Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. --Philippians 4:11-12
God is committed to your success as a Christian. And one of the ways He prepares you for godly success is…believe it or not…through tests of prosperity.
Now, usually you hear preachers talk a lot about tests of adversity…which we’ve spent a lot of time over the past several days. But I’d argue that perhaps the most difficult test in life is not the test of adversity but rather the test of prosperity.
Most of us are able to handle adversity in Christ. But many of us have more difficulty in handling our prosperity when we have been so blessed in Christ.
Paul was able to handle both adversity and prosperity…as we note in today’s passage. But what about you? How do you respond when God blesses you? Do you find yourself depending less of God when times are good? Do you ever find yourself spending less time in God’s Word and in prayer when your needs aren’t so pressing?
As you grow in your relationship with Christ, it’s my hope that you’ll fall so much in love with Jesus that your desire to spend time with Him won’t hinge on how stressed out you are. That you will learn as Paul did, to be content in both adversity and prosperity.
Godly success comes through the tests of prosperity.
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20
When people in Jesus’ day heard Him tell the story of the Prodigal Son, they heard it through the lens of their culture. To the Jewish listeners, this story contains something unusual that we often don’t think of. For a man of wealth and standing in that time to run was extremely rare. He would have servants to take care of his tasks and would dispatch one of them to care for urgent matters. Yet the father saw his son coming from a great distance and ran to meet to him. This is a wonderful picture of the way God treats us. We do not have to persuade God to save us—He delights in rescuing sinners from Hell and placing them into His family. He is even patient and allows us opportunities to respond to the gospel rather than quickly giving us the punishment that we deserve. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
The full measure of the love of God for us can only be understood through the lens of the cross. God was willing to cause His perfect and innocent Son to suffer and die for the sins of man so that we could be redeemed, and He delighted when our redemption was accomplished. “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10).
Today’s Growth Principle:
If we remember how much God loves us, it motivates us to do all that we can to please and honor Him.
When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” --Genesis 40:6-7
Don’t you just love the buoyant optimism and biblical hope of Joseph?
In today’s passage, we see him showing concern about the cupbearer and the baker who shared a prison cell with him. They must have been thinking, “Joseph, have you forgotten, we’re in prison?!”
Rather than wallowing in self-pity and whining about his circumstances, Joseph looked out for others. He asked questions. He cared for others. Why? Because his trials had taught Joseph to look beyond himself to others…and to use his thorns and his tests as a ministry to others.
After all, how can we help broken people if we’ve never been broken? How can we help dry wet eyes if we’ve never shed a tear? How can we comfort those who are grieving if we’ve never experienced great grief?
That’s why God rarely if ever uses people until they have been broken…until they’ve come to a place in their lives where their own struggles and trials have made it possible for them to minister effectively.
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
Because you and I have experienced God’s grace and comfort in the midst of our pain and struggles, we are able to serve others. That’s the blessing of adversity!
Praise God today that He can use your hurts to help heal the hurts of others.
“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” Luke 15:17–19
Dr. Curtis Hutson once preached a sermon from the story of the Prodigal Son titled “The Insanity of Sinners” because the Bible says that the young man “came to himself,” which indicates he had not been in his right mind. Dr. Hutson said, “Every sinner is insane, because his judgments are out of order. Notice what he did. He put eternity in the background. He wasn’t thinking about the future, only about the here and now. He thought he knew better than his father. Sinners sometimes feel they know what is better for them than God does.”
Although we usually think of this parable in the context of evangelism, this truth is just as applicable to saved sinners as it is to lost sinners. When we turn away from following God to go our own way, we are on the pathway to destruction. Yet despite knowing the clear warnings of Scripture about what happens if we sin and refuse to repent and turn back to God, Christians continue to yield to temptation, and then try to cover their sin rather than confessing and forsaking it. The false concept that we can hide our sin from God dates back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve tried to keep God from finding out that they had eaten the forbidden fruit. It has never yet worked in all of history, but people continue to try it rather than quickly making things right with God.
Today’s Growth Principle:
If we tolerate sin in our lives, it is clear evidence that our thinking has been skewed and we are off course.
On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. --Psalm 62:7
Through the years, I’ve read a number of wonderful books on personal development, motivation, and success.
And of course, there are many definitions about what success really is. My friend, Christian author and speaker John Maxwell, gives one of the best definitions I have ever read. He says, “Success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
So according to Maxwell, success is knowing and growing and sowing.
Bible teacher and author Charles Stanley writes, “Success is the continuing achievement of becoming the person God wants you to be and accomplishing the goals God has helped you to set.” Stanley says that success is becoming the person God made you to be…the person God designed you to become in Him.
In our success-crazed culture, it’s important to remember that real success isn’t found in the label of your clothes, the brand of the car you drive, or even your title at work. True success is found in your character and in your commitment to what really matters.
It’s not fame or fortune, but the fulfillment of God’s purpose and God’s plan for your life that really counts!
True success is becoming the person that God has made you to be.
“And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.” Luke 15:15–16
Though Sam Jones was raised by godly parents and grandparents, he turned to drink, and his brilliant and promising legal career was destroyed by his alcoholism. He lost job after job but refused to quit drinking. Finally, a visit to his father’s deathbed provoked a change. Jones later said, “I went to the bar and begged for a glass of liquor. I got the glass and started to drink and looked into the mirror. I saw my hair matted, the filth and vomit on my clothes, one of my eyes totally closed, and my lips swollen. And I said, ‘Is that all that is left of the proud and brilliant lawyer, Sam Jones?’ I smashed the glass on the floor and fell to my knees and cried, ‘Oh God! Oh God, have mercy!’ Something happened to old Sam Jones.”
The following Sunday, Jones walked the aisle of his grandfather’s church and announced his conversion, and the next week began preaching the gospel. Jones said, “I have been going round the country bragging about Jesus ever since.” Sam Jones crisscrossed the South for the next several decades, seeing half a million people saved under his ministry. But it was not until he had lost everything that he was willing to turn to God.
Too many times we insist on continuing in our sin until we reach absolute rock bottom, instead we should quickly repent and turn to God. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).
Today’s Growth Principle:
We do not have to wait until we suffer tragedy and great loss before we turn to God.
“And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.” Luke 15:13–14
When the Prodigal Son got to the far country, at first it seemed like everything was going exactly as he had planned. The rules that he had been forced to obey at home were gone, and he had the resources to do whatever he liked. But there came a day when the money ran out, and then the party came to a quick end. Those he thought were his friends, when he had money, were nowhere to be found when he was broke.
Satan is a master deceiver, and the pictures he paints in temptation leave out the end of the story. If we choose to follow his way, there may be some short-term enjoyment, but the party always ends. One of the best defenses we have against temptation is the realization that the pleasures of sin only last for a short time. “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24–25). God’s pleasures are not temporary, but eternal, and never leave us with the pain at the end. There may often be difficulties or obstacles that arise when we follow Him, but obedience is always worth the cost. The difference between God’s party and Satan’s is that God’s celebration will be eternal and unending. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).
Today’s Growth Principle:
If we rightly evaluate what is lasting against what is temporary, we will by faith choose the things of God.
Nothing But Christ
by Joyce Meyer - posted June 26, 2016
For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified. And I was in (passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [after I had come] among you. And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power. —1 Corinthians 2:2-4
I’ve tried to imagine what it would have been like to go to Corinth or other Greek cities at the time of Paul and try to speak to those wise, brilliant thinkers. After studying every parchment given to me, and gaining knowledge of all their arguments, I would have prayed for God to help me overcome their objections.
We don’t know what Paul did, but his answer is astounding. Instead of going after them with great reasoning and sharp logic, he went in exactly the opposite direction. He stayed in Corinth a year and a half, and many came to Christ because of him. Later, when he wrote 1 Corinthians, he said, “For I resolved to know nothing . . . among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified” (2:2). That’s amazing. If any man had the ability to reason with those Greeks and could show them the fallacies of their logic, surely that man was Paul. But, being led by the Holy Spirit, he chose a defenseless presentation—to let God speak through him and touch the hearts of the people.
Now, centuries later, I appreciate his approach—although I didn’t always feel this way. For a long time I wanted to explain and reason out everything, but when that didn’t work, I ended up feeling miserable.
I’ve always been curious, always wanted to know, and always wanted to figure out the answer. Then God began to work in my life. He showed me that my constant drive to figure it out caused me confusion and prevented me from receiving many of the things He wanted me to have. He said, You must lay aside carnal reasoning if you expect to have discernment.
I didn’t like loose ends, so I felt more secure when I figured things out. I wanted to be in control of every detail of every situation. When I didn’t understand or was unable to figure things out, I felt out of control. And that was frightening to me. Something was wrong—I was troubled and had no peace of mind. Sometimes, frustrated and exhausted, I would just give up.
It was a long battle for me because I finally admitted something to myself (God knew it all along): I was addicted to reasoning. It was more than a tendency or desire to figure out things. It was a compulsion. I had to have answers—and had to have them right now. When God was finally able to convince me of my addiction, I was able to give it up.
It wasn’t easy. Like people who withdraw from drugs or alcohol, I had withdrawal symptoms. I felt lost. Frightened. Alone. I had always depended on my ability to figure things out. Now, like Paul, I had to depend on God.
Too many people assume that relying only on God is something we do easily and naturally. It didn’t work that way with me. But God was gracious and patient with me. It was as if He’d whisper, You’re not there yet, Joyce, but you’re making progress. It’s uncomfortable because you’re learning a new way to live.
God wants us to be victorious—and I knew that all along. Now I walk in greater victory than ever before—and I no longer try to reason out everything before I act. Heavenly Father, thank You for being so patient with me and people like me who feel we must have all the answers before we can act or trust. In the name of Jesus, help me to simply trust in You, knowing that You will give me what is best for my life. Amen.
Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. —Proverbs 16:3 Trying to figure everything out before you obey God will steal your joy. God doesn’t have to answer you when you ask, “Why God, why?” Trust means that you won’t always have 11 answers when you want them. Sometimes you just have to get to the other side of a situation to see the whole picture of what God is doing in your life. God may be trying to separate you from some influence in your life that is keeping you from receiving the better plan He has for you. He may be “pruning” you to encourage new, healthier growth (See John 15:1-8). Use uncertain times to demonstrate your faith by trusting Him.
“And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.” Luke 15:11–12
J. Wilbur Chapman was often asked to speak in prisons as he traveled around the country in revival meetings. It is said that once he was at the prison in Joliet, Illinois, preparing to speak when the warden said, “Dr. Chapman, we have had twenty-four ministers here this year, and every one of them has preached on the Prodigal Son. Can you speak on something else?” Chapman looked at his Bible which was marked in Luke 15, and then stood to preach. But instead of focusing on the wayward son, Chapman talked about the loving father who never gave up on his child.
We call it the parable of the Prodigal Son, but Jesus told this story as the conclusion of a series of three parables aimed at revealing the nature of God’s love toward the lost and the way people respond when others are saved. The world we live in has a distorted picture of God, and that has often infected the church as well.We need to return to the focus that the Bible places on our Heavenly Father and understanding of His nature and character.
This parable begins with what was, in the Middle Eastern culture of Jesus’ day, an unbearable insult. Sons did not go to their fathers and demand to be given their inheritance. Yet rather than responding in kind, the father did as he was asked. All of us were born as sinners, enemies of God both by nature and by choice. We have no hope apart from God’s love, but His love is overwhelming. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Never doubt that God’s amazing love for you is settled and certain regardless of what happens in your life.
“Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:8–10
If you’ve ever lost something valuable, you know how frustrating it can be to look for it. If it happens at night, you face a choice—you can either wait for the sun to come up, or you can find some kind of a flashlight to help in your search. The decision is usually based on how valuable the lost object is. If it is something fairly minor, you may be content to wait for the sun to come up. But if what you have lost is something important to you, you will probably be down on your hands and knees with a light, searching for it even in the darkness.
We need a renewed sense of the incredible value of the souls of men. Too often we relegate witnessing to an activity we do once a week, or even less frequently. But if we are aware of the reality of Heaven and Hell, we will not wait for convenient times and “good light” to witness. We will strike a match and go out into the darkness to find those who are lost. When Paul summed up his ministry in the city of Ephesus, he pointed out the around-the-clock nature of his effort. “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Every Christian needs to be about the work of bringing light into the darkness to find the lost.
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For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. --Romans 6:23
When we share our faith with others, we love telling the Good News part, don’t we?
We love to talk about the love, the grace, the power of God to save, and the forgiveness of God. That’s the wonderful good news of the Good News. We love to talk about heaven and we should!
But then there’s that troubling other side, the difficult side that Jesus talked about: hell. In fact, Jesus talked about hell more than He talked about heaven. He talked about judgment. And the Bible talks about how people without Christ are spiritually dead. And we are told that the wages of sin is death.
While most people don’t like to talk about that too much, integrity demands that we tell the Good News and the bad news. Because it’s the bad news that makes the Good News the Good News!
Now, let me ask you a simple question today: Do you want someone to tell you the truth or do you just want them to tell you something to make you feel better?
If we’re going to have integrity with our message and our mission in our witness for Christ, all of us must be willing to tell people the truth!
If God is going to use you, you must be a person with integrity…which means telling people the Good News and the bad news! Which will make the Good News truly…GOOD NEWS!
It’s the bad news that makes the good news the good news!
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. --Hebrews 12:11
When you face adversity, you have two choices. You can choose bitterness or you can choose happiness. But you can’t choose both.
You can choose to allow the trails in your live by God’s grace to make you better…or to make you bitter.
In Psalm 105:18, the Darby Translation says of Joseph, “They afflicted his feet with fetters; his soul came into irons.” I love that! Joseph was being developed as God was putting iron in his soul.
God knew difficult days would lie ahead for Egypt, and that it would require Joseph to have a durable and doable faith. There in prison, God taught Joseph wisdom and courage and character and perseverance and endurance as his fetters produced faith and his chains produced character!
God steeled Joseph’s soul without Joseph hardening his heart. And as a result, he became a veritable velvet covered brick—soft on the outside, but strong on the inside.
And you know, God is looking for some strong and steely saints today…believers with iron in their souls! I know there are some who teach that life is a dream if you’re a Christian. That all you need to do is name it and claim it and you’ll be healthy, happy, and all the rest.
But that kind of teaching isn’t biblical teaching. And it produces wimps instead of warriors for God.
And in these uncertain days, we need Christians who have steel and iron in their souls! But be prepared, as God uses adversity to bring about that kind of maturity.
As today’s verse says, you are trained into righteousness…and problems and pressure and adversities and trails are God’s gifts to you to make you stronger…to make you better in your faith and your walk with Him!
God is looking for some strong and steely saints today. Will you respond to his call?
“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:5–7
William Cushing had a successful pastorate, but then one day he lost his voice. Determined that he still wanted to do something for God, Cushing began writing poems. He worked with Ira Sankey on a number of hymns that were greatly used in D. L. Moody’s revivals. One day when he heard a report of those who had been saved in a meeting, Cushing rejoiced. He later said, “It seemed like such a glad day with the very bells of Heaven ringing in my soul. Then the words, ‘Ring the Bells of Heaven,’ at once flowed down into this waiting melody.”
Ring the bells of heaven! there is joy today For a soul, returning from the wild! See! the Father meets him out upon the way, Welcoming His weary, wand’ring child.
Ring the bells of heaven! spread the feast today! Angels, swell the glad, triumphant strain! Tell the joyful tidings; bear it far away, For a precious soul is born again.
Glory! glory! how the angels sing! Glory! glory! how the voices ring! ‘Tis the ransomed army, like a mighty sea, Pealing forth the anthem of the free. When the lost are saved, all of Heaven rejoices. The salvation of a sinner is the culmination of the work and sacrifice of Jesus, and we have the privilege of being part of this most important effort. “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
Today’s Growth Principle:
Nothing we can do on Earth brings more joy to Heaven than reaching the lost with the gospel.
“And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” Luke 15:3–4
In 1987, Joy White took her infant daughter, Carlina, to the hospital in New York City because the child was running a fever. To her horror, someone snatched the baby girl from her hospital bed, and she disappeared. Police were unable to identify any suspects, and the case was never closed. But Joy White believed that her daughter was still alive. Twenty-three years passed, but she never gave up hope. Then in 2011, she received a call from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with the amazing news that her daughter had been found. The mother’s love in her heart never failed, and her long search was finally rewarded.
All of us are born sinners apart from God, and we have no hope of rescuing ourselves. But in His boundless love and mercy, our Heavenly Father did not wait for us to seek Him—He sent His son to seek for us. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14–15). The world likes to think that people are fine just as they are, but the Bible teaches that all of us are in desperate need of a Saviour. The reality is that we don’t look for Him. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:10–11). He must seek for us, that is exactly what Jesus did.
Today’s Growth Principle:
The measure of God’s love for us is found in the fact that Jesus left Heaven to seek and to save us.
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Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. --1 Peter 4:12-13
Why does God allow Christians to experience adversity and endure suffering in life? This is a question we’ve all asked at different times in our lives.
And while I can’t definitively explain why you may be going through a particularly difficult season in life right now, I do know that the Scripture gives us several reasons why God allows us to have adversity in life.
One reason we suffer and have adversity is simply because we’re Christians.
Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven….”
Now, I know that it’s not a natural reaction to “leap for joy” when you’re mistreated because of your faith in Christ! But I want to encourage you to know that God sees and hears what others say and do to you because of your faith. And He will reward you because of it!
So stand strong today…and remember the promise in James 1:12, which says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
God will reward you for any adversity you endure on His account!
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. --James 1:2-4
One of the great preachers of all time was a man by the name of Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was a British preacher in the late 19th century who led a church in London that was reputed to be the largest church in the world during its day.
Spurgeon was such a powerful preacher. Yet by his own admission, he battled a deep, dark depression his entire life.
He even wrote a chapter called “The Minister and His Faithing Fits” in his book, Lectures to My Students. In this chapter, Spurgeon spoke about how a servant of God should respond to dark days in life.
From Spurgeon’s point of view, he knew that whenever he experienced a time of darkness or depression, God was preparing him for a greater season of service than he had ever known before. He knew that God used depression in his life like a “John the Baptist”…as a forerunner of greater things to come.
Maybe today, you need to see your dark hour…your dark day…as a “John the Baptist.”
Perhaps this dark hole in your life is just a forerunner of something better to come as you look to God and listen to Him in spite of how you may be feeling on the inside! Give your dark hour to God…wait patiently on Him…and see what He can do!
Maybe you need to see your dark hour as a forerunner of good things to come.
“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” Luke 15:1–2
The Pharisees and religious leaders hated Jesus for many reasons. He pointed out their hypocrisy and refused to follow their additions to God’s law, choosing instead to keep the law as God had given it. But of all the things that Jesus did that infuriated them, nothing sparked more outrage than the fact that Jesus loved “sinners.” Of course the Pharisees were just as sinful as those they condemned, but their approach to those they held in contempt was to have nothing to do with them at all. They thought that by avoiding sinners at all costs, they were avoiding contamination.
Jesus never tolerated sin, but He was gracious and kind to sinners and was happy to spend time showing them the way of salvation. “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children” (Matthew 11:19). Jesus knew the need of sinners was not condemnation but repentance and salvation, and He interacted with them in a way that made them want to hear the message.
The world often views Christians as being harsh and judgmental because we still believe in right and wrong, and because we believe right and wrong are defined by the Bible. We should never abandon the truth or compromise our message in order to reach the lost, but we should be compassionate and loving in our dealings with others so that they know we care for their souls. There is still a Heaven and a Hell, and every person we meet needs God’s salvation.
Today’s Growth Principle:
There is no such thing as a Christian who is too focused on reaching the lost with the gospel.
“Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 14:34–35
In Bible times, salt was a valuable substance. In the Roman Empire, it was common for workers and soldiers to be paid in salt. In fact our word salary comes from the Latin word for “salt money.” The description of a lazy worker as “Not worth his salt” traces back to that custom. Salt was valuable not only because it was rare, but because it was so important to food preservation and flavoring. Salt was sometimes collected in pools by bodies of water like the Mediterranean Sea, and more often was mined from the ground. But when salt was exposed to the elements, it would lose its sharp nature, and become simply a bland chemical that no longer produced any positive effect.
The world has a way of wearing away the “saltiness” of Christians. Over time we can become more like the world as the edges of our distinctiveness get ground down and we cease to stand apart as God calls us to do. God’s intention is for His children to be distinct and different from the world in their love, their life, their language, and their labor. Titus 2:14 reminds us that Christ “…gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
In our day, there is enormous pressure to stop clearly and plainly declaring the Word of God so as to avoid offending anyone’s sensibilities or hurting their feelings. But the Divine law has not changed. Sin is still sinful and God still hates it. Righteousness is still right and God still loves it. And our job is to be salt and light to the world.
Today’s Growth Principle:
The more closely we cling to God and His Word, the more distinct from the world we will be.
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Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. --Proverbs 22:6
Every child needs the blessing of their father. So I want to show you today, dads, how you can BLESS your children.
Build your children’s self-esteem. Inside every child, God has created an incredible potential for life. Yet many kids aren’t acting like winners because they’ve never been built up in who they really are in Christ. As a father, you get the joy of building your children up in who they are!
Love your children unconditionally. This is a kind of love that must not be withheld! Unconditional love can be expressed in all kinds of ways. So dad, don’t be afraid to hug and kiss your kids! Be expressive! Don’t be standoffish, but rather be open and transparent with your love for your children.
Encourage your children’s best. So many children today grow up surrounded by constant criticism and negativity. Perhaps you even grew up in a family where there was constant criticism. But as a dad, you can break the cycle of criticism by praising and encouraging your kids in every way possible.
Shape your children’s values. You do this by praying for them, protecting them, and by teaching them to love God’s Word and to live in obedience to Him.
Share your faith with your kids. They say that in a relay race, the most critical moment is the passing of the baton from one runner to the next. So it is in the Christian life! You have the opportunity and the responsibility to pass the baton of faith to your children and ultimately to their children.
Yes, your children need your blessing. And it’s my prayer that you give that blessing to
