Monthly Archives: March 2013

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John MacArthur – Seeking God’s Protection

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“Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).

At the moment of your salvation, judicial forgiveness covered all of your sins–past, present, and future. Parental forgiveness restores the joy and sweet fellowship broken by any subsequent sins. But concurrent with the joy of being forgiven is the desire to be protected from any future sins. That’s the desire expressed in Matthew 6:13: “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

That petition seems simple enough at first glance, but it raises some important questions. According to James 1:13, God doesn’t tempt anyone to commit sin, so why ask Him to protect us from something He apparently wouldn’t lead us into in the first place?

Some say the word “temptation” in Matthew 6:13 means “trials.” But trials strengthen us and prove the genuineness of our faith. We are to rejoice in them, not avoid them (James 1:2-4).

The solution to this paradox has to do with the nature of the petition. It is not so much a technical theological statement as it is an emotional plea from one who hates sin and wants to be protected from it. Chrysostom, the early church father, said it is a natural appeal of human weakness as it faces danger (Homily 19.10).

I don’t know about you, but I have a healthy sense of self-distrust. That’s why I carefully guard what I think, say, watch, read, and listen to. If I sense spiritual danger I run into the presence of God and say, “Lord, I will be overwhelmed by this situation unless You come to my aid.” That’s the spirit of Matthew 6:13.

We live in a fallen world that throws temptation after temptation our way. Therefore it’s only natural and proper for us as Christians to continually confess our sins, receive the Father’s forgiveness, and plead with Him to deliver us from the possibility of sinning against Him in the future.

Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord that He loves you and ministers through you despite your human weaknesses.

Ask Him to protect you today from any situation that might cause you to sin.

For Further Study: Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 and James 1:13-16.

To what degree will God allow you to be tempted?

What is a common source of temptation?

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Joyce Meyer – Let God Do the Healing

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O Lord my God, I cried out to You and You have healed me. —Psalm 30:2

James A. Garfield became president of the United States in 1880 and was shot in the back six months later, in July 1881.

After the shooting, a doctor tried to remove the bullet, but couldn’t. In the following weeks, more doctors probed his wound to try to locate the bullet, to no avail. Eventually, Alexander Graham Bell provided an electrical device doctors thought might locate the bullet, but that didn’t work. Doctors later learned that sometimes removing a bullet causes more trouble than leaving it alone.

Garfield died on September 19, 1881, not as a result of his wound, but because of infection and hemorrhage that probably developed after so much probing for the bullet. The very thing physicians thought would heal Garfield ended up killing him.

When you have a “wound” of some sort, whether it’s a disappointment, a betrayal, being abandoned or rejected or some other hurtful situation, don’t keep probing it. Go to God and ask Him to heal you in the way He knows is best for you. Then take your hands off. Don’t try to “fix” yourself, but do follow the Holy Spirit as He leads you into healing and wholeness.

Love Yourself Today: Is there a wound in your heart that you have probed too much?  Ask God to heal it; stay sensitive to His Spirit; and let Him bring new life and strength to you.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – As a Man Thinketh

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“Every day in every way I am becoming better and better,” declared the French philosopher Emile Coue. But it is said that he committed suicide.

Positive thinking by a nonbeliever without a biblical basis is often an exercise in futility. Though I agree with the basic concept of positive thinking, so long as it is related to the Word of God, there is a difference between positive thinking and supernatural thinking. We do not think positively so that we can know Christ better; we come to know Christ better, which results in supernatural thinking. The basis of our thinking is God’s Word; supernatural thinking is based upon the attributes of God.

When a man says, “I am going to be enthusiastic, by faith, as an act of the will,” or “I am going to rejoice, by faith, as an act of the will,” he is simply drawing upon his rights as a child of God, according to the promises of God.

In supernatural thinking, we apply the promises of God, knowing with certainty that if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear and answer us.

Some well-known Christian leaders emphasize “positive thinking” and “possibility thinking.” They are men whom I admire and with whom I agree basically in this regard because the Christian life is a positive life. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

But I prefer to use what I believe to be the more scriptural definition of the Christian life – supernatural thinking, which includes – but goes far beyond – both positive thinking and possibility thinking.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 23:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  Today I will claim by faith a promise or promises from God’s Word which will help me to live a supernatural life.

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Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Gone with the Wind

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People puzzled over why artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude would put up a 400 meter-long orange curtain across Rifle Gap near Rifle, Colorado. The project, done in the early 1970s, took two years in the planning and implementation and cost $700,000. With the first attempt, rocks and wind immediately tore the curtain to shreds. The second try lasted 28 hours. Of his work Christo said, “I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain.” Though Christo, Jeanne-Claude and the people of Rifle were satisfied with their success, many people thought their artwork useless.

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. I Corinthians 15:21

This Good Friday, you’re not in the position of the disciples when they wondered if their belief in Jesus had come to nothing – like Christo’s curtain disintegrating in the wind. Paul reminded the early Christians that putting their faith in Jesus was not in vain. It was God’s plan all along for Jesus to die, resurrect and offer believers eternal life.

This Easter season, remember your faith in Christ is not futile…and pray that the Gospel will be clearly preached in America and many will turn to Him.

Recommended Reading: John 6:35-51

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Greg Laurie – Finished!

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When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit—John 19:30

The cross was the goal of Jesus from the very beginning. His birth was so there would be His death. The incarnation was for our atonement. He was born to die so that we might live. And when He had accomplished the purpose He had come to fulfill, He summed it up with a single word: “finished.”

In the original Greek, it was a common word. Jesus probably used it after He finished a project that He and Joseph might have been working on together in the carpentry shop. Jesus might have turned to Joseph and said, “Finished. Now let’s go have lunch.” It is finished. Mission accomplished. It is done. It is made an end of.

So what was finished? Finished and completed were the horrendous sufferings of Christ. Never again would He experience pain at the hand of wicked men. Never again would He have to bear the sins of the world. Never again would He, even for a moment, be forsaken of God. That was completed. That was taken care of.

Also finished was Satan’s stronghold on humanity. Jesus came to deal a decisive blow against the devil and his demons at the cross of Calvary. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” This means that you no longer have to be under the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, finished was the stronghold of Satan on humanity.

And lastly, finished was our salvation. It is completed. It is done. All of our sins were transferred to Jesus when He hung on the cross. His righteousness was transferred to our account.

So Jesus cried out the words, “It is finished!” It was God’s deliberate and well-thought-out plan. It is finished—so rejoice!

 

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Max Lucado – Six Hours, One Friday

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Six hours, one Friday.  Mundane to the casual observer.   A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients.  But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring. God is on a cross.  The creator of the universe is being executed.

It is no normal six hours.  It is no normal Friday.  Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart.  And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone. What do you do with that day in history?  What do you do with its claims?  They were the most critical hours in history.

Nails didn’t hold God to a cross.  Love did. The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

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Charles Stanley – Lessons We Learn in Gethsemane

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Matthew 26:36-46

When you are suffering, do you turn to God’s Word? That is the only source we can count on to bring life, hope, and promise to otherwise hopeless situations. Its principles illustrate how to—and how not to—deal with trials. When we respond God’s way, the difficulty that threatened to harm us actually enriches our character and enables us to do greater works for Him.

I believe that the most intense suffering ever recorded was that of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Christ knew that by bearing our sin, He was about to endure not only a gruesome and horrific crucifixion but also the full force of God’s wrath. Even more devastating, He’d be separated from His Father for the first and only time since eternity past. That’s something no other child of God will ever have to endure, because Jesus’ agony achieved mankind’s redemption. So we know that whatever trial faces us, God will be by our side, supporting us through it.

Let Jesus’ Gethsemane experience be your example in times of trouble. Our Savior trusted His Father fully and accepted His will. Remember, the Father is in control. He limits the length and intensity of the pain. And, while He hurts to see His children suffer, He loves us enough to allow the difficulty. There is a beautiful harvest of growth and purpose if we embrace His road for us.

What trial are you facing? Do you trust that God is in control? Our Father allows pain because He loves us. Only He knows whether hardship or blessing will bring about the needed changes in our lives. And He will spare no experience, effort, or heartache to conform us to His Son’s likeness.

 

 

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Our Daily Bread – “And It Was Night”

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John 13:21-30

Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night. —John 13:30

During a business trip to Philadelphia, I attended an evening service on the Thursday before Easter—a service of Communion and Tenebrae (darkness) held in a small chapel lit by candles. Following the bread and the cup, a passage was read aloud from the gospel of John, one candle was extinguished, and we sang a verse from a hymn about Jesus’ journey to the cross. This was repeated 14 times until the chapel was completely dark. In silence we knelt in prayer and then left one by one without speaking.

The darkness of this type of service can remind us of the dark elements surrounding Jesus’ death. Think of His last meal with the disciples (John 13:21-30) as He explained that one of them would betray Him. Only Jesus knew it was Judas. “Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night” (v.30).

On the darkest evening of Jesus’ life, He agonized in prayer in the Garden, faced a wrongful arrest, endured humiliation at the hands of religious leaders, and winced at Peter’s denials. Yet He moved faithfully toward the cross where He would die for our sins.

Jesus endured darkness and death to give us light and life. Praise Him for what He went through for us!

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown? —Watts

Calvary reveals the vileness of our sin and the vastness of God’s love.

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Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Messiah We Hope For

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When considering the Christian message, it is important to remember that the disciples of Jesus were totally surprised by the events that took place in Jerusalem. After the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles rightfully believed that all was lost.

Though some have argued that the disciples merely refused to accept failure after Jesus’s death and made up the story of the resurrection, a crucified and risen Messiah simply did not fit into Jewish expectations for the One who was to come. Though there was no single understanding of what the Messiah would be like, there were common elements that every Jew would have assumed within their messianic expectations.

First, the Messiah was closely linked to Jewish beliefs regarding the place of worship. He was to institute a renewal of the temple in Jerusalem. It was also commonly understood that the Messiah would be a royal military leader who would overthrow Israel’s enemies and prove his lordship through conquest. Jesus clearly did neither of these things; rather, he came in peace and died in his youth like a criminal. Why, then, would his followers maintain that he was the Messiah? Why did they not just cut their losses after his death and move on?

New Testament scholar N.T. Wright explains:

“There were, to be sure, ways of coping with the death of a teacher, or even a leader. The picture of Socrates was available, in the wider world, as a model of unjust death nobly borne. The category of ‘martyr’ was available, within Judaism, for someone who stood up to pagans… The category of failed but still revered Messiah, however, did not exist. A Messiah who died at the hands of the pagans, instead of winning [God’s] battle against them, was a deceiver… Why then did people go on talking about Jesus of Nazareth, except as a remarkable but tragic memory? The obvious answer is that… Jesus was raised from the dead.”(1)

In this light of resurrection, the disciples had to go through a massive renewal of their thinking. Seeing the once-dead Jesus now standing before their eyes brought them to what was a radical new way of understanding the Messiah. Of course, this is in addition to the radical suspension of the well-understood laws of nature with which they also had to grapple. Despite the quick dismissal from modernity, no mind is so primitive so as to believe that all is usual when bodies rise from the dead.

The events of Holy Week remain similarly radical today. On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, he spoke of himself saying, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). As if resurrection was not hard enough to grasp, it is vastly difficult to see how there could be glory in suffering. Yet it is not hard to see that the death of Christ carries with it the force of something much more. The glory of the suffering Messiah lies in the magnitude of the love he showed on the cross.

It was this very point that Jesus’s disciples missed until his resurrection, and it is a point that many are still missing today. The Messiah’s glory was not shown through his power, though it easily could have been, nor was it shown in status or position. Instead, it was shown in his suffering and his love, which remains a far-reaching, albeit stymieing, gift to the world. He may not have been the Messiah all had hoped for, but he is indeed the Messiah of great hope.

Stuart McAllister is vice president of training and special projects at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 658.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “The love of Christ which passeth knowledge.” / Ephesians 3:19

The love of Christ in its sweetness, its fulness, its greatness, its  faithfulness, passeth all human comprehension. Where shall language be found  which shall describe his matchless, his unparalleled love towards the children  of men? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow but skimmeth the  water, and diveth not into its depths, so all descriptive words but touch the  surface, while depths immeasurable lie beneath. Well might the poet say,

“O love, thou fathomless abyss!”

for this love of Christ is indeed measureless and fathomless; none can attain  unto it. Before we can have any right idea of the love of Jesus, we must  understand his previous glory in its height of majesty, and his incarnation  upon the earth in all its depths of shame. But who can tell us the majesty of  Christ? When he was enthroned in the highest heavens he was very God of very  God; by him were the heavens made, and all the hosts thereof. His own almighty  arm upheld the spheres; the praises of cherubim and seraphim perpetually  surrounded him; the full chorus of the hallelujahs of the universe unceasingly  flowed to the foot of his throne: he reigned supreme above all his creatures,  God over all, blessed forever. Who can tell his height of glory then? And who,  on the other hand, can tell how low he descended? To be a man was something,  to be a man of sorrows was far more; to bleed, and die, and suffer, these were  much for him who was the Son of God; but to suffer such unparalleled agony–to  endure a death of shame and desertion by his Father, this is a depth of  condescending love which the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom.  Herein is love! and truly it is love that “passeth knowledge.” O let this love  fill our hearts with adoring gratitude, and lead us to practical  manifestations of its power.

 

Evening “I will accept you with your sweet savour.” / Ezekiel 20:41

The merits of our great Redeemer are as sweet savour to the Most High. Whether  we speak of the active or passive righteousness of Christ, there is an equal  fragrance. There was a sweet savour in his active life by which he honoured  the law of God, and made every precept to glitter like a precious jewel in the  pure setting of his own person. Such, too, was his passive obedience, when he  endured with unmurmuring submission, hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness,  and at length sweat great drops of blood in Gethsemane, gave his back to the  smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked out the hair, and was fastened to  the cruel wood, that he might suffer the wrath of God in our behalf. These two  things are sweet before the Most High; and for the sake of his doing and his  dying, his substitutionary sufferings and his vicarious obedience, the Lord  our God accepts us. What a preciousness must there be in him to overcome our  want of preciousness! What a sweet savour to put away our ill savour! What a  cleansing power in his blood to take away sin such as ours! and what glory in  his righteousness to make such unacceptable creatures to be accepted in the  Beloved! Mark, believer, how sure and unchanging must be our acceptance, since  it is in him! Take care that you never doubt your acceptance in Jesus. You  cannot be accepted without Christ; but, when you have received his merit, you  cannot be unaccepted. Notwithstanding all your doubts, and fears, and sins,  Jehovah’s gracious eye never looks upon you in anger; though he sees sin in  you, in yourself, yet when he looks at you through Christ, he sees no sin. You  are always accepted in Christ, are always blessed and dear to the Father’s  heart. Therefore lift up a song, and as you see the smoking incense of the  merit of the Saviour coming up, this evening, before the sapphire throne, let  the incense of your praise go up also.

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John MacArthur – Forgiving As You Are Forgiven

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“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. . . . For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).

It’s possible to confess your sins and still not know the joy of forgiveness. How? Failure to forgive others! Christian educator J. Oswald Sanders observed that Jesus measures us by the yardstick we use on others. He didn’t say, “Forgive us because we forgive others,” but “Forgive us even as we have forgiven others.”

An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms because we are the forgiven ones! Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” God forgave us an immeasurable debt, saving us from the horrors of eternal hell. That should be motivation enough to forgive any offense against us, yet some Christians still hold grudges.

Here are three practical steps to dealing with the sin of unforgiveness. First, confess it and ask the Lord to help you mend the relationship in question. Second, go to the person, ask for forgiveness, and seek reconciliation. You might discover that he or she wasn’t even aware of the offense. Third, give the person something you highly value. This is a very practical approach based on our Lord’s teaching that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21). Whenever I’ve given a book or other gift to someone who has wronged me, I’ve felt a great sense of liberty in my spirit. In addition, my joy is compounded because I feel the joy of giving as well as the joy of forgiving.

Don’t ever let a grudge stand between you and another person. It will rob you of the full joy of God’s forgiveness.

Suggestions for Prayer: Before praying, examine your heart. If you harbor bitterness toward another person, follow the procedure given above. Then pray, thanking the Lord for the joy of reconciliation.

For Further Study: Read the parable of the servant in Matthew 18:21-35.

What question prompted the parable?

How did the king respond to his servant’s pleading?

What did the servant do later on? Why was that wrong?

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Joyce Meyer – A Virtuous Woman

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A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls. —Proverbs 31:10

Who can compete with the woman described in Proverbs 31? This woman can do it all; she’s a great wife, mother, she manages the house, she runs a business, she cooks, she sews—what she doesn’t seem to do is get tired! She seems absolutely perfect. I disliked her until I realized she was an example to me, a goal I could reach for. One that God Himself would help me realize if I put my trust in Him and was willing to change. I want you to consider her too and believe that you can become the confident woman you want to be. God wants each woman to be able to insert her name in this woman’s story.

A good woman is hard to find; she is to be valued above rubies or pearls. Good women are precious, more precious than jewels or expensive gems. We must intentionally work to build up our husbands with thoughtful, caring questions and statements because like this verse points out, a woman who is capable, intelligent, and virtuous is a rare combination. Any man who has a wife like this should appreciate and value her tremendously.

Lord, I can’t compete with this woman, but I thank You for her example. I aspire to be like her, and I trust that Your grace working in my life will lift me up higher and higher. Amen.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – The Holy Spirit Enlightens

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“But the man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him, because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Though I have been a Christian for more than 35 years, I still have much to learn. I am far from perfect. And I do not ever expect to be – in this lifetime. Only our Lord Jesus Christ was without sin.

However, I know from experience that the more time I spend with God through reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on His Word, with the help of the Holy Spirit to interpret God’s truth to me, the more I become like our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

When you spend time daily in Bible reading and study, your life will change. After reading God’s Word consistently for several months, you will be amazed by the things God has done in your life.

How can we understand the Bible? How can we experience its life-changing influence in our lives?

The non-believer and the disobedient, carnal Christian have difficulty in understanding the Bible because they must rely on their human faculties in their attempt to understand things that are of a spiritual nature in God’s Word.

As Paul writes to the church at Corinth,” …the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (KJV).

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 2:9-13

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  Since the Holy Spirit inspired holy men of old to record God’s Word, the Bible, I will ask Him to interpret God’s message to my own life, and today I will encourage someone, or several others, to depend upon the Holy Spirit and to join me in living a supernatural life for the glory of God.

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Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Business with God

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On his first visit to Asia, things did not go well for Hudson Taylor, the English missionary who would found the China Inland Mission. Even though he brought modern medicine to the Chinese, he was received poorly and called a “white devil” by many of the people he sought to reach with the Gospel.

That I may know him and the power of his resurrection…becoming like him. Philippians 3:10

On his second visit to China, Taylor took a different tact. He and his fellow missionaries donned Chinese clothing and endeavored to embrace the oriental culture, so far as it was not inconsistent with God’s Word. He also realized – when no one else did – that Chinese women played a bigger role in influencing young people morally, so Taylor recruited female missionaries. Both of these then-unthinkable strategies were widely criticized in England, but Taylor was undeterred. “My great business in life is to please God,” he said.

Becoming like Jesus doesn’t mean methods never change. They often will, and must, for you to be effective in declaring His message with others. As you pray for America today, ask God for wisdom in how to best share His resurrection power with those around you. And remember that your business is not to please others, but God.

Recommended Reading: Galatians 1:6-17

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Greg Laurie – Wholehearted Devotion

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Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. . . .—Mark 16:9

Of all the people Jesus could have appeared to first after His resurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene. It is interesting to think about, because among the Jews of the day, the testimony of a woman was not held in high regard. In fact, some of the rabbis falsely taught that it was better for the words of the Law to be burned than to be delivered by a woman. Yet Jesus chose a woman to be the first herald of His resurrection.

It is also worth noting that women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. Mary had courage that many of the men did not have when Jesus was crucified. She stood by Him through it all. In fact, the Bible tells us that after He was crucified, Mary “observed where He was laid” (Mark 15:47). She watched as they took His crucified body from the cross and wrapped it and placed it in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. And Mary, along with the other women, was at the tomb very early on Sunday morning to demonstrate her love for Jesus by anointing his body with spices (see Mark 16:1–2).

And her love was rewarded. God said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God rewards the person who is diligent. And for those who will take time in their day to seek the Lord, for those who will take time to read His Word, for those who will take time to wait upon Him, He will reveal His truths to them.

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Max Lucado – What’s Left?

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Skeptics say, “Jesus–back from the dead?  I don’t think so.”  or  ”The resurrection is a lie!”

There have always been skeptics.  People who call Jesus’ resurrection a legend, even a hoax.  But the early followers of Jesus literally proclaimed that he was raised from the dead!  So, is the tomb empty?

There are those who say the disciples took Jesus’ body.  Maybe they staged the whole thing!  But there’s a problem.  Many of those disciples died for their belief–for their proclamation that Jesus was risen.  Would they be willing to die for a lie?

What’s left?  The empty tomb is left.  You don’t have to toss out common sense to believe the resurrection of Jesus.  In fact, it’s just as challenging to disprove the resurrection as to prove it.  He is risen!

“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee…”  (Luke 24:6).

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Charles Stanley – The Promise of Humility

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1 Peter 5:5-7

Jesus’ life exemplified humility. He did not assert His divine rights while on earth but instead left behind the glory and authority to which He was entitled. Cloaking himself with humanness, Jesus chose to be an obedient servant of His Father (Phil. 2:5-8).

Our Savior’s example was and still is countercultural. This world does not value an attitude or lifestyle of humility; rather, it applauds high achievement, outward beauty, elevated positions, or exceptional skills. But God assures us that if we choose meekness—living in submission to Jesus as Master of our lives—He will reward us in both this life and the life to come. (Matt. 5:5 niv).

In today’s verses, Peter outlines our options. Spiritual blessings are promised if we choose God’s way of humility. But if we pridefully forsake His path, the Lord will oppose us because we are essentially working against Him in arrogant self-sufficiency. However, when we humble ourselves by yielding to His authority and desiring to obey Him, He will be our source of strength and confidence.

There’s something else to consider: Since we sometimes buy into the significance society places on instant gratification, we tend to want recognition now. But God honors us according to His perfect way and timing.

The decision is yours to make: Will you humble yourself and live for God’s glory rather than yours? Or will you plot your own course and invite His opposition? If you’re wise, it’s not really much of a decision after all. So take a look at your priorities and ask God to reveal any areas driven by pride.

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Our Daily Bread — Out Of Context

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Luke 4:1-13

Your Word is truth. —John 17:17

When a friend started making random despairing statements, people were concerned for him and started giving advice and offering encouragement. As it turned out, he was simply having fun by quoting song lyrics out of context to start a conversation. Friends who tried to help wasted their time by offering help he didn’t need and advice he didn’t want. The consequences of my friend’s misleading statements were not serious, but they could have been. In taking time to respond to his false need, someone could have neglected someone else’s truly serious need.

Some people who take words out of context just want to gain attention or win an argument. But others are more sinister. They twist truth to gain power over others. They endanger not only lives but also souls.

When people use words to manipulate others to behave in certain ways—or worse, when they quote the Bible out of context to convince others to do wrong—there’s only one defense: We need to know what God truly says in His Word. Jesus was able to resist temptation with the truth (Luke 4). We have the same resource. God has given us His Word and Spirit to guide us and keep us from being deceived or misled. —Julie Ackerman Link

Your words of pure, eternal truth

Shall yet unshaken stay,

When all that man has thought or planned

Like chaff shall pass away. —Anon.

 

If we hold on to God’s truth, we won’t be trapped by Satan’s lies.

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Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Finger Pointing

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For a world of pointing fingers, the day is ripe with opportunity. Today is “Spy Wednesday,” an old and uncommon name for the Wednesday of Holy Week, so-named because it marks the agreement of Judas to betray Jesus. As told by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Judas approaches the chief priests and asks what they would be willing to give him for turning Jesus over to them. They agree on a sum, and from then on Judas looks for opportunity to hand him over.(1)

Some commemorate the involvement of Judas in the story of Holy Week by collecting thirty pieces of silver, the exact amount Judas was given to betray Jesus, and later returns to the chief priests in regret. Typically, children gather the coins and present them as gifts to the church. In other cultures, the tradition involves children throwing an effigy of Judas from the church steeple, then dragging it around the town while pounding him with sticks. For whatever part of us that might want a person to blame for the events that led to the betrayal, death, and crucifixion of Jesus, Judas makes an easy target.

But nothing about Holy Week is easy, and the gospels leave us wondering if guilt might in fact hit closer to home. It is noted in Mark’s Gospel, in particular, that the moral failures of the week are not handed to any one person, but described in all of the actors equally: Yes, to Judas the betrayer. But also to weak disciples, sleeping and running and fumbling. To Peter, cowardly and denying. To scheming priests, indifferent soldiers, angry mobs, and the conceited Pilate. Mark brings us face to face with human indecency, such that it is not a stretch to imagine our own in the mix.

While we may successfully remain apart and shrouded from the events, conversations, and finger-pointing of Holy Week, the cross invites the world to see that we stand nearer than we might realize. Such a thought might seem absurd or dramatic, a manipulative tool of theologians, or an inaccurate accusation on account of your own sense of moral clarity. Yet the invitation to emerge from our own darkest failings, lies, and betrayals is somewhere in the midst of this story as well; not an invitation to dwell in our own impoverishment or to wallow in guilt on our way to Easter morning, but rather, a summons to death and light.

The difficult message of the cross is that there is room beside the hostile soldiers, fickle crowds, and fleeing disciples. But perhaps the more difficult, and merciful, message of the cross is that it summons us to set that guilt down. Pointing fingers and holding onto a sense of guilt is easier than admitting there’s a way to wholeness of life and hope and liberty, which leads through the death and self-giving love of another soul. Before we found a scapegoat to detract attention from our own failings, before we even considered the endless possibilities of finger-pointing, Christ died pointing at the guilt-ridden and guilt-denying, the soldier and the priests and the disciple and the friend and the adversary, who he would just not let go.

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

(1) See Matthew 26:3-5, 14-16, Mark 14:10-12, Luke 22:3-6.

 

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “Then all the disciples forsook him and fled.” / Matthew 26:56

He never deserted them, but they in cowardly fear of their lives, fled from  him in the very beginning of his sufferings. This is but one instructive  instance of the frailty of all believers if left to themselves; they are but  sheep at the best, and they flee when the wolf cometh. They had all been  warned of the danger, and had promised to die rather than leave their Master;  and yet they were seized with sudden panic, and took to their heels. It may  be, that I, at the opening of this day, have braced up my mind to bear a trial  for the Lord’s sake, and I imagine myself to be certain to exhibit perfect  fidelity; but let me be very jealous of myself, lest having the same evil  heart of unbelief, I should depart from my Lord as the apostles did. It is one  thing to promise, and quite another to perform. It would have been to their  eternal honour to have stood at Jesus’ side right manfully; they fled from  honour; may I be kept from imitating them! Where else could they have been so  safe as near their Master, who could presently call for twelve legions of  angels? They fled from their true safety. O God, let me not play the fool  also. Divine grace can make the coward brave. The smoking flax can flame forth  like fire on the altar when the Lord wills it. These very apostles who were  timid as hares, grew to be bold as lions after the Spirit had descended upon  them, and even so the Holy Spirit can make my recreant spirit brave to confess  my Lord and witness for his truth.

What anguish must have filled the Saviour as he saw his friends so faithless!  This was one bitter ingredient in his cup; but that cup is drained dry; let me  not put another drop in it. If I forsake my Lord, I shall crucify him afresh,  and put him to an open shame. Keep me, O blessed Spirit, from an end so  shameful.

 

Evening   “And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” / Matthew 15:27

This woman gained comfort in her misery by thinking great thoughts of Christ.  The Master had talked about the children’s bread: “Now,” argued she, “since  thou art the Master of the table of grace, I know that thou art a generous  housekeeper, and there is sure to be abundance of bread on thy table; there  will be such an abundance for the children that there will be crumbs to throw  on the floor for the dogs, and the children will fare none the worse because  the dogs are fed.” She thought him one who kept so good a table that all that  she needed would only be a crumb in comparison; yet remember, what she wanted  was to have the devil cast out of her daughter. It was a very great thing to  her, but she had such a high esteem of Christ, that she said, “It is nothing  to him, it is but a crumb for Christ to give.” This is the royal road to  comfort. Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great  thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace. “My sins are many,  but oh! it is nothing to Jesus to take them all away. The weight of my guilt  presses me down as a giant’s foot would crush a worm, but it is no more than a  grain of dust to him, because he has already borne its curse in his own body  on the tree. It will be but a small thing for him to give me full remission,  although it will be an infinite blessing for me to receive it.” The woman  opens her soul’s mouth very wide, expecting great things of Jesus, and he  fills it with his love. Dear reader, do the same. She confessed what Christ  laid at her door, but she laid fast hold upon him, and drew arguments even out  of his hard words; she believed great things of him, and she thus overcame  him. She won the victory by believing in Him. Her case is an instance of  prevailing faith; and if we would conquer like her, we must imitate her  tactics.