Monthly Archives: December 2012

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Bearing with an Exhortation – John MacArthur

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“I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation” (Heb. 13:22).

Hell is undoubtedly full of people who did not actively oppose Jesus Christ, but simply drifted into damnation by neglecting to respond to the gospel. These are the kinds of people the writer challenges in Hebrews 2:1-4. They were aware of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, but weren’t willing to commit their lives to Him. As a result, they were drifting past the call of God into eternal disaster.

The Word of God always demands a response. Any effective teacher of it must do more than just dispense facts; he must warn, exhort, and extend an invitation. He may have impressive knowledge of the truth, but if he doesn’t have a passionate concern for how people react to it, he is not a worthy representative of Jesus Christ.

Jesus had that kind of compassion. Despite the rejection of His own people, He ached for their salvation: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen ushers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matt. 23:37). You can feel His heart go out to the people.

Paul had similar compassion: “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of My brethren, my kinsman according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:2-3). A true teacher is interested in more than just academics; he is concerned that people respond rightly to what is taught.

Just as the writer of Hebrews had to warn and exhort his readers, at times it becomes necessary for us to warn those we are witnessing to. If you want to see unbelieving friends, relatives, or associates come to Christ, warn them. Let them see the passion in your heart and your love for them. Please don’t allow anyone to slip into eternal destruction without being warned sufficiently.

Suggestion for Prayer:     Ask God to give you wisdom regarding when to warn the people you are witnessing to.

For Further Study:   Read Hebrews 3:7–4:13, 6:4-8, 10:26-31, and 12:25-29 noting the pattern the writer followed in presenting these other warnings.

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Hope in a Seemingly Hopeless Situation – Greg Laurie

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It’s Christmas time.

Parents bundle up their children for another day of school before Christmas vacation starts in the small town of Newtown, Connecticut. There’s shopping to do and errands to run before they pick them up. Then the worst imaginable scenario takes place.

A young man walks into Sandy Hook Elementary School and begins shooting. When the horror finally stops, 20 children and 6 adults have been shot and killed. 12 little girls and 8 little boys had their lives cut short.

This is just heartbreaking.

What can be said at a time like this? The experts will opine on why this happened. All I can say is, this was pure evil. The heartlessness and wickedness of this man that did the shooting is really unimaginable.

I know from personal experience that the pain of losing a child is a fate worse than death for a parent.

At times like this we must reflect on the essential message of Christmas, which is Immanuel has come. Immanuel means God is with us.

I know God is there, ready to bring His comfort to those grieving right now in Connecticut. I know He is here right now to bring comfort to all of us who are heartbroken to hear such news.

At times like this, we need perspective—an eternal perspective.

We need to remember this life on earth is not all there is. There is an afterlife where earthy wrongs are righted. There is a final judgment for this man and others like him that commit these heinous crimes, and they will have to face God.

There is also great safety for those beautiful children, who I believe are all in Heaven right now, resting in the arms of Jesus. No harm will come to them again. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

And there is comfort available to their parents, who are in the deepest valley of pain and grief right now. Yes, even at a time like this, there is hope. The hope is this: If that parent will put their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord they can have the assurance they will see their dear children again.

As King David said when his child died, “I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23).

In the busyness of this season, I hope we all will take time to count our blessings. To let our children know that we love them and not take them for granted.

And I hope that we will remember that Jesus is there, Immanuel. He will bring His comfort to us as we trust in Him.

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The Message of the Manger – Charles Stanley

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Luke 2:1-7

Sometimes it is difficult to see how God can bring good from our bad situations. But He draws value from even the most disastrous of circumstances, such as when the conquering Romans (the bad) literally paved the road for the gospel (the good).

Before the rise of Rome, the predominant world power was Greece, whose attractive culture led many to desire Hellenization. In addition, as Alexander the Great conquered lands, he forced subjugated men to serve in his military. So they could understand orders, he made conscripts learn common Greek. On discharge, these men took the new language home, thereby helping to create a shared tongue between people groups. This was the perfect set-up for spreading the revolutionary message that would erupt from Israel a few centuries later.

The Romans paved roads throughout the territories they had conquered and then guarded land routes and seacoasts from encroaching enemies. Doing this ensured the relative safety of early Christian missionaries who carried the gospel.

Perhaps Joseph and Mary traveled one of those roads on their trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Whether they did or not, God again turned hardship—a forced census—into blessing: Jesus the Messiah was born at precisely the time and place prophesied.

From the moment in Eden when Satan’s defeat was promised until the instant Christ fulfilled that prophecy on the cross, the Father continually brought good from bad situations. He was advancing His plan to save the world. The Romans made the roads, but God paved the way for a Savior.

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The Property of Tears – Ravi Zacharias

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Five year-old Samantha was the victim of a cruel and tragic murder, and her own tears were the evidence that sealed the case against her abductor. “[S]he solved the crime,” said her young mother. “She was her own hero.”(1) DNA in the form of teardrops was found on the passenger-side door of the killer’s car, irrevocably making their mark on the crime scene and everyone who imagines them.

It is impossible to hear stories like this, of heinous murders, of calculated school shootings, without retreating to the deepest whys and hows of life. The abrupt ending to these lives is another wretched symptom of a sick and desperate world. The problem of evil is a problem that confronts us, sometimes jarringly. The problem of pain is only intensified by the personal nature of our experience with it.

The first time I heard Samantha’s story my numbed mind was startled by this property of tears. I had no idea that our tears were so personally our own. Samantha’s tears solved the case because there were none others like hers. They were unique to the eyes they came from, intricately a part of Samantha herself. In the pains and joys that cause us to weep and to mourn, we leave marks far more intimate than I ever realized. We shed evidence of our own makeup, leaving behind a complex, yet humble message: I was here, and my pain was real. There are a lot of really bad and unhelpful things that people say in the face of tragedy and particularly to those who mourn. For me this brings new meaning to the wisdom of being silent with the grief-striken, sharing tears instead of advice.

There is no doubt something deeply necessary about the Christian hope that pain will one day be removed and tears will be no more. We are rightly comforted by the image of heaven as the place where God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the weeping. There is much hope in the promise that there will one day be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.(2) But perhaps there is first something deeply necessary about a God who has marked our tears so specifically even now, declaring that our pain is far from a generic or empty occurrence.

There is a line uttered by the psalmist that was comforting to my grandmother through many years of loss and life. To God the psalmist confesses, “You have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle” (Psalm 56:8). Tear-bottles were small urns of glass or pottery created to collect the tears of mourners at the funerals of loved ones. They were placed in the sepulchers at Rome and in Palestine where bodies were laid to rest. In some ancient tombs these bottles are found in great numbers, collecting tears that were shed with great meaning to the ones unique to them.

How assuring to know that our pain is not haphazardly viewed by the one who made tear ducts able to spill over with grief and anguish. God keeps count of our sorrowful struggling, each tear recorded and collected as pain steeped with the life of the one who wept it. Like a parent grieving at a child’s wound, God knows our laments more intimately than we realize.

But also more than a parent wiping eyes and collecting tears, God has shed tears of his own, taking on the limitations and sufferings of creation personally, declaring in body that embodiment is something God takes very seriously. In her book Creed or Chaos, Dorothy Sayers writes:

“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine… He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”(3)

I know of no equal comfort in the midst of life’s sorrows, no other answer within the problem of pain and evil. God has sent a Son as unique and personal as the very tears we shed crying out for answers and consolation. Every tear is marked with the intricacies of a Creator, every cry heard by one who wept at the grave of Lazarus, every lament collected in his bottle until the day when tears will indeed be no more.

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

(1) “Justice for Samantha,” People, June 06, 2005, Vol. 63, No. 22, pp. 73-74.

(2) Revelation 21:4.

(3) Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1949), 4.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “I remember thee.” / Jeremiah 2:2

Let us note that Christ delights to think upon his Church, and to look upon

her beauty. As the bird returneth often to its nest, and as the wayfarer

hastens to his home, so doth the mind continually pursue the object of its

choice. We cannot look too often upon that face which we love; we desire

always to have our precious things in our sight. It is even so with our Lord

Jesus. From all eternity “His delights were with the sons of men;” his

thoughts rolled onward to the time when his elect should be born into the

world; he viewed them in the mirror of his foreknowledge. “In thy book,” he

says, “all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when

as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). When the world was set upon its

pillars, he was there, and he set the bounds of the people according to the

number of the children of Israel. Many a time before his incarnation, he

descended to this lower earth in the similitude of a man; on the plains of

Mamre (Gen. 18), by the brook of Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), beneath the walls of

Jericho (Jos. 5:13), and in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan. 3:19, 25), the

Son of Man visited his people. Because his soul delighted in them, he could

not rest away from them, for his heart longed after them. Never were they

absent from his heart, for he had written their names upon his hands, and

graven them upon his side. As the breastplate containing the names of the

tribes of Israel was the most brilliant ornament worn by the high priest, so

the names of Christ’s elect were his most precious jewels, and glittered on

his heart. We may often forget to meditate upon the perfections of our Lord,

but he never ceases to remember us. Let us chide ourselves for past

forgetfulness, and pray for grace ever to bear him in fondest remembrance.

Lord, paint upon the eyeballs of my soul the image of thy Son.

 

Evening  “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in

and out, and find pasture.” / John 10:9

Jesus, the great I AM, is the entrance into the true church, and the way of

access to God himself. He gives to the man who comes to God by him four choice

privileges.

1. He shall be saved. The fugitive manslayer passed the gate of the city of

refuge, and was safe. Noah entered the door of the ark, and was secure. None

can be lost who take Jesus as the door of faith to their souls. Entrance

through Jesus into peace is the guarantee of entrance by the same door into

heaven. Jesus is the only door, an open door, a wide door, a safe door; and

blessed is he who rests all his hope of admission to glory upon the crucified

Redeemer.

2. He shall go in. He shall be privileged to go in among the divine family,

sharing the children’s bread, and participating in all their honours and

enjoyments. He shall go in to the chambers of communion, to the banquets of

love, to the treasures of the covenant, to the storehouses of the promises. He

shall go in unto the King of kings in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the

secret of the Lord shall be with him.

3. He shall go out. This blessing is much forgotten. We go out into the world

to labour and suffer, but what a mercy to go in the name and power of Jesus!

We are called to bear witness to the truth, to cheer the disconsolate, to warn

the careless, to win souls, and to glorify God; and as the angel said to

Gideon, “Go in this thy might,” even thus the Lord would have us proceed as

his messengers in his name and strength.

4. He shall find pasture. He who knows Jesus shall never want. Going in and

out shall be alike helpful to him: in fellowship with God he shall grow, and

in watering others he shall be watered. Having made Jesus his all, he shall

find all in Jesus. His soul shall be as a watered garden, and as a well of

water whose waters fail not.

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Christ’s Superior Destiny – John MacArthur

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“To which of the angels has He ever said, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:13-14).

“At the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). That great promise confirms that Jesus Christ is destined to be the ruler of the universe.

Yet notice this about Christ’s rule: “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). Christ is subordinate to His Father, but only in His role as the Son. While the eternal Son is equally divine, He is officially in subjection to God.

Eventually God will put all kingdoms, authorities, and powers of the world in subjection under Christ when He comes in glory at His second coming. “He will rule [the nations] with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS'” (Rev. 19:15-16). Christ’s eternal destiny is to reign over the new heavens and the new earth.

But what about the angels? While Christ has the greater destiny, it is their destiny to serve forever those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14)–and that’s us!

Angels protect and deliver the believer from temporal danger. They rescued Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom. They went into the lions’ den with Daniel and protected him. In addition to being forever in God’s presence, our destiny is to be served by angels forever–service that begins the moment of our salvation.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Thank God for the many ways He takes care of you: by saving you, having Christ intercede for you, giving you the Holy Spirit to teach you, and sending His angels to serve you.

For Further Study:  Read 2 Kings 6:8-23 and note the amazing way that angels served the prophet Elisha.

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Because Christ Came – By Dr. Charles Stanley

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This time of year, church services typically focus on the amazing narrative of Jesus’ humble birth. Unfortunately, this story can become so familiar that we take for granted the miracle of God taking on human flesh and walking among us. We also have difficulty understanding the profound impact Christ’s advent (or coming) had on humanity’s relationship to the Father. Let’s examine just a few benefits we can enjoy because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

 

1. Complete Assurance of Forgiveness

Under Old Testament law, God prescribed sacrifices and other rituals that would serve as reminders about the seriousness of sin.

In what way was the system limited, according to Hebrews 10:1-4?

Why do we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices (Heb. 9:11-12; 24-26)?

 

2. The Guarantee of Eternal Life

First John 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (emphasis added).

Read 1 John 5:1-13, paying special attention to verses 1-5 and 11-12. What “things” does John mention to help a person know if he or she possesses eternal life?

Sum up the analogy Jesus used in John 10:27-29 to indicate the secure nature of our relationship with Him.

Even when believers sin, they don’t forfeit eternal life. Why not (Romans 8:1-2; 33-39)?

 

3. Personal Access to God’s Presence

The Hebrew temple was divided into sections. Only Jewish men were allowed into the inner court; Gentiles and Jewish women were restricted to the outer courts. Access to the Holy of Holies, where the presence of the Lord dwelled, was even more limited.

How often did someone enter the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:6-7)? What rituals had to be observed beforehand?

What happened when Christ rose from the dead (Matt. 27:50-51)? Explain the symbolic significance of this event.

Read Hebrews 10:19-22. Who is now the high priest for all believers? Why can we approach the throne of God confidently?

Reflect on how limited access to the Father would have been under the old covenant, especially for a Gentile or woman. How does this impact your perspective on spending time alone with God?

 

4. The Indwelling Holy Spirit

Old Testament saints experienced the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit resting on them, often to help in carrying out God’s specific plans. But His presence in their lives was not guaranteed.

The first two kings of Israel, Saul and David, both had the Spirit of God rest on them. Why did the Spirit depart from Saul (1 Sam. 15:22-23; 16:14)?

Under the New Covenant, what is the requirement for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:38?

For believers today, fellowship with God is available all the time. How does 1 Corinthians 6:19 describe the relationship between the Spirit and a follower of Christ?

The Holy Spirit performs many functions in the life of a believer. He reminds us of Christ’s words (John 14:26), is a deposit guaranteeing eternal life (Eph. 1:13-14), intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:26), and equips us to speak the gospel boldly (Acts 4:31). One of the Spirit’s most important functions is that He changes our nature and empowers us to live righteously.

Describe the benefit of being a “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

 

5. Freedom from the Law

Because of the advent of Christ, followers of God no longer have to carry out the rituals described in Exodus and Leviticus. For instance, Christians don’t have to avoid certain foods for spiritual reasons or make animal sacrifices to atone for our sins.

The Galatians—mostly Gentile believers—were under pressure from some of the Jewish Christians to follow the old covenant ritual of circumcision. What was Paul’s reminder to them (Gal. 5:1)?

List two cautions regarding freedom from the law (Gal. 5:13, 18).

Meditate on the fact that you don’t have to follow spiritual rules to earn your salvation (Rom. 3:28). How does that make you feel?

 

This doesn’t mean that believers have permission to live unrestrained lives, but that we are now governed internally. The Holy Spirit changes our fundamental nature so we no longer want to sin—we desire to please God with our lives (Jer. 31:31-33).

Fill your mind with biblical truth and surrender to the Spirit’s leading. He will give you the power to resist sin and accomplish God’s will (Gal. 2:20-21).

Do you have questions about how to depend on the Holy Spirit for holy living?

Trust the Lord to reveal the answers to you in His timing.

Prayer: The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus radically changed the way in which humanity can relate to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Express your gratitude to the Father, and ask Him to show you how to meditate on His gifts in the midst of this year’s Christmas festivities.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Come unto me.” / Matthew 11:28

The cry of the Christian religion is the gentle word, “Come.” The Jewish law

harshly said, “Go, take heed unto thy steps as to the path in which thou shalt

walk. Break the commandments, and thou shalt perish; keep them, and thou shalt

live.” The law was a dispensation of terror, which drove men before it as with

a scourge; the gospel draws with bands of love. Jesus is the good Shepherd

going before his sheep, bidding them follow him, and ever leading them onwards

with the sweet word, “Come.” The law repels, the gospel attracts. The law

shows the distance which there is between God and man; the gospel bridges that

awful chasm, and brings the sinner across it.

From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory,

the language of Christ to you will be, “Come, come unto me.” As a mother puts

out her finger to her little child and woos it to walk by saying, “Come,” even

so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow him as the

soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way,

and clear your path, and you shall hear his animating voice calling you after

him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, his sweet words with

which he shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be–“Come, ye blessed

of my Father.”

Nay, further, this is not only Christ’s cry to you, but, if you be a believer,

this is your cry to Christ–“Come! come!” You will be longing for his second

advent; you will be saying, “Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus.” You will

be panting for nearer and closer communion with him. As his voice to you is

“Come,” your response to him will be, “Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come,

and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and

consecrate me entirely to thy service.”

 

Evening  “Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine

ear was not opened.” / Isaiah 48:8

It is painful to remember that, in a certain degree, this accusation may be

laid at the door of believers, who too often are in a measure spiritually

insensible. We may well bewail ourselves that we do not hear the voice of God

as we ought, “Yea, thou heardest not.” There are gentle motions of the Holy

Spirit in the soul which are unheeded by us: there are whisperings of divine

command and of heavenly love which are alike unobserved by our leaden

intellects. Alas! we have been carelessly ignorant–“Yea, thou knewest not.”

There are matters within which we ought to have seen, corruptions which have

made headway unnoticed; sweet affections which are being blighted like flowers

in the frost, untended by us; glimpses of the divine face which might be

perceived if we did not wall up the windows of our soul. But we “have not

known.” As we think of it we are humbled in the deepest self-abasement. How

must we adore the grace of God as we learn from the context that all this

folly and ignorance, on our part, was foreknown by God, and, notwithstanding

that foreknowledge, he yet has been pleased to deal with us in a way of mercy!

Admire the marvellous sovereign grace which could have chosen us in the sight

of all this! Wonder at the price that was paid for us when Christ knew what we

should be! He who hung upon the cross foresaw us as unbelieving, backsliding,

cold of heart, indifferent, careless, lax in prayer, and yet he said, “I am

the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour … Since thou wast

precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:

therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life!” O redemption,

how wondrously resplendent dost thou shine when we think how black we are! O

Holy Spirit, give us henceforth the hearing ear, the understanding heart!

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Christ’s Eternal Existence – John MacArthur

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“Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay a foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands; they will perish, but Thou remainest; and they all will become old as a garment. And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end” (Heb. 1:10-12).

Jesus Christ is no creature. To be able to lay the foundation of the earth and create the heavens in the beginning implies that He must have existed before the beginning. The apostle John testified to this when he said, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). Christ is eternal.

Jesus is also immutable, which means He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” We need to hang onto this truth as we approach a day when much of what we know will change drastically.

One day what looks so permanent will fold up. Like the people Peter warned, we are tempted to think that “all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). But Hebrews 1:11 tells us that one day Jesus will discard the heavens and the earth, just as we would a useless garment.

Even more amazing, verse 12 specifies that Christ will roll up the heavens. Revelation 6:14 says, “The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” During the time of the tribulation, the heavens, as if stretched to all corners, will roll right up like a scroll.

But we can be confident that although creation will perish, Jesus will not, and He will create a new heaven and a new earth. Living creatures, worlds, and stars are subject to decay, but not Christ. He never changes and is never subject to change. What confidence that should give us for the daily issues of life we face each day!

Suggestion for Prayer:  Thank the Lord for His unchanging plan for your life and His ability to keep it.

For Future Study:  Read 2 Peter 3 and develop an approach to answering charges unbelievers make about biblical prophecies regarding the end times.

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The Road to the Manger – Charles Stanley

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Galatians 4:1-7

The manger scene captures one of the most pivotal moments in history. But when we see a Nativity, we often forget the long road that led there—not simply the wearying trip Joseph and Mary took to be counted in the census, but also the trail blazed through history by conquering rulers and displaced peoples. As countries erupted into political turmoil or arose with new ideals, God was carving a path to the Holy Land, the perfect cradle for the Messiah.

The route began in Eden, where blood was first spilled to atone for sin. The temporary solution—animal sacrifice—would suffice until God enacted His permanent plan in the “fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4). Establishment of the nation and delivery of the law marked Israel as God’s people; these, too, were steps toward the destination, as was the taking of the Promised Land, where Christ would be born.

As the Israelites turned to false gods, the Lord’s patience waned, and He withdrew His protection. They were conquered and taken captive to Babylonia, where in time, they developed synagogues—local places to worship God. The Medes and Persians defeated the Babylonians 70 years later and let Israel return home. The ones who did brought the adaptations of Judaism they’d been practicing, including synagogues.

Together, prophecy and history reveal how God continued to pave the way from the manger to modern faith. Synagogues hosted men like Paul, who preached and sent letters about the Messiah born in Bethlehem. And today missionaries still use his epistles—and all of Scripture—to lead unbelievers to faith.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning    “Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.” / Ruth 1:14

Both of them had an affection for Naomi, and therefore set out with her upon

her return to the land of Judah. But the hour of test came; Naomi most

unselfishly set before each of them the trials which awaited them, and bade

them if they cared for ease and comfort to return to their Moabitish friends.

At first both of them declared that they would cast in their lot with the

Lord’s people; but upon still further consideration Orpah with much grief and

a respectful kiss left her mother in law, and her people, and her God, and

went back to her idolatrous friends, while Ruth with all her heart gave

herself up to the God of her mother in law. It is one thing to love the ways

of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to cleave to them under all

discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap

and easy, but the practical cleaving to the Lord, which must show itself in

holy decision for truth and holiness, is not so small a matter. How stands the

case with us, is our heart fixed upon Jesus, is the sacrifice bound with cords

to the horns of the altar? Have we counted the cost, and are we solemnly ready

to suffer all worldly loss for the Master’s sake? The after gain will be an

abundant recompense, for Egypt’s treasures are not to be compared with the

glory to be revealed. Orpah is heard of no more; in glorious ease and

idolatrous pleasure her life melts into the gloom of death; but Ruth lives in

history and in heaven, for grace has placed her in the noble line whence

sprung the King of kings. Blessed among women shall those be who for Christ’s

sake can renounce all; but forgotten and worse than forgotten shall those be

who in the hour of temptation do violence to conscience and turn back unto the

world. O that this morning we may not be content with the form of devotion,

which may be no better than Orpah’s kiss, but may the Holy Spirit work in us a

cleaving of our whole heart to our Lord Jesus.

 

Evening   “And lay thy foundations with sapphires.” / Isaiah 54:11

Not only that which is seen of the church of God, but that which is unseen, is

fair and precious. Foundations are out of sight, and so long as they are firm

it is not expected that they should be valuable; but in Jehovah’s work

everything is of a piece, nothing slurred, nothing mean. The deep foundations

of the work of grace are as sapphires for preciousness, no human mind is able

to measure their glory. We build upon the covenant of grace, which is firmer

than adamant, and as enduring as jewels upon which age spends itself in vain.

Sapphire foundations are eternal, and the covenant abides throughout the

lifetime of the Almighty. Another foundation is the person of the Lord Jesus,

which is clear and spotless, everlasting and beautiful as the sapphire;

blending in one the deep blue of earth’s ever rolling ocean and the azure of

its all embracing sky. Once might our Lord have been likened to the ruby as he

stood covered with his own blood, but now we see him radiant with the soft

blue of love, love abounding, deep, eternal. Our eternal hopes are built upon

the justice and the faithfulness of God, which are clear and cloudless as the

sapphire. We are not saved by a compromise, by mercy defeating justice, or law

suspending its operations; no, we defy the eagle’s eye to detect a flaw in the

groundwork of our confidence–our foundation is of sapphire, and will endure

the fire.

The Lord himself has laid the foundation of his people’s hopes. It is matter

for grave enquiry whether our hopes are built upon such a basis. Good works

and ceremonies are not a foundation of sapphires, but of wood, hay, and

stubble; neither are they laid by God, but by our own conceit. Foundations

will all be tried ere long: woe unto him whose lofty tower shall come down

with a crash, because based on a quicksand. He who is built on sapphires may

await storm or fire with equanimity, for he shall abide the test.

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The Restriction of Man’s Destiny – John MacArthur

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“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions” (Heb. 1:8-9).

In these days it’s difficult for us as Christians to be totally supportive of our governmental leaders when we see so much of what God calls righteous compromised or ridiculed. But the King of kings–Christ Himself–is the only leader who has a perfectly right attitude toward righteousness.

Christ rules from an eternal throne, and He rules eternity as God and King. The scepter He holds is symbolic of His rule, particularly as a rule of righteousness.

But there’s more to it than that: He just doesn’t act righteously; He loves righteousness itself. How often have we obeyed without joy, expressing an attitude of willing condescension? But Jesus gives us a different model.

James 1:17 says, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.” True righteousness never varies from what is true, just, and good. And 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” God is total light and total righteousness. Everything Jesus did resulted from His love of righteousness.

Because Christ loves righteousness, He hates lawlessness. Since He loves what is right, He must hate what is wrong. The two are inseparable–one cannot exist without the other. You cannot truly love righteousness and also like sin. When there is true love for God, there will also be true love for righteousness and total hatred of sin.

The more you and I become conformed to Jesus Christ, the more we will love righteousness. Our attitudes toward righteousness and sin will ultimately reveal how closely we are conformed to Christ. Check out your attitudes and actions. How are you doing?

Suggestion for Prayer:  Like the psalmist, ask God to show you any hurtful way in you (Ps. 139:24).

For Further Study:  Read Psalm 119 and note how many times the psalmist makes reference to either his love for God’s law or righteousness.

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The Greatest Gift of All – Greg Laurie

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I heard that someone actually tried to calculate how much it would cost to give the gifts named in the classic Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The grand total came to about $15,000.

Some items were affordable, like a partridge in a pear tree for $34.99. Six turtledoves will run you somewhere around $50. Six geese-a-laying will cost around $150.

But the price soars when you add 11 pipers piping. That is $1,000 right there. Then there are the 12 drummers drumming. With current union scale for musicians, they will run you another $1,000.

The price really soars when you get 12 lords-a-leaping. We are talking $3,000 for them. Granted, I don’t know where you would find them, but they are very expensive.

But the real message of Christmas is not the gifts we give each other. Rather, it is a reminder of the gift that God has given to each of us. It is the only gift that truly keeps on giving, so I want to point out four things about it.

First, it is surprising. When Christmas rolls around, you often try to figure out if certain people have bought that gift you really wanted. Maybe you already know what they bought, because they didn’t hide it very well. Or maybe you uncovered it by accident—or maybe not. But when the day comes and you open the present, you have to pretend you’re surprised. Yet all along, you knew what it was. God’s gift to us, however, was a complete surprise. It was not expected and, as you examine it more carefully, you realize how great a gift it actually was.

Second, God’s gift came to us in the humblest of wrappings. What would you think if you saw a gift under your Christmas tree that was wrapped in newspaper and tied up with string? At first, you would probably assume that a guy wrapped it.

But think about God’s gift to us. Jesus was not born in a palace of gold; He was born in a stable. He was clothed in rags. He was laid in a feeding trough. Yet these things do not, in any way, diminish the story of Christ’s birth. If anything, they help us realize the great sacrifice God made for us. God’s gift to humanity, the ultimate gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ, came in the simplest and humblest of wrappings.

Third, we don’t deserve this gift. At Christmas, we give gifts to the people we care about, the ones who have been kind to us over the past year, or the ones who have given us a gift first. We don’t give gifts to the person who has been slandering our name, or to the angry neighbor who never has a kind word to say. Yet God gave us His gift when we were His enemies. He didn’t give this gift to us because we deserved it. In fact, it was just the opposite. The Bible tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV).

Fourth, the gift tells us something about the giver. When you want to give someone a gift, you start thinking about it ahead of time. Hopefully, you try to find what that person wants or needs. When God decided to give us the gift of eternal life, it wasn’t something that He just thought of on the fly. Long before there was a town called Bethlehem, a garden called Eden, or a planet called Earth, a decision was made in eternity that God would send forth His Son, born of a woman, to redeem those who are under the law.

The Bible says that He was slain from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). Make no mistake about it: this gift that God has given to us was the most sacrificial thing He possibly could have offered.

So Christmas isn’t about those gifts that you have under your tree right now. All of those things will be gone one day. All that will be left after this life is the human soul, and that will live forever. We will put so much stock in what we have, but this is all going to pass away.

Life is about what happens beyond the grave. Life is about knowing the God who made you and who gave you the greatest gift you will ever receive.

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The Power of the Gospel – Charles Stanley

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Romans 1:16-17

Lightning storms captivate me; they are a visual display of God’s amazing strength. Even more powerful, however, is something He has entrusted to us—the gospel.

This term comes from euangélion, the Greek for “good news,” which was translated as godspel in Old English. Salvation in Christ truly is good news, for though sinfulness reigns in men’s hearts, God can overcome the darkness and redeem our souls.

This is the message of the entire Bible, from creation to eternity. In Genesis, we see the love of God for man, but we are also shown how His heart broke when sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve. Mankind was lost until Jesus took our sins upon Himself. As our substitute on the cross, He endured the penalty we all deserved, and then defeated death with His resurrection. This is triumph, indeed.

Think about the strength of the gospel. God’s Word isn’t simply ink on a page; it is living, active, and sharper than a sword (Heb. 4:12), with power to change anyone—even the vilest of sinners. Even us.

Think about what divine truth is able to do: it can break the chains of sin, heal brokenness, and change hearts. It also guides us into wisdom and choices that bring life. Friend, we have access to the most powerful message in existence.

What’s your response to the gospel? Are you grateful for being entrusted with God’s life-giving Word? The Lord tells us to meditate on Scripture daily and to obey eagerly, as it is the life-source for our souls. He also instructs us to share the wonderful news of salvation with a hurting, hopeless world.

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Cynical Christmas – Ravi Zacharias

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It is the task of marketing departments of all varieties to keep a calculating finger on the pulse of culture, particularly when it comes to consumer trends. The entertainment industry alone has a multi-billion dollar reason to keep their fingers close—which means their research into the entertainment needs of the world is essential. For those of us fascinated with cultural studies, it also means their research into what the public will respond to favorably or unfavorably offers an interesting glimpse into the current cultural landscape.

But even the researchers are getting confused, and especially during the holidays. They find we are sending mixed signals. An article in The New York Times quotes one researcher describing “a curiously widespread contradiction in modern American pop culture—the desperate, self-negating need to be both cynical and sentimental at the same time.”(1) Film historian David Thomson notes of film in general, “One of the main problems in the industry is that young kids do not take the story material seriously. They think it’s mocking.” As a result, “the things we once took very seriously, we half-mock them now.”(2)

 

By and large, the cultural trend marks a growing distrust and rejection of story and meaning and a general embrace of cynicism. And yet, in recent market research, executives found that audiences of all ages reacted badly to advertising that too sharply dismissed or disrespected the notion or story of Christmas. There is quite measurably a greater desire for storylines with hopeful implications in December. Apparently, we want to joke about life’s meaninglessness, but only 11 months out of the year. The typical cynicism governing the production and marketing of motion pictures is entirely toned down at Christmastime. It seems we want to argue the cake doesn’t exist and eat it too.

I have always appreciated the brave confession of C.S. Lewis that he was once living in a whirl of contradictions. This is a difficult thing even to notice of one’s life, let alone to admit it aloud. Self-deception is always one of the more powerful forces of interpretation; the general human ability to see the lives of others far more critically than our own is another. Yet Lewis observed of himself, “I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with Him for creating a world.” Our own contradictions often exist glaringly amongst our thoughts, even as they go unnoticed.

Yet there is a promise for those who will seek, for those willing to confront their own contradictions, and it comes near in the Incarnation we celebrate in December—the event remembering God’s willingness to reach humanity by becoming human, exaltating humanity into the life of God. Indeed, this exalted one who knows what it means to be human is continually at work flattening our altars of inconsistency, uncovering our contradictions, urging us into eyesight, and leading us into humanity as God intended. The child we welcome in December remains among us every month thereafter. In the momentous words of a hymn that speaks much to the hope Christmas:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King…

Let men their songs employ…

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

Far as the curse is found.

Perhaps we are right to exchange cynicism for hope this Christmas. Might we learn to employ its songs long after the season.

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

(1) As quoted in the New York Times, (Dec. 14, 2004).

(2) Ibid.

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Christ’s SuperiorNature – John MacArthur

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“Of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.’ But of the Son He says, ‘Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever'” (Heb. 1:7-8).

People today who claim that Jesus was just a man, an angel, a prophet, or some inferior god are in error and bring upon themselves the curse of God. The Bible, and especially the writer of Hebrews, are clear about who Christ is.

First, the writer deals with the nature of angels when he says, “Who makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.” “Makes” simply means “to create.” The antecedent of “who” is Christ. Therefore it is obvious that Christ created the angels.

They are also His possession: “His angels.” They are His created servants, who do not operate on their own initiative, but on the direction of Christ.

But the greatest difference between the nature of angels and Christ is that He is the eternal God. The Father says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” That is one of the most powerful, clear, emphatic, and irrefutable proofs of the deity of Christ in Scripture.

Jesus throughout His ministry claimed equality with God. He said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The apostle John closed his first epistle by saying, “We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

God the Son came to help us understand that God is truth and that Christ Himself is the true God. Our faith is based on the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Suggestion for Prayer: Ask God to give you a greater understanding of the reality that Jesus is in fact God.

For Further Study: Read John 1:1-18 and mark the verses that define Christ’s relationship to God. If an unbeliever were to ask you what that passage means, how would you answer him or her?

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “They go from strength to strength.” / Psalm 84:7

They go from strength to strength. There are various renderings of these

words, but all of them contain the idea of progress.

Our own good translation of the authorized version is enough for us this

morning. “They go from strength to strength.” That is, they grow stronger and

stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we

start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is

rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again

painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained

fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and

struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant,

nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much

stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far

more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of

truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days;

but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many

waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault

of the promise which still holds good: “The youths shall faint and be weary,

and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall

renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run

and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Fretful spirits sit down

and trouble themselves about the future. “Alas!” say they, “we go from

affliction to affliction.” Very true, O thou of little faith, but then thou

goest from strength to strength also. Thou shalt never find a bundle of

affliction which has not bound up in the midst of it sufficient grace. God

will give the strength of ripe manhood with the burden allotted to full-grown

shoulders.

 

Evening   “I am crucified with Christ.” / Galatians 2:20

The Lord Jesus Christ acted in what he did as a great public representative

person, and his dying upon the cross was the virtual dying of all his people.

Then all his saints rendered unto justice what was due, and made an expiation

to divine vengeance for all their sins. The apostle of the Gentiles delighted

to think that as one of Christ’s chosen people, he died upon the cross in

Christ. He did more than believe this doctrinally, he accepted it confidently,

resting his hope upon it. He believed that by virtue of Christ’s death, he had

satisfied divine justice, and found reconciliation with God. Beloved, what a

blessed thing it is when the soul can, as it were, stretch itself upon the

cross of Christ, and feel, “I am dead; the law has slain me, and I am

therefore free from its power, because in my Surety I have borne the curse,

and in the person of my Substitute the whole that the law could do, by way of

condemnation, has been executed upon me, for I am crucified with Christ.”

 

But Paul meant even more than this. He not only believed in Christ’s death,

and trusted in it, but he actually felt its power in himself in causing the

crucifixion of his old corrupt nature. When he saw the pleasures of sin, he

said, “I cannot enjoy these: I am dead to them.” Such is the experience of

every true Christian. Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who

is utterly dead. Yet, while conscious of death to the world, he can, at the

same time, exclaim with the apostle, “Nevertheless I live.” He is fully alive

unto God. The Christian’s life is a matchless riddle. No worldling can

comprehend it; even the believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet

alive! crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in

newness of life! Union with the suffering, bleeding Saviour, and death to the

world and sin, are soul-cheering things. O for more enjoyment of them!

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True Seekers – Greg Laurie

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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”  —Matthew 2:1–2

The story of Christ’s birth is one of the Bible’s most famous and loved stories, probably one that most people who are not even familiar with Scripture have heard at one time or another. And certainly a story we hear repeated every Christmas is the account of the wise men being led by the star to the place where the King was to be born.

Matthew’s Gospel tells us these wise men came from the East (see Matthew 2:1). Skilled in astronomy and astrology, these men were highly revered and respected in their culture and were especially noted for their ability to interpret dreams.

Because of their knowledge of science, mathematics, history, and the occult, their religious and political influence grew until they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors in the Medo-Persian and Babylonian empires. More than just soothsayers and magicians, they were dignitaries. And though they weren’t kings, they were men of tremendous importance.

But even with all their knowledge, these wise men still had not found the answers they had been looking for in life. You might say they were seekers. We know they were true seekers, because God revealed himself to them in a special way when the star led them to the place where they could find Jesus: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10). Then they offered Him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

God tells us in Jeremiah 29:13, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” If you are also a true seeker, if you want to know the true God, then He will reveal himself to you too.

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Entrusted with the Gospel – Charles Stanley

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1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Imagine standing by a pool, watching your children get ready to swim. The youngest asks you to hold something—a dirty plastic pail. The oldest makes a similar request, and then hands you an heirloom opal necklace that had been her grandmother’s. Most likely, you wouldn’t worry too much about protecting the toy, but you’d probably guard the jewelry with great care. The way we handle a possession reveals the value we attach to it.

We see this principle in Jesus’ parable about the master who, before going away, entrusted his workers with various sums of money. The two who invested theirs were later commended for wise use of the funds. Their efforts showed that they valued both the treasure and their master. A third worker, however, simply buried his portion in the ground, and all he “earned” was a harsh rebuke and loss of what little treasure he had.

Like these men, we are responsible for something of great worth—far greater, in fact, than money. God has placed in our keeping the most powerful and precious message in existence, the gospel of Jesus. And we are accountable for what we do with it. Our “investment” involves both how we apply its truth to our own life and whether we share it with others.

Do you feed on God’s Word daily, and are you obeying all that He says? He has commanded us to share His life-saving message with a hurting and needy world—and to make disciples in every part of the globe. Whether we listen and obey reveals how much we value the gospel.

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Beyond the Words – Ravi Zacharias

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I would like to begin by telling a story about an event that took place some years ago when I was beginning my studies in apologetics, an event that has had a major impact on my approach to the ministry to this day. I had a neighbor who was deeply committed to a version of the New Age movement. He and I had many conversations about God in the course of several months. He was a highly educated man with a couple of PhDs to his name, and so he provided me with an opportunity to test my training. But the training I was receiving in apologetics was good, and I soon realized that I could not only answer the questions he was asking about my faith in God, I could also poke holes in his worldview in a way that forced him to check books out of the local library to try and put his worldview back together. And I was feeling very good about myself. I was actually getting get it!

Finally I decided to challenge him to consider giving his life to Christ. His reaction surprised me; he did not seem to care at all about what I was telling him. So I said to him, can you please explain to me what is going on? You don’t seem to care about what I am telling you. His answer was even more baffling to me. He said to me, “Listening to you asking me to become a Christian is like listening to a naturalist asking me to become a naturalist.”

I said to him, “What in the world do you mean. I just asked you to consider giving your life to the God who created you, and you are accusing me of being an atheist? What do you mean?”

He said to me, “All you Christians have are statements and creeds. You think that if people accept those statements and creeds, everything will be okay. When I pray, I get in touch with powers that you know nothing about.”

And that was one of the most convicting things anyone has ever said to me. Because what this man was saying to me was essentially this: “Yes, you can say a lot of very convincing things about your faith, but does your faith really rise beyond well-argued propositions?”

In his book, Beyond Opinion, Ravi Zacharias says that the greatest obstacle to the reception of the Gospel is not its inability to provide answers; it is the failure on the part of Christians to live it out. J. I. Packer writes similarly in his classic book, entitled, Knowing God: “From current Christian publications you might think that the most vital issue for any real or would-be Christian in the world today is church union, or social witness, or dialogue with other Christians and other faiths, or refuting this or that -ism, or developing a Christian philosophy and culture… it is tragic that…so many in our day seem to have been distracted from what was, is, and always will be the true priority for every human being—that is, learning to know God in Christ.”(1)

Whatever your position of faith, it is helpful to occasionally step back and ask a similar question of priority. Whatever your calling in life, what is the ultimate goal of all that you do?

The Bible addresses this question in many places, in both the Old and New Testaments, but none so much as in the person of Christ himself. If there is a message we hear loudest in his coming to earth it is this. The primary call of God is to know God, to be near God, not to serve God or to argue on God’s behalf. Apologetics is important, but it is only a means to an end, and the end is knowing God. Even the scriptures were given to us a means to that end. For when all is said and done, when the dust settles, it is the eternally incarnate Son of God who lies behind that hauntingly inescapable question, “Who do you say that I am?” It is a question we must answer, with our words and with our lives. There is no neutral ground.

But how wonderful it is when the curtain is pulled back, and we see God for Who God truly is, and we are able to say with Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God?”

No, we don’t have only statements and creeds. We stand on holy ground, before a holy God, and it is this God that we present to the world.

J.M. Njoroge is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993),  279.