Monthly Archives: March 2015

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Words Matter

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“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.'”—Matthew 5:37

During the days of the early church, thousands lost their lives because they would not say two words: Kaiser Kurios, which means “Caesar is Lord.” That’s because they understood that words matter.

You may remember the story of Rachel Scott. She was one of the 13 people who were killed at Columbine High School. Rachel, 17, was a strong Christian and very involved in her youth group.

On April 20, 1999, armed students began shooting people on Rachel’s high school campus. They came to Rachel and shot her twice in the legs and once in the torso. Then they left, only to return moments later. Lifting her by the head, they asked, “Do you believe in God?” Rachel understood that the words she chose would have serious consequences.

These godless men would take her life if she said yes, and perhaps even if she said no. But without hesitation, Rachel said, “You know I do!”

“Then go be with him,” responded one of the boys before shooting her in the head. Rachel received a martyr’s crown that day, I am sure. What would you have said under such circumstances?

Rachel understood that words matter.

Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’ (Matthew 5:37). In other words, the things you say should be free of duplicity or deceit, and no one should have any reason to doubt your words. Your words should be in alignment with your actions.

On our wedding day, before family and friends and before the pastor, we say “I do!” And when temptation calls, we dig in and firmly say “I won’t.” And when Jesus calls us to follow Him wholeheartedly, we say, “I will.”

Words matter. So use them wisely.

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert for Kids – Help Me!

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Matthew 15:22–23

A man once had a dream about Jesus who came upon three young men. As he came to the first of the three, he bent down to talk with him and smiled. He even gave a quick hug. Then he came to the second. He only put his hand on the young man’s head and gave him a quick look. Then he came to the third young man. This time he just walked right past and didn’t do or say anything.

Those who were watching wondered what that third young man had done to cause Jesus to ignore him. So they asked Jesus why he treated each young man so differently. Jesus said, “The first young man is a new Christian and he needs all the help I can give him. I wanted to encourage him, so I spent time with him. The second young man is a little stronger and loves me a little more. I can trust him and so I didn’t spend as much time with him. I was not ignoring the third young man. I love him very much and I’m training him for a very important role in life. I want him to be able to trust me even when it seems I’m not paying attention. It’s important for what I want him to do.”

When you pray and it seems like your prayers are being ignored, know that God hears you. God’s silence isn’t anger or disapproval. In fact, he loves you very much and it could be that he is training you to trust him even when it feels like he’s not paying attention. Perhaps he is preparing you for a greater role than you ever imagined.

Dear Lord, I still have a lot to learn about trusting you. Help me to believe you are at work no matter what I see. Amen.

Discovering God’s Design

Discovering God’s Design – Rewards by Grace

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Mark 10:28–31

Jesus, says stewardship theologian T. A. Kantonen (1900–1993), is pointing out in this passage and in the parallel passage in Matthew 19:28–30 that the disciples will have a reward in heaven. He tells the disciples that they will “also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt 19:28).

The Lord first directs the attention of the disciples away from the expectation of an immediate earthly recompense and places the thought of reward in the context of the final consummation of the kingdom. A steward of the kingdom, a partner of the Messiah, is not “[like a hired laborer waiting to be paid]” (Job 7:2). His eye is upon the glorious fulfillment of the divine purpose in which he is privileged to share. The point of this phrase of the reply may be illustrated by the replies of three men engaged in a building project to the question of what they were doing. One said, “I am laying bricks.” Another said, “I am making twenty dollars a day.” But the third replied, “I am building a church.”

While the ultimate goal is the heavenly kingdom, Mark’s version indicates that there is also to be recompense “in this present age” (Mk 10:30)—but “with persecutions.” Kantonen remarks:

The joys of the kingdom are experienced here and now, not merely in some distant future. But they do not provide a carefree utopia, but strength with which to face the hardships of a hostile world. To emphasize the unique character of the reward as a sovereign gift of God, which does not depend on men’s own efforts, both Matthew and Mark conclude with the Lord’s words, “But many [who] are first will be last, and the last first.” Matthew then proceeds to record the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, in which every trace of merit disappears altogether, and everything, the reward as well as the opportunity to work, is a matter of divine grace. In the light of this teaching it is obvious that the gospel gives the concept of reward a new meaning quite different from its ordinary connotation of compensation or remuneration for services rendered.

Author and personal wealth adviser Alan Gotthardt maintains that this is a vital issue for the Christian steward of material resources: “Without question, the rewards for Christians who are faithful in this life will be great. This includes faithfulness with their material possessions.” But Gotthardt also asks another question worthy of reflection: “Is it selfish for a Christian to seek eternal rewards? … It is certainly possible to have wrong motives related to giving—or anything else we do as Christians, for that matter … [However Paul] was clear in his writings that salvation is by faith alone. Crowns and other rewards result from our actions here on earth.”

Think About It

  • Do you think it is selfish for a Christian to seek eternal reward?
  • How does knowing you have a reward in heaven affect your actions here and now?
  • How easy is it for you to keep your divine purpose in mind?

Pray About It

Thanks for mercies past receive,

Pardon of our sins renew;

Teach us, henceforth, how to live

With eternity in view.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Work of the Holy Spirit

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Galatians 5:16

The Creator has a specific plan for each person’s life, and He’s arranged our talents, abilities, and circumstances to fit with these individualized goals (Eph. 2:10). When we connect with our God-given purpose, we feel deep satisfaction and great joy. However, it’s important to understand that we can’t achieve the Lord’s goals on our own; only by His strength and direction are we able to succeed.

In John 16:33, Jesus warned us that trouble is an integral part of life in this world. But easily forgetting how weak we are, we tend to take on challenges in our own strength and resourcefulness. Human nature wants to use its own power to tackle life singlehandedly and then take credit. So when temptations, trials, criticism, gossip, and persecution assail, many of us have the tendency to go into high gear and try all the harder.

For a while, life may actually seem good this way. But in the long run, self-reliance creates a mess. It also interferes with the fulfillment of God’s purposes.

The truth is, we sometimes have to experience failure in order to realize our complete dependence upon God. He lovingly breaks our pride by showing us that we cannot live fully without following the Spirit’s guidance.

Have you surrendered yet to the Holy Spirit’s control? Acknowledge your weakness and recognize His power, omniscience, and wisdom. The Lord doesn’t call you to live the Christian life, which is a human impossibility. Rather, He wants you to yield control and let Him live His life through you.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Foley Artists

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Read: John 16:7-15
Bible in a Year: Judges 1-3; Luke 4:1-30

 

Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. —2 Corinthians 11:14

Crunch. Crunch. Whoosh! In the early days of film, Foley artists created sounds to support the story’s action. Squeezing a leather pouch filled with cornstarch made the sound of snow crunching, shaking a pair of gloves sounded like bird wings flapping, and waving a thin stick made a whoosh sound. To make movies as realistic as possible, these artists used creative techniques to replicate sounds.

Like sounds, messages can be replicated. One of Satan’s most frequently used techniques is that of replicating messages in spiritually dangerous ways. Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” Paul is warning us about false teachers who turn our attention away from Jesus Christ and the message of His grace.

Jesus said that one purpose of the Holy Spirit living in us is that “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). With the help and guidance of the Spirit, we can find the safety of truth in a world of counterfeit messages. —Bill Crowder

We need You, Holy Spirit, to help us discern truth from error. We can be easily deceived by others or even by our own hearts. May we be open to learn from You and not be led astray.

The Holy Spirit is our ever-present Teacher.

INSIGHT: John 14 and 16 contain the most comprehensive record of Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit. The Father sends the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ place to be our parakletos, which means “one called alongside to assist.” This word is translated as “Helper” in today’s passage (v. 7); other Bible translations use the words “Comforter” (KJV) and “Counselor” (NIV). He is also the Spirit of truth (v. 13) who illumines the Scriptures so we may understand the meaning of Jesus’ works and words (vv. 13-14).
Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Journey of the Cross

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In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo, the young hobbit, has been given the burden of bearing the one ring of power. It is a ring that has the potential to put all of Middle Earth under terror and shadow, and the darkness is already spreading. With a fellowship of friends, Frodo determines he must start the long, dark journey to destroy the ring by throwing it into the volcano from which it was forged. It is a journey that will take him on fearful paths through enemy territory and overwhelming temptation to the ends of himself. Seeing the road ahead of him, he laments to Gandalf the Wise that the burden of the ring should have come to him in the first place.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”(1)

A fan of Tolkien’s epic fantasy once wrote the author to say that he preferred to read The Lord of the Rings particularly during the season of Lent. Though I don’t know all this reader had in mind with such a statement, Tolkien’s portrayal of a journey into darkness with the weight of a great burden and a motley fellowship of companions certainly holds similarities to the journey of the church toward the cross. The forty-day period that leads to Easter is both an invitation and a quest for any who would be willing, albeit a difficult one. The deliberate and wearisome journey with Christ to the cross is a crushing burden, even with the jarring recognition that we are not the one carrying it. On the path to Holy Week, the fellowship of the church far and wide is given time to focus in detail on what it means that Jesus came into this world that he might go the fearful way of the Cross. It is time set apart for pilgrimage and preparation, forty days with which we decide what to do with the time that is given us.

In fact, the Bible attaches special meaning to the forty-day journey. Considered the number of days marking a devout encounter with God, we find the occurrence of forty-day journeys throughout the stories of the prophets and the people of God. For forty days Noah and his family waited on the arc as God washed away and revived the earth. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, where he received the Law of God to share with the Israelites. Later, he spent forty days on the mountain prostrate before the LORD after the sin of the golden calf. Elijah was given food in the wilderness, which gave him strength for the forty day journey to Horeb, the Mount of God. Jonah reluctantly accepted forty days in Nineveh where the people, heeding his warning, repented before God with fasting, sackcloths, and ashes. For forty days, the prophet Ezekiel laid on his right side to symbolize the forty years of Judah’s transgression. And finally, for forty days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. As Mark reports: “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”

It is with this same Spirit that any are invited to take the forty day journey into the shadows and difficulties of Lent. In every forty day (or forty year) journey described in Scripture, the temptations are real, the waiting is difficult, and the call to listen or to look, to obey or deny is wearying. But there is something about the journey itself to which God moves us. Indeed, Christ himself was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, while Moses, Ezekiel, Noah, and even Jonah were each instructed to set out on the journeys that brought them closer to the heart of God, whether they were able to accept it or not.

Similarly for us, the forty days that lead to Easter Sunday are not without burden or cost. “The Cross of Lent,” as Augustine referred to it, is one that we bear year round, but one we learn to bear all the more intensely along the way to the cross during Lent. Here, we remember that we are dust, we follow Jesus to his death, we recollect the acts of God to be near us, and we let go of the things that keep us from holding the Son who saves us. Of course, these are burdens we will never bear alone. But each day we are given is one we decide what to do with. Jesus has given us one option:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”(2)

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

(1) J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994), 51.

(2) Luke 9:23-24.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Will You Flee?

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Then all the disciples left him and fled. Matthew 26:56

He never deserted them, but they in cowardly fear of their lives fled from Him at the very outset of His sufferings. This is but one instructive instance of the frailty of all believers if left to themselves; they are but sheep at best, and they flee when the wolf appears. 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 myself to bear a trial for the Lord’s sake, and I imagine myself able for the challenge; but let me be careful in case with 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 honor to have stood manfully at Jesus’ side; they fled from honor. 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 wretched spirit brave to confess my Lord and witness for His truth. What anguish must have filled the Savior 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 such a shameful end.

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The way to God

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“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

Suggested Further Reading: Genesis 28:10-17

From the moment when Adam touched the forbidden fruit, the way from God to man became blocked up, the bridge was broken down, a great gulf was fixed, so that if it had not been for the divine plan of grace, we could not have ascended to God, neither could God in justice come down to us. Happily, however, the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure, had provided for this great catastrophe. Christ Jesus the Mediator had in eternity past been ordained to become the medium of access between man and God. If you want a figure of him, remember the memorable dream of Jacob. He lay down in a solitary place, and he dreamed a dream, which had in it something more substantial than anything he had seen with his eyes wide open. He saw a ladder, the foot whereof rested upon earth, and the top thereof reached to heaven itself. Upon this ladder he saw angels ascending and descending. Now this ladder was Christ. Christ in his humanity rested upon the earth, he is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. In his divinity he reaches to the highest heaven, for he is very God of very God. When our prayers ascend on high they must tread the staves of this ladder; and when God’s blessings descend to us, the rounds of this marvellous ladder must be the means of their descent. Never has a prayer ascended to God save through Jesus Christ. Never has a blessing come down to man save through the same Divine Mediator. There is now a highway, a way of holiness wherein the redeemed can walk to God, and God can come to us. The king’s highway:

“The way the holy prophets went-
The road that leads from banishment.”

Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life.

For meditation: The crucifixion of God the Son was the opening ceremony of the way to the Father. As soon as the Son announced “It is finished”, the Father marked the occasion by cutting the veil of the temple from top to bottom (Mark 15:37,38; Hebrews 10:19,20).

Sermon no. 245
27 March (1859)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Solving Man’s Greatest Problem

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“Forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12).

Forgiveness removes the guilt and penalty of sin and restores intimacy with God.

Man’s greatest problem is sin. It renders him spiritually dead, alienates him from God and his fellow man, plagues him with guilt and fear, and can eventually damn him to eternal hell. The only solution is forgiveness—and the only source of forgiveness is Jesus Christ.

All sin is punishable by death (Rom. 6:23) but Christ bore the sins of the world, thereby making it possible to be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in Him (John 3:16). What a glorious reality!

Scripture speaks of two kinds of forgiveness: judicial and parental. Judicial forgiveness comes from God the righteous judge, who wiped your sin off the record and set you free from its punishment and guilt. At the moment of your salvation He forgave all your sins—past, present, and future—and pronounced you righteous for all eternity. That’s why nothing can ever separate you from Christ’s love (Rom. 8:38-39).

Parental forgiveness is granted to believers by their loving heavenly Father as they confess their sin and seek His cleansing. That’s the kind of forgiveness Jesus speaks of in Matthew 6:12.

When a child disobeys his father, the father/child relationship isn’t severed. The child is still a member of the family and there’s a sense in which he is already forgiven because he’s under the umbrella of his father’s parental love. But some of the intimacy of their relationship is lost until the child seeks forgiveness.

That’s the idea in Matthew 6:12. The sins you commit as a believer don’t rob you of your salvation, but they do affect your relationship with God. He still loves you and will always be your Father, but the intimacy and sweet communion you once knew is jeopardized until you seek reconciliation by confessing your sins.

As a Christian, you are judicially forgiven and will never come into condemnation. But never presume on that grace. Make confession part of your daily prayers so sin will never erode your relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for His judicial forgiveness of all your sins.
  • Ask Him to help you maintain the joy of your relationship with Him by quickly dealing with any sin that comes up in your life.

For Further Study

Read Psalm 32:1-7.

  • How did David feel about forgiveness?
  • What happened to David before he confessed his sin?
Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Journey Toward Unselfishness

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. . . I die daily [I face death every day and die to self]. – 1 Corinthians 15:31

Selfishness is not learned behavior; we are born with it. The Bible refers to it as “sin nature.” Adam and Eve sinned against God by doing what He told them not to do, and the sin principle they established was forever passed to every person who would ever be born. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and to deliver us from them. He came to undo what Adam did.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in our spirit, and if we allow that renewed part of us to rule our decisions, we can overcome the sin nature in our flesh. It doesn’t go away, but the greater One Who lives in us helps us overcome it daily (see Gal. 5:16). That does not mean that we never sin, but we can improve and make progress throughout our lives.

I certainly cannot say I have overcome selfishness entirely—none of us can on this side of eternity. But that doesn’t mean we don’t do everything we can to grow closer to God and die to our selfishness. We can have hope of improving daily. I am on a journey and, although I may not arrive, I have determined that when Jesus comes to take me home He will find me pressing toward this goal (see Phil. 3:12–13).

The apostle Paul made the following statement: . . . It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Paul meant that he was no longer living for himself and his own will, but for God and His will. I was greatly encouraged when I discovered through study that Paul made this statement approximately twenty years after his conversion. Learning to live unselfishly was a journey for him, just as it is for everyone else. Paul also said, . . . I die daily . . . (1 Cor. 15:31). In other words, putting others first was a daily battle and required daily decisions. Each of us must decide how we will live and what we will live for; and there is no better time to do so than right now.

Trust in Him Are you pressing toward the goal of living for God rather than yourself? Dying to yourself is a process that you can improve daily. Trust God to give you the strength to die to yourself daily.

 

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Are Each a Part

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“Each of us is a part of the one body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves and some are free. But the Holy Spirit has fitted us all together into one body. We have been baptized into Christ’s body by the one Spirit, and have all been given that same Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

I find that most Christians agree that the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ, as this verse affirms. But the unity of the body is divided here on earth by many differences of interpretation concerning a “second baptism,” speaking in tongues and “Spirit-filling.”

Most believers agree, however, that we are commanded to live holy lives and the Holy Spirit supernaturally makes this human impossibility a reality. He does this when we totally submit ourselves to His indwelling love and power. Or, to use a metaphor of the apostle Paul, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ” (Galatians 3:27, NAS).

In His high-priestly prayer, our Lord prayed that we who are believers may be one with Him, even as He and the Father were one. We are commanded to love one another. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35, KJV). No one who criticizes his brother is Spirit-filled. No one who sows discord among his brethren is Spirit-filled. In fact, the test as to whether or not we are controlled by the Holy Spirit is how we love our brothers.

It is my joy and privilege to know most of the famous Christian leaders of our time, men and women whom God is using in a mighty way to help change our nation and some other nations of the world with the gospel. How I rejoice at every good report that comes to me of God’s blessing upon their lives and ministries. In fact, it is one way of checking my own walk with Christ. If I were jealous and critical, fault-finding and sowing discord, I would know that I am not walking in the light as God is in the light.

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 12:14-20

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  I will not allow my interpretation of the Spirit-filled life to separate me from other members of the body of Christ, but will love them and seek to promote unity among believers.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – National Narcissism

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Psychologists at several American universities studying the differences between Western and Asian cultures have documented the unfortunate impact of “individualism” in the United States – which is, in short, that Americans are extraordinarily self-centered and their ability to empathize with others has greatly diminished. An example cited by researchers is telling: A Texas corporation aiming to improve productivity instructed its employees to look in the mirror and say, “I am beautiful” 100 times before coming to work. In contrast, a Japanese supermarket instructed its employees to tell each other, “You are beautiful.”

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

Proverbs 27:2

When you are focused only on praising yourself, you will be blind to what others have done for you – your family, America’s founders, military veterans and their families who sacrificed for your freedom and, most importantly, God. You will also become thoroughly unlikeable.

Whatever there is about you that is worthy of praise is a gift from God anyway, so don’t boast! Then pray that your leaders will govern with humility and that they may elevate the needs and best interests of the nation above their own, recognizing that all praise for America’s blessings belong to the Lord.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 25:1-10

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Stranglehold of Worry

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Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. —1 Peter 5:7

Some time ago I was playing with my grandkids, and they were pretending to choke me—and I was letting them. They were having a great time. A few days later, my granddaughter came over and said, “Grandpa, I want to choke you again.”

I thought, I don’t really know if I want to do that again.

Worry does the same thing to us. It chokes us. The word worry comes from an old English word that means “to strangle” or “to choke.” It cuts the air off. And it’s hard to breathe when you are getting choked.

Life is full of troubles, and there are all kinds of concerns we have every day about our health, our safety, our family, and our finances. Yet Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

The next time you start to panic, pray. Maybe it is in the middle of the night. (Isn’t that when panic often strikes?) When that happens to me, I say, “Lord, there isn’t anything I can do about it right now. This is Your problem. I’m giving it to You. I’m going back to sleep, and I’ll see You in the morning.”

There is no good in worry; it doesn’t help anything. In fact, worrying is a complete waste of time. The Bible says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7). So don’t worry. Pray. And as you pray, it will help you overcome your anxiety and worry. Commit your cares to the Lord.

 

 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Father, Forgive Them

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Of all the scenes around the cross, the one that angers me most is when those in the crowds said, “Let this Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Matthew 27:42). There’s nothing more painful than words meant to hurt.

1 Peter 2:23 tells us that “Jesus entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” He simply left the judging to God. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” he said. They were a crazy mob, mad at something they couldn’t see so they took it out on, of all people, God. Yet, Jesus died for them. How could he do it? I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if we don’t see Jesus’ love as much in the people he tolerated, as in the pain he endured. Such amazing grace!

From On Calvary’s Hill

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Holy Spirit—An Absolute

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 Luke 24:36-49

Salvation occurs when we trust Jesus as our Savior. He forgives us, transforms us, and sees us as righteous. In that moment, we are redeemed, and though we will continue to struggle with sin, it is a defeated foe. Then as time goes on, our service, gifts, and love for God should naturally become greater.

Unfortunately, a lot of Christians sit in church week after week, going through the motions yet lacking passion and failing to grow. How is that possible? Tragically, many believers are unaware of the essential ministry of God’s Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. The opening chapter of Scripture tells us that He existed before the formation of the earth and participated in creation (Gen. 1:2, 26). Today, He has the critical role of helping and counseling all believers.

The Holy Spirit is a gift to every child of God. His presence within us isn’t something we have to earn. Rather, it is a marvelous privilege—by indwelling our hearts, He can strengthen and steer each believer away from danger and into truth (John 16:7-8). Scripture tells us that Jesus came so we could experience a full life (10:10). This is possible only when we listen to His Spirit and obey.

Are you experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised? He wasn’t talking about happy circumstances but, rather, the joy possible through a relationship with Him. If you’re lacking in this area, consider your understanding of the Holy Spirit, and pray to be in tune with His promptings.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Scandal of the Cross

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There is a striking verse in the New Testament, in which the apostle Paul refers to the cross of Jesus Christ as foolishness to the Greek and a stumbling block to the Jew. One can readily understand why he would say that. After all, to the Greek mind, sophistication, philosophy, and learning were exalted pursuits. How could one crucified possibly spell knowledge?

To the Jewish mind, on the other hand, there was a cry and a longing to be free. In their history, they had been attacked by numerous powers and often humiliated by occupying forces. Whether it was the Assyrians or the Babylonians or the Romans, Jerusalem had been repeatedly plundered and its people left homeless. What would the Hebrew have wanted more than someone who could take up their cause and altogether repel the enemy? How could a Messiah who was crucified possibly be of any help?

To the Greek, the cross was foolishness. To the Jew, it was a stumbling block. What is it about the cross of Christ that so roundly defies everything that power relishes? Crucifixion was humiliating. It was so humiliating that the Romans who specialized in the art of torture assured their own citizenry that a Roman could never be crucified. But not only was it humiliating, it was excruciating. In fact, the very word “excruciating” comes from two Latin words: ex cruciatus, or out of the cross. Crucifixion was the defining word for pain.

Does that not give us pause in this season now before us? Think of it: humiliation and agony. This was the path Jesus chose with which to reach out for you and for me. You see, this thing we call sin, but which we so tragically minimize, breaks the grandeur for which we were created. It brings indignity to our essence and pain to our existence. It separates us from God.

On the way to the cross two thousand years ago, Jesus took the ultimate indignity and the ultimate pain to bring us back to the dignity of a relationship with God and the healing of our souls. Will you remember that this was done for you and receive his gift?

You will then discover that it is sin that is foolishness. Our greatest weakness is not an enemy from without but one from within. It is our own weak wills that cause us to stumble. But Jesus Christ frees us from the foolishness of sin and the weakness of our selves.

This is the very reason the apostle Paul went on to say that he preached Jesus Christ as one crucified, which was both the power of God and the wisdom of God. Come to the cross in these days given for our contemplation and find out his power and his wisdom.

Ravi Zacharias is founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Let Them Go

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Jesus answered…”So, if you seek me, let these men go.” John 18:8

Mark, my soul, the care that Jesus displayed even in His hour of trial toward his precious sheep! The ruling passion is strong in death. He resigns Himself to the enemy, but He interposes a word of power to set His disciples free. As to Himself, like a sheep before her shearers He is dumb and opens not His mouth, but for His disciples’ sake He speaks with almighty energy. Herein is love–constant, self-forgetting, faithful love. But is there not far more here than is immediately apparent? Do we not have the very soul and spirit of the atonement in these words?

The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep and pleads that they must therefore go free. The Surety is bound, and justice demands that those for whom He stands as substitute should go free. In the middle of Egypt’s bondage, the voice rang out with power, “Let these men go.” Out of slavery of sin and Satan the redeemed must come. In every cell of the dungeons of Despair, the sound is echoed, “Let these men go,” and out come Despondency and Fearful. Satan hears the well-known voice and lifts his foot from the neck of the fallen; and Death hears it, and the grave opens her gates to let the dead arise. These men go the way of progress, holiness, triumph, glory, and none shall dare to keep them from it. No lion shall hinder their progress, and no fierce opponent shall prevent them.

The Lord Jesus has drawn the cruel hunters upon Himself, making the most timid of His followers to discover perfect peace in His unbounded love. The thundercloud has burst over the cross of Calvary, and the pilgrims of Zion shall never be smitten by the bolts of vengeance.

Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity that your Redeemer has secured for you, and bless His name all day and every day.

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Separating the precious from the vile

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“That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” Exodus 11:7

Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 4:17-32

A stern rough argument might move us to be separate from the world. But once again, how is it possible for us to honour Jesus Christ, while there is no difference between us and the world? I can imagine that a man may not profess to be a Christian, and yet he may honour his master; that however is a matter of imagination, I do not know of an instance; but I cannot imagine a man professing to be a Christian, and then acting as the world acts, and yet honouring Christ. Methinks I see my Master now; he stands before me. He has more than those five blessed wounds. I see his hands running with blood. “My Master! My Master!” I cry, “where didst thou get those wounds? Those are not the piercings of the nails, nor the gash of the spear-thrust; whence come those wounds?” I hear him mournfully reply, “These are the wounds which I have received in the house of my friends; such-and-such a Christian fell, such-and-such a disciple followed me afar off, and at last Peter-like denied me altogether. Such a one of my children is covetous, such another of them is proud, such another has taken his neighbour by the throat, and said, “Pay me what thou owest,” and I have been wounded in the house of my friends.” O, blessed Jesus, forgive us, forgive us, and give us thy grace that we may do so no more, for we would follow thee whithersoever thou goest; thou knowest Lord we would be thine, we would honour thee and not grieve thee. O give us now of thine own Spirit, that we may come out from the world and be like thyself,—holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.

For meditation: Does the Lord have to ask you “Will ye also go away?” May he enable us to reply as Simon Peter did (John 6:67-69).

Sermon no. 305
26 March (Preached 25 March 1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Dealing with Sin

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“Forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12).

Believers confess their sins; unbelievers deny theirs.

Christians struggle with sin. That surely comes as no surprise to you. As you mature in Christ, the frequency of your sinning decreases, but your sensitivity to it increases. That doesn’t mean you are more easily tempted, but that you are more aware of the subtleties of sin and how it dishonors God.

Some people think you should never confess your sins or seek forgiveness, but the Lord instructed us to do so when He said for us to pray, “Forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12). That’s the believer’s prayer for the Father’s forgiveness.

John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). That passage doesn’t tell us how to get saved, as many have taught. It tells us how to distinguish believers from unbelievers: believers confess their sins; unbelievers don’t.

The phrase “forgive us” in Matthew 6:12 implies the need for forgiveness. “Debts” translates a Greek word that was used to speak of a moral or monetary debt. In Matthew 6:12 it refers to sins. When you sin, you owe to God a consequence or a debt because you have violated His holiness.

When you sin as a believer, you don’t lose your salvation but you will face God’s chastening if you don’t repent. Hebrews 12 says, “Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives . . . . He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness” (vv. 6, 10).

If you are harboring sin, confess it now and allow God to cleanse you and use you today for His glory.

Suggestions for Prayer

Write down why God’s forgiveness is important to you, then express those thoughts to Him in praise.

For Further Study

Read Psalm 38.

  • What physical and emotional ailments did David experience as a result of his sin?
  • What was his attitude toward God as he confessed his sin?
Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Read and Reap

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[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known. – Mark 4:22

The Word has tremendous treasures, powerful life-giving secrets that God wants to reveal to us. They are manifested to those who ponder, study, think about, practice mentally, and meditate on the Word of God.

There is no end to what God can show you out of one verse of Scripture. You can study a scripture one time and get one thing, and another time you’ll see something else you did not even notice before.

The Lord keeps revealing His secrets to those who are diligent about studying the Word. Don’t be the kind of person who always wants to live off of someone else’s revelation. Study the Word yourself, and allow the Holy Spirit to bless your life with truth.

Power Thought: Revelation is available to me when I study God’s Word.