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Philippians 3:4 If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. The apostle Paul surely could relate to the business executive. Paul reached the height of his profession only to have it completely stripped and torn from him. What he thought mattered in life became rubbish compared to what God did in his heart as He destroyed what seemed valuable at the time. It took a dramatic event to bring Paul into this revelation. It took a bright light-blindness, and the most fearful experience a human could have-being addressed personally by God, who...

Personal Life: The Call of God Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. --Hebrews 12:11 "Your calling," said Meister Eckhart to the clergy of his day, "cannot make you holy; but you can make it holy. No matter how humble that calling may be, a holy man can make it a holy calling. A call to the ministry is not a call to be holy, as if the fact of his being a minister would sanctify a man;...

Christ Will Come Again January 7, 2009  "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2-3)  The world has not seen the last of Jesus Christ! He was in the world once, but the world would not have Him, even though He had created it (John 1:10). While He was on earth, He...

Personal Life: The Compelling Call For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! --1 Corinthians 9:16 The true minister is one not by his own choice but by the sovereign commission of God. From a study of the Scriptures one might conclude that the man God calls seldom or never surrenders to the call without considerable reluctance. The young man who rushes too eagerly into the pulpit at first glance seems to be unusually spiritual, but he may in...

Judging Others January 6, 2009  "Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1)  This is a very familiar maxim, often cited by unbelievers and carnal Christians as a rebuke to Christians whom they regard as intolerant. These words of the Lord Jesus Christ do, indeed, warn us against a self-righteous attitude, condemning others who disagree with us on the basis of superficial criteria.   On the other hand, this caution by no means relieves us of the responsibility of evaluating the beliefs and practices of others in the light of Scripture. In the very same sermon, in fact,...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 7 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "For me to live is Christ." - Philippians 1:21 The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so...

Psalms 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. David is the only person in the Bible whom God describes as a man after His own heart. Despite David's many setbacks he continually sought to know and do God's will in his life. Like many of us, his will got in the way of a sinless life. In the morning hour, David sought to hear from God. I can imagine David sitting on the...

Friday night, our pastor's daughter was on her way home from work in Key West, on her motorcycle. She was struck and run over by a young man, how did not see her. She was non-responsive and not breathing. As soon as they pronounced her dead at the scene, she took a breath. She was life flighted to Ft. Lauderdale, and then to Miami. her family rushed from Missouri to be by her side. The doctors determined that she suffered what could be called whiplash to the brain stem. She has been in a coma and on a ventilator since...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 6 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel-"HE careth for me." Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to "Lie passive in God's...

Psalms 144:1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. David was a man skilled in war. From his days as a shepherd boy to the days of serving in Saul's army to leading his own army, David learned to be a skillful warrior. How does one become a skillful warrior? The only way one can become a skillful warrior is to be trained and placed in the middle of the battle. It is only when we are placed in the furnace of battle that we truly learn to fight the...

Personal Life: Let God Alone But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. --James 1:4 God is saying, "I stand ready to pour a little liquid fire into your heart, into your spiritual being!" We respond: "No, Lord, please excuse me. That sounds like fanaticism--and I would have to give up some things!" So we refuse His desire, even though we want all the benefits of His cross. There is this thoughtful phrase in The Cloud of Unknowing: "He wills thou do but look on Him and let Him alone." Let God...

Confession and Forgiveness January 5, 2009  "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)  Every person, even the most godly Christian believer, at least occasionally commits acts of sin--sins of omission, if not sins of commission. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).   When a Christian does sin, the remedy is available. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all...

Running a successful church requires cutting-edge marketing and branding as much as it does innovative preaching and ministry. The Fellowship at Celebration Baptist Church has learned that the hard way during the past decade as a similarly named congregation has become synonymous with the word "Celebration." As a result, the East Arlington congregation is changing its name on Thursday to FaithBridge Church. That's something church member Jaime Brasseit said she's had to pray to accept. "I liked 'Celebration,' and I kinda wish we had kept 'Baptist,' " Brasseit, 22, said after a recent Sunday morning service. But Brasseit said she...

WHY CATHOLICS HAVE MORE FUN THAN PROTESTANTS WHILE STUDYING EARLY CHURCH HISTORYCatholics admire evangelical Protestants for their courage to stand up on life issues and many other truths of moral law. Catholics also admire their Protestant brethren for their devotion to reading the Word of God and their willingness to stand up for what they believe and bring others to knowledge of Christ's saving work. Catholics see the grace of Christ at work in these Christians and often depend on their generous prayers in time of need.So, Catholics feel badly for Protestants who oftentimes feel crushed upon embarking on studies...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 5 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." - Genesis 1:4 Light might well be good since it sprang from that fiat of goodness, "Let there be light." We who enjoy it should be more grateful for it than we are, and see more of God in it and by it. Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to our immortal natures. When the Holy...

Psalms 143:7 Do not hide Your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Of all the biblical characters, David gives us a glimpse of a man who walked with God with great emotion in victory and in defeat. David never lost a battle throughout his many years of serving as king of Israel. In many of the Psalms, David often lamented about the difficult places where God had placed him. He talked of his enemies and the need for God to deliver Him. He talked of God's everlasting love for him. How...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 4 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 3:18 "Grow in grace"-not in one grace only, but in all grace. Grow in that root-grace, faith. Believe the promises more firmly than you have done. Let faith increase in fulness, constancy, simplicity. Grow also in love. Ask that your love may become extended, more intense, more practical, influencing every thought, word, and deed. Grow likewise in humility. Seek to lie very low, and know more of your own nothingness. As you grow...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 3 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "I will give thee for a covenant of the people." - Isaiah 49:8 Jesus Christ is himself the sum and substance of the covenant, and as one of its gifts. He is the property of every believer. Believer, canst thou estimate what thou hast gotten in Christ? "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Consider that word "God" and its infinity, and then meditate upon "perfect man" and all his beauty; for all that Christ, as God and man, ever had, or can have, is thine-out of...

For more than half a century, the First Baptist Church of Dallas could claim among its members one of the most famous of Christians – the Rev. Billy Graham. But that distinction has ended with the 90-year-old evangelist's decision to join the First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, S.C., which is much nearer his home in Montreat, N.C. -snip- Members of First Baptist Spartanburg voted him in on Sunday. -snip-

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. "I didn't know you were in full-time Christian work," said my close friend as we were driving. "I didn't realize that," she went on. I responded, "Every person who has followed the will of God in their life is in full-time Christian work." God calls some to the mission field, others to be accountants, and others to...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 2 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Continue in prayer." - Colossians 4:2 It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob-there a Daniel who prayed three times a day-and a...

Nehemiah 6:14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me. Nehemiah set out to rebuild the wall at Jerusalem that had been destroyed. Nehemiah held a position in the Persian Empire that would be comparable to Chief of Staff in our government. Nehemiah wept over the destruction of the city wall and repented for the sins of his generation and the generations before him that had led to the fall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah responded to the news...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - January 1 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." - Joshua 5:12 Israel's weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be...

Malachi 3:2 For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. The Lord has a specific manner of preparing His people for useful service. God desires to turn His children from rough, hard-edged stones into gems of gold and silver. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years (Malachi...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 31 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." - John 7:37 Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our...

John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Almost every significant thing God births He allows to die before the vision is fulfilled in His own way. Abraham had a vision of being the father of a great nation (birth). Sarah was barren and became too old to have children (death). God gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age. He became the father of a great nation (fulfillment). Joseph had a vision that...

The Ignorant Fishermen 2000 years ago before Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, He chose men. The elite class and religious rulers of that day called these men ignorant. God, however, called these men to be His Fishermen and Ambassadors to the dying world. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew...

Trials and Pain: Moses' Prayer So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. --Psalm 90:12 A few days after these words appear in print the old year of our Lord will have gone to join the long procession of years and centuries that move on into the shadows of a past that can come no more. In the year just gone the world has been writing history, not with ink only but with blood and tears; not in the quiet of the study but in violence, terror and death in city streets and...

Specific Creation December 30, 2008  "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." (1 Corinthians 15:39)  The doctrine of special creation means that creation took place by supernatural processes, and that each created entity was specifically planned and formed by God. This doctrine is clearly taught in the Genesis record, where the phrase "after his kind" is used no less than ten times in the very first chapter.   One such remarkable reference is found here in 1 Corinthians 15:37-44....

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 30 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof." - Ecclesiastes 7:8 Look at David's Lord and Master; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Would you see the end? He sits at his Father's right hand, expecting until his enemies be made his footstool. "As he is, so are we also in this world." You must bear the cross, or you shall never wear the crown; you must wade through the mire, or you shall never...

John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." Have you ever thought about a typical day in Jesus' life? Perhaps He might have had questions like these, "Who am I going to heal today? Who will I visit today? Which person will I deliver from demons this day?" etc. The demands on Jesus' time were great. Yet we see that Jesus allocated His time very deliberately. We don't get the...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 29 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." - 1 Samuel 7:12 The word "hitherto" seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, "hitherto the Lord hath helped!" Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, "hitherto hath the Lord helped us!" We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from...

Joel 1:9 The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the Lord. The first requirement for being used by God in the life of others is to mourn on their behalf. We must identify with their pain and suffering. Each of us must be broken for others first. In order to be fully used by God in the marketplace, we need to understand what breaks God's heart. When we understand what breaks God's heart, we are able to mourn on behalf of a grieving person, or a nation we are called to serve. What breaks God's heart? When we...

If John Calvin were a member of your worship committee, what comments might he have about the shape and content of the liturgy your congregation follows on Sunday morning! Would he be impressed with your creative litanies, warmed by your pastor's folksy opening remarks! Or would he be critical of some of your more innovative practices, appalled that you celebrate the Lord's Supper only four times a year? In the following article James De Jong, president of Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan; takes a look at Calvin's well-defined ideas about the nature and form of worship and reminds...

The Catholic Mass is all Bible and all Jesus - Biblical references for the Mass are here - and we have the most kickin' altar call around - Holy Communion. Talk about getting up and coming down the aisle for the Lord. We actually meet Him in the Flesh when we hit the front.What about the golden chalices, incense and stuff Catholics use? Some Evangelicals make fun of the Catholic Mass and call it the "smells and bells." But if we look at early Christians we also see quite a ceremony. They were men of their time and culture and...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 28 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God." - Galatians 2:20 When the Lord in mercy passed by and saw us in our blood, he first of all said, "Live"; and this he did first, because life is one of the absolutely essential things in spiritual matters, and until it be bestowed we are incapable of partaking in the things of the kingdom. Now the life which grace confers upon the saints at the moment of their quickening is...

Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road-the desert road-that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." Philip was conducting what we might today call a revival meeting. God was blessing the meeting, and many were being healed and delivered from demonic influence. Here is the scene: Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 27 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Can the rush grow up without mire?" - Job 8:11 The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite...

Proverbs 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. The marketplace can be a pressure-packed world. The demands that are often put on us can bring out things that we never knew were there. Sometimes we begin to think that the source of that pressure is to blame for our response to the pressure. It could be an event, a spouse, a boss, a client, a child, or even a driver who cuts us off in traffic. I recall responding to a close friend one time, "If you had not done...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 26 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "The last Adam." - 1 Corinthians 15:45 Jesus is the federal head of his elect. As in Adam, every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race as 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...

Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Recently, a friend told a true story about one of his closest friends who experienced great suffering for the soul of his persecutor. This man worked on a cargo ship. His boss was the captain. This friend was a committed Christian who shared his faith with others and was a good worker. One day the friend led the sea captain's girlfriend to Christ. The sea captain already hated and ridiculed the Christian worker because of his faith...

CHRISTMAS SONG FOR ALL YEAR 'ROUND Words and Music by Randy Stonehill from the album Welcome To Paradise on the Solid Rock label catalog # SRA-2002 (vinyl), SRC-2002 (cass), SRD-002 (cd) copright (c) 1976 King of Hearts Publishing (BMI) Album produced by Larry Norman===== I wonder if this Christmas they'll begin to understand The Jesus that they celebrate is much more than a man But the way the world is I don't see how people can deny The only way to save us was for Jesus Christ to die [CHORUS] And I know, that if St. Nicholas was here he...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - December 25 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14 Let us to-day go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire....

This is a very joyous time of year. Bright lights, carolers, gifts. But why do we celebrate Christmas? Because of the birth of Jesus...Right? Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Were these heavenly host praising God because a child was born? Or were they praising God because they knew that now, finally since Adam's fall, man could be reconciled with God Himself!? Jesus knew His mission. Peter didn't want Him to take...

This Christmas Season, remember the reality of Christmas! A Savior was born! (Luke 2:1-20, Matt 1:18-25, 2:1-15, John 1:14) Do you Believe? Do you really believe? or do you just celebrate a "Traditional Christmas". What better way of celebrating this Christmas Season then to know the reality of Christmas. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16,17) This Christmas,...

Joel 2:25 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm-My great army that I sent among you. There are seasons in our lives that involve times of famine and times of restoration. Solomon tells us that He has made everything beautiful in its time and that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven. (See Ecclesiastes 3:1,11.) God brings about both the good and the bad. The seasons of famine have a divine purpose in our lives. They...

This Christmas Season, remember the reality of Christmas! A Savior was born! (Luke 2:1-20, Matt 1:18-25, 2:1-15, John 1:14) Do you Believe? Do you really believe? or do you just celebrate a "Traditional Christmas". What better way of celebrating this Christmas Season then to know the reality of Christmas.

"The doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works..." -C.H. Spurgeon Praised by many evangelicals as a great preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon is considered a successful and "safe" example of a "non-theological" ministry. His works are recommended as a means to lead many aspiring pastors into developing their own successful ministries. His Lectures to My Students are often used for this purpose, emphasizing the "practical" aspects of evangelism. But while the form of Spurgeon's successful preaching is often studied by would-be pastors, the content of this Christian giant's preaching and...

An independent organization that reviews Christian ministries for financial accountability and transparency has released its annual list of the top 30 most exemplary ministries and, for the first time, a list of 30 “donor alert” ministries. Though Matthews, N.C.-based Wall Watchers for years has released its list of “Shining Light” ministries and a regular bulletin of "donor alerts" concerning potential frauds and pitfalls for donors, this year marks the first time it has released an official list of “30 Donor Alert Ministries” through its website, MinistryWatch.com. “Most donors expect charitable organizations to act on behalf of others and not for...

ADEL, Ga. (BP)--Often, a picture in the mail was all it took. Word had gotten out about the couple willing to take in children, no matter if they were minorities or a sibling group or had special needs. Drew and Nancy McDowell -- married as teens and childless their first five years -- made room. Some came alone, but six times they came in groups of three or more. Today the McDowells count 41 children, all but one of them adopted. 41. Four. One. "You might would have to be a little crazy to do it," Nancy, 61, admitted. "But...