Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Birth Announcement
Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010
Birth Announcement
"...you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21
One type of letter we often get in our household is a birth announcement--someone announcing the birth of a child---a wonderful time of celebration and excitement. But when Jesus Christ was born, the ultimate birth announcement came straight from heaven when God, through His angels, said, "Today in the city of David has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord."
You may ask, "Why do I need a Savior?"
God's Word is clear that we need a Savior because all of us sin, and in the process, find ourselves separated from God. If we die separated, that means hell...and that's bad news. But Christmas is about good news, because Christ came to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven and made right with God. For those who believe, He saves us from sin and, ultimately, hell...and that's pretty important.
As you rush around getting ready for Christmas, remember why He came and believe it. That's the key to having a Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Bidding Farewell to Tinco & Jane Tran
Friday, September 10, 2010
Lost Ones
September 10, 2010 — by David H. Roper
Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn
Read: Luke 15:4-6
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost! —Luke 15:6
Bible in a year:
Proverbs 8-9; 2 Corinthians 3
In my college years I worked as a guide, taking boys on treks into Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. On one occasion one of my hikers—a small, slow chap—lagged behind and took the wrong fork on a trail. When we arrived at our campsite he was nowhere to be found. I frantically went out to search for him.
Just before dark, I came across him sitting by a small lake—utterly lost and alone. In my joy, I gave him a bear hug, hoisted him on my shoulders, and carried him down the trail to his companions.
In a story by Scottish writer George MacDonald, he describes a young woman finding a child alone and lost in the woods. She gathered him up in her arms and carried him home to her father, at which point she gained an insight that was never to leave her: “Now she understood the heart of the Son of Man, [who came] to find and carry back the stray children to their Father and His.”
I want you too to know the heart of Jesus, the Son of Man, who came to find and carry back His straying children to their Father, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). No matter how far you may have strayed and how lost you may be, He came to seek and to save you.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost,
Left heaven’s glory, minding not the cost;
Looking high and low and far and wide,
The Son of Man for all was crucified. —Hess
To find salvation, you must admit that you’re lost.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sovereign Calling
August: Evangelism
Every notable advance in the saving work of God among men will, if examined, be found to have two factors present: several converging lines of providential circumstances and a person.
Let My People Go: The Life of Robert A. Jaffray, 50.
August 26
Evangelism: Sovereign Calling
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
--John 1:12-13
There is another and worse evil which springs from this basic failure to grasp the radical difference between the natures of the two worlds. It is the habit of languidly "accepting" salvation as if it were a small matter and one wholly in our hands. Men are exhorted to think things over and "decide" for Christ, and in some places one day each year is set aside as "Decision Day," at which time people are expected to condescend to grant Christ the right to save them, a right which they have obviously refused Him up to that time.
Christ is thus made to stand again before men's judgment seat; He is made to wait upon the pleasure of the individual, and after long and humble waiting is either turned away or patronizingly admitted. By a complete misunderstanding of the noble and true doctrine of the freedom of the human will salvation is made to depend perilously upon the will of man instead of upon the will of God.
However deep the mystery, however many the paradoxes involved, it is still true that men become saints not at their own whim but by sovereign calling. The Pursuit of Man, pp. 37-38
"Sovereign God, I'm Your servant. I'll share the message, I'll pray for response, but only You can draw an unsaved person to faith in Christ. Thank You for the privilege of having even a small part in Your sovereign work. Amen."
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Evangelism: Too Easily Converted
August: Evangelism
Every notable advance in the saving work of God among men will, if examined, be found to have two factors present: several converging lines of providential circumstances and a person.
Let My People Go: The Life of Robert A. Jaffray, 50.
August 21
Evangelism: Too Easily Converted
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." --John 8:31-32
First, we must consider the person who becomes a disciple of Christ on impulse. This is likely to be the person who came in on a wave of enthusiasm, and I am a little bit suspicious of anyone who is too easily converted. I have a feeling that if he or she can be easily converted to Christ, he or she may be very easily flipped back the other way. I am concerned about the person who just yields, who has no sales resistance at all....
Actually, I go along with the man or woman who is thoughtful enough about this decision to say truthfully: "I want a day to think this over," or "I want a week to read the Bible and to meditate on what this decision means."
I have never considered it a very great compliment to the Christian church that we can generate enthusiasm on such short notice. The less there is in the kettle, the quicker it begins to boil. There are some who get converted on enthusiasm and backslide on principle! Faith Beyond Reason, pp. 55-57
"Lord, this is contrary to our usual thinking. We're aware of the urgency of the hour, of the need to trust Christ before it is too late. But thank You for this perspective on serious consideration rather than flippant acquiescence. Amen."