This Day in History

1540 - German Reformer Martin Luther testified in a sermon: 'Faith is
the "yes" of the heart, a conviction on which one stakes one's life.'

" Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23, NKJV)

Live Nativity

We had a great time at the Live Nativity hosted by LABC. Special thanks to Darin and Shaunna Linkins for organizing and managing everything. Thanks also to all the members of LABC who participated in the various activities. It was a special blessing for a number of people, many thanked me directly.

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”" (Matthew 1:21, NKJV)

Fellowship of Prayer

"A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner. This is a happy discovery for the Christian who begins to pray for others."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (Harper: SanFrancisco, 1954), p. 86

Call on the Name of the Lord

"And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord." (Genesis 4:26, NKJV)

The people in the Old Testament were saved or made righteous before God in the same manner as those in the New Testament.

"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”" (Romans 10:12-13, NKJV)

This concept of calling upon the name of the Lord is foundational to a right relationship with God. From the very beginning in Genesis men recognized their sinful condition which required forgiveness by God. Becoming righteous before God then is not something you do, rather it is something that God does for you.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV)

This Day in History

1744 - Colonial missionary to the American Indians David Brainerd wrote
in his journal: 'We are a long time in learning that all our
strength and salvation is in God.'

"But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV)

Free Christian Audio Books

Each month christianaudio.com gives away a premium audiobook download for free. The way our Free Audiobook of the Month program works is like this: we give away one audiobook download each month totally free. The audiobook we give away is available for free only once - ever.

Use the coupon code JAN2008 to redeem this month's free audiobook download from christianaudio.com

Reading Scripture

"Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." (1 Timothy 4:13, NKJV)
In this passage among other things the apostle Paul admonishes Timothy to pay attention to the public reading of Scripture. In the first century and for many centuries following copies of the Word of God was scarce. Bibles were copied by hand, so not many people could afford to have a copy. So public reading of the Bible was important if people were going to grow in grace.

I could not imagine what the world in the first century must have been like. I have never counted but I am sure I have at least two dozen Bibles in my home. We take for granted our easy access to the Word of God. Unfortunately many of us do not take advantage of the resources God has given to us in our day.

Reading the Bible is essential to life. "But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”" (Luke 4:4, NKJV) For the last several years I have had my daily dose of Scripture reading delivered to my email inbox. This has been a great way to read the Bible through in a year.

Check it out for yourself by clicking on the following link. http://studylight.org/plan/byemail.cgi

My prayer for you is that you pay attention to both the private and public reading of Scripture.