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  • The Cheerful Giver

    2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

    With 2 Corinthians 9:7, we see what excites God – what He loves! This verse tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. This description of God’s feelings regarding giving comes from the Apostle Paul who is encouraging a group of believers in Corinth to contribute to suffering saints back in Jerusalem.  He wants them to be ready to present their contribution when he arrives.  However, he does not want them to give grudgingly or because of arm twisting.  

    When one gives grudgingly resentment grows toward the one asking and regret grows within the giver.

    The Apostle Paul wants their giving to be genuine.  He tells them to purpose in their hearts or make their own decision as to what they will give.  Rather than giving because of pressure, they will purposefully give. He does not want grumbling, or complaining, and he definitely does not want them feeling like they have to be a part of sharing with others in need.  For Paul, there should be joy in giving and helping others! 

    So, what is your attitude toward giving? Do you grumble as you give or is there cheerfulness as you contribute? Are you a purposeful, cheerful contributor to charities, the church, and other causes?

    As well I would ask what is your plan for being a giver to God’s Work?  Have you prayerfully purposed in your heart to willingly and cheerfully give a portion of your income to the Lord and His work?   

    What changes need to take place based on the teaching of 2 Corinthians 9:7?

    Continue Strong by cheerfully contributing to God’s work!   
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • He Is Everything You Will Ever Need 

    Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

    Now and then you come across a verse filled with information about WHO our SAVIOR IS! Isaiah 9:6 is in many ways one of the most complete descriptions of the Messiah and in so many ways tells us He is everything we will ever need!

    In a world of confusion, He is a wonderful counselor! He is the smartest in the world!
    In a world of chaos, He is the mighty God! He is the strongest in the world!
    In a world of complexity, He is the everlasting Father (speaks for being the Founder).
    He is superior!

    In a word of conflict, He is the Prince of peace! He is the Savior for all as the greatest conflict of all is with God. We can have peace with God because of what Jesus did at the cross. 
    In other words, Isaiah 9:6 tells us Christ is sufficient! What a Savior.

    Continue strong relying on the One who can handle everything you are facing,
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Repentance Leads to Revival

    Ezra 9:5 “At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; And having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.”

    As one comes to Ezra chapter 9 Ezra has heard a very disturbing report of some of God’s people practicing sin. It is especially grievous to Ezra that the leaders were leading the way in practicing sin.  Ezra 9:2c says, ‘In this faithlessness, the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” As Ezra hears of these sins it brings a heavy brokenness, a brokenness described in Ezra 9:3.  It says, “As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.”   

    As we come to Ezra 9:5 we find Ezra, who has been fasting all day, will rise from his sitting position to now fall to his knees to pray and he will pray a prayer of confession.  Ezra 9:6 tells of his prayer saying, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”   Ezra acknowledges that they, God’s people, have broken God’s commandments.  Ezra 9:10 says, “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments.”

    How do you usually respond to a report that there is “sin in the camp?”  Does hearing about sin – first and foremost your own sin – break your heart? Ezra was appalled at sin being practiced.  He was astonished at sin being practiced.  He was ashamed, ashamed that sin was being practiced. His response was to humble himself before God and repent.  His response of repentance will lead to revival. 

    Revival has been defined as the renewed commitment to obey God’s command. 
    As you read of Ezra’s response you see his posture in which he is on his knees. I have come to believe that the strongest we will ever be is on our knees. May I challenge you to kneel in offering adoration to God?  May I challenge you to kneel in making confession?  May I challenge you to kneel in offering thanksgiving to God for His abundant goodness and amazing grace.  May I challenge you to kneel in pouring out your supplications to the Lord!  While there is no requirement for our posture as we pray kneeling is spoken of as the posture many of God’s people used as they prayed.

    Ezra gives us a tremendous example of responding to sin happening in a camp with humble brokenness and repentance. 

    Continue strong being brokenhearted over our sins,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Approaching God with Adoration of Who He Is!

    Daniel 9:4 “And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,”

    As Daniel is appealing to God for God’s people with a broken heart let’s not miss the approach as his prayer begins with adoration.  He acknowledges to God how great and awesome He is! This acknowledgment goes back to what Moses had said about God in Deuteronomy 10:21 as he stated, “He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.”  David acknowledges the same high description in 2 Samuel 7:23 stating, “And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name — and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land — before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods?” The Psalmist would direct praise in Psalm 99:3 saying, “Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.”

    As we think about our prayer life, please remember that how you think about God determines how you pray!  From Daniel’s prayer of Daniel 9:4, Daniel knew two crucial things about God.  1. that God was powerful.  2. That God is a promise keeper.  This would impact what he would ask as He knew what God’s character was.  

    Learning to pray means learning not just how to pray but learning about who you are praying to.  

    Daniel’s approach to God is so revealing of how we should approach God as we come boldly to the throne of grace in times of need.   From Daniel and other OT saints, we learn we must always approach our awesome God with adoration before asking for anything. Adoration precedes asking!

    Continue strong with a dynamic prayer life!  
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • The Deepest Of Desires For The Lost To Be Saved

    Romans 9:3 “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,”

    Many years ago I was in my freshman year at The Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas and one of the required classes for all new students was Evangelism with Dr. Paige Patterson, the President of the College.  Dr. Patterson was a huge believer in the memorization of Scripture. We were to memorize 7 verses a week.  Yes, 7 verses a week or 1 verse a day!  The verses he assigned us to memorize were tied to evangelism and Romans 9:1-3 were one of the first of the assigned verses.   

    Romans 9:1-3 tells of the Apostle Paul’s heart for his fellow Israelites to be saved. He writes, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2  that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,”

    This is so very sobering.  Here we find the Apostle Paul wanted to see other Jews saved so badly that he himself wished he could go to hell rather than them.  

    Dr. Patterson did not just give us verses to memorize but he taught the meaning of the verses.  As he taught on Romans 9:1-3 I can still hear him asking us how much did we really want to see family and friends, neighbors and even strangers, come to know the Lord. There was silence in the room that day as we paused to consider how badly the Apostle Paul wanted to see fellow countrymen be saved as he said he wished he could be accursed so they could be saved. 

    Accursed.  Paul wished he could be accursed. Accursed means to go to hell.  It means to be cut off.   The ESV says, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”

    Now we know that what Paul wished cannot happen but what a heart for the lost. 

    Are you brokenhearted over a lost family member, friend, neighbor, associate, and/or stranger that you would rather go to hell so they could go to heaven?  Is your heart filled with sorrow and grief that the lost are lost and headed to an eternity in hell?

    Two more questions.  Are you weeping for a lost person to be saved? Are you witnessing to a lost person to be saved? 

    May our hearts be as broken for the lost as the Apostle Paul’s heart was.  

    Continue strong with a broken heart for the lost.   
    And remember to Date the Word

  • Singing With Joy And Gladness To The Lord About The Lord

    Psalm 9:2 “I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” 

    What makes you glad? What brings you joy and causes you to rejoice? What causes your soul to sing? 

    The Psalmist will speak of being glad, speaking of it over 30 times. To be glad is to be satisfied.  It means one is pleased as they have experienced something pleasurable.  Has the idea of gratefulness.  The Psalmist is glad in God for God satisfied the souls.  He writes in Psalm 126:3 “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.” 

    Not only is the Psalmist glad but he is also rejoicing in God!  The word “rejoice” is used over 55 times in Psalms.  It speaks of joy and cheerfulness.  As one rejoices, they are filled with delight.  One who is rejoicing is not disappointed.  The Psalmist is delighted in God as He does not disappoint! 

    Having declared how glad he is in God and how he rejoices in God brings another declaration from Psalm 9:2 in which he says, “I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”  The internal feelings of being delighted in God and satisfied by God bring about songs of praise to God.   

    The phrase “I will sing” is used over 30 times in Psalms.  David had to verbalize outwardly his inward feelings about God!  Here He sings with adoration concerning God’s great name of O Most High, the one who is superior to all!!  

    I will be glad – I will be glad in God!
    I will rejoice – I will rejoice in God!
    I will sing – I will sing to (and about) God.

    How about you?  What are your “I wills” for each day?  After all Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” 

    Maybe you would like to sing:
    Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful! And my song shall ever be:
    Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful! Is my Savior’s love for me!

    Continue strong worshiping, rejoicing, and singing with gladness to the Lord
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Weeping For A Change!

    Jeremiah 9:1 “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”

    Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet! It broke his heart to see God’s people in rebellion. In Jeremiah 13:17 he wrote, “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.”  In our verse, he is praying that he could weep more for his people. Jeremiah’s heart broke as he saw and experienced the pain God’s people were facing because of their sin.

    What brings you to tears? As you see and hear of the brokenness of this world does your heart break? As you see the brokenness of your community, and/or neighborhood/neighbors, and/or your family, and/or your country, does your heart break? Are there things you see and hear that bring you to tears – yes to weeping?  

    I am challenged by Jeremiah to weep over the sins of people.  I am challenged also by the Apostle Paul.  When we read of how he did ministry in Acts 20:31 we read of a man that shed tears for lost souls.  Acts 20:31 says, “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn every one night and day with tears.”

    What are you shedding tears for this day? What is breaking your heart so much that you weep?  Let us remember the principle from Psalm 126:6 about the value of weeping.  Psalm 126:6 says, “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”  Are you weeping over lost souls?

    Preaching a revival years ago I was standing by the doorway to the platform as the choir members were going out in front of me.  As Mrs. Martin came by me, she paused and said with tears in her eyes, “I have been praying all day for my son to get saved.”   At the invitation, her son came forward and told me he wanted to get saved!  That mom’s weeping won her son to the Lord!  Let us be weeping for a change!

    Continue Strong weeping for lost souls to be saved,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • What A Savior And What A Salvation!

    Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

    The Book of Romans is primarily a doctrinal book that teaches the doctrine of salvation.  Salvation is needed because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)  Being a sinner means one is facing the wrath of God and is under condemnation.  However, Romans 6:23 says that while the wages of sin is death there is the GIFT of God that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for our sins by dying for us and in our place.  When we trust Him for salvation, He gives us His righteousness (justification) and that means we are no longer under condemnation. 

    Romans 8 begins with “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) Romans 8 (this great chapter) will begin to conclude with a question here in verse 31 and give an answer that confirms that there is no condemnation to those in Christ and nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from God!! The Apostle Paul concludes Romans 8 with these reassuring words. Romans 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Period!

    The Book of Romans starts out with man being against God!  It continues by revealing how God’s wrath is being poured out on man.  As man is against God, God is against man!  But we also learn of God’s love and mercy and grace and then that one can be justified and redeemed and reconciled back to God.  Now instead of God being against man, God is for man and there is now nothing, absolutely nothing that can be against us!   

    How might we respond?  Maybe with what a Savior!! What a salvation!!!

    Continue strong knowing that God is for you,
    And remember to DATE the Word

  • Many Believed in Him

    John 8:30 “As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.”

    As the Apostle John writes his gospel his purpose will be to convince the reader to believe in Jesus.  89 times we have the words believe, believes, and believed. The key verse of the book is John 20:31.  It says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

    Believing in Jesus is the action that changes everything.  It is this action of faith that believes Jesus is who He says He is and did what He said He would do.  Believing in Jesus changes one’s earthly life and one’s eternal life. You recall, of course, John 3:16.  It says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. From John 3:18 we learn that “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Then in John 3:36, we read that “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; And he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  Believing changes everything.

    Have you believed in Jesus and been saved? Like the Roman soldier in Philippi, you might be asking as he did, “What must I do to be saved?” The Apostle Paul responded in Acts 16:31 with “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”   Paul would write to the Romans in Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

    So, I ask again have you believed in Jesus and been saved?  

    Continue Strong believing in Jesus,
    And Remember to DATE the Word

  • I Always Do Those Things That Please My Father

    John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

    As Jesus Christ answered questions from Jews about who He was He told them about being sent by the Father and that His Father is always with Him.  He then gives an incredible evaluation of Himself saying that He always does the things that please Him.  In making such a self-evaluation Jesus would have reason to say what He said as the Father had spoken from heaven several times that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased!  

    As Jesus lived to please His Father we are to live to please Jesus!  Listen to 2 Corinthians 5:9 where the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” Paul prayed that the Colossians would “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, (Colossians 1:10a).  To the Thessalonians he wrote, “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;” (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

    One area that must be decided upon is whether you will do that which is pleasing in the sight of God or seek to please people.  You will not be able to please everyone. I challenge you to choose and live like Jesus, doing always the things that please God!

    Remember this: If you please God it does not matter who you displease.  If you displease God it does not matter who you please.

    You will not hear well done good and faithful servant without there being well pleasing first. 

    Continue Strong for Him, pleasing Him.  
    And remember to DATE The Word!!