Thursday, March 1, 2018

The Only Way to Live by Adrian Rogers

MARCH 1

The Only Way to Live

“Now the just shall live by faith.” Hebrews 10:38

This great statement, so abundantly true, actually was first stated in the book of Habakkuk. The writer of Hebrews is quoting the prophet Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was perplexed. He lived in a day of violence, degradation, apostasy and danger. He bombarded Heaven, asking God to answer--to explain things so he could make sense of it all. But God said, “Habakkuk, you couldn’t understand it anyway, if I told you what I’m up to. You think I’m not working? I’m working, and Habakkuk, here is your responsibility. You are to live in this uncertain age by faith. You want me to tell you how to live? Don’t live by explanations. Live by faith.”

Now, that’s not hocus-pocus or smoke and mirrors. That has spiritual steel and concrete in it...“the just shall live by faith.”

This is the only way to live. In fact, this verse is quoted three times in the Word of God. I wonder if God is trying to tell us something. I know He is. The challenge for us today--and every day--is to live by faith.

March 1 / Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked (Eccles. 7:13).

Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty, leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape; contriving a situation which no human judgment would have permitted, had it been previously consulted. The very cloud conducts them thither. You may be thus involved at this very hour.

It does seem perplexing and very serious to the last degree, but it is perfectly right. The issue will more than justify Him who has brought you hither. It is a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power.

He will not only deliver you; but in doing so, He will give you a lesson that you will never forget, and to which, in many a psalm and song, in after days, you will revert. You will never be able to thank God enough for having done just as He has.
--Selected

We may wait till He explains,
Because we know that Jesus reigns.
It puzzles me; but, Lord, Thou understandest,
And wilt one day explain this crooked thing.
Meanwhile, I know that it has worked out Thy best--
Its very crookedness taught me to cling.
Thou hast fenced up my ways, made my paths crooked,
To keep my wand'ring eyes fixed on Thee;
To make me what I was not, humble, patient;
To draw my heart from earthly love to Thee.
So I will thank and praise Thee for this puzzle,
And trust where I cannot understand.
Rejoicing Thou dost hold me worth such testing,
I cling the closer to Thy guiding hand.
--F.E.M.I.

Evidence from Within by Stephen Davey

Evidence from Within

Romans 8:15-17

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

H. A. Ironside, a former pastor of Moody Church, began preaching one night in the open air of Chicago, attracting a large and enthusiastic gathering. During his message a man stepped out from the crowd and handed him a note. This particular man was a well-known agnostic, sowing skepticism and discord wherever the truth of Scripture was spoken, especially in relation to God being a personal God who seeks relationships with humans. That is why, with face full of pride and self-confidence, he approached Ironside with a letter. Pastor Ironside opened the note and read the words aloud: "I challenge you to a debate in the Hall of Science next Sunday afternoon." Then he turned to the agnostic and delivered this wise response:

I will come and debate with you the reality of the Christian life, if you will do one thing; you must agree to bring with you one person from your sphere of influence. One person who was discouraged and defeated by life, not knowing where to turn or what to believe, until that person came and heard you lecture your agnostic beliefs. And then that man, after listening to you, said in effect, ‘I believe what you are saying and will begin living in light of it.' Bring one person who, after hearing you speak, found peace of mind, victory over temptation, and a purpose for living. Bring one and I will debate you; and will bring with me one hundred.

Upon hearing this, it was reported that the agnostic refused the offer and quickly turned away.

What a great reminder to us that the unanswerable argument for Christianity is, in fact, the Christian! Every religion requires faith to believe it, reason to defend it, and evidence to prove it; but this is where Christianity stands out above all the rest. Our primary evidence is not only found in the revelation of Scripture and the discoveries of science, but it is found inside us.

We are the living and breathing evidence of Christianity--the walking proof that God really does save lives, and that His Spirit changes them completely. God's Spirit is actually inside us, giving us faith when we have none, and testifying in our spirits that we are part of His family.

Make no mistake about it--our God is not only alive, but He is alive and dwelling . . . in us!

Prayer Point: Take a moment to consider a time or an event in your life when you lacked faith--either in God or His Word--and recall how the Holy Spirit drew you back to Himself, "testifying" in your spirit that He was alive and active in your life. Thank Him for the promise in Romans 8:16, that He has not left us to mere faith, nor reason, nor science (like all other religions), but He has given us Himself as evidence in our hearts.

Extra Refreshment: Read the whole chapter of Romans 8, and notice the incredible ways in which the Spirit of God works in the lives of believers, changing us and conforming us into the image of Christ.

Grace to the Humble by John MacArthur

Grace to the Humble

“He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (James 4:6).

A person cannot be saved unless he comes to God with a humble attitude.

Today’s verse is a challenge and a promise to anyone who is not sure about his salvation, or who thinks he is saved but does not measure up to the tests of faith in James’s letter. Even the worst sinful character traits—relying on worldly wisdom, having enmity against God, lusting after fleshly and selfish desires—are no match for God’s abundant grace.

The kind of grace James is referring to here is simply God’s saving grace—His undeserved favor of forgiveness and love bestowed on all sorts of sinners. Included within that favor is the Lord’s promise of the Holy Spirit, an understanding of God’s Word, Heaven, and all spiritual blessings. Such grace is available to all who will come in faith to Christ. Nothing in this universe can prevent the truly humble and repentant person from receiving grace—not the strength of sin and depravity, not the might of Satan, not the pull of the flesh, not even the power of death.

Scripture often links humility with saving faith. That’s why James quoted from Proverbs 3:34 (“God is opposed to the proud”) to support his point in verse 6. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us: “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (18:3).

If you are confused or doubtful regarding your salvation, just ask yourself, “Have I humbly submitted myself to God in faith and repentance?” If you have humbled yourself before God, rejoice! You are by definition a believer, one of the humble. Otherwise, you need to pray with the attitude of the tax gatherer in Luke 18:13, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” and receive His abundant grace.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His continual grace, which He pours out to those who are humble before Him.

For Further Study

Read James 1—2.

What tests of true faith are discussed there?
How are we to respond to each of them?
Reflect on your response to these issues in the past. How could you improve?

The Preciousness of Jesus by Alistair Begg

DAILY DEVOTIONAL MARCH 1, 2018

The Preciousness of Jesus

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious. 1 Peter 2:6

As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights center in the Lord Jesus. The glances of His eyes outshine the sun: the beauties of His face are fairer than the choicest flowers; no fragrance is like the breath of His mouth. Gems of the mine and pearls from the sea are worthless things when measured by His preciousness.

Peter tells us that Jesus is precious, but he did not and could not tell us how precious, nor could any of us compute the value of God's unspeakable gift. Words cannot convey the preciousness of the Lord Jesus to His people, nor fully tell how essential He is to their satisfaction and happiness.

Believer, have you not found in the occasion of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent? The sun was shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was dark to you; or it was night, and since the bright and morning star was gone, no other star could yield you so much as a ray of light. What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord! If once He hides Himself from us, withered are the flowers of our garden; our pleasant fruits decay; the birds suspend their songs, and a tempest overturns our hopes. All earth's candles cannot make daylight if the Sun of Righteousness be eclipsed. He is the soul of our soul, the light of our light, the life of our life.

Dear reader, what would you do in the world without Him when you wake up and look ahead to the day's battle? What would you do at night when you come home jaded and weary if there were no door of fellowship between you and Christ? Blessed be His name, He will not leave us to face the struggle without Him, for Jesus never forsakes His own. Yet, let the thought of what life would be without Him enhance His preciousness.

Secret Ingredient by David Jeremiah

Thursday, March 1

Secret Ingredient

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Restaurants and chefs often guard their best recipes. They work hard to create the perfect entrée and don’t want others taking advantage of their labor to create something unique and precious. Thankfully, God is not stingy with His best. He freely gave His Son, Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encountered sickness, death, and confusion, and brought light and healing.

We Won’t Break / Our Daily Bread

We Won’t Break

March 1, 2018

Read: Matthew 6:25–34
Bible in a Year: Numbers 23–25; Mark 7:14–37

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?—Matthew 6:27

As a native Californian and lover of all things sunny, I shy away from all things cold. I do, however, enjoy beautiful photos of snow. So I couldn’t help but smile when my friend from Illinois shared a winter picture of a sapling outside her window. Admiration turned to sadness when I noticed its bare, knotted branches bowing under the heavy fringe of sparkling icicles.

How long could those bending boughs endure before breaking under their icy burdens? The heaviness threatening to crack the tree’s limbs reminded me of my shoulders, hunched beneath the weight of worries.

After Jesus affirms that the greatest treasures are not earthly or temporary, He encourages us to release our anxious thoughts. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe loves and provides for His children, so we don’t have to waste our precious time worrying. God knows our needs and will care for us (Matthew 6:19-32).

He also knows we’ll be tempted to succumb to worry. He tells us to come to Him first, trust His presence and provision in the present, and live by faith one day at a time (vv. 33-34).

In this life, we’ll face overwhelming troubles and uncertainties that can make our shoulders droop. We may temporarily bend under the weight of worrying. But when we trust God, we won’t break. —Xochitl Dixon

Thanks for assuring us that we never have to worry, Lord, because You never fail to meet our deepest needs.

Worry won’t break us when we trust the Giver of all good things.

INSIGHT: We see God’s loving care and provision for His people throughout the Bible. A quick look at the Psalms confirms it. In Psalm 23, we read: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (v. 4). And Psalm 55:22 tells us to “cast [our] cares on the Lord and he will sustain [us].” Likewise, Psalm 91 assures us that God is our refuge and even commands His angels to guard us (vv. 9-11). “He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (95:7).

What concern can you entrust to Him? Alyson Kieda

Pull Up a Chair by Stephen Davey

Pull Up a Chair

John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." I read a gripping story of a godly old man whose days were coming to an end. A priest went to visit him in his hospital room and noticed an empty chair beside the man's bed. He asked, "Have you had a visitor?" The man replied, "No, I haven't had a visitor. But when I became a Christian as a youth, someone told me that praying was like talking to your very best friend. When I heard that, I decided to pull up an empty chair beside me every day and invite Christ to sit and talk with me. And I just finished my conversation with the Lord." After the man passed away, his daughter wrote of her visit to the hospital room. She said of her father: "He seemed content, so I left him for a few hours. When I returned, I knew that he had gone to be with the Lord. But the interesting thing was that his head was not resting on his pillow. His body had turned and his head was resting on the seat of an empty hair that had been pulled up close to his bed." Isn't that a remarkable picture? We, who are weak and frail like this dying man, have been given the opportunity to rest our head on the loving, omnipotent breast of God. Death is only a continuation of the pursuit we begin in this life to know God. That is why prayer is a taste of heaven on earth. God, in His humility and love toward us, stepped down from His heavenly throne and seated Himself upon the chair of our heart where we can intimately and personally converse with Him. George Macdonald, the Scottish pastor who had a profound impact on C. S. Lewis, illustrated this beautifully when he said: "I used to play a game with my two children when they were young. I would clutch some pennies in my hand and allow them to pry open my fingers to get the coins. My children would sit in my lap and work feverishly to get the money. Once they captured the coins, they would scream with delight and jump down to treasure their prize. I loved having my youngsters laugh and play while sitting on my lap—the pennies were insignificant." Macdonald went on to apply this truth:"While God, in His grace, does give good gifts to His children, He offers us more than that . . . He offers us Himself. Those who are merely satisfied with the trinkets in the Father's hands miss the best reward of prayer—the reward of communicating and communing with the God of the universe." As we go to God in prayer, let's remember that the greatest thrill in praying to Him is not in seeing how He will answer our petitions, nor in discovering what trinkets He might be holding in His all-powerful hand. The greatest privilege is actually being able to have a conversation with God Himself! Perhaps prayer will become a personal conversation . . . if you pull up an empty chair.
Prayer Point:Go ahead—pull up a chair beside you right now and tell God how grateful you are for His friendship. Spend a few moments talking with Him: tell Him your struggles, your joys, your thoughts; ask Him your questions; thank Him for allowing you to have a conversation with Him, much less a personal relationship with the Lord of all the universe.
Extra Refreshment:Read John 17.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

“Do You Now Believe?” by Oswald Chambers

“Do You Now Believe?”

"By this we believe…." Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?" JOHN 16:30-31

“Now we believe….” But Jesus asks, “Do you…? Indeed the hour is coming…that you…will leave Me alone” (John 16:31-32). Many Christian workers have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment. The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Our soul has gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on our own religious understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6). This is not deliberate sin and there is no punishment attached to it. But once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than we do now. We should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making our own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them. He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If we do something simply out of a sense of duty, we are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ. We become a prideful, arrogant person, thinking we know what to do in every situation. We have put our sense of duty on the throne of our life, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to “walk in the light” of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to “walk in the light as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7). When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation— just obedience. That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood. From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally.

Wait for God’s Peace by Charles Stanley

Colossians 3:15-17

Many believers look for a sense of peace as a sign to help them determine God’s will in their life. However, a peaceful feeling may not be enough evidence to verify that a person’s decisions line up with the Lord’s plans. It’s wise to ask ourselves, Whose peace are we experiencing? Sometimes our sense of tranquility can be attributed to our own satisfaction about a choice we’ve made.

Today’s passage talks about letting “the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15). This kind of settledness originates from Jesus Christ and is the umpire that determines whether your decisions fit with God’s will. The word peace indicates harmony and oneness. So to have God’s peace about a matter means your decision must be aligned with His will. The only way to determine this is by comparing your thoughts and choices with His Word. Are you thinking the same way He does? Did you make your decision using scriptural principles or your own human understanding?

One of the reasons we often make choices without the guidance of Scripture is because we want a quicker method for finding an answer. The Lord doesn’t just pour His thoughts into our brain without our cooperation. He molds us gradually, day by day, as we read His Word and let its truths sink into our mind.

Building steadily over time is the only way to internalize a foundation of God’s truth. With His instructions as your basis, you can make decisions with confidence, knowing you are following His will. Then you’ll have a sense of oneness with the Lord, and His peace will guard your way.

Draw Near / UNFINISHED BUILDINGS

UNFINISHED BUILDINGS

When trouble plagues them, the people of Rome say, "It's just like St. Peter's; it is never finished." They have resigned themselves to the fact that St. Peter's Basilica, a beautiful place of worship whose construction was begun more than five hundred years ago, will never be completed. What may be true of St. Peter's is certainly true of a building about which the Bible talks.

Paul described the believer and his growth as a field under God's cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan (1 Corinthians 3:9, Phillips). Some seem to think the Christian springs fully grown from the womb of conversion. How wrong they are! God's Word repeatedly tells us that knowing Christ involves daily growth. It is as if each day God adds new building blocks to our daily lives. We help Him build by daily devoting ourselves and submitting to His will.

To build properly, nothing is ever left to chance. Therefore, Peter tells us exactly how God will help us grow. God adds to our faith virtue, then knowledge, then temperance, then patience, then godliness, then brotherly kindness, and finally love. Peter said something that staggers the mind: Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble(1 Peter 1:10). May we remember that God is working on and in our lives, and building us for eternity.

“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

February 28 / Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually (Heb. 13:15).

A city missionary, stumbling through the dirt of a dark entry, heard a voice say, "Who's there, Honey?" Striking a match, he caught a vision of earthly want and suffering, of saintly trust and peace, "cut in ebony"--calm, appealing eyes set amid the wrinkles of a pinched, black face that lay on a tattered bed. It was a bitter night in February, and she had no fire, no fuel, no light. She had had no supper, no dinner, no breakfast. She seemed to have nothing at all but rheumatism and faith in God. One could not well be more completely exiled from all pleasantness of circumstances, yet the favorite song of this old creature ran:

Nobody knows de trouble I see,
Nobody knows but Jesus;
Nobody knows de trouble I see--
Sing Glory Hallelu!

Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down,
Sometimes I'm level on the groun',
Sometimes the glory shines aroun'
Sing Glory Hallelu!

And so it went on: "Nobody knows de work I does, Nobody knows de griefs I has," the constant refrain being the "Glory Hallelu!" until the last verse rose:

Nobody knows de joys I has,
Nobody knows but Jesus!

"Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." It takes great Bible words to tell the cheer of that old negro auntie.

Remember Luther on his sick-bed. Between his groans he managed to preach on this wise: "These pains and trouble here are like the type which the printers set; as they look now, we have to read them backwards, and they seem to have no sense or meaning in them; but up yonder, when the Lord God prints us off in the life to come, we shall find they make brave reading." Only we do not need to wait till then.

Remember Paul walking the hurricane deck amid a boiling sea, bidding the frightened crew "Be of good cheer," Luther, the old negro auntie--all of them human sun-flowers.
--Wm. G. Garnett

New Leaves by Adrian Rogers

FEBRUARY 28

New Leaves

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Some people want to get everything in their life straightened out before they come to Christ. But you'll wake up in hell and still not have it straightened out. It’s like trees that don’t lose their leaves in the fall. The leaves wither and turn brown but hold on until the spring. And when the new leaf comes, it pushes the old leaf off.

That's exactly what happens to your old habits, your old life, when you find the Lord Jesus. The new life pushes your old life off. It’s not a matter of plucking off this leaf and knocking off that one. You'll never do it that way. Let the new life within you do its work.

Have you come to grips yet with the fact that your “old nature” is dead and you are a new creature in Christ? You can’t “kill” him on your own. You have to “reckon” him as dead and allow the “new nature”--the new creature you are in Christ--to come alive and be fed and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.

Rekindling the Flame by Stephen Davey

Rekindling the Flame

1 Thessalonians 1:6

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

In my study at home I have a small, yellowed piece of paper framed in glass. It was given to me by a missionary who works with Chinese believers.

Today, millions of Chinese Christians are meeting secretly in house churches to study the Word of God together. Many of them do not have a personal copy of the Bible. Often entire churches do not have access to a complete copy of the Scriptures.

That is why this old piece of paper is so special to me; it happens to be a handwritten page--a portion of the New Testament in the Mandarin language. This piece of paper was once someone's copy of Scripture.

Imagine . . . they didn't have a Bible--they had a page.

Much like the Thessalonians, these believers obviously hungered to hear and have the Word of God. They had no doubt copied it many times over so that other believers could read from God's Word, perhaps never before hearing the truths that were written on this small page.

What a contrast to most of us! The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association estimates that the average church-going family in America owns at least four Bibles.

Perhaps one reason that we don't treasure the Scriptures is because we have such ready access to them. It's easy to take precious things for granted. We may have copies of the Bible lying on tables, closet shelves, and bookcases but this can lead to a serious problem: how does the truth within the pages of that closed Book penetrate our lives?

There is a vast difference between having the Bible inside our home and having the Bible inside our heart.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:6, we are told that the believers received the Word of God. They readily received its truth, even though it would mean tribulation and persecution.

What we take for granted, the early church received with great hunger, as does the Chinese church today.

We conclude these 30 days of contemplation with this challenge: let's ask Christ to rekindle in our hearts a greater love for His Word and a greater desire to hear and study it.

Oh, that He would imprint on our hearts what we hold in our hands!

God does not want you to simply possess a Bible . . . He wants the Bible to possess you.

Prayer Point: Ask God to give you a stronger passion for His Word. That is exactly what we need: a hunger and thirst for the written Word--which leads to a greater love for Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

Extra Refreshment: Read all of Psalms 119 and take note of each verse delivering some truth or principle about the Word of God.