Monthly Archives: December 2012

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The Humiliation of Christ – John MacArthur

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“We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

Jesus’ death on the cross was not easy or costless–it was a horrific death. It was not calm and peaceful; it was accompanied by outward torture and inward agony. The death He tasted was the curse of sin. In a few hours on that cross, He suffered the total agony of every soul for all eternity. He was guilty of no sin, yet He chose to suffer the weight of all sins committed for all time.

God sent His Son, and His Son willingly came to die to redeem mankind. Paul writes, “When the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law” (Gal. 4:4-5).

Only by tasting death as a man could He free mankind from death. Historically, kings have had someone taste their food and drink before they consumed it. Christ drained to the dregs the cup of poison rightfully meant for us before it could ever touch our lips. He substituted His death for ours, releasing us from the deadness of sin to life with God.

What moved Jesus to suffer for us? Grace. What we did not deserve (salvation) we received, and what we did deserve (death) we did not receive. Unbounded love prompted Christ’s gracious work on our behalf: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

After He accomplished the work of His substitutionary death, He was “crowned with glory and honor” and exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He will reign forever and ever. He is our great Substitute, whom we can thank and praise throughout all eternity.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Ask God to give you opportunities to communicate the gospel to new people, even if you might suffer in the process.

For Further Study:  Read Isaiah 52:13–53:12 to understand what the God of the universe had to endure at the hands of men.

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Benefits of God’s Greatest Gift – Charles Stanley

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Matthew 27:51

On Christmas, we think of a newborn in a manger, perhaps with a halo surrounding his head. This sweet image is certainly meaningful to us. But it has become so commonplace in our culture that we tend to miss the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice and the amazing implications for us.

As we saw yesterday, salvation and an eternal home are two wonderful privileges that come to us through God’s gift of His Son. Now let’s look at three more.

We have a personal relationship with the omniscient and omnipresent God. He is the Good Shepherd, who cares for us individually, unconditionally, and with great passion. He will do whatever it takes to keep us close to Him; no matter how we sin, He will never disown us. What security and value we have because of His great love!

Jesus says that He is our faithful, trustworthy friend, available at all times, whether in seasons of heartache or rejoicing. The Lord offers the type of intimate relationship that we all long to have. And only He can fill our void in a truly lasting, satisfying way.

The moment we are saved, God gives us another gift: His Holy Spirit indwells each believer, counseling, teaching, and enabling us to do His Will. He will never leave us and, in fact, will one day accompany us to heaven.

God is our Shepherd, Friend, and indwelling Teacher. His gift of redemption allows us to live abundantly now and also promises eternity in His presence. Take the time to explore some of the countless benefits of His gift so you can enjoy and be grateful for all the blessings we have in Jesus.

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Insane or In Person? – Ravi Zacharias

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“I’m inclined to suspect that there are very few atheists in prison,” notes Richard Dawkins.(1) In his book The God Delusion, the Oxford biologist sets forth the staggering estimation that post-Christian secular societies are far more moral than societies that operate from a religious foundation. He recounts the horrors carried out in the name of God, moving past the monstrosities of the 20th century at the hands of atheist regimes by claiming their atheism had nothing to do with their behavior. When it comes to behaving ethically, he is insistent that believers are worse than atheists.

British statesman Roy Hattersley, himself a fellow atheist, disagrees. In an article published some time after Hurricane Katrina hit U.S. shores, Hattersley makes some observations about the kind of people doing disaster work long after the disaster has been forgotten. “Notable by their absence are teams from rationalist societies, free thinkers’ clubs and atheists’ associations—the sort of people who not only scoff at religion’s intellectual absurdity but also regard it as a positive force for evil.”(2) His words are bold, even if strewn with typical condescension. He continues:

“Civilised people do not believe that drug addiction and male prostitution offend against divine ordinance. But those who do are the men and women most willing to change the fetid bandages, replace the sodden sleeping bags and—probably most difficult of all—argue, without a trace of impatience, that the time has come for some serious medical treatment.”

Those who confess the truthfulness of Christianity—and so choose to embody its message—have confounded the world for ages. Throughout the second century there emerged a great number of rumors regarding the curious beliefs and practices of Christians. After all, the leader these people claimed to follow was a criminal executed by Roman authorities. There was thus a great deal of suspicion surrounding the motives and behavior of Christians. Why would anyone follow a man who had been crucified? Why would they choose to die rather than renounce their faith? Why would they treat those who hate them with kindness?

A Greek philosopher and opponent of Christianity named Celsus was particularly convinced that Christians were, in fact, insane. The Nativity story, the Incarnation of God in Christ, among other things, seemed to him completely irrational. “What could be the purpose of such a visit to earth by God? To find out what is taking place among humans? Does He not know everything? Or is it perhaps that He knows, but is incapable of doing anything about evil unless He does it in person?”(3)

Similarly buried under insult, Celsus nonetheless had his finger on the very quality of Christianity that makes Christians as curious as the philosophy they profess:  Their God came in person. In fact, they profess, as Celsus claims, God had to come near; though not because God couldn’t speak to us otherwise nor because God was incapable of touching the world from afar. As a Father who longs to gather his children together, God came near because each child matters. God comes to earth—God comes in person, in body, in flesh—because bodies matter, because the Father longs to be near, because one lost, or one hurting, or one in need was one God would not ignore. Insanely in fact, God comes near enough to lay down his life for each of these reasons.

Christmas is about remembering the one who came in person. It is this God who came near and reordered the world, calling us to see life and each other in startling new ways. It is this God who stepped into an ordinary stable to show us God in the ordinary, who touched the unclean and claimed the untouched, whose broken body is given again and again for broken bodies that we might be whole. Our morality, our countenance, our lives are wrought by his coming among us. In each ordinary moment, forgotten victim, and broken soul and body we see the face of God because God first saw us.

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

(1) Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006), 229.

(2) Roy Hattersley, “Faith Does Breed Charity,” The Guardian, September 12, 2005.

(3) As quoted by Origen in the apology Against Celsus.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “The last Adam.” / 1 Corinthians 15:45

Jesus is the federal head of his elect. As in Adam, every heir of flesh and

blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and

representative of the race as considered under the law of works; so under the

law of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since he

is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new

covenant of love. The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of

Abraham when Melchizedek met him: it is a certain truth that the believer was

in the loins of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in old eternity the covenant

settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure forever. Thus,

whatever Christ hath done, he hath wrought for the whole body of his Church.

We were crucified in him and buried with him (read Col. 2:10-13), and to make

it still more wonderful, we are risen with him and even ascended with him to

the seats on high (Eph. 2:6). It is thus that the Church has fulfilled the

law, and is “accepted in the beloved.” It is thus that she is regarded with

complacency by the just Jehovah, for he views her in Jesus, and does not look

upon her as separate from her covenant head. As the Anointed Redeemer of

Israel, Christ Jesus has nothing distinct from his Church, but all that he has

he holds for her. Adam’s righteousness was ours so long as he maintained it,

and his sin was ours the moment that he committed it; and in the same manner,

all that the Second Adam is or does, is ours as well as his, seeing that he is

our representative. Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This

gracious system of representation and substitution, which moved Justin Martyr

to cry out, “O blessed change, O sweet permutation!” this is the very

groundwork of the gospel of our salvation, and is to be received with strong

faith and rapturous joy.

 

Evening   “Lo, I am with you alway.” / Matthew 28:20

The Lord Jesus is in the midst of his church; he walketh among the golden

candlesticks; his promise is, “Lo, I am with you alway.” He is as surely with

us now as he was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire,

and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus

is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes

inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there

is nothing like the presence of Jesus! A glimpse of him so overcomes us, that

we are ready to say, “Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome

me.” Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop

from his perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let

there be but a moment’s leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a

reception of his divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no

longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every labour, and capable of every

suffering. If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed,

and every grace will be strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the

Lord’s service with heart, and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence

of Christ to be desired above all things. His presence will be most realized

by those who are most like him. If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in

conformity to him. Bring yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with

Christ’s desires, and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be

favoured with his company. Remember his presence may be had. His promise is as

true as ever. He delights to be with us. If he doth not come, it is because we

hinder him by our indifference. He will reveal himself to our earnest prayers,

and graciously suffer himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our

tears, for these are the golden chains which bind Jesus to his people.

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Born to Die – John MacArthur

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“We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

At this time of year, it is difficult for us to see Jesus other than as a little baby. We of course know why He came, but we usually focus on His death on the cross at another time of year. But we must never forget that He came to die.

Those soft baby hands fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb were made to have two great nails hammered through them. Those little chubby feet were to walk up a hill and be nailed to a cross. That sacred head was made to wear a crown of thorns. His tender body wrapped in swaddling clothes would be pierced by a spear to reveal a broken heart. The death of Christ was no accident; He was born to die.

Jesus died to remove the curse so we could regain our dominion. But to do that, He had to come as a man. Even though in doing so He temporarily became lower than the angels, He accomplished something no angel could: our restoration.

The first and foremost reason for the incarnation is that Christ might taste death on behalf of every man and woman. He came to die in our place–to be our substitute. God had two options: Either let us die and pay for our own sins, or allow a substitute to take our punishment and die in our place. He mercifully chose the latter.

It is vital that we affirm the fact of Christ’s substitutionary death because modern liberal theology claims Jesus died merely as an example, like a martyr dying for some cause. But He died as a substitute for you and me. As a result He freed us to live for and with God. Rejoice that the creator of angels, the Lord of hosts, would become lower than His creation for our sakes.

Suggestion for Prayer:   Thank the Lord for His willingness to humble Himself to become a man to save you.

For Further Study:  Read Psalm 22 and note which verses prophesy Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

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What God Can Do – Greg Laurie

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He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.— Colossians 1:13

Our society doesn’t really have answers for all the problems we are facing in our country today. Ironically, our society seems to do everything it can to undermine the only one who can help us, and that is Jesus Christ.

There are people caught in our legal system as repeat offenders. There are judges who make the wrong decisions. There is the breakdown of the family. And all of these elements combined produce a society that can do very little to change a person’s heart, if anything at all. Rehabilitation efforts largely fail. In fact, the only real programs that seem to produce lasting change are faith-based, and more specifically, are being operated by Christians who are calling people to faith in Jesus Christ. Society doesn’t have the answers.

Jesus met two men whose lives had been controlled and ruined by Satan. Society didn’t have the answers. Enter the Savior, Jesus. What did He do? He sought them out in their graveyard and offered them hope. In fact, Luke’s account of the story tells us what happened to one of the men who was delivered: “Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid” (Luke 8:35). Why were people afraid? They didn’t know what to make of it. He was so transformed it frightened the people. They couldn’t even imagine a guy like him could be changed in such a dramatic way.

It is such a glorious thing when Christ so transforms someone that you can’t even imagine that person being what he or she used to be. You realize that it is the power of a changed life. And that is what God can do.

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The Greatest Gift of All – Charles Stanley

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John 3:15-21

Even children understand that unless a present is opened and explored, its value will remain unknown. Yet many people neglect “unwrapping” God’s gift of salvation through Jesus. They receive His forgiveness but fail to discover the marvelous treasures made available to them as children of God.

When God the Son came to dwell on earth, He took on human flesh. This mystery is known as the incarnation. Jesus, who was fully God, lived a sinless life. Yet He was also fully human. Without Christ, we would be eternally separated from God the Father. The sin we all inherited through Adam does not allow fellowship with the perfect God. So the Savior took our iniquities upon Himself and endured the death penalty in our place. And then He rose from the dead.

In doing this, Jesus redeemed us and opened the door for eternal fellowship with the Father. Any who so choose can accept mercy instead of punishment. It is God’s free gift, which includes an eternal home in heaven. We will live forever with Christians from every generation and can look forward to reuniting with loved ones who have already died in the Lord. A small baby in a manger was truly the greatest gift of all time.

Do you have a relationship with Almighty God? Jesus came to redeem you. If you haven’t accepted His salvation, take this opportunity: admit your need for forgiveness, and ask Christ to be your Savior. The gift is wrapped and ready, waiting for you to open and enjoy all God has given.

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Treasures in Darkness – Ravi Zacharias

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Those of us who make our home in the Northern Hemisphere must welcome the encroaching darkness of the winter months. At the height of winter in Kotzebue, Alaska, for example, daylight is but a mere two hours. Where I live, the light begins to recede around 4:30 PM. When the winter sun is out it simply rides the southern horizon with a distant, hazy glow.

Perhaps it seems strange to some, but I love the shorter-days and the darkening skies of winter. For me, the darkness of winter invokes nostalgia for the days of huddling around the fireplace with hot coffee and curling up with a good book. Indeed, there are some gifts that can only be enjoyed in the darkness of winter and in this season of lessening light.

Of course, darkness and night evoke ominous images as well. Pre-Christian inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere—who did not separate natural phenomenon from their religious and spiritual understanding—saw the departing sunlight as the fleeing away of what they believed was the Sun God. Darkness indicated a loss of hope, absence and cessation of life.(1) Like it did for these ancient peoples, darkness creates fear. We are afraid of what we cannot see in the dark, and what is seen inhabits the mysterious realm of shadows. Darkness has always represented chaos, evil, and death, and therefore is rarely thought of in either romantic or nostalgic terms.

For many individuals—even those who live in sun-filled hemispheres—the darkness of life is a daily nightmare. Despair, chronic loneliness, doubt, and isolation conspire to prevent even the dimmest light. The darkness that comes only as a visitor during the night is for many a perpetual reality. Is there any reason to hope that the light might be found even in these dark places? Are there any gifts that can be received here?

It is not by accident that the season of Advent coincides with the earthly season of fading light and increasing darkness. With its focus on waiting, repentance, and longing, Christians view Advent as a season of somber reflection. Yet, even as the light recedes in winter, the season of Advent bids all to come and find surprising gifts in the shorter days, in the womb of pregnant possibility, and in the anxious anticipation that accompanies waiting in the darkness. Those pre-Christian peoples who watched their sun-god disappear found that there were gifts that could be had even in this dark season. They took the wheels off of their carts, and decorated them with greens and garlands, hanging them on their walls as mementos of beauty and hope. Taking the wheels off of their carts meant the cessation of work and a time to watch and wait. As Gertrud Muller Nelson writes about this ancient ritual, “Slowly, slowly they wooed the sun-god back. And light followed darkness. Morning came earlier. The festivals announced the return of hope after primal darkness.”(2)

While the dark is mysterious and often ominous, it is also a place of unexpected treasures. As one author notes, “[S]pring bulbs and summer seeds come to life in the unlit places underground. Costly jewel stones lie embedded in the dark interiors of ordinary rocks. Oil, gas, and coal reserves lie far beneath the light of the earth’s surface. The dark depths of the ocean teem with life.”(3) Indeed, unique gifts from earth, sky, and sea can only be observed in the dark.

Spiritual gifts often emerge out of the darkness as well. The writer of Genesis paints a picture of the Spirit of God hovering over the primordial chaos and the darkness that covered the surface of the deep. Out of the darkness of chaos came the light of creation. The covenant promises of God to give children and land to Abram were forged “when the sun was going down…and terror and great darkness fell upon him” (Genesis 15:12). Moses received the Law in the “thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:21; Deuteronomy 5:22). God’s abiding presence was the gift from the darkness. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the God of Israel promises: “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3). Indeed, the long-awaited Messiah would be revealed to those “who walk in darkness” and who “live in a dark land” (Isaiah 9:2).

For those who dwell in the dark season of despair or discouragement, for those who are afraid in the dark, and for those who grope in the darkness, the promise of treasures of darkness may spark a light of hope. “The recovery of hope,” writes Muller Nelson, “can only be accomplished when we have had the courage to stop and wait and engage fully the in the winter of our dark longing.”(4)

The hope of Advent is that God is in the darkness with us even though our experience of God may seem as clear as shifting shadow. The hope of Christmas is that God’s coming near to us in the person of Jesus is not hindered by the darkness of this world, or of our own lives. We may fear our dark despair hides us from God, but the treasure of God’s presence awaits us even there—for the darkness is as light to God. And today, light has come!

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

(1) Gertrud Muller Nelson, To Dance With God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press), 63.

(2) Ibid., 63.

(3) Sally Breedlove, Choosing Rest: Cultivating a Sunday Heart in a Monday World (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002), 133.

(4) Gertrud Muller Nelson, 63.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name

Immanuel.” / Isaiah 7:14

Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and

adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith

can claim an interest in him, and can sing, “Unto us a child is born, unto us

a son is given.” Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our

brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first

glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and

unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son. The first

promise ran thus, “The seed of the woman,” not the offspring of the man. Since

venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she,

and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly

man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God. Let us reverently bow

before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory;

and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to

note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as “a virgin,”

not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of

kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she

could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how

poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation

afforded to the new-born King!

Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our

punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in

resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendour.

 

Evening “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent

and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt

offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my

sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” /

Job 1:5

What the patriarch did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it

will be well for the believer to do for himself ere he rests tonight. Amid the

cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities,

and to forget our avowed character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but

so it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified

enjoyment, but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth. There is a way

of joy as pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden:

holy gratitude should be quite as purifying an element as grief. Alas! for our

poor hearts, that facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the

house of feasting. Come, believer, in what have you sinned today? Have you

been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been even as others in idle

words and loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice. The

sacrifice sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb slain removes the guilt,

and purges away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This

is the best ending of a Christmas-day–to wash anew in the cleansing fountain.

Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it be so good tonight, it is

good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal

priesthood; to them sin, great as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair,

since they draw near yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience

is purged from dead works.

Gladly I close this festive day,

Grasping the altar’s hallow’d horn;

My slips and faults are washed away,

The Lamb has all my trespass borne.

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Recovering Man’s Destiny – John MacArthur

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“We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

The ultimate curse of our lost destiny is death. God warned Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die (Gen. 2:17). In the restored kingdom we will be elevated again over a redeemed earth. But the only way that we could ever reign again as kings was to have the curse of sin removed, and the only way to remove it was to pay the penalty of sin, which is death (Rom. 6:23).

There’s just one problem: how can we reign if we are dead? We need to be raised from the dead, but we certainly can’t do that ourselves. That’s why God sent Jesus Christ.

To accomplish this great work for us, Jesus had to become a man. He Himself had to be made “for a little while lower than the angels.” To regain man’s dominion He had to taste death for every man. Christ came to die for us because in His dying He could conquer death.

But He was also raised from the dead: “Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him” (Rom. 6:9). How does that help us? “If we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection” (v. 5).

The moment you put your faith in Christ, you are identified with Him. You died with Him on the cross, you were resurrected, and you began to walk in newness of life. You now are a joint heir with Christ in His eternal kingdom.

Christ tasted death for you and me so we could recover our lost destiny. Celebrate that glorious truth as you celebrate His birth today.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Before you do another thing today, praise your heavenly Father for His wonderful plan of salvation.

For Further Study:  Read Isaiah 2:2-4 and 11:6-9 noting the character of our future kingdom.

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Jesus—His First Appearance – Charles Stanley

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Romans 8:28

Some situations in the Bible may seem perplexing to us, but none of them were mere happenstance. God, who knows all things and sees the end from the beginning, was sovereignly working out all the details of His redemption plan.

For example, it may strike us as strange that a government census inconveniently caused Mary the discomfort of having to travel in her ninth month of pregnancy. Caesar Augustus may have thought this census was his idea, but the reality is that he was being sovereignly overruled: God was moving this family to Bethlehem in fulfillment of a prophecy about the Messiah’s birth. Centuries earlier, Micah wrote, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (5:2).

Not only was the travel a hardship, but once Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, the only accommodations they could find were rather unglamorous. A stable with a feeding trough for the baby’s crib was hardly what we would think of as a setting fit for a King. But the Father had purpose in mind for that as well. He wanted the Lamb of God to be born in a lowly setting, alongside other lambs.

What difficult circumstances are you facing? Do you wonder why God would allow such trials? Rest assured, your heavenly Father sees all and has a good purpose beyond what our finite minds can grasp. Choose to trust Him, and rest in His promise to work everything for His children’s good.

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Unfamiliar Christmas – Ravi Zacharias

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If the first chapter of Luke is the preface to a great story—the foretelling of a herald, the prophecy of a child, the return of the throne of a king—the second chapter is the culmination. The Roman world is called to a census. A young couple journeys to Bethlehem to be counted. A child is born. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”(1)

Christian or otherwise, the Christmas story is often viewed as wonderful in its familiarity, calling forth each year a childhood delight in the monotonous, beckoning our imaginations to a stable and a story. Christmas hymns, full of imagery and story, are piped in as background music at post offices and malls. Manger scenes can still be found as part of familiar Christmas décor. Yet often for those to whom it is all most familiar, it is also a story we can find surprisingly unfamiliar each year. Like children delighting in another reading of a bedtime favorite, the Nativity is somehow still startling in its mysteries, the child still out of place in the manger, the story full of profound paradox.

The first time I walked through the crowded, pungent streets of Bethlehem, I was struck by the disparity between what I was seeing and “the little town of Bethlehem” I had imagined in pageants and songs. The harsh reality of God becoming a child in the midst of the cold and dark world I knew myself suddenly seemed a blaring proclamation: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. There is a plaque of the same words outside the dark and ancient church built upon what was once the place of the nativity. Reading this in the actual Bethlehem, I remember thinking I had never really considered it before: God taking on flesh to live here, with us, in our chaos and fighting and despair.

 

Upon his conversion, Charles Wesley took to hymn writing as a means of attempting to capture the strange hope of a God among us, which was persistently stirring in his mind. Though a few of the words have long since been changed, one of Charles Wesley’s 6,000 hymns is a widely beloved declaration of the Incarnation. Seeking to convey in pen and ink a Christmas story both familiar to our hearts and startling in its wonder, Wesley wrote:

Hark, how all the welkin rings,

“Glory to the King of kings;

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!”

For Wesley, the Christ child in the manger was forever an indication of the great lengths God will go to reconcile his creation, a savior willing to descend that we might be able to ascend. “Welkin” is an old English term meaning “the vault of heaven.” Wesley was telling the radical story of the Incarnation: All of heaven opening up for the birth of a king and the rebirth of humanity.

The star of Bethlehem, the magi, the shepherds, and the willing child Mary are all amid the long-imagined and inconceivable markers of a God among us. The birth of Christ is the timeless gesture that God has chosen to remain. And Christmas is a time to imagine what it means if the hard cries of a real and unpolished world have really been heard, if a savior was born, if the vault of heaven was truly opened.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!

Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Ris’n with healing in his wings.

Mild He lays his glory by,

Born that man no more may die.

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth

Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

 

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

(1) Luke 2:8-14.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “For your sakes he became poor.” / 2 Corinthians 8:9

The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but “though

he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” As the rich saint cannot be

true in his communion with his poor brethren unless of his substance he

ministers to their necessities, so (the same rule holding with the head as

between the members), it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had

fellowship with us unless he had imparted to us of his own abounding wealth,

and had become poor to make us rich. Had he remained upon his throne of glory,

and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving his salvation,

communion would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the fall,

apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to

communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ. In

order, therefore, that communion might be compassed, it was necessary that the

rich kinsman should bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, that the

righteous Saviour should give to his sinning brethren of his own perfection,

and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive of his fulness grace for

grace; that thus in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the

heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and so be able to embrace each

other in true and hearty fellowship. Poverty must be enriched by him in whom

are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose

itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in

fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe his people in his own garments, or

he cannot admit them into his palace of glory; and he must wash them in his

own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of his fellowship.

O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus “became poor” that he

might lift you up into communion with himself.

 

Evening   “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it

together.” / Isaiah 40:5

We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall be converted to Christ;

when the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats; when

Romanism shall be exploded, and the crescent of Mohammed shall wane, never

again to cast its baleful rays upon the nations; when kings shall bow down

before the Prince of Peace, and all nations shall call their Redeemer blessed.

Some despair of this. They look upon the world as a vessel breaking up and

going to pieces, never to float again. We know that the world and all that is

therein is one day to be burnt up, and afterwards we look for new heavens and

for a new earth; but we cannot read our Bibles without the conviction that–

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Does his successive journeys run.”

 

We are not discouraged by the length of his delays; we are not disheartened by

the long period which he allots to the church in which to struggle with little

success and much defeat. We believe that God will never suffer this world,

which has once seen Christ’s blood shed upon it, to be always the devil’s

stronghold. Christ came hither to deliver this world from the detested sway of

the powers of darkness. What a shout shall that be when men and angels shall

unite to cry “Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!”

What a satisfaction will it be in that day to have had a share in the fight,

to have helped to break the arrows of the bow, and to have aided in winning

the victory for our Lord! Happy are they who trust themselves with this

conquering Lord, and who fight side by side with him, doing their little in

his name and by his strength! How unhappy are those on the side of evil! It is

a losing side, and it is a matter wherein to lose is to lose and to be lost

forever. On whose side are you?

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The Restriction of Man’s Destiny – John MacArthur

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“But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him” (Heb. 2:8).

God gave man dominion over all the earth, and the earth supplied his every need. All he had to do was accept and enjoy the earth as provided for him. But Adam sinned and Satan usurped the crown. A new chain of command was born: the earth now rules man.

To know how true that is, all you need do is look at the amount of effort expended on restoring the ecological balance of the earth. Environmentalism is a popular watchword of our day. Yet with all our modern technology, we are still unable to gain control over the earth.

Look what happened once Adam sinned: no longer could man easily harvest what the earth provided–now he had to toil by the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:18). Women would experience pain in childbirth (3:16). Murder soon followed in Adam’s family. God had to destroy virtually all mankind in the Flood because they had become so debauched.

Much of the animal kingdom now lives in fear of man and cannot be tamed. Where once the earth produced good things naturally and abundantly, now it produces thorns, weeds, and other harmful things. Extremes of heat and cold, poisonous plants and reptiles, earthquakes, typhoons, floods, hurricanes, and disease were all products of the Fall. Man was no longer a king but a slave–a dying creature fighting a losing battle with a dying earth.

Amazingly, the earth is aware of its condition: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it” (Rom. 8:20). Now it eagerly awaits for the day when the sons of God, believers, are manifest in the kingdom, for then it will be liberated from the bondage of corruption (vv. 19, 21-22).

There is coming a day, in the wonderful plan of God, when man will receive once again the dominion that he lost. May our Lord hasten its coming!

Suggestion for Prayer:  Thank God that He will one day redeem the earth from its subjection to the curse.

For Further Study:  Read Isaiah 60:21, 65:25, 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:27. What will characterize the new earth?

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Christmas in Heaven – Greg Laurie

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Merry Christmas to all of you!

Christmas is a day of joy. But for me and my family, it is also tinged with sadness, because it is a day when Christopher’s absence is intensely felt.

I have to tell you, Topher loved Christmas! It was always a big deal to him as a little boy, and when he became a father, he wanted it to be a big deal for his daughters. He always was so thoughtful in his choice of gifts and often made them by hand, which was always a special treat for me. He also had fantastic “wrapping skills,” which I am completely devoid of.

On that first Christmas night, while the shepherds kept watch over their flocks, the angel brought this good news: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10).

This is how heaven celebrated the first Christmas. On this holy night, in effect, heaven momentarily came to earth. Heaven and earth are always co-existing, but sometimes they can seem worlds apart and other times separated by only a thin veil. When tragedy hits, when illness prevails, heaven can sometimes seem distant.

But when we join the angels in worship, and see God in His greatness, heaven can seem so very, very close. For us as believers, we are just a heartbeat away from heaven right now. As David put it, “There is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3).

Christmas in heaven is better than Christmas on earth. It is pure bliss. Not twinkling lights, but the radiant light of heaven itself. Not metal angels on trees, but real, holy angels of God all around.

You see, in heaven there is peace. On earth there is war. In heaven there is perfect harmony. On earth there is often friction among family and friends. In heaven, feasting and perfection. On earth there is fattening food and expanding waistlines.

We don’t need to sorrow for our loved ones who are celebrating Christmas in heaven, but we do sorrow for ourselves over their absence.

Today, however, remember to let the ones on earth you love know it. Tell them verbally. Because you never know if you or I or someone we hold dear might be in heaven next Christmas.

So have a blessed and merry Christmas day.

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The Gift of His Peace – By Dr. Charles Stanley

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There is a special word found throughout the Christmas story that should be very important and meaningful to you and I as we consider the birth of the Christ child. Used more than 400 times in Scripture, it is a term found interwoven in the prophecies of Jesus’ coming as a special gift to us from God.

That wonderful word is peace.

In speaking about the Savior, the prophet Isaiah reported, “A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be . . . Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). Also, recall what the angels said the night Jesus was born: “There appeared . . . a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased’” (Luke 2:13–14).

Christmas can undoubtedly be one of the most joyous and revitalizing seasons of the year for us as believers. However, it can also be hectic and nerve-wracking—so much so that we lose our sense of security and tranquility, which is the very thing Jesus came to bring us.

So today I would like to ask you: In the hustle and bustle of Christmas, where do you go to find silence and stillness? Do you rejoice and rest in all that the Lord has given you? Or is this time of year characterized by impatience, agitation, conflict, and pain?

Many people believe the pathway of peace is through possessions—especially during the Christmas season. They believe that if they could just have the latest gadget, they would be happy. If they could only buy their loved ones the special objects they desire, then they could maintain harmony in their households. Sadly, this does not work. Worldly goods can never fill emptiness, give worth, or restore broken relationships.

My son, Andy, understood this from a very young age. I remember one evening when he was still in high school, we were sitting at dinner and he said to me, “Dad, I want to thank you for not giving us everything we wanted.” Of course, this had me intrigued. I asked him why he felt this way. I will never forget his explanation:

“Many of my friends—well, their parents give them everything they want, and it’s really messed them up,” Andy replied. “They think that is all there is to life. Thank you for teaching me what is truly important.” I was so thankful my son had learned this vital principle: Peace, joy, and fulfillment come through Christ, not through possessions or anything else this world can offer.

So as Christmas approaches, how can you maintain genuine tranquility in the midst of all the activities and pressures of the season? How can you preserve harmony within yourself, with others, and, most importantly, with the Father? Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). How can you take hold of all He offers?

First, realize that the peace of God originates from reconciliation with Him. The Greek word for peace is eirene, and it simply means, “to bind together.” When you trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior, He binds you together with Himself for all eternity. You never need to worry about your salvation because He makes you right with the Father through His death on the cross—and no one can ever take that away from you.

Second, embrace the fact that Christ takes full responsibility for your needs as you obey Him. Earthly tranquility is often based on worldly resources, which can—and ultimately will—fail. So whenever you face situations that are beyond your abilities, talents, skills, and wealth to overcome, it is no wonder you feel overwhelmed, anxious, and discouraged. However, God is completely capable of helping you, regardless of your circumstances. Therefore, as a believer, you can calmly and joyfully trust Him, because you know that the One who is best able to give you the victory in every situation will never leave or forsake you.

Third, understand that the Father’s peace is the result of your personal relationship with Him. When you feel apprehensive, what do you do? Do you rush about, trying to find solutions to your problems? Do you try silencing your anxieties by shopping, eating, working, or engaging in some destructive habit? It doesn’t really help, does it? Friend, the Lord’s presence has the power to calm your worries and drive out your fears (1 John 4:18). Whenever these concerns creep up this Christmas, consider it a call to spend time with Him.

When you spend time with the Lord, you realize He’s got everything under control. And when you walk in the center of His will and learn to see your circumstances from His perspective, you experience the deepest, most wonderful tranquility—confident that He will work everything out for your good. Not only will you experience peace with the Father, but you’ll also be a calming presence to those around you. You’ll be able to handle the conflicts that arise with greater grace, wisdom, and composure.

So this Christmas, instead of focusing on all the presents you must buy, think of the one you most need to receive—the gift of His peace. Surrender your life to the Prince of Peace—and enjoy the rest, tranquility, and hope He created you to enjoy.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “Friend, go up higher.” / Luke 14:10

When first the life of grace begins in the soul, we do indeed draw near to

God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul conscious of guilt, and

humbled thereby, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is cast to

the earth by a sense of the grandeur of Jehovah, in whose presence it stands.

With unfeigned bashfulness it takes the lowest room.

But, in after life, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never

forget the solemnity of his position, and will never lose that holy awe which

must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can

create or can destroy; yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it

becomes a holy reverence, and no more an overshadowing dread. He is called up

higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking

amid the splendours of Deity, and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim,

with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will,

reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of

love, of goodness, and of mercy, he will realize rather the covenant character

of God than his absolute Deity. He will see in God rather his goodness than

his greatness, and more of his love than of his majesty. Then will the soul,

bowing still as humbly as aforetime, enjoy a more sacred liberty of

intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it

will be sustained by the refreshing consciousness of being in the presence of

boundless mercy and infinite love, and by the realization of acceptance “in

the Beloved.” Thus the believer is bidden to come up higher, and is enabled to

exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God, and drawing near to him in holy

confidence, saying, “Abba, Father.”

“So may we go from strength to strength,

And daily grow in grace,

Till in thine image raised at length,

We see thee face to face.”

 

Evening   “The night also is thine.” / Psalm 74:16

Yes, Lord, thou dost not abdicate thy throne when the sun goeth down, nor dost

thou leave the world all through these long wintry nights to be the prey of

evil; thine eyes watch us as the stars, and thine arms surround us as the

zodiac belts the sky. The dews of kindly sleep and all the influences of the

moon are in thy hand, and the alarms and solemnities of night are equally with

thee. This is very sweet to me when watching through the midnight hours, or

tossing to and fro in anguish. There are precious fruits put forth by the moon

as well as by the sun: may my Lord make me to be a favoured partaker in them.

 

The night of affliction is as much under the arrangement and control of the

Lord of Love as the bright summer days when all is bliss. Jesus is in the

tempest. His love wraps the night about itself as a mantle, but to the eye of

faith the sable robe is scarce a disguise. From the first watch of the night

even unto the break of day the eternal Watcher observes his saints, and

overrules the shades and dews of midnight for his people’s highest good. We

believe in no rival deities of good and evil contending for the mastery, but

we hear the voice of Jehovah saying, “I create light and I create darkness; I,

the Lord, do all these things.”

Gloomy seasons of religious indifference and social sin are not exempted from

the divine purpose. When the altars of truth are defiled, and the ways of God

forsaken, the Lord’s servants weep with bitter sorrow, but they may not

despair, for the darkest eras are governed by the Lord, and shall come to

their end at his bidding. What may seem defeat to us may be victory to him.

“Though enwrapt in gloomy night,

We perceive no ray of light;

Since the Lord himself is here,

‘Tis not meet that we should fear.”

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The Revelation of Man’s Destiny – John MacArthur

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“He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, ‘What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him” (Heb. 2:5- 8).

When we look at the vast, seemingly endless universe and then think about the little dot we call earth in the middle of it all, we cannot help but wonder, “What is man? What right do we have to be so much on God’s mind?”

David had an answer: “Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels . . . crowned him with glory and honor . . . appointed him over the works of Thy hands . . . put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:6-8). The writer of Hebrews was quoting one of the Psalms (Ps. 8:4-6) to show that God made man to be king.

David undoubtedly penned his psalm based on what God said in the beginning: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). God’s original design for man in his innocence was to be king over an undefiled earth.

When God made Adam, who was pure and innocent, He gave Him honor and glory. God crowned man king of the earth: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:8). One day we again will be given the right to rule the earth, and all God’s creation will be put under our feet.

Suggestion for Prayer: Read Psalm 8 and offer it as your own praise to God.

For Further Study:  Read Daniel 7:18, 27 and note the extent of the saints’ ultimate rule.

The Revelation of Man’s Destiny  –  John MacArthur

“He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, ‘What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him? Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him” (Heb. 2:5- 8).

When we look at the vast, seemingly endless universe and then think about the little dot we call earth in the middle of it all, we cannot help but wonder, “What is man? What right do we have to be so much on God’s mind?”

David had an answer: “Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels . . . crowned him with glory and honor . . . appointed him over the works of Thy hands . . . put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:6-8). The writer of Hebrews was quoting one of the Psalms (Ps. 8:4-6) to show that God made man to be king.

David undoubtedly penned his psalm based on what God said in the beginning: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). God’s original design for man in his innocence was to be king over an undefiled earth.

When God made Adam, who was pure and innocent, He gave Him honor and glory. God crowned man king of the earth: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet” (Heb. 2:8). One day we again will be given the right to rule the earth, and all God’s creation will be put under our feet.

Suggestion for Prayer: Read Psalm 8 and offer it as your own praise to God.

For Further Study:  Read Daniel 7:18, 27 and note the extent of the saints’ ultimate rule.

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Intimacy with God – Charles Stanley

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Psalm 63:1-11

For Christians, it’s fairly simple to notice other people filling their God-shaped void with all the wrong things. It’s much harder, though, to see that same error in our own redeemed lives. We all too easily get busy for God—serving, singing, teaching, preaching, and going to the mission field. None of these things are wrong; in fact, they’re all good. But they’re often a misguided attempt to create a false sense of intimacy with God.

Why would any believer choose artificial closeness with the Lord when He wants to give His children the real thing? Two reasons: first, being known by God requires intense vulnerability and the humility to receive His grace. There is nothing we can do for the Lord or give to Him that will atone for our sins. Second, all successful friendships require hard work, and that holds true for our relationship with God as well.

To really know the Lord, you have to read the Bible—all of it. And you cannot maintain a close relationship with your heavenly Father if you ignore His principles. You must, therefore, fill your mind with godly things and forego worldly influences. In addition, a vibrant prayer life is essential to intimacy with God. These things don’t just happen; they require intentional effort.

Simply put, when we satisfy our thirst with living water, we’re no longer thirsty. When we live in intimate communion with God, the temptation to strive for saintliness in our own strength falls away. And our service, offerings, and worship, stripped of any self-serving motives, genuinely glorify God.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “I will strengthen thee.” / Isaiah 41:10

God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for he is

able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of

omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of

almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of

man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth’s huge

pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same

God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the

sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily

strength. While he is able to uphold the universe, dream not that he will

prove unable to fulfil his own promises. Remember what he did in the days of

old, in the former generations. Remember how he spake and it was done; how he

commanded, and it stood fast. Shall he that created the world grow weary? He

hangeth the world upon nothing; shall he who doth this be unable to support

his children? Shall he be unfaithful to his word for want of power? Who is it

that restrains the tempest? Doth not he ride upon the wings of the wind, and

make the clouds his chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of his hand?

How can he fail thee? When he has put such a faithful promise as this on

record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that he has outpromised

himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no

longer.

O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall

be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of thy grace can never be exhausted,

and the overflowing storehouse of thy strength can never be emptied by thy

friends or rifled by thine enemies.

“Now let the feeble all be strong,

And make Jehovah’s arm their song.”

 

Evening  “The spot of his children.” / Deuteronomy 32:5

What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were

vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God’s word reveals

it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be our guide.

Now, we are told concerning our Lord, “to as many as received him, to them

gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on his

name.” Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of

God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing on the name of

Jesus Christ. If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name–that is, simply from

my heart trust myself with the crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer, I am a

member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have

this, I have the privilege to become a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in

another shape. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to his own

sheep, not to others. As soon as he appears, his own sheep perceive him–they

trust him, they are prepared to follow him; he knows them, and they know

him–there is a mutual knowledge–there is a constant connection between them.

Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and

adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in

doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God’s children?

Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said, “Search me, O

God, and know my heart.” Trifle not here, I adjure you! If you must trifle

anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your health, if you will, or

the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul, your never-dying soul and

its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in earnest. Make sure work for

eternity.