Genesis 22:2
"Take now thy son"
God's command is; Take now, not presently. God tells us this because He knows that to us "now and presently" means about the same to us. We know a thing is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it at once. To climb to the height God shows can never be done presently, it must be done now. What is the difference? The sacrifice is gone through; "in will" before it is performed actually.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and went unto the place of which God had told him" (V. 3). When God spoke, Abraham did not confer with flesh and blood ( i.e.) our own sympathies, our own insight, anything that is not based on our personal relationship to God. These are the things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose the sacrifice; therefore we must always guard against self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may end up being a disease. If God has made your cup run over, drink it with grace. If He has made it; not as full as you see others, drink it in communion with Him. If the order of God for you is a hard time of difficulty, go through with it, but never choose the scene of your martyrdom. God chose the crucible for Abraham, and he made no demur; he went steadily through. If you are not living in touch with Him, it is easy to pass a crude verdict on God. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because during these times you learn to know God better. God is working for His highest ends until His purpose and man's purpose become one.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
God or Ambitions
2 Corinthians 5:9
"Wherefore we labor, that whether"
"Present or absent, we may be"
"Accepted of Him"
Wherefore we labor; It means holding our self to the high ideal year in and year out, not being ambitious to win souls or to establish churches or to have revivals, but being ambitious only to be "accepted of Him." It is not lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but lack of laboring to keep the ideal right. We should always take count before God and see whether we are keeping our life up to the standard He wishes.
Any ambition in the smallest degree away from the "approval of God" may end in our being castaways. We must learn where the ambition leads, and we will see why it is so necessary to live facing the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says; "Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should not be a castaway." (1 Corinthians 9:27). We must learn to relate everything to God and not our ambitions. Our worth to God is what we are in private. Is it your goal to please Him and be acceptable to Him, or is it something less?
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"Wherefore we labor, that whether"
"Present or absent, we may be"
"Accepted of Him"
Wherefore we labor; It means holding our self to the high ideal year in and year out, not being ambitious to win souls or to establish churches or to have revivals, but being ambitious only to be "accepted of Him." It is not lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but lack of laboring to keep the ideal right. We should always take count before God and see whether we are keeping our life up to the standard He wishes.
Any ambition in the smallest degree away from the "approval of God" may end in our being castaways. We must learn where the ambition leads, and we will see why it is so necessary to live facing the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says; "Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should not be a castaway." (1 Corinthians 9:27). We must learn to relate everything to God and not our ambitions. Our worth to God is what we are in private. Is it your goal to please Him and be acceptable to Him, or is it something less?
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Going Without Knowing!
Hebrews 11:8
"He went out, not knowing whither he went"
Have you been "out" in this way? If so, there is no logical statement possible when anyone ask you what you are doing. One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question; "What do you expect to do?" You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder, you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God. "Take no thought for your life; nor yet for your body" take no thought for the things for which you did take thought before you "went out."
Have you been asking God what He is going to do. He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is. Do you believe in a miracle - working God, and will you go out in surrender to Him until you are not surprised at anything He does? Suppose God is the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him; what an impertinence worry! Let the attitude of the life be a continual "going out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have an ineffable charm about it which is a satisfaction to Jesus. We all have to learn to go out of convictions, out of creeds, out of experiences, until so far as your faith is concerned, there is nothing between yourself and God.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"He went out, not knowing whither he went"
Have you been "out" in this way? If so, there is no logical statement possible when anyone ask you what you are doing. One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question; "What do you expect to do?" You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder, you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God. "Take no thought for your life; nor yet for your body" take no thought for the things for which you did take thought before you "went out."
Have you been asking God what He is going to do. He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is. Do you believe in a miracle - working God, and will you go out in surrender to Him until you are not surprised at anything He does? Suppose God is the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him; what an impertinence worry! Let the attitude of the life be a continual "going out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have an ineffable charm about it which is a satisfaction to Jesus. We all have to learn to go out of convictions, out of creeds, out of experiences, until so far as your faith is concerned, there is nothing between yourself and God.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Being Noble Is Difficult
Matthew 7:13
"Enter ye in at the strait gate"
"For wide is the gate, and"
"And broad is the way"
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome. Do we so appreciate the marvelous salvation of Jesus Christ that we are our utmost for His highest? God saves men by His sovereign grace through the Atonement of Jesus. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure; but we have to work out that salvation in practical living. If once we start on the basis of His Redemption to do what He commands, we find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not practiced. A Crisis will reveal whether we have been practicing or not. If we obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has put in us by His Spirit, then when the crisis comes, we shall find that our own nature as well as the grace of God will stand by us.
Thank God He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a glad thing, but it is also heroic, holy thing. It test us for all we are worth. Jesus wants to bring all in to glory, and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son. It Takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus in actual things. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"Enter ye in at the strait gate"
"For wide is the gate, and"
"And broad is the way"
If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all noble things are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in, it rouses us up to overcome. Do we so appreciate the marvelous salvation of Jesus Christ that we are our utmost for His highest? God saves men by His sovereign grace through the Atonement of Jesus. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure; but we have to work out that salvation in practical living. If once we start on the basis of His Redemption to do what He commands, we find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not practiced. A Crisis will reveal whether we have been practicing or not. If we obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has put in us by His Spirit, then when the crisis comes, we shall find that our own nature as well as the grace of God will stand by us.
Thank God He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a glad thing, but it is also heroic, holy thing. It test us for all we are worth. Jesus wants to bring all in to glory, and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son. It Takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus in actual things. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Friday, April 26, 2013
The School Of Faith
Hebrews 11:40a
"God having provided some better thing for us"
One of Mose's first jobs was to teach the Lords people the principles of faith that he himself had learned. The big test came when God foretold the judgment to fall on the eldest sons of the Egyptians. The Hebrews would be spared by sprinkling blood on the doorpost of their homes. Would they believe God? They did. Following Moses' example of faith, they kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them (Hebrews 11:28).
Moses continued to exercise strong faith in God during the forty years of wilderness wanderings. He must have felt like quitting on many occasions, hearing constantly the murmurings of God's people. But through it all he trusted the Lord and relied on Him. No wonder This Old Testament leader earned such a prominent place among the heroes of faith!
Don't think for one minute that the list of God's faithful men and women ends with the closing verses of Hebrews 11. The next chapter has you in mind. You are to lay aside every weight and sin that hinders you from running your spiritual race. Like Moses, you are to exercise patience and endurance. Moses looked to the invisible God; you look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Instead of growing tired and quitting, you are to "lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Hebrews 12:12). Take waring from such people as Esau who lived for the present rather than for the future (verse 16). He gave up his spiritual privileges for a pot of stew!
Is your faith pretty weak and wavering? If it is; than practice Romans 10:17: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Reading your Bible and obeying it will set you apart from the crowd and mark you as an uncommon man or woman strong in faith. Nothing will please God more.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"God having provided some better thing for us"
One of Mose's first jobs was to teach the Lords people the principles of faith that he himself had learned. The big test came when God foretold the judgment to fall on the eldest sons of the Egyptians. The Hebrews would be spared by sprinkling blood on the doorpost of their homes. Would they believe God? They did. Following Moses' example of faith, they kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them (Hebrews 11:28).
Moses continued to exercise strong faith in God during the forty years of wilderness wanderings. He must have felt like quitting on many occasions, hearing constantly the murmurings of God's people. But through it all he trusted the Lord and relied on Him. No wonder This Old Testament leader earned such a prominent place among the heroes of faith!
Don't think for one minute that the list of God's faithful men and women ends with the closing verses of Hebrews 11. The next chapter has you in mind. You are to lay aside every weight and sin that hinders you from running your spiritual race. Like Moses, you are to exercise patience and endurance. Moses looked to the invisible God; you look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Instead of growing tired and quitting, you are to "lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Hebrews 12:12). Take waring from such people as Esau who lived for the present rather than for the future (verse 16). He gave up his spiritual privileges for a pot of stew!
Is your faith pretty weak and wavering? If it is; than practice Romans 10:17: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Reading your Bible and obeying it will set you apart from the crowd and mark you as an uncommon man or woman strong in faith. Nothing will please God more.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Grace! Do's and Don'ts!
"Titus 3:7
"That being justified by his grace"
If you try to visualize grace well, you just can't do it because it's such a tremendous concept. We have a small portion of grace if you consider the grace God gives the whole world. That's about all that man is able to comprehend of the grace of God. But we don't have to be able to take it all in at once to enjoy it's benefits. Along with it's benefits, grace carries some definite obligations. The grace of God teaches us to deny "ungodliness and worldly lust" (Titus 2:12).
What is ungodliness? Among other things, it's leaving God out of your Life. That's easy to do. A Christian fellow or girl can get so busy that no thought is given to what God wants; in the big things as well as the little things. The way to over come this is to consciously include God in your plans. Ask what He wants before you decide.
"Worldly" lusts" refers to those desires bound up with the social and economic system in which we live. It includes a selfish desire for those things that appeal to the five senses and the things in which a person takes false pride. Grace also demands some pluses in a Christians life. Grace teaches us that "we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12b).
Soberly doesn't mean long-faced or without humor. There's nothing wrong with laughter or appreciating the funny things in life. However; it means "properly controlled" or "well balanced." When it comes to living godly, some believers have a poor record. Yes, they have high ideals, but they find themselves unable to measure up to God's high standards. And after a while, they may not even try.
"God understands," they say, excusing themselves. But God's grace doesn't allow that! And you can be sure that God will discipline them for their careless attitude. Grace calls us to the highest moral conduct. And grace provides help in time of need . "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 2:1).
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"That being justified by his grace"
If you try to visualize grace well, you just can't do it because it's such a tremendous concept. We have a small portion of grace if you consider the grace God gives the whole world. That's about all that man is able to comprehend of the grace of God. But we don't have to be able to take it all in at once to enjoy it's benefits. Along with it's benefits, grace carries some definite obligations. The grace of God teaches us to deny "ungodliness and worldly lust" (Titus 2:12).
What is ungodliness? Among other things, it's leaving God out of your Life. That's easy to do. A Christian fellow or girl can get so busy that no thought is given to what God wants; in the big things as well as the little things. The way to over come this is to consciously include God in your plans. Ask what He wants before you decide.
"Worldly" lusts" refers to those desires bound up with the social and economic system in which we live. It includes a selfish desire for those things that appeal to the five senses and the things in which a person takes false pride. Grace also demands some pluses in a Christians life. Grace teaches us that "we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12b).
Soberly doesn't mean long-faced or without humor. There's nothing wrong with laughter or appreciating the funny things in life. However; it means "properly controlled" or "well balanced." When it comes to living godly, some believers have a poor record. Yes, they have high ideals, but they find themselves unable to measure up to God's high standards. And after a while, they may not even try.
"God understands," they say, excusing themselves. But God's grace doesn't allow that! And you can be sure that God will discipline them for their careless attitude. Grace calls us to the highest moral conduct. And grace provides help in time of need . "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 2:1).
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Christ The Intercessor
Hebrews 7:25b
"God by him, seeing he ever liveth"
"To make intercession for them"
The prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ, marked his ministry from beginning to end. The bible speaks of Him as an intercessor; one who prays for another and links that intercession to salvation: "Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). Do you consider yourself at times a weak believer? Remember, Peter was. But the Lord prayed for him. And he told Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:32)
You know; the Lord prayed for you too! The night before He went to the cross, Jesus said to His Father, "Neither pray I for these alone (meaning the disciples), but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" (John 17:20). If you have come to believe on Jesus as a result of what is written in the Bible, then you are included in his prayer. Thank of that.!
The Lord's prayers on our behalf didn't end with His earthly life. When He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9), He took His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. And you know what He is doing there? Praying for His own (Romans 8:34). That ought to mean more to us than just a heavenly fact. At times you especially need the Lord's help because of weakness or temptation. On those occasions, turn to Jesus, your intercessor. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). How great it is to know that Jesus, who never falls asleep, is our constant intercessor with the Father.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
"God by him, seeing he ever liveth"
"To make intercession for them"
The prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ, marked his ministry from beginning to end. The bible speaks of Him as an intercessor; one who prays for another and links that intercession to salvation: "Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). Do you consider yourself at times a weak believer? Remember, Peter was. But the Lord prayed for him. And he told Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:32)
You know; the Lord prayed for you too! The night before He went to the cross, Jesus said to His Father, "Neither pray I for these alone (meaning the disciples), but for them also which shall believe on me through their word" (John 17:20). If you have come to believe on Jesus as a result of what is written in the Bible, then you are included in his prayer. Thank of that.!
The Lord's prayers on our behalf didn't end with His earthly life. When He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9), He took His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. And you know what He is doing there? Praying for His own (Romans 8:34). That ought to mean more to us than just a heavenly fact. At times you especially need the Lord's help because of weakness or temptation. On those occasions, turn to Jesus, your intercessor. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). How great it is to know that Jesus, who never falls asleep, is our constant intercessor with the Father.
May God Bless You
And Your Families
Minister: Robert A. Lail
The Cross Life Ministry
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