"Word of God Speak"

January 8, 2012 (Genesis 20-22; Luke 8 )

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Luke 8:18 NLT

Observation: To pay attention to God’s word is required to grow in grace. Jesus clearly warns us to take heed of how we hear His word. We must not only hear the word, but we must become doers of the word. As we listen and apply God’s word to our lives He provides more and more understanding. When we fail to listen and apply His word, even the understanding we think we have will be taken away. Everyone that hears God’s word is growing, those that listen carefully stronger, and those that listen carelessly weaker.

Application: I know many people that go to church every Sunday. They hear the pastor preach a sermon from God’s word, yet many of these people seem to grow weaker, week after week, rather than stronger. When we hear God’s word and then fail to apply its truth to our lives on a daily basis we end up growing weaker instead of stronger. We must rid ourselves of anything that hinders us from applying God’s truth to our lives. When God’s word falls among thorns the cares and pleasures of life crowd out the gospel message and prevent one from ever growing into spiritual maturity.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your word that provides truth for all to hear. Help me apply the truth You’ve revealed to me and be ever growing in the grace You’ve provided. Help me take heed how I hear! Protect me from false doctrine that seeks to lead me astray. Show me plainly real truth that can be trusted and counted on in times of need. By Your word and the steady application of it in my life grow me stronger, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 7, 2012 (Genesis 18-19; Psalm 3; Luke 7)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “I tell you, her sins –and they are many–have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Luke 7:47 NLT

Observation: Simon, being a Pharisee, was an expert in religious law and cultural traditions. It was dishonoring to Jesus not to offer Him water to wash His feet with when He came into the house. All important guest were greeted with a kiss and as a courtesy oil was offered to anoint their head. Simon did none of this. Yet this, ‘immoral woman’ that heard Jesus would be there, entered in and washed His feet with her tears. She dried them with her hair and kissed His feet as she anointed them with expensive perfume. She loved much because she had been forgiven much. Simon loved little because he had been forgiven little.

Application: I can usually tell a person that has been forgiven much. They have such an amazing love for Christ and His will. They recognize their past sinful state and are overwhelmed with joy because of the forgiveness received from Christ. Realizing our true condition and sinful state is the first step in falling in love with Jesus. We will never love Him like we should if we fail to remember how much He has forgiven us of. If our love for Christ seems small, maybe we should reflect on what He has forgiven us of.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I praise and worship You for the grace and mercy You have upon me. You have forgiven me and washed me clean with the pure blood of a precious Savior, Jesus Christ. He is my Lord, He is my King. I humbly bow and kiss the feet of the one who has forgiven me so much. Help me remember to demonstrate my love for Christ by the way I live, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 6, 2012 (Genesis 15-17; Luke 6)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord, Lord’ when you don’t do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NLT

Observation: Many confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord of their life, but what do their actions confess? To be a true follower of Christ one must submit to His authority and obey His commandments. True followers of Christ not only confess Him with their lips, but they begin to build on Him as their foundation. When faith is built on Christ, the storms of life strengthen what has been built instead of destroying it. Jesus knows His true followers, and He cannot be deceived.

Application: I believe every Christian should ask themselves daily, ‘do my actions confess I am a follower of Christ?’ If we honestly answered this question daily I think it would propel us to new heights in Christ. It would cause us to think on the Lord Jesus and remember He’s keeping a record of our deeds. It would build faith that could not be destroyed by the storms of life or the roar of satan. Acts of obedience breed more acts of obedience, just as acts of disobedience breed more acts of disobedience. Christ describes a person that comes to Him, listens to His teachings, and then follows them as a well built house on a solid foundation that stands through the storms that come against it.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for the mercy and grace You give freely to those who accept You and follow Your word. Help me become a house well built, on a foundation that is made of You. Protect me from the storms that seek to destroy my life. I trust in the foundation I’ve built my faith upon, I trust in the sovereign God of the universe, for He alone is God and above Him there is no other! He will protect me from any storm I face and see to it I come through it unscathed, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 5, 2012 (Genesis 12-14; Luke 5)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Luke 5:32 NLT

Observation: The Scribes and Pharisees wrapped their sin in respectability. They made themselves appear good by publicly doing good deeds and pointing out the sins of others. They could not stand the fact that Jesus was spending time with such low lifes as tax collectors and diseased people. Not only spending time with them, but healing them and having dinner with them! Jesus plainly tells them, I did not come to call people who are righteous in their own mind, I came to call those who know they are sinners and need to repent.

Application: Often, in fact most of the time, people that have been around religion most of their lives are the hardest to reach. They have an unhealthy level of self-confidence just like the Scribes and Pharisees did. Their faith is based on the many acts of service they perform, or the number of years they’ve attended church, rather than the undeserved and unmerited grace that Christ provides through His sacrifice and resurrection. In a way, their good deeds and dedication to church have become their idol. Its very important for us to realize and understand the need we have for a Savior, and never become so boastful and proud as to act as if we’ve already attained the promise that has been reserved for those that have endured until the end.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your grace and mercy that You have provided in Your Son Jesus. You sent Him to call people just like me to repentance. By Your Spirit, you revealed unto me, my need for a Savior. Through Christ I accept the grace and mercy You’ve given. Help me to never become blind to my need or place my faith in anything other than You. I pray for any idol in my life to be torn down and destroyed. For You are Lord of my life, and King of my soul, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 4, 2012 (Genesis 9-11; Luke 4)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “Then they said, “come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” Genesis 11:4 NLT

Observation: The focus of the people that populated the earth after the flood was quickly turned from God to themselves. Their desire was to build a city with a tower that reached into the sky to impress people of their ability. God was not the center of their affection and therefore corruption entered into the hearts on mankind once again. God’s desire was for people to ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’ but this was sure not to happen if they stayed in Babel.

Application: When the center of our affection turns away from God we get into trouble. We start building big impressive buildings that feed the emotional needs of people, while being blinded by our own desires we fail to see their spiritual condition. We are easily deceived into believing a church is successful based on it’s size, or the number of activities going on, rather than the holiness that is produced by it’s people. God desires His people to be looking for ways to do for others, instead of looking for ways to build bigger and better for ourselves. When a building (or tower) becomes the focus of our worship, we have erected an idol and began worshipping the created, rather than the Creator.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I praise and worship You for who You are. You are the awesome God of heaven and above You there is no other. Help me Lord, keep You at the center of my worship. Open my eyes to any idols I have errected in Your name. Destroy them and take Your rightful place in my life. Use me in the way You see fit. Cause my life to bring You glory, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 3, 2012 (Genesis 6-8; Luke 3)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘we’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.” Luke 3:8 NLT

Observation: John the baptist laid it out plain and simple. There was no doubt or confusion about the fruit that was to be produced by a person that had truly repented and turned to God. As a preacher of the gospel of repentance, John expected real results. A verbal utterance that Jesus was Lord meant nothing, he wanted to see the confessor produce the fruit. He exposed useless faith in heritage, and instructed people to prove they were children of God by the way they lived. God could create beings to worship Him out of stones if He wanted to, but His desire is for His creation to desire Him.

Application: If only people would receive the message of John the baptist today! What a difference repentance makes in the lives of people that truly repent and turn toward God. If only each person that professed Christ with their lips, would strive to prove they are His by the way they live. What if we stopped saying to each other, ‘we’re safe, for Jesus paid the price for our sin’ and started living like Jesus paid the price for our sin. What if the fruit we produced on Sunday morning at church could be expected from us on Tuesday at a business meeting? While talking about Christ makes little difference, living for Him makes all the difference.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace that provides me the courage and strength to live the life You’ve called me to live. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, that provided me the perfect example of obedience to Your will. Help me prove by the way I live that I’m Yours. May the profession of safety from my lips only be uttered to bring You honor, never as a means of boasting. Father, I pray You would accept the worship I bring to You, in Jesus name, Amen!

January 2, 2012 (Genesis 3-5; Luke 2)

From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:

Scripture: “You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7 NLT

Observation: For whatever reason the offering Cain brought before the Lord was not accepted. He was given an opportunity to make things right, but chose otherwise. His embarrassment and jealously caused him to commit horrible acts and turned him onto a destructive life course. God clearly tells us here that sins desire is to control us, but we must subdue it and be it’s master. Through Christ, and His Holy Spirit, this can be accomplished.

Application: In America where I live, we like to shun responsibility as much as possible. We treat God’s grace like it’s some kind of magic eraser that erases sin as we commit it. Repentance and the responsibility to live holy has been shunned and replaced with an attitude that says “Jesus paid the price, so I’m not responsible for the cost associated with sin”. But God’s word clearly teaches us that sin has a desire to control us and we must subdue sin and master it, or else it will master us. If we, like Cain, choose to let sin rule us we will find ourselves on a destructive life course as well.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace that enables me to live a life that is pleasing to You. Help me Lord, do what is right in Your eyes and be pleasing in Your sight. Help me present unto You a life of offering that You will accept. Strengthen me to subdue sin in my life and be its master. Keep me from going astray and protect me from sins desire, in Jesus name, Amen!