forgiven. There’s a striking contrast between what we were and who we now are in the Lord. But this change has nothing to do with how good we’ve been. Even the faith with which we respond to the Savior comes from God. We can never make ourselves righteous; it’s all a gift from Him. And once He declares us justified, we will never be pronounced guilty again.

God has said that in the ages to come, He wants to show the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us” (Eph. 2:7). For all eternity, we will be showered with this awesome demonstration of His love. As great as our blessings are now, they’ll pale in comparison to what awaits us in heaven.

Why We Should Respond with Grace

				By Rick Warren “A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them.”(Proverbs 29:11 GW) You can’t control much of what happens to you in life. Like I mentioned a few days ago in these devotionals, you can’t control who your parents are, where you were born, and a variety of other factors that have a significant influence on your life. But you can choose how you react to what life throws your way. You can get angry or stressed out or shrink into depression when slights come at you — or you can respond gracefully. The choice is always yours. The Bible says, “A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them” (Proverbs 29:11 GW). To live responsibly, we must put our minds in gear before we put our mouths in gear. We must think before we act. When others cause pain in our lives, we often respond by trying to get even. Ironically, in our effort to “get even” with a person who has wronged us, we do get even. We sink to the other person’s level. God calls us to a much greater response: forgiveness. When you’re mistreated, the proper reaction isn’t to blow up or clam up. Both are irresponsible. Instead God calls us to respond to slights with calmness, love, and truth. Here’s the bottom line: Trust God to settle the score. He has much better resources to do that than you do. Play today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over     What strategies can you use when you’re hurt so you don’t react without thinking?     Why is learning to control your reactions an issue of faith?     How can other people in your life hold you accountable as you learn to more responsibly control your reactions?

The power of your testimony of thankfulness

by Dr. Jack Graham

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Mark 5:18-19

A defendant is sitting quietly in a courtroom as his life hangs in the balance. He knows he’s innocent, and only the testimony of the next witness can exonerate him. And if this witness testifies, he’ll no doubt be set free.

His lawyer stands up and tells the jury, “Ladies and gentlemen. I’m not going to call the next witness. Instead, I’m just going to tell you that what he has to say will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my client is innocent of all charges.” The attorney sits down and rests his case.

That makes no sense at all, does it? Why wouldn’t he call his most powerful witness to give his testimony? Why would he simply trust the jury to believe his statement? A testimony is crucial here. You can state the truth, but an actual testimony is so much more powerful.

When it comes to sharing their testimonies of faith, many Christians are sinfully silent. But a testimony of the thankfulness you have for what Christ has done for you is the most powerful evangelism tool you have. Share your story of faith with others and let them know how God has changed your life… and can change theirs too!

MAKE YOUR TESTIMONY OF FAITH KNOWN TO THE LOST IN YOUR LIFE AND LET THEM KNOW HOW GOD CAN CHANGE THEIR LIVES TOO!