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Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Precious Results of Affliction

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Alistair Begg

‘Does Job fear God’s for no reason?’

Job 1:9

This was the wicked question of Satan concerning that upright man of old, but there are many in the present day concerning whom it might be asked with justice, for they love God after a fashion because He prospers them; but if things went ill with them, they would give up all their boasted faith in God. If they can clearly see that since the time of their supposed conversion the world has gone prosperously with them, then they will love God in their poor, carnal way; but if they endure adversity, they rebel against the Lord.

Their love is the love of the table, not of the host; a love of the cupboard, not of the master of the house. As for the true Christian, he expects to have his reward in the next life and to endure hardness in this. The promise of the old covenant is adversity. Remember Christ’s words–“Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit”–what?–“he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”1 If you bring forth fruit, you will have to endure affliction.

“Alas,” you say, “that is a terrible prospect.” But this affliction works out such precious results, for the Christian who is the subject of it must learn to rejoice in tribulations because as his tribulations abound, so his consolations abound by Christ Jesus.

Rest assured, if you are a child of God, you will be no stranger to the rod. Sooner or later every bar of gold must pass through the fire. Fear not, but rather rejoice that such fruitful times are in store for you, for in them you will be weaned from earth and made meet for heaven; you will be delivered from clinging to the present and made to long for those eternal things that are so soon to be revealed to you. When you feel that as regards the present you do serve God for nothing, you will then rejoice in the infinite reward of the future.

1 John 15:2

 

 

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Praising God for Your Election

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John MacArthur

“Having been predestined according to [God’s] purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11).

In Ephesians 1:4 Paul says that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” In verse 11 he reiterates that marvelous truth by affirming that believers have been predestined to salvation according to God’s own purpose and will.

Many reject the teaching that God chose (predestined) believers to salvation. They think believers chose God. In one sense they’re right: salvation involves an act of the will in turning from sin to embrace Christ. But the issue in predestination goes deeper than that. It’s a question of initiative. Did God choose you on the basis of your faith in Him or did He, by choosing you, enable you to respond in faith.

The answer is clear in Scripture. Romans 3:11 says that no one seeks for God on his own. Unregenerate people have no capacity to understand spiritual truth. It’s all foolishness to them (1 Cor. 2:14). They are spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), blind (2 Cor. 4:4), and ignorant (Eph. 4:18).

How can people in that condition initiate saving faith? They can’t! That’s why Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him. . . . All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:44, 37). Paul added, “God . . . has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9).

God took the initiative. He chose you and gave you saving faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Rejoice in that truth. Rest in His power to conform all things to His will. Draw strength and assurance from His promise never to let you go (John 10:27-29). Then live each day as God’s elected one by shunning sin and following after holiness.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Praise God for placing His love upon you and granting you salvation.

Pray for the salvation of others and seek opportunities to share Christ with them today.

For Further Study:

Read Ezekiel 36:22-32

Why will God one day redeem Israel?

What does that passage teach you about God’s initiative in salvation?

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A New Year’s benediction

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CharlesSpurgeon

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10

Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Oh, beloved, when you hear of Christ, when you know that this grace comes through Christ, and the calling through Christ, and the glory through Christ, then you say, “Lord, I can believe it now, if it is through Christ.” It is not a hard thing to believe that Christ’s blood was sufficient to purchase every blessing for me. If I go to God’s treasury without Christ, I am afraid to ask for anything, but when Christ is with me I can then ask for everything. For sure I think he deserves it, though I do not. If I can claim his merits then I am not afraid to plead. Is perfection too great a boon for God to give to Christ? No. Is the keeping, the stability, the preservation of the blood-bought ones too great a reward for the terrible agonies and sufferings of the Saviour? No. Then we may with confidence plead, because everything comes through Christ. I would in concluding make this remark. I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us. Begin from this day, and may God help you. Never let a single day pass over your head without a visit to the garden of Gethsemane, and the cross of Calvary. And as for some of you who are not saved, and know not the Redeemer, I would to God that this very day you would come to Christ.

For meditation: The New Year may not always be as “Happy” as we would wish, but the Christian is blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3) and can look forward to a “Blessed New Year” throughout the problems that may come.

Sermon no. 292

1 January (1860)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Measure of True Success

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John MacArthur

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1).

Our society is success oriented. We love success stories. We even have television programs that exalt the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But God’s standard for success is quite different. Unimpressed by our status or wealth, He looks instead for faithfulness to His will.

Paul understood that principle and diligently pursued his calling as an apostle–one of those unique men who were foundational to the church and recipients, teachers, and writers of the New Testament.

That was a high calling, yet judging from Paul’s lifestyle most people would hardly call him successful– having suffered imprisonments, beatings, death threats, shipwrecks, robberies, hatred from his theological enemies, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, and exposure to the elements (2 Cor. 11:23-27). But none of those things deterred him from obeying God’s will. His final testimony was, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). That’s true success! Although we’re not apostles, we’re to follow Paul’s example of faithfulness (1 Cor. 11:1). That’s possible because, like the Ephesian believers, we are “saints [holy ones] . . . who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). By God’s grace we’ve trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior (Eph. 2:8-9) and received His righteousness (Phil. 3:9), Spirit (Eph. 3:16), and every spiritual resource necessary for faithful, victorious Christian living (Eph. 1:3).

What remains is to cultivate greater love for Christ and more consistent obedience to His Word. Those are the hallmarks of a true disciple and God’s measure of success. Make it your goal that your life today warrants the Lord’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful [servant]” (Matt. 25:21).

Suggestions for Prayer:

•             Praise God for His wonderful grace, by which He granted you salvation and all the spiritual resources you need.

•             Thank Him for His Word, where you learn the principles of godly living.

•             Ask Him for opportunities today to encourage the faithfulness of others.

For Further Study:

Read Ephesians 1:3-4; 2:10; Titus 2:11-12

•             What is the goal of your salvation?

•             Are you living each day in light of that goal?

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — In His Grip

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Our Daily Bread

Romans 8:31-39

I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12

When we cross a busy street with small children in tow, we put out our hand and say, “Hold on tight,” and our little ones grasp our hand as tightly as they can. But we would never depend on their grasp. It is our grip on their hand that holds them and keeps them secure. So Paul insists, “Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Phil. 3:12). Or more exactly, “Christ has a grip on me!”

One thing is certain: It is not our grip on God that keeps us safe, but the power of Jesus’ grasp. No one can take us out of His grasp—not the devil, not even ourselves. Once we’re in His hands, He will not let go.

We have this assurance: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).

Doubly safe: Our Father on one side and our Lord and Savior on the other, clasping us in a viselike grip. These are the hands that shaped the mountains and oceans and flung the stars into space. Nothing in this life or the next “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). —David Roper

Father, I thank You for the nail-pierced hands

that reached out in love and took me by my hand.

You have led me by Your right hand throughout life.

I trust You to hold me and keep me safe to the end.

The One who saved us is the One who keeps us.

Bible in a year: Malachi 1-4; Revelation 22

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – A Firm and Determined Grasp

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Alistair Begg

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God.

Galatians 2:20

When the Lord in mercy drew near and saw us in our deadness, He first of all said, “Live”; and He did this, first, because life is absolutely essential in spiritual matters, and until it is given we are incapable of seeing or entering the kingdom. Now the life that grace confers upon believers at the moment of their conversion is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace that perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck that joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head.

A faith that shines more bright and clear,

When tempests rage without,

That when in danger knows no fear,

In darkness feels no doubt.

Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. It knows His excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce faith to place its trust elsewhere. And Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace that He never ceases to strengthen and sustain that faith by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of His eternal arms.

This establishes a living, sensible, and delightful union that produces streams of love, confidence, sympathy, contentment, and joy, from which both the bride and Bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can clearly see this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then the heart is as near heaven as it can be on earth and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship.

Lord, give me such a faith as this,

And then, whate’er may come,

I taste e’en now the hallowed bliss,

Of an eternal home.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Sponsor and Substitute

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Alistair Begg

The last Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:45

Jesus is the representative head of His people. In Adam every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race when considered under the law of works; so under the law of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since He is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of love.

The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met him: It is a certain truth that the believer was in the loins of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in eternity the covenant settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure forever.

Whatever Christ has done, He has accomplished for the whole body of His Church. We were crucified in Him and buried with Him (read Col. 2:10-13), and to make it still more wonderful, we are risen with Him and even ascended with Him to the seats on high (Eph. 2:6). It is in this way that the Church has fulfilled the law and is “blessed in the Beloved.”1

She is regarded with satisfaction by the just Jehovah, for He views her in Jesus, and does not look upon her as separate from her covenant head. As the Anointed Redeemer of Israel, Christ Jesus has nothing distinct from His Church, but all that He has He holds for her. Adam’s righteousness was ours so long as he maintained it, and his sin was ours the moment that he committed it; and in the same way, all that the Second Adam is or does is ours as well as His because He is our representative.

Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This gracious system of representation and substitution, which moved Justin Martyr to cry out, “O blessed change, O sweet permutation!” is the very groundwork of the Gospel of our salvation and is to be received with strong faith and rapturous joy.

1 Ephesians 1:6

 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Plenteous redemption

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CharlesSpurgeon

“With him is plenteous redemption.” Psalm 130:7

Suggested Further Reading: Galatians 4:1-7

This “plenteous redemption” is plenteous, because it is enough for all the distresses of the saints. Your wants are almost infinite; but this atonement is quite so. Your troubles are almost unutterable; but this atonement is quite unutterable. Your needs you can scarce tell; but this redemption I know you cannot tell. Believe, then, that it is “plenteous redemption.” O believing sinner, what a sweet comfort it is for you, that there is “plenteous redemption,” and that you have a lot in it. You will most certainly be brought safely home, by Jesus’ grace. Are you seeking Christ; or rather, do you know yourselves to be sinners? If you do, I have authority from God to say to every one who will confess his sins, that Christ has redeemed him. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Are you a sinner? I do not mean a sham sinner; there are lots of them about, but I have no gospel to preach to them just now. I do not mean one of those hypocritical sinners, who cry, “Yes, I am a sinner,”—who are sinners out of compliment, and do not mean it. I will preach another thing to you: I will preach against your self-righteousness another day; but I shall not preach anything to you just now about Christ, for he “came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” But are you a sinner, in the bona fide sense of the word? Do you know yourself to be a lost, ruined, undone, sinner? Then in God’s name I urge you to believe this—that Christ has died to save you.

For meditation: We spend money to buy presents for others; Christ came to spend His lifeblood to buy sinners back for God. Christmas means nothing without the Christ; Christmas means nothing without Easter (Mark 10:45).

Sermon no. 351

22 December (Undated Sermon)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Love

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CharlesSpurgeon

“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Suggested Further Reading: 1 John 3:14-18

We have known many Christians who have forgotten much of their love to Christ when they have risen in the world. “Ah!” said a woman, who desired to do much for Christ in poverty, and who had had a great sum left her, “I cannot do as much as I used to do.” “But how is that?” said one. Said she, “When I had a meagre purse I had an overflowing heart, and now I have an overflowing purse I have only a meagre heart.” It is a sad temptation for some men to get rich. They were content to go to the meeting-house and mix with the ignoble congregation, while they had but little; they have grown rich, there is a Turkey carpet in the drawing-room, they have arrangements now too splendid to permit them to invite the poor of the flock, as once they did, and Christ Jesus is not so fashionable as to allow them to introduce any religious topic when they meet with their new friends. Besides this, they say they are now obliged to pay this visit and that visit, and they must spend so much time upon attire, and in maintaining their station and respectability, they cannot find time to pray as they did. The house of God has to be neglected for the party, and Christ has less of their heart than ever he had. “Is this thy kindness to thy friend?” And hast thou risen so high that thou art ashamed of Christ? And art thou grown so rich, that Christ in his poverty is despised? Alas! Poor wealth! Alas! Base wealth! Alas! Vile wealth! It would be well for thee if it should be all swept away, if a descent to poverty should be a restoration to the ardency of thine affection.

For meditation: If success in the world goes to our hearts it can do others much good (1 Timothy 6:17-19); if it goes to our heads it can do us much harm (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Sermon no. 229

19 December (1858)

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Salvation Security

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In 1924, the catchphrase “the gift that keeps on giving” launched a phonograph company’s series of musical recordings. In 1971, the popular movie “Diamonds Are Forever” inferred precious gems are the ideal gift. Last month, an e-trading company suggested the best gift to give is a contribution to a non-profit organization doing relief operations in the Philippines.

The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

In truth, there’s only one gift with eternal value – salvation in Jesus. It’s been offered to the whole world, but many reject it, staying on an earthly quest for success and material comfort. Some say His salvation is too hard to receive – that there must be some “catch.” How sad it is that their choice has the consequence of eternal separation from God Himself.

Jesus cautioned about laying up earthly treasures that can be destroyed or stolen. It is time for America…for you…to acknowledge the folly of pursuits for earthly security, and look instead to the Cross, from which absolute security in life continually flows. Pray for your leaders on Capitol Hill, in the Supreme Court, at the Pentagon, and in the White House. The gift that keeps on giving is for them, too.

Recommended Reading: John 3:12-21

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Jesus, The Great Guarantee

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Alistair Begg

He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Heaven is a place where we will never sin, where our battle with the evil one will be over; there will be no tempter to ensnare our feet. There the wicked cause no trouble, and the weary are at rest. Heaven is the undefiled inheritance; it is the land of perfect holiness, and therefore of complete security.

But don’t even the saints on earth sometimes taste the joys of blissful security? The doctrine of God’s Word is that all who are in union with Christ are safe, that all the righteous shall keep to the path, that those who have committed their souls to the care of Christ will find Him to be a faithful and unchanging protector.

Sustained by such a doctrine we can enjoy security even on earth-not the high and glorious security that makes us free from every slip, but that holy security that comes from the sure promise of Jesus that none who believe in Him will ever perish but will be with Him where He is. Believer, reflect often and joyfully on the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, and honor the faithfulness of God by a holy confidence in Him.

May God bring home to you a sense of your safety in Christ Jesus! May He assure you that your name is graven on His hand and whisper in your ear the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you.”

Look upon Him, the great Guarantee of the covenant, as faithful and true and therefore bound and committed to present you, in your weakness, with all the chosen race, before the throne of God; and in such a sweet contemplation you will drink the cup of salvation and taste the fruits of paradise. You will have a foretaste of the enjoyments that ravish the souls of the saints in heaven if you can believe with unwavering faith that “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

 

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Sustaining Power of Christ

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John MacArthur

“[Christ] upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3).

We base our entire lives on the constancy of physical laws. When something like an earthquake disrupts the normal condition or operation of things even a little, the consequences are often disastrous. Can you imagine what would happen if Jesus Christ relinquished His sustaining power over the laws of the universe for it is He in whom “all things hold together” (Col. 1:17)? We would go out of existence, our atoms scattering throughout the galaxy.

If He suspended the laws of gravity only for a brief moment, we would lose all points of reference. If any of the physical laws varied slightly, we could not exist. Our food could turn to poison; we ourselves could drift out into space or get flooded by the ocean tides. Countless other horrible things could happen.

But the universe remains in balance because Jesus Christ sustains and monitors all its movements and interworkings. He is the principle of cohesion. He is not the deist’s “watchmaker” creator, who made the world, set it in motion, and has not bothered with it since. The reason the universe is a cosmos instead of chaos–an ordered and reliable system instead of an erratic and unpredictable muddle–is the upholding power of Jesus Christ.

The entire universe hangs on the arm of Jesus. His unsearchable wisdom and boundless power are manifested in governing the universe. And He upholds it all by the word of His power. The key to the Genesis creation is in two words: “God said.” God spoke and it happened.

When I contemplate Christ’s power to uphold the universe, I’m drawn to the wonderful promise of Philippians 1:6: “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” When Christ begins a work in your heart, He doesn’t end there. He continually sustains it until the day He will take you into God’s very presence. A life, just as a universe, that is not sustained by Christ is chaos.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to remind you of Christ’s sustaining power when you endure your next trial.

For Further Study:

Read Job 38-39 for a greater appreciation of what Christ does to uphold the universe.

 

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Gift from the Father

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Charles Stanley

John 3:16

Think about all the presents you’ve received in your life. Some may have seemed heavenly, but Jesus Christ is the only gift any of us will ever receive that came straight from heaven. Without a maker, without a beginning or end, He is unlike any other gift in human experience. And although He arrived as a tiny infant, He is precisely what all mankind desperately needs.

When you placed your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you could not have been given a gift that was more practical or necessary. Sin had so wrecked humanity that we were all under the wrath of God and in desperate need of forgiveness and deliverance from our guilt, shame, and fleshly behaviors. We had emotional needs, material needs, and all manner of brokenness.

So God the Father sent His only begotten Son into our lives. He knew that no other gift could ever provide for our needs or fulfill our longings as completely as Christ Jesus.

He came in human flesh. That’s what the incarnation is all about. God came into this world with a body like ours so that we could see Him, touch Him, and understand Him. And yet the tragedy is that most people never “unwrap” this gift. They keep Him a baby in the manger scene or categorize Him as just a teacher or preacher. But this will never do. If you do not unwrap the gift, you will never know what is inside. To open the present, open the Bible. The more you get to know Jesus, the better you will understand how perfect the gift is for you.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Free from the Slightest Flaw

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Alistair Begg

There is no flaw in you.

Song of Songs 4:7

Having pronounced His Church positively full of beauty, our Lord confirms His praise by a precious negative: “There is no flaw in you.” As if the thought occurred to the Bridegroom that the complaining world would insinuate that He had only highlighted her good parts and had purposely not mentioned those features that were deformed or defiled, in summary He declares her universally and entirely beautiful and utterly devoid of flaws.

A spot can easily be removed and is the very least thing that can disfigure beauty, but even from this little blemish the believer is delivered in his Lord’s sight. If He had said there is no hideous scar, no horrible deformity, no deadly ulcer, we might even then have marveled; but when He testifies that she is free from the slightest flaw, all these other forms of defilement are included, and the depth of wonder is increased.

If He had simply promised to remove all flaws later on, we would still have eternal reason for joy; but when He speaks of it as already done, it fills us with a deep sense of satisfaction and delight. My soul, here is spiritual food for you; digest it properly, and be satisfied with the royal provision.

Christ Jesus has no quarrel with His spouse. She often wanders from Him and grieves His Holy Spirit, but He does not allow her faults to affect His love.

He sometimes rebukes, but it is always in a tender manner, with the kindest of intentions: It is “my love” even then. There is no remembrance of our follies. He does not cherish ill thoughts of us, but He pardons and loves equally after the offense as before it.

If Jesus were as mindful of injuries as we are, how could He commune with us? Too often a believer will put himself out of humor with the Lord for some slight turn in providence, but our precious Husband knows our silly hearts too well to take any offense at our ill manners.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Winter in the Soul

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Alistair Begg

You have made summer and winter.

Psalms 74:17

My soul, begin this wintry month with God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind you that He keeps His covenant with day and night and serve to assure you that He will also keep that glorious covenant that He has made with you in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to His Word in the revolutions of the seasons of this poor sin-polluted world will not prove unfaithful in His dealings with His own well-beloved Son.

Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it is upon you just now, it will be very painful to you: But there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation. He scatters the frozen dew like ashes over the once fresh green meadows of our joy. He dispenses His icy morsels, freezing the streams of our delight.

He does it all; He is the great Winter King and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore you cannot murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills are of the Lord’s sending and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill harmful insects and restrain raging diseases; they break up the clods and sweeten the soul. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

How we prize the fire just now! How pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw near to Him, and in Him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of His promises, and keep working, unlike the lazy man who refuses to plow because it is too cold; in the summer he will have nothing and will be forced to beg for bread.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – It’s All about Him

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Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. —Philippians 3:8

One of the best tools in a believer’s evangelistic toolbox is his or her own personal story. It’s a way for you to effectively put yourself in the other person’s shoes. You can say, “You know what? I used to be this way. And this is the way I thought. This is what I used to do. Then one day, someone shared the gospel with me [or however you came to faith], and here is what happened to me. . . .”

A lot of people don’t even know how others became Christians. They might think we were just born this way. They may be shocked to find out that we weren’t born this way at all.

How you came to believe in Jesus is your own story, but here are a few tips. When you share your story, don’t ever glorify or exaggerate your past. Sometimes we glorify our past. Sometimes the way certain people share their personal stories makes their past sound more appealing than their present. People start thinking, You know, maybe I will stop being a Christian and start doing what you used to do. That sounds like a lot of fun. If you were to really describe the way you were before you knew the Lord, you could acknowledge that you had some fun. You had some laughs. But then you also need to talk about the emptiness and the sin and the guilt.

Don’t make your past more appealing than your present. Don’t be defined by what you were. Be defined by whose you are. Don’t make it all about what you used to do. Talk about who you are now. It is about Him, not about you. It is about His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and what He has done for you.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Abundant, Supernatural Life

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“Even so, consider yourself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11, NAS).

My friend Randy had given up on the Christian life. He said, “I have tried, but failed so many times; nothing seems to work. God doesn’t hear my prayers, and I am tired of trying. I’ve read the Bible, prayed, memorized Scripture, and gone to church. But there is no joy and I don’t see any purpose in continuing a life of shame and hypocrisy, pretending I am something that I’m not.”

After listening to his account of his many failures and defeats, I began to explain the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He interrupted me with, “I know all about the Holy Spirit. I’ve read everything I can find, everything you and others have written – and nothing works for me.”

My thoughts turned to Romans, chapter 6. I asked him, “Randy, are you sure you’re a Christian?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m sure.”

“How do you know?”

“By faith,” he responded. “The Scripture promises, ‘For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it’s a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.’ I know I’m saved.”

“Why,” I asked him, “do you trust God for your salvation, but do not believe in His other promises concerning your rights as a child of God?”

I began to read from Romans 6 and reminded Randy that every believer has available to him the mighty, supernatural power of the risen Christ. With the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the believer can live that supernatural life simply by claiming his rights through an act of his will. The same Holy Spirit who inspired Ephesians 2:8 and 9 inspired Romans 6, and, by faith, we can claim that sin no longer has control over us and that the mighty power of the resurrection is available as promised.

That day, God touched Randy’s life, his spiritual eyes were opened and he began, by faith, to live in accordance with his God-given heritage.

Bible Reading: Romans 6:12-18

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today, by faith, I will claim the truths of Romans 6. As an act of my will, I surrender the members of my body as instruments of righteousness unto God, to live that abundant, supernatural life, which is my heritage in Christ. Enabled by the Holy Spirit, I will encourage other believers to claim their kingdom rights, and non-believers to join this adventure with the risen Savior

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Practice of Walking

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Alistair Begg

So walk in him.

Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ Himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will display its intimate acquaintance with Him by a walk of faith in Him. Walking implies action. Our Christian life is not to be confined to our closet; our belief must be revealed in our practice. If a man walks in Christ, then he must act as Christ would act; since Christ is in him-his hope, his love, his joy, his life-he is the reflection of the image of Jesus; and men will say of that man, “He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.”

Walking signifies progress. “So walk in him.” Proceed from grace to grace; run forward until you reach the ultimate degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning Christ. Walking implies continuance. There must be a continual abiding in Christ

Many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, but regard the rest of the day as their own: But this is poor living; we should always be with Him, treading in His steps and doing His will.

Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man’s walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant theme of his life.

Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ and then forget Him, sometimes call Him ours and then lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in Him. We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him”; persevere in the same way in which you began, and, just as at the beginning Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same until life’s end, the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and enter into the joy and the rest that remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – What We Receive

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Alistair Begg

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord . . .

Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving-an act that implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift.

As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God. The believers are not by nature wells or streams; they are just cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours His salvation.

The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: So is it in the life of faith-Christ becomes real to us.

Until we come to faith, Jesus is just a name to us-a person who lived a long time ago, so long ago that His life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing that I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given.

When I receive Jesus, He becomes my Savior, so much so that neither life nor death will be able to rob me of Him. All this is to receive Christ-to take Him as God’s free gift, to realize Him in my heart, and to appropriate Him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings-we have received Christ Jesus Himself. It is true that He gave us life from the dead.

He gave us pardon from sin; He gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ Himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received Him and appropriated Him. What a heart-full Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain Him!

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; H.L.M. – Total Gift

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Can you imagine life without God’s gift of grace? Unfortunately, many live without it. According to a survey from LifeWay Research, 47 percent of Americans feel the weight of a bad choice from their past, even though a majority believe God gives second chances. Nearly 19 percent believe God gives a second chance when a person depends only on Him, followed closely by when a person makes restitution (18 percent), does enough good (15 percent) or promises not to repeat the mistake (11 percent).

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.

I Corinthians 1:4

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” The work of salvation is for God’s glory and is not accomplished by human effort. Salvation is fully a gift from God!

Of course, when someone gives you a gift, you say, “Thank you.” So every day thank God for His total gift of grace in your life…and for the second chances He has given you. Thank Him also for the grace He has bestowed on this country. Then pray that the nation’s leaders will discover this priceless gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10