January 15, 2018
Anytime you draw the line there are going to be people on the other side. Jesus was serious about doing this, with no apologies, and it cost him his life.
Because He was so inherently honest, He did not sugarcoat this with His disciples. ""If they maligned Me, they will malign you,"" He said. He painted a picture in Matthew, Chapter 10 of the persecution that they would face if they truly, unapologetically followed Him.
If we are not facing some of the same, it might be because we speak a politically correct gospel or, worse yet, may not be speaking the gospel at all for the sake of our comfort.
But for those happy, effective ones who proclaim Him on the housetops and are persecuted for it, there are great promises from the Savior.
THE PROMISE OF VALUE AND CARE
27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
THE PROMISE OF CONFESSION WHERE IT MATTERS
32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
THE PROMISE OF FINDING REAL LIFE
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
It's worth it. As you head into your day, resolve that you will live for Christ and proclaim Him, graciously and kindly, but boldly and loudly. Regardless of others response, you will have gained the attention of heaven.
Dear Lord, forgive me for my silence. My lack of confessing You to others for fear of the loss it might bring me. Open my mouth today to proclaim you boldly. Let me be willing to lose my life so that I may exalt Yours to people who desperately need to see You. And, let me rest in Your promised applause and not listen for the applause of men.
January 17, 2025
The one who does what invites the presence of God into the situation has the ultimate reward.
January 16, 2025
Everything in your life and your future depends upon where you place the Lord. Notice the Psalmist David indicateD it is our deliberate choice and no one else’s. No one can do this for you. “I have SET … I PLACE the Lord in front of me.”
January 15, 2025
Imagine a child created by God and for whom He had sent His only begotten Son to redeem and His Spirit to indwell. And then imagine that child ignoring Him, never communing, never praying, never listening, never obeying. And then realize how an attentive, unceasing life of prayer would delight the heart of the Father who made you.
