The Same Day

“…Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20)

It was evening the first day of the week, the same day Jesus had made His resurrection appearance to Mary that morning. The disciples were assembled behind closed doors for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in the midst and said, “Peace be unto you.” Then He showed them His hands and His side.

They had watched the events unfold in the Garden of Gethsemane where Peter had cut off the right ear of the servant of the high priest, where Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, where our Savior was arrested. It was there that the disciples forsook Him and fled. Even though they had forsaken Him in the garden, they knew that He had suffered, was crucified and died. It had been a long three days and nights. They were glad when they saw Him.

It has been a long time since our Savior left to prepare a place for us. We cannot see Him physically today, but His Spirit is with us and we love and serve Him. If you are one of the redeemed, you will see Him. That will be a glad time for you, just as it was a glad time for the disciples when they saw the Lord on that night.

Alive For Evermore

“I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)

If I were to meet a man on the street and he said, “I am alive,” I would perhaps look at him and say, “I see that you are alive.” And then if he added, “I was dead,” I would probably start listening more closely.  And, then he might add, “I am alive for evermore,” I would begin to realize there is something familiar about this man. He might then put an exclamation on what he had said by saying, “Amen.” The word “amen” can be translated, “It is, and shall be so.” Or, “So be it.” Many times as a young man I listened to Walter Cronkite give the evening news. He would sign off with these words, “And that’s the way it is.” That is what “Amen” means.

If this man added, “I have the keys of hell and death,” I would know there is only One who can honestly say these things. I would know this Man is my Living Lord and Savior who gave His life for me at Calvary.  He is alive just as he said.  Praise His name.

Eye-Witnesses

“And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part  remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” (I Corinthians 15:5-8)

It is hard to refute or to deny the testimony of an eye-witness. An eye-witness knows what he has seen. More than that, if several eye-witnesses agree it is impossible to question their word.

Given in order, the eye-witnesses of the risen Christ were Peter, then the twelve minus Judas who had committed suicide and Thomas, then the five hundred brothers in Christ, then James, the half brother of Jesus, then the apostles again and then Paul. Paul says that more than half of the five hundred were still alive as he wrote this epistle. “So, ask them,” he implies. Did Jesus arise from the dead? The eye-witnesses, including the women not mentioned here, all say, “Yes.”

I have never met George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. But I have read the accounts of many who saw them and heard them speak. One may as well say that Washington or Lincoln never existed as to deny that Jesus arose from the dead.

The Answer to an Old Question

“If a man dies, shall he live again? (Job 14:14)

The question of what happens to a person after death is as old as death itself, when Cain killed his brother Abel. Job had seen a tree which had been cut down and through the scent of water it would sprout and grow again. Perhaps you have seen fence posts set in the ground and in spring start to sprout So, Job asked, “If a man die, shall he live again?”

Job answers his own question in the nineteenth chapter of the book named for him. He makes a strong statement of faith as though he is writing from Joseph’s tomb where Jesus was buried and then vacated in resurrection power. Job says, “For I know that my redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:25-27)

Even after these bodies have been in a state of decomposition, when Jesus returns the dead in Christ will be raised from their graves in the resurrection, receiving new bodies free from corruption or disease, “Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” (I Corinthians 15:23)

He is Risen

“And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, ‘say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept.’” (Matthew28:12-13)

There is a religious cult whose members will come to your door and attempt to teach you strange things from their bible. Their founder said concerning the empty tomb, “As for this man Jesus, we do not know what happened to him.  His body may have been dissolved in the gasses of the tomb. Or, perhaps after lying in the coolness of the tomb, after a while he revived and just got up and walked out.” That is more absurd than what the elders told the soldiers to say.

All the truth of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation is verified in these three words found in the Gospels, “He is risen.” (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6) What a wonderful, glorious, powerful, sufficient and praise-worthy Savior is Jesus.

If Christ Be Not Risen

“…If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (I Corinthians 15:13-14)

While in Washington a few years ago I purchased a copy of The Jefferson Bible, better known among Bible believers as “Thomas Jefferson’s Dead Bible.” It is a compilation of the four Gospels but leaves out all the miracles. It ends with, “There laid they Jesus. And rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.”

Think about it. What if your Bible ended where the Jefferson Bible ends? Notice these seven brief points in 1 Corinthians 15:12-32.   

1. If Christ is not risen, first of all, our preaching is vain (vain, useless, with no cause or reason.) That would mean every man who stands behind a sacred desk on Sunday or whenever and preaches a Gospel message or a message on any subject in the Bible is wasting his breath. (v.14)   
2. Secondly, your faith is also vain or useless. (v.14)  
3. Third, we are false witnesses if Christ is not risen. (v.15)  
4. Fourth, if Christ is not risen you are still in your sin. (v.17)   
5. Fifth, if Christ is not risen then those who died are perished. (v.18)   
6. Sixth, if  Christ is not risen, then we are baptized in the name of a dead man and baptism’s symbol, the resurrection, is meaningless. (v.29)  
7. And finally, Paul and all others who have suffered and died for the living Christ, may as well have lived in sinful, fleshly pleasure if Christ is not risen. (v.32)

The inspired writer hastens to declare, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. (I Corinthians 15:20) He is alive and you and I can place our faith in this living Christ.

Do You Have a Favorite Bible Verse?

“Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34)

A couple with ten children was being interviewed. They were asked, “Which of your ten children do you love the most?” They replied, “The one who is sick until he is well, the one who is lost until he is found, the one who is hungry until he is fed or the one who is crying until he is no longer sad.”

Out of all the many verses of scripture in the Bible which one do I like the best?  Today, as we approach Easter our text above is at least one of my favorites.   It sums up so much of the Easter story in just four simple, yet profound, points. First, Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice, the only sacrifice that would please God as a payment for our sins. Second, He is risen. The tomb is empty. He is alive. We serve a risen Savior. Third, He is at the right hand of God, a place of honor, power and deity. Fourth, He is our High Priest continually making intercession for us.

Which verse of the many from which to choose is your favorite? Let His Word speak to you.

Are You Having Fellowship With Your Father?

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, the ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

John tells his readers that he and the other apostles have heard, seen gazed upon and touched Him that was from the beginning, the Lord Jesus. He declares that his purpose in writing these words is that his readers might have fellowship with himself, others and God.

Don’t confuse “Relationship” and “Fellowship.”  I hear people talk about maintaining a relationship with the Lord. That is not a Biblical concept. After we are saved and become a child of God  through faith in the Lord Jesus, the relationship never changes. We cannot “maintain” a relationship with the Lord.  However, we can and must maintain fellowship with Him. Relationship has to do with becoming and being a child of God. Fellowship has to do with our walk with Him.

The word “fellowship” comes from the Greek word, “koinonia,” which means, “a sharing together, or communion.” John tells us that our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. He tells us that, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”(I John 1:6) The Bible says that we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness? And what communion does light have with darkness. And, the Bible further says, we are to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” (Ephesians 5:11)

Even though the relationship remains the same, fellowship is maintained and enhanced as we spend time with Him in prayer, the reading and study of the Bible, through obedience to Him and living a life separate from the world.

Are You a Child of God?

“…You are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)

What is this verse saying? It is not saying that everyone is a child of God. It is saying that one is a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus. When one is born into the world physically he/she is a creation of God. When one is born again by faith in Christ Jesus he/she becomes a child of God.   John wrote, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12)

The word “relation” or “relationship” is not in the Bible. Surprised? It is like the words “trinity” and “rapture.”  Even though the words are not in the Bible the truths they declare are indeed there. We know from the study of God’s Word that God is one, but manifesting Himself in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We know also that when our Lord returns the resurrection of the dead in Christ will take place.  The Bible says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be “Caught Up” {from the Greek  word, “harpazo” to be snatched away} together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” (I Thessalonians 4:17)

God establishes a “Relationship” with us when we are saved.  It is a Father/child relationship.  You cannot improve it.  You cannot sever it. It is like what parents have with their children when they are born. Fellowship may be strained or even broken.  I have known parents and children who went for years without speaking to each other.  Their fellowship was broken, but not their relationship. Relationship is what we are given in Galatians 3:26.

More next time.

God Loves You

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16)

I was visiting an elderly Christian lady in a nursing home.  Her husband had died years before. One son was deceased and the other son lived several miles away. He came to see her as often as he could. She was alone in her room. We talked, I read scripture and we prayed. As I started to leave, I said, “God loves you.” She responded by asking, “Are you sure?”

It was a sincere question and demanded an honest answer.  Starting with John 3:16, I read and explained one Scripture after another, and told her everything I knew about the love of God. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God brought a peace and calm to that precious child of God.

Perhaps you are struggling with some issue that makes you question God’s love for you. I am just as sure that God loves you as I am sure that He loved that dear lady alone in the nursing home. There is not space in this devotion to give you all the verses about His love. Just trust His word that He loves you, as evidenced by His actions at the cross.

“U” Turns Permitted

“Thus saith the LORD, ‘Stand he in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk therein.’” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Jeremiah witnessed the demise of the Southern Kingdom of Judah as he prophesied in the days of Josiah, Jehoiakam and Zedekiah to the fall of Judah in 586 B.C. He saw the nation’s spiritual adultery, their forgetting God, their wickedness and their faith fading into formalism until the Chaldeans took them away.

Their decline reminds me in many ways of the downward spiral of America. It can be illustrated with the following. About sixty five years ago I saw television for the first time. What I saw on someone’s black and white T.V. was very, very mild and tame compared to the wickedness and immorality coming into America’s homes by television today. In fact, if what is regularly shown on television today had been the regular menu in 1946-47 that would have been the end of television. We have become accustomed to the dark in so many areas.

Jeremiah says, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush…” (Jeremiah 6:15)  The inability to blush or to be ashamed or embarrassed over personal sin, whether public or private, shows where we are headed as a nation. We must turn around.

Born Again

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be born again.” (John 3:7)

I heard of a preacher who went for a “trial sermon.” His subject was, “You must be born again.” from John 3:7.  The church extended a call for him to be their pastor. He accepted their call and his first sermon as their pastor was, “You must be born again.” For the next three or four Sundays he preached from that same text, “You must be born again.” Finally a delegation from the church went to him and asked, “Why are you preaching from that same text Sunday after Sunday?” He answered, “Because, you must be born again.”

Being born again is not the same as being religious, joining a church, giving to charitable causes or stopping some sinful habit. Being born again is receiving by faith, the Son of God, Jesus Christ and what He did for us in His death, burial and resurrection, and thus we become a part of the Kingdom of God. When He comes into one’s life He takes over and produces the necessary changes.  It is by grace, through faith plus nothing. Remember, you must be born again.

He is Precious

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.”  (I Peter 2:7)

In 2007 my family and I visited Washington, D.C. and saw things that we had only heard about or read about. There are national treasures that are closely guarded and kept behind glass and under lock and key.  These are considered to be precious because of their being rare, one of a kind and irreplaceable.  Documents that guarantee and spell out our freedoms and are considered to be very precious are on display there.

Christians around the world think of Jesus Christ as precious.  He is precious because of his uniqueness, being the only begotten Son of God. He is precious because God spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all.  He saves us from our sins, forgiving us for all our transgressions. By His power He keeps us. He is precious because He has conquered death, hell and the grave. He was dead and is now alive.  Jesus is precious because He is our High Priest at the right hand of God. He is a precious friend that sticks closer than a brother.

He was precious from eternity past.  He is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the coming King with whom we shall live forever.

If it is the Lord’s Will

“Come now, you that say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain:’ whereas you know not shall be on the morrow.”  (James 4: 13-14)

While most of us would not kill, steal, take God’s name in vain or break one of the other of the Ten Commandments, many of us are guilty of the sin of presumption.

James points out four sins of presumption in this brief passage.  There is the sin of presuming on time. “Today or tomorrow we will…” One could die of a heart attack, car accident or any number of other ways.  There is the sin of presuming on mobility. “We will go…” Today you can get out of bed, dress yourself and feed yourself. But can you do those things tomorrow? It is good to plan as long as God is included.  There is the sin of presuming on durability. “And continue there a year…” Again, a stroke or major illness can permanently change all our good intentions.  Finally, in this verse there is the sin of presuming on success. “We will buy and sell, and get gain…” The markets can change overnight as was witnessed by millions of people in the Great Depression.

James concludes by saying, “For that you ought to say, ‘If the Lord will, we shall live and do this, or that.’” (James 4:15) We should include God in all our plans and seek His counsel in all things.

Straightway

“And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.” (Mark 1:18)

Brothers, Simon and Andrew were working men whom Jesus called.  They were casting a net into the sea because fishing was the way they made their living.  When Jesus called them to come after Him the Bible says they immediately left their nets and followed Him.

When I was in my mid-teens our church had a youth rally one evening.  The guest speaker was a gentleman about seventy-five years old.  He told us that shortly after he became a Christian in his teens he felt the call of God upon his life to be a preacher and enter the ministry.  He said he put it off, thinking, “I’ll do it a little later.” Then marriage came, then children and a career, still putting off doing what he knew God was calling him to do. He said, “Now I’ve become an old man with nothing but regrets to show my Lord.”  He added as he wept, “Kids, don’t do what I did. When God is calling, follow Him immediately.”

This is good advice for people of all ages. When the Lord is tugging on our hearts and lives we must, first of all, trust Him for salvation.  Secondly, live the Christian life and be involved in a Bible believing church.  And third, if He calls you into special service such as preaching, being a missionary, teaching or other, yield to Him without excuse or delay.

Use Your Privilege of Prayer

“Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer is a privilege. Think about it. In prayer we get to talk with the creator of the universe. The following old hymn says it best.

                                   

        What a Friend

"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

        What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!

  Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear,

         all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

                                    

There must be something wrong with us because so many people treat praying as though they are taking a bitter, nauseating medicine, not like a treat at all, but more like a treatment.

We are told to, “Come boldly to the throne of  grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Part of the salvation “package” is the privilege of prayer. Meet the Lord in prayer daily.

Life’s Brevity

“For what is your life?  It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)

This past Thursday morning the fog was so thick the news reporters were telling everyone to use extreme caution on the roads.  One description of the fog was, “No Visibility.” By the middle of the morning, however, the sun was shining brightly and all the fog was gone. Jet airplanes often leave vapor trails as they fly across the sky. These vapor trails only last a few minutes and then they are gone. James reminds us that life is like a vapor.

In 1963 a ninety year old gentleman and I were having a conversation about his long life.  I listened as he talked about the swiftness of life.  He described the dirt floor log cabin in which he was born and where he lived as a child. Then a tear trickled down his cheek as he said, “I don’t know where life’s all gone. It just seems like yesterday.”  Compared to eternity, life is like fading, fleeting vapor, here just a little while and then it’s gone.

The Psalmist said, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)  I saw a poster somewhere that said, “Only one life; ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

The Rich and Poor

“There is that makes himself rich, yet has nothing: there is that makes himself poor, yet has great riches.”(Proverbs 13:7)

These two paradoxical statements describing two men and their possessions fit two kinds of men in today’s world. One is rich in the things of the world but poor in eternal, spiritual matters. He is like the “rich fool” of Luke 12:16-21. Already rich, his crops have done extremely well and having no room to put his goods, he decides to pull down his old barns and build greater ones and lay up his treasure in the new, larger barns and then take it easy. He says nothing about giving any of it to the Lord’s work or to the poor or less fortunate. God called him a fool, saying this very night his soul would be required of him. “Then whose will those things be which you have provided.” (Luke 12:20) He made himself rich, but had nothing.

The other man is described best by the life of Jesus Christ.  The Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9) Jesus Christ was a rich man, voluntarily making Himself poor, leaving the riches of heaven to come live among us, giving His life at Calvary to pay our sin debt. He made Himself poor, yet had great riches. Many are the missionaries on foreign soil, and pastors and evangelists on American soil and others whose names we do not know, who being Christ-like, have given their all for the Kingdom of God. They are poor down here but have laid up treasure in heaven.

The Christian Life: A Walk of Faith

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

When Thomas, the apostle, saw the resurrected Christ on that second Sunday evening after the resurrection, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) And Jesus said, “Thomas because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) Then, peter says, “…Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:7-8) We have never seen Jesus but we talk to Him in prayer. We sing of Him and to Him. The Christian life is a walk of faith. We receive Christ as our Savior by faith. We walk, “through valleys of the shadow of death, but fear no evil because He is with us.”( Psalm 23:4) We, by faith, “cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us.” (1 Peter 5:7)

It was by faith that Abraham went out not knowing where he went.  The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please Him.

I have never seen heaven but, I am trusting my Savior to take me there when this life is over.  The Christian life is a journey that begins with faith and ends in faith until we stand before Him and see Him face to face as He is.

Tell Somebody

“For you shall be a witness unto all men of what you have seen and heard.” (Acts 22:15)

Saul of Tarsus, better known to us as Paul the Apostle, was used mightily of God to declare the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Not only did he give his verbal testimony, he wrote at least thirteen epistles found in the New Testament. He was imprisoned for his faith, was beaten and stoned. Paul died of beheading at the hands of an executioner. It is said by many that he is perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived.

David Ring is a Southern Baptist Evangelist, who suffers from cerebral palsy. His father, who was a pastor, died when David was very young. Then his mother died when he was fourteen. He went into depression and attempted suicide. But, the Lord saved him and called him to preach. He is very difficult to listen to at first. He walks with an agonizing gait. In his testimony of how the Lord saved him and called him to preach, he says he had his nay-sayers who discouraged him, telling him not to embarrass himself by trying to speak before others. God has blessed his ministry in a marvelous way. He says in his testimony, “I have cerebral palsy. What’s your problem?”

A Christian will come away from having heard David Ring’s testimony and conclude, “I have no problem that would keep me from sharing the Gospel.” As Christians, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we have the responsibility, the privilege and the power to share our testimony of what we have experienced in Christ.

Be a Witness

But you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

I heard of a little steam powered train engine that if it blew its whistle it had to stop. Our verse for today has to do with sharing the Gospel message and our witness for the Lord. How do you share the message God has given you? Let us not use all our “steam” tooting our own whistle.

I knew a blind man in Nancy, Kentucky who taught a Sunday school class of men. His Bible was in Braille. All his class notes were in Braille. He could not see his class members, nor could he see his material. He worked hard preparing his lesson Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. How do you share your Gospel message?

L.E. Leper was a preacher in Warren County, Kentucky. Brother and Mrs. Leper did a fifteen minute Gospel program on WKCT radio in Bowling Green on Saturdays for some time. He had helped my father in at least one revival in Bowling Green. When Brother Leper’s wife died he moved to California to be near his children. Then he was stricken with cancer of the larynx. Following surgery to remove the cancer, his voice was gone and he was no longer able to preach. Not ready to quit and not to be outdone, he learned how to communicate the Gospel in American Sign Language to the deaf and hearing impaired. He published a full length sermon in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “If I Could Preach One More Time.” In it he told of the Savior’s great love for mankind of His going to the cross, of His resurrection and how one can be saved.  How do you share the Gospel message God has given you?

If you have been saved you have the power of the Holy Spirit within. You have a message to share. Share it with someone.

What Are They Among So Many?

“There is a lad here, who has five barley loaves, and two small fish: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9)

You are familiar with the story. About five thousand men besides women and children were fed by the miraculous hand of the Lord Jesus.  When they had finished eating they gathered up twelve baskets of food, one basket for each of the twelve apostles.

When I was about twelve or thirteen years old the Methodist Church close to our house hired me to be their janitor, which included building a fire in the winter in the big “pot-bellied” stove in the middle of the floor.  I learned how to build a fire.  I found out you don’t start a fire with a back-log. You start with small stuff, perhaps a few sheets of shredded paper, a few small twigs and some wood chips.

I have stated that we need a revival of the things of God in America. It won’t start with a huge crowd, a back-log. It will start with you and then the weak person next to you. Then it will gradually ignite me then someone else, and a few more, some not too promising, until the back-log has caught on fire. A Christian song from the sixties says, “It only takes a spark, to get a fire going, and soon all those around will warm up in its glowing.” “Experts” have been trying to set the back-log on fire. “Draw a big crowd and let’s have a revival.” It nearly always ends like a firecracker with a faulty fuse.

Jesus knew that He could take something small, weak and insignificant and supply everything needed. Would you let God use you to start a revival flame? If you are small enough He can use you.

Lord, Send a True Revival

“A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth: ‘Oh LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: Oh LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.’”(Habakkuk 3:1-3)

Habakkuk’s prayer was occasioned because he was greatly concerned that God was preparing the Chaldeans as a tool of judgment against Judah. He gives a description of the Chaldeans’ army and savagery in battle. (1:5-11). He asked God why He would use such ungodly and wicked people to bring judgment upon Judah. He reminded God that He was, “…of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity.” (1:13) Thus, in his prayer, the prophet was pleading with God to bring a revival. In just a few short years from this prophesy and prayer Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans conquered Judah and took them into captivity. One has to conclude that Judah had sunk very deeply into sin for God to use the wicked Chaldeans to bring them to judgment.

America desperately needs a revival, a spiritual awakening. Most of these three day events that churches call revival today are not spiritual awakenings. There is little or no repentance and genuine turning to God from the ways of the world. There is little, if any, holiness of life resulting from the average, so called revival.

The late Ruth Graham, wife of evangelist, Billy Graham said, “If America doesn’t repent and God doesn’t bring judgment on America, He will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah for His judgment upon them.”

Weeping Over Our Sins

“And Peter went out and wept bitterly.”(Luke 22:62)

If you are serious about your walk with the Lord and you want always to please Him in all things, there has probably been a time when you wept bitterly over some sin.

Peter loved Jesus. He had been one of the three with Jesus when the Savior restored life to Jairus’ daughter. He was with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.  He was the one that suggested that they build three tabernacles: one for Jesus, one for Elijah and another for Moses. Peter was in the Garden of Gethsemane when they came to arrest Jesus. In his attempt to defend Jesus, Peter cut off the right ear of Malchus, intending to cut off his head. He had boldly said, “Though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee.” (Matthew26:35) When his denial happened he was heart broken. He couldn’t believe it. These were not fake tears of the Hollywood kind. He wept bitterly. One can only imagine what Peter was thinking.

In an unguarded moment we are capable of doing the same or worse. God has let us know that forgiveness is available. God used Peter later on. He was not cast aside as worthless. Following the resurrection of our Lord, Peter was told by Jesus, “Feed my sheep.”(John 21:16, 17)  He wrote two outstanding epistles that bear his name through which millions of the Lord’s sheep have been fed. Legend has it that he died by crucifixion because of his devotion to Christ and His teachings.

When you and I sin we must remember sin is ultimately against the Lord. Peter did not cast his sin off lightly, nor should we.  Our sin nailed Jesus to the cross. Confess, repent and take up your cross and serve Him.

God Corrects His Own

My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; for whom the LORD loves He corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

My father never spanked another parent’s child however, I can tell you he believed that his own children needed to be corrected frequently. Correction did not always mean a spanking or switching. My dad corrected us because he loved us, not because he hated us. His correction kept me from getting in trouble many times.

God frequently finds it necessary to correct His children. The Bible makes it clear that if we belong to Him He will chasten us as it becomes necessary, not because He hates us, but because He loves us. If we as professing Christians are disobedient, we can expect to be corrected or even chastised. If we can continue in sin uncorrected the Bible says we are illegitimate and not His. (Hebrews 12:8) Like my earthly father, God doesn’t chastise someone else’s children.

You can leave the devil’s family and be born again into God’s family by repenting and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Do You Pray?

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, Oh LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3

It is good to be “God conscious” early in the day.  Some people get a shower the first thing in the morning. Other folks must have a cup of coffee first thing. Sadly, there are those who have become alcoholics and must have a drink at the beginning of the day. There are the drug addicts who think they need an early morning fix.

The Psalmist declared that God would hear his voice in prayer in the early morning. One is reminded of Jesus going out a great while before day and praying. (Mark 1:35) Perhaps you choose to pray at night before going to bed. Another place we read, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” Psalm 55:17

The important thing is to communicate with God in prayer sometime every day. He desires to hear from us even as parents desire to hear from their children.

Send Help

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”Acts 16:9

There is a sign in big, bold letters that says, “SEND HELP.” It can be purchased and kept in your car or house and in case of trouble can be placed in a window of one’s car or house. It is a call for help in addition to a 9-1-1 call. I heard of a real life happening when there was some sort of emergency. Someone cried out, “Call 9-1-1.” The panicked reply was “I’ll do it on my cell phone. Quick! What’s that number? How do you dial it?”

As Luke writes the account of this vision crying out, as it were “SEND HELP,” he says, “And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia…”Acts16:10   The first person saved as a result of their response was a merchant lady named Lydia, of the city of Thyatira. She is the first recorded European convert. Then there was the girl possessed with the spirit of divination, followed by the Philippian Jailer and his household. The response to the call to send help has resulted in the salvation of millions of people from that day to this, including mine and my family’s salvation, and most of the saved people I know.

The call to “send help” is a very real call and comes from the heart of God. It comes from the cross. It comes from the empty tomb. It is a call from the lost family next door and the villages around the world. Isaiah heard the voice of God saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me.” Isaiah 6:8

Lord Help

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

A car stopped on the side of an interstate highway with its hood up and the emergency flashers on is a call for help.

There have been numerous times in my life and perhaps yours also, when I have called out to God from my “stranded” mode, “Lord, help... Ps. 12:1.  I’ve gone as far as I can go.” When we are in that kind of trouble our prayer must be that of the Psalmist, “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.” Psalm 60:11

Remember, our God is not a God “way over yonder.” He is a “very present help in trouble.”

The Potter and the Clay

“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” (Jeremiah 18:4)

Jeremiah, the prophet, had been instructed to go to the potter’s house and watch as the potter shaped a vessel of clay on the potter’s wheel. Then God gave him the message that God is the potter and Judah was the clay and that God had the right to do with Judah as He chose.

The message for us today is that mankind is the clay and God, as the potter, can shape us as He chooses. “God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) If we are not pliable as clay in His hand, as clay was pliable in the hand of the potter, He has the right and ability to alter our lives with circumstances, brokenness and difficulties and to rework us until we fit His plan.  The old hymn, “Have Thine Own Way Lord” says:

“Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way. 

Thou art the potter, I am the clay

Mold me and make me, after thy will, 

while I am waiting and still.”                                                                                                                        Copyright, 1935 by George C. Stebbins

Let us yield our lives to His masterful hand and allow Him to shape us into vessels He can use.

I Have Sinned

“I have sinned against heaven and before thee.” (Luke 15:18, 21)

 

Jesus used the story of the Prodigal Son as an illustration of God’s willingness to receive repentant, confessing, sinners and forgive them. The son’s coming to his father and acknowledging his sin is a perfect picture of repentance, confession and forgiveness.

 

There is another character in this Biblical story.  The older brother had sins that needed to be confessed and forgiven. I gather that part of the Savior’s lesson was that the Prodigal Son could not confess his brother’s sins, even though the older brother attempted to confess the Prodigal’s sins to the father. It will not help our sinful family and friends for us to confess their sins. All we can do is pray for them and gently lead them to the place of confession and repentance. It must be their decision. Let us pray that God would use us at witnesses to the unsaved.

 

 

Sinners Need a Savior

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

A church had called a new pastor.  Grandma felt bad and was not able to attend the service and to hear the new pastor’s first sermon.  When the family came home and were seated around the lunch table she asked, “What did the new preacher preach about?” Someone said, “He preached about sin.” Grandma asked, “What did he say about sin?” The reply was, “Oh, he was against it.”

We preachers and all other sinners had better be opposed to sin, but just opposing it will not change people’s lives and get them to heaven. Sinners need a Savior. The Savior sinners must have is the perfect Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us, dying on the cross of Calvary to pay our sin debt. But our Savior is no longer dead.  He stayed in the tomb three days and arose. Today He is seated at the right hand of God where He ever lives to make intercession for us.  The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31)