Tag Archives: devotional

The Only Sinners Prayer that Saves Souls – Luke 16:14-17

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? Maybe you’re wondering what this title is all about? What do I mean, “the only sinners prayer that saves souls”. Is that suggesting that there is a type of sinners prayer that does not save? It should be common sense that repeating a set of words at an altar call could no more save a soul than chanting “I’m warm, I’m warm, I’m warm” over and over after being dropped off buck-naked in the Arctic in 90 below temperatures could keep you from freezing. I grew up in the church and quite frankly it can be one of the most dangerous places to grow up. If the Gospel doesn’t take genuine roots at an appropriate age (and I don’t mean repeating a prayer when you’re 3 with your mom) but genuine repentance and faith in Christ, then you can grow up with the idea that you [...]

Wasted Life on Wasted Wealth – Luke 16:1-13

Opening Thoughts: I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have heard Sunday talks on money, nor how many times it has been followed directly with a call to give. I think we have all been there, maybe some of you have even preached these messages with hopes that it would encourage more people to give. Perhaps some of you after hearing messages or a series of messages on this topic only caused you to clench your fist tighter around your hard earned cash. Whatever the case may be, if the heart of the issue is not dealt with, those listening and those preaching will both lose. The hope behind this post is not to show anyone up and not to point fingers at certain churches or people, but to speak to you from a heart of my own conviction, my own lack of giving and my own foolish [...]

Size Doesn’t Matter! – Luke 17:5-6

What Pleases God? The Bible is very clear about faith being the only thing that pleases God. In fact it states that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Why is that? Faith in what? The answer is that it’s faith in Christ as the “Passover Lamb”.  In the end of time Christ will come in Judgment bringing a swift end to all who trusted in their own good works as a means of salvation and to those who failed to depend on Him for His. Trusting in Christ as the “Passover Lamb” is to believe that although you have never pleased God, and as a result of your sin deserve His wrath, Jesus’ perfect life and selfless obedience to the cross trumps that; therefore, if you apply His blood to your life through faith in His finished work your sins will be remitted and you will be saved. In our text [...]

Heaven – 1 Peter 1:4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, “ (1 Peter 1:3-4) How often do you think about Heaven and what it is like? For me I don’t think about it enough, but when I do, when I really meditate on it as I read through the scriptures that describe its majesty, I am reminded of that old hymn that sings, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” The glory and majesty of heaven IS Jesus’ presence there, and when I settle on that thought for a time the things that seem so important or overwhelming in [...]

You MUST Forgive!

Overview: Luke 17:1-4 is the text I will cover in this post and it deals with the following subjects, temptation, sin, offenses, rebuke, forgiveness, judgment and repentance. I will briefly be looking at all of them, however the one I really want to zone in on is repentance and forgiveness. When someone does us wrong we have a tendency to hang by the neck awaiting for an apology, then when it finally does come along, depending on how close the relationship is, we often want to punish the offender by holding out on the forgiveness side of things. Have you ever stopped for a moment to wonder why that is? Perhaps it’s because we have been hurt so badly that we naturally want to hurt back? When the one who has wronged comes to their senses and humbly offers an apology it then puts the offended in the power seat, does it not? Is that not an offense [...]

Hope in God’s Mercy – 1 Peter 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3 I sin every day. That’s my confession and I shouldn’t think it is shocking, especially to anyone who knows me well. I don’t get up in the morning planning on sinning, in fact, I get up early and pray that Iwon’t sin. However, my sin reminds me of my need for my Savior and my deep gratitude for God’s mercy. Let me just be crystal clear about this though, I don’t practice sin (remember “do not get up in the morning planning to sin”)… I practice righteousness; that is, I rely on the Holy Spirit to teach me how to be holy as God is holy. Kind of like a piano [...]

Celebrating Grace – 1 Peter 1:2

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:1-2 “Amazing grace how sweet the sound….” Everyone knows this song, most of us can sing it by heart. Can we sing it from the heart? Why did John Newton write that the sound of grace was sweet? Answer: Because it saved a wretch like me! It is the grace of God that takes a person who is living life according to their own desires, blind to the consequences of their sin, and gives them the ability to see the truth of the gospel and to repent. In order to sing Amazing Grace [...]

Not A Hope In Hell

Backwards in Eternity: The poor become rich and the rich become poor, the beggar becomes prosperous and the prosperous a beggar. Such is the case with the “Rich man and Lazarus”.  Because our world is so busted up with sin, much of what we see and even come accustom to is completely backwards to how God’s kingdom operates.  God’s kingdom is free from sin and is no respecter of persons. I’m going to be really candid, I struggle with being a respecter of persons, it’s my weakness. I don’t think that it’s because I love others more but rather that I have a sinful tendency to flock towards people that I think can improve my situation. I would likely have passed the guy sitting at the gate with dogs licking his wounds just to catch up and talk to the super rich guy. Why? Because he can likely do something for me and my selfishness. Pride and greed are ugly sins that [...]

Today is the Day of Salvation

(*Note: Belated Post ) Opening Thoughts: The other day myself and family were at a baptism at the beach with the church we are part of. I love baptisms they are such an amazing testament of God’s saving power.  It’s actually quite an amazing thing that as a church we are able to gather and talk about the Glory of Christ in public. Just today I read a post of 15 church leaders in China that were arrested while worshiping together. “On June 9 more than 30 house church leaders were arrested while gathering in a house church in Langzhong city, Sichuan province. Thirteen leaders were given 15 days of administrative detention, and five of the leaders were placed under criminal detention. The other leaders were released…..” (see the rest of the story) I think sometimes it’s hard for us who have so much freedom to actually imagine what that looks like. Say you are at your “community group” pouring out your [...]

Elect Exiles – 1 Peter 1:1

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” 1 Peter 1:1 The apostle Peter is about to address a group of diverse Christians; followers of Christ from different territories, who spoke different languages, were integrated into different cultures, and were made up of both Gentiles and some Jewish converts. The one thing they had in common? Chosen by God to live by faith and to not fit in. There are three valuable gems that I want to examine in this one single verse that opens the door to book of 1 Peter: this letter is applicable to all Christians, followers of Jesus are God’s chosen people, we are currently separated from and awaiting our true home in heaven. Concerning All Christians I have heard people say, both Christians and Non-, that the Bible isn’t entirely relevant [...]