Monthly Archives: December 2015

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Christmas Rest

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Read: Matthew 11:28-12:8

Bible in a Year: Amos 7-9; Revelation 8

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. —Matthew 11:28

As a boy I delivered newspapers in order to earn money. Since it was a morning newspaper, I was required to get up at 3:00 every morning, 7 days a week, in order to have all 140 of my papers delivered to their appropriate homes by 6:00 a.m.

But one day each year was different. We would deliver the Christmas morning newspaper on Christmas Eve—meaning that Christmas was the only morning of the year I could sleep in and rest like a normal person.

Over the years, I came to appreciate Christmas for many reasons, but one that was special in those days was that, unlike any other day of the year, it was a day of rest.

At that time, I didn’t fully understand the meaning of the true rest that Christmas brings. Christ came so that all who labor under the weight of a law that can never be fulfilled might find rest through the forgiveness Christ offers. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). In a world that is too much for us to bear alone, Christ has come to bring us into a relationship with Him and give us rest. —Bill Crowder

What burdens would you like the Lord to carry for you? Ask Him today.

Our soul finds rest when it rests in God.

INSIGHT: The words of today’s passage have been loved and memorized by many: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (v. 28). What more do we need than rest from our difficult and wearying lives? But that rest must be understood in its context. Jesus was speaking to Jewish people in the first century—people who had been raised under the assumption that you had to work to earn God’s favor or to be in right relationship with Him. It is to those who labor under the burden of keeping the law that Jesus says, “Come to me.” We come to know and love God by placing our trust in Jesus’ payment for our sin, and we demonstrate our love for God by doing what He commands (John 14:21).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Silence of God

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Before coming to the narrative of Christ’s birth, there is a dramatic conversation which takes place between a priest called Zechariah and the angel Gabriel. One day Zechariah was serving in the temple when the angel Gabriel appeared to him.(1) Zechariah was very afraid but Gabriel spoke to him saying, ‘Do not be afraid. Your prayer has been heard.’ Gabriel continued to tell Zechariah that he and his wife would have a son and they were to name him John. Ultimately, John would be the one to prepare people for the Lord Jesus.

Instead of rejoicing over the news brought to him from Gabriel, Zechariah objects, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Gabriel responds by explaining to Zechariah precisely to whom he is speaking and also cites the authority on which he bears this news:

“I am Gabriel and I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

One only needs to read the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel to find out that this promise from the Lord was fulfilled. Elizabeth and Zechariah have a baby boy and they name him John. It is only after the naming of John that Zechariah is able to speak again.

There are many aspects of this story that are remarkable. First is the context in which the story takes place: the people of Israel, of whom Zechariah and Elizabeth were a part, have not heard from God for a period of roughly 400 years! When Gabriel appears to Zechariah, it is highly likely that this is the first time Zechariah has heard from God in such a way.

To make theological matters even more complicated for Zechariah, Gabriel’s second statement, after telling him to not be afraid, is ‘Your prayer has been heard.’ There is deep irony in this statement primarily because of the theological background leading up to this conversation. For all of Zechariah’s life, he had never heard God’s voice like this. The very act of God speaking to him would seem preposterous. Therefore, it is understandable why Zechariah questions Gabriel. Zechariah and his people have prayed to God, many for their entire lives, and they have never heard anything. How could Zechariah be sure this was truly a message from the Lord? This encounter undoubtedly marked a watershed moment, not only for Zechariah, but for God’s people and the entire world. God would speak now and man would be silent.

God’s silence is often a challenge to belief. One point I glean from the early part of this story is that God’s silence does not necessarily imply that God is inactive. In Israel’s case, God had been silent for years, yet in this angelic encounter, nearly the first words of instruction from the Lord are, ‘Your prayer has been heard.’ For those of us who are immersed in the urgency of the digital world, we would do well to heed the implicit lesson of patience found in this story. God had been silent for a long time, but God was listening. There are times in our lives in which we do not hear God’s voice. Gabriel’s words tell us that although we might not hear God speaking, God is still listening.

After Zechariah objects to the seemingly audacious promise given from the Lord, Gabriel points out that it is not on his own authority that he speaks, but God’s. Implicit in Gabriel’s statement is the reality that God is bringing help to Israel, not because of what Zechariah or Elizabeth have done, but rather because of who God is. Historically speaking, God was the one who helped, rescued, and saved Israel countless times. The people of Israel knew this history well and they also knew why God had reached down and helped them. This much was clear in the mind of Israel: God’s salvation came only because of God’s character. God’s saving power came, not because of humanity’s effort, but because of God’s nature to save.

Gabriel then tells Zechariah that he will be silent. This is what strikes me most about the story: Gabriel appears to Zechariah in a time during which the people of Israel had not heard from God in years. The Lord speaks to Zechariah and tells him that God will act and fulfill his promise, but while He does so, Zechariah will be silent.

Generally I have viewed the silence of Zechariah as a punishment for not believing in God, and I think that this may well be true. But I also see this act of silence pointing to something deeper than one man receiving a punishment from God for not believing, and here’s why: The people of Israel knew that God had helped them; they knew why God had helped them and they also had learned how God had worked in history. Over time they had realized that God’s grace and salvation would be worked out through quietness and trust. Israel’s strength lay not in activity and being busy, but in silence. This was how God worked.

Zechariah’s silence is a symbol of God’s salvation. John’s life was spent concentrated on preparing people for Christ, the means by which people could be saved. But before John came, the Lord visited his father through Gabriel, telling Zechariah that He had heard his prayer, and was going to rescue his people not in a flurry of human activity, but in a way in which people could only watch him work and hear him speak. Perhaps one of the vital lessons we can learn from the Christmas story is to prioritize silence before God. At the very least, being quiet will remind us of a greater time, one of the greatest in history, when God spoke and humankind was there only to watch and listen.

Nathan Betts is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Toronto, Canada.

(1) See Luke 1.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – He Never Ceases to Remember

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I remember the devotion of your youth. Jeremiah 2:2

Let us note that Christ delights to think upon His Church and to look upon her beauty. As the bird returns often to its nest, and as the traveler hurries to his home, so the mind continually pursues the object of its choice. We cannot look too often upon the face we love; we continually desire to have what is precious to us.

This is also true with our Lord Jesus. From all eternity He has been “delighting in the children of man.”1 His thoughts rolled onward to the time when His elect would be born into the world; He viewed them in the mirror of His foreknowledge. “In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Ps. 139:16). When the world was set upon its pillars, He was there, and He set the boundaries of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. Many a time before His incarnation, He descended to this lower earth in the similitude of a man-on the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18), by the brook of Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), beneath the walls of Jericho (Josh. 5:13), and in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan. 3:19, 25).

The Son of Man visited His people. Because His soul delighted in them, He could not stay away from them, for His heart longed for them. They were never absent from His heart, for He had written their names upon His hands and had graven them upon His side.

As the breastplate containing the names of the tribes of Israel was the most brilliant ornament worn by the high priest, so the names of Christ’s elect were His most precious jewels and glittered on His heart. We may often forget to meditate upon the perfections of our Lord, but He never ceases to remember us. Let us chide ourselves for past forgetfulness, and pray for grace that we might constantly and fondly remember Him. Lord, paint upon the eyeballs of my soul the image of Your Son.

1) Proverbs 8:31

Family Bible Reading Plan

  • 2 Chronicles 19, 20
  • Revelation 8

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A blow at self-righteousness

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“If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me; if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.” Job 9:20

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Let me just utter a solemn sentence which you may consider at your leisure. If you trust to your faith and to your repentance, you will be as much lost as if you trusted to your good works or trusted to your sins. The ground of your salvation is not faith, but Christ; it is not repentance, but Christ. If I trust my trust of Christ, I am lost. My business is to trust Christ; to rest on him; to depend, not on what the Spirit has done in me, but on what Christ did for me, when he hung upon the tree. Now be it known unto you, that when Christ died, he took the sins of all his people upon his head, and there and then they all ceased to be. At the moment when Christ died, the sins of all his redeemed were blotted out. He did then suffer all that they ought to have suffered; he paid all their debts; and their sins were actually and positively lifted that day from their shoulders to his shoulders, for “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And now, if you believe in Jesus, there is not a sin remaining upon you, for your sin was laid on Christ; Christ was punished for your sins before they were committed, and as Kent says:

“Here’s pardon full for sin that’s past,

It matters not how black their cast;

And oh! my soul with wonder view,

For sins to come here’s pardon too.”

Blessed privilege of the believer! But if you live and die unbelievers, know this, that all your sins lie on your own shoulders.

For meditation: To boast of the sincerest faith and the most thoroughgoing repentance is to exhibit the most sophisticated form of self-righteousness. Repentance and faith are both gifts from God so that sinners can receive his greatest gift, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12).

Sermon no. 350

17 December (Preached 16 December 1860)

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Christ’s Superior Destiny

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

The destiny of Jesus Christ is that ultimately everything in the universe will be subject to Him.

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

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

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

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

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

Suggestions for Prayer

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

For Further Study

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Pray for the Right Friends

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Don’t link up with those who will pollute you.—2 Corinthians 6:17 (The Message)

True friends don’t try to control you—they help you be what God wants you to be. Put your faith in God, and ask Him to give you friends who are truly right for you. Perhaps you never thought of using your faith for right friends, but God offers us a new way to live. He invites us to live by faith. There is no part of your life God is not concerned about, and He wants to be involved in everything you want, need, or do.

I cannot make myself acceptable to all people, and neither can you, but we can believe that God will give us favor with the people He wants us involved with. Sometimes we try to have relationships with people God does not even want us to be associated with. Some of the people I really worked hard to be friends with in the past, often compromising my own conscience in order to gain their acceptance, were the very ones who rejected me the first time I didn’t do exactly as they wanted me to. I realize now I wanted their friendship for wrong reasons. I was insecure and wanted to be friends with the “popular” people, thinking my association with important people would make me important.

We should put our faith in the Lord to help us choose right friends, as well as everything else that concerns us.

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – On Your Knees

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Billy Graham said, “To get nations back on their feet we must first get down on our knees.” He leads by example. He’s been on his knees praying for the United States for most of his life. In 2013, in a USA Today report he shared, “Our country’s in great need of a spiritual awakening. There have been times that I’ve wept as I’ve gone from city to city and I’ve seen how far people have wandered from God.”

Hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants.

Nehemiah 1:6

This is how Nehemiah must have felt about Israel in today’s verse when he prayed for God to help him get the nation of Israel back to being His “servants.” Nehemiah asked God to listen and confessed the people’s sins. God responded by not only helping him rebuild the wall, but by leading the Jews to once again obey His commands.

Today, stop to give thanks for the privilege and the power of prayer. Remember that you, like Nehemiah, can get on your knees on behalf of the nation’s leaders and people. There’s no better time to do this than during this blessed Christmas season.

Recommended Reading: Luke 18:1-8

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Forget Something?

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He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”—Matthew 2:4

Imagine for a moment that you are living in first-century Israel. You hear mysterious visitors from the east speak of a star that has been leading them. Now, don’t you think it might be a good idea to make the short journey of about five miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to check it out?

Herod was right in expecting an answer from the chief priests and scribes as to where the Messiah would be born, and they interpreted the writings of Micah properly. Yet they should have known better.

These men were the theological scholars of their day and knew the Scriptures inside and out. It was their job to study the Scriptures and number the letters and lines to ensure careful copying. They knew the Scriptures so well, but they cared so little. They knew where the Messiah would be born, but they didn’t care about a baby king as much as an adult monarch who could line their pockets with gold. They were too busy to bother with Him.

Do you know one thing that can keep you from Christ more than anything else? It’s religious pride. When you say, “I already know that” or “I’ve already heard that,” it could actually dull your spiritual senses to the Word of God.

Sometimes when you hear the Word of God again and again, you can essentially enter into a place of complacency, a place of apathy. You might even find yourself asleep. I find it interesting that many of the Bible’s warnings about waking up are actually addressed to believers. Believers can be asleep like these religious scholars who missed out on that epic event.

Even at Christmas, with all our celebrating of the birth of Christ, we can forget about Christ and fail to give Him a passing thought.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Don’t Leave Feeling Unforgiven

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If only I could believe God’s forgiveness. How can it be? If He truly knows all about me—why would He ever forgive me?

To believe we are totally and eternally debt free is seldom easy. We doubt! And as a result, many are forgiven only a little—not because the grace of God is limited—but because the faith of the sinner is small. God is willing to forgive all! He is willing to wipe the slate clean! God invites you into a pool of mercy and invites you to bathe. Plunge in! Don’t just touch the surface! Don’t leave or live feeling unforgiven.

Where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes! And what you’ll discover is—the more you immerse yourself in grace, the more likely you are to give grace!

From Grace for the Moment

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples – Words of Hope

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“In his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5

Like anyone else, I have days when discouragement seems to get the better of me. At such times I try to remember that the Lord has provided me with a source of continuing inspiration and hope. To tap into that source I need simply to open the pages of my Bible, God’s letter of hope to me.

I’m reminded of a story about an elderly woman who had lost her husband, George, some years earlier in an automobile accident. Theirs had been a long and happy marriage, and she missed him terribly. When she suffered a broken leg, she felt more confined and alone than ever. One particularly blue day, she found herself longing once again for her husband’s company. She sat in her living room and began to weep. “Dear God,” she prayed, “please give me the strength to get through this hour.”

Get your Bible, a quiet voice inside her said. But her Bible was in the bedroom, and, with her leg in a cast, she thought it would be too hard to retrieve. Then she remembered a small travel Bible on a nearby bookshelf. She reached for it and turned the pages to find a favorite Scripture.

Suddenly a letter fell into her lap. She carefully unfolded the yellowed pages. It was a love letter from George. In it, he expressed his deep affection for her. His words of comfort went straight to her lonely heart.

In the back pages of the Bible she found more notes from George. He had written them in the hospital while awaiting an operation, apparently fearing he would not return home. After he recovered, the notes were forgotten.

That woman spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the company of her husband’s letters and in the certainty that the Lord cared for her.

When you’re feeling short on hope in your marriage, ask yourself if you’ve spent enough time lately reading your “mail” from God. Jeremiah wrote, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16). As we go about our days, we can draw on the same delight… if we’ll just read the Bible for a few minutes and wait for His Word to meet our need.

God loves you with infinite compassion and tenderness. He knows just what you need and when you need it. In the pages of Scripture, you’ll find example after example of His wisdom, comfort, and love— all meant for you. It’s the kind of “mail” that will really make your day!

– Shirley M Dobson

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Our Savior

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Isaiah 53

In today’s reading, Isaiah prophesied that a Savior would come to atone for the sins of mankind (Isa. 53:5). The Jews were expecting a Messiah, but Jesus didn’t match what they anticipated.

The people imagined a strong ruler who would lead their nation with worldly power, but the Lord was a servant who spent time with outcasts and the lowly. They hoped for a man who would end Israel’s persecution; He died a criminal’s death and warned His followers that they would not be accepted by the world. So it’s no surprise the Jewish people rejected Him. He didn’t fit what they wanted—yet He was so much more than they understood.

All of us will one day stand before God. In our iniquity, we’d be unworthy to remain in His presence. His judgment of sin will be death, an agonizing eternal existence apart from Him. This is why He warned Adam that if he sinned, he would die (Gen. 2:17).

Yet Jesus bore our sin so that whoever trusts in Him can look forward to eternal life (John 3:16). Christ chose to bear our punishment—the Holy One voluntarily dying the death of a criminal so we could live forever in His presence. Jesus was the way that God could satisfy His justice yet love His people (John 14:6).

Jesus’ gift of salvation is free. It requires nothing on our part except the willingness to surrender. Have you accepted His death on the cross as the atonement for your sin? The Redeemer’s death leads to life. He doesn’t guarantee an easy road, but He promises to stay with you always.

Bible in One Year: Titus 1-3, Philemon 1

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Holy Is Your Name

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Read: Exodus 20:1-7

Bible in a Year: Amos 4-6; Revelation 7

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. —Exodus 20:7

One afternoon I was having a discussion with a friend I considered my spiritual mentor about misusing God’s name. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,” says the third commandment (Ex. 20:7). We may think this only refers to attaching God’s name to a swear word or using His name flippantly or irreverently. But my mentor rarely missed an opportunity to teach me about real faith. He challenged me to think about other ways we profane God’s name.

When I reject the advice of others and say, “God told me to go this way,” I misuse His name if all I am doing is seeking approval for my own desires.

When I use Scripture out of context to try to support an idea I want to be true, I am using God’s name in vain.

When I teach, write, or speak from Scripture carelessly, I misuse His name.

Author John Piper offers this reflection on what it means to take God’s name in vain: “The idea is . . . ‘don’t empty the name.’ . . . Don’t empty God of His weight and glory.” We misuse His name, Piper says, when we “speak of God in a way that empties Him of His significance.”

My friend challenged me to honor God’s name and to pay closer attention to using His Word carefully and accurately. Anything less dishonors Him. —Randy Kilgore

Heavenly Father, help me to glorify Your name and to honor You always in what I say and do.

Share this prayer from our Facebook page with your friends: facebook.com/ourdailybread

God’s name: handle with care.

INSIGHT: The Ten Commandments are divided into two sections—vertical and horizontal. The first section (Ex. 20:1-11) deals with the response of the people to God (vertical). These laws have to do with God’s exclusive right to worship, an admonition against idols, honoring God’s name, and setting aside the Sabbath for worship. The remaining commands (vv. 12-17) deal with how we relate to one another (horizontal). This includes honoring parents, life, and marriage; respecting the property of others; being truth-speakers; and not coveting what isn’t ours. This two-fold set of instructions mirrors the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40), which calls us to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Both vertical and horizontal elements are again in view in this commandment.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Season of Enough

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Black Friday is the name Americans have given the day after Thanksgiving, though the concept has caught on in Canada and Europe. It is called “black” because store-keepers know it as the time of year when sales move further into the black and farther into profit margins. “Cyber Monday” is a clever addition to the frenzied consumer holiday, luring black Friday shoppers and their less adventurous counterparts to continue their purchasing online. Whether in-store or online, steep sales and loud advertisements evoke both buyer and seller competition and make for frenzied scenes. Those who watch as bystanders still sense the fervor that begins on Black Friday and continues in a hectic race until Christmas. When everyone around you seems to be running, standing still is easier said than done.

Each year the commencement of the Christmas shopping season overshadows the commencement of a far quieter season. The season of Advent signals the coming of Christmas for Christians, though not in the way that Black Friday signals the coming of the same. “Advent is about the spirituality of emptiness,” writes Joan Chittister, “of enough-ness, of stripped-down fullness of soul.” It is a far cry from the hustle of the holidays that is a race for storing things up. Speed-hoarding through the days of Christmas preparation, Christmas itself even becomes somewhat anticlimactic. “Long before December 25th everyone is worn out,” said C.S. Lewis more than fifty years ago, “physically worn out by weeks of daily struggle in overcrowded shops, mentally worn out by the effort to remember all the right recipients and to think out suitable gifts for them. They are in no trim for merry-making… They look far more as if there had been a long illness in the house.”(1) Quite the opposite, Advent is a season meant to slow us down, to open windows of awareness and health, to trigger consciousness. It is about finding the kind of quiet mystery and the sort of expectant emptiness that can offer a place for the fullness of God as an infant among us.

Of course, for even the quietest of hearts, this God who becomes human, the incarnate Christ, is still a disruptive mystery. But mystery, like beauty and truth, is well worth stillness, wonder, and contemplation. And this mystery—the gift of a God who steps into the world he created—is rich enough to make the most distracted souls stop and wait. As H.G. Wells said of Jesus, “He was like some terrible moral huntsman digging mankind out of the snug burrows in which they had lived hitherto.”(2) “Let anyone with ears listen!” said Jesus repeatedly throughout his life on earth. “But to what will I compare this generation?” he added. “It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’”(3) You and I can open our minds to hear the great and unsearchable things we do not know, things like the Incarnation that we may never fully understand but are always compelled to encounter further. Or we can look for all of Christmas to correspond with societal whims and unconscious distractions, cultural debates about what we call or don’t call the season, arguments about public billboards and private mangers.

Christ will come regardless! The hope of Advent is that it is always possible to make room for him. Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman who composed a remarkable series of journals in the darkest years of Nazi occupation before she died in Auschwitz, wrote, “[S]ometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inwards in prayer for five short minutes.”(4) Advent can be this simple; the invitation of Christ this simple. Let anyone with ears open them. Contemplating Christmas need not mean Christmas wars or lists and budgets, endless labor, fretful commotion, canned happiness.

Advent, after all, is about the riches of being empty-handed and crying “Enough.” Enough stuff. Enough chaos. Enough injustice and hatred. Enough death and despair. That is a disruptively countercultural posture: empty-handed, so that we can fully hold the mystery before us and nothing less; empty-handed, like the God who came down from heaven without riches or power, but meek and small—full, expectant, and enough.

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

(1) C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 305.

(2) Herbert George Wells, The Outline of History: being a plain history of life and mankind (New York: MacMillan, 1921), 505.

(3) Matthew 11:15-17.

(4) Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries 1941-1943 (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1983), 93.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Call of Christian Faith

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Come to me. Matthew 11:28

The call of the Christian faith is the gentle word, “Come.” The Jewish law spoke harshly: “Go, pay attention to your steps as to the path in which you will walk. Break the commandments, and you will perish; keep them, and you will live.” The law was a dispensation of terror that drove men before it as with a scourge; the Gospel draws with cords of love. Jesus is the Good Shepherd going before His sheep, bidding them follow Him, and leading them forward with the sweet word, “Come.” The law repels; the Gospel attracts. The law shows the distance that exists between God and man; the Gospel bridges that awful chasm and brings the sinner across it.

From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are welcomed into heaven, the language of Christ to you will be, “Come to me.” As a mother extends her hand to her tiny child and woos it to walk by saying, “Come,” even so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow Him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way and clear your path, and you will hear His life-giving voice calling you to follow Him all through your life; in the solemn hour of death, His sweet words with which He will usher you into the heavenly world will be, “Come, you who are blessed of my Father.”1

This is not only Christ’s call to you, but if you are a believer, this is your call to Christ-“Come! Come!” You will be longing for His return; you will be saying, “Come quickly; even so come, Lord Jesus.” You will desire nearer and closer fellowship with Him. As His voice to you is “Come,” your response to Him will be, “Come, Lord, and stay with me. Come and occupy the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to Your service.”

1) Matthew 25:34

Family Bible Reading Plan

  • 2 Chronicles 18
  • Revelation 7

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Heaven

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“The things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 26:26-29

One of the places where you may most of all expect to see heaven is at the Lord’s table. There are some of you, my dearly beloved, who absent yourselves from the supper of the Lord on earth; let me tell you in God’s name, that you are not only sinning against God, but robbing yourselves of a most inestimable privilege. If there is one season in which the soul gets into closer communion with Christ than another, it is at the Lord’s table. How often have we sung there:

“Can I Gethsemane forget? Remember thee and all thy pains,

Or there thy conflicts see, And all thy love to me,

Thine agony and bloody sweat, Yes, while a pulse, or breath remains,

And not remember thee? I will remember thee.”

And then you see what an easy transition it is to heaven:

“And when these failing lips grow dumb,

And thought and memory flee;

When thou shalt in thy kingdom come,

Jesus, remember me.”

O my erring brethren, you who live on, unbaptised, and who receive not this sacred supper, I tell you they will not save you—most assuredly they will not, and if you are not saved before you receive them they will be an injury to you; but if you are the Lord’s people, why need you stay away? I tell you, the Lord’s table is so high a place that you can see heaven from it very often. You get so near the cross there, you breathe so near the cross, that your sight becomes clearer, and the air brighter, and you can see more of heaven there than anywhere else. Christian, do not neglect the supper of your Lord; for if you do, he will hide heaven from you, in a measure.

For meditation: When you come to the Lord’s Table, do you look forward to the future in anticipation as well as to the past in gratitude (1 Corinthians 11:26)?

Sermon no. 56

16 December (1855)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Christ’s Eternal Existence

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

Christ existed before the beginning of the world; thus He is without beginning.

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

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

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

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

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

Suggestion for Prayer

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

For Future Study

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Peace That Comes with Being Content

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But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content (satisfied).—1 Timothy 6:8

Nobody has a perfect life, and it is entirely possible that if you want someone else’s life, they are busy wanting someone else’s too; perhaps they even want your life.

Unknown people want to be movie stars, but movie stars want privacy. The regular employee wants to be the boss, but the boss wishes he did not have so much responsibility. A single woman wants to be married, but quite often, a married woman wishes she were single.

Contentment with life is not a feeling—it is a decision. Contentment does not mean that we never want to see change or improvement, but it does mean that we will do the best we can with what we have. It means that we are thankful for what God has given us and we are determined to enjoy the gift of life.

Prayer of Thanks: When I am tempted to be jealous of someone else’s life, Father, I pray that You will help me to be content with who I am and what You have given me. I thank You that I have a purpose and destiny for my life. Today, I choose to be grateful and content.

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Trusting an Unchanging God

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“God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those He promised to help would be perfectly sure and never need to wonder whether He might change His plans” (Hebrews 6:17).

If there is one characteristic that might describe us all, more than any other trait, it would have to be that we are changeable and unpredictable. We are not dependable. How wonderful then to know and serve someone who never changes – who is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can know what to expect from Him in any given situation without fear of a sudden change in behavior, thought or purpose.

A scientist knows there are laws governing the universe and that those laws are inviolate. Thus, when President John F. Kennedy challenged industry to put a man on the moon, a mobilized army of scientists and engineers was able to accomplish the feat within nine years from the drawing board stage. When the assignment was given, no one knew what to do, and yet there were basic laws – dependable, trustworthy laws of the universe – on which they could build. Through much creative planning and thinking, the miracle occurred.

Today, it is commonplace to send men into space. God of the universe, who established the laws that govern all life, never changes. Our moods and our attitudes and actions vacillate, but God never changes. That is the reason we can absolutely, without question, believe His promises, and in so doing, release His mighty supernatural resources in terms of money, manpower and technology to envelop the entire world of almost five billion people with the most joyful news ever announced.

We are reminded in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. Have you learned how to claim the promises of God by faith? When you do, you will learn how to live supernaturally.

Bible Reading: Psalms 102:24-28

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that God has bound Himself with an oath to keep His promise, I shall trust and obey Him no matter what happens, for this is the way to supernatural living. This is the way to maximize myself for the glory of God.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team;  G.C. – Out Of The Ordinary

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Even in this season of giving and buying, you may remember Ian Usher, the Australian gentleman “selling his life” on eBay in 2008. Disillusioned after a failed marriage, he put everything he owned on the auction block in one package deal. Accepting a final bid of $309,292, Ian started over with the clothes on his back and a burning question on his mind. Today his life is rich, but not from that sale. He lives independently doing charity work and speaking around the world. He always asks others the question that changed his life. “What is it you are meant to do with your life anyway?” And then he gifts other with the encouragement to “take one out of the ordinary step in that direction today.”

We are…created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.

Ephesians 2:10

Paul asks a similar question in the book of Ephesians and responded with today’s verse – if you are a believer in Christ, God already has a specific plan for you.

Today, you don’t have to start your life over to find a place of service in God’s kingdom. Just thank God for His amazing gifts and ask for the courage to do one out of the ordinary thing. That step may indeed change your life, the American landscape…and maybe even the world.

Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 1:5-10

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Man Who Tried to Stop Christmas

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Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. —Matthew 2:7

King Herod was the man who tried to stop Christmas. With all his wealth and power, he came to complete ruin. Historical writings tell us that in the final year of his life, his body was infected with disease.

Ironically, Herod pretended to be a worshiper. He said to the wise men, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” (Matthew 2:8). Yet Herod was a false worshiper. There are people like him today. They say they believe in God, but they live a life that contradicts what the Scriptures teach.

Herod wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people. Moammar Gadhafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death.

All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God’s Word ultimately will prevail. Philippians 2:9–10 says, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

One day, everyone—every man, every woman, every believer, and every nonbeliever—will bow before Jesus Christ.