Deaf Devotion 10/18/2011

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT)

James says when our faith is tested our endurance will grow. Do you remember we learned how James talked about not wavering? He talked about having faith that does not show doubt. The more we depend on Jesus in faith the more our faith becomes solid. Endurance is being patient and staying focused knowing that God is working in the background to help us. That is really cool! Because God is working sometimes in ways that we do not even know, we are free to focus on sharing the Gospel with others. We do not even need to worry about the situation that is causing the trouble. God is taking care of it. All we need to do is obey what God says and then let God work out all the details.

James also says we will be perfect. Most people think perfect means that a person does not sin. My friends, we are all sinners. NONE of us are "perfect" in the sense we do not sin. However, in the Greek, the word means to be complete. It means to experience everything alongside God, then to let that experience become wisdom and the wisdom to become patience. Wisdom is taking what we learn and using it in a way God wants us to use it.

What does God want of us? He wants us to experience everything that is Jesus Christ. We learn from His love for us, His sacrifice for us, His joys, His tears, and His character. The way for this to happen is to experience times of trouble and testing. Can we be patient during this process? If we are like most people, we want what we want and we want it now. We become like children who don’t know the difference between “no” and “not yet.” If you say to a child who wants a cookie now, “Wait a while,” to them it is the same as saying “no” because they want it now. But God is interested in developing our rock solid faith in Him alone. Times of trouble and testing bring patience, and patience teaches us wisdom and wisdom makes our faith rock solid.

Is there something you are waiting on? Is there something you are struggling with? Give it to Jesus. Trust in His timing and if you need wisdom just ask.

Deaf Devotion 9/21/2011

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:5-8 NLT)

Notice two words James uses in his letter that some people have a hard time understanding. The first is “rebuke.” To “rebuke” means to criticize or to show disapproval. When God invites us to ask Him for wisdom He does not get upset with us or shows disapproval for us asking. As the verse points out, God wants us to ask.

The other word is “waver.” James says we cannot let our faith in God “waver.” This means our faith in God needs to be rock solid. To “waver” is to show doubt. We are always faced with living in two worlds: The spiritual and the flesh. We are to show those around us that our faith is in God alone. We cannot show that we cannot decide between what God says and does and what the world offers.

If we believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has promised, why, when we pray, do so many of us back away from God’s throne like a shy child asking for something he is afraid to ask for? Instead of coming before our Heavenly Father with bold faith, we come to the Lord "hoping" He will hear us and answer our requests, but we're just not sure He will. With this kind of thinking, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him.

Once when Jesus was visiting Cana in Galilee, a man from Capernaum came looking for Jesus with an urgent request. The man's son was dying, and the man begged Jesus to come heal him. Instead Jesus told the man to return home, for his son is healed. The Gospel of John says the man believed Jesus’ Word and left to go home. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. This man had heard Jesus speak, immediately turned and walked away by faith, and Jesus had already done as He said he would do. You and I can only imagine the amount of faith and trust this man had in Jesus to just turn around and go home only with Jesus’ words in his mind.

One reason we are sometimes doubt too much is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But God is not some order taker who is just waiting to fill our order when we pray. God sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible hands are working on our request before we even ask. We may not know it. He is arranging our situations to reach the goals He has for us. He is opening hearts, and at the same time, preparing us to receive what He wants to give.

Another cause for doubt is lack of knowledge. If we don't know God's ways, we will be disappointed in His answer. All too often when we pray we also tell God how we expect Him to deliver what we ask for. Then, when He fails to act at the time and in the way we expect Him to answer, we start to doubt. But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us strength and peace as we wait for His answer.

To get past our doubts, we must let God lead us. Spend time in reading the Bible to learn what’s important to God, and not so much important to me. Then we can begin to understand what He wants to achieve in our life and how He plans to do it. Examine the past from the point of view of what God says in the Bible. Faith will grow as we see the unexpected ways God has already answered prayers. This will also show how He plans to do it in the future.

Deaf Devotion 8/29/2011

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!“ (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)

Suppose someone asks you to choose between a million dollars and a candy bar.
That seems to be an easy decision to make.
Suppose you are asked to choose between a million dollars and two million dollars.
Again, the answer seems pretty obvious.
Easier yet!
Now suppose someone asks you to choose between a million dollars and a penny, or choose between a candy bar and a penny.
One would say that is a “no-brainer.” The answer would be automatic. We would not need to put much thought into our response.
It’s no big deal.

But suppose someone asks you to choose between two of your favorite candy bars? Now we would need to think a little harder about that. How many choices do we make every day?

If you could estimate how many choices the average person makes per day, what would you say? 5? 10? 100? 1000? Probably the higher one goes, the closer we get to the correct number of decisions are required every day. Sometimes our choices even have choices! When did it get so complex?

There are big choices and little choices. Sometimes we make big decisions about little things and easy decisions about something important. No matter how big or small, each choice will affect us in some way.

Now, God fully knows that we face choices every day. The Bible makes it very clear that we have some decisions to make, and that the decisions you make will very much affect you.

Pastor Adrian Rogers writes:

“Years ago I was witnessing to a young lady in Florida. I asked her if she had received Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She became teary-eyed and said, “I just don’t seem…no…I can’t do it today.” I asked her, “Don’t you realize that if you don’t receive Him, that you’re going to deny Him?” She said, “Oh, I wouldn’t deny Him for anything.” I said, “But there’s no middle ground.” And yet she refused.

I said, “Before you go, would you shake hands with me?” And she said, “Well, certainly.” And so I said, “If you’ll take Christ as your Savior, take my right hand. If you’ll take hell and refuse Christ, take my left hand.” She refused to take either of my hands.”

Choosing between life and death is like choosing between a million dollars and a candy bar. It seems like the decision is obvious, right? As obvious as the answer may seem, no matter that the answer is right in front of our faces, there are those who are still waiting to make a decision between life and death. Waiting can be the same as refusing or denying what is right in front of us.

So, there it is. To choose life, is to have a relationship with the Savior. Jesus said in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

So, in choosing Jesus, we do not just have an ordinary life, but we have a life that is tremendous, overflowing, surplus, over and above, more than enough, plentiful, extraordinary, above the ordinary, and more than sufficient. Choose life. Choose Christ.

Don’t waste the life we have in Jesus Christ. Don’t settle for second best. Don’t go through life just existing, coping, or getting by. We are not put here on earth to just get by. God created each of us for a reason, for a mission, a purpose. That starts by asking the question, “Is this the best use of my life?”

Deaf Devotion 8/22/2011

“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am the LORD your God!” (Numbers 15:41 NLT)

At times, I have heard someone say, "I've made Jesus a part of my life." But this statement really misses the point. The truth is, Jesus can never be simply a part of life. At salvation, Jesus becomes our life. Everything revolves around Him and His finished work at the Cross, once and for all people, all because He is the central focus.

For the believer, the real meaning of living is to follow Jesus with the simple un-questioning faith of a child. We must fully trust Jesus and what He has done. That means we point toward His righteous life simply by living by faith in Him. To do this, we depend on the power of the Holy Spirit for showing us God’s plan for us, and God’s grace for forgiveness when we stumble. And we will make mistakes because we live in between two kingdoms that are in constant conflict. On the one hand, there's the pull of the world, and on the other, the pull of God. In other words, Satan throws temptations our way, but from God comes the appeal of holiness, peace, and joy in Christ. You and me are somewhere in the middle.

That's why Jesus taught as written in Matthew 6:33, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

And what is God’s desire for us? “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)

The battle is ongoing. And it is not happening just in the areas of education, science, politics, and finances but also within every human heart. The only way to sort out what is happening in the universe is to keep Christ at the center of our universe. He is not a part of the universe. He is the universe. He is the breath and life and salvation of the universe. There is simply no way to make it in life if Jesus is not the center.

Jesus is not a part of our life. JESUS IS our life. JESUS IS our today and our tomorrow. JESUS IS our eternal life.

If Jesus is your Savior, He is everything. There is no other. It has already been done. If Jesus is not your Savior, He may only be a “part.” What are the other “parts” doing? Jesus says to come to Him and give Him your everything. He has already said He is THE way, THE truth, and THE LIFE. Not one of many, but THE only. Once Jesus is Savior and Lord, we cannot lose what He has promised.

It's critical that we keep God's priority as our own seeking His will and His righteousness to keep us focused on the center of our universe: Jesus Christ Alone.

Deaf Devotion 8/15/2011

“And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Hebrews 9:27 NLT

Jesus came to save all people but it’s a sad reality that only “many” will choose to accept the offer of God’s grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

One of the most important things to remember about life as we know it is this: We are not living the life God created us to live. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden due to their sin in Genesis Chapter 3, everything changed. And no change is bigger than death. Mankind was created to live eternally; but that eternal life is to be interrupted by death as the ultimate result of sin, followed by resurrection to eternal life. The question is, "Where will one's eternal life be spent?"

What is death? Death is eternal separation from God. Eternal life is living, breathing, and worshipping in the presence of the creator and Savior Forever!

Again, the Garden of Eden is the model. God created mankind to fellowship with Him for eternity. Therefore, the Bible speaks of only two options for eternal life: with God (heaven) or not with God (hell). The question is not "if" we live eternally, but "where."

I received an email from a good friend:

“Hi John,
I have those rare mom/daughter times sometimes. Ever since she got home from her mission trip to WVA, she has totally changed (for the better!), and of course I swell with pride...and oh yeah, of course, love. :)

Anyway, after I picked her up from her friend's, we got home and just sat in the car, parked in front of my building. It happens every now and then for us to just sit there and enjoy. You know? So we were just chatting and she shared with me how she's changing so much for the better, growing in her relationship with Jesus (she has stopped listening to certain types of music!!!) and how she's been having a couple friends (atheists) coming to "Uth Night" (Youth Group) with her on Weds....and she said, "I'm workin' on 'em mom. They need Jesus!"

Then I shared about going to a funeral and how sad it is to know that the person wasn't saved and hard to stand there looking at the empty shell of the body but knowing where his soul might be right now. If one truly know the person was NOT saved, they are in hell. Eternal.

The question she asked, "Mom, wasn't there somewhere where you are given a 2nd chance? Anyway, her question was if a person not saved, but shows up before God, he/she will still be sent to hell, because they haven't accepted Christ, right? Isn't there another place they go? If they were really sincerely sorry? I did say there are only 2 places--- Heaven or hell. No ifs or buts about it.

I told her I'd ask you to clear that up a bit, to make sure I was clear about that, and she is clear and we all are clear!

Thanks, Pastor John. “

Wow. Can you imagine forever separated from God? Here is my response:

That's a tough question because we all want hope. Doctrine teaches there is no "second chance."

The story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus point to this. The rich man in hell was looking for the "second chance" to save himself and find the "water" to quench his thirst and thus save himself and also to warn his family and others about hell. All this while Lazarus was safe in the "bosom" of God. God pointed out that basically Dead people can't talk. God pointed out that he did nothing about salvation while he was alive and had the chance, what makes him think anything would be different now. The man protested and said then let me go tell my family. God said that because people (including the rich man) would not listen to the truth when they were alive, they most certainly will not listen to a "ghost."

Also, if there were a second chance, then it would mean one could lose their salvation over and over again. Jesus died one time for all people. In that same thought, If there were a second chance, then it would mean that Jesus died only for the people needing the "second chance" and not for all people as God had originally planned. Jesus came to save all of God's creation from hell.

A "second chance" is based on people's own idea and interpretation of righteousness. I will change so I DESERVE the "second chance" and God should give it to me. God does not see it that way. Everything was finished BY GOD, BY JESUS, AT THE CROSS. Righteousness is based on God and what He does through grace and what Jesus Christ did through love. We cannot become righteous. We are MADE righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Some religions preach "Purgatory" as the second chance. This is defined as the place someone's soul goes until things are made right by those who are still living. The living can "buy" what are called indulgences. They pay to light a candle. They donate to this or that. Once they feel that God is satisfied, then they can be assured that their loved one has entered heaven. This also is not true. No one can buy their way into heaven or can buy forgiveness from God. Again this is based on people "buying" their way into heaven. It is based on people's works rather than God's gift and Jesus finished work at the cross. The problem is, there is never enough "assurance." And also, how much is enough to "buy" God's forgiveness?

God's cost of forgiveness was His Son. Our cost of forgiveness is obeying in faith and trusting our lives to the risen Savior. Jesus' cost was His life, given for us not taken from Him, to satisfy once and for all the sin-debt mankind owes to God. Once it is satisfied by faith and trust in Jesus, while the person is alive and has the opportunity to respond and act, it is a done deal. It is sealed by God's Word.”

What are you and me to do now? Make sure you and those you know have answered the question of "where" you and they will spend eternity by believing in Jesus Christ.

Pastor, writer, and evangelist J.C. Ryle said, “The beginning of the way to heaven is to feel that we are on the way to hell.”

Deaf Devotion 8/1/2011

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

Even though the Bible clearly states that every believer receives a spiritual gift, some people nevertheless think they were overlooked. So these men and women wander through life refusing opportunities to serve. Other folks are so busy wishing they had a different ability that they do not use the one bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Both of these attitudes are sinful.

God has a specific purpose and ministry for every Christian. Our spiritual gifts help us to fulfill His plan. Our spiritual gifts are also meant to keep us busy until the day Jesus calls us home. We learn which gift we have been given by getting involved in the life of the church. Sometimes it is more than one gift we are given. What a blessing! In other words, a believer will know their God-given abilities when they begin to use them in the life of the church and in service to others.

Moreover, God has a general purpose for handing out spiritual gifts.

Christians are to use their special skills for the common good. “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT) Everyone profits when believers do God's work though the power of the Holy Spirit.

We're to use our gifts for equipping, teaching, and encouraging one another. “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT)

To appreciate how this works, it may be helpful to better understand words like evangelist, prophet, and teacher. Biblically, these terms describe co-laborers who share Christ with others. They are spiritual mentors who explain biblical truths to new believers. They are friends who uplift the discouraged, and others doing similar work. Butthe "titles" can be used for any person also. You do not need to be a Pastor to spread the Gospel. You do not need to be a teacher to tell someone about Salvation in Jesus Christ. You just need to be willing.

Every member of the Christian fellowship is important, and each one has a work to do. There are no excuses for ignoring God's plan for us. Where He has gifted us and opened doors of opportunity for ministry, He also provides the strength and courage when He calls us to use our abilities.

The gifts He gives us are not to be used to build us up, but to serve others. His purpose is not that we should use our gifts to please ourselves or to hide, but to help and bless other people.

As we wait for Christ to return, keep using whatever gift or gifts God gave us to help and bless others.
What can we do until Jesus comes back?
We can stay focused and keep praying.
We can love others with our attitude and actions.
We can serve God by using the gifts He has given us to help and bless others.

Jesus has given us plenty to do. He does not want us to be sitting around, complaining about how we wish He would hurry and get here. He wants us about our Father’s business, until it is time to go home.

What are you doing for God and how are you using the gift or gifts He has given you as you wait for Jesus to come back?

Deaf Devotion 7/28/2011

“Truly I tell you; today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43b NLT)

Are there any other words that can bring peace and relief to the soul of the sinner? Jesus did not say today you CAN be in paradise. He did not say wait until baptism. He did not give out a list of rules and requirements to have eternal life. Jesus, based on one person’s simple confession said, today you WILL join me in paradise. That’s all! Jesus went on to say, “It is finished.” It’s done. It’s complete.

God's grace is revealed in His willingness to welcome anyone at anytime into His kingdom, even at the moment of death. The thief who hung on a cross next to Jesus had absolutely nothing to offer the Lord—no good works, no faithful service. He couldn't even be baptized. In his utterly helpless condition, the only thing he could do was believe. But that was all it took, because faith is the only way to be saved.

Remember that there were two thieves were crucified with Jesus. Both thieves began their crucifixion by hurling verbal abuse at Jesus. As the minutes passed, one of them had a change of heart. His anger against the Savior turned to criticism of the other criminal, and then to defense of Jesus, the admission of his own guilt and a helpless plea for a place in Christ's kingdom.

It wasn’t by accident that those men were in that place in the presence of Jesus. It wasn’t by accident that Jesus was crucified in the middle of these two men. It was the divine plan of God. God arranged the meeting of Jesus with these two men. Both of the thieves hanging on the cross were still thieves when one of them cried out to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” But this man was no longer a thief when Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”

What was it that turned this mocker into a believer? Even if he himself had even heard about the name Jesus Christ, the crowd's mocking of Jesus supplied him with the information he needed to be saved. Scornful onlookers accused Jesus of being exactly who He was: the King of Israel, the Savior of others, and the Son of God. As the condemned man watched and listened, he turned in faith to the only One who could save Him. Not the one dying with him, but the One dying FOR him.

What happened to the other man? The other thief, although he knew who Jesus was, never asked Him for salvation and because of his decision he is right now crying out for mercy in hell.

On the hill that day, one man died in his sin, one Man died for sin, and the other was saved out of his sin. There are only two responses to the inevitability of death. We can either accept or reject Christ's payment for our sin. There is a change that takes place when we are in the presence of God. What has been isn’t what always has to be. The despair and helplessness melts away in the presence of God. The problems that confront our lives become possibilities. The fear that sometimes grips us melts into strength and courage in the presence of God. And the filth of sin is washed away in the presence of Jesus.

MAY GOD BRING US INTO HIS PRESENCE TODAY. GOD BLESS!