Monthly Archives: November 2012

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The Power of a Discerning Spirit

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Hebrews 5:11-14

In a world filled with endless sources of information and opinions, believers need to develop a discerning spirit. Otherwise, how will we know what is true? Much of what we see and hear is based on a worldly perspective that is influenced by Satan, the Father of Lies. Deception is found even in the religious realm: cults mix lies with enough truth to make some people consider them legitimate Christian institutions.

The only way believers can guard against deception is to ground themselves in God’s Word. The more time you spend filling your mind with the Lord’s thoughts, the more discerning you will be. However, just knowing biblical truth isn’t enough. You must put what you learn into practice so that it becomes more than head knowledge.

The goal is to let God’s Word become such an integral part of your thinking that it guides all your decisions. Even if the situation you’re facing isn’t specifically addressed in the Bible, scriptural principles provide the needed wisdom for every choice. In addition, the Holy Spirit was given to each believer as a Helper, whose job is to guide you into all the truth (John 14:26; 16:13). However, your responsibility is to put God’s Word into your mind so that He can bring it to your remembrance. If you neglect the Word, you’ll lack discernment.

What are you allowing into your mind? Is Scripture high in your priorities? Unless you’re careful, worldly thinking will overpower spiritual discernment. It’s difficult to keep God’s perspective in the forefront if you spend two or three hours in front of the television and only ten minutes in the Bible.

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Return to What?

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The moment was electric with emotion. Before this group of two to three million people lay the waters of the Red Sea. Behind them rose the spiraling dust from the hoofs and chariots of their former slave-masters, the Egyptians.(1) There was no way to go forward. No way to slip out into oblivion. As they faced their moment of challenge, they discovered there was room to go in one only direction—backwards!

Have you lately been tempted to go backwards? Perhaps to the “good ole days” when the prices were lower, the journeys were shorter, the trousers were longer, the weather was better, the pressure was lesser, the currency was stronger, the youth were kinder, the music was softer, and the world was safer? The human mind has this amazing ability to forget what we are meant to remember and remember what we are meant to forget. The Israelites were no exception. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?  It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:11-12). As someone rightly said, “It took one night for God to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took forty years to take Egypt out of Israel!”

Some years ago, my wife Miriam and I met with a young person who came from a home that was not Christian. She had made her commitment to following Christ and was facing pressure from her loved ones to give up that faith. One day while under much pressure, she said, “I even considered their persuasions for a while in my mind, but the question I could not answer was this one: ‘To whom else can I go after knowing the Lord Jesus?’ Go back, yes, but to whom or to what?” In her reflection lies a very critical point of uniqueness. To this young person, no other love-claim would be as real as the one Jesus makes. No other truth as reliable and no other offer of meaning comparable.

Return. Go back. But “to whom or to what?” reads the telltale sign on that dead-end road!

In fact, the key word in the book of Hosea is “return.” The prophet uses the word 22 times in his prophecy. The people of Israel were to seriously consider the admonition, “Come let us return to the Lord” (Hosea 6:1).

Likewise, as the Israelites stood at the edge of the Red Sea one must not forget that they were a generation that had witnessed the ten powerful plagues that befell Egypt. They were the very people to whom the Lord had spoken in the words of Moses:  ”I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:6-7). They were also the very people whose firstborns were spared on the night of the Passover and who were being led in the wilderness by the Lord himself who had revealed himself in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Isn’t it strange how memory works! They stood between the waters of the Red Sea and the approaching army with so rich a faith experience and yet conceded that life in Egypt was a better deal. One wonders how they could forget the long years of captivity and the burdens of being bonded laborers under the Egyptians.

Yet by contrast, isn’t it strange how God works? God took no offence. God did not disappear. God did not pour down judgment. Instead, God stood by an ungrateful people. All because it is not in God’s nature to forget a promise. And wonderfully, there was one man who believed as he raised his staff over the waters of the mighty sea.

Did Moses know how God would deal with the laws of the physical world when he raised his staff over the sea? Did Joshua know how God would work beyond the imaginings of architecture when they marched around Jericho? Did Daniel know how God would deal with the natural instincts of lions as he was lowered into the den? No they didn’t. All they knew was their God. Today also, those who know God live not by explanations, but by promises.

Arun Andrews is a member of the speak team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bangalore, India.

(1) Although there is no record of the precise number that left Egypt in the Exodus, a military census taken not long after listed the number of men twenty years of age and older who could serve in the army as 603,550 (Exodus 38:26). From that number, the total Israelite population of that time has been estimated at approximately two to three million.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “The Lord’s portion is his people.” / Deuteronomy 32:9

How are they his? By his own sovereign choice. He chose them, and set his love

upon them. This he did altogether apart from any goodness in them at the time,

or any goodness which he foresaw in them. He had mercy on whom he would have

mercy, and ordained a chosen company unto eternal life; thus, therefore, are

they his by his unconstrained election.

They are not only his by choice, but by purchase. He has bought and paid for

them to the utmost farthing, hence about his title there can be no dispute.

Not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious

blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord’s portion has been fully redeemed.

There is no mortgage on his estate; no suits can be raised by opposing

claimants, the price was paid in open court, and the Church is the Lord’s

freehold forever. See the blood-mark upon all the chosen, invisible to human

eye, but known to Christ, for “the Lord knoweth them that are his”; he

forgetteth none of those whom he has redeemed from among men; he counts the

sheep for whom he laid down his life, and remembers well the Church for which

he gave himself.

They are also his by conquest. What a battle he had in us before we would be

won! How long he laid siege to our hearts! How often he sent us terms of

capitulation! but we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against him. Do we

not remember that glorious hour when he carried our hearts by storm? When he

placed his cross against the wall, and scaled our ramparts, planting on our

strongholds the blood-red flag of his omnipotent mercy? Yes, we are, indeed,

the conquered captives of his omnipotent love. Thus chosen, purchased, and

subdued, the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable: we rejoice that

we never can be our own; and we desire, day by day, to do his will, and to

show forth his glory.

 

Evening  “Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.” / Psalm 68:28

It is our wisdom, as well as our necessity, to beseech God continually to

strengthen that which he has wrought in us. It is because of their neglect in

this, that many Christians may blame themselves for those trials and

afflictions of spirit which arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks

to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but

it is also true that many Christians leave open the sluice-gates themselves,

and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness and want of prayer to

their strong Helper. We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the

Preserver of it also. The lamp which was burning in the temple was never

allowed to go out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like

manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and

we can only obtain this from God himself. Foolish virgins we shall prove, if

we do not secure the needed sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world

upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us

Christians must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and

final. Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and

strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead, for it is his own work

of grace which we ask him to strengthen–“that which thou hast wrought for

us.” Think you he will fail to protect and sustain that? Only let your faith

take hold of his strength, and all the powers of darkness, led on by the

master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace.

Why faint when you may be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh!

take your wavering faith and drooping graces to him who can revive and

replenish them, and earnestly pray, “Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast

wrought for us.”

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God’s Power on Our Behalf

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Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.

Psalm 68:28

It is wise, as well as necessary, to beseech God continually to strengthen what He has worked in us. Failure to do so finds many Christians blaming themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit that arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but it is also true that many Christians leave open the floodgates themselves and let in the dreadful deluge as a result of carelessness and lack of prayer to their strong Helper.

We often forget that the Author of our faith must be the Preserver of it also. The lamp that was burning in the temple was never allowed to go out, but it had to be replenished every day with fresh oil; in the same way, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil of grace, and we can only obtain this from God Himself. We will fail if we do not secure the needed sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world upholds it, or it would fall in one tremendous crash. He who made us Christians must maintain us by His Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and final.

So let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead, for it is His own work of grace that we ask Him to strengthen—”the power . . . by which you have worked for us.” Do you think He will fail to protect and provide that? Let your faith simply take hold of His strength, and all the powers of darkness, led by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow over your joy and peace. Why faint when you can be strong? Why suffer defeat when you may conquer? Take your wavering faith and faltering graces to Him who can revive and replenish them, and earnestly pray, “Summon your power, O God . . . by which you have worked for us.”

Family Reading Plan     Amos 4       Psalm 150

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Victory Over Guilt

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John 3:16-17

At times, people are bound by guilt long after the feeling should have been resolved. Some rightly live with it because they refuse to give up the sin that brought it on. Meanwhile, others suffer the weight of false guilt because they harbor shame that doesn’t belong to them. Whatever the root cause of your condemnation, the battle plan remains the same.

Victory over guilt begins with understanding that Jesus took our shame to the cross and paid our penalty. There is no way that we can pay for our own sin. But we do need to honestly identify the source of our guilt and confess before God. That means we agree with His perspective on what we’ve done. In other words, we admit when we’re wrong. Repentance goes a step further: we turn away from the wrong and choose to do right.

Confronting guilt in this way replaces the weight of shame in our heart with peace and joy, which are far lighter and more freeing. And an amazing side effect is that we have wisdom to share. Openness about our past mistakes, resulting consequences, guilt burdens, and forgiveness can reveal the Lord to those in our sphere of influence. Through our witness, God may reach others who need their guilt chains broken.

The battle to overcome guilt is one that should not be delayed. The feeling won’t just go away. Whether your condemnation is true or false, it needs to be dealt with quickly. Stop running, and face the source of your guilt. It’s time to end your captivity and start walking in the joy of God’s blessing.

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Reflections on X

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There are two ways to look at a mirror. This fairly unoriginal thought crossed my mind as I stood before my bathroom mirror focused on the spots I was wiping away, when my gaze suddenly shifted to a dark smudge under my eye. With one hand still cleaning the spots on the mirror, I tried to remove the spot under my eye with the other. It didn’t work; or at least, as I attempted to do both, I didn’t do either job well. You can’t look in a mirror and at a mirror at the same time.

Because the Christian scriptures are compared (among other striking images) to a mirror, the illustration seemed to be one worth contemplating. But instead of being stirred with thoughts and theology, I was caught off guard by the stirring of my own conscience.

Earlier that day, as I was reading a passage I can’t remember now, I thought to myself with a self-assured sigh:  “If only [so-and-so] were reading these verses, they would see their situation more clearly, and the thing they’re completely overlooking.” It is little wonder why I can’t remember the verses; I wasn’t looking in the mirror. My eyes had shifted elsewhere.

Jesus once asked, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” His question at once uncovers a familiar behavior, exposing our tendency to focus on the faults of others while remaining blind to our own. Jesus isolates the motive we disguise as concern—like a sword dividing bone and marrow. It obviously made an impression on the ones who first heard him say it; all four gospel writers make note of Jesus’s words.

In an essay titled “The Trouble With ‘X’”, C.S. Lewis writes candidly of this all too common human trait: the ability to see clearly “X” and “X’s” flaws while having a harder time with our own. “X” is whomever we find in our lives with characteristics that annoy or even grieve us. Each of us can readily name people with traits that keep them in the miserable state they’re in, even as they claim they want out. Or we can easily describe a person who is just generally difficult or moody or dishonest. Lewis’s rejoinder to our ability to state clearly the trouble with the many “X’s” in our lives is similar to Christ’s:  Realize that there are similar flaws in you. There is most certainly something that gives others the same feeling of despair that their flaws give you. Writes Lewis, “You see clearly enough that nothing […] can make ‘X’ really happy as long as ‘X’ remains envious, self-centred, and spiteful.” Be sure, he warns, that there is something also inside of you that, unless given to God to be altered, will remain similarly unscathed and unmoved.

The unique promise of a God who speaks into the world is that chaos is moved to order. Of course, this may mean first that chaos is simply revealed. God speaks and shows us our reflections, exposing the areas we are blind to and piercing our hearts with truth only a mirror can reveal.  But like a mirror, God’s words can also be looked at in more than one way. As I read the Bible that morning, my intentions were good—or at least nearly good—I thought. The verses made me think of someone important to me; a common occurrence, I suspect, amongst us all. Nonetheless, it was a moment like my experience at the bathroom mirror. I had shifted my eyes to someone else’s spots. I was looking to see something other than me. And examining God’s words for someone else is like looking at a mirror and seeing in all the spots a reflection other than your own.

To approach a speaking God with eyes searching and ears listening for everyone but ourselves is to cease to hear and see as God intended. “Anyone who listens to the word,” writes James, “but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (1:23-24). The choice is crucial. Of all the spotted reflections around us, there is only one you can really examine and see changed. Putting ourselves, and our spots, in God’s able hands is the most urgent use of the mirror.

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

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “I will cut off them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham.” / Zephaniah 1:5

Such persons thought themselves safe because they were with both parties: they

went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to Malcham. But

duplicity is abominable with God, and hypocrisy his soul hateth. The idolater

who distinctly gives himself to his false god, has one sin less than he who

brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice unto the temple of the Lord,

while his heart is with the world and the sins thereof. To hold with the hare

and run with the hounds, is a dastard’s policy. In the common matters of daily

life, a double- minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the

last degree. The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it

is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows

the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves

the evil, and gives it dominion in his heart?

 

My soul, search thyself this morning, and see whether thou art guilty of

double-dealing. Thou professest to be a follower of Jesus–dost thou truly

love him? Is thy heart right with God? Art thou of the family of old Father

Honest, or art thou a relative of Mr. By-ends? A name to live is of little

value if I be indeed dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land

of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall

and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe,

and hence there is no room for another god; if, then, he reigns in my heart,

there will be no space for another reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus

crucified, and live alone for him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set

upon so doing? If so, blessed be the mighty grace which has led me to

salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad offence, and unite my heart to

fear thy name.

 

Evening   “And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger

before the firstborn.” / Genesis 29:26

 

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from

the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be

taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The

second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly

country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many

men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in

believing, but they must first be wedded to the tender-eyed Leah of

repentance. Every one falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully

serve twice seven years to enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord’s

kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the

Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second,

and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must

be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his

humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory.

 

My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to break through the

heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or honour without

toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured

things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee for

all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt find bitters grow

sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy years of service will seem unto

thee but a few days for the love thou hast to Jesus; and when the dear hour of

the wedding feast shall come, all thy toils shall be as though they had never

been–an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and labour.

 

Jesus, to win thyself so fair,

 

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

 

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

 

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

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The Heavenly Rule

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Laban said, ‘It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.’

Genesis 29:26

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we are wrong not to learn from the custom that he quoted as his excuse. There are some things that must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favored Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be married to the tender-eyed Leah of repentance. Everyone falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully work for fourteen years to enjoy it; but according to the rule of the Lord’s kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be loved in our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in His humiliation or we will never rest with Him in glory.

My soul, what do you say—are you so vain as to hope to be an exception to the heavenly rule? Do you hope for reward without work, or honor without endeavor? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content with the despised things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will more than repay you. In such a spirit, working and suffering, you will find afflictions grow sweet and hard things easy. Like Jacob, your years of service will seem like only a few days on account of the love you have for Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all your toils will be as though they never happened—an hour with Jesus will make up for years of pain and toil.

 

Jesus, to win Thyself so fair,

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

Family Reading Plan       Amos 3      Psalm 147

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Understanding Guilt

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John 8:1-11

Guilt over doing something that violates the conscience is a normal emotion. However, living under a cloud of remorse for no discernible reason is not. The Lord designed feelings of culpability and regret to serve as a reminder that a person has done wrong and needs to repent. But Satan twists those emotions to imprison men and women: those living in shame are uncertain of God’s love and often lack self-confidence.

Good guilt–the Lord’s effective tool for prompting repentance–is a gift that helps us find the right path. However, the Devil encourages false guilt, which involves taking responsibility for things outside our control and then suffering self-condemnation for not changing the outcome. This unhealthy type of guilt is also a widespread problem for those in legalistic churches or lifestyles–certain behaviors or thoughts are labeled as wrong, and then people feel ashamed for doing or thinking those things.

Self-condemnation stunts a relationship with Jesus. Instead of enjoying the peace of God, people who are trapped by shame fear His rejection and feel driven to prove their worth. Trust is nearly impossible because they are waiting for God’s judgment to rain down. Their guilt even colors how they see themselves: rather than saying, “My action is wrong,” they say, “I am bad.”

Jesus did not come to accuse or condemn us. Christ restored our souls and made us righteous before God so that our guilt is removed. If our Savior forgave the woman caught in an adulterous relationship, just imagine how ready He is to take your shame away too (John 8:11).

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The Faith of Friends

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My friend Sylvia is a paraplegic. She has not been able to use her legs since she was a high school girl. A horrible accident took away her ability to walk or to run, and left her without any discernible feeling in the lower half of her body. Her spine severed, the nerves do not receive the necessary information to register sensation or stimulation.

Prior to her accident, Sylvia was an aspiring athlete. Without the use of her legs, this aspiration would be put on hold, but not permanently. Though she is paralyzed in body, she is not paralyzed in spirit. And she eventually competed in several World Championships and in the Paralympic Games. Her determination to excel at world-class competitions, despite her injury, and her intention to live a full-life has been an immense inspiration to me.

Sylvia uses a term for people like me who have the use of our legs. We are “TAB’s”—Temporarily Able Bodied. Every day I wake up with a new ache or pain, or I see my stamina waning, I recognize the truth of her naming me a “TAB.” I truly am temporarily able bodied; at some point in my life, I will need assistance in many of my daily tasks.

Sylvia is not one to ask for help; she drives, works at least a forty hour week, and has traveled the world. She has mastered the art of navigating the world in a wheelchair. Yet, there are times when even this accomplished athlete needs some assistance. She is grateful for the technology that has developed excellent, lightweight wheelchairs. She is grateful for friends who can reach for the pan in the high cabinetry when we have gathered for home-cooked meals. And she is grateful when helped out of her wheelchair on the dock to swim in the lake on a beautiful summer day. She welcomes the kind of assistance that develops her abilities in spite of her disability.

While I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be physically paralyzed like my friend Sylvia, I certainly understand the emotional, spiritual, and psychological paralysis that results from trauma or duress. After suffering my own form of paralyzing accident, I experienced a numbing paralysis. While my body functioned, my mind and heart were paralyzed. I could not create any momentum to move me past the questions that imprisoned me or the doubts that bound me. Initiative fled away, drive and determination left me. I was stuck and unable to move. All that had propelled me forward in the past stalled, stopped, and froze. I was immobile.

I know that my emotional, psychological, and spiritual paralysis doesn’t compare to my friend Sylvia’s being a paraplegic. But it did help me understand what it must feel like to lack the freedom I to move and to have a sense of being able.

The gospels are filled with stories about paralytics. But the story that always gets my attention occurs in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus was teaching in Capernaum in a house that was filled to capacity with listeners. There was not any more room for anyone, let alone a paralytic being carried on a cot by four friends. Yet, the crowded house would not deter these determined friends. They were so determined to get their friend to Jesus that they got up onto the roof of the house with their paralyzed friend, removed the portion of the roof above where Jesus was teaching, and lowered their friend down on his pallet.

I’m not sure how the owners of the house felt when part of their roof was removed, but Jesus, the gospel tells us, saw their faith—faith that went to extraordinary lengths to bring their friend to him. As a result of their faith, Jesus declared that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven. To demonstrate his authority to forgive sins, Jesus then heals him and tells him to “rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And immediately, the paralytic jumps up (perhaps for the first time) and went out before everyone so that “they were all amazed and glorified God.”

In periods of paralysis, we are forced to depend on others, perhaps even relying on the faith, courage, and strength of those who see our abilities even through our disability.  Something very beautiful and healing occurs when we allow others to offer us assistance. In my own paralysis, friends gathered around me to help me. They now did the things I could not do any longer. They said the prayers on my behalf; they believed on my behalf. When I slowly began to move again, they held my arms and steadied my legs. I came to experience a kind of healing because of the assistance and help of my friends. Their faith inspired movement in me towards the God who heals. Indeed, those who are willing to carry the cots of their paralyzed friends embody God’s healing love and care.

There will always be times in life that inhibit forward movement—or any movement at all. In those times, we can be thankful for those who help carry us and care for us. And when we are moving along, perhaps with such momentum that we could miss those lying in cots along our path, might that thankfulness bring us to demonstrate the same kind of care and determination as those who carried their friend into the presence of Jesus.

Margaret Manning is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Seattle, Washington.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “The branch cannot bear fruit of itself.” / John 15:4

How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast

yourselves on his great atonement, and rested on his finished righteousness.

Ah! what fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Then indeed the

vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded forth, and

the beds of spices gave forth their smell. Have you declined since then? If

you have, we charge you to remember that time of love, and repent, and do thy

first works. Be most in those engagements which you have experimentally proved

to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from him that all your fruits

proceed. Any holy exercise which will bring you to him will help you to bear

fruit. The sun is, no doubt, a great worker in fruit-creating among the trees

of the orchard: and Jesus is still more so among the trees of his garden of

grace. When have you been the most fruitless? Has not it been when you have

lived farthest from the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have slackened in prayer,

when you have departed from the simplicity of your faith, when your graces

have engrossed your attention instead of your Lord, when you have said, “My

mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved”; and have forgotten where your

strength dwells–has not it been then that your fruit has ceased? Some of us

have been taught that we have nothing out of Christ, by terrible abasements of

heart before the Lord; and when we have seen the utter barrenness and death of

all creature power, we have cried in anguish, “From him all my fruit must be

found, for no fruit can ever come from me.” We are taught, by past experience,

that the more simply we depend upon the grace of God in Christ, and wait upon

the Holy Spirit, the more we shall bring forth fruit unto God. Oh! to trust

Jesus for fruit as well as for life.

 

Evening “Men ought always to pray.” / Luke 18:1

If men ought always to pray and not to faint, much more Christian men. Jesus

has sent his church into the world on the same errand upon which he himself

came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is

the world’s priest? Creation is dumb, but the church is to find a mouth for

it. It is the church’s high privilege to pray with acceptance. The door of

grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed.

The veil was rent for her, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her, God

constantly invites her to ask what she wills. Will she refuse the privilege

which angels might envy her? Is she not the bride of Christ? May she not go in

unto her King at every hour? Shall she allow the precious privilege to be

unused? The church always has need for prayer. There are always some in her

midst who are declining, or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be

prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ’s bosom? the strong, lest they

grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they become despairing. If we kept up

prayer-meetings four-and-twenty hours in the day, all the days in the year, we

might never be without a special subject for supplication. Are we ever without

the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we ever without

those who seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of back-sliders, or

the salvation of the depraved? Nay, with congregations constantly gathering,

with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in

trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of Romanism is

certainly descending; in a world full of idols, cruelties, devilries, if the

church doth not pray, how shall she excuse her base neglect of the commission

of her loving Lord? Let the church be constant in supplication, let every

private believer cast his mite of prayer into the treasury.

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The Church’s Special Privilege

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And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray.    Luke 18:1

Jesus has sent His Church into the world on the same errand upon which He Himself came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the Church is the world’s priest? Creation is dumb, but the Church finds a mouth for it. It is the Church’s high privilege to pray with acceptance. The door of grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed. The curtain was torn for her; the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her; God constantly invites her to bring her requests. Will she refuse the privilege that angels might envy? Is she not the bride of Christ? Can she not approach her King at any hour? Will she allow the precious privilege to be unused?

The Church always needs to pray. There are always some among her who are declining or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ’s bosom; the strong, lest they grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they become despairing. If we kept up prayer-meetings twenty-four hours a day all the days in the year, we might never be without a special subject for supplication.

Is there ever a time when no one is sick or poor or afflicted or wavering? Is there ever a time when we do not seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of backsliders, or the salvation of the lost? With congregations constantly gathering, with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in trespasses and sins—in a country over which the darkness of religious formalism is certainly descending—in a world full of idols, cruelties, devils—if the Church does not pray, how will she excuse her neglect of the commission of her loving Lord? Let the Church be constant in supplication; let every private believer give himself to the ministry of prayer.

Family Reading Plan    Amos 2       Psalm 145

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Victory Over Unforgiveness

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Daniel 6:1-28

Immediately after teaching His followers to pray, Jesus gave a warning about allowing unforgiveness to reside in the heart. He said that those who refuse to forgive others won’t be forgiven by the Father.

Do not misunderstand Jesus’ meaning here. Believers don’t lose their salvation when they refuse to forgive. Rather, they break fellowship with God because their unrepentant attitude gets in the way of regular confession and repentance. The Lord cannot ignore sin, and His Spirit will bring wrong behavior to the believer’s attention until he or she deals with it.

Forgiveness is an act of the will more than an act of the heart. Often people don’t feel like being merciful to someone who has wronged them. But a resentful spirit grows into a terrible burden. The Lord knows that forgiveness is best, even when it is difficult.

You won’t deal with a sin until you see it as God does. So assume full responsibility for your unforgiving attitude, and acknowledge that it is a violation of His Word. Claim the divine mercy He offers, and ask Him to enable you to lay aside anger and resentment against the other person(s). As part of the decision to move forward in grace, make a habit of praying for those who hurt you. And if God so leads, seek their forgiveness for your wrong attitude.

A bitter and resentful spirit doesn’t fit who we are in Christ. Nor is it healthy to carry an angry attitude through life. That’s why Scripture emphasizes the need to forgive. Choose to be liberated from your burden–Jesus promised to make us free when we release our sins to Him (John 8:36).

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Mysterious Exchange

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English mystery writer Agatha Christie is treasured for the detective stories that got her dubbed the “queen of crime.” Waxed moustache and all, Hercule Poirot, the professional sleuth who appears in more than thirty of her books, is considered one of the most enduring characters in fiction. He is remembered as the egotistical Belgian detective who solved multifaceted cases with the help of his “little grey cells”; he is also an amusing source of useful quotations. In one of his meticulous investigations, Poirot tells his sidekick, “There is nothing so dangerous for anyone who has something to hide as conversation! A human being, Hastings, cannot resist the opportunity to reveal himself and express his personality which conversation gives him. Every time he will give himself away.”(1)

If words betray the inmost secrets of our hearts, prayer is the conversation in which hidden things—and the one hiding—are most laid bare (but hardly in the same sense as Poirot imagined). God does not find things revealed as we speak; our words are not inspected for God’s own sake. The conversation is more of a mystery than this. God is the revealer; our own anemic words, God translates to ourselves.

In a poem simply titled “Prayer,” C.S. Lewis explores the mysterious exchange between human hearts and God when we pray.

Master, they say that when I seem

To be in speech with you,

Since you make no replies, it’s all a dream

—One talker aping two.

 

They are half right, but not as they

Imagine; rather, I

Seek in myself the things I meant to say,

And lo! The wells are dry.

 

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake

The Listener’s role, and through

My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake

The thoughts I never knew.

 

And thus you neither need reply

Nor can; thus, while we seem

Two talking, thou are One forever, and I

No dreamer, but thy dream.(2)

 

The Christian story purports a God who not only hears but also speaks on our behalf. Likewise, Paul writes, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.

In prayer, as in a deep well, God probes the depths of us. As we grow in faith and conversation, we learn to put before God what is in us (and not what should be in us), unable to resist the opportunity to reveal ourselves and so be revealed. “God searches the sources of the rivers” said Job, “and brings hidden things to light” (28:11). Hinted at beyond our words are the sources of the rivers within us. Sometimes slowly, sometimes torrentially, these waters God makes known, plunging into areas that have grown stagnant, dredging streams and renewing life within us.

Moving among our words, whether unuttered or expressed, God shows us not only what we mean, but more importantly, the one who gives us meaning. Taking our broken thoughts and fragile lives, God stirs within the prayers of God’s own, searching hearts, revealing what is hidden, and showing us Father, Son, and Spirit.

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

(1) Agatha Christie, The ABC Murders, 1936.

(2) Poems, Ed. Walter Hooper (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1964), 122-123.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning    “The trial of your faith.” / 1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is

likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never

prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her

trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea,

spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a

slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and

let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her

deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of

the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her

desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the

foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten

in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the

desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in

adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own

weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would

never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the

water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more

it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious

too.

 

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have

trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to

you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long

experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of

holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and

you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall

remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

 

Evening    “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray,

and continued all night in prayer to God.” / Luke 6:12

If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our

spotless, perfect Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he!

Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with

him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession

for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for

us–he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps. The time he

chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not

disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour;

and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their

applications to him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed

himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none

would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic

ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit

oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the

groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The

continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too

long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not

darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with

him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer

is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged–prayer was his refuge

and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles–prayer was the

gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from

Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or

contemplate fresh endeavors for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to

pray.

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Christ’s Example

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In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12

If ever a man might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect Lord, and yet no one ever prayed as much as He! His love for His Father was such that He loved to be in communion with Him. His love for His people was such that He desired to be regularly interceding for them.

The fact that Jesus placed such importance on prayer is a lesson for us—He has given us an example that we may follow in His steps. The time He chose was admirable—it was the hour of silence when the crowd would not disturb Him, the time of inaction when everyone else had stopped work, and the season when sleep made men forget their difficulties and stop applying to Him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, He refreshed Himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: And so He was free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills provided a suitable prayer chapel for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended.

The continuance of His pleadings is remarkable: The passing hours were not too long; the cold wind did not chill His devotions; the grim darkness did not cloud His faith or loneliness prevent His persistence. We fail to watch with Him for one hour, but He never fails to watch for us night and day. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after His enemies had been enraged. Prayer was His refuge and solace; it was before He dispatched the twelve apostles. Prayer was the gate of His enterprise, the herald of His new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial or considering new ventures for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

Family Reading Plan        Amos 1       Psalm 144

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The Effects of Unforgiveness

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Matthew 18:21-22

One of the most dangerous things a person can do is to hold onto resentment. Clinging to unforgiveness has far-reaching and often unexpected consequences.

Although bitterness takes root in the mind, it doesn’t stay contained. Acrimony can spread into every aspect of a person’s life. For example, the hostility a man feels toward his father can color his relationship with his wife, his willingness to perform at work, and his involvement in church.

It’s probably not surprising to hear that resentment impacts the mind and spirit, but you may not have realized what a physical toll it can also take on us. An attitude of bitterness ratchets up tension and anxiety, which can affect everything from muscles to chemical balance in the brain. Over time, that kind of mayhem weakens the body.

Because unforgiveness is a violation of God’s law, it also causes spiritual turmoil that hinders a believer’s growth. Prayer is stifled because of harbored sin that should be confessed. And worship is dry and hypocritical because it’s difficult to effectively honor the Lord while trying to justify or hide a wrong attitude. What’s more, a resentful person’s witness is damaged, as others are prevented from seeing God’s glory shining through him.

Forgiving someone means giving up resentment and the right to get even with him or her, even though you were wronged. God insisted this was the only way to go through life. One reason He commands us to forego hostility and vengeance is that these things cause so much damage to our own lives.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “The eternal God is thy refuge.” / Deuteronomy 33:27

The word refuge may be translated “mansion,” or “abiding- place,” which gives

the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fulness and sweetness

in the metaphor, for dear to our hearts is our home, although it be the

humblest cottage, or the scantiest garret; and dearer far is our blessed God,

in whom we live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel

safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with

our God we “fear no evil.” He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge.

At home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and

toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life’s

conflict, we turn to him, and our soul dwells at ease. At home, also, we let

our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words

being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can commune freely with him,

laying open all our hidden desires; for if the “secret of the Lord is with

them that fear him,” the secrets of them that fear him ought to be, and must

be, with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest

happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We

have joy in him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we

work and labour. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden,

and quickens the fingers to perform the task; and in this sense we may also

say that God is our home. Love to him strengthens us. We think of him in the

person of his dear Son; and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer

constrains us to labour in his cause. We feel that we must work, for we have

brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father’s heart to make glad by

bringing home his wandering sons; we would fill with holy mirth the sacred

family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have thus the God of Jacob for

their refuge!

 

Evening  “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master.” / Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant

to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the

treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions

followed, his perfections worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; “He

was despised and rejected of men.” Outside the camp was his place:

cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him solace and rest?

“Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man

hath not where to lay his head.” This inhospitable country afforded him no

shelter: it cast him out and crucified him. Such–if you are a follower of

Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation–you must

expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward

development, comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they

treated the Saviour–they will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will

admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more

peaceably people will act towards you. They prized not the polished gem, how

should they value the jewel in the rough? “If they have called the Master of

the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” If

we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It were a

sad dishonour to a child of God to be the world’s favourite. It is a very ill

omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the

Christian man. He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he

has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let

us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world

which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor

where our Lord found a coronet of thorns.

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Expect Persecution

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It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher.   Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would not be proper for the pupil to be exalted above his Teacher. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfections worshiped by those whom He came to bless? No. “He was despised and rejected by men.”1 His place was outside the city: Cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world provide Him with comfort and rest? “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.”2 This inhospitable country provided Him no shelter: It cast Him out and crucified Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus and maintain a consistent, Christlike walk and behavior, you must expect to experience persecution and rejection also. Your Christian testimony will be scrutinized and criticized. People will treat it as they treated the Savior—they will despise it. Do not imagine that pagans will admire you or that the more holy and the more Christlike you are, the more peaceably people will act toward you. If they did not prize the polished gem, do you think that they will esteem the rough cut jewel? If they have referred to Jesus as Satan, how much more will they denigrate the teacher’s disciples? If we were more like Christ, we would be more hated by His enemies.

It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very bad omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character and wonder whether he has been doing wrong when the unrighteous give him their approval. Let us be true to our Master and have no friendship with a blind and base world that scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found only a crown of thorns.

1Isaiah 53:3 2Matthew 8:20

Family Reading Plan    Joel 2       Psalm 142

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Causes of Rebellion

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Romans 12:5-7

In God’s eyes, anyone who sins is rebellious. And Romans 3:23 tells us we all are guilty. Now, it makes sense that an unbeliever would choose to act apart from biblical teaching. But what about those of us who have committed our life to follow Christ–what would cause us to stray from our heavenly Father’s will?

There are two powerful human tendencies that lead to disobedience: doubt and pride. Both can be dangerously misleading.

Doubt is a mental struggle over whether or not to believe God’s promises. From our limited perspective, we cannot understand how God works. Sometimes His way does not feel like the right path, so in order to obey, we must step out in faith. Then it can feel as though we are jumping off a cliff and trusting God’s invisible rope to hold us. If we listen to our doubt, we will surely transgress.

Pride is the sin that caused Satan to fall from heaven, and it is a deceptive obstacle for believers as well. Pride has to do with thinking that our way is best, putting more faith in our ability than God’s promises, and desiring praise. Anything we do out of pride is rebellion against the Lord.

Whatever the cause, sin leads to death. God’s way is the only road resulting in fulfillment, peace, and life.

The Enemy wants to lure us with doubt and pride: both feel right and are easily justifiable from our human perspective. But believers should follow Joshua’s wisdom instead: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).