Monthly Archives: October 2013

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – How to Spot a Wolf

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“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.” —Matthew 7:15

An inspector who worked for London’s Scotland Yard had the job of detecting false currency from the true. Someone commented to him that he must spend a lot of time looking at counterfeit money.

“Oh, no,” he answered. “I just spend all day working with real money. Then, when I come across a counterfeit bill, I know immediately.”

The apostle Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church, “I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out!” (Acts 20:29–31).

That is why it is important to declare the whole counsel of God. There is false teaching, and there are false teachers who lead people astray. The tricky thing about false teaching is that it is not 100 percent false. Maybe it is 20 percent false. Maybe most of it is good and 20 percent is false. Yet that small part that is weird or odd could be spiritually destructive. So if I see a false teaching, I will try to identify it and then teach what the Bible says.

I believe that the best thing I can do is to help people become as conversant with the Bible as possible. The more time we spend in the Bible, the more likely we will recognize that something isn’t accurate when it comes along.

Of course, we could spend the rest of our lives researching every aberrant teaching or cult out there. But I would suggest that we instead spend our time absorbing the Word of God. Then we will be like that inspector in Scotland Yard and recognize when something false surfaces because we know what is true.

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Mournful to Hopeful

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Max Lucado

In May of 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth lost their five-year-old daughter in an automobile accident. They were deluged by messages of kindness. One in particular gave Steven strength.  It was from a pastor friend who’d lost his son in an auto accident. “Remember, your future with your daughter will be greater than your past with her.”

Death seems to take so much. We bury the wedding that never happened, the golden years we never knew. We bury dreams. But in heaven these dreams will come true. Acts 3:21 says that God has promised a “restoration of all things.”

All things includes all relationships. Our final home will hear no good-byes. Gone forever. Let the promise change you. From sagging to seeking, from mournful to hopeful! From dwellers in the land of good-byes to a heaven of hellos!  You’ll get through this!

From You’ll Get Through This

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Unwise Reactions to Criticism

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Charles Stanley

1 Peter 2:23-24

No one likes personal criticism. Sometimes it seems that we go out of our way to help and encourage others, only to be met with a harsh word or accusation. Too often, when that happens, our protective shields immediately go up. But what do we do with the remark that has already been said? What is our normal, human response to criticism?

First, we might respond by repressing the matter. That is, we acknowledge there is a problem but don’t want to do anything about it. In such cases, we may answer, “Thank you for sharing your feelings. I understand what you are saying.” And yet we may not understand. We might feel grievously hurt by the comment but do not want to deal with the hardship of exploring or discussing it further.

Second, we may respond by suppressing the conflict. We may act as if nothing ever happened, completely ignoring the situation to the extent that we actually become unaware that anything is wrong. Far from being a cure, this only delays and exaggerates our eventual reaction to the problem.

Third, we might respond by blaming someone else. We can be quick to point the finger at others, while denying any personal responsibility in the matter.

Selfish tendencies serve only to alienate us further from those who have challenged us in the first place. True, a word of criticism can hurt, but there may be something within the remark that is worth examining. Are you strong enough to face criticism with humility and godly confidence?

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Losing And Finding Our Lives In Him

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Our Daily Bread

Luke 9:18-27

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. —Luke 9:24

When Mother Teresa died in 1997, people marveled again at her example of humble service to Christ and to people in great need. She had spent 50 years ministering to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying through the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India.

After extensive interviews with her, British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote: “There is much talk today about discovering an identity, as though it were something to be looked for, like a winning number in a lottery; then, once found, to be hoarded and treasured. Actually, . . . the more it is spent the richer it becomes. So, with Mother Teresa, in effacing herself, she becomes herself. I never met anyone more memorable.”

I suspect that many of us may be afraid of what will happen if we obey Jesus’ words: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

Our Savior reminded His followers that He came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). We are called to lose our lives for Christ, and in so doing discover the fullness of life in Him. —David McCasland

“Take up thy cross and follow Me,”

I hear the blessed Savior call;

How can I make a lesser sacrifice

When Jesus gave His all? —Ackley

As we lose our lives for Christ, we find fullness of life in Him.

Bible in a year: Jeremiah 1-2; 1 Timothy 3

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – At the Table

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Ravi Z

When summer comes and city corners are full again of kids with bikes and basketballs, my mind returns to a particular playground. For several summers I worked at a church with an outdoor recreation ministry, whose intent was to serve the neighborhood, meeting the kids and building relationships. We played games, read stories, jumped rope, and organized basketball tournaments. One year a volunteer came and helped the kids make pottery, so we commissioned them to create some new communion plates and chalices for the church to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Most of these kids had never taken communion before; many had never heard of the Lord’s Supper or been told the story of Jesus and his disciples in the upper room. So with muddied hands we told the story, and together that summer several sets of communion plates and cups were fashioned by kids eager to see them in use. I have never seen more colorful, misshapen objects grace the altar of a church; nor have I ever seen so many wide-eyed children come to life at the communion table. The elders held the lopsided plates and cups, inviting the church community to come and remember the one who shapes us. The children had a physical reminder of their place at the table, and the church was reminded again that we are all children being nourished by the Son of God.

When Christians proclaim the Incarnation, they proclaim the gift of a God who comes noticeably near his creation; the Lord’s Supper is another gift marking a God who comes near.  The table is a place, like the manager in Bethlehem or the Cross of Calvary, where we are welcomed—rather, summoned—to come forward as we are: the poor to a benevolent giver, the sick to a physician, the sinful to the author of righteousness, children to the Father of life. Jesus left this sign and seal specifically with human beings in mind. When he gave us the command to take the bread and the cup in remembrance of his presence among us, he gave us a sign of this presence that is both visible and physical. Fourth century preacher John Chrysostom wrote of this physical gift as a vital reminder both because we ourselves are physical and Christ as well: “Were we incorporeal, he would give us these things in a naked and incorporeal form. Now because our souls are implanted in bodies, he delivers spiritual things under things visible.” We are given a sign to hold, a reminder of Christ’s nearness that nourishes both body and soul. In the act of eating, we are given the assurance of a real and present and nourishing Christ: “Lo, I am with you always even unto the ends of the earth” (Matthew 28:20).

Coming to the table like the disciples centuries before us, Christians consume a meal that sustains us like any other. And yet, it is at his table that we ingest the death and life of Christ; we participate in his birth among us, his suffering on the Cross, his humiliation and burial, his resurrection and new life. As a visible sign, it is far from one-dimensional. Like the children who first witnessed the Lord’s Supper from bright plates painted at their own hands, it is personal. It is so much more than a meal.

Christ calls those who will hear to the table to commune with himself and a great cloud of witnesses. He calls us to locate our selves and our redemption in the presence of a great community and in the midst of a remarkable story. We are invited to see our lives within the history of a covenant people and a vast community of believers. For we are children sustained by a mighty Father, a provident parent aware of our vast need and more than able to fulfill it. Christ was born as a child in Bethlehem not merely to come nearer, but to usher the world by his grace into communion and community, into his life and his death, the journey of faith, the pilgrimage of believers, and the story of salvation. We are invited to a great and intimate table:

On the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and broke it and gave it to those he loved saying, Come, take and eat, this is my body broken for you…

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

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Past, Present, Future

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Alistair Begg

‘Do you want to go away as well?’

John 6:67

Many have forsaken Christ and have walked no more with Him; but what reason do you have to make a change? Has there been any reason for it in the past? Has Jesus not proved Himself all-sufficient? He asks you this morning, “Have I been a wilderness to you?” When your soul has simply trusted Jesus, have you ever been defeated? Have you not until now found your Lord to be a compassionate and generous friend to you, and has simple faith in Him not given you all the peace your spirit could desire? Can you even dream of a better friend than He has been to you? Then do not change the old and tried for the new and false.

As for the present, can that compel you to leave Christ? When we are hard-pressed with this world or with the severer trials within the church, we find it a most blessed thing to rest our head upon the shoulder of our Savior. This is the joy we have today-that we are saved in Him; and if this joy is satisfying, why would we think of changing? Who trades gold for dross? We will not renounce the sun until we find a better light, nor leave our Lord until a brighter lover shall appear; and since this can never be, we will hold Him with an immortal grasp and bind His name as a seal upon our arm.

As for the future, can you suggest anything that can arise that will render it necessary for you to mutiny or desert the old flag to serve under another captain? We think not. If life be long, He doesn’t change. If we are poor, what better than to have Christ who can make us rich? When we are sick, what more do we want than Jesus to comfort and to heal? When we die, is it not written that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”1 And so we say with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”2

1Romans 8:38-39

2John 6:68

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The chaff driven away

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CharlesSpurgeon

“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Psalm 1:4

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Peter 2:11-17

Christian habits are the best business habits, if men would but believe it. When a man mixes his religion with his business and allows every act of his life to be guided by it, he stands the best chance in this world, if I may be allowed such a secular expression, for “Honesty is the best policy” after all, and Christianity is the best honesty. The sharp cutting competition of the times may be called honesty—it is only called so on earth, it is not called so by God, for there is a good deal of cheating in it. Honesty in the highest sense—Christian honesty—will be found after all to be the best policy in everything, and there will ordinarily be a prosperity, even worldly prosperity, attending a good man in the patient industrious pursuit of his calling. But if he does not have that success he craves, still there is one thing he knows, he would have it if it were best for him. I often know Christian men talk in this fashion; “Well I do but very little business,” says one, “but I have enough coming in to live upon comfortably and happy. I never cared much for push and competition; I never felt that I was fit for it, and I sometimes thank God that I never thrust myself out into the rough stream, but that I was content to keep along shore.” And I have marked this one thing, and as a matter of fact I know it cannot be disproved, that many such humble-minded men are the very best of Christians, they live the happiest lives, and whatsoever they do certainly does prosper, for they get what they expected though they did not expect much, and they get what they want though their wants are not very large.

For meditation: Honesty honours God, and God honours those who honour him (1 Samuel 2:30). Dishonesty in the early church was strikingly exposed (Acts 5:1-11).

Sermon no. 280

23 October (1859)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – The Source of Righteousness

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John MacArthur

The Source of Righteousness

“The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:9).

The inability of human wisdom to produce right living was reaffirmed in my thinking as I read a contemporary psychiatrist’s book on how to overcome depression. The doctor’s first suggestion was to shout “Cancel!” every time you have a negative thought. She also recommended playing a tape recording of positive messages while you sleep at night, and listening to positive music during the day.

Cultivating a meaningful spiritual philosophy was another of her suggestions. She said any will do–as long as it works for you–but cautioned against those that speak of sin and guilt. Her final point was to find the spiritual light within yourself.

That kind of advice is foolish because it has no basis in truth. The best it can do is mask a few symptoms. It cannot cure the illness.

Jesus illustrated the hopelessness of searching for truth through such means when He said to a group of unbelievers, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil . . . [who] does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

“Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. . . . He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (John 8:43-47).

Unbelievers don’t see the truth of God’s Word for what it is. But believers hear the truth and receive it. Like David, they acknowledge that “the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:9).

“Judgments” in that context speaks of ordinances or divine verdicts from the Supreme Judge. “Righteous altogether” implies that Scripture produces comprehensive righteousness in all who receive it. Together they emphasize that true righteousness originates from God’s Word and flows through His people.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Praise God for giving you the truth that produces righteousness.

For Further Study:

What do the following verses say about God’s righteous Word: Psalm 119:89, 128, 137-38, 142, and 160?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – We Can’t Do Anything Without Him

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Joyce meyer

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

—John 15:5

According to today’s scripture, we cannot do anything—anything—apart from Jesus. I’ve certainly found this to be true in my life and I’m sure you have too. One time I was trying to fix my hair and had one piece that simply would not curl. The rest of my hair curled fine; my curling iron was red hot. I’d put the iron on that curl and turn it, then take it off and that one piece of hair would fall flat. I didn’t know about trusting in God and leaning on Him for everything. I was a self-sufficient, independent, strong woman. I had spent most of my life thinking I didn’t need anybody because I’d been abused and was afraid to trust people. My attitude was: “Who needs you? I’m just fine by myself!”

I knew I needed God, but I didn’t realize that I desperately needed God. I began to sense in my heart that God wanted me to pray and ask Him to help me with my hair. My first thought was, I am not going to ask God to help me fix my hair. I am a grown woman, and I have been doing my hair for a long time. I’ll try it again and put some hairspray on it, because sometimes that works. It didn’t work that time!

Finally, I conceded, saying, “Okay, Holy Spirit, would You please help me fix my hair?” I curled the same piece of hair again, and when I removed the iron that time, it had a nice little curl in it. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience: If we don’t do things God’s way, we’re not going to do them at all. We honor Him when we show our dependence on Him by asking for help for big things and little ones.

Love God Today: I encourage you to lean on God and ask Him to help you with all kinds of things, little things as well as big things.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie –The Whole Counsel of God

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For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. —Acts 20:27

When I speak I try to keep it interesting. I try to keep it real. I try to keep it understandable. But I am not there to entertain an audience or to make people feel good. My job, if you will, is to exposit the Word of God. Because it really doesn’t matter what Greg Laurie thinks about anything. My opinion isn’t any better than anyone else’s opinion.

For me as a pastor, I have a responsibility to declare the whole counsel of God and feed the flock of God. That is the advantage of expository preaching and teaching. By expository, I mean taking the text and letting it unfold. We don’t impose our views on the text; we let the text impose its views on us. It is not for us to add things to the text.

Sometimes pastors use a text as a point of departure for their messages. A verse will be read, and then whoever is speaking will just tell stories. They might be good stories. They might be good jokes. They might be very entertaining. And as you leave, you might say, “That was so good. I loved that. It was really good.” You have no idea what he said, but you know it was fun.

The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). I think that is the most important thing. We need to get our minds oriented toward what the Bible says.

Too often we build our opinions on our feelings. But it doesn’t matter what we feel. What does the Bible say? Do what the Bible says, because feelings can mislead you. Don’t base decisions in life on mere feelings. Base them on the Word of God.

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Good-Bye

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Max Lucado

Good-bye. No one wants to say it. And death is the most difficult good-bye of all.

After our church had five funerals in seven days, the sorrow took its toll on me.  I chided myself, “Come on, Max, get over it.  Death is a natural part of living.” Then I self-corrected.  No it isn’t. Birth is. Breathing is. Belly laughs, big hugs and bedtime kisses are.  But death? We weren’t made to say good-bye. God’s original plan had no farewell, no final breath, day, or heartbeat. No matter how you frame it, good-bye doesn’t feel right.

God has served notice.  All farewells are on the clock. He has decreed a family reunion. What a reunion it will be. Revelation 21:4 says, on that day, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

This long journey will come to an end. You’ll see Him. And you’ll see them. Isn’t this our hope?

From You’ll Get Through This

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Participating in Great Works Through Prayer

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Charles Stanley

John 16:23-24

Divine miracles occur daily: when closed minds open, the spiritually blind suddenly see the gospel’s truth, and rebels surrender and become God’s children. Jesus promised that we who believe can have a part in great works like these by making requests in His name.

Our heavenly Father waits for us to draw near with our big petitions. He looks to see that we are asking based on the merits and reconciling work of Christ, that we have confessed all known sin, and that we firmly believe He’ll do what He has said. In other words, we are not to doubt; our Father wants us to have faith that He will both keep His promises and respond for our good. He delights in giving His children gifts (Matt. 7:11).

God answers our requests when they are in alignment with His plan. And we know He won’t act in a manner inconsistent with His character. So by searching the Scriptures, we can discover whether our desires line up with God’s nature and promises. We might also learn about someone with a similar dilemma, such as: Elisha, who was exhausted and in despair; Ruth and Naomi, who were poor widows in need of the Lord’s help; or David, whose life was in danger. Their interactions with God—and the ways He responded—will provide guidance on how we can speak with our Father about our difficulties. And we can be certain the Holy Spirit will help us (Rom. 8:26).

God alone knows the perfect actions to take and the right time to do so. But He invites us to ask in faith—and to keep on asking (Matt. 7:7 ISV).

 

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Campaign

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Our Daily Bread

Romans 15:1-7

Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. —Romans 14:19

Each year young people in our community participate in a “Be Nice” campaign spearheaded by a mental health organization. In one of the events in 2012, 6,000 students spelled out the words BE NICE with their bodies on their schools’ sports fields. One principal said, “We want students to come to school and learn without the distraction of fear or sadness or uneasiness around their peers. We are working hard to make sure students are lifting each other up, rather than tearing each other down.”

Paul desired that the people in the church at Rome would have an even higher standard of love. Both the strong and weak in the faith were judging and showing contempt for each other (Rom. 14:1-12). They despised one another as they argued about what foods were permissible to eat (vv.2-3) and what holidays they should observe (vv.5-6). Paul challenged them: “Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (v.19). He reminded them that their hearts should be concerned with pleasing others, not pleasing themselves. He said, “Even Christ did not please Himself” (15:3); He served.

Join the campaign that loves others despite our differences—you’ll bring praise to God (v.7). —Anne Cetas

Dear Lord, I want to be a person who is

kind and loving to others. Please help me

to use words that will build others up

and bring praise and glory to Your name.

Kindness is simply love flowing out in little gentlenesses.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 65-66; 1 Timothy 2

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Conversation Matters

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Ravi Z

Search the Internet these days and you will find an abundance of entries on the art of conversation. Best-selling books have been written on how to interact with anyone from bus driver to head of state. Whether from the shortened sound bites of “Twitter” to the perpetual conflicts in government, the practice and the art of having meaningful and constructive conversation seems to be the topic of conversation! Sadly, it seems that opportunities for honesty, authenticity, and respectful debate are waning in today’s information-saturated yet disconnected world. When real conversations happen they are a true gift.

In recognizing both the gift of and the need for conversation in my own life, I discovered something very interesting captured by the writers of the Bible. Recorded within its pages are some fascinating conversations between God and various individuals. Far from being the polite, deferential, and circumscribed conversations of a more politically correct age, these conversations are full of questions, challenge, and doubt. These features, in and of themselves, should grab the attention of even a casual reader, for how many of us if given the opportunity to have a close encounter with God would even have the ability to speak? And yet, the writers of Scripture saw fit to capture even the kind of conversations in which the Almighty God engages reluctant and less than willing humans.

Early in the narrative of Genesis, for example, the first time we hear Abraham engage God in conversation, he responds to the promises issued by God to give him great reward with a certain level of incredulity.(1) “O Lord God, what will you give me, since I am childless?” (Genesis 15:2). These are the very first recorded words of Abraham. As far as we are told from the biblical story, Abraham left his country and family of origin without question; he heard God’s great promise of a great nation and blessing without any question or doubt. Yet his first recorded words question God. When visited by God at Mamre prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham bargained with God to spare the city. Lower and lower fell the number of the righteous required to save it until finally God promised not to destroy it if ten righteous persons were found.

Moses also questions God in his encounter with the Almighty.(2) Despite seeing a bush burning with fire but not consumed, despite seeing his shepherd’s staff transformed into a serpent, and despite seeing his hand become leprous and then healed of leprosy, Moses fires back question after question and challenge after challenge to the God revealed specially and uniquely to him: “I AM THAT I AM; I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.” Moses appears not to recognize his conversation partner, the God of his father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, as he questions God repeatedly in their dramatic conversation: “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11). “Now they may say to me, ‘What is God’s name?’ What shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13). “What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say?” (Exodus 4:1). “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10). “Please Lord, send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13).

What amazes me about these dialogues is that they are included in the Bible at all. For on the surface, it appears that these are not examples of great conversations for God. If we simply evaluated them on contemporary conversational etiquette, or persuasive ability, neither party does very well. God isn’t very successful in terms of persuasion and the human conversation partners are better at giving excuses than giving respect. But of course, there is more to the story. As Abraham and Moses continue their conversations with God-as one offers up the child of promise for sacrifice, as the other negotiates with Pharaoh and then shepherds the Israelites in the wilderness-we hear complaint, lament, question, and argumentation that we could hardly imagine, let alone speak before the Almighty. And yet, Abraham is called “the friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8) and Moses beholds the glory of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 33:18-9). The conversation matters—even conversation that questions and argues—for God values communion. Indeed, Abraham and Moses, Job, the psalmists, and the prophets all provide us with rich and engaging narratives of authentic, challenging, questioning, and even argumentative conversation with God.

Despite Moses’s questioning of God, the Scripture tells us that “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Perhaps the way we talk with God illuminates our willingness to engage in great conversation. Indeed, perhaps the way we talk with God illuminates the depth of our friendship.

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

(1) Genesis 15:1.

(2) See Exodus 3-4.

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Body of Divinity in Miniature

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Alistair Begg

I will love them freely.

Hosea 14:4

This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. Whoever grasps its meaning is a theologian, and whoever is able to dive into its fullness is a learned professor! It is a summary of the glorious message of salvation that was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer.

The sense hinges upon the word “freely.” This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing out to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are.

The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: “I will love them freely.”

Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then He would not love us freely; at least, this would be a hindrance and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands: “I will love them freely.”

We complain, “Lord, my heart is so hard.”

“I will love them freely.”

“But I do not feel my need of Christ as I ought to.”

“I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely.”

“But I do not feel that softening of spirit that I should desire.”

Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever. So we without any fitness may rest upon the promise of God that was made to us in Christ Jesus when He said, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned.”1 It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price!

“I will love them freely.” These words invite apostates to return: Indeed, the text was specially written for such-“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely.”

Apostate, surely the generosity of the promise will immediately break your heart, and you will return and seek your injured Father’s face.

1John 3:18

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The High Priest standing between the dead and the living

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CharlesSpurgeon

“And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.” Numbers 16:47, 48

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 4:14-5: 10

Jesus, the propitiator, is to be looked upon as the ordained one—called of God as was Aaron. Settled in eternity as being the predestined propitiation for sin, he came into the world as an ordained priest of God; receiving his ordination not from man, neither by man; but like Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, he is a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Stand back, sons of Korah, all of you who call yourselves priests. I can scarce imagine that any man in this world who takes to himself the title of a priest, unless he takes it in the sense in which all God’s people are priests,—I cannot imagine that a priest can enter heaven. I would not say a thing too stern or too severe; but I do most thoroughly believe that an assumption of the office of priest is so base an assumption of the priestly office of Christ, that I could as well conceive of a man being saved who called himself God, as conceive of a man being saved who called himself a priest; if he really means what he says, he has so trampled upon the priestly prerogative of Christ, that it seems to me he has touched the very crown jewels, and is guilty of a blasphemy, which, unless it be repented of, shall surely bring damnation on his head. Shake your garments, you ministers of Christ, from all priestly assumption; come out from among them; touch not the unclean thing. There are no priests now specially to minister among men. Jesus Christ and he only is the priest of his Church. He has made all of us priests and kings unto our God.

For meditation: Because the Christian has a Father in heaven, he is not to call any man his spiritual father on earth (Matthew 23:9); because the Christian has a great High Priest in heaven (1 Timothy 2:5), he is not to regard any man as his priest on earth. We are no longer living in Old Testament times!

Sermon no. 341

22 October (Preached 21 October 1860)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Fearing God

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John MacArthur

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever” (Ps. 19:9).

In the Old Testament, to fear God was to view Him with reverential awe and bow to His sovereign authority. In Psalm 34 David wrote, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (vv. 11- 14). His son Solomon added, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. . . . Fear the Lord and turn away from evil” (Prov. 1:7; 3:7).

The concept of fearing God isn’t limited to the Old Testament. Paul said, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1) and, “Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Eph. 5:21).

Our fear of God compels us to worship Him and conform our lives to His will. If you fear Him, pleasing Him will be your greatest delight and displeasing Him, your greatest disappointment.

In Psalm 19:9 David uses “fear” as a synonym for God’s Word, implying that Scripture is God’s manual on how to worship Him. “Clean” (v. 9) is a comprehensive term that speaks of the absence of sin, corruption, filthiness, defilement, imperfection, and error. The message Scripture conveys is always “flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6, NIV).

Because it is so perfect, Scripture endures forever (Ps. 19:9). That’s why Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31). It never needs to be updated to accommodate contemporary thinking. It stands forever as authoritative and unyielding. Those who judge it, slander it, or ignore it are in grave peril. Far better to fear God and bow to His revealed will.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Read Psalm 33 as a prayer of praise to the Lord.

For Further Study:

Memorize Proverbs 3:5-7 as a reminder always to seek God’s will and approval.

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Simple, Believing Prayer

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Joyce meyer

And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking…. For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.—Matthew 6:7–8

We must develop confidence in simple, believing prayer. We need the confidence that even if we simply say, “God, help me,” He hears and will answer. We can depend on God to be faithful to do what we have asked Him to do, as long as our request is in accordance with His will. We should know that He wants to help us because He is our Helper (Hebrews 13:6).

Too often we get caught up in our own works concerning prayer. Sometimes we try to pray so long, loud, and fancy that we lose sight of the fact that prayer is our conversation with God. The length or loudness or eloquence of our prayer is not the issue; it is the sincerity of our heart and the confidence we have that God hears and will answer us that is important.

Sometimes we try to sound so devout and elegant that we get lost. We don’t even know what we are trying to pray about. If we could ever get delivered from trying to impress God, we would be a lot better off.

Lord, free me from the belief that my prayers must be eloquent and just right. Keep reminding me that what You really want from me is a heartfelt conversation. Amen.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – No Longer Slaves

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“And you are My friends if you obey Me. I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in slaves; now you are My friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told Me” (John 15:14,15).

How many really close friends do you have? Not many, I think you will agree, for a close friend is one in whom you confide regularly. who knows you just as you are and loves you just the same.

So it is with our heavenly Friend, the one who “sticks closer than a brother.” And how do we earn the right to become that kind of intimate friend? Simply by obeying His commands, “which are not grievous,” but really are necessary to keep us in the straight and narrow path and to give us a happy, blessed life.

In a sense, of course, we are still His bondslaves, His servants, but He deigns to call us His friends if we love Him enough to obey His commands. And He proves His friendship by sharing with us all that the Father has shared with Him. What greater friend could we have?

Jesus not only called His disciples friends, but He also treated them as friends. He opened His mind to them, made known His plans and acquainted them with the plan of His coming. His death, His resurrection and ascension. He followed this proof of His friendship with the actual title of friend.

Oh, that you and I might see Him today truly as our friend – one who sticks closer than a brother or sister or mother or father.

Bible Reading: John 15:11-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: As I take inventory of my real friends today, I will especially include the one Friend above all friends, the Lord Jesus Christ, the source of the supernatural life which God has commanded me to live.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R.- Another Fine Mess

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Film comic Stan Laurel of “Laurel and Hardy” was hugely successful as an actor. As a husband…not so much. Here is the short version of his biography – but be warned: it’s difficult to follow. Stan first married Lois. Then he married Virginia. Then he married Vera, a Russian singer he said had “a terrific temper.” There were questions about whether their earlier divorces were legal, so he actually married Vera three separate times. They divorced after Stan dug a hole in their backyard and tried to bury her alive. Then he married Virginia for a second time, divorced her again, and married Ida.

Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Psalm 118:4

Laurel and Hardy’s trademark phrase “another fine mess” could certainly describe Stan’s personal life, but really, that’s true for all of us. We live in a fear-filled world filled with messed up and broken relationships. For many people, love is fleeting, not permanent. But thank God, His love “endures forever.” Nothing can ever shake it.

Today, pray for help in loving others faithfully and unconditionally. The state of things in Washington might be “another fine mess,” but with God’s blessings, that won’t be the state of your home or your heart.

Recommended Reading: I John 3:11-23