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Bible believing christian worshiping God in Hawaii and Pennsylvania
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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “I will cut off them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham.” / Zephaniah 1:5

Such persons thought themselves safe because they were with both parties: they

went with the followers of Jehovah, and bowed at the same time to Malcham. But

duplicity is abominable with God, and hypocrisy his soul hateth. The idolater

who distinctly gives himself to his false god, has one sin less than he who

brings his polluted and detestable sacrifice unto the temple of the Lord,

while his heart is with the world and the sins thereof. To hold with the hare

and run with the hounds, is a dastard’s policy. In the common matters of daily

life, a double- minded man is despised, but in religion he is loathsome to the

last degree. The penalty pronounced in the verse before us is terrible, but it

is well deserved; for how should divine justice spare the sinner, who knows

the right, approves it, and professes to follow it, and all the while loves

the evil, and gives it dominion in his heart?

 

My soul, search thyself this morning, and see whether thou art guilty of

double-dealing. Thou professest to be a follower of Jesus–dost thou truly

love him? Is thy heart right with God? Art thou of the family of old Father

Honest, or art thou a relative of Mr. By-ends? A name to live is of little

value if I be indeed dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land

of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall

and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe,

and hence there is no room for another god; if, then, he reigns in my heart,

there will be no space for another reigning power. Do I rest alone on Jesus

crucified, and live alone for him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set

upon so doing? If so, blessed be the mighty grace which has led me to

salvation; and if not so, O Lord, pardon my sad offence, and unite my heart to

fear thy name.

 

Evening   “And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger

before the firstborn.” / Genesis 29:26

 

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not to learn from

the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There are some things which must be

taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The

second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly

country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many

men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy and peace in

believing, but they must first be wedded to the tender-eyed Leah of

repentance. Every one falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully

serve twice seven years to enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord’s

kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the

Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second,

and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must

be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his

humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory.

 

My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to break through the

heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or honour without

toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured

things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee for

all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt find bitters grow

sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy years of service will seem unto

thee but a few days for the love thou hast to Jesus; and when the dear hour of

the wedding feast shall come, all thy toils shall be as though they had never

been–an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and labour.

 

Jesus, to win thyself so fair,

 

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

 

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

 

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

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The Heavenly Rule

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Laban said, ‘It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.’

Genesis 29:26

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we are wrong not to learn from the custom that he quoted as his excuse. There are some things that must be taken in order, and if we would win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance, many men desire the beautiful and well-favored Rachel of joy and peace in believing, but they must first be married to the tender-eyed Leah of repentance. Everyone falls in love with happiness, and many would cheerfully work for fourteen years to enjoy it; but according to the rule of the Lord’s kingdom, the Leah of real holiness must be loved in our soul before the Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in His humiliation or we will never rest with Him in glory.

My soul, what do you say—are you so vain as to hope to be an exception to the heavenly rule? Do you hope for reward without work, or honor without endeavor? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content with the despised things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will more than repay you. In such a spirit, working and suffering, you will find afflictions grow sweet and hard things easy. Like Jacob, your years of service will seem like only a few days on account of the love you have for Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast shall come, all your toils will be as though they never happened—an hour with Jesus will make up for years of pain and toil.

 

Jesus, to win Thyself so fair,

Thy cross I will with gladness bear:

Since so the rules of heaven ordain,

The first I’ll wed the next to gain.

Family Reading Plan       Amos 3      Psalm 147

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Understanding Guilt

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John 8:1-11

Guilt over doing something that violates the conscience is a normal emotion. However, living under a cloud of remorse for no discernible reason is not. The Lord designed feelings of culpability and regret to serve as a reminder that a person has done wrong and needs to repent. But Satan twists those emotions to imprison men and women: those living in shame are uncertain of God’s love and often lack self-confidence.

Good guilt–the Lord’s effective tool for prompting repentance–is a gift that helps us find the right path. However, the Devil encourages false guilt, which involves taking responsibility for things outside our control and then suffering self-condemnation for not changing the outcome. This unhealthy type of guilt is also a widespread problem for those in legalistic churches or lifestyles–certain behaviors or thoughts are labeled as wrong, and then people feel ashamed for doing or thinking those things.

Self-condemnation stunts a relationship with Jesus. Instead of enjoying the peace of God, people who are trapped by shame fear His rejection and feel driven to prove their worth. Trust is nearly impossible because they are waiting for God’s judgment to rain down. Their guilt even colors how they see themselves: rather than saying, “My action is wrong,” they say, “I am bad.”

Jesus did not come to accuse or condemn us. Christ restored our souls and made us righteous before God so that our guilt is removed. If our Savior forgave the woman caught in an adulterous relationship, just imagine how ready He is to take your shame away too (John 8:11).

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The Faith of Friends

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My friend Sylvia is a paraplegic. She has not been able to use her legs since she was a high school girl. A horrible accident took away her ability to walk or to run, and left her without any discernible feeling in the lower half of her body. Her spine severed, the nerves do not receive the necessary information to register sensation or stimulation.

Prior to her accident, Sylvia was an aspiring athlete. Without the use of her legs, this aspiration would be put on hold, but not permanently. Though she is paralyzed in body, she is not paralyzed in spirit. And she eventually competed in several World Championships and in the Paralympic Games. Her determination to excel at world-class competitions, despite her injury, and her intention to live a full-life has been an immense inspiration to me.

Sylvia uses a term for people like me who have the use of our legs. We are “TAB’s”—Temporarily Able Bodied. Every day I wake up with a new ache or pain, or I see my stamina waning, I recognize the truth of her naming me a “TAB.” I truly am temporarily able bodied; at some point in my life, I will need assistance in many of my daily tasks.

Sylvia is not one to ask for help; she drives, works at least a forty hour week, and has traveled the world. She has mastered the art of navigating the world in a wheelchair. Yet, there are times when even this accomplished athlete needs some assistance. She is grateful for the technology that has developed excellent, lightweight wheelchairs. She is grateful for friends who can reach for the pan in the high cabinetry when we have gathered for home-cooked meals. And she is grateful when helped out of her wheelchair on the dock to swim in the lake on a beautiful summer day. She welcomes the kind of assistance that develops her abilities in spite of her disability.

While I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be physically paralyzed like my friend Sylvia, I certainly understand the emotional, spiritual, and psychological paralysis that results from trauma or duress. After suffering my own form of paralyzing accident, I experienced a numbing paralysis. While my body functioned, my mind and heart were paralyzed. I could not create any momentum to move me past the questions that imprisoned me or the doubts that bound me. Initiative fled away, drive and determination left me. I was stuck and unable to move. All that had propelled me forward in the past stalled, stopped, and froze. I was immobile.

I know that my emotional, psychological, and spiritual paralysis doesn’t compare to my friend Sylvia’s being a paraplegic. But it did help me understand what it must feel like to lack the freedom I to move and to have a sense of being able.

The gospels are filled with stories about paralytics. But the story that always gets my attention occurs in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus was teaching in Capernaum in a house that was filled to capacity with listeners. There was not any more room for anyone, let alone a paralytic being carried on a cot by four friends. Yet, the crowded house would not deter these determined friends. They were so determined to get their friend to Jesus that they got up onto the roof of the house with their paralyzed friend, removed the portion of the roof above where Jesus was teaching, and lowered their friend down on his pallet.

I’m not sure how the owners of the house felt when part of their roof was removed, but Jesus, the gospel tells us, saw their faith—faith that went to extraordinary lengths to bring their friend to him. As a result of their faith, Jesus declared that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven. To demonstrate his authority to forgive sins, Jesus then heals him and tells him to “rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And immediately, the paralytic jumps up (perhaps for the first time) and went out before everyone so that “they were all amazed and glorified God.”

In periods of paralysis, we are forced to depend on others, perhaps even relying on the faith, courage, and strength of those who see our abilities even through our disability.  Something very beautiful and healing occurs when we allow others to offer us assistance. In my own paralysis, friends gathered around me to help me. They now did the things I could not do any longer. They said the prayers on my behalf; they believed on my behalf. When I slowly began to move again, they held my arms and steadied my legs. I came to experience a kind of healing because of the assistance and help of my friends. Their faith inspired movement in me towards the God who heals. Indeed, those who are willing to carry the cots of their paralyzed friends embody God’s healing love and care.

There will always be times in life that inhibit forward movement—or any movement at all. In those times, we can be thankful for those who help carry us and care for us. And when we are moving along, perhaps with such momentum that we could miss those lying in cots along our path, might that thankfulness bring us to demonstrate the same kind of care and determination as those who carried their friend into the presence of Jesus.

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

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “The branch cannot bear fruit of itself.” / John 15:4

How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast

yourselves on his great atonement, and rested on his finished righteousness.

Ah! what fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Then indeed the

vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded forth, and

the beds of spices gave forth their smell. Have you declined since then? If

you have, we charge you to remember that time of love, and repent, and do thy

first works. Be most in those engagements which you have experimentally proved

to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from him that all your fruits

proceed. Any holy exercise which will bring you to him will help you to bear

fruit. The sun is, no doubt, a great worker in fruit-creating among the trees

of the orchard: and Jesus is still more so among the trees of his garden of

grace. When have you been the most fruitless? Has not it been when you have

lived farthest from the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have slackened in prayer,

when you have departed from the simplicity of your faith, when your graces

have engrossed your attention instead of your Lord, when you have said, “My

mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved”; and have forgotten where your

strength dwells–has not it been then that your fruit has ceased? Some of us

have been taught that we have nothing out of Christ, by terrible abasements of

heart before the Lord; and when we have seen the utter barrenness and death of

all creature power, we have cried in anguish, “From him all my fruit must be

found, for no fruit can ever come from me.” We are taught, by past experience,

that the more simply we depend upon the grace of God in Christ, and wait upon

the Holy Spirit, the more we shall bring forth fruit unto God. Oh! to trust

Jesus for fruit as well as for life.

 

Evening “Men ought always to pray.” / Luke 18:1

If men ought always to pray and not to faint, much more Christian men. Jesus

has sent his church into the world on the same errand upon which he himself

came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is

the world’s priest? Creation is dumb, but the church is to find a mouth for

it. It is the church’s high privilege to pray with acceptance. The door of

grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed.

The veil was rent for her, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her, God

constantly invites her to ask what she wills. Will she refuse the privilege

which angels might envy her? Is she not the bride of Christ? May she not go in

unto her King at every hour? Shall she allow the precious privilege to be

unused? The church always has need for prayer. There are always some in her

midst who are declining, or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be

prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ’s bosom? the strong, lest they

grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they become despairing. If we kept up

prayer-meetings four-and-twenty hours in the day, all the days in the year, we

might never be without a special subject for supplication. Are we ever without

the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we ever without

those who seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of back-sliders, or

the salvation of the depraved? Nay, with congregations constantly gathering,

with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in

trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of Romanism is

certainly descending; in a world full of idols, cruelties, devilries, if the

church doth not pray, how shall she excuse her base neglect of the commission

of her loving Lord? Let the church be constant in supplication, let every

private believer cast his mite of prayer into the treasury.

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The Church’s Special Privilege

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And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray.    Luke 18:1

Jesus has sent His Church into the world on the same errand upon which He Himself came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the Church is the world’s priest? Creation is dumb, but the Church finds a mouth for it. It is the Church’s high privilege to pray with acceptance. The door of grace is always open for her petitions, and they never return empty-handed. The curtain was torn for her; the blood was sprinkled upon the altar for her; God constantly invites her to bring her requests. Will she refuse the privilege that angels might envy? Is she not the bride of Christ? Can she not approach her King at any hour? Will she allow the precious privilege to be unused?

The Church always needs to pray. There are always some among her who are declining or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ’s bosom; the strong, lest they grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they become despairing. If we kept up prayer-meetings twenty-four hours a day all the days in the year, we might never be without a special subject for supplication.

Is there ever a time when no one is sick or poor or afflicted or wavering? Is there ever a time when we do not seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of backsliders, or the salvation of the lost? With congregations constantly gathering, with ministers always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in trespasses and sins—in a country over which the darkness of religious formalism is certainly descending—in a world full of idols, cruelties, devils—if the Church does not pray, how will she excuse her neglect of the commission of her loving Lord? Let the Church be constant in supplication; let every private believer give himself to the ministry of prayer.

Family Reading Plan    Amos 2       Psalm 145

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Victory Over Unforgiveness

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Daniel 6:1-28

Immediately after teaching His followers to pray, Jesus gave a warning about allowing unforgiveness to reside in the heart. He said that those who refuse to forgive others won’t be forgiven by the Father.

Do not misunderstand Jesus’ meaning here. Believers don’t lose their salvation when they refuse to forgive. Rather, they break fellowship with God because their unrepentant attitude gets in the way of regular confession and repentance. The Lord cannot ignore sin, and His Spirit will bring wrong behavior to the believer’s attention until he or she deals with it.

Forgiveness is an act of the will more than an act of the heart. Often people don’t feel like being merciful to someone who has wronged them. But a resentful spirit grows into a terrible burden. The Lord knows that forgiveness is best, even when it is difficult.

You won’t deal with a sin until you see it as God does. So assume full responsibility for your unforgiving attitude, and acknowledge that it is a violation of His Word. Claim the divine mercy He offers, and ask Him to enable you to lay aside anger and resentment against the other person(s). As part of the decision to move forward in grace, make a habit of praying for those who hurt you. And if God so leads, seek their forgiveness for your wrong attitude.

A bitter and resentful spirit doesn’t fit who we are in Christ. Nor is it healthy to carry an angry attitude through life. That’s why Scripture emphasizes the need to forgive. Choose to be liberated from your burden–Jesus promised to make us free when we release our sins to Him (John 8:36).

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Mysterious Exchange

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English mystery writer Agatha Christie is treasured for the detective stories that got her dubbed the “queen of crime.” Waxed moustache and all, Hercule Poirot, the professional sleuth who appears in more than thirty of her books, is considered one of the most enduring characters in fiction. He is remembered as the egotistical Belgian detective who solved multifaceted cases with the help of his “little grey cells”; he is also an amusing source of useful quotations. In one of his meticulous investigations, Poirot tells his sidekick, “There is nothing so dangerous for anyone who has something to hide as conversation! A human being, Hastings, cannot resist the opportunity to reveal himself and express his personality which conversation gives him. Every time he will give himself away.”(1)

If words betray the inmost secrets of our hearts, prayer is the conversation in which hidden things—and the one hiding—are most laid bare (but hardly in the same sense as Poirot imagined). God does not find things revealed as we speak; our words are not inspected for God’s own sake. The conversation is more of a mystery than this. God is the revealer; our own anemic words, God translates to ourselves.

In a poem simply titled “Prayer,” C.S. Lewis explores the mysterious exchange between human hearts and God when we pray.

Master, they say that when I seem

To be in speech with you,

Since you make no replies, it’s all a dream

—One talker aping two.

 

They are half right, but not as they

Imagine; rather, I

Seek in myself the things I meant to say,

And lo! The wells are dry.

 

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake

The Listener’s role, and through

My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake

The thoughts I never knew.

 

And thus you neither need reply

Nor can; thus, while we seem

Two talking, thou are One forever, and I

No dreamer, but thy dream.(2)

 

The Christian story purports a God who not only hears but also speaks on our behalf. Likewise, Paul writes, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.

In prayer, as in a deep well, God probes the depths of us. As we grow in faith and conversation, we learn to put before God what is in us (and not what should be in us), unable to resist the opportunity to reveal ourselves and so be revealed. “God searches the sources of the rivers” said Job, “and brings hidden things to light” (28:11). Hinted at beyond our words are the sources of the rivers within us. Sometimes slowly, sometimes torrentially, these waters God makes known, plunging into areas that have grown stagnant, dredging streams and renewing life within us.

Moving among our words, whether unuttered or expressed, God shows us not only what we mean, but more importantly, the one who gives us meaning. Taking our broken thoughts and fragile lives, God stirs within the prayers of God’s own, searching hearts, revealing what is hidden, and showing us Father, Son, and Spirit.

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

(1) Agatha Christie, The ABC Murders, 1936.

(2) Poems, Ed. Walter Hooper (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1964), 122-123.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning    “The trial of your faith.” / 1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is

likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never

prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her

trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea,

spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a

slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and

let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her

deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of

the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her

desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the

foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten

in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the

desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in

adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own

weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would

never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the

water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more

it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious

too.

 

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have

trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to

you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long

experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of

holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and

you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall

remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

 

Evening    “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray,

and continued all night in prayer to God.” / Luke 6:12

If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it was our

spotless, perfect Lord, and yet none was ever so much in supplication as he!

Such was his love to his Father, that he loved much to be in communion with

him: such his love for his people, that he desired to be much in intercession

for them. The fact of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for

us–he hath given us an example that we may follow in his steps. The time he

chose was admirable, it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not

disturb him; the time of inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour;

and the season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their

applications to him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, he refreshed

himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none

would intrude, where none could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic

ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit

oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the

groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The

continuance of his pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too

long; the cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not

darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We cannot watch with

him one hour, but he watched for us whole nights. The occasion for this prayer

is notable; it was after his enemies had been enraged–prayer was his refuge

and solace; it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles–prayer was the

gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we not learn from

Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial, or

contemplate fresh endeavors for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to

pray.

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Christ’s Example

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In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12

If ever a man might have lived without prayer, it was our spotless, perfect Lord, and yet no one ever prayed as much as He! His love for His Father was such that He loved to be in communion with Him. His love for His people was such that He desired to be regularly interceding for them.

The fact that Jesus placed such importance on prayer is a lesson for us—He has given us an example that we may follow in His steps. The time He chose was admirable—it was the hour of silence when the crowd would not disturb Him, the time of inaction when everyone else had stopped work, and the season when sleep made men forget their difficulties and stop applying to Him for relief. While others found rest in sleep, He refreshed Himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none could observe: And so He was free from Pharisaic ostentation and vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills provided a suitable prayer chapel for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended.

The continuance of His pleadings is remarkable: The passing hours were not too long; the cold wind did not chill His devotions; the grim darkness did not cloud His faith or loneliness prevent His persistence. We fail to watch with Him for one hour, but He never fails to watch for us night and day. The occasion for this prayer is notable; it was after His enemies had been enraged. Prayer was His refuge and solace; it was before He dispatched the twelve apostles. Prayer was the gate of His enterprise, the herald of His new work. Should we not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under peculiar trial or considering new ventures for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

Family Reading Plan        Amos 1       Psalm 144

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The Effects of Unforgiveness

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Matthew 18:21-22

One of the most dangerous things a person can do is to hold onto resentment. Clinging to unforgiveness has far-reaching and often unexpected consequences.

Although bitterness takes root in the mind, it doesn’t stay contained. Acrimony can spread into every aspect of a person’s life. For example, the hostility a man feels toward his father can color his relationship with his wife, his willingness to perform at work, and his involvement in church.

It’s probably not surprising to hear that resentment impacts the mind and spirit, but you may not have realized what a physical toll it can also take on us. An attitude of bitterness ratchets up tension and anxiety, which can affect everything from muscles to chemical balance in the brain. Over time, that kind of mayhem weakens the body.

Because unforgiveness is a violation of God’s law, it also causes spiritual turmoil that hinders a believer’s growth. Prayer is stifled because of harbored sin that should be confessed. And worship is dry and hypocritical because it’s difficult to effectively honor the Lord while trying to justify or hide a wrong attitude. What’s more, a resentful person’s witness is damaged, as others are prevented from seeing God’s glory shining through him.

Forgiving someone means giving up resentment and the right to get even with him or her, even though you were wronged. God insisted this was the only way to go through life. One reason He commands us to forego hostility and vengeance is that these things cause so much damage to our own lives.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “The eternal God is thy refuge.” / Deuteronomy 33:27

The word refuge may be translated “mansion,” or “abiding- place,” which gives

the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fulness and sweetness

in the metaphor, for dear to our hearts is our home, although it be the

humblest cottage, or the scantiest garret; and dearer far is our blessed God,

in whom we live, and move, and have our being. It is at home that we feel

safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with

our God we “fear no evil.” He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge.

At home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and

toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God, when, wearied with life’s

conflict, we turn to him, and our soul dwells at ease. At home, also, we let

our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words

being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can commune freely with him,

laying open all our hidden desires; for if the “secret of the Lord is with

them that fear him,” the secrets of them that fear him ought to be, and must

be, with their Lord. Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest

happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We

have joy in him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we

work and labour. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden,

and quickens the fingers to perform the task; and in this sense we may also

say that God is our home. Love to him strengthens us. We think of him in the

person of his dear Son; and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer

constrains us to labour in his cause. We feel that we must work, for we have

brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father’s heart to make glad by

bringing home his wandering sons; we would fill with holy mirth the sacred

family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have thus the God of Jacob for

their refuge!

 

Evening  “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master.” / Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant

to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the

treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions

followed, his perfections worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; “He

was despised and rejected of men.” Outside the camp was his place:

cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him solace and rest?

“Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man

hath not where to lay his head.” This inhospitable country afforded him no

shelter: it cast him out and crucified him. Such–if you are a follower of

Jesus, and maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation–you must

expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life which, in its outward

development, comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they

treated the Saviour–they will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will

admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more

peaceably people will act towards you. They prized not the polished gem, how

should they value the jewel in the rough? “If they have called the Master of

the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” If

we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It were a

sad dishonour to a child of God to be the world’s favourite. It is a very ill

omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the

Christian man. He may begin to look to his character, and wonder whether he

has not been doing wrong, when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let

us be true to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base world

which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor

where our Lord found a coronet of thorns.

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Expect Persecution

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It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher.   Matthew 10:25

No one will dispute this statement, for it would not be proper for the pupil to be exalted above his Teacher. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment He received? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfections worshiped by those whom He came to bless? No. “He was despised and rejected by men.”1 His place was outside the city: Cross-bearing was His occupation. Did the world provide Him with comfort and rest? “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.”2 This inhospitable country provided Him no shelter: It cast Him out and crucified Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus and maintain a consistent, Christlike walk and behavior, you must expect to experience persecution and rejection also. Your Christian testimony will be scrutinized and criticized. People will treat it as they treated the Savior—they will despise it. Do not imagine that pagans will admire you or that the more holy and the more Christlike you are, the more peaceably people will act toward you. If they did not prize the polished gem, do you think that they will esteem the rough cut jewel? If they have referred to Jesus as Satan, how much more will they denigrate the teacher’s disciples? If we were more like Christ, we would be more hated by His enemies.

It is a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very bad omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout “Well done” to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character and wonder whether he has been doing wrong when the unrighteous give him their approval. Let us be true to our Master and have no friendship with a blind and base world that scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found only a crown of thorns.

1Isaiah 53:3 2Matthew 8:20

Family Reading Plan    Joel 2       Psalm 142

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Causes of Rebellion

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Romans 12:5-7

In God’s eyes, anyone who sins is rebellious. And Romans 3:23 tells us we all are guilty. Now, it makes sense that an unbeliever would choose to act apart from biblical teaching. But what about those of us who have committed our life to follow Christ–what would cause us to stray from our heavenly Father’s will?

There are two powerful human tendencies that lead to disobedience: doubt and pride. Both can be dangerously misleading.

Doubt is a mental struggle over whether or not to believe God’s promises. From our limited perspective, we cannot understand how God works. Sometimes His way does not feel like the right path, so in order to obey, we must step out in faith. Then it can feel as though we are jumping off a cliff and trusting God’s invisible rope to hold us. If we listen to our doubt, we will surely transgress.

Pride is the sin that caused Satan to fall from heaven, and it is a deceptive obstacle for believers as well. Pride has to do with thinking that our way is best, putting more faith in our ability than God’s promises, and desiring praise. Anything we do out of pride is rebellion against the Lord.

Whatever the cause, sin leads to death. God’s way is the only road resulting in fulfillment, peace, and life.

The Enemy wants to lure us with doubt and pride: both feel right and are easily justifiable from our human perspective. But believers should follow Joshua’s wisdom instead: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

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Roots in the Dark

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“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” wrote Henry David Thoreau.

I thought of these words as I was playing tourist one summer in my hometown near the shores of Lake Michigan. On a guided ride through the massive sand dunes of Silver Lake, we stopped at the highest point of the dunes. With lines he’d been using for years, our guide offered a few statistics as he pointed out the scenes around us. From the hill we could see Lake Michigan, a historic lighthouse, and the endless shifting dunes that slowly engulf the small forests around them. Most of his words were lost in the beauty of the scene itself, but I tuned in as he described the survival tactics of the trees beside us. “These trees,” he said, pointing to trees that were no more than 10 feet high, “are upwards of 35 feet tall.” They are trees assailed each year by shifting sands and changing hillsides. When their branches are enveloped by sand, leaves die from lack of sunlight, but the branches become roots.

I don’t know why Thoreau’s words hit me at that moment as I took in the clever tactics of a handful of scrappy trees. I was impressed with their display of life, their fight to survive in a world that kept smothering them year after year. Perhaps it was their quiet perseverance in shifting darkness that drew a sharp contrast to my own behavior in stifling moments. Looking out from that which overwhelms me, I am easily resigned to a world without light.

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau left his pencil-manufacturing business and moved to the woods of Massachusetts. Walden is the lyrical record of the 26 months he spent in withdrawal from society in a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond. Written 150 years ago, many of his words still meet us as he hoped them to: like a “chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, to wake my neighbors up.” One of Thoreau’s concerns was that the world was being dulled by the bombardment of an unending flow of news, and a fascination with trivial events. “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas” he wrote, “but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”(1)

Standing atop the mountains of the information age, it doesn’t take much to see the relevance of this concern. Turning on the news each day or jumping on the Internet for the headlines, a task I do faithfully, I am ashamed at how easily I am taken in by stories that are less “news” and more gossip. But then, even the stories that are certainly newsworthy can all too easily become a weight that buries me in fear, or engulfs me in concern that, though real, is riddled with the possibility that I will miss the point. Though neither Thoreau nor I would contend that news consumption is bad, information abounds in overwhelming degrees. Each fact, each story, owns the potential to move our emotions like sand dunes, cutting us off from hope and light.

We live in a world of shifting ideas where the potential to resign ourselves to fear or hopelessness is real. The Christian story counters this imagination with a different one: The light of Christ is not overcome, no matter how dark the darkness. In Psalm 1 we are reminded that the one whose certainty is the Lord, whose hope is in God’s unchanging presence, is blessed. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” In this changing culture of disheartening headlines and distracting information, many lead lives of quiet desperation. Still many others grow roots where life buries branches, tapping into the living waters of one who does not change.

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

(1) Henry David Thoreau, Walden (New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1854), 84.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning   “So walk ye in him.” / Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will

manifest its intimate acquaintance with him by a walk of faith in him. Walking

implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must

carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in

Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his

hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and

men say of that man, “He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.”

Walking signifies progress. “So walk ye in him”; proceed from grace to grace,

run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can

attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a

perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and

evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their

hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be

with him, treading in his steps and doing his will. Walking also implies

habit. When we speak of a man’s walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the

constant tenor of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget

him; sometimes call him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we

do not walk in him. We must keep to him, cling to him, never let him go, but

live and have our being in him. “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so

walk ye in him”; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at

the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life,

the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let him be the

same till life’s end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow

of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of

God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

 

Evening  “His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given

him; his waters shall be sure.” / Isaiah 33:16

Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will fulfil his

promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried by storm? Shall the

storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your heavenly Father, though he

knoweth that you have need of food and raiment, will yet forget you? When not

a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father, and the very hairs of your

head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt him? Perhaps your

affliction will continue upon you till you dare to trust your God, and then it

shall end. Full many there be who have been tried and sore vexed till at last

they have been driven in sheer desperation to exercise faith in God, and the

moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have

seen whether God would keep his promise or not. Oh, I pray you, doubt him no

longer! Please not Satan, and vex not yourself by indulging any more those

hard thoughts of God. Think it not a light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember,

it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal.

The angels never doubted him, nor the devils either: we alone, out of all the

beings that God has fashioned, dishonour him by unbelief, and tarnish his

honour by mistrust. Shame upon us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so

basely suspected; in our past life we have proved him to be true and faithful

to his word, and with so many instances of his love and of his kindness as we

have received, and are daily receiving, at his hands, it is base and

inexcusable that we suffer a doubt to sojourn within our heart. May we

henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God–enemies to our peace

and to his honour; and with an unstaggering faith believe that what he has

promised he will also perform. “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.”

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Do Not Doubt

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His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.    Isaiah 33:16

Christian, do you doubt whether God will fulfill His promise? Will the fortresses of rock be swept away by a storm? Will the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your heavenly Father, even though He knows that you need food and clothes, will forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt Him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you until you dare to trust God, and then it will end.

There have been many who have been tried and troubled until at last they have been driven in sheer desperation to exercise faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep His promise or not. So I urge you, doubt Him no longer! Do not please Satan, and do not trouble yourself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Do not imagine that it is a small matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal. The angels never doubted Him, nor the devils either.

We alone, out of all the beings whom God has fashioned, dishonor Him by unbelief and tarnish His honor by mistrust. Shame on us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so poorly treated; in our past life we have proved Him to be true and faithful to His word, and with so many instances of His love and of His kindness as we have received and are daily receiving at His hands, it is base and inexcusable that we allow a doubt to lodge within our heart. From now on let us resolve to wage constant war against doubts of our God—enemies to our peace and to His honor—and with an unstaggering faith believe that what He has promised He will also perform. “I believe; help my unbelief!”1

1Mark 9:24

Family Reading Plan      Joel 1      Psalm 141

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God’s Ordered Authority

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1 Samuel 15:1-23

God’s plan for each one of us has our best interest in mind. His way leads to fullness of life. Yet He did not create us to be robots that blindly and lifelessly live their godly life. No, the Lord grants us the choice of whether or not to obey Him. Our human nature tends to choose a self-centered path that turns away from God’s authority. But in doing so, we miss His best for us.

Consider the life of King Saul. God chose this man to be king and provided guidelines for him to follow. Though Saul knew the Lord’s instructions, he chose to do things his own way. At times his sin was unquestionably deliberate, such as his attempt to kill David out of jealousy. At other times, however, his rebellion seemed less clear-cut. For example, despite God’s order to “utterly destroy” the Amalekites and their animals, Saul spared the best of the herd, with the justification that they were “to sacrifice to the Lord” (1 Sam. 15:3, 21).

His disobedient choices cost him the throne and eventually led to his destruction. This man chose the road that satisfied his immediate fleshly desires, but as we know from history, the end result was hardly fulfilling. We can learn from Saul’s mistakes. Partial obedience is actually disobedience. And any disobedience falls in the category of rebellion, which is sin.

Each day, we face the same types of choices. Though the details are different, both large and small temptations lure us. We can live according to Christ’s will, following His lead and listening for His voice. Or we can refuse. Choose today to live God’s way–which leads to fullness of life.

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The Apologetic of the Apologist

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A starting point for taking on the responsibility of the work of Christian apologetics is recognizing the role that living out a disciplined Christian life plays. Even a brief examination of the Scriptures reveals this striking imperative: one may not divorce the content of apologetics from the character of the apologist. Apologetics derives from the Greek word apologia, “to give an answer.” 1 Peter 3:15 gives us the defining statement: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

I have always found this to be such a fascinating verse because the apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew the hazards and the risks of being an answer-bearer to the sincere questions that people would pose of the gospel. Indeed, when one contrasts the answers of Jesus to any of his detractors, it is not hard to see that their resistance is not of the mind but rather of the heart. Furthermore, I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out. The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, “There are five Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four.” In other words, apologetics is often first seen before it is heard.

For that very reason the Scriptures give us a clear picture of the apologetic Christian: one who has first set apart Christ in his or her heart as Lord, and then responds with answers to the questioner with gentleness and respect.  Therefore, one must not overlook the stark reality that the way one’s life is lived out will determine the impact.  There are few obstacles to faith as serious as expounding the unlived life. Too many simply see the quality of one’s life and firmly believe that it is all theory, bearing no supernatural component.

I remember well in the early days of my Christian faith talking to a Hindu. He was questioning the strident claims of the followers of Christ as being something supernatural. He absolutely insisted “conversion was nothing more than a decision to lead a more ethical life and that in most cases it was not any different to those claims of other ‘ethical’ religions.” So far, his argument was not anything new. But then he said something that I have never forgotten, and often reflect upon: “If this conversion is truly supernatural, why is it not more evident in the lives of so many Christians that I know?” His question is a troublesome one. After all, no Buddhist claims a supernatural life but frequently lives a more consistent one. The same pertains to many of other faiths. Yet, how often the so-called Christian, even while proclaiming some of the loftiest truths one could ever express, lives a life bereft of that beauty and character.

This call to a life reflecting the person of Christ is the ultimate calling upon the apologist. The skeptic is not slow to notice when there is a disparity, and because of that, may question the whole gospel in its supernatural claim. Yet when they are met with gentleness and respect, we will help meet the deepest longings of the heart and mind, and they will find where true discovery lies. Let us live so accordingly.

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

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord.” / Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving–an act which implies the very

opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the

earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts

light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of

God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns

into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours

his salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making

the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that

which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to

us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us–a person who lived

a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an

act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart.

But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I

receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I

receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death

shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ–to take him as

God’s free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving

hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these

blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us

life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed

righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with

them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us,

and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be,

for heaven itself cannot contain him!

 

Evening “The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover

with my disciples?” / Mark 14:14

Jerusalem at the time of the passover was one great inn; each householder had

invited his own friends, but no one had invited the Saviour, and he had no

dwelling of his own. It was by his own supernatural power that he found

himself an upper room in which to keep the feast. It is so even to this

day–Jesus is not received among the sons of men save only where by his

supernatural power and grace he makes the heart anew. All doors are open

enough to the prince of darkness, but Jesus must clear a way for himself or

lodge in the streets. It was through the mysterious power exerted by our Lord

that the householder raised no question, but at once cheerfully and joyfully

opened his guestchamber. Who he was, and what he was, we do not know, but he

readily accepted the honour which the Redeemer proposed to confer upon him. In

like manner it is still discovered who are the Lord’s chosen, and who are not;

for when the gospel comes to some, they fight against it, and will not have

it, but where men receive it, welcoming it, this is a sure indication that

there is a secret work going on in the soul, and that God has chosen them unto

eternal life. Are you willing, dear reader, to receive Christ? then there is

no difficulty in the way; Christ will be your guest; his own power is working

with you, making you willing. What an honour to entertain the Son of God! The

heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and yet he condescends to find a house

within our hearts! We are not worthy that he should come under our roof, but

what an unutterable privilege when he condescends to enter! for then he makes

a feast, and causes us to feast with him upon royal dainties, we sit at a

banquet where the viands are immortal, and give immortality to those who feed

thereon. Blessed among the sons of Adam is he who entertains the angels’ Lord.