If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

— 1 John 1:8

This is salvation—”And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). We are justified by knowing Christ—knowing Him who is the Son of God, the Savior of men; knowing Him who took our sins upon Himself and died in our place. It is through knowledge and trust in Christ, our Savior that we are justified

Christ shows us in the parable of the Prodigal Son that very frequently the respectable and the religious are often the farthest from the kingdom of God. One minister said years ago, “The problem in America is not getting people saved. They all think that they are saved already. The problem is getting them lost.” How true that is.

Have you ever been lost? If not, you are not saved. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. The first requirement to being saved is to be lost.

For 24 years I lived without the slightest shadow ever crossing my mind that I was separated from God and on my way to perdition. Not until I came to that realization did the door of God’s mercy open to me.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean that a person knows he is lost?

Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.

— Proverbs 16:3

Many people make New Years’ resolutions. We see a new beginning and a new chance to make something better of our lives. Our God is a God of second chances, and with His help and in His strength, we will succeed.

We need to set godly goals. We need to lay them out before God in prayer, importunate prayer, prevailing prayer, persistent prayer. We need to obey God with lives that are yielded up to him, to His will. We will not be successful in doing these things if we are disobedient to God. That is why we cannot expect to have victory in our private lives or our church if we are living in disobedience.

Are we faithful in God’s work and are we faithful to our spouse and family? are we faithful in giving? Are we keeping His commandments and do we live lives of honesty and integrity? When we live godly lives, we will have godly goals.

Question to ponder:
What are the five most important goals and plans that you have for this coming year?

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has babbling? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek mixed wine.”

— Proverbs 23:29-30

Some today call alcoholism merely a “disease.” The Bible calls it drunkenness. But you know, it is an interesting “disease” because the only way you can become an alcoholic is to get drunk. The Bible says that no drunkard will enter into the kingdom of heaven (see I Cor. 6:10).

Someone has said that if alcoholism is a disease (and certainly when a person becomes addicted and enslaved by it, it takes on many aspects of a disease):

It is the only disease that is contracted by an act of the will…
It is the only disease that is bottled and sold…
It is the only disease that provokes crime…
It is the only disease that bars the patient from heaven.

It is a tragic “disease” in America, and it is found among many young people today. Many who are turning away from drugs are turning to alcohol. This is even true of churched young people. Having a drink is one thing, but we should not do anything—including having a drink—if it causes our brother to fall away from the faith.

The Bible says that we should not be drunk with wine but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. Having the joy of the Lord inside takes away the empty hole that some try to fill with drunkenness.

Lord, on this New Year’s Eve, we know that many will turn to the bottle for solace. We ask, Dear Father, that instead they would turn to You. Thank You for this past year. We lay the new one at Your feet…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR
HEARTS CAN BE AT REST.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

— Revelation 2:11

In Greek mythology, Orpheus, the golden voiced, loses his beautiful wife, Eurydice, and so with lyre in hand he makes his way down through the darkness of the infernal regions in quest of the lost Eurydice, singing his plaintive melodies.

As he goes forth and fills the chambers of that nether world with the rich sonorous tones of his plaintive cry, Tantalus stops his futile bending after the receding waters and listens for a while. Even the cheeks of the furies are wet with tears as they hear the poignant plea of Orpheus for his lost wife.

At last, Orpheus reaches Pluto, the god of this nether world, who finally condescends to allow him to take his wife back on one condition: that he will not set his eyes upon her until they fully reach the land of light above. They set off, Orpheus before, and his beautiful wife, Eurydice, behind.

They pass one obstacle and one danger after another. All hell holds its breath as they make their way tortuously upward, ever closer, until finally they can see the light. So elated is Orpheus, he turns to tell his wife that soon they will be there—and in that moment, all his labor is lost and Eurydice vanishes.

That ancient and familiar myth teaches us a great truth: that it is only he who perseveres until the end who shall be saved. It does not really matter how well we start. It is the finish that counts. As the Apostle Paul said: “You ran well. Who hindered you…” (Galatians 5:7).

Lord, give me the strength to finish well. If I have previously allowed obstacles to hinder my race, as happened to the Galatians, please forgive me and then give me the grace to get up again and continue with the race you have marked out for me…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
MAKE IT OVER THE FINISH LINE.

“…forgetting those things which are behind…”

— Philippians 3:13

Years ago we had a guest speaker at our church who made the point so well that we need to forget the things that are behind and press forward in Christ.

Lt. Clebe McClary is a veteran of the Viet Nam War. He unfortunately experienced the blast of dynamite which blew off his arm, which he only discovered when he couldn’t reach his rifle because there was nothing on his shoulder any longer. It also blew out his eye and half of his face, his teeth, his nose, and did all sorts of other damage. I think he has had over 35 major surgical operations. Despite all these hardships, he reminds himself regularly to forget.

He has a license plate on the front of his car which says “FIDO.” That’s F-ID- O. No, that’s not the name of his dog. It stands, he says, for “Forget It, Drive On.” And let me tell you he has a lot to forget. Have you been hurt? Is your eye gone, your teeth, your arm? How many surgical operations has it taken to correct your injuries, and, of course, it is still not corrected—the damage from the hurt that you or I have experienced? Forget it, drive on. “…Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal…” (Philippians 3:13-14a).

Too many people allow the past to destroy their present and their future. FIDO is a message like that of the Apostle Paul—to consciously not drag the baggage of the past forward.

Lord God of Justice, we ask that You help us to forget what is behind. Help us to not let past hurts define and hinder us. Thank You that one day You will right all wrongs…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND.

“Do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19 “…forgetting those things which are behind…”

— Philippians 3:13

I am sure that Christians must get confused when they read a verse like this. Paul says, “This is what I do, I forget those things which are behind.” And yet I have preached sermons on a number of occasions on “remember.” Jesus said, “Remember Me.” We are told over and over again in the Bible to remember.

Are we to forget or are we to remember? Well, obviously we are to do both, and the question is: What are the objects of the verbs, remember and forget? There are certainly things that we are to remember. We are to remember what Jesus Christ has done for us upon the Cross.

The things that Paul is talking about forgetting would be of two classes. Just like a runner or skater skating for 1500 yards, they have to forget their successes or failures in a hurry and not sit back and rest upon those laurels.

I think it is particularly true that as they get older people begin to rest more and more on their laurels and stretch less and less toward the prize, the mark of the high calling of God. We need to forget about our victories and not simply float on them, but to reach out to the things that yet remain to be done. Nor should our past failures weigh us down.

Let us thank God for what He has done in the past, as we strive to serve Him in the present and future.

My Lord and Savior, thank You for what you have done for me. Help me to not be a prisoner of the past with its failures or its victories…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE
ABLE TO STRETCH FORWARD.

“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant. But I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.’”

— Exodus 4:10

When God commissioned Moses, the latter gave excuse after excuse to try and wriggle out of it. One was that he was a poor speaker. Well, in trying to recruit Christians to try and share their faith, I’ve heard that excuse myself. “Lord, I’m not articulate.” “Well, I can’t express myself like you can.” How clearly I’ve heard that said many, many times.

There are similar excuses that are given many times. “I just can’t talk to others.” “I’m too shy.” “I can’t speak in other people’s homes to strangers,” and so on. Well, I remember clearly feeling the very same way myself. And yet God said to Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who made the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?” God has made our mouths and if we are slow of speech, God can help that.

We certainly know that many times in the Scriptures in those days God made the blind to see and the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Surely He can make the slow of speech more eloquent than they are, and yet how many times we limit the power of God in saying that He cannot change us. Nevertheless, I have seen and I know of many people in our church, and people around the world, who have been transformed by this experience.

If you have trouble sharing your faith, ask God for His help. This is a prayer He is delighted to answer.

Oh, Lord God, help me to share my faith and to teach others Your words. Thank You for Your words, which are both eloquent and true. You who made my mouth, teach me to speak rightfully…

BY HIS STRENGTH, HE CAN USE MY
LIFE AND MY MOUTH FOR HIS CAUSE.

“…we declare to you that which we have seen and heard, that you also may have fellowship with us…”

— 1 John 1:3

Some Christians hold back from being witnesses for Christ because they don’t feel qualified somehow. But you are not called to be an expert witness—just a witness, and there is a great deal of difference. The preacher is supposed to be an expert witness, but the layman is not.

You recall that in the Bible there was a man who was a witness, and they tried continually to change him into an expert witness and he would not be changed. Remember him, the man born blind described in John 9? They said to him, “Now tell us the truth. We know that God does not hear sinners and this man (Jesus) is a sinner and, therefore, God wouldn’t hear His prayers, so how can you see?” And he said, “That’s systematic theology 302, and I haven’t even been to seminary. I don’t know. But one thing I know: Whereas I was blind, now I see.”

You don’t have to be a walking biblical encyclopedia to be a witness for Christ; you simply have to know the Gospel and know what has happened in your life. Of course, then there is the excuse, “Well, that’s the preacher’s job. He’s the one who knows the answers to all of those questions.”

In Evangelism Explosion, we teach you the answers to a few basic objections, which are heard over and over again. In answering about a dozen questions, we take care of about 99 percent of the objections raised in evangelism. If you are in Christ, you were once blind, but now you see.

Jesus, give me strength for today that I might share Your love with someone who needs to hear how You have touched my life. Let me be a faithful witness and thank You for the opportunities You give me…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
HAVE SPIRITUAL SIGHT.

“Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name…”

— Philippians 2:9

There is a certain exclusiveness about Christmas. There is a uniqueness to it. Jesus Christ stands alone—the unique God-man in the world. He cannot be put in a row with other so-called founders of religion. Jesus Christ claims to be God, who has come into the world to save the lost. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all.

I talked to a woman at a dinner not so long ago who was a member of some Christian church and she endeavored to defend to me her belief that, “Of course I’m a Christian, but I believe that anyone who lives a sincere life and tries to do good will eventually get to heaven.” She missed the point entirely.

By saying this, she is simply saying she’s not a Christian. She doesn’t understand what Christmas means and what Christianity is. If it were true that Christianity were a religion that said, “Try to do the best you can. Do what God has said in His word. Try to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ, who is a great prophet. Follow the Sermon on the Mount. Do what your conscience tells you. Be kind to your neighbor, and perhaps you’ll get to Heaven,”—if Christianity were a religion that said that, then I maintain that any other religion would be equally as good, because they all have their ethics. They all have their principles. They all have their rules. But none of them has a Savior except Christianity.

Jesus, my Savior, thank You for humbling Yourself and opening the way to heaven for us, who cannot get there on our own. Give us the strength to live humble lives and follow in Your footsteps…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN ACQUIRE HUMILITY.

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Look! I am making all things new.’”

— Revelation 21:5

Some people have made transformational changes in one department of human learning or in one aspect of human life, and their names are forever enshrined in the annals of human history. But Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived, changed virtually every aspect of human life—and most people don’t know it. The greatest tragedy of the Christmas holiday each year is not so much its commercialization (gross as that is), but its trivialization. How tragic it is that people have forgotten Him to whom they owe so very much.

Because of Jesus and the church, we see historically all sorts of positive ways in which life on earth had been transformed for the better. This includes transforming the value of human life, the creation of the hospital, education for the masses, and giving birth to modern science. All the early pioneers of science believed that a rational God had a made a rational universe and it was their job to “think God’s thoughts after Him,” as astronomer Johannes Kepler put it.

More than a century ago, poet James Russell Lowell, author of the hymn “Once to man and every nation” said this: “I challenge any skeptic to find a ten square mile spot on this planet where they can live their lives in peace and safety and decency, where womanhood is honored, where infancy and old age are revered, where they can educate their children, where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has not gone first to prepare the way.”

Jesus Christ, we thank You today for coming into our world and transforming it. Help us to transform our particular sphere of influence where You have placed us…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.