SATAN HATES PASTORS
"Take heed to yourselves, because the tempter will more ply you with his temptations than other men. If you will be the leaders against the prince of darkness, he will spare you no further than God restrains him. He bears the greatest malice to those that are engaged to do him the greatest mischief. As he hates Christ more than any of us, because He is the General of the field, the Captain of our salvation, and does more than all the world besides against his kingdom; so does he hate the leaders under Him, more than the common soldiers: he knows what a rout he may make among them, if the leaders fall before their eyes."
—Richard Baxter
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THE LOVE OF MONEY
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”
—1 Timothy 6:6-8
PEOPLE WHO LOVE money are always discontent in life. The more they have the more they want and the more they want the more discontent they become. “Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). Those who love money spend their time pursuing things that cannot bring them peace or contentment, and they ignore the things that have eternal value. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
AND SO, OUR TEXT says, “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” The Apostle Paul said to be content with the basic necessities of life because if you don’t learn to be satisfied with little, you will never be content with much. Paul is not condemning material possessions if God gives them to us, but the accumulation of these things should not be the overwhelming passion of our life. The philosophy of the world is “the one who dies with most toys wins,” but Scripture says, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mark 8:36) Jesus also said in Luke 12:15, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
WHAT SCRIPTURE CONDEMNS is a self-indulgent desire for money that comes from a heart of discontentment. This is a person who is not satisfied with what the Lord provides. The supreme goal of every believer must be a passion to glorify God by seeking first His kingdom and righteousness and not chasing after riches. “Therefore, do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33). Remember the rich man who wanted to pull down his barns and build greater barns and store all his crops and goods, the man who said to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:19-21).
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have an overwhelming passion to possess more and more money and material goods, or are you striving to be content with what the Lord provides? Are you seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, or are you seeking first material wealth? Remember that “the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Examine your heart in this matter by meditating on the words of Jesus from Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Friday Devotional: January 24, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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CHRIST-LIKENESS
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
—2 Peter 3:18
EVERY TRUE believer is the product of God’s grace. He is one who has been born of the Spirit of God and called to live according to the Word of God. This means spiritual growth is only possible when the life of Christ has first been implanted into a person’s heart. A Christian is not just a person who is a church member, has been baptized, catechized, and partakes of the Lord’s Supper. Important as all these things may be, they do not make a person a believer. However, if you are a believer you will delight in these things. Rather, a Christian is one who has been born from above by the Spirit of God and given new life in Jesus Christ. We read in Ephesians 2:4-6, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”
AND JUST as every sapling tree that is alive must necessarily grow and produce fruit, so the one who has received new life in Jesus Christ must also grow and produce good fruit. Christian growth is not simply the piling on of external things. Christian growth is being conformed to the likeness of Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and it reaches more and more into every area and aspect of our life by dominating our thoughts, words, and deeds. Literally it means to enlarge or increase in graciousness and righteousness.
CHRISTIAN GROWTH is a vital, living, and active work of the Holy Spirit in the believer, but it’s also gradual since it never reaches perfection in this life. The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 114, states, “Can those who are converted to God keep these Commandments perfectly?” “No, but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of such obedience, yet so that with earnest purpose they begin to live not only according to some, but according to all the Commandments of God.” As long as we are in this world, we have the remnants of sin to struggle against (Rom. 7), and this is important to understand because many people think spiritual growth is instant. However, Scripture teaches that Christian growth is gradual. Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Spiritual growth is a gradual growth through many trials, sufferings, and persecutions, and just as a plant grows by taking in the sun, rain, and nutrients from the soil, so the Christian grows spiritually by feeding on the Word of God, the sacraments, prayer, and fellowship (Acts 2:42). You grow as a believer by living everyday by faith in the promises of God revealed in the Word of God.
ARE YOU growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus? Is your life progressively being conformed into the likeness of Christ? You must be if you are truly a Christian. "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). May you truly be a fruitful branch united to the Vine, Jesus Christ!
Tuesday Encouragement: January 21, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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"Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."
—Psalm 95:1-2
The psalmist calls believers to sing to the Lord.
We sing with the mind and then communicate that singing through our voice.
This means we must understand the words that we sing.
Singing to the Lord is NOT a mindless exercise, but we must worship the Lord with our mind!
We must be discerning regarding those things that are pleasing to the Lord in His worship.
And notice that our singing is to the Lord, not to the creature.
God alone is worthy of all our praise!
Again the psalmist calls us to shout joyfully, or to shout with joy, to the Lord, who is the Rock of our salvation.
He is our stability as the Rock metaphor implies.
He supports us when the ground beneath us shakes as we are attacked by the world.
He is our solid ground when Satan attacks us with his fiery darts of doubt and confusion.
The psalmist, once again, calls us to come before the Lord (His presence) with thanksgiving.
Corporate worship is coming into the presence of the Lord in a special way, and we are to come as thankful people.
We are to remember what great things the Lord has done (and continues doing) for us, which will engender thanksgiving.
The Psalms are meant to be sung to the Lord! They are inspired words given to us to sing to our glorious God.
In this way, we know that we will represent the Lord rightly when we sing inspired words of Scripture.
All other songs must be examined in light of Scripture as to their faithfulness to the Lord.
So, "Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms" (Psalm 95:1-2).
—Pastor S. Henry
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A CHRISTIAN'S SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
My Father and my God,
Thank You, Father, for Your forgiveness.
Thank You that when I confess my sins to You that You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from unrighteousness.
Thank You for Your kindness, mercy, grace, love, and compassion to such a sinful, ignorant, weak, feeble, frail, fragile one such as I.
Father, I love You! You have implanted Your love in my heart.
But my love for You and for others is not what it ought to be. I confess this and ask for Your forgiveness!
I know that I have not loved You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Nor have I loved my neighbor as myself!
I fail miserably every day to love You with my whole heart!
I have sinful thoughts, words, and actions that I daily struggle against.
And even my best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.
But praise Jesus that He never failed to love You with His whole heart, soul, mind, and strength on my behalf and that of all His sheep.
Praise Jesus that He perfectly loved His neighbor as Himself in my place and on my behalf!
What Amazing grace of Jesus that saved a wretch like me! For I once was lost but now I'm found, I was blind but now I see!
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me from sin, Satan, death, Hell, and the wrath of God.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for living and dying in my place that I might have everlasting life.
Thank You for fulfilling the Covenant of Works in my place.
Thank You for dying on the cross to satisfy the justice of God against all my sins: past, present, and future.
Thank You for turning away God's wrath from me by absorbing it all in your body and soul!
Thank You for imputing Your righteousness, holiness, and perfect satisfaction to my account!
Thank You for making me favorable in God's sight and causing me to be acceptable to God because of Your life and death!
Thank You for living and dying for me that I may have life everlasting.
Holy Spirit, I need Your constant forgiveness as I have not reflected Your glory as I ought!
I need Your continual abiding presence and Your face shining upon me lest I slip into despair, discouragement, or depression!
I need Your power to strengthen me against Satan's devices and the fleshly temptations that daily assault me.
As the hymn writer, Robert Lowry, wrote, "I need Thee ev'ry hour, Stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their pow’r, When Thou art nigh. I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee; Ev'ry hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee."
Revive me again, O Holy Spirit, to serve You with zeal and vigor!
Grant me Your power to serve You in truth, spirit, gladness, and courage.
I ask all this in Jesus' name!
Amen!
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OH, THAT WRETCHED TONGUE
“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
~Proverbs 21:23
THE EASIEST way for a person to sin is with the tongue. The restraining laws in our society prevent us from doing just anything we want, but it seems as if we can say anything we want. Man, because of his fallen, depraved heart, is prone to spew forth all manner of blasphemy and putrid language from his mouth, which produces a myriad of troubles for his soul. The Apostle Paul described man’s tongue in Romans 3:13-14 with these words: “Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” Even those redeemed by Christ struggle to govern their vicious tongue. How many wars have been started because of a prideful, arrogant, rebellious tongue? How many congregations have split because of a gossiping tongue? How many friends have been separated because of a slanderous tongue? How many times a day is God’s holy name or the name of the glorious Redeemer, Jesus the Christ, taken in vain, blasphemed, or used in an offhanded joke?
AND MAKE no mistake about it, the real problem with the tongue is the disposition of the heart. You see, the heart of every matter is the matter of the heart. Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23). And Solomon wrote the following words, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips” (Proverbs 16:23). “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little” (Proverbs 10:20). “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil” (Proverbs 15:28). Notice how closely knit together are the heart and the tongue. In other words, the condition of one’s heart is seen most clearly by the words one speaks. As Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (Matthew 15:18).
THEREFORE, BEFORE you speak, remember the words of Christ, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment” (Matthew 12:36). As those redeemed by Christ, let us daily practice restraining our tongue, the “little member of our body that boasts great things” (James 3:5). We do this by constantly and conscientiously speaking true, kind, edifying, gracious, and loving words, which honor God, and by keeping our mouth shut when it’s not absolutely necessary to repeat a matter. Too many matters are repeated over and over that would better be left untold since they bring no edification to the hearer. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). And we read in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” Only by guarding our tongue will we keep our soul from unnecessary troubles. “Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:11-12).
Friday Devotional: January 17, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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