When You Face Grief

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him."

Nahum 1:7

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

1 Peter 5:7

Entering the Gate

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.

TITUS 3:5

When you enter the narrow gate of salvation, you must do so alone. A turnstile perhaps best represents the concept of the narrow gate. Just one person at a time--with no baggage--can pass through a turnstile. God has ordained that people enter His kingdom singly, not in groups. You can't ride in on the coattails of your church, your family, on your friends, no matter how godly those people are.

God's gate is so narrow that you must go through it not only alone but naked. You can't go through the gate clothed in sin and self-will. As the hymn writer said, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." That's the way of the cross, which is the gospel. And the gospel is the narrow gate, which involves self-denial. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:24-25).


From: John MacArthur, Truth for Today, A Daily Touch of God's Grace.

When You Feel Empty

2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

When Feel Hopeless

Romans 15:4

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

The Only Gospel

Nor is there salvation in any other.
Acts 4:12

If you testify to others that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only gospel, the only way to God, you are not merely proclaiming your own view of right religion but God's revelation of truth. You do not proclaim the gospel of Christ simply because you know it, because it suits your personality, or because you want to be intolerant and exclusive. You declare the gospel of Christ because it's God's only way for people to find salvation from sin and eternal death.

You proclaim Jesus' gospel as the only gospel because He said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" (John 10:9). You testify to this gospel because you agree with the apostle Paul that "there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

You're therefore in good company and on solid footing when you testify of God's only way of salvation to those who don't know Jesus Christ.

From: John MacArthur, Truth for Today, A Daily Touch of God's Grace

The Only Gospel

Nor is there salvation in any other.
Acts 4:12

If you testify to others that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only gospel, the only way to God, you are not merely proclaiming your own view of right religion but God's revelation of truth. You do not proclaim the gospel of Christ simply because you know it, because it suits your personality, or because you want to be intolerant and exclusive. You declare the gospel of Christ because it's God's only way for people to find salvation from sin and eternal death.

You proclaim Jesus' gospel as the only gospel because He said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved" (John 10:9). You testify to this gospel because you agree with the apostle Paul that "there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

You're therefore in good company and on solid footing when you testify of God's only way of salvation to those who don't know Jesus Christ.

From: John MacArthur, Truth for Today, A Daily Touch of God's Grace

Insights for Living: Healing, Part One

Healing, Part One
by Charles R. Swindoll

Matthew 9:35

"Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?"

That question, found in a small booklet, has been asked and answered thousands---perhaps millions---of times in our generation. These "laws" have been used by God to introduce His plan of love and forgiveness to countless numbers of people who had no idea how to have a meaningful relationship with Him.

I have a similar question. It is designed to introduce some foundational facts to those who are confused over the painful circumstance they are enduring . . . and how the whole issue of healing applies to them.

"Have you heard of the Five Suffering Laws?"

That question appears in no booklet---but it should! These "laws" will do more to help the hurting and erase their confusion than perhaps anything else they could read. All five are well supported in Scripture. We'll look at the first four today and the final one tomorrow.

Law One: There are two classifications of sin.

1. Original sin . . . the inherited sin nature traceable to Adam, original "head" of the human race (Romans 5:12a).

2. Personal sins . . . individual acts of wrong we regularly commit (Romans 3:23).

Because we all have an inherited sin nature (the root), we commit sins (the fruit).

Law Two: Original sin introduced suffering, illness, and death to the human race (Romans 5:12b).

Had there never been the presence of original sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind would never have known sickness or death. In the broadest sense of the word, all sickness and suffering today are the result of original sin. Literally, the Lord told Adam "in the day that you eat from it, dying you will die" (Genesis 2:17).

Law Three: Sometimes there is a direct relationship between personal sins and sickness.

David testified of such in Psalm 32:3-5 and 38:3-5. Paul warned that some of the Corinthian believers were "weak and sick" and a number of them were dead (1 Corinthians 11:27-30) because they were sinning.

Law Four: Sometimes there is no relationship between personal sins and sickness.

Some are born with afflictions---suffering before they ever reach the age of committing sins (John 9:1-3; Acts 3:1-2). Others, like Job (1:1-5), are living upright lives when suffering occurs. Jesus Himself "sympathizes with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15) rather than rebuking us because we have sinned. Remember, "although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus never committed sins, yet He suffered.

Tomorrow, I'll share with you Law Five and some significant (dare I say, life-changing?) conclusions we can draw from these "laws" of suffering.

Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright � 1985, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

What Does Being "BORN AGAIN" Mean?

What does being born again mean? Do I have to be born again in order to be Christian?

Jesus Christ used the term "born again" in a conversation with Nicodemus, a high-ranking member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who came to Him by night (see John 3:1-18). When Nicodemus said, "Rabbi, we know You are a teacher come from God," what he really saying was, "Teach me how I can find God."

Jesus said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Later in the conversation, Jesus also said, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

The moment you turn to God, and put your trust in Christ, the sacrificial death of Jesus places you in a right relationship with Him. Literally you find God -- His Spirit makes this truth real to you. And you know that you are born again.

This transformation in us by the Spirit of God is like a second birth. One result is that the law of God becomes written upon our hearts. We become internally motivated by the Spirit to obey Him, and do good to others out of sheer thankfulness to God.

You have to be born again in order to be Christian, as Jesus Himself teaches. You do not become born again by joining a Christian fellowship or a church denomination, or by inheritance. You can be born again because of the sacrificial death of Jesus. It is not repentance that saves you. Rather, repentance is the sign that you have realized what God in Christ has done for you.

From: CBN International Ministries & OMF Literature