5-1-2022 Devotion: In Charge

 Daniel 4: 35: "He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou?"  Dr. R.C. Sproul commented that there were no maverick molecules. Nothing in the universe was outside of God's control. It is amazing how God weaves all the events that occur into a Divine plan that fulfils His purposes, not necessarily ours. In a sense, Providence is a greater miracle than a miracle. If God stops the natural flow of events and injects a supernatural outcome, it becomes a one-dimensional act on His part. For God to cause His own will to be accomplished through myriad independent exigencies is a miracle beyond our minds ability to comprehend. However, that is exactly how He operates the entire universe in which we live. Some people don't like the fact that God is in charge and they are not.I believe it is comforting that God is in charge not me. It is not about you saying the right words, or saying enough prayers. I know a person that lost a loved one and he was concerned that he had not prayed enough or said the right words. I told him that he was not that powerful. God was in charge. We pray, believe, trust and then rest in the Sovereignty of God to do what is best. That is comforting to me.

4-30-2022 Devotion: Providence

 Isaiah 46: 10: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." We will spend a few days on the Sovereignty of God. This subject embraces topics such as miracles, providence, free will and others. The verse can be paraphrased as "What I say goes, I will do what I want. No one can stop Me." The Bible teaches that God is at work in everything that happens and nothing occurs outside of at least His permissive will. Permissive will means that if something occurs, God at least tacitly permitted it because it occurred. Everything occurs so that God will accomplish His own ends. Two words are used to describe God's work: miracles and providence. A miracle is when God suspends natural law and intervenes supernaturally. Providence is when He takes natural events, millions and millions seemingly unconnected and puts them together to create what He wants, without violating natural laws or human actions. As you go about your day, watch how things just work together. God is at work in everything happening. His way is Perfect. 

4-29-2022 Devotion: Bring It

 Mark 1: 1: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God...." What is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Gospel of God, is the fact that Christ died on the cross as our Substitute, was buried as our Scapegoat, rose as our Justifier, and is revealed to the heart by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is good news only to a guilty, lost sinner. If a sinner never stands before God guilty, with his mouth shut, which indicates he acknowledges he is guilty, the Gospel never becomes good news to that individual. In the average congregation today, you do not find guilty sinners. For a sinner to be awakened to the fact he is lost is something unheard of in the average church. They have played church so long, and folks have gotten used to playing church, until they do not want anything else. Then when Holy Spirit conviction falls upon that audience, rebellion against God and His Word begins to be manifested. They have played church so long in their empty religious profession, until when a lost sinner comes into their midst, it is something unheard of. In the average seminary and Bible school they know nothing about lost sinners, or sinners being awakened to their lost condition. We need to stand for truth, speak the truth, and uphold the truth. When we do so, we will be persecuted. Stand against LGBT, homosexual marriage or abortion and you will feel the wrath of sinners. I say, "Bring it!"

4-28-2022 Devotion: Know So

 Ezekiel 18: 4: "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes that the sinner is under the law, has transgressed the law, and God's Word says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). The Gospel recognizes every sinner as guilty, judged guilty, and the sentence is death, but the Gospel has made provision for that guilty sinner in the death and resurrection of our blessed Lord. Christ died for guilty sinners, but the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus means nothing to that sinner who has never been convicted by the Holy Spirit and made to see and made to feel the keen sword of justice and the sword of total depravity in the depths of his own heart. That sinner will continue to play church until he sees the depths of wickedness in his own heart, and that his own soul is just a bottomless pit of Hell. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes the totally-depraved condition of every man and does not seek to mend or add to or make over or renovate that life, but the Gospel demands and gives a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to make the blessings of the atonement effective and real in the hearts of God's children. But the average church member today has no clear concept of salvation in Christ: it's a "hope so," a "maybe so," a "think so;" and they live under the supposition that maybe they will be saved and go to Heaven when they die. The good news, no the great news, is that you can know for sure that you are born again and headed to heaven for all eternity. Make sure He is your Lord and Savior!

4-27-2022 Devotion: Speak Up

 Romans 1: 16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth," will not bargain with the world. God does not negotiate with the sinner. The glory of Adam's flesh and yours must and will pass away, must and will come to an end. The Holy Spirit must and will wither the flesh of every sinner, through Holy Spirit conviction, whether in or out of the church in bringing that individual to Christ. He will come to the end of all flesh, because Gal. 6:14 says, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." When God gets ready to save a sinner, He sets aside everything that sinner is by nature, or ever hopes to be, and makes a new creation. Salvation is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit through the Word. Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is of the Lord." The only part we play in getting saved is to bring our sin to the cross. Sadly, modern churches are "playing church." They have Easter egg hunts, board game nights, trips to amusement parks, all while people are in route to hell. The true church, the remnant, needs to speak up and speak the Word of God. Let us be counted in that group.

4-26-2022 Devotion: More Playing Church

 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures….” The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth," will not bargain with the world. God does not run a bargaining counter. The glory of Adam's flesh must and will pass away, must and will come to an end. The Holy Spirit must and will wither the flesh of every sinner, whether in or out of the church in bringing that individual to Christ. He will come to the end of all flesh, because Gal. 6:14 says, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." When God gets ready to save a sinner, He sets aside everything that sinner is by nature, or ever hopes to be, and makes a new creation. Salvation is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit through the Word. Paul said in Gal. 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God..." No sinner is ever saved until they take responsibility for their sin. It is our responsibility to preach the Word of God to the lost. The Holy Spirit will apply that Word to the heart of the unbeliever. That is called Holy Spirit conviction.

4-25-2022 Devotion: Playing Church Part 3

 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures….” The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Gospel of God, is the fact that Christ died on the cross as our Substitute, was buried as our Scapegoat, rose as our Justifier, and is revealed to the heart by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is good news only to a guilty, lost sinner. If a sinner never stands before God guilty, with his mouth shut, which indicates he acknowledges he is guilty, the Gospel never becomes good news to that individual. In the average congregation today you do not find guilty sinners. For a sinner to be awakened to the fact he is lost is something unheard of in the average church. They have played church for so long, and folks have gotten used to playing church, until they do not want anything else. Then when Holy Spirit conviction falls upon that audience, rebellion against God and His Word begins to be manifested. They have played church so long in their empty religious profession, until when a lost sinner comes into their midst, it is something unheard of. In the average seminary and Bible school they know nothing about lost sinners, or sinners being awakened to their lost condition. Church has become a business. It is no longer a soul saving station. We need a return to the simplicity of the gospel.