Stand Firm

September 26

Stand Firm by John W. Ritenbaugh

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:  For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.  Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him   But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. “ Hebrews 10:35-39

This is not the first time faith or its opposite, unbelief, is mentioned in Hebrews. The very purpose of the entire epistle is to recapture, build, and sustain in its recipients their faith in the superiority of Jesus Christ Himself and in His message, the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Notice the strong, earlier statements Paul makes regarding unbelief:

Hebrews 3:12, 19: "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. . . . So we see that [the Israelites in the wilderness] could not enter in[to the Promised Land] because of unbelief."

Hebrews 4:2: "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it."

These are weighty statements. The Israelites failed to accomplish their responsibility of walking from Egypt to the Promised Land primarily because of one weak element in their character.  They did not believe God or His messenger Moses.  They did not listen thoughtfully or yieldingly.

Because of the warning contained within Hebrews 10:35-39, chapter 11 places the virtue of faith in direct contrast to the sin of unbelief by exposing what unbelief caused to occur.

The Israelites drew back in fear rather than trusting God and boldly going forward.  Thus, the main point of the epistle of Hebrews is that they will be destroyed who, by failing to put their trust in the living God, shrink back from this Christian war we have been called to fight. 

Only those who believe in and stand firm in faith in Jesus will be saved.

If

"If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also." John 15: 20

Christian Freedom International has released some shocking statistics! They have found that more than 200 million followers are facing persecution in 105 countries, making Christianity the most persecuted religion in the world.

Image: Open Doors

There have been more martyred Christians in the 20th and 21st century, than in the previous 19 combined!

In the map above, North Korea the leading with its most extreme persecution, followed by Somalia and Iraq.

November 8th is this year’s International Day of Prayer. Let us join all our brothers and sisters across the globe and pray to God for guidance in these turbulent times!

SEE ALSO: “Pastor Uses His Own Life To Show That God Has His Way Of Reaching The Toughest Of Hearts”

Video: Christian Freedom Intl

Be of Good Cheer

"In the world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." JESUS John 16:33

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

September 25

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus by Dr. D. James Kennedy

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’—Matthew 14:30, NIV Have you ever faced a storm in your life, one so big that you thought you’d never see the light of day again? Maybe you face one even now, and you feel threatened and dismayed by the waves crashing around you. Peter knew exactly how you feel. After a long, hard day of ministry, Christ had sent his disciples to sail across the Sea of Galilee while He climbed a mountain alone to commune with His Father. The disciples’ crossing was anything but smooth. The winds had whipped the sea into a frenzy, and the disciples struggled to control their boat. Unable to make headway, the disciples feared for their lives. Then, in the last watch of the night, Jesus came to them—walking on the water! When the disciples saw Jesus coming toward them, they were terrified. They thought they had seen a ghost, and they cried aloud. But Jesus said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Peter responded, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus replied, “Come.” As Peter began to walk on the surface of the water, he focused his sights on Jesus. Step after step, he walked on top of the water! But, as the sea continued to churn around him, Peter looked at the water and began to sink. He cried out in terror, “Lord, save me!” So Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him, saying, “You of little faith.” As long as Peter kept his eyes trained on his Lord, he had safe passage in the midst of a raging storm. But when he focused on the churning waters, he lost sight of Jesus and lost his footing, too. As you face storms in your life, don’t look at the waves crashing around you. Instead, keep your eyes focused on Jesus. He can steady and sustain you through any storm. Look at Him and walk toward Him—He’ll give you safe passage through the raging seas. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. —Helen Lemmel

Faith

 "Without faith it is impossible to please God; anyone who comes to Him must believe that HE IS and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

"If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the midst of the sea,' the mountain will move and nothing shall be impossible to you." Matthew 17:20
"God has given to every man a measure of faith." Romans 12:3

God has set you up--in a good way. First, He tells you that you have no possibility of pleasing Him if you don't have faith. He doesn't say He doesn't love you. He doesn't say He is indifferent to you or your needs. No. He's simply informing you that if you want Him to move in your behalf, you must seek Him with a full heart and you must expect that He will maintain His integrity by doing what He's promised to do.

Second, He tells you that even if you have mustard seed faith--small faith--you can move mountains. You can move mountains of doubt. You can move mountains of persecution. You can move mountains of prejudice. You can move mountains of despair. You can move mountains of illness. You can move mountains of poverty. You can move mountains of loss. You can move mountains of failure. With the tiniest seed of faith in Jesus, you can move any mountain that looms before you; you can move any mountain that separates you from your hope. NOTHING shall be impossible to you.

Third, He tells you that you HAVE faith. You may not think you have faith. You may be a skeptic. You may, within yourself and your own resources, doubt the very existence of God, but if you are willing to stir it up, if you are willing to draw faith from the deep reservoir of your selfhood, you will discover that it is indeed within you, for the Holy One has Himself placed it there!

Don't deny yourself the blessing of faith and all that it can avail to you.

Claim it.
Employ it.
Share it.
Benefit from it.

 

 

Integrity

September 24

Integrity by Dr. D. James Kennedy

‘But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No.” For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.’—Matthew 5:37 A little boy was once asked in Sunday school to define the noun “lie.” In response, the boy said, “A lie is an abomination to the Lord and a very present help in time of trouble.” We may laugh at this child’s perspective, and yet doesn’t it hit a little close to home? Have you found yourself justifying a lie here and there? Many of us do. But we need to avoid compromising the truth. We need to cultivate truthfulness in our lives for several reasons. First, as Charles Hodges says, “Truthfulness is the very substratum of deity.”  By that definition, a being who would lie couldn’t be God but merely a false god or lying idols of the heathen. Truthfulness is the very essence of God’s character. If God lied, we could have no confidence in Him whatsoever. Second, truthfulness is essential to God’s purpose for humankind. We can never reach God’s full potential for us if we lie. The Scripture tells us that our goal is to become like God and Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must become like Him who cannot lie under any circumstances. Third, lying destroys the fabric of society. Social harmony depends on a certain amount of trust based on truthfulness. How can there be any trust among us when we justify telling lies? Can you truthfully say that honesty and integrity are qualities in your life? We need to remember that we will stand before God and be held accountable for every idle word. Therefore, in the words of the psalmist, “Keep your tongue from evil.” Psalm 34:14.  Let’s pray that our truthfulness as Christians will shine like a beacon in a world steeped in darkness and lies.

Sponsored by Kleenex...

...and you'll need a few of them when you watch this:

NICU Nurse Is Reunited With ALL Of The Babies She Saved – Their Reunion Is Something Else