Category: Today’s Truth

The best gift that we receive from God at the moment of salvation is the promise of eternal life with Jesus. Romans 2:6-7 says, “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.”

To those who place their hope and trust in Jesus will inherit eternal life. This verse is not saying that heaven is based on works, but based on the fruit of the Christian life. If someone professes to know Christ and is one of His children, then they will want to serve the Lord. Works are a part of the fruit for the Christian. Salvation is not based on works alone, but it is the driving force behind the works.

Many believe that their works alone will get them to heaven. However, this is a lie that the enemy would have you believe. Our works are a product of the gratitude we feel for the one who saved us.

It is a blessing and privilege to serve the Lord. Jesus made service possible when He died on the cross for mankind. Ephesians 3:7 says, “By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.” So why doesn’t man spread the news that he has so freely been given? What stops him?

Man can be so distracted in everyday life. Instead of seeing the Gospel as the most important thing, he (or she) puts everything above God: spouses, family, friends, careers, success, etc. Over time, man can crowd God out of his life and leaves no room for God to dwell. Is this you? Have you become so distracted that you have pushed God out of your life?

Maybe this is a question that each one of us needs to ask ourselves. We need to truly look inside ourselves and really take a look at our priorities. Do we truly spread the truth and are we diligent in carrying the Gospel everywhere we go?

Romans 4:7-8 tells us that “”Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”” These verses say a lot about the Christian life. When you come to know the Lord, you experience His blessings. Forgiveness is a blessing because it allows you to feel free sin. God’s grace of God is a blessing. It is given when it is not deserved. It allows God to dismiss the sins of His people.

The Christian life is such a blessing. It is a blessing and joy to serve the Lord in your community and nation. It is a blessing to get to know the Lord through prayer and His Word. It is a blessing getting to know other believers in the body of Christ, encouraging and lifting one another up. It is a blessing being a part of the ministry of Christ. Everything is such a blessing.

If you know someone who needs to know the forgiveness, grace and mercy of our God, then pray and ask God to help you focus on Him and who He is.

There have been many people throughout the Bible that were known for their faith and how they walked with the Lord. Hebrews 11:2 says, “Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.” Romans 4:3 more specifically says, “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”” Abraham’s belief in the Lord was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham trusted God and followed Him to a new land. He continued to show his faith when he was willing to sacrifice his son to show his love and devotion to the Lord.

Noah showed his faith by building an ark and preparing for a worldwide flood before it happened. Joseph showed faith by trusting in the Lord his entire life even when life was very difficult. Ruth followed her mother-in-law and her faith to another land. Esther trusted that God could deliver their people. The list goes on and on. There are so many who showed their faith throughout the Bible.

What about you? What will be said of you when your life is over? Will you be known for your faith? Spend some time praying today and asking God to help you live by faith.

Since the law shows us our desperate need for a Savior, Jesus shows us His grace through which we are saved. Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Every person has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In other words, we are all in need of a Savior. We all need His grace and mercy. This is the first part of this verse that gives us hope.

The second part of this verse tells us that at the moment of salvation, we are justified freely by His grace and the redemption of Jesus. We have been given this gift of salvation freely; it cost us nothing. However, it cost Him everything. God gave His one and only Son for His people and their sins.

Praise that comes from the Lord is true praise and should be the only praise that matters. When we do something for the Lord, what He thinks should be the only kind of recognition we need. Romans 2:29 says, “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

There are many things that are done in this world in vain. Organizations through the community that praise and recognize man instead of God, can still bring about good for all involved; however, anything done for the Lord is better and will be a reward for those who are involved. When you serve the Lord, do not worry about being recognized by man. This will never bring about the same blessings you will feel when you serve the Lord. Serving the Lord is a joy.

There are many things in this world that lead us astray; false teaching for one. The world longs to cling to any teaching that makes sin acceptable and pleasing. God will give people up to their sins when they make them acceptable as it says in Romans 1:26-27: “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

In this day in age, society has made any kind of relationship acceptable. They are trying to teach their beliefs on what the family should look like everywhere and if you do not accept their teaching, then they call you close-minded or judgemental. As these verses say, they gave up natural relations for unnatural ones. What is worse is that they have made all types of unnatural relations acceptable in society. Some will even say that God thinks it is acceptable as well; however, these people do not know God at all.

As believers, we must guard our hearts and minds to believe only what God has taught in His Word to be true and reject anything that contradicts scripture.

Man relies on his own wisdom all the time. From the moment Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, man started craving wisdom. Paul says in Romans 1:21-23, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

When you rely on your own wisdom, your thinking will become futile. These verses say that your heart can even become darkened when you rely on your wisdom instead of God’s. The people that Paul describes even claim to be wise while being fools all along. Anyone who thinks he is wiser than the Lord is incredibly mistaken. He says these people exchanged the glory of God for human (man-made) images.

We do this all the time in society. We exchange the truth of God and His glory for man-made pleasures, for a lie. Sometimes we even do this on a daily basis when we trust ourselves and our own wisdom over the Lord.

Have you ever been ashamed of anything in your life? Maybe you did something you were not proud of. Maybe you embarrassed yourself or others. If we are being honest, then we have probably all been ashamed of someone or something at some point in our lives! Some of us may even be ashamed on a daily basis!

The word ashamed means the opposite of proud. It means to feel shame, guilt, or disgrace. I don’t know about you, but I spent a lot of my childhood trying to make my family proud of them. I did not want them to be disgraced. I did everything possible and it usually worked. However, there were times in my life when I brought shame to them as well by my actions or words. Paul may have spent a lot of his later life feeling ashamed by his actions and words toward Christians. When he came to know Christ, he was not about to be ashamed of the One who had saved him. He says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

When God is first in your life, it will be rare that you will be ashamed of him. We typically aren’t ashamed of the ones we really love. However, if He is further down the list, you will find yourself being ashamed of Him often. Ask yourself what happens when someone mentions God. How do you react?

As Christians, we must have the heart of a thankful servant. Thankful for God and thankful for others. Paul says in Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” Paul opened his letter to the Romans with a thankful heart. He was truly thankful for them and their faith. The faith they had in the Lord was so strong that it was made known around the world! Can you imagine such a faith?

The one who comes to my mind when I think of someone whose faith is “being reported around the world,” is Billy Graham. According to his obituary written on February 21, 2018, “Throughout his life, Billy Graham preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to some 215 million people who attended one of his more than 400 Crusades, simulcasts and evangelistic rallies in more than 185 countries and territories. He reached millions more through TV, video, film, the internet and 34 books.” His faith reached many nations and people groups. Everytime he spoke, the Word of God was made known to the people around him. He was not afraid to share his faith; in fact, he became an ambassador for the Lord. It was the joy of his life to share the gospel. According to his obituary, he even trained ministers and leaders in 208 countries to bring the gospel to their nations.

Take some time to examine your own faith today. Does your faith inspire others to share the gospel? Is your life message about seeing others come to know Him? If not, spend some time in prayer today, asking God to place a joy for the gospel in your heart.