The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Two men arrived at a church service some years ago. One man sat on the right-hand side of the church about halfway back. The other man sat on the left-hand side of the church just a little closer to the front. That morning the pastor spoke about the cross and the power of the Lord enabling Him to forgive sins. The man who sat on the right-hand side of the church thought to himself, “This is the most foolish thing I have ever heard in my life. I can’t wait to get out of here!” On the other hand, the man who was seated on the left side of the church listened with complete attention. He had never heard the wonderful news that his sins could be forgiven. As the pastor preached about what the Lord Jesus did on that cross and how He took our sins upon His own body to pay the full sacrifice, he believed the message. Following the service he spoke with the pastor and asked the Lord Jesus to be his own Savior. The other man walked out of church before anyone could greet him. Isn’t it amazing? Two men came to church that day. Two men heard the message of the cross. One thought it was foolish. The other accepted the message and with great joy experienced the power of God through the forgiveness of sin.

For today: The cross is much more than a pretty piece of jewelry. For those who are saved it is the power of God!

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33).

Our God is rich! The Greek word in this verse translated “rich” is ploutos (PLU-tos). It means to have abundance, plenty, and fullness. Everything that describes our great God can be summarized by saying that He is absolutely rich in everything. In our verse for today, Paul speaks about our great God and describes Him as being rich in wisdom and knowledge. The Bible tells us that He is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and grace (Ephesians 1:7). The Father gives to His Son “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12). I don’t know about you, dear friend, but the more I get to know this great God, the more I praise Him for my redemption. I am so glad that I belong to Him.

For today: I truly would rather have Jesus than anything!

“Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did” (Acts 9:36).

Throughout my ministry, I have always appreciated the ministries of the ladies of our churches. I strongly believe that men have been called to the ministries of pastors and deacons. However, I honestly do not know where we would be without the faithful ministries of ladies who love the Lord and are willing to serve Him. Dorcas was one such lady. She was noted for her good works and almsdeeds. This actually means she was full of acts of kindness and generosity with those less fortunate. I want to be known as this kind of Christian. The day will come when the Lord takes me home. But for now I want to have a testimony of kindness and generosity. Those things come by personal choices and consistent living right now. Do you want to join me in this?

For today: When folks hear our names, what will they think?

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

Don’t you just love the Lord? Everything He does is amazing! If it were left up to you, how would you announce and present the coming King? If it were left up to me, everything about it would be big, big, big! I would choose the largest city with the biggest and the grandest of all the facilities available. Everyone who is in the “Who’s Who” of the times would be invited. Everything big that I would have chosen is just the opposite of what the Lord planned. What an amazing God! Notice back in our verse the phrase, “Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah.” Bethlehem, little Bethlehem was chosen. What a good lesson for you and me. We can never be “too little” to serve the Lord, but we can be too big!

For today: Don’t focus on how small you feel. Focus on how big your God is!

“Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God” (Psalm 90:1-2).

What a majestic Psalm Moses wrote. That’s right, I did say Moses! You were expecting me to say David, weren’t you? This is the Psalm that is ascribed to Moses. It speaks of the Majesty of God as well as the frailty of mankind. How very much we need the Lord. What a great blessing it is to remember that even before the Lord brought all creation into existence, He still is God. He is eternal. He had no starting point, and He has no completing point. We are so programmed to beginnings. The computer, through which you are reading this Daily Prescription, had a beginning. The furniture around you had a beginning. Even you had a moment of conception. It was your beginning. But God has no beginning. He is eternal. The Bible Institute professor had a great time trying to explain this to his Theology IV class. Even though it is impossible to explain the eternality of God, it was a blessing to remember that we belong to Him. He threatened to make them write a ten page paper about this subject. But then He smiled and said, “ ‘Or ever Thou had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God,’ and that is the best it can be explained. Class dismissed.”

For today: It was good for Moses. It will be good for us today. He is God!