DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION

Quieting Your Soul – Charles Stanley

Psalm 131:1-2

Do you hurry through your prayer time so that you can get to other things? If so, consider the values Jesus modeled for us in His practice of spending set-apart time with His Father.

Solitude. Though Jesus was constantly surrounded by people as He tended to their needs, He also understood His own need for seclusion. Often, after an intense period of ministry, He’d retreated from the crowds–and even His disciples–to pray in private.

Safeguarded time. No matter what else was going on, Jesus made it a point to protect periods of time so He could rest in the Spirit, focus on His relationship with the Father, and build up His physical and emotional strength. Even when people were clamoring for Him, He made it a priority to safeguard this time, knowing that His ministry would flow from it.

Stillness. What does it means to “be still”? Psalm 46:10 calls us to stillness with these words: “Cease striving and know that I am God.” To learn this perpetual inner peace, periodically stop everything you’re focused on doing, and simply let your soul become aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence. In today’s reading, David described it as the state of a “weaned child” who is at perfect rest and happy just to be in his mother’s arms.

Make these essentials a priority, and you’ll reap tremendous benefits in your walk of faith. Doing so may seem challenging in this fast-paced, multitasking world. But when you quiet your heart before the Lord, you’ll discover how much you need the peace of His presence. It is a priceless gift!

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Do You Still Not See? – Ravi Zacharias

“Give us a sign,” demanded the Pharisees. “Give us a miraculous sign from heaven to prove yourself.”(1)

Jesus sighed deeply. “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And Jesus turned away and got into the boat with his disciples. But the disciples soon discovered they had forgotten to bring any food; there was only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. Knowing what his disciples were thinking, Jesus questioned them. “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand?” It was a day of sighing.

“Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?” he asked. “When I broke the five loaves of bread for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

“And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”

“Seven,” they said.

Unlike Matthew and Luke, who each provide detailed information about the historical scene or genealogical lineage of Christ, Mark, the teller of this story, seems to hit the ground running in his storytelling. The shortest of the Gospel accounts, Mark proceeds with intensity—skipping introductions, delving into events, speaking with immediacy. In fact, he uses the Greek word euthus—meaning immediately, straight away, at once—42 times in 16 chapters. With a breathless pace, Mark’s utmost concern appears to be getting the story out and message across so that hearers hear and seers see the person before them. And yet ironically, in this Gospel of action and miracles and astonished crowds, he repeatedly takes note of the world of people who remain unseeing, a people forever demanding signs, forever missing the message. Sighing deeply, Jesus seems to ask repetitively: Do you still not see?

I fear how many times Jesus has asked of me this same question.

Yet with the words of Jesus still ringing in our ears, Mark wastes no time in getting to the next scene. Moving from the boat, Jesus is confronted by some people who ask him to touch their blind friend. Leading the man away from the crowd, Jesus put saliva on his eyes and placed his hands upon him. “Can you see anything?” rings the now familiar question. The man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Putting his hands on the man’s eyes once more, Jesus restored the blind man’s sight. And he walked away seeing clearly.

Apparently, seeing takes time. Undoubtedly, we are all too often satisfied with walking trees. “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” It is the question Jesus placed before disciples and blind men, the very wise and the very wicked. What do you see? What do you hear? Do you understand? The blind man knew enough to know that what he saw was not as clear and coherent as eyes were intended to see. Though partial sight for him was itself a miracle, the one who touched his eyes was able to offer more.

That we might see, that we might see Christ, is the desire of God for every eye. What we see now may be like trees walking, though the Spirit is willing to open us up to further sight, and Christ remains to offer us more. As if pleased to answer his own question with lavish mystery, the divine reply comes again and again: No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.

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

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

Morning “And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred

talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered,

The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.” / 2 Chronicles 25:9

A very important question this seemed to be to the king of Judah, and possibly

it is of even more weight with the tried and tempted O Christian. To lose

money is at no times pleasant, and when principle involves it, the flesh is

not always ready to make the sacrifice. “Why lose that which may be so

usefully employed? May not the truth itself be bought too dear? What shall we

do without it? Remember the children, and our small income!” All these things

and a thousand more would tempt the Christian to put forth his hand to

unrighteous gain, or stay himself from carrying out his conscientious

convictions, when they involve serious loss. All men cannot view these matters

in the light of faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the doctrine of

“we must live” has quite sufficient weight.

The Lord is able to give thee much more than this is a very satisfactory

answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the purse-strings, and what

we lose for his sake he can repay a thousand-fold. It is ours to obey his

will, and we may rest assured that he will provide for us. The Lord will be no

man’s debtor at the last. Saints know that a grain of heart’s-ease is of more

value than a ton of gold. He who wraps a threadbare coat about a good

conscience has gained a spiritual wealth far more desirable than any he has

lost. God’s smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart; his frown and a

palace would be hell to a gracious spirit. Let the worst come to the worst,

let all the talents go, we have not lost our treasure, for that is above,

where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Meanwhile, even now, the Lord

maketh the meek to inherit the earth, and no good thing doth he withhold from

them that walk uprightly.

Evening “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and

his angels.” / Revelation 12:7

War always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or other be

crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; the very pretence of

it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness. Michael will

always fight; his holy soul is vexed with sin, and will not endure it. Jesus

will always be the dragon’s foe, and that not in a quiet sense, but actively,

vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All his servants,

whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are

born to be warriors–at the cross they enter into covenant never to make truce

with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defence and fierce in attack.

The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is daily, with all his

heart, and soul, and strength, to fight against the dragon.

The dragon and his angels will not decline the affray; they are incessant in

their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We are foolish to expect to

serve God without opposition: the more zealous we are, the more sure are we to

be assailed by the myrmidons of hell. The church may become slothful, but not

so her great antagonist; his restless spirit never suffers the war to pause;

he hates the woman’s seed, and would fain devour the church if he could. The

servants of Satan partake much of the old dragon’s energy, and are usually an

active race. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and

futile.

Glory be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon shall be cast

out and forever destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with him shall receive

the crown. Let us sharpen our swords tonight, and pray the Holy Spirit to

nerve our arms for the conflict. Never battle so important, never crown so

glorious. Every man to his post, ye warriors of the cross, and may the Lord

tread Satan under your feet shortly!

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An Unlikely Heroine – John MacArthur

“By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (Heb. 11:31).

Our final Old Testament hero of faith is an unlikely addition to the list. Not only was she a prostitute, she also was a Gentile–and a Canaanite at that.

The Canaanites were an idolatrous, barbaric, debauched people, infamous even among pagans for their immorality and cruelty. Yet in the midst of that exceedingly wicked society, Rahab came to faith in the God of Israel.

Joshua 2:9-11 records her confession of faith to the two men Joshua had sent into Jericho as spies: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And when we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (emphasis added).

Rahab demonstrated the genuineness of that profession by risking her life to hide the spies from the king of Jericho, who sought to capture them.

Because Rahab lied to protect the spies (vv. 4-5), some people question the validity of her faith. Surely genuine believers wouldn’t lie like that–or would they? Abraham did. Sarah did. Isaac did. Jacob did. But the important thing to understand is that God honored their faith, not their deception.

As with all the heroes of faith before her, Rahab’s faith wasn’t perfect, nor was her knowledge of God’s moral law. But because she trusted God, she was spared during Jericho’s conquest, then given an even greater honor. She became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth, the great-great-grandmother of David, thereby becoming an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5).

Suggestions for Prayer: Praise God for receiving even the vilest sinner who turns to Him in faith.

For Further Study: Read all about Rahab in Joshua 2:1-24, 6:22-25, and James 2:25.

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Taking Risks – Greg Laurie

Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.—Acts 8:26

When Philip was instructed to “arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26), how easily he could have argued. He was having a productive ministry in Samaria, but God basically told him to go to the desert. It didn’t make any sense at all. But to Philip’s credit, he obeyed the Lord.

God was preparing both the listener and the speaker for what was about to happen. He was preparing a man from Ethiopia, who went to Jerusalem and did not find what he was looking for. And God was preparing Philip to go to the desert and be in place when that man arrived.

God doesn’t always give us a detailed blueprint of what He wants us to do. Instead, He will ask us to take steps of faith. There will be risks involved. The question is, are you willing to obey? God’s way becomes plain when we start walking in it. Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.

Maybe God is waiting for you to take the first step before He shows you what the second one will be. Are you willing to just take a little risk? If you say, “No, I am not,” then God will find someone else to do take that step. But it would be great if it were you.

Many times when the Lord has opened up opportunities for me to share the gospel, I was just going about my day when I sensed a nudge from the Holy Spirit. Then God showed me what to do next, and I took the next step—and the next one.

If you want to share the gospel, then you need to be open and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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Living in Grace

2 Corinthians 5:17

Before the apostle Paul’s conversion, if someone had suggested that he would impact the world for Jesus, he’d probably have laughed. In fact, his original goal was to rid the world of Christians.

God’s grace can impact anyone; no sin is beyond the reach of His forgiveness. This amazing gift of redemption changes lives. Contrary to what many think, being a Christian does not mean adding good deeds to one’s life. Instead, believers receive forgiveness by God’s grace, and a completely new nature. Our inward transformation results in obvious outward changes.

A beautiful illustration of this is the butterfly’s metamorphosis. Once it’s in a chrysalis, a caterpillar doesn’t merely act or appear different from the outside; it truly has changed inwardly as well.

Transformation for believers occurs in many areas. For example, our attitudes change–salvation by God’s grace results in humility and gratitude. Out of thankfulness for this undeserved free gift flows compassion for the lost and a desire to share the gospel with them. Experiencing Christ’s forgiveness also results in a longing to serve Him. This does not need to be in a formal church setting; we serve Him by loving others, helping those in need, and telling them about salvation.

While there are still natural consequences for our sin, God offers us forgiveness and redemption through Jesus. He made a way to restore our broken relationship with Him. What’s more, our Father transforms our lives so we will become more like His Son and reflect His heart to others.

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God and Disappointment

I struggled as a teenager growing up in Delhi. Failure was writ large on my life. My dad basically looked at me and said, “You know, you’re going to be a huge embarrassment to the family—one failure after another.” And he was right given the way I was headed. I wanted to get out of everything I was setting my hand to, and I lacked discipline.(1)

During this time, India was at war and the defense academy was looking for general duties pilots to be trained. So I applied and I went to be interviewed, which involved an overnight train journey from the city of Delhi. It was wintertime and we were outside freezing for about five days as we went through physical endurance and other tests. There were three hundred applicants; they were going to select ten. On the last day they put their selection of names out on the board, and I was positioned number three.

I phoned my family and said, “You aren’t going to believe this. I’m going to make it. I’m number three. The only thing that’s left is the interview. The psychological testing is tomorrow, and I’ll be home.”

The next morning I began my interview with the chief commanding officer, who looked to me like Churchill sitting across the table. He asked me question after question. Then he said, “Son, I’m going to break your heart today.” He continued, “I’m going to reject you. I’m not going to pass you in this test.”

“May I ask you why, sir?” I replied.

“Yes. Psychologically, you’re not wired to kill. And this job is about killing.”

I felt that I was on the verge of wanting to prove him wrong—but I knew better, both for moral reasons and for his size! I went back to my room and didn’t talk to anybody. I packed my bags, got into the train, and arrived in Delhi. My parents and friends were waiting at the platform with garlands and sweets in their hands to congratulate me. No one knew. I thought to myself, “How do I even handle this? Where do I even begin?” They were celebrating, and yet for me, it was all over.

Or so I thought.

I was to discover later that God is the Grand Weaver of our lives. Every thread matters and is there for a purpose. Had I been selected, I would have had to commit twenty years to the Indian armed forces. It was the very next year that my father had the opportunity to move to Canada. My brother and I moved there as the first installment, and the rest of them followed. It was there I was in business school and God redirected my path to theological training. It was there that I met my wife, Margie; there my whole life changed. The rest is history. Had I been in the Indian Air Force, who knows what thread I’d have pulled to try to wreck the fabric.

Thankfully, our disappointments matter to God, and God has a way of taking even some of the bitterest moments we go through and making them into something of great significance in our lives. It’s hard to understand at the time. Not one of us says, “I can hardly wait to see where this thread is going to fit.” Rather, we say, “This is not the pattern I want.” Yet one day the Shepherd of our souls will put it all together—and give us an eternity to revel in the marvel of what God has done. Our Father holds the threads of the design, and I’m so immensely grateful that God is the Grand Weaver.

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

(1) Excerpted and adapted from Ravi Zacharias’s The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007).

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Conquering in Conflict

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days” (Heb. 11:30).

Forty years had lapsed since the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land. That unbelieving generation had perished in the wilderness. Now Joshua was leading a new generation into the land. The first obstacle they faced was Jericho–a well- fortified city that was near the mouth of the Jordan River.

Some city walls of that day were wide enough at the top to allow two chariots to ride side-by-side. That was probably true of Jericho because of its strategic location. That, coupled with the caliber of its army, made the city virtually impregnable– especially to unsophisticated Israelites, who lacked military training.

But what is impossible for man is easy for God. And the stage was set for Him to demonstrate His power and for the Israelites to demonstrate their faith and humility.

One can only imagine how embarrassed the Hebrew people felt as they marched around Jericho once a day for six days. That certainly is not your typical military strategy. But on the seventh day, after marching around the city seven times with the priests blowing their rams’ horns, the priests gave one final blast, the people all shouted out loud, and the walls of the city collapsed (Josh. 6:20). Faith had reduced a formidable obstacle to a crumbled ruin.

Can you identify some spiritual obstacles you’ve faced recently? How did you handle them? You’ll always have them to deal with in your Christian walk, but don’t fret. See them as opportunities to exercise faith and see God’s power on display in your life. Continue to trust the Lord and demonstrate your faith by courageously doing what He has called you to do.

Suggestions for Prayer: Ask God to help you humbly trust in God’s power when you face spiritual conflicts.

For Further Study: Read about the conquest of Jericho in Joshua 6:1-21. Note each occasion where the people obeyed one of Joshua’s commands without hesitation.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

Morning “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people … Thou shalt

in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.” / Leviticus

19:16-17

Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer,

and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or

false, we are by this precept of God’s Word forbidden to spread it. The

reputations of the Lord’s people should be very precious in our sight, and we

should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the name

of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in

pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah’s wise

sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful

curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence

from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be

this our family rule, and our personal bond–Speak evil of no man.

The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in

which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face,

not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike,

and under God’s blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then

we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the

work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend we become ourselves partakers of

it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate

warnings of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a

gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in his warning given to

Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way in which he

bore with Peter’s boastful denial that he needed such a caution.

Evening “Spices for anointing oil.” / Exodus 35:8

Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and that which it

represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who

anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we would serve the

Lord acceptably. Without his aid our religious services are but a vain

oblation, and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry is

without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! nor are the prayers,

praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians one jot superior. A

holy anointing is the soul and life of piety, its absence the most grievous of

all calamities. To go before the Lord without anointing is as though some

common Levite had thrust himself into the priest’s office–his ministrations

would rather have been sins than services. May we never venture upon hallowed

exercises without sacred anointings. They drop upon us from our glorious Head;

from his anointing we who are as the skirts of his garments partake of a

plenteous unction. Choice spices were compounded with rarest art of the

apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how rich are all the

influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things are found in the divine

Comforter. Matchless consolation, infallible instruction, immortal quickening,

spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other

excellencies in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy

Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the

man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries

of the rich, or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes

alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting

soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O

Lord, anoint thy servants.

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The Joy of the Harvest

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. —Psalm 126:5–6

As a pastor and evangelist, I have had people tell me that I saved them. But God is the one who saves people—not me. I simply declare the truth of the gospel, and people put their faith in Jesus. He saves them.

While I don’t have to worry about being the one who saves people, I do have to concern myself with telling them how to find salvation. God will bring about the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me” (John 6:44). Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, but God uses the seed of His Word in that person’s heart.

Here is an interesting thing to consider: there is no person in the New Testament who came to faith apart from the agency of a human being. We can find example after example. Take the Philippian jailer (see Acts 16). God could have reached him in many ways. Instead, he chose to reach him when Paul and Silas were incarcerated in his cell. And he ultimately said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).

Then there was Cornelius, a centurion. An angel appeared to him one afternoon, and instead of preaching the gospel, the angel directed Cornelius to Peter, who then delivered the gospel. Angels are not the primary agents God uses to bring the gospel. Primarily, God will use people to reach people.

And even though the apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, I believe that young Stephen, through his witness, was instrumental in his conversion.

God reaches people through people. It gets hard at times, but we need to stay with it, because there is great joy when someone responds to the gospel.

GregLaurie@harvestdirect.org

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How Grace Changes Everything

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Our lives are hopeless without God. We are born with a “flesh” nature and continue to choose wrong paths throughout our lives. The penalty for sin is death and eternal separation from God. No one is exempt from this biblical truth. And there is nothing that any of us can do to change the situation.

Enter God’s grace, His unmerited favor toward us. We can’t do anything to earn it. He blesses us according to His goodness, apart from anything we have done.

Consider the apostle Paul, whose original intent was to persecute anyone claiming the name of Jesus. He played a significant role in the brutal violence aimed at Christians and, in his own words, was the “chief” of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15 kjv). Nothing he did deserved God’s love.

Divine grace led the Almighty to reach down and forgive this hateful zealot who blasphemed Jesus’ name. God lovingly transformed him into a man who dedicated himself to sharing the gospel message. Paul’s life illustrates grace beautifully.

We are unable to do enough good deeds to earn our way to heaven. Salvation is possible only because by grace, Christ died on the cross. The one who took the punishment for our sin deserves all credit for our redemption.

Jesus’ death covered the sins of the entire world. There is no transgression too great for Him to forgive. We can add nothing to His act of atonement; all we can do is receive this free gift. If we trust in Christ as Savior, God will save us, making us His children forever.

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Coming Home Again

In the process of moving and reorganizing some bookshelves in the middle of October, I recovered something long out of place. A small Nativity scene carved out of olive wood had been inadvertently left behind from the previous year’s Christmas. Holding it in my hand, I cowered at the thought of digging through boxes in the garage long buried by post-Christmas storage. At this point, it seemed better to be two months early in setting it up than ten months late in packing it away. I decided to keep the carving out.

Strangely enough, my decision then coincided with a friend’s mentioning of a good Christmas quote. Advent was suddenly all around me. In a Christmas sermon given December 2, 1928, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!” To be early with my Nativity scene suddenly seemed a wise, but convicting thought. I had kept it around for the sake of convenience, what about the sake of remembering? If Advent reminds us that we are waiting in December, what reminds us that we are waiting in October or February?

The story of the Nativity, though beautiful and familiar, and admittedly far-reaching, is as easily put out of our minds as Christmas decorations are put in boxes. On certain sides of the calendar, a carved Nativity scene looks amiss. Sitting on my mantle in the fall or the spring, it seems somehow away from home, far from lights and greenery, longing for Christmas fanfare. But looking at it with thoughts of Advent near, I am struck by the irony that longing is often my sentiment amidst the burgeoning lights, greens, and fanfare of Christmas.

Bonhoeffer continues, “When once again Christmas comes and we hear the familiar carols and sing the Christmas hymns, something happens to us… The hardest heart is softened. We recall our own childhood. We feel again how we then felt, especially if we were separated from a mother. A kind of homesickness comes over us for past times, distant places, and yes, a blessed longing for a world without violence or hardness of heart. But there is something more—a longing for the safe lodging of the everlasting Father.”(1)

Unlike any other month, December weighs on my heart the gift and the difficulty of waiting. In the cold and in the hymns, I remember that I am troubled in soul and looking for something greater; I remember that I am poor and imperfect and waiting for the God who comes down to us, and I hear again the gentle knock at the door. Like the Nativity scene on my mantle in June or October, I embody a strange hope. I see a home with tears and sorrow, but I also see in this home the signs of a day when tears will be wiped dry. Advent is about waiting for the one who embraced sorrow and body to show us the fullness of home. It is not December that reminds us we are longing for God to come nearer, but the Nativity of God, the Incarnation of Christ. For each day is touched by the promise that in this very place Jesus has already done so, and that he will again come breaking through, into our world, into our longing, into our sin and deaths.

In his sermon on Advent, Dietrich Bonhoeffer offered a prayer worth praying in December and year round. “Lord Jesus, come yourself, and dwell with us, be human as we are, and overcome what overwhelms us. Come into the midst of my evil, come close to my unfaithfulness. Share my sin, which I hate and which I cannot leave. Be my brother, Thou Holy God. Be my brother in the kingdom of evil and suffering and death. Come with me in my death, come with me in my suffering, come with me as I struggle with evil. And make me holy and pure, despite my sin and death.” Every day, despite its location on the calendar, a still, small voice answers our cry persuasively here and now, “Behold. I stand at the door and knock.”

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

(1) Edwin Robertson, Ed., Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermons (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005).

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Accepting God’s Provisions

“By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned” (Heb. 11:28-29).

When the time came for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, everything on the human level said it couldn’t be done. Pharaoh wasn’t about to let two to three million slaves just pack up and leave. His formidable army was ready to insure that no such exodus occurred.

But when God devises a plan, He always makes the necessary provisions for carrying it out. On this occasion, His provision came in the form of ten terrifying plagues designed to change Pharaoh’s mind.

The tenth and worst plague was the death of all the first- born (Ex. 11:5). To protect themselves from this plague, the Israelites sprinkled the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. When the angel of death saw the blood, he passed over that house. Thus the Passover was instituted.

The blood from those first Passover lambs had no intrinsic power to stave off the death angel, but its presence demonstrated faith and obedience, thus symbolizing the future sacrifice of Christ (cf. John 1:29).

Pharaoh got the message and allowed the Israelites to leave. But soon afterward he changed his mind and commanded his army to pursue them. Again God intervened by parting the Red Sea, allowing His people to walk across on dry land. He then drowned the entire Egyptian army when it followed the Israelites into the sea.

That was a graphic demonstration of a lesson every believer must learn: God’s provisions are always best. They may sometimes seem foolish to the human intellect–just as “the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18)– but the man or woman of faith trusts God and receives His provisions gratefully.

Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God for the wise and gracious provisions He has made for your salvation and ongoing Christian walk.

For Further Study: Read the account of the Passover and the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 11-14.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

Morning “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth

that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.” / 3 John 3

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not

been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could

not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretence. Truth must enter

into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines

held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no

nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food

digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth

must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the

woof and warp of our being. If it be in us, we cannot henceforth part with it.

A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and

cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he

cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the

outward, as light shines from the centre of the lantern through the glass:

when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth

in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain

worms colours the cocoons of silk which they spin: and just so the nutriment

upon which a man’s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed

proceeding from him. To walk in the truth, imports a life of integrity,

holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity–the natural product of those

principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God

enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their

manifestation in the man’s conversation. Be it ours today, O gracious Spirit,

to be ruled and governed by thy divine authority, so that nothing false or

sinful may reign in our hearts, lest it extend its malignant influence to our

daily walk among men.

Evening “Seeking the wealth of his people.” / Esther 10:3

Mordecai was a true patriot, and therefore, being exalted to the highest

position under Ahasuerus, he used his eminence to promote the prosperity of

Israel. In this he was a type of Jesus, who, upon his throne of glory, seeks

not his own, but spends his power for his people. It were well if every

Christian would be a Mordecai to the church, striving according to his ability

for its prosperity. Some are placed in stations of affluence and influence,

let them honour their Lord in the high places of the earth, and testify for

Jesus before great men. Others have what is far better, namely, close

fellowship with the King of kings, let them be sure to plead daily for the

weak of the Lord’s people, the doubting, the tempted, and the comfortless. It

will redound to their honour if they make much intercession for those who are

in darkness and dare not draw nigh unto the mercy seat. Instructed believers

may serve their Master greatly if they lay out their talents for the general

good, and impart their wealth of heavenly learning to others, by teaching them

the things of God. The very least in our Israel may at least seek the welfare

of his people; and his desire, if he can give no more, shall be acceptable. It

is at once the most Christlike and the most happy course for a believer to

cease from living to himself. He who blesses others cannot fail to be blessed

himself. On the other hand, to seek our own personal greatness is a wicked and

unhappy plan of life, its way will be grievous and its end will be fatal.

Here is the place to ask thee, my friend, whether thou art to the best of thy

power seeking the wealth of the church in thy neighbourhood? I trust thou art

not doing it mischief by bitterness and scandal, nor weakening it by thy

neglect. Friend, unite with the Lord’s poor, bear their cross, do them all the

good thou canst, and thou shalt not miss thy reward.

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How Will They Hear?