Friday, January 16, 2015

Judgment Day Is Coming

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."1

In a sermon Matt Woodley shared how, "On the first day teaching his class of 250 college freshmen, R. C. Sproul carefully explained the assignment of three term papers. Each paper was due on the last day of September, October, and November. Sproul clearly stated there would be no extensions (except for medical reasons). At the end of September 225 students dutifully turned in their papers, while 25 remorseful students quaked in fear. 'We're so sorry,' they said. 'We didn't make the proper adjustments from high school to college, but we promise to do better next time.' He bowed to their pleas for mercy, gave them an extension, but warned them not to be late next month.

"At the end of October rolled around, 200 students turned in their papers, while 50 students showed up empty-handed. 'Oh, please,' they begged, 'it was homecoming weekend, and we ran out of time.' Sproul relented once more but warned them, 'This is it. No excuses next time. You will get an F.'

"The end of November came and only 100 students turned in their papers. The rest told Sproul, 'We'll get it in soon.'

'Sorry,' Sproul replied. 'It's too late now. You get an F.'

"The students howled in protest, 'That's not fair!'

"'Okay,' Sproul replied, 'you want justice, do you? Here's what's just: you'll get an F for all three papers that were late. That was the rule, right?'

"'The students had quickly taken my mercy for granted,' Sproul later reflected. 'They assumed it. When justice suddenly fell, they were unprepared for it. It came as a shock, and they were outraged.'"2

God has clearly put every Christian on notice that every one of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of how we have lived our life here on earth.1 And for those who have never received Jesus as their Savior they will stand before God at the Great White Judgment Throne of God and be judged for their sins and will have to pay the just penalty thereof because they never accepted Jesus as their Savior and asked for and accepted God's forgiveness.

As God's Word says, "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."3

Whatever you do, don't ignore God's warning and don't take God's mercy for granted. "Behold, now is 'the acceptable time,' behold, now is 'the day of salvation.'"4 If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and asked God for forgiveness for all your sins, I urge you, dear reader, to do that today.

For help click on the Know God button below or go to: http:///8glq9.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for Your Word that tells me what I need to do to have my sins forgiven; and thank You for giving Jesus, Your Son, to pay the penalty for all my sins through His death on the cross. And thank You for giving me a clear warning that 'As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.'5 letting me know that it is imperative that I make things right with You today as it is too late after I die. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV).
2. Matt Woodley, in the sermon "The Grieving Heart of
God," http://www.preachingtoday.com/48566
3. See Revelation 20:12-15.
4. 2. Corinthians 6:2 (NASV).
5. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

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Thursday, January 15, 2015

The Tyranny of the Urgent

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."1

I don't know what it is like for you (though I am confident that the same is true for you) but oftentimes it seems as if my life is controlled by the tyranny of the urgent. That is, there never seems to be a day when something unexpected comes up that needs attention … something is broken around the house … a friend is in need … and with all my computer, email and web work there is a never-ending flow of problems that need fixing.

As I have said to friends, as long as you own a home there always seems to be something that needs fixing. In the last two weeks we have had a refrigerator break down, a water line break, and have had more computer problems than I can count. All these issues are very time consuming and make it difficult to keep up with one's work load. But that's life and these things can become very stressful if we allow them to.

Besides the suggestions for coping with stress in last Friday's Daily Encounter, every day I like to remind myself of, and daily thank God for, all the incredible blessings in my life. I constantly thank God that as a child my parents took me to a church and Sunday school where I heard and accepted the gospel. I thank God for health and strength and the ability to work hard, for a roof over my head, a comfortable bed to sleep in, for hot and cold running water, a great church, loving friends, for the incredible opportunity of being able to publish the gospel worldwide, and most of all for a loving wife and family and for the wonderful privilege of being a part of God's family through no merit of my own. And I know that all of these blessings from God are only the tip of the tip of the iceberg of God's never ending blessings.

Living with an attitude of gratitude turns my problems into challenges and makes them infinitely small in comparison to all the blessings I daily experience.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please open my eyes so that I can clearly see all the incredible blessings You have so freely given to me and may I always have a grateful heart for these. For one more blessing I pray: and that is that You will give me an eternal attitude of gratitude. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV).

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NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE http://www.actsweb.org/

Thursday, January 22, 2015

[size=18pt]Overcoming Resentment[/size]

"So get rid of your feelings of hatred [anger/ resentment]. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty."1 Also, "If you are angry [resentful], don't sin by nursing your grudge. Don't let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the Devil."2

A Daily Encounter reader asks, "How do you find release from resentment?"

First, admit exactly how you feel. Realize, too, that feelings are amoral; that is in and of themselves they are neither right nor wrong, they just are. It's what we do with them (and the cause of them) that is either right or wrong—creative or destructive.

Second, also realize that resentment is often a result of jealousy and anger. For instance, a jealous person is very often angry at either the person who received a promotion or some gift, recognition, or benefit he or she felt they were more deserving of and angry at the one who did the giving or gave the promotion.

Third, recognize that jealousy is often a byproduct of one's insecurity and poor self-image. (We will address this issue in tomorrow's Daily Encounter).

Fourth, to resolve resentment it is imperative that one resolves his or her anger. For help to do this read, "Taming Your Anger" at: http:///b439f

Finally, one needs to fully forgive the one they feel has hurt them—whether the hurt is justified or not (often it isn't). However, without resolving one's hurt and anger, it is virtually impossible to forgive the one you feel has hurt you. After the hurt and anger are resolved, forgiveness becomes a simple choice—we either choose to forgive or choose to hang on to our hurt, anger and resentment.

As Loren Fischer so wisely said, "The difference between holding on to a hurt [resentment] or releasing it with forgiveness is the difference between laying your head at night on a pillow filled with thorns or a pillow filled with rose petals." And as another put it, "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, whenever I am feeling resentful, please help me to see the causes behind my resentment—be it insecurity, jealousy, hurt and/or anger—and find the help I need to deal with and resolve these issues so I will always freely forgive all who have hurt me as You have freely forgiven me for all of my sins. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

For further help read "Forgiveness: The Power That Heals" at: http:///3bw3q3 and for resolving anger read, "Taming Your Anger" at: http:///b439f.

1. 1 Peter 2:1 (TLB).
2. Ephesians 4:26-27 (TLB).

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NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE form: http://www.actsweb.org/

Friday, January 23, 2015

Developing a Healthy Self-Image

"We love Him [God] because He first loved us."1


Jim was standing in line at the supermarket checkout when, to his amazement, in charged an angry, aggressive man, with his browbeaten wife in tow, pushing in line ahead of Jim and several other customers. With a forty pound (twenty-kilogram) sack of flour slung over his shoulder. Handing his wife some money, he growled: "Here, you pay for the stuff." He then proceeded to stomp off with his bag of flour.

Unknown to him, there was a hole in the back of the flour bag. As he stormed out of the supermarket, he left behind a trail of white flour all the way to his car. As Jim walked out of the store, he noticed that the angry man had just discovered his now half-empty sack of flour. Poetic justice one might suggest!

What makes people like this man so obnoxious? Among other possibilities, he undoubtedly has a very poor self-image. The bottom line is that these people don't feel loved. That's why his wife was such a wimp, too. People who strongly dislike themselves tend to either become weak, passive and over-compliant and withdraw, or project their self-hatred onto the people around them by being aggressive and bullying. Because they don't like themselves, they believe others don't like them either and set themselves up to be rejected.

To overcome a poor self-image and the lack of a healthy sense of self-acceptance doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, commitment, and risk taking.

More often than not insecurity and a poor self-image has its roots in early childhood where one didn't receive or feel that he received unconditional love. But here's the challenge: What we didn't receive in childhood we need to receive now.

And how do we do that? It's simple but not easy. It's based on a biblical principle in that, "We love God because He first loved us." In other words (spiritually speaking) we learned to love God through his love for us in that he knows us fully—warts and all—and loves us regardless … unconditionally.

The same principle applies emotionally. To truly love others we need to be first loved by at least one safe, understanding, and non-judgmental person. To be loved by that person we need to be fully known by him or her—warts and all—and knowing us as we truly are, they love us unconditionally anyhow. It is through their unconditional love for us that we learn (in time) to love and accept ourselves in a healthy way.

Like I said, it is simple but not easy in that it can be very scary because we fear that if we are fully known for who we really are, we may not be liked and then rejected. However, it is only as we take the risk and step out of our comfort zone that we have any chance of learning how to fully love and accept ourselves in a healthy way. The more we do this the more we will improve our self-image, and consequently, the less we will get our feelings hurt and the easier it will be to deal with whatever setbacks come our way. We may still get our feelings hurt but we won't be devastated.For further help in "Developing a Healthy Self-Image" visit: http:///af5hf

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I thank You that You know me fully as I am and love me unconditionally. Please help me to find a safe person to whom I can become fully known and loved and learn to love and accept myself in the same way that You love and accept me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 1 John 14:19 (NKJV).

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NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon Click HERE http://www.actsweb.org/