The "Good Old Days"
Hebrews 11:13-16 contains a powerful truth, a perspective I want to encourage you to embrace. These verses are talking about the great heroes of the faith from the Old Testament,
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
These heroes of the faith sought a better homeland. In verse 15 it talks about calling to mind the country from which they had come, but the word country is just added by the translators. It really has the intent of saying if they had constantly thought about from where they had come, there would have been a great temptation to return there.
As you read this passage, it is easy to see why some people struggle so much with past sins. As verse 15 says, Truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
The reason some people constantly struggle with returning to their old life, finding a multitude of opportunities to return, is because they keep calling it to mind. They keep rehearsing the "good old days." Perhaps you struggle with that as well.
If you do, seek to remember the "good old days" as they really were. Don't forget about all the pain. Don't forget about the way you struggled, the reason you came to Christ in the first place. Stop rehearsing the past. If the "good old days" were so good, you would not have gotten saved.
~Bayless Conley~
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Is There Enough “Goodness” in Your Cup?
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There is none good, no not one. If you asked every single human being on planet earth to deposit in a cup all of his or her goodness, there would not be enough goodness in that cup to save even one person!
Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as “filthy rags” in the sight of God. The cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Jesus took our sin upon the cross. Jesus took our shame upon the cross. Jesus took our suffering upon the cross. And by His death, He paid the sin debt and now we have His righteousness.
In 1906, Jessie Brown Pounds wrote these words: “I must needs go home by the way of the cross, there's no other way but this; I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light, if the way of the cross I miss.”
ACTION POINT:
Get this clear with yourself: Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own? Your accumulated lifetime of “good works”? Or the righteousness of the sinless Lamb of God, Who became your substitute on the Cross and paid your sin debt in full?
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There is none good, no not one. If you asked every single human being on planet earth to deposit in a cup all of his or her goodness, there would not be enough goodness in that cup to save even one person!
Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as “filthy rags” in the sight of God. The cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Jesus took our sin upon the cross. Jesus took our shame upon the cross. Jesus took our suffering upon the cross. And by His death, He paid the sin debt and now we have His righteousness.
In 1906, Jessie Brown Pounds wrote these words: “I must needs go home by the way of the cross, there's no other way but this; I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light, if the way of the cross I miss.”
ACTION POINT:
Get this clear with yourself: Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own? Your accumulated lifetime of “good works”? Or the righteousness of the sinless Lamb of God, Who became your substitute on the Cross and paid your sin debt in full?
~Adrian Rogers~
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In the first two verses of Psalm 42 David puts before us wording that triggers a visual image, a deer panting for fresh water, and a common experience, our being thirsty, to describe what us fully living for God should look like.
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1-2)
Would you say that you are thirsty for God? What does your soul panting or thirsting for God look like?
~Tami~
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Being Clothed in His Righteousness
The church is our mother, but it is Christ's bride. In this role, we are the objects of Christ's affection. We, corporately, are His beloved. Stained and wrinkled, in ourselves we are anything but holy. When we say that the church is holy or refer to her as "holy mother church," we do so with the knowledge that her holiness is not intrinsic but derived and dependent upon the One who sanctifies her and covers her with the cloak of His righteousness.
As the sensitive husband shelters his wife and in a chivalrous manner lends her his coat when she is chilled, so we are clad from on high by a husband who stops at nothing to defend, protect, and care for His betrothed. His is the ultimate chivalry, a chivalry that no upheaval of earthly custom can eradicate or make passé. This chivalry is not dead because it cannot die.
The bride of Christ is soiled but will one day be presented spotless to the Father by the Son who bought her, who loves her, and who intercedes for her every day. If we love Christ, we must also love His bride. If we love Christ, we must love His church.
Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God
Ask God to rekindle your love for members of the body of Christ, the true church.
For Further Study
Revelation 3:5: "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
Psalm 111:3: "His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever."
2 Peter 3:14: "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless."
~R. C. Sproul~
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Sufficient Grace
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
I thought the Christian life was going to be easier than this. Have these words ever entered your mind? Sometimes we come into the family of God thinking that our heavenly Father will fix all our problems and devote Himself to our happiness and comfort. However, that is not the reality portrayed in Scripture. Paul was a man whom the Lord used greatly, and yet his life was anything but easy.
In fact, at one point, the apostle thought his pain was too much to bear, and he begged God to remove it. There’s nothing wrong with asking the Lord to relieve our suffering, but what should our response be if He doesn’t? Paul probably had no idea that His experience would find its way into the Bible, to comfort and guide believers throughout the ages. The promise God gave him applies to us as well: “My grace is sufficient for you” (v. 9).
God’s grace could be defined as His provision for us at the point of our need. The problem is that sometimes it doesn’t seem as if the Lord truly is meeting our need. But He frequently sees deficiencies, outcomes, and complications that we don’t. His goals for us involve spiritual growth, the development of Christlike character, and strong faith. And trials play a vital role in achieving these.
The important issue is how we respond. If all you want is relief, you could descend into anger and doubt. But if your desire is to become the person God wants you to be, you’ll see each trial as an opportunity for Christ to display His character and strength in you.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
As the sensitive husband shelters his wife and in a chivalrous manner lends her his coat when she is chilled, so we are clad from on high by a husband who stops at nothing to defend, protect, and care for His betrothed. His is the ultimate chivalry, a chivalry that no upheaval of earthly custom can eradicate or make passé. This chivalry is not dead because it cannot die.
The bride of Christ is soiled but will one day be presented spotless to the Father by the Son who bought her, who loves her, and who intercedes for her every day. If we love Christ, we must also love His bride. If we love Christ, we must love His church.
Coram Deo: Living in the Presence of God
Ask God to rekindle your love for members of the body of Christ, the true church.
For Further Study
Revelation 3:5: "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
Psalm 111:3: "His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever."
2 Peter 3:14: "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless."
~R. C. Sproul~
____________________________
Sufficient Grace
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
I thought the Christian life was going to be easier than this. Have these words ever entered your mind? Sometimes we come into the family of God thinking that our heavenly Father will fix all our problems and devote Himself to our happiness and comfort. However, that is not the reality portrayed in Scripture. Paul was a man whom the Lord used greatly, and yet his life was anything but easy.
In fact, at one point, the apostle thought his pain was too much to bear, and he begged God to remove it. There’s nothing wrong with asking the Lord to relieve our suffering, but what should our response be if He doesn’t? Paul probably had no idea that His experience would find its way into the Bible, to comfort and guide believers throughout the ages. The promise God gave him applies to us as well: “My grace is sufficient for you” (v. 9).
God’s grace could be defined as His provision for us at the point of our need. The problem is that sometimes it doesn’t seem as if the Lord truly is meeting our need. But He frequently sees deficiencies, outcomes, and complications that we don’t. His goals for us involve spiritual growth, the development of Christlike character, and strong faith. And trials play a vital role in achieving these.
The important issue is how we respond. If all you want is relief, you could descend into anger and doubt. But if your desire is to become the person God wants you to be, you’ll see each trial as an opportunity for Christ to display His character and strength in you.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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