“Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”

— 1 Peter 3:15

Today we live in a day when it is necessary to contend for the faith. Peter said that we should always be able to provide a defense for the faith. We are called upon to proclaim the Word.

I remember I used to hear in seminary all the time men who would give sermons on how there was no need to defend the Word of God. It is like my having a trained, powerfully strong dog on a chain, and I have to go out and defend my dog? Of course, there is a certain element of truth in there, but we are called upon to defend the teachings of the Gospel.

God has been pleased to commit the Gospel into the hands of men, who can twist it or distort it, deny it, or whatever, and so we are called upon to defend it. We are to contend for this faith lest it should be perverted, as it has been so many times in the past. Thank God for the Reformers and men who were able to see the need of purifying the Word and bringing us back to the true meaning of it.

Years ago I saw a painting which I have never forgotten. It was a painting of a large anvil. Around the anvil on the floor lay scattered scores of shattered, smashed hammers and, underneath, the words of the text: “The word of the Lord endureth forever.” The attacks on the Bible break, but God’s Word stands strong.

Father God, we thank You for Your Word, and we ask that You give us strength for today that we might be true defenders of the pure doctrine You have revealed and not let it be perverted and twisted…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
EMBRACE TRUE DOCTRINE.

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…”

— Romans 1:7

I am always amazed when I go up to someone and I say, “How are you today, Saint Sue?” or Saint Mike. Many times people will say, “Well, I’m not a saint.” Well, you better be. There is not going to be anybody but saints who are going to go to heaven.

Now, of course, many people have sort of a Roman Catholic concept of that—a saint is somebody who has won sort of the prize of the year for being exemplary. The first thing you need to do to become a saint according to the Roman church is be dead a long time, and then they will look the thing over very carefully and decide if you are a saint.

But it is a very interesting thing to me that Paul and the other apostles wrote their epistles to saints. And, of course, the saints receiving these letters were very much alive. A saint is someone who has been sanctified and is being sanctified, which means essentially that person is set aside unto God. So to be called a saint is at once an honor, it is also an exhortation. It is an honor that we are called those that are sanctified, set aside unto God. It is an exhortation that we should live as saints and that we have a high calling to live as those who are separated from sin and cleansed and godly.

Holy Father, give us strength for today to live holy lives. Thank You that we are already Your saints. Help us to grow in holiness and always live a life worthy of belonging to You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND POWER,
WE ARE SAINTS.

“And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”

— Ezekiel 36:26

The term “salvation” in Scripture is a broad term that includes within its compass all of the acts and processes of God whereby we are saved. Initially, these include justification and regeneration. We are quickened by God, brought to life, which is regeneration, and we are granted faith and repentance on the basis of which we are then justified. These are both acts of God and they are instantaneous.

Then, however, there is the process of sanctification, which is a long process that is never completed in this life. Our sanctification takes place slowly. It has its ups and downs. There may be great spurts. There may be times of great backsliding, but this process continues on as God continues to sanctify us.

When we are in Christ and growing in Him, we are being sanctified by God, the Spirit. God is working in our hearts to cleanse us and to separate us from sin. The interesting thing about sanctification is that the more you have of it, the less you are aware of it. It is like a man who is both filthy dirty and totally blind having two operations performed on him at once. He is slowly and progressively being cleansed and slowly and progressively being given his eyesight, so with his increased acuity of vision, he is able to see more and more sin or dirt as it were on himself than he was able to see before.

Justification is a one-time act, but Scripturally speaking, sanctification is more of a process.

Lord, You who sanctifies me, give me strength for today to grow in holiness. As I do, forgive me for my sin, which I see more clearly. Let this process ever go forward in my life, until You bring me safely home and then glorify me…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND HOLY SPIRIT,
WE ARE SET APART FOR GOD.

“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind…”

— 1 Peter 5:2 kjv

How often do we hear accusations against ministers or ministries, “Oh, they’re just in it for the money”? The Bible tells us that those who work should be paid, including ministers. But no one should pursue the “ministry” for greed’s sake. Yet tragically some do.

I receive a great many invitations to speak, and I turn down well over 99 percent of them. Very frequently I am asked ,”How much do you charge to speak? What honorarium do you require?” And there are ministers who have set honorariums, sometimes running into thousands of dollars. I have always replied that that is their problem (as to how much to pay me) and I leave it with them.

We are not to minister for money. We are not to feed the flock of God “for filthy lucre,” and I would say to those going into the ministry that I think this is a very vital thing and we need to trust in God for our provision and not trust in men.

I am not in the ministry for money, nor should anyone be. I have been absolutely convinced that God was going to provide for all of my needs and, therefore, that was just not something that was an issue. I can say that God has certainly provided abundantly for all of my needs over the years.

Lord, give us strength for today that we never do a good deed for money or recognition or any gain, but let us always serve You out of love. Thank You, Jehovah-Jireh, for Your provision…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE FREED FROM GREED.

“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly…”

— Philippians 3:19 kjv

Paul talks about enemies of Christianity “whose god is their belly.” As commentators would agree, I think here he is referring not merely to food. Though many of them no doubt are gluttons, this would be a metaphor for an inordinate love of all earthly, worldly and material things.

Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Thus, it is fine to ask God to meet our material needs. But the person whose god is his belly loves the material things of this earth beyond normal appetites.

In his first epistle, Peter refers to such people and rebukes those who would abuse the Gospel as a means for filthy gain: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, take care of them, not by constraint, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:2).

And so Peter is warning us of the same thing that Paul is warning us of—we are not to minister for money’s sake, and we need always to be watchful for those who wear the clerical garb and yet do it for money’s sake. I am always concerned when I see would-be ministers that are too concerned about the things of this world.

Paul tells us that the workman is worthy of his hire. But people should not go into the ministry for money’s sake. The Gospel is good news. It is not for sale. The only price paid for the Gospel is the price of the blood of Jesus.

Lord, give us the strength to seek You and not to seek after pleasures. We thank You for what You give us. Help us to be ever mindful to seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
SEEK GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST.

“For many are walking in such a way that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping.”

— Philippians 3:18

I remember my old pastor telling me one time when he visited me at seminary, “James, remember that the enemies of Christ will always attack the Cross, the blood of Christ and this will be the object of their attack and their ridicule,” and I have found that to be so.

Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 1:22: “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” And so it is; there are those who seek miracles and unless they can find the miracle they can’t seem to believe. The Greeks sought after wisdom and philosophy, like the humanists of our time.

Paul adds, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks” (verse 23). Then He notes that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the world.

Meanwhile, it is the blood of the Savior that is most despised and hated by an ungodly and unregenerate world. But as Paul says in Philippians 3:18 of the enemies of the cross, their end is destruction. That is one thing you need to remember about all of the wise men of this world—all of those who in their utter sophistication attack Christianity and Christians and the Bible and Christ and His cross—their end is destruction. What lies before them is naught but Hell. They are going away into everlasting perdition and pain.

I don’t hate the cross; I am eternally grateful for it. I trust you are too.

Lord, give me strength to always glory in the cross, as the attacks on You, Your Gospel, Your name, and Your cross continue to increase. Give us the strength to gladly bear reproach and shame for Your name’s sake…

BY HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN
LIFT HIGH THE CROSS.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

— Matthew 28:19

We are called to something altogether different than the things of this world. We are called to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We are called to be those who never lose sight of the fact that we have been made for eternity and that human beings are either saved or lost. They are on their way to eternal paradise or eternal perdition and it is up to us to bring to them that message.

I think of a lay minister of our church who had a clear focus in his mind of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and was more continually faithful to that calling than perhaps anyone I have ever known. Before he died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, he was going out three times a week on Evangelism Explosion, even though someone had to carry him up the stairs in order to go into a home.

He was a man who went to the prisons five or six times a week, spent hours there sharing the Gospel. Because of his deteriorating health, the prison officials would no longer let this lay minister in without help for fear he might get hurt. So he always found a volunteer to accompany him. One day, co-author Jerry Newcombe was that volunteer and thus had his first experience visiting a prison.

This lay minister never lost sight of his heavenly calling. We each have a heavenly calling in Jesus. If you struggle to know your calling, ask the Lord for wisdom and seek out godly counsel for direction.

Lord, give me strength for today to find my calling and to fulfill it with joy. Please use me in Your vineyard…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN
BE FAITHFUL TO THE END.

“Who of you by worrying can add one cubit to his height?”

— Luke 12:25

The French word for “wooden shoe” is sabot. From this word comes “sabotage,” and it seemed that Dutchmen had a way of sabotaging French plants by casting their wooden shoes into the machinery. Worry is sabotage to our lives. Worry is a great destroyer of the body as well as the mind.

Worry is also harmful to the spiritual life. Jesus said that the cares of this world choke out the good seed and keep it from being fruitful. Cares of this world cause some people never to enter the kingdom of God. I remember talking one time to a person that I dearly loved, talking to him about the kingdom of God and about the salvation which Christ offered. And I remember how he cut me off short by telling me that he had so many problems and so many cares and so many worries in the world that he did not have time to think about that.

Many people think about worry as a weakness. The Bible tells us that it is a wickedness; that it is because of unbelief. Because, you see, where worry starts, faith ends. You cannot have faith and worry about the same thing at the same time. As water in a glass replaces the air, so worry replaces faith. Worry is practical atheism. But we should cast our cares on the Lord and trust Him. Over and over we see He helps, and most of our worries never materialize.

Dear Lord, forgive us for our unbelief. Forgive us for taking on ourselves burdens, which overwhelm us, instead of turning those problems over to You. Thank You that You are more than capable to handle all these problems…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR PROBLEMS ARE
HANDED OVER TO THE GREAT PROBLEM-SOLVER.

“After several days, when Felix arrived…he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ…Felix was afraid and answered, ‘For now, leave! When time permits, I will send for you.’”

— Acts 24:24-25

How true it is that has been said, “Of all the sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been.” We all know that the road to hell is lined with good intentions. But why? Because of procrastination. Procrastination is what keeps good intentions from materializing into good works.

If procrastination is harmful in the spiritual exercises of this life, it is most deadly and fatal when it comes to our eternal salvation. We see a spiritual procrastinator in the example of Felix, a Roman leader.

Now Felix was a despicable character, far lower than the average Roman governor. He was indeed, the Roman historian Tacitus tells us, “a man of lust and cruelty;” who “exercised the office of a king with the spirit of a slave.”

In Acts 24, this man, who did not hesitate to get involved in the most immoral kinds of activities, was now listening to Paul preach. As he talked about these things, Felix began to tremble. Because his sins were crying out against him and his conscience was calling for relief, he should have repented, but he was a procrastinator. So he said, “For now, leave! When time permits, I will send for you” (Acts 24:25). He would take care of it mañana. To our knowledge he never did. How tragic. He provides a great example of what not to do.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for our spiritual procrastination. Give us strength for today to share the Gospel with those You have put in our path. Help us to not be like Felix or anyone else who would postpone such important news…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE WILL
HEED HIS VOICE TODAY.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

— Proverbs 27:1

Though we usually joke about it, psychologists tell us that procrastination can be a very harmful addiction with disastrous consequences. Many people addicted to procrastinating just can’t seem to stop, no matter what.

During the American Revolution, General Washington had conceived his bold plan to cross the Delaware in the midst of winter and to surprise the Hessian army at Trenton on Christmas night 1776, but a British sympathizer saw what he was doing and sent a messenger across the river with a note to Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander. When the courier arrived at the camp, he found the Colonel in his tent playing cards with his officers. He gave him the letter, and Rahl, without opening it, put it in his pocket, and said, “Later, but first, let’s finish the game.”

He finished the game just in time to stand up, surprised at the American attack. It cost Rahl his honor, his command, and his life—all because of procrastination. It can, indeed, have disastrous consequences.

In the business realm, procrastination can have disastrous consequences. Many a person, who, though he is outstandingly talented, educated, and equipped, does not progress nearly as well as some of lesser abilities and talents simply because he procrastinates and the others don’t.

When it comes to the spiritual world, procrastination is eternally disastrous. Many important things are left undone because of procrastination. Most vital of all is to not postpone accepting Christ. Let us live today for Christ. Tomorrow may never come.

Lord, give me strength for today to do that which I should do today. Forgive me for so often putting off today’s task until “tomorrow,” which often never comes. Help me to truly live for You today…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
LIVE FOR HIM TODAY.