Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Daily at the Door"

"Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway." Proverbs 8:34
   

Many successful people started out at the doorstep of those they admired.

Many children in American history came to the doors of printers,
blacksmiths, and bakers to apprentice themselves for a career. Young men
followed Socrates and other philosophers to gain morsels of wisdom.

Proverbs 8 personifies wisdom and declares, "Whoever finds me finds life and
receives favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 8:35). Pride and arrogance stand
condemned. Evil behavior and perverse speech are hated. But simple, humble
willingness to come to God and let Him guide into all truth brings wisdom.
Daily at the door of God‚s wisdom brings life.

Today's world provides many competing doorsteps: scientific knowledge,
business acumen, psychological success strategies, secular philosophies.
Each beckons for a daily visit at the door. Wisdom's door described by
Proverbs may appear less appealing.

But that wisdom leads to Christ, the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. Try
reading Proverbs 8 substituting Christ for wisdom and its pronouns. Wait at
the door of Bethlehem, the temple, the Nazareth synagogue, the home of Mary
and Martha, the upper room. Follow Him on the dusty roads, along the
seashore, through the Jerusalem streets to Calvary, to the mountain in
Galilee. Read the Word. Worship in His house with bread and wine. Daily
at the door "His door" means life, eternal life, for you and those you
bring to Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Saving Boast"

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14
   

We boast. Family pictures quickly available in our wallet for everyone to

see. Trophies in our family rooms of past athletic glory. Service awards
proudly displayed on the wall behind our desk. Country club luncheons for
clients where the head waiter knows us. Fashionable clothing with the right
labels displayed. We boast. Sadly, we boast about externals which provide
nothing permanent.

They boasted in Paul's day too. The Judaizers came with requirements for
the new believers in Jesus Christ. A return to Jewish laws and customs for
authentic faith. Circumcision most of all. The external mark which counts.
Something to boast about. Sadly, they missed the mark because all the
external customs in the world provide nothing permanent.

Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, one of the circumcised, could have joined the
external boasting. But instead, he writes powerfully, "May I never boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has
been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything: what counts is a new creation" (Galatians
6:14, 15). Paul describes the saving boast, the only legitimate boast:
clinging to the cross of Jesus Christ for full and free salvation.

We boast. Not of our selves nor of our accomplishments nor of our pedigree.
We boast that Jesus Christ renounced all boasting and went to the shameful
cross to pay for our sins. We belong to Him. We have been crucified with
Christ. Therefore we live. No, Christ lives in us. We belong to His new
creation. Thank God for the saving boast!

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"The Saving Boast"

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14
   

We boast. Family pictures quickly available in our wallet for everyone to

see. Trophies in our family rooms of past athletic glory. Service awards
proudly displayed on the wall behind our desk. Country club luncheons for
clients where the head waiter knows us. Fashionable clothing with the right
labels displayed. We boast. Sadly, we boast about externals which provide
nothing permanent.

They boasted in Paul's day too. The Judaizers came with requirements for
the new believers in Jesus Christ. A return to Jewish laws and customs for
authentic faith. Circumcision most of all. The external mark which counts.
Something to boast about. Sadly, they missed the mark because all the
external customs in the world provide nothing permanent.

Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, one of the circumcised, could have joined the
external boasting. But instead, he writes powerfully, "May I never boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has
been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision means anything: what counts is a new creation" (Galatians
6:14, 15). Paul describes the saving boast, the only legitimate boast:
clinging to the cross of Jesus Christ for full and free salvation.

We boast. Not of our selves nor of our accomplishments nor of our pedigree.
We boast that Jesus Christ renounced all boasting and went to the shameful
cross to pay for our sins. We belong to Him. We have been crucified with
Christ. Therefore we live. No, Christ lives in us. We belong to His new
creation. Thank God for the saving boast!

[Soldier4Christ]

"I Don't Know You"

"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'" Luke 13:25
   

A few months ago at our St. Louis airport, I had a religious discussion with a man about heaven. Most sincere in his beliefs, he tried to summarize his position by pointing to the ever-changing board of plane arrivals and departures he said, "If I want to get to Dallas from here, I can take Northwest Airlines, or American, or … well, I can go any number of ways. If I want to get to heaven, I think I can believe in any number of deities. I could believe in Jesus or maybe Buddha or possibly Allah. They're all gonna get me where I want to go."

That man’s feelings are shared by many. If he, and others like him, were to edit the Bible, they would change Jesus' words to read, "I am one of the ways, part of the truth, and one kind of life. No one can get into heaven unless they have some kind of religion, are good and gentle and generous, and sincere in what they believe." My friends, lest you never read it anywhere else, I want you to know that Jesus didn't say He was one of the ways to heaven or even the best way to heaven. Jesus said He was the only way to forgiveness, salvation, and heaven.

It is a most dangerous thing to ignore the call of the Christ. It is a perilous action to slam the door on the salvation Jesus won at the cost of His death upon the cross. It is a damning thing to try and recreate God in a way that is palatable to our tastes. I know those are strong words, but they aren’t mine. The spirit and intent of them come from Jesus. He warned that on the day He returns to the world in judgment, humanity will be divided. Some—believers—will be received into everlasting bliss and those who ignored Him will be told, "I don't know you."

What frightening words. Jesus is saying that on that day, it won’t make any difference how sincere you were in your beliefs if those beliefs were misdirected. He’s saying, it won’t make any difference how good you lived your life. As a sinner, you could never meet God’s standard of perfection. Only Jesus could do that for you—a fact that makes Christianity different than any other religion. God came down to save you—you don’t have to try to work your way up to God. That is why Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are absolutely essential to salvation. With the Christ there is hope, heaven, and life eternal; without Him, there is only damnation and destruction.

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"Mountaintop Experiences"

Peter said, to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” Mark 9:5
   

Mountaintop experiences. Easter Sunday morning – Easter lilies, full choir, trumpets, a rousing message. Confirmation – white robes, special flowers, standing before the altar, public confession of faith, special Bible verse. “It is good for us to be here.”

Mountaintop experience. Near the end of His ministry Jesus takes three disciples with Him on a high mountain. Suddenly He is transfigured before them with clothes dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, attesting that He is indeed the beloved Son of the Father, the promised Messiah. Frightened and overwhelmed, the disciples fumble for words. Peter says to Jesus, “It is good for us to be here.” No doubts about Jesus as Messiah or His power to save. Far above the mundane daily problems, privileged to bask in the presence of God Himself – why not stay?

But they could not stay on the mountain. Soon they saw only Jesus in His normal state and returned down the mountain to problems with a demon-possessed boy. Soon would come the cross. Nevertheless, the three were strengthened for the coming events.

Rejoice in your mountaintop experiences with Jesus, where you see Him clearly as exalted Lord and Savior. Relish those moments. Say without reservation, “It is good for us to be here.”

But recognize that the valley awaits, with routine drudgery and knotty problems. The cross looms ahead even as it provides for us the complete atonement for our sins. We take up our crosses and follow Him by faith, not by sight. But we are confirmed in our faith by the risen Lord Jesus, who promises a heavenly mountaintop experience that will never end.

I must go hide with Jesus in God, just finish reading i am touche..good night.Pastor Rogers thank you God bless you in Our Lord Jesus name in all your needs

[Soldier4Christ]

I am glad that you enjoy these devotions. Goodnight sister.

[Soldier4Christ]

"By that Love, We are Saved"

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. Romans 6:8
   

I remember a story that a brother pastor told me many years ago. It was from a time before cars were equipped with air bags and seat belts, and child-safety seats weren’t even a dream. He had been driving home when he came upon an accident. The first thing he saw was a little girl, about five years old, covered in blood. The blood had come from her mother; the little girl had hardly been scratched.

Mother and daughter had been on a two-lane gravel road when a drunk driver veered into their lane and hit them. In the last moment before the cars collided—in the final split second when the mother knew avoiding the calamity was impossible—she had thrown herself across her daughter. It was the mother’s body that slammed into the car’s dashboard. It was the mother’s head that smashed into the windshield. It was a mother’s instinctual love that made her willing to give her all, even her life, so her daughter could be saved.

In this world, that kind of love is unique. It is the kind of thing that we might expect to see in a mother or father, but seldom in anyone else. Yet, it is exactly that kind of love, an even higher form of love, that motivated the Savior.

Let me tell you what I mean. There is a tremendous bond between parents and children. Scripture tells us, with great sadness, that the perfect bond which had once united humanity with the Lord in the Garden of Eden, was broken by our sin. Try as we might, there was no way we had the ability to restore that bond. Then, motivated by grace, the Lord did something that can never be understood by us. In His grace, He sent His Son into this world to take our place. Born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, Jesus came to a world that didn’t want Him, that refused to acknowledge Him as their Savior.

This He did so that all who believe on Him might be forgiven. Between the two events of His birth and death, He fulfilled every law we had broken and carried every sin we had committed. There can be no question that it was a noble thing for that mother to sacrifice herself for her child. But it was a Godly thing for Jesus to lay down His life for those who denied Him and demanded His death. Still, by that love, we are saved.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Profit or Loss?"

Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Philippians 3:7
   

How we guard and cultivate our assets in life – degrees, promotions earned, civic honors, financial balance sheet, club memberships! While wanting to appear humble, we secretly savor our accomplishments and expect to profit from our assets, perhaps even in God’s heavenly ledger.

Paul understood our drive for profit. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, and a faultless observer of legal principles. He honestly sought to please God by his actions – until he found himself in the dust of the Damascus road, at odds with Jesus Christ, whom he persecuted. Blinded, alone, convicted of his many sins before God and men, Saul of Tarsus is baptized and comes to know Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior.

Now Paul sees all his own righteousness, however humanly impressive, as mere rubbish. He gladly lays it aside for the priceless righteousness that comes from God and is by faith in Christ. He now lives with reckless abandon for Christ, his only profit.

A painful review of our assets is in order. Before God we are weighed in the balance and found wanting. Selfish, rebellious manipulative, we find ourselves with mere rubbish before God and others. But Christ’s righteousness, demonstrated by His sinless life and sacrificial death, stands for us as profit before the Father. Trusting in Christ alone for salvation, we live unburdened, using our assets by His grace to proclaim Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. What gain when we count our profit as loss and His sacrificial loss as our profit!

[Soldier4Christ]

"A Backwards Desire"

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. Philippians 1:23
   

We live backwards, trying to avoid death at any cost. Anxiously we review the holiday death tolls on the highway, shudder at tragic air crashes and tornado, earthquake, and flood disasters, and tremble at dreaded terminal diseases like cancer and leukemia. We try to hide death behind nice-sounding words and cosmetic surroundings.

Paul didn’t view death or life that way. Imprisoned in Rome, uncertain as to whether he would be put to death by his captors, he welcomed the thought of death with these words, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” Earlier he wrote the Philippians, “To me…to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Paul knew that Jesus Christ endured death on a cross to pay for the sins of the world. Alive from the dead, Jesus was preparing a place for Paul in heaven, a glorious way to spend eternity. Believing in Christ, confident of a far better eternal life in heaven, Paul had a zest and a purpose for living.

Do you desire to “be with Christ, which is better by far?” Do you kneel penitently at His cross, recognizing the full forgiveness of your sins? Do you joyfully see the empty tomb and anticipate the heavenly celebration around the throne of the Lamb? God supplies a foretaste of the heavenly feast through His Holy Meal. As the desire grows to be with Christ forever, the zest returns for living joyfully today in humble service to others.

A backwards desire to the world, but a life-giving approach to life and death for the Christian. Death may be near, but with faith in Christ the future is secure. We are free to live for others backwards from death to life.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Promised – Continued Partnership Power"

…Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
   

How many partnerships begin with great hopes and dreams only to end in failure and broken promises? A wagon train heads west with the common goal of finding a good location to settle, with green pastureland, fresh water, and perhaps gold. The train thins out as desert, Indian raiders, and illness take their toll. Finally, a crude settlement develops at journey’s end, complete with general store, blacksmith shop, saloon, bank, school, and church. The future looks bright, but a few years later – bypassed by railroads, battered by severe winters, empty of gold – the original wagon train partnership ends in a ghost town, doors flapping in the wind, tumbleweeds blowing in the deserted street.

Paul knows the temptations threatening the Philippian Christians – persecution, strife and jealous bickering from within, discouragement over his absence and imprisonment. Therefore he adds the precious Gospel promise that God will bring His work in us to completion. By human efforts even the closest fellowship will eventually disintegrate. But the God who sent His Son to the cross will continue nurturing His church through the Gospel.

Your Gospel partnership will be threatened both from without and from within. People move out. Neighborhoods change. Pastors come and go. Buildings age. Sometimes Biblical mission is neglected. But Paul’s confidence applies to you as well. Centered in the Word and sacraments, you see again that the same God who began the Gospel partnership around His crucified and risen Son will continue that good work until Jesus comes again.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Needed – a Gospel Partnership"

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. Philippians 1:4,5
   

Lonely, depressed Christians. Paul writes to the Philippian Christians from prison in Rome. A lonely Christian? Persecuted and suffering for his faith, Paul could be lonely and depressed. But he writes the joyful words of our text.

Paul knows he is not alone, for he has the Philippian Christians as partners in the Gospel. They heard and believed the message of Christ Crucified when he first visited Philippi. No wonder Paul rejoices and continues his own Gospel ministry with power.

Are you a lonely Christian, wallowing in self-pity and despair, afraid to stand up for the Gospel, helpless before the onslaught of a rebellious world? Or do you see the partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now – the Christian pastor faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and administering the sacraments, the retired factory worker with years of Gospel experience amidst the trials of life, the teenager excited about telling friends about Jesus? Sinful, struggling believers, to be sure, but Gospel partners, washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, sustained by God through suffering, and giving of themselves to others with a quiet joy, rooted in the Gospel promises.

Jesus Christ endured a lonely death on the cross so that you might be forgiven and drawn into the fellowship of the Gospel. And you, yes, you, can be a partner in the Gospel every day.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Snow for Serving Others"

Serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13
   

More thoughts on snow today. Heavy snow seems to bind people together and moves them to help each other. One Sunday morning two men shoveled out their entire court so that all of the apartment residents could get their cars out. When a car got stuck in the parking lot of a school, two adults plus several teenagers shoveled and pushed to get the car going.

Perhaps we have a second answer to the little boy’s question: “Why does God let it keep snowing so much?” God is sending snow to encourage us to serve others in need. Or as Paul says in Galatians, “Serve one another in love.” The two answers are complementary. We need to slow down and recognize our need for God. He alone can make us His own and forgive our sins through Jesus Christ. Then when we realize that He has done everything for us, we are moved in turn to start helping others.

So often we show indifference to others. Perhaps a snowstorm is needed to wake us up to people obviously in need of assistance. Even snowstorms provide no panacea. I suspect that if snow continues for an extended period, our initial enthusiasm for pushing stalled cars and shoveling whole parking lots might quickly fade.

Nevertheless, helping others can be a real joy. The comradeship and enjoyment you experience from helping your neighbor in a snowstorm can become a permanent part of your life. Stop thinking only of your own problems. Get involved in the lives of others. That’s the meaning of serving one another in love.

Remember why you serve and how you are able to serve – because God sent His Son Jesus to be a servant and to humble Himself and become obedient unto death, even death on a cross. He served you and frees you to serve others. Let it snow!

[Soldier4Christ]

Snow for Slowing Down"

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10
   

In many parts of America, now is the time for heavy snowstorms. Snow for building snow forts and snowmen – the delight of all red-blooded American children. Snow to be shoveled and reshoveled – the plague of all middle-aged men.

A little four-year-old boy named David recently asked his mother, “Why does God let it keep snowing so much?” The mother’s answer is worth pondering. She told David, “God is making it snow because He thinks we’ve been going too fast and should slow down.” It’s true that snow slows us down. We complain because snow-covered streets prolong our drive to work. Some of our planned trips or evenings of entertainment need to be cancelled.

Could such delays be good for us? Are you spending some time with your family? Have you taken the time to play with your children and really get to know them as human beings? The snow may be a blessing in disguise. Use the time to relax at home. Light up a fire and pop some popcorn. Have some real enjoyment with the family. Try relaxing and reflecting a little on your life.

Perhaps God is saying to us: Slow down and think. Through our text He reminds us how great He is and how much in control. When we slow down, God has a chance to enter our thoughts. He can point us to the passing of time and to our many shortcomings. He can remind us that His own Son Jesus Christ came into this world to bring us salvation. Jesus did not always hurry. He took time out to go on a mountain alone to pray. He relaxed at the home of His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Even His suffering and death were basically passive. He did not concoct some activist plot to conquer the world. Rather He remained silent while His captors put Him to death.

Perhaps we need more snow time to think about God and His Son Jesus Christ and to make Him a part of our family life.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Staying Power"

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
   

True power needs to last. Many distance runners start with a burst of energy but fade on the stretch. The best athletes sometimes lose to a steadier team which takes better conditioning into the final quarter or overtime period. We are describing staying power.

Yes, God provides a power source unlimited in the resurrection of His Son. He also supplies Word power, the Gospel, to unlock that power source. And He intends for us to use His resources to keep going over the long haul, to have staying power.

Paul, the great on-the-go missionary, learned the importance of staying power when God sent him a thorn in the flesh, some illness or physical handicap that simply wouldn’t go away. Paul prayed and hoped, but the problem remained. Discouraged and frustrated, Paul finally got the message of our text. Paul was being conditioned for the long haul. He felt weak and unable to continue. At that point he learned to accept his weakness and rely totally on God’s grace and power. Now he could face any troubles, because Christ was always there for him.

Similarly we will experience discouragement and frustration after our initial “going.” We will experience God’s testing in our personal lives as well as in our witnessing efforts. But God says also to us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” We look to the weak and helpless Son of God, nailed to a cross for us, and then experience His resurrection power flowing from the empty tomb to us in our weakness.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Go Power"

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:18,19
   

America, a nation on the go. We work, travel, exercise, play, and celebrate. We get up early, work through lunch, and stay up late. We live by the clock and the digital watch and the odometer. And we need “go power” to keep moving – breakfast cereals, fruit juices, vitamins, candy bars, and pep pills. Nevertheless, we frequently run out of gas and lie exhausted in front of the television.

Most of us would agree that some of this “going” makes little sense. There is one going, however, that is of the utmost importance. Jesus speaks of it when He says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19,20). Not a going to get rich or to find thrills, but a going to make disciples of all nations, to share that Gospel Word power with family members, neighbors, co-workers, golfing partners, church friends, and people in other lands. Good reason for going.

But where do we get the power for such going? Jesus answers that question on the Great Commission mountain. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me,” He says. He supplies the go power from His limitless supply. Crucified and risen from the dead, He offers forgiveness and endless refreshment. Through Word power – His Gospel – we receive all the go power we will ever need. He promises to be with us always, to the very end of the age. What comfort!