“If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men, the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.”
W. Tozer, 1897-1963
( Tozer made this quote about 70 years ago. How much more have we slipped since then?)
Hi Men:
Blessings to you all on this Good Friday! I have yet to fully understand the life-altering significance of my sin imputed to Jesus and Jesus imputing His Righteousness to me….. yet I believe and it should take all of us to our knees! I was sharing with a brother this week that the God who resided in the Holy of Holies and once a year the high priest would enter with a rope tied around his ankle so he could be pulled out if the Glory of the Lord struck him dead …… this is the same God that now resides “in” us. My brother then reminded me, that we don’t just get one, we get all three based on John 14:33…….
Jesus answered and said to him,
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
This is totally “jaw-dropping.” Note the key words: Keep My Word. Please reflect on this verse. If we don’t obey His commands, we don’t love Jesus, His father won’t love us ……. and “They” (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) will not come and make Their home “in” us.
I pray you all have a Blessed Easter this Sunday. As you are sitting in church or around your dinner table, it might be a good thing to reflect on the fact that Jesus took the PUNISHMENT for OUR SIN on the CROSS. “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph 2:13). Do these words convict you to do something differently for the remainder of this year or just slice another piece of ham…….. How much time are you spending in His Living Word?
Have a Glorious Good Friday and Easter Weekend,
Dan
“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Men: Stop and take some time on these (2) devotionals. They have eternal significance. You definitely don’t want to be accused of being “Stupid” Pass them on to a friend you care about.
The Golden Rule and Stupid People – Red Book Day 106 & 107
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
Jesus was born to die
He was not born to be an example or to show us how to live.
He was born to be our Life. He was born to be crucified…… In our place…… For us.
Please read our brother, Bill McCurine’s penetrating message he shared last year
(See Attached: “The Glory of Easter”)
It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming
Here is a famous part of a sermon by Rev. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge (March 7, 1913 – April 4, 2000), who was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, a prominent African-American congregation located in San Diego, California, from 1953 to 1993. He was known for his preaching across the United States and around the world. He held doctorates and numerous honorary degrees and was often sought as a public speaker, even after he retired in 1993. Here is the audio of Lockridge reciting it, with visuals added latter. If you haven’t watched this YouTube, I know it will impact you on this Good Friday!
Sunday’s Coming (YouTube 4 mins)
Facts of the Matter
AS GOD’S LABORERS, PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THESE VULNERABLE AREAS:
Stay close to the Source. Our primary mission in life is not to save the world, but to know a Person: God has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (I Cor. 1:9) The truth is that many of us would rather be busy for God than pursue the knowledge of him. God is not impressed with our service when it is done at the expense of deepening our relationship with him: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! (Matt. 7:21-23)‘ True fruitfulness is the product not of busyness but of an abiding relationship with Christ: Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn. 15:4, 5)
Don’t miss it with your family. Your family will either validate or invalidate your ministry. Probably the greatest test of true godliness is living out Biblical mandates concerning your relationship with your spouse and children (Eph. 5:21-33; 6:4. etc.). If you fail here you disqualify yourself for the larger responsibility of leadership beyond the four walls of your home. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church? (I Tim 3:4).
Don’t mess with the Glory. Few handle success well, as pride often creeps in. King Uzziah, after successfully serving God for many years, audaciously took upon himself the role not only of king but of priest. God severely disciplined him by striking him with leprosy. (2 Chro. 26; 2 Kin. 15) In the early years of Billy Graham’s ministry a friend of mine inadvertently walked in on him in his hotel room, only to find him flat on the floor literally biting the rug, as he pled with God to not allow his pride to get in the way of Gods overwhelming blessing on his ministry. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise for this is what the high and lofty One says–he who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another… (Psa. 17; Isa. 57:15; Isa. 48:10,11).
Don’t get bitter. Take a few minutes to study Hebrews 12, which centers on Gods discipline of his children. At the end of that discourse the writer concludes, See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (vs. 15). Many believers miss the blessing of hardship in life which God either causes or uses as a disciplinary tool, by becoming bitter at God and life. You can be sure that in life you will be used and abused. (See 2 Cor. 4:8-12; 6:4-10) Your godly reaction to life’s abuses and Gods discipline are a true test of the authenticity of your inner life with God. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph graciously forgave his ruthless brothers by choosing to see the sovereign hand of God in their plot to destroy him, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Gen. 50:20). God expects nothing less of us.
Deal with the sex issue. We have to decide what kind of a person we want to be. Unless we have a passion to be Christ-like, we are dead in the water on the sexual purity issue. (See I Pet. 1:14, 15) How would you interpret, The wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders will inherit the kingdom of God (I Cor. 6:9,10 (selected). You know, there just isn’t a lot of wiggle room here. Jesus said, look, if you have a problem in the sexual area, do whatever it takes to solve it. Period: If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell (Matt. 5:29, 30).
~Dwight Hill~
Sent to me by one of the brothers………. Whoa!
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27 NASB)
I put the Spurgeon quote and the verse above to hopefully give us pause concerning sin and how subtle it can be. If we are not on-guard, before you know it, you are dealing with the verses in Hebrews 10:26-27. And those verses should terrify you! I visit with brothers time-to-time and we discuss 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Verse 16 declares: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness………” Question: Do you have a brother in your life that will Biblically correct you when you wander off course?
