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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YOUR HEART
"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well."
~Psalm 139:14
YOUR HEART will beat some 100,000 times today. That’s over 36 million heartbeats a year and over 2.5 billion times in a 70-year lifespan. A healthy heart ticks along, producing beat after beat, whether we are awake or asleep. If we become more active, the heart increases its beating to meet the increasing needs of the rest of our body. Doctors tell us that it’s amazing how few of these beats are faulty. They say that it’s perfectly normal for even a healthy heart to produce an occasional irregular heartbeat. Sometimes an irregular heartbeat is noticeable, but most often it’s not. Doctors say that when your heart seems to skip a beat, it has really only beat prematurely. The premature beat leaves a pause before the next regular beat, making it feel as if your heart skipped a beat.
THE CLOCKWORK precision of the heart’s continuing beats is controlled by a built-in pacemaker. The pacemaker, called the sinus node, is a group of cells in the heart’s upper right chamber. However, research has shown that every cell in the heart is able to send the electrical signal needed to produce a heartbeat if the sinus node fails. Using highly complex computer models, medical researchers have only begun to understand within the past few years, the electrical action within the heart.
THE HUMAN heart is much more than a pump, as once believed. It is also a computer and regulator. Every beat of this wondrously designed biological machine glorifies the Creator Who made it!
PSALM 75:1: “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”
PRAYER: I thank You, Lord, that You have so wonderfully designed the heart. I join my mind with my voice in praising and thanking You with my whole heart. Remind me of Your often silent but important blessings when my thankfulness grows cold. Amen.
—Creation Moments
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THE LORD HATES PRIDE
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
—Proverbs 8:13
IT’S A HORRIBLE FACT, whether we admit it or not, that pride is the most common sin which permeates sinful human nature. We are all born Pharisees and rebels against God. We all naturally think far better of ourselves than we ought to think. We all naturally imagine that we deserve something better than we have. “A proud and haughty man; “Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride” (Proverbs 21:24).
PRIDE IS AN AGE-OLD SIN. It began in the heart of Lucifer when he was determined to exalt himself above the Almighty (Isaiah 14:12-14). The sin of pride next reared its ugly head in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve thought, just like Lucifer, to be as God determining good and evil. They wanted to be their own authority, to do their own thing, to be their own boss. Pride is a subtle sin that rules and reigns in many hearts without being detected and can even wear the costume of humility. “Therefore pride serves as their necklace” (Psalm 73:6). Pride is a soul-ruining sin. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). The sin of pride causes a person to: resist repentance, start a feud, cast forgiveness behind the back, overlook the needs of others, and pride continually fuels hatred for Christ and His church. “By pride comes nothing but strife” (Proverbs 13:10).
HOWEVER, OF ALL GARMENTS, none is more graceful, none wears so well, and none is as rare as the virtue called humility. “A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23). Humility is essential in the life of every believer and it’s a defining mark of a true Christian. The key element to a life of humility is submission to the Word of God. A person who is unwilling to submit to God’s Word is a person filled with soul-damning pride, which is exactly opposite of humility. You see, an attitude of submission is the fruit of humility, and true humility is demonstrated by obedience to God. Therefore, Scripture calls every believer to “be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). And James calls on every believer to “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).
DOES YOUR LIFE MANIFEST humility or pride? Our prayer should be that the Lord digs out every stench of pride that still dwells within our sinful heart. Praise God our salvation rests securely in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the only One who never had a prideful attitude, but always walked in perfect humility before God and men! Praise God for JESUS, our ONLY hope of humility, forgiveness, wisdom, redemption and reconciliation with God (1 Cor. 1:30-31). Jesus truly is our only hope of salvation! Trust Him! Praise Him! Submit to Him!
Tuesday Encouragement: January 14, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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