Category: Strength for Today

Romans 2:1
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”

One thing that man has always tried to do is to find the reason a person commits a sin. We live in times when we like to say people are born that way just so we can justify their sinful actions or lifestyle. Oftentimes society tries to say that someone commits a sin or lives a certain way because they have a mental disorder, but the Scriptures teach us differently as to why we commit a sin.

In Romans 1, God goes through a list of sins that are pretty bad. This list is found in Romans 1:29-31 when it says, “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:” This list contains a very bad list of characters who most of us would not want to be.

What is it that would cause someone to commit such sins and even have pleasure in them? God shows us in Romans 1:28 when He says, “…they did not like to retain God in their knowledge…” Those who commit these things are people who simply want nothing to do with God; however, these people know better. Verse 32 says that they know “the judgment of God.” They know what they are doing is wrong, but they commit these sins because they are trying to push God out of their conscience. That is why God says in the verse above, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man…”

Friend, it doesn’t matter what excuse someone gives, they know better. You can blame it on the fact that everyone in your family has done the same thing, but that is not an excuse with God. You can blame it on a mental disorder, but God doesn’t accept that excuse. You can blame it on societies’ acceptance of the sin, but God still holds you accountable. You can even say that your were born that way, but it doesn’t change the fact that you know it is wrong.

Simply put, the only reason anyone commits sin is because they choose to do so. Sin is a choice just like righteousness is a choice. If you do wrong, it is because you have chosen to do wrong. As long as you accept the excuses as to why someone does wrong, then you are enabling their sin when God says they are inexcusable.

Let me encourage you to personally stop giving an excuse for your sin and admit that you do it because you choose to do it. If you want to stop your sin, then you are going to have to change your decision-maker. The only way you will change your decision-maker is to spend time in God’s Word and let it wash your mind. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is the only One Who can cleanse you from sin, and He does it by the Word of God. You have no excuse for your actions, so admit you are wrong and determine to change what you are doing by asking God to help cleanse you. Then, spend much time in the Scriptures studying, reading and memorizing them, for that is the only way to truly cleanse yourself from sin.

Ezra 9:8
“And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.”

Taking God’s grace for granted is a recipe for disaster. Ezra reminded the people that the opportunity to rebuild the temple was a “little space grace” that the LORD showed to them. He reminded them that this space of grace was an opportunity to get closer to God and to show His works among the heathen.

There is no doubt that God has been gracious to every Christian. When you look at your life, you must admit that God has given you a space of grace in your life even after all the foolish things you have done. There are four things you must remember about this space of grace.

First, God is not obligated to give us a space of grace. The very definition of grace should cause us to be humbled that He would give us this space of grace. God doesn’t have to withhold His judgment, but He does. You should always remember that God is not obligated to give you grace; therefore, it should humble you when He does give you a space of grace.

Second, this space of grace was given because He loves you. There was only one reason God wanted to leave Israel a “remnant to escape,” and that reason was because He loved them. When God gives a space of grace, He also shows His love to you. Oh how this should move you to want to please Him! God loves you so much that He would give you a space of grace from judgment. Friend, for God to love you that much should be the catalyst to thank Him for your space of grace.

Third, this space of grace is not a license to sin. When you look at the verse above, you will see that the space of grace was more about God than about us. He gave Israel that space of grace to show the world that they were His people. Just because God has given you a space of grace does not mean you can go do what you want to do. He can close that window of grace as quickly as He has opened it. Don’t think that the space of grace is your license to do what you want to do, but it was given so that you can have your part in His work.

Fourth, don’t waste your space of grace. God gave Israel a space of grace to give them “a nail in his holy place.” He was giving that generation an opportunity to do something for Him. What are you doing with your space of grace? Are you putting a nail in the portals of history for God or are you wasting your space of grace on yourself and your desired lifestyle? The space of grace given is an opportunity to serve God. If He gives you a space of grace, then He will enable you to put the nail in history for His name’s sake.

Let me encourage you to take your space of grace and use it for the cause of Christ. Show God that He didn’t waste His grace on you. Always remember that God’s grace is a work order to serve Him and not a license to sin. Everyday you should ask God what you can do for Him, and when He shows you then do it so that your space of grace will not be wasted.

Acts 22:21
“And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.”

When Saul got saved, he had a lot of baggage from his past that seemingly hindered him from ever being used by God in a mighty way. He was known for incarcerating and killing Christians, and to go back to Jerusalem and become a witness for Christ seemed to be out of the question. Many would have excused him for not getting involved in the LORD’s work, but God had another plan.

When Saul was praying in the temple in Jerusalem, God told him to get out of the city because He knew they would not receive his testimony. Saul couldn’t understand God’s plan. God mentioned that He wanted to use Saul, but he did not know how he could be used because of his past. God reminded Saul that He had a plan when He said, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” Though it was not possible for Saul to stay in Jerusalem because of his past, God still found a way to use him.

You may find yourself like Saul with a past that seems to follow you and limit your ability to witness. You must understand that God has a plan for you. Though man may deem it impossible for you to be used, you must always remember that God sees further down the road and His plan will always make you useful to Him. If you feel your past is a hindrance to being a testimony for Christ, let me remind you of three things.

First, God’s not concerned with your past. Just like God knew Saul’s past, He knows your past and is not intimidated by what you have done. You simply need to trust God that your past is not too big for God to handle. God is greater than your past, and you must trust that He can still use you.

Second, your past will become a tool for the future. Saul didn’t run from his past, but he used it to witness to others about Christ. Everywhere he went, he told the story about how he got saved on the road to Damascus. Your past can be the most powerful tool you have in witnessing to others. When they see what the power of Christ has done in your life, they will not be able to deny that He can save them as well. You can either run from your past, or you can use it as a tool to be a greater witness for Christ.

Third, you must accept your past and your future if you want God to use you. Just like Saul couldn’t change what he had done in the past, neither can you. Your past is done and you must accept it if you want God to use you. Moreover, you must accept the future God has planned for you. God cannot use you as long as you turn away from His plan of moving you to a place where you can be a testimony for Him.

Friend, there is no past that is too great for God to overcome. His grace is great enough to overcome your past and to use it for His glory. You don’t have to be proud of your past, but you must accept it for what it is before it can become a tool in God’s hand. Your past will either be the obstacle that you use to not do anything for Christ, or it will become the tool that God uses to do great works for Him. It is up to you! I encourage you to trust God and use the tool of your past for His glory.

Acts 15:10
“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

In the Christian life there are three yokes from which to choose. You have a yoke of iron which is a result of sin. Sin may seem enjoyable for a season, but what you don’t notice when you choose sin is the yoke of iron that comes with it. God shows the result of choosing the yoke of iron when He says in Deuteronomy 28:48, “Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.” This yoke of iron is an unnecessary yoke that you don’t have to carry if you will live for the LORD.

God also has a yoke for you to carry, but His yoke is much easier to carry through life. Matthew 11:30 says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” You can either carry the yoke of iron by living a life of sin, or you can carry an easier yoke by choosing to follow the way of Christ.

The great thing about carrying this yoke is that you don’t carry it alone. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The reason Christ’s yoke is easy is because He gets in the yoke with you to help you carry the load. You never carry the yoke of the ministry alone because you join up with Christ in His yoke. The only time the ministry becomes burdensome is when you try to take the yoke from Christ and carry it yourself, but by doing so you are carrying the yoke of iron.

There is another yoke you can carry which will be burdensome and troubling. There were some in the church of Galatia who were trying to add circumcision to the Christian life. They were still struggling with removing works from salvation. These Christians believed that keeping the law was necessary to keep their salvation. What they didn’t understand was that they were adding an unnecessary yoke to the Christian because salvation is all by grace. You are saved and kept by grace; works have nothing to do with salvation.

Friend, you must be careful about adding to the Christian life things that are not found in the Scriptures. These preferences can become a yoke to the Christian and the church. You will find that when we make our preferences and opinions doctrine, then it will cause division, trouble the church and hinder the power of God. The Christians in Berea had it right when they determined to only use the Scriptures to validate what to teach and preach and how to live the Christian life. Simply choosing to let the Word of God speak for Itself resulted in many believing.

You have a choice of yokes from which to carry. You can choose the iron yoke which sin places upon your life; you can choose to carry the unnecessary yoke of making preference and opinion the pattern by which to live the Christian life instead of the Scriptures; or, you can choose to yoke up with Christ in His yoke which is a light burden to carry. The Christian life only becomes a burden when you add unnecessary yokes to it. When you choose to yoke up with Christ in His yoke, you will find the joy and results you desire for His yoke is “easy” and His “burden is light.”

2 Chronicles 30:27
“Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.”

One of the keys to a successful Christian life is getting God to hear your prayers. It is not that God won’t listen, it is simply that our hearts are not prepared to be in His presence. God says in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” There are requirements that God has before He will hear our prayers.

In the verse above it says, “…and their voice was heard…” That is truly the desire of every sincere Christian. Nobody wants to pray and have their prayers seemingly go no further than the room they are in. When you pray, you expect God to hear. There was a reason that God heard Hezekiah and his people. They didn’t go to God living the sinful life that had brought God’s judgment; instead, they took actions that created a clear line of fellowship with God so that their prayers could be heard. There were five actions they took to make this happen.

First, they re-established fellowship with God by being present in Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread. They were showing God that they wanted to re-establish fellowship with Him. You can’t expect God to hear your prayer when you continue to live a sinful life. There must be a turning back to God with a desire to re-establish fellowship with Him if you want your prayers to be heard.

Second, they sang the praises of God. This may sound trivial, but this was all part of what they did that led up to God hearing their prayer. Verse 21 says, “…the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.” You won’t get God to hear your prayers when you’re playing the music of the world. God wants to hear you sing, but He wants to hear music that properly praises Him.

Third, they confessed their sins to God. You will never get God to hear your prayer without honest confession of sin. Simply saying, “God, forgive me of all my sin” is not confessing your sin. Confession entails disclosing to God every sin you have done with a heart to change your actions. This has nothing to do with salvation, but this has everything to do with getting God to hear your prayers. Until you’re serious enough to do this, you will not get God to hear your prayers.

Fourth, they obeyed the preaching of God’s Word. In verse 23, they obeyed the “counsel” that was given to them. This was preaching! Preaching plays an important role in everyone’s life because God uses preaching to show us what we need to do and what we need to change.

Fifth, they prayed! I know this sounds inessential to this whole thing, but God cannot hear your prayers unless you pray. Friend, you need to have a daily time with God to pray. When you follow the preceding four steps and then take this fifth step to actually pray, then you can have confidence that God is hearing what you are saying. When He hears your prayers, it is then that He will take action to answer your prayers according to His will.

Acts 9:13
“Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:”

Ananias almost made a great mistake because he believed the reports he heard about Saul. After Saul’s conversion, God told him to go to Jerusalem because Ananias would tell him what he needed to do. When God came to Ananias and told him to meet Saul, he was afraid because of the report he “heard by many of this man.” Ananias nearly missed the greatest opportunity of his life because he allowed the reports he heard to influence his thinking about Saul. Fortunately for the Gentile world, God had confidence in Ananias to not act off what he heard from man, but to obey by what he heard from God.

Many people have never been helped because people reacted off negative reports from others without ever validating those reports. They allowed hearsay to influence their thinking about someone which negatively impacted their actions towards them. There are some lessons we need to learn from this story that will help us to influence more people for right.

First, just because many say that something is true does not make it true. The verse above says that Ananias answered the LORD by saying, “I have heard by many of this man…” Basing your opinion on someone with whom you’ve never met, talked to or had any dealings with is truly a foolish move to make. I have found in my own life that there have been times when what others told me about someone was not exactly true when I approached the person whom these reports were about. You must be very careful about judging someone off the reports of others.

Second, allow people the opportunity to change from their past. What Ananias heard about Saul was true, but he had changed. The person he was about to meet was a completely different person from what he used to be. You must be careful about holding grudges against someone who did something several years ago. People do change! Someone may have made a mistake in the past, but that doesn’t mean they are that same person today. What if we judged you off everything you have done? Are you who you used to be? Someone may have made a mistake years ago, but that doesn’t mean they are the same person today. Don’t hold someone’s past transgressions against them today because people do change.

Third, don’t ever lose your belief in someone’s ability to change. You must never allow yourself to believe that someone is beyond changing. They may have messed up several times, but God can still be working on their heart. There are many people whom God could use mightily, but someone must believe they are willing to change. Situations happen in the lives of individuals that can truly change their heart. If we believe in the power of God, then it should not shock us when someone who was once hardened and rebellious has changed by God’s power.

Friend, there is someone in your life who you need to give another chance. Don’t let what others say about someone stop you from helping them. Always believe that God can change someone and that you may be the agent He uses to make that influence. If you will listen to God and not to people, then you can be the agent of change.

2 Chronicles 21:3
“And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.”

The order of succession is often the most followed order when it comes to an inheritance or in choosing a succeeding leader. Many parents leave the most important part of their inheritance to the oldest child because they are simply the oldest. Many churches have chosen someone to pastor because their father pastored that church and it just seemed natural for their son to take the pastoral position after the father stepped down or went to Heaven. They pass the “inheritance” on to the child just because they are the one who is in order to take that position.

Jehoshaphat made this tragic mistake. It says in the verse above that Jehoram was given the kingdom “because he was the firstborn.” What does being the firstborn have to do with God’s will? When you read the following verses, you will see that Jehoram had no business being king. When he felt he was established, he went and killed all of his brethren because he was afraid that one of them might try to take his position. Jehoram was not spiritual enough to be the king. If Jehoshaphat had been more observant in his children’s spirituality, he would have understood that Jehoram had no business taking the throne. In this story there are two very valuable lessons we need to learn concerning succession.

First, your children shouldn’t get part of your inheritance just because they are your child. Many parents make the tragic mistake of leaving an inheritance to a child just because they believe they are “supposed to.” You must realize that whatever God has given to you is still His even after you go to Heaven. You have a responsibility to be sure that what God has given to you is properly cared for after your death. If a child is not living for the LORD and would use what God has given you for ungodly purposes, then you should not leave them an inheritance. If they want an inheritance, then they need to live their life in a godly manner. Only if they have proven to have a heart for God should you leave them an inheritance. Remember, what you have is God’s, and He will hold you accountable for how you use it.

Second, a person should not be placed into a leadership role just because their parent is or was the pastor of a church. I have seen many churches give the pulpit to a son after the father retired or went to Heaven to the detriment of the church. Let me make this clear, the pastoral position is not a human inheritance. The church DOES NOT belong to a man; the church is God’s. Whoever fills the vacant pastoral position should be someone who is spiritual and someone whom God wants. Instead of looking at human succession to fill a pastoral position, you would be wise to get alone with God and find out who He would want to fill that position. If God wants one of the children of the pastor who has gone to Heaven or retired to fill that position, then so be it; however, they should not be given that position just because they are their child. If they are given the position, it should be because it is God’s will.

Always remember that whatever we do should be according to God’s will. Human succession has nothing to do with God’s will. If someone has proven not to be sold out to God’s methods, principles and commands, then don’t leave them the inheritance.

John 21:4
“But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.”

Have you ever been caught by surprise? I was walking through the Charlotte airport on my way to catch a flight, when I heard my name being called. At first I thought I was just hearing things, but then I heard my name called the second time. I began to look around, and there in the airport was someone who heard me preach a revival meeting. I stopped and talked to this gentleman for a few minutes and then moved on to my gate to take my flight home. As I thought about that incident on the airplane, I was so thankful that I wasn’t doing something that would have brought reproach to my Saviour’s name.

The disciples found themselves in the same situation that I was in at the airport. They had fished all night, and when coming back to shore they saw a man standing on the shore. That man asked them what they were doing, and they replied they had fished all night and caught nothing. That man told them to cast their nets on the other side, and when they cast their net and caught a draught of fishes they immediately realized that man was Jesus Christ. They had been caught by the Saviour, and unfortunately they were not doing everything they should have been doing.

You never know when someone is going to catch you. That is why you need to be sure you are doing the right thing all the time. I find that the disciples were lacking in three areas where you need to be sure that if you were caught unexpectedly by anyone, that these three things would be on display.

First, if you were caught unexpectedly, would your faith be caught. You never know when someone is watching how much faith you have in God. Are you one who is often worried about life’s affairs? People are watching your faith to see if it is real to you. If you are quickly frazzled by how you are going to handle life’s problems, then you are going to have a hard time influencing people for Jesus Christ.

Second, if you were caught unexpectedly, would people see your Christianity. Sadly, Peter was fishing without his clothes on. Jesus caught him dressed indecently. You must always act and dress as a Christian because you never know when you are going to cross someone’s path who knows you. You should always ask yourself, would I be embarrassed if someone caught me doing what I’m about ready to do or dressed a certain way? If you wouldn’t want someone to catch you in a certain place, then don’t ever go there. If you wouldn’t want someone to catch you dressed a certain way, then dress the way you would want to be caught.

Third, if you were caught unexpectedly, would your treatment of people be right? The disciples didn’t know that they were in the presence of Jesus. What if they had treated Him wrongly? They would have been sorry had they not treated Jesus right. You never know who you are talking to and when you will cross their paths again in the future. That is why you should always treat people right because you never know how that person could help you in the future.

If you always live your life as if someone is watching you, then you will never be embarrassed when they catch you. Living right pays off. Let your Christianity and good behavior be on display at all times and you will never have to apologize for being caught off guard.

2 Chronicles 14:7
“Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.”

When Asa took control of the kingdom, he immediately understood the importance of building strongholds to protect the people he led. He understood there were enemies who wanted to destroy Judah, and if he didn’t fortify the city those enemies would destroy the people he loved and led. The verse above says after he built those strongholds, “So they built and prospered.”

Any family that wants to prosper must have strongholds that they have built to keep the unwanted enemies from destroying them. There are many enemies that have destroyed families. Sadly, we don’t learn from those whose families were destroyed because they allowed those enemies into their homes. When you look at the verse above, you see that there are four strongholds every family must have to keep them safe from the enemy.

First, every family needs a stronghold of walls. The walls are simply rules by which they live. Rules are not there to inhibit you from enjoying life, but they are there to keep unwanted sins from destroying your family. You have to have rules that you establish in your home, and enforce those rules at all times. It needs to be understood that those rules are not to be ignored by anyone in the home. The family rules are to be followed by the children and the parents. The rules do no good if you don’t follow them.

Second, every family needs a stronghold of towers. The tower was where the watchman stood. The watchman looked at a distance and warned of the coming enemy. If a home is going to be blessed, then they must have the right authorities to warn them of what is dangerous. Let me simply say, this authority is your pastor. You must allow your pastor the freedom to tell you of dangers you must avoid. If your pastor is simply a voice you ignore, then you are opening your family to the enemy. Let me encourage you to listen to your pastor as he stands in the tower and warns of the enemies that want to destroy your family.

Third, every family needs a stronghold of gates. The gates allowed people in and out of the city. In other words, a strong family is a family that is careful with their friends. Every parent needs to be sure they control who their children’s friends are. If you see that your child has a wrong friend, then you need to stop that friendship. Likewise, parents need to be careful with their own friends. All it takes is one bad friend in the gates of your home to destroy your family.

Fourth, every family needs a stronghold of bars. In other words, you must bar from the family any influence or association that could harm your family. These influences you must control are the programs you watch, the music to which you listen, the books you read and the institutions you support. All of these things will influence your family, and they must be closely watched if you want to protect your family from harm.

Happy families are families who have strongholds. Don’t let your family go another day without these four strongholds in place.