A Risen Savior

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026

Dear Diary,

The Jews celebrate the Passover; but Christians celebrate Easter, when Jesus Christ arose from the grave. The Jews do not accept Jesus as their Messiah. They are still waiting for their Messiah; but, when Christ returns riding on a white horse as a conquering King, all of Israel shall accept Him as their Messiah, and all of Israel shall be saved. Christians accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and our Savior. When Jesus died on the cross He became the Sacrificial Lamb, and His blood is our atonement for our sins before God the Father. No more lambs have to be slain because the death of Christ on the cross was once, and once for all. So when we celebrate the week of Easter we are celebrating the Passover, which is Good Friday where Jesus, our perfect Lamb, was slain for us; and we, celebrate Easter Sunday morning, when Christ arose from the grave as our risen Savior.

Thought for Today: “Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’ve His foes; He arose the Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose.” (Robert Lowry – 1826-1899).

The LAMB – My Lamb

Saturday, March 28, 2026 5:15 p.m.

Dear Diary,

So many people do not understand salvation. To them it is an experience, a feeling, a prayer, or a baptism. That is a terrible way to live with no sense of assurance of salvation. Years ago Pastor Crockett (1951-2013) – who was my pastor for 30 years) preached a sermon that made the truth of salvation become concrete for me, something I could hold on to. It might do the same for you. The title of his sermon was: The LAMB – My Lamb. His sermon really brought it home for me. Yes, I was saved and I knew that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, but I never really visualized it in my mind. It became so clear to me that Sunday morning, that had Jesus not died on the cross for me, I would have to journey to Jerusalem every year and sacrifice a perfect, innocent lamb. For a blood sacrifice was the only way God would forgive sins. Every year a lamb would have to be sacrificed and die in my place. In order for my sins to be forgiven I would have to place my hand on the forehead of the lamb while he was being killed. Do you know how hard the heart-wrenching that would be to watch an innocent lamb die in my place for sins that I committed? But, thanks be to God, I don’t have to do that because the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, became MY LAMB, my personal Lamb. From that time forward no other lamb had to be sacrificed. The blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross became the atonement for my sins.

Thought for Today: “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).

The Cup

Friday, March 20, 2026 2:30 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Have you ever been so sorrowful of heart that God sent an angel to minister unto you? That is exactly what God did for His Son, Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus’ soul was in so much agony that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44). In the Garden Jesus cried to His Father, “Abba Father, (which means Daddy) all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36). Jesus’ soul was in extreme sorrow of heart even unto death; but, once Jesus surrendered unto His Father’s will, “There appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” (Luke 22:43). C. I. Scofield says, “The ‘cup’ must be interpreted by our Lord’s own use of that symbol in speaking of His approaching sacrificial death. The value of the account of the agony in the Garden is in the evidence it affords that He knew fully what the agony of the Cross would mean when His soul was made an offering for sin in the hiding of the Father’s face. Yet, knowing the cost to the utmost, He voluntarily paid it” (C. I. Scofield, p. 1038).

Thought for Today: “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28).

New Birth

Saturday, March 14, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night in order to find out more about Him and His miracles. He said, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” (John 3:2). But Jesus did not address the miracles. For the miracles were not the important thing. The important thing was being able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus was “Ye must be born again.” When Jesus said this, Nicodemus could only see the physical birth, and he said, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4). The answer, of course, is “No.” But Jesus was not speaking of a physical birth, but of a Spiritual birth. The new birth is when the Holy Spirit enters a person and changes them. It is a regeneration. C. I. Scofield says, “(1) The necessity of the new birth grows out of the incapacity of the natural man to ‘see’ or ‘enter into’ the Kingdom of God. However gifted, moral, or refined, the natural man is absolutely blind to spiritual truth, and impotent to enter the Kingdom; for he can neither obey, understand, nor please God. (2) The new birth is not a reformation of the old nature, but a creative act of the Holy Spirit. (3) The condition of the new birth is faith in Christ crucified. (4) Through the new birth the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature and of the life of Christ Himself” (C. I. Scofield, p. 1117-1118).

Thought for Today: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).

The Four Gospels

Monday, February 16, 2026 3:03 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Through the four Gospels we know not only the life and work of Christ, but also His personality. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. Both His deity and divine personality are revealed. C. I. Scofield says this about the four Gospels, “In all alike is revealed the one unique Personality: Jesus is King in Matthew, Servant in Mark, Man in Luke, and God in John” (C. I. Scofield, p. 990). Yet in all four Gospels Jesus is King, Servant, Man, and God. C. I. Scofield continues to say, “The pen is a different pen; the incidents in which He is seen are sometimes incidents; the distinctive character in which He is presented is a different character; but He is always the same Christ. That fact alone would mark these books as inspired” (C. I. Scofield, p. 990). Lord, give us a different pen that we may glorifies Thee; a different mind that we may seek Thee; and a different heart that we may love Thee more.

Thought for Today: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death.” (Philippians 3:10).

Broken Cisterns

Friday, February 6, 2026 9:25 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of Living Water, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13). A cistern is a pit that collects rain water. God offers us a spring of fresh Living Water, and yet, so often we turn to the cisterns. And not only cisterns, but broken cisterns that can hold no water. We abandon God, and are soon filled with rotten smelly waters of a broken cisterns: broken relationships, broken marriages, broken lives. Why do we continue to cling to these empty, broken cisterns; or what ever we are putting in the place of God? God says, Return unto me and I will give you springs of fresh Living Water.

Thought for Today: “For with thee is the fountain of life.” (Psalm 36:9)

Perilous Times

Thursday, January 29, 2026 9:40 a.m.

Dear Diary,

II Timothy 3:1 says, “This known also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” C. I. Scofield says, “This is talking about apostasy, a falling away. It is the act of professed Christians who deliberately reject revealed truth. First, as to the deity of Jesus Christ, and second, redemption through His atoning and redeeming sacrifice” (C. I. Scofield, p. 1280). We are now living in the last days and perilous times. Everywhere we turn there is unrest, upheaval, and yes, apostasy from the truth about Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death of the cross, burial and resurrection. Apostasy departs from the true faith of Jesus Christ. II Timothy 4:3-4 describes apostates. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables.” (II Timothy 4:3-4). This describes many of the Churches today and reveals that we are living in perilous times.

Thought for Today: “Apostasy in the Church is irremediable, and awaits judgment” (C. I. Scofield, p. 1281).

Stoned a Thousand Times

Thursday, January 15, 2026 8:15 a.m.

Dear Diary,

If I lived in the days of Moses I would have been stoned a thousand times. The Israelites were stoned for breaking the least of the Ten Commandments. When I considered these commandments I could not help but realize that I have broken them all. If not literally, at least in my heart. God looks upon the heart, and if our heart, thoughts, motives and lives do not line-up with God’s Law, even in one sin, we are guilty of them all. James 2:10 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10). The Ten Commandments are:

1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.”
4. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
5. “Honour thy father and thy mother.”
6. “Thou shalt not kill.”
7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
8. “Thou shalt not steal.”
9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness…”
10. “Thou shalt not covet…” (Exodus 20:3-17).

Thought for Today: Even one single sin reveals a heart that is not perfect with God’s Law. That is why we must plead the blood of Jesus Christ to wash us clean and redeem us to the Father.

Pleasing God through Faith

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 9:00 a.m.

Dear Diary,

To please God we must walk by faith, not by sight, for “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith shows complete reliance on God and inspires obedience to Him. Faith is the BRIDGE to believing and walking with Him. True faith will make pleasing God and living for Him the most important thing in your life. Arthur W. Pink wrote: “If we are content to offend God rather than displease our friends or relatives, then we are greatly deceived if we regard ourselves as genuine Christians” (Arthur W. Pink Reformed Faith Forum). Pleasing God is a basic biblical principle. We should strive for God’s approval, not man’s. Pleasing God means living for Him, even if it goes against society and “social correctness.” Pleasing God is a life guided by faith and divine guidance.

Thought for Today: “For we walk by faith, not by sight; For “without faith it is impossible to please him:” (Hebrews 11:6).

My Time

Friday, January 9, 2026 1:00 p.m.

Dear Diary,

As I study scripture and the times people lived, such as: Joshua’s time, Samuel’s time, Daniel’s time, and Paul’s time, etc., I realize that now is my time. It is my time to do for God and please Him. All I know about the great heroes of the faith is what has been written down about them in the Bible. Unless it was written down I know nothing of their deep inner thoughts and moments of meditation. Also, when they lived they knew nothing of me and my time, or you and your time. But each one of us has a time to fulfill, a purpose to accomplish, and a reason for living. When people die and are in heaven or hell, their time is over. Matthew Henry says, “While there is life there is hope that we may yet praise God” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary of the Whole Bible, p. 1138). So what is my time? What is your time? “My Time” refers to God’s specific, ordained time. It is a set time-line with a divine plan. It is a “season” or an “opportune moment” appointed by God for me to complete and please God by doing so. But if I am lazy and not attuned with Him and listening for His voice, I may miss “my time.” and then that special appointed time will be lost forever.

Thought for Today: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16).