Joshua 7:1-13

Joshua saw God’s mighty hand at work many times–from crossing the Red Sea to watching Jericho’s impassable walls crash to the ground. But then the Hebrew commander experienced devastating defeat.

Right after the conquest of Jericho, his advisors recommended moving forward to defeat the city of Ai. Joshua took their suggestion, expecting quick success. Instead, the Israelites found themselves retreating in fear after 36 of their men fell in battle.

Why, Joshua wondered, would the Lord do this to them (Josh. 7:7-9)? But he had misread the situation–God did not initiate this disaster. The problem originated within the Hebrew army, when an Israelite took forbidden plunder after Jericho fell. Because Joshua failed to seek heavenly counsel, he did not know that there was a problem until it was too late.

The man who’d sinned was put to death, along with his family. Then God told Joshua that it was time to take Ai. This time, purged of unrighteousness and following divine direction, the army was successful (Josh. 8).

The story contains two vital lesson for all believers. First, it is critical to deal with sin quickly and completely–iniquity skews our thinking and keep us from communicating with our Father. And second, before taking action, we should wait for God’s guidance.

Are you trying to win a battle in your own strength? Examine your heart and make sure that you have repented of all sin. Then ask for God’s leading. It takes determination not to run ahead of the Lord, but when you patiently do things His way, the end result is definitely worth the wait

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9

This is the seventh of the beatitudes: and seven was the number of perfection among the Hebrews. It may be that the Savior placed the peacemaker seventh on the list because he most nearly approaches the perfect man in Christ Jesus. He who would have perfect blessedness, so far as it can be enjoyed on earth, must attain to this seventh benediction and become a peacemaker.

There is a significance also in the position of the text. The verse that precedes it speaks of the blessedness of “the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” It is important to understand that we are to be “first pure, then peaceable.”3 Our peaceableness is never to be a contract with sin or toleration of evil. We must set our faces like flint against everything that is contrary to God and His holiness: When purity in our souls is a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness.

In the same way, the verse that follows seems to have been put there on purpose. However peaceable we may be in this world, yet we shall be misrepresented and misunderstood; and we should not be surprised, for even the Prince of Peace, by His very peacefulness, brought fire upon the earth. He Himself, though He loved mankind and did no ill, was “despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”4 Just in case the peaceable in heart should be surprised when they meet with enemies, the following verse reads, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So, the peacemakers are not only pronounced to be blessed, but they are surrounded with blessings.

Lord, give us grace to climb to this seventh beatitude! Purify our minds that we may be “first pure, then peaceable” and fortify our souls, that our peaceableness may not lead us into cowardice and despair when we are persecuted for Your sake.

3James 3:17 4Isaiah 53:3

The family reading plan for March 17, 2012

Proverbs 4 | Galatians 3

Galatians 5:16

The Creator has a specific plan for each person’s life, and He has arranged our talents, abilities, and circumstances to fit with these individualized goals (Eph. 2:10). When we connect with our God-given purpose, we feel deep satisfaction and great joy. However, it’s important to understand that we can’t achieve the Lord’s goals on our own; only by His strength and direction are we able to succeed.

In John 16:33, Jesus warned us that trouble is an integral part of life in this world. But easily forgetting how weak we are, we tend to take on challenges in our own strength and resourcefulness. Human nature wants to tackle life by itself and in its own power–and then take credit. So when temptations, trials, criticism, gossip, and persecution assail, many of us have the tendency to go into high gear and try all the harder.

For a while, life may actually seem good this way. But in the long run, self-reliance creates a mess. And it also interferes with the fulfillment of God’s purposes.

The truth is, we sometimes have to experience failure in life in order to realize our complete dependence upon God. He lovingly breaks our pride by showing us that we cannot live fully without following the Spirit’s guidance.

Have you surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s control? Acknowledge your weakness and recognize His power, omniscience, and wisdom. The Lord does not call you to live the Christian life, which is a human impossibility. Rather, He wants you to yield control and let Him live His life through you

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, the young hobbit, has been given the burden of bearing the one ring of power. It is a ring that has the potential to put all of Middle Earth under terror and shadow, and the darkness is already spreading. With a fellowship of friends, Frodo determines he must start the long, dark journey to destroy the ring by throwing it into the volcano from which it was forged.  It is a journey that will take him on fearful paths through enemy territory and overwhelming temptation to the ends of himself. Seeing the road ahead of him, he laments to Gandalf the Wise that the burden of the ring should have come to him in the first place.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”(1)

A fan of Tolkien’s epic fantasy once wrote the author to say that he preferred to read The Lord of the Rings particularly during the season of Lent. Though I don’t know all this reader had in mind with such a statement, Tolkien’s portrayal of a journey into darkness with the weight of a great burden and a motley fellowship of companions certainly holds similarities to the journey of the church toward the cross. The forty-day period that leads to Easter is both an invitation and a quest for any who would be willing, albeit a difficult one. The deliberate and wearisome journey with Christ to the cross is a crushing burden, even with the jarring recognition that we are not the one carrying it. On the path to Holy Week, the fellowship of the church far and wide is given time to focus in detail on what it means that Jesus came into this world that he might go the fearful way of the Cross. It is time set apart for pilgrimage and preparation, forty days with which we decide what to do with the time that is given us.

In fact, the Scriptures attach special meaning to the forty-day journey. Considered the number of days marking a devout encounter with God, we find the occurrence of forty-day journeys throughout the stories of the prophets and the people of God. For forty days Noah and his family waited on the arc as God washed away and revived the earth. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, where he received the Law of God to share with the Israelites. Later, he spent forty days on the mountain prostrate before the LORD after the sin of the golden calf. Elijah was given food in the wilderness, which gave him strength for the forty day journey to Horeb, the Mount of God. Jonah reluctantly accepted forty days in Nineveh where the people, heeding his warning, repented before God with fasting, sackcloths, and ashes. For forty days the prophet Ezekiel laid on his right side to symbolize the forty years of Judah’s transgression. And finally, for forty days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. As Mark reports: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”

It is with this same Spirit that any are invited to take the forty day journey into the shadows and difficulties of Lent. In every forty day (or forty year) journey described in Scripture, the temptations are real, the waiting is difficult, and the call to listen or to look, to obey or deny is wearying. But there is something about the journey itself to which God moves us. Indeed, Christ himself was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, while Moses, Ezekiel, Noah, and even Jonah were each instructed to set out on the journeys that brought them closer to the heart of God, whether they were able to accept it or not.

Similarly for us, the forty days that lead to Easter Sunday are not without burden or cost. “The Cross of Lent,” as Augustine referred to it, is one that we bear year round, but one we learn to bear all the more intensely along the way to the cross during Lent. Here, we remember that we are dust, we follow Jesus to his death, we recollect the acts of God to be near us, and we let go of the things that keep us from holding the Son who saves us. Of course, these are burdens we will never bear alone. But each day we are given is one we decide what to do with. Jesus has given us one option:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”(2)

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. 

(1) J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994), 51.
(2) Luke 9:23-24.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.

Psalms 19:13

Such was the prayer of the “man after God’s own heart.” Did holy David need to pray like this? How needful, then, such a prayer must be for us babes in grace! It is as if he said, “Keep me back, or I shall rush headlong over the precipice of sin.” Our evil nature, like an ill-tempered horse, is apt to run away. May the grace of God put the bridle upon it and hold it in, that it rush not into mischief.

What would the best of us do if it were not for the checks that the Lord sets upon us both in providence and in grace! The psalmist’s prayer is directed against the worst form of sin–that which is done with deliberation and willfulness. Even the holiest need to be “kept back” from the vilest transgressions. It is a solemn thing to find the apostle Paul warning saints against the most loathsome sins: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”1

What! Do saints really need to be warned against such sins as these? Yes, they do. The whitest robes, unless their purity be preserved by divine grace, will be defiled by the blackest spots.

Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience; you will trip if you look away from Him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, “We shall never sin,” but rather cry, “Lead us not into temptation.” There is enough kindling in the heart of the best of men to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God shall quench the sparks as they fall. Who would have dreamed that righteous Lot could be found drunk and committing immorality? Hazael said, “Is Your servant a dog, that he should do this thing?” and we are very apt to use the same self-righteous question. May infinite wisdom cure us of the madness of self-confidence.

1 Colossians 3:5

The family reading plan for March 16, 2012

Luke 24:36-49

Salvation occurs when we trust Jesus as our Savior–He forgives us, transforms us, and sees us as righteous. In that moment, we are redeemed, and though we continue to struggle with sin, it is a defeated foe. Then as time goes on, our service, gifts, and love for Him should naturally become greater.

Unfortunately, a lot of Christians sit in church week after week, going through the motions yet lacking passion and failing to grow. How is such a thing possible? Tragically, many believers are unaware of the essential ministry of God’s Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. The opening chapter of Scripture tells us that He existed before the formation of the earth and in fact participated in creation (Gen. 1:2, 26). Today, He has the critical role of helping and counseling all believers.

The Holy Spirit is a gift to every child of God. His presence within us isn’t something we have to earn or acquire. Rather, it is a marvelous privilege–by indwelling our hearts, He can guide and strengthen, steering each believer away from danger and into truth (John 16:7-8). Scripture tells us that Jesus came so we could experience a full life (10:10). This is possible only when we listen to His Spirit and obey.

Are you experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised? He wasn’t talking about happy circumstances but rather the joy and contentment possible through a relationship with Him. If you’re lacking in this area, consider your understanding of the Holy Spirit, and pray to be in tune with His promptings

In the last few weeks God has been in the news a lot. From Christian prayers in council meetings, to statements from the highest echelons of the Royal Family and the government, discussion of the place of God and in particular the role of Christianity in Britain today has been in the news on a daily basis. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate with Professor Richard Dawkins in Oxford on God’s existence captured the twittersphere as Dawkins was quoted as being agnostic about belief in God.  It seems it is now acceptable to discuss the Christian faith and belief in God in public. From radio studios to the school gate I have enjoyed being a part of this. The role of God in Britain is being discussed up and down the country in government, education, legislation, and community life in a way that I can’t remember in recent history.(1)

While secularism insists that nothing good comes from religion, isn’t it actually the case that it is our Christian heritage that actually provides us with this free and open society—encouraging people to question and reason for themselves? For many, religious faith is a process, a journey of discovery on the basis of evidence, reason, and personal experience. Christianity has provided the foundation in Britain for an open and tolerant society. It was the great Christian leader Augustine who coined the phrase tolerare malus. He claimed that political structure influenced by the Christian faith must tolerate that which it disagreed with and perceived as wrong for the greater good of freedom.

Freedom and tolerance of others arise from a worldview—a set of values and beliefs that are conducive to liberty, they do not come about by random chance. In Britain this foundation or worldview has undeniably been the Christian faith. But this seems to fly in the face of the claims made by leading atheists that belief in God is delusional and oppressive and that people in Britain are not truly religious anyway. Invoking what has come to be known by sociologists as the secularization thesis they tell us that modern countries eventually turn their back on spiritual belief. That as people progress they become less religious.

However, this myth of secularization has plainly not panned out and it has been soundly debunked within academia. The leading sociologist Mary Douglas announced the death of the secularization theory in 1982 in an essay that began with the words, “Events have taken religious studies by surprise.” Even prominent proponents of secularization like sociologist Peter Berger have now abandoned the theory since the world is plainly becoming more religious not less.

Our most profound laws and rights, and the concept of the dignity of the human person expounded in the Magna Carta arise from a Christian vision and assume God’s existence. Our greatest social reform movements from the abolition of the slave trade to the reform of child labor laws, and many other justice movements are the bequest of our Christian heritage as a country. Britain has benefitted so much in our history from Christianity—and this continues today as we see the values of the charitable, tolerant society envisaged by St. Augustine allow for Rowan Williams and Richard Dawkins to debate without fear of reprisals. Does everyone in Britain agree with the central tenets of the Christian faith? No, of course not, but does our Christian heritage make a way for peace, courteous debate, tolerance, inclusion, and freedom? I believe it does.

As people up and down the country discuss belief in God and the newspapers keep running stories about Christianity, it is my hope that we will continue to see a greater openness to speak and inquire about the gospel in Britain.

Amy Orr-Ewing is director of programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and UK director for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Oxford, England.

(1) Adapted from an article appearing in Christianity Magazine, March 2012.

. . . He did with all his heart, and prospered.     2 Chronicles 31:21

This is no unusual occurrence; it is the general rule of the moral universe that the prosperous are those who do their work with all their hearts, while others are almost certain to fail when they go about their business halfheartedly. God does not give harvests to lazy men except harvests of thistles, nor is He pleased to send wealth to those who will not dig in the field to find its hidden treasure.

It is universally confessed that if a man would prosper, he must be diligent in business. It is the same in the matter of faith as it is in other things. If you would prosper in your work for Jesus, let it be heart work, and let it be done with all your heart. Put as much force, energy, heartiness, and earnestness into faith as ever you do into business, for it deserves far more. The Holy Spirit helps our weaknesses, but He does not encourage our laziness; He loves active believers.

Who are the most useful men in the Christian church? The men who do what they undertake for God with all their hearts. Who are the most successful Sunday school teachers? The most talented? No. The most zealous; those whose hearts are on fire–they are the ones who see their Lord riding forth prosperously in the majesty of His salvation. Wholeheartedness shows itself in perseverance; there may be failure at first, but the earnest worker will say, “It is the Lord’s work, and it must be done; my Lord has called me to do it, and in His strength I will accomplish it.”

Christian, are you serving your Master with all your heart? Remember the earnestness of Jesus! Think what heart-work was His! He could say, “Zeal for Your house has consumed me.” When He sweat great drops of blood, it was no light burden He had to carry upon those blessed shoulders; and when He poured out His heart, it was no weak effort He was making for the salvation of His people. Was Jesus in earnest, and we are lukewarm?

The family reading plan for March 15, 2012

Proverbs 2 | Galatians 1

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What words would you use to describe our society? Materialistic, sensual, impatient, indulgent, undisciplined–these are just a few. We’re also a “have it now” culture. Satan specializes in presenting us with opportunities for instant gratification while promising us that indulging our appetites will bring us the satisfaction we seek.

Human appetites, in themselves, are not sinful. In fact, they’re God-given. However, because of our fleshly weaknesses, they need to be controlled. When our appetites rule us, we’re in trouble. Paul likened the Christian life to that of athletes who are so focused on winning the race that they exercise self-control in every area of their lives.

That’s exactly how we’re called to live, yet we lack the motivation, determination, and power to do so in our own strength. For this reason, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit within us. If we yield our lives to Him and step out in obedience to His promptings, we’ll have the strength to say no when fleshly desires feel overpowering (Gal. 5:16).

Another key to success is keeping our focus on the eternal instead of the temporal. Many decisions that seem mundane are in fact spiritually significant. Are you indulging an appetite that could result in the sacrifice of an imperishable reward in heaven?

When the Enemy tempts us, he always tries to keep our attention on our desire and the pleasure of indulgence rather than on the eternal rewards and blessings we’re forfeiting. Just remind yourself how quickly immediate gratification wanes and how long eternity lasts.

During a speaking engagement at the University of Illinois, I was handed a question scribbled on a note card from a student who hesitated to come to the microphone. It read, “The state of humankind as we know it is on a serious downward spiral, and from my perspective, it’s only getting worse. Do you have any hope in the future of humankind and specifically our generation, and if so, why?”

I was both saddened and heartened to read his question. Overwhelmed by the maze of conflicts facing humanity, this young heart sought a way out. And I believe he represents large numbers of young people in the world. Contrary to the “couldn’t care less” image we are often given of university students, he revels how close to cynicism—and pessimism—many of them actually are.

Students today are not easily taken in; they do not trust readily. But their questions show a depth and an understanding of our world that is lost in the shuffle of cultural cynicism and hopeless pessimism.

Here, G.K. Chesterton makes a significant point: there is a world of difference between sorrow and pessimism. He explains, “Sorrow is founded on the value of something, and pessimism upon the value of nothing.”(1) In terms of hope for the future, this makes all the difference.

I once had breakfast with an atheist who repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence for God—absolutely none. At one point during our meal he told me how much he loves his wife, and painfully recounted the details of her battle with disease. His wife was dying and he could do nothing. After all the intellectual arguments had run into a headstrong willful resistance, I asked him why he loved his wife. He stared at me. “Don’t you see her as a unique woman of intrinsic value to you?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered. “But how can she have such value,” I replied, “if all life is nothing more than chemicals?” Suddenly, the conversation took a turn. As we got up from the table, he said, “You just keep doing what you’re doing in life. You are bringing back common sense into our heads.”

What thoughts occupy my mind as I ponder the world at this present time? Above anything else, I, like the young man from the university, want to believe in hope for the future. I see reason for sorrow, but it is founded on the value of so much. Hope, like character, takes years to build and minutes to shatter. But friends, hope, like character, can also rise beyond the moment to reinvest in what is of ultimate value—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This hope points in cumulative strength to the person and power of a God who is real, and will not let you down.

Ravi Zacharias is founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

(1) G.K. Chesterton, As I Was Saying, Ed. Robert Knille (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 267.

I will guard my ways.  Psalms 39:1

Fellow-pilgrim, do not say in your heart, “I will go here and there, and I will not sin,” for you are never so out of danger of sinning as to boast of security. The road is very muddy; it will be hard to pick your path so as not to soil your garments. This is a dirty world, and you will need to stay alert if you are to keep your hands clean. There is a robber at every turn of the road to rob you of your jewels; there is a temptation in every mercy; there is a snare in every joy; and if you ever reach heaven, it will be a miracle of divine grace to be ascribed entirely to your Father’s power.

Be on your guard. When a man carries fireworks in his hand, he should be careful that he does not go near a candle; and you too must take care that you do not succumb to temptation. Even your everyday activities are sharp-edged tools; you must mind how you handle them.

There is nothing in this world to foster a Christian’s piety, but everything to destroy it. How concerned you should be to look up to God, that He may keep you! Your prayer should be, “Hold me up, and I shall be safe.” Having prayed, you must also watch, guarding every thought, word, and action, with holy jealousy. Do not expose yourselves unnecessarily; but if called to exposure, if you are called to go where the darts are flying, never venture forth without your shield; for if once the devil finds you without your armor, he will rejoice that his hour of triumph is come and will soon make you fall down wounded by his arrows. Although you cannot be killed, you may be wounded.

Be sober-minded; be watchful–danger may befall you at a time when everything seems to be secure. Therefore, pay attention, stay alert, watch and pray. No man ever fell into error through being too watchful. May the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways, so they shall always please the Lord.

The family reading plan for March 14, 2012

Proverbs 1 | 2 Corinthians 13

Genesis 25:29-34

You probably read the story of Jacob and Esau today and thought, I can’t believe Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. How foolish! But let’s think beyond birthrights and soup. Is there anything of true value that you are trading for something of lesser worth? In other words, what is your “bowl of soup”?

Have you pursued wealth and a career at the expense of family? Maybe your busy schedule has kept you from spending time with God in His Word each day. Some people become involved in extramarital affairs, trading the well-being of their family for the satisfaction of lustful desires. Others sacrifice their health by consuming harmful or addictive substances, or even by overindulging in food. The list of ways we make foolish, shortsighted choices is endless.

Some of the decisions we make today could rob us of the blessings God wants to give us. When you yield to temptation in a moment of weakness, you’re actually sacrificing your future for momentary pleasure. We can’t afford to live thoughtlessly, basing our decisions on immediate desires or feelings. Since the principle of sowing and reaping cannot be reversed, we need to carefully consider what we are planting. The harvest will come, and we’ll reap what we have sown–and more than we’ve sown.

Are you contemplating anything that could have serious long-term ramifications if you yield to the yearning? A wise person evaluates choices by looking ahead to see what negative consequences could follow a course of action. Don’t let “a bowl of soup” hinder God’s wonderful plans for you

The life and ministry of Jesus—his birth, his life and death, his resurrection and ascension—are all echoed in the celebrations and seasons of the church year. For the Christian, preparations are made for his coming during the season of Advent. Anticipation is garnered for the triumphant entry of God into the world in Jesus on Christmas Day, while the season of Epiphany unfolds further glimpses of his life and ministry. Each season of the church year is filled with expectation, discovery, and hope.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. And unlike Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, Lent is a solemn season for the Christian. As part of the Ash Wednesday worship service, ashes are imposed on one’s forehead in the pattern of a cross. The imposed ashes are from the previous year’s Palm Sunday fronds—fronds reminiscent of those waved triumphantly as Jesus entered Jerusalem on his way to Golgotha. The Jews believed he entered the city as the coming King; they did not yet understand he would reign through suffering and death.

These ashes remind us of our common destiny: “From dust you come and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). For the Christian, the Lenten season is also meant to remind us of our common mission to walk the path with Jesus toward death. It invites us to lose our lives in order to find them anew, resurrected with Jesus on Easter morning.

Whether or not one actively observes Lent, the season can serve as an invitation to evaluate our own lives and to examine the invitation of Jesus to die with him. We can enter this deathly contemplation with the anticipation of resurrection on Easter morning. But Christ’s path to resurrection is the path of laying down lives, the path of relinquishment, and the path of self-denial. This path feels entirely unnatural, for it takes us in the opposite direction of self-preservation.

Yet, Jesus said that if anyone wants to follow him, if anyone really wants the kind of life he offers, the kind of life he modeled for us in his own, then they must deny themselves, take up the cross and follow him. Following Jesus will lead us all to the cross, and will lead us all to the place of death. For the Christian, this is the downward journey of Lent. “From dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.” Of course, regardless of the gods we follow, we all share in this destiny; like Jesus, we, too, will die. The pressing question, in light of this common destiny, is how shall we now live? How shall my life today respond to the reality of death and the invitation of life?

The life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer provides an illustration of one answer to this question.(1) Bonhoeffer grew up in a home full of privilege and status. His father, a prominent psychiatrist, provided the best of what life had to offer. Bonhoeffer attended the finest university, and took a year before his ordination to study in the United States. His life was filled with promise and potential.

Yet, this life seemingly marked for success, would be marred by loss and suffering. He lost one brother in World War I and he would lose another in World War II. He eventually would be arrested by the Nazi regime for aiding Jews to safety. And while he embraced the risk of peace and dared to love in the face of one’s enemies, he would be implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler and executed at the age of 38.

In fact, it was not until after his death that Bonhoeffer’s ministry and influence had its most potent force. Many are now familiar with his books The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together. He has been a theologian of immense influence, not just for students of theology, not simply for Christians yearning to grow in their understanding of discipleship, but for a watching a world full of questions about injustice and suffering. In his letters and papers published posthumously, Bonhoeffer argued that the will of God and the way of discipleship would not always lead to self-preservation or advancement. The will of God involves giving our lives for the sake of others (which Bonhoeffer believed would be the case for his action against Hitler).  He wrote, “Christ’s vicarious deeds and particularly his death on our behalf, become in turn the principle and model of the self-sacrifice that makes community possible… [T]he church is the church only when it exists for others.”(2)

Following the downward path of Jesus can lead to a renewed, hopeful, and restored vision of life for anyone. For as we embrace our inevitable deaths and declines, as we embrace the downward path, we have the opportunity to let go of the false things we think make up our lives. We let go of thinking that the accumulation of wealth, power, and resources make up a good life; we let go of thinking that busyness makes us important; we let go of thinking that our personal safety and security are to be preserved at all cost. And as we let go, we can embrace those who make life fullest, we can put others’ interests before our own, and exist for the sake of others. And what is done on behalf of others for the sake of Christ will indeed endure beyond our deaths.

The season of Lent is the season of dust and ashes. It is the journey toward one man’s death on a cross and toward our own. Bonhoeffer understood this as he wrote from his prison cell, and Jesus understood this as he bore the weight of suffering, misunderstanding, shame, and death at Golgotha. The way to resurrection life is not by saving our lives, but in losing them. Whether one observes Lent or not, the call to “take up our crosses” is issued to all.

Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington. 
(1) Biographical information on Dietrich Bonhoeffer excerpted from Martin Doblmeier interviewed on Speaking of Faith, Feb. 2, 2006.  Doblmeier produced the 2003 documentary, Bonhoeffer, broadcast on PBS.
(2) Dietrich Bonhoffer, A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,edited by Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson (New York: HarperCollins, 1995), 343.

Genesis 8:9

Tired out by her wanderings, the dove finally returns to the ark as her only resting place. How heavily she flies–she will drop–she will never reach the ark! But she struggles on.

Noah has been looking out for his dove all day long and is ready to receive her. She has just enough strength to reach the edge of the ark; she can hardly alight upon it and is ready to drop when Noah puts forth his hand and pulls her in unto him.

Note that: “brought her into the ark with him.” She did not fly right in herself, because she was too fearful or too weary to do so. She flew as far as she could, and then he put out his hand and pulled her in with him.

This act of mercy was shown to the wandering dove, and she was not scolded for her wanderings. Just as she was, she was pulled into the ark.

So you, seeking sinner, with all your sin, will be received. “Only return”–those are God’s two gracious words–“only return.”

What! Nothing else? No; “only return.” She had no olive branch in her mouth this time, nothing at all but just herself and her wanderings; but it is “only return,” and she does return, and Noah pulls her in.

Wanderer, fly, fainting one; fly, dove, as you are. Though you imagine yourself to be as black as the raven with the filth of sin, come back to the Savior. Every moment you delay increases your misery; your attempts to plume yourself and make yourself fit for Jesus are all vanity. Come to Him just as you are. If you are running and hiding from God, then return as a backslider with all your backslidings about you.

Return, return, return! Jesus is waiting for you! He will stretch forth His hand and pull you in–into Himself, your heart’s true home.

The family reading plan for March 13, 2012

Job 42 | 2 Corinthians 12

Ephesians 3:14-21

Have you ever wondered if you are a “whole person”? We all have struggles in life that could make us feel incomplete, but the apostle Paul says we can be “filled up to all the fullness of God” (v. 19). What does that look like?

A “whole person” is generally satisfied with life. He feels loved and is able to love others in return. Difficulties and hardships don’t devastate him, because he is able to go through them with confidence in God. He isn’t a complainer or someone who is quick to blame others. A positive attitude guards his mind since he knows that the Lord will work everything out for good (Rom. 8:28).

Being a Christian doesn’t automatically make us feel complete. Fullness comes only when we experience God’s love for us. For many years, I knew theologically that the Lord loved me. I even preached about it, but I didn’t really feel it. Only after I took a deep look at my life and started dealing with events that had fractured my soul in childhood did I begin to experience His love in an intimate way. Once I felt the security of His love for me, I discovered great joy in walking in obedience to His will. The reason was that I knew I could trust Him to meet all my needs in His time and way.

Do you feel God’s love, or is it just a biblical fact to you? If you long for wholeness, the key is to experience an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. This is possible only when you’re willing to open up and let the Lord search your heart. He’ll reveal what’s holding you back from accepting His love.

There is a part of me that feels the twinge of being scolded whenever my name is spoken to me. “Jill, what are you doing?” “Hurry, Jill, we need to go.” (Perhaps those of us that share this idiosyncrasy got in trouble a lot as kids.) But I have often wondered how Peter felt when Jesus’s scathing rebuke confronted not “Peter,” which would have yet had its sting, but “Satan.”

In those days, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law. He began to explain to those who loved him that he would be put to death. Peter, like most of us reacting to the suffering of our loved ones, swore to protect him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” I can only imagine his shock at Jesus’s response. Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”(1)

I cannot read that story without picturing my own reaction to those words. I probably would have been devastated. But I also know that when Jesus seems to say something devastating I should probably pay attention all the more. The intensity of his reaction to Peter portrays the intensity with which he knew he had to suffer, the weight of history, prophecy, and purpose he felt on his soldiers, and his severe understanding of the world’s need for his affliction. To get in the way of his necessary suffering, a refrain uttered repeatedly in the gospel accounts and especially by Luke, was to be as an enemy obstructing the plan of God.

As I look at Peter standing before Christ with good intentions, not wanting to see the one he loved broken or defeated, I wonder how many times I, too, have obstructed suffering God deemed necessary for reasons I do not understand. My gut reaction in the face of pain—my own and others—is to make it stop. Like Peter I vow to fix it, not knowing what I mean, just wanting it gone. Yet in the midst of suffering, Jesus says, we can have in mind the things of humanity or the things of God. This is not to say that Jesus wants us to suffer. On the contrary his own suffering is an attempt to put out the sting of suffering and death.

But the Christian understanding of suffering is forged at the foot of the cross. At the cross, we are reminded that God’s purpose will not ignore suffering but will confront it fully and personally and painfully. Christ was wounded and crushed for our iniquities. By the suffering and shame he endured, we are offered a balm for our own mortal wounds. Can God not also have a plan for our own pain?

As one theologian notes, “Jesus did not die in order to spare us the indignities of a wounded creation. He died that we might see those wounds as our own.”(2) At the cross, we see our sin and the suffering that we have caused because of it. But we also find meaning even in suffering that doesn’t come as a direct result of our sin. We see, as Paul observed, that suffering can mysteriously move us, that in its injustice God weeps with us, and that what was meant for ill God can move for good. We see that Christ who suffered for us, so walks with us in our own suffering. “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ” wrote one disciple who suffered much. At the cross, we see that some suffering is not only necessary but meaningful.

Peter not only picked himself up from a rebuke more severe than anything he heard Jesus give the Pharisees, he took Jesus’s words to heart. In a letter meant to encourage fellow believers, he wrote, “It is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.” Having witnessed the unimaginable suffering of one he loved in a most scandalous, unthinkable way, Peter saw the mysterious gift of somehow keeping in mind not the gut reactions of humankind, but the strange and wonderful ways of God.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

 (1) Matthew 16:23.
(2) Peter Gomes, Sermons (New York: Morrow, 1998), 72.
(3) 1 Peter 2:19.

To whom do you belong?

1 Samuel 30:13

In the life of faith, neutrality is not an option. We are either ranked under the banner of the Lord Jesus, to serve and fight His battles, or we are slaves of the dark prince, Satan. “To whom do you belong?”

Reader, let me assist you in your response. Have you been “born again”? If you have, you belong to Christ; but without the new birth you cannot be His. In whom do you trust? For those who believe in Jesus are the sons of God. Whose work are you doing? You are sure to serve your master, for he whom you serve is thereby owned to be your lord. What company do you keep? If you belong to Jesus, you will keep company with those who wear the uniform of the cross. “Birds of a feather flock together.” What is your conversation? Is it heavenly or is it earthly? What have you learned from your Master? For servants learn a great deal from the masters to whom they are apprenticed. If you have served your time with Jesus, it will be said of you, as it was of Peter and John, “they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”2

We press the question, “To whom do you belong?” Answer honestly before you fall asleep for the night. If you are not Christ’s, you are in a hard service–run away from your cruel master! Enter into the service of the Lord of Love, and you will enjoy a life of blessedness.

If you are Christ’s, let me advise you to do four things. You belong to Jesus–obey Him; let His word be your law; let His wish be your will. You belong to the Beloved; then love Him; let your heart embrace Him; let your whole soul be filled with Him. You belong to the Son of God; then trust him; rest on nothing or no one but on Him. You belong to the King of kings; then be decided for Him. Thus even without being marked with a sign everyone will know to whom you belong.

2 Acts 4:14

The family reading plan for March 12, 2012

Job 41 | 2 Corinthians 11

John 4:7-30

Take an honest look at your life. Do you feel whole and complete, or is there the sense that something’s missing? If you’re aware of an emptiness, what are you using to try and fill that void? Is it relationships with family and friends? Or have you opted for achievements, hoping they will bring a sense of significance? Maybe you use a substance or activity of some kind to deaden the need or to bring temporary comfort.

Jesus met a woman with just such an empty place in her soul. She was longing for love but had been repeatedly rejected. In those days, a man could divorce his wife simply because she displeased him in some way. The Samaritan woman had gone through this rejection five times and was now seeking to fill up her soul with a man who wasn’t her husband.

She probably tried to cover up her emptiness so those around her wouldn’t see her hurt, but when Jesus met her at the well and told her all that she had done, her days of hiding were over. She had finally found the only One who could bring wholeness to her life. Before you can fill the emptiness in your soul, you, too, must let Christ’s piercing gaze penetrate into the depths of your heart and reveal the root cause of your incompleteness.

We were created for God. All other pursuits are inadequate substitutes and will never bring the lasting satisfaction we are seeking. Life has a way of beating us down, leaving us empty and disillusioned. But when we allow Christ unrestricted access to our hearts, He fills us up with His unfailing love

Man . . . is few of days and full of trouble. Job 14:1 It may be of great service to us, before we fall asleep, to remember this mournful fact, for it may lead us to hold lightly to earthly things. There is nothing very pleasant in the recollection that we are not above the arrows of adversity, but it may humble us and prevent us from boasting like the psalmist that our mountain stands firm, that we shall never be moved. It may prevent us from making our roots too deep in this soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us keep in mind the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodman’s axe, we will not be so ready to build our nests in them. We should love, but we should love with the love that expects death, and that reckons upon separations. Our dear relations are simply loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender’s hand may be sooner than we think. This is also true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? Our health is equally precarious. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming forever. There is a time appointed for weakness and sickness, when we will have to glorify God by suffering and not by earnest activity. There is no single point in which we can hope to escape from the sharp arrows of affliction; out of our few days there is not one secure from sorrow. Man’s life is a cask full of bitter wine; he who looks for joy in it would be better looking for honey in a salty ocean. Beloved reader, do not set your affections upon things of earth, but seek those things that are above, for here the moth devours, and the thief steals, but there all joys are perpetual and eternal. The path of trouble is the way home. Lord, make this thought a pillow for many a weary head!

The family reading plan for

March 10, 2012 Job 39 | 2 Corinthians 9