IN THE WORD DAILY

with Brother Rick

Revelation 22: 17

  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

V- 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

Here we are! Another year has passed us by, and tomorrow we begin 2015. I pray that you are excited about reading through the Bible in 2015. I AM!! I also pray that you have set some spiritual goals for yourself, your family, and your church. As for myself, I need to pray more. I need to study more. I need to control my reactions to people, I am in the construction business, its not easy. We all have room for improvement. The point is this: don't be content with your spiritual condition. Strive to do better!! Philippians 3: 13, 14 says,  “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” God has given each and every one of us a specific purpose in this life. Are you fulfilling that purpose? May we all draw closer to God in 2015.

In the text, Jesus gives us two VERY important bits of information. If we were to recap the Bible as a whole, we would start with the creation of all things including man. God created Adam. Adam had a perfect life. Adam disobeyed God, and man fell from the grace of God. Romans 5: 12 says, “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” From the moment Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, the spirit of man was separated from God. Man created his own way of worship, man created his own means of pleasure, and man has been plunged deeper and deeper into the depths of sin. From Adam until now, God has provided only one way for man to be reconciled unto himself. Man has concocted many ideas on the subject. Man has performed many false ways to get to God. But God has only provided ONE!! And his name is JESUS. Acts 4: 12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

In the final words of the Bible, in our text, we find a blessing and a warning. First, God once again has offered us a way out of our sin. How many times in 2014, did God offer you a path away from your sin, a way out of your dysfunction? Don't act so holy, you are as dysfunctional as the rest of us. 1 Corinthians 10: 13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” What are your hangups? What is the sin that so easily besets you? May we strive this coming year to put it behind us and draw closer to God. Our text offers us the water of life freely. We have a Savior who is willing to save our souls, and we also have a Savior who is willing to give us the grace and strength we need to overcome our sin. Sometimes we forget that we have the power to say, “NO” to the flesh, the world and the devil, and “YES” to Jesus.

Lastly, Jesus gives us a warning, and I want this to be the last thing you remember this year. THE BIBLE IS THE FINAL AUTHORITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want victory this year, it won't come from money, it won't come from Obama (I had to get one last shot in before 2015), I won't come from your works. If you want victory in 2015, it will come from the BIBLE. If you will read it, believe it, meditate on it, obey it and apply it, YOU WILL BE VICTORIOUS. But, as the scripture says, if you try to change it, alter it, pervert it to please self; there is judgment coming. Just take God at his Word and let God have free will.

I pray you all have a Happy New Year!! Be careful tonight, I'll meet you in Genesis in the morning.

Have A Blessed Day!!!