Tag Archives: christ jesus

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Our Example to Follow

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Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.—Mark 9:2–3

The miracle of the Transfiguration wasn’t that Jesus shined like the sun; the miracle was that He didn’t shine like the sun all the time. When Jesus came to Earth, He never gave up His deity. But we might say that He shrouded His glory and laid aside the privileges of His deity.

Jesus Christ is God. He is a member of the Trinity, coequal and coeternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God before He was born, and He remained God after He became man. His deity was prehuman, pre-Mary, and pre-Bethlehem.

Jesus laid aside not His deity, but the privileges of deity, to model what it is to be a servant. Paul told the believers in Philippi, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5–7).

We are to follow His example. If Jesus could lay aside the privileges of divinity, then how much more should we, as human beings with sinful hearts, be willing to put the needs of others above ourselves?

This isn’t easy. In fact, we could say that it’s virtually impossible—apart from the power of the Spirit. This is not so much about imitation as much as it is about impartation—Christ Himself living in us and giving us His love and power. It’s the only way we can put the needs of another person above our own, love people whom we really don’t like all that much, or effectively die to ourselves. It seems impossible. But this is the way God has called us to live.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread – Blended Together

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We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. —Ephesians 2:10

 

Read: Ephesians 4:5-16
Bible in a Year: Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22

My wife, Janet, bought me a new Dreadnought D-35 guitar for my 65th birthday. Originally developed in the early 1900s, the Dreadnought style is larger than most guitars designed during that time, and it’s known for its bold and loud tone. It was named after the large World War I British battleship the HMS Dreadnought. The back of the D-35 is unique. Because of the shortage of wide pieces of high quality rosewood, the craftsmen innovatively fit three smaller pieces of wood together, which resulted in a richer tone.

God’s workmanship is a lot like that innovative guitar design. Jesus takes fragments and blends them together to bring Him praise. He recruited tax collectors, Jewish revolutionaries, fishermen, and others to be His followers. And down through the centuries Christ continues to call out people from varied walks of life. The apostle Paul tells us, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Eph. 4:16 nlt).

In the Master’s hand many kinds of people are fit together and are being built into something with great potential for praise to God and service for others.—Dennis Fisher

Thank You, Lord, that you have placed us
in Your family—that You are using us
individually and together to bring You
honor. Help us to live in Your power.

We can accomplish more together than we can alone.

INSIGHT: The unity of believers is an important topic for Paul. He spends a great deal of time in several different letters talking about the goal and the purpose of unity (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; Phil. 2). In Ephesians 4, Paul says the ultimate goal of all believers is to measure up “to the full and complete standard of Christ” (v.13 nlt).
Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Value of Righteousness

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The Lord is our righteousness.  Jeremiah 23:6

 

It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ.

How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not think they would be if they could always see their perfection in Christ. There are some who are always talking about corruption and the depravity of the heart and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further and remember that we are perfect in Christ Jesus.

It is no wonder that those who are dwelling upon their own corruption should wear such downcast looks; but surely if we call to mind “Christ Jesus, whom God made . . . our righteousness,”1 we shall be of good cheer. What though distresses afflict me, though Satan assault me, though there may be many things to be experienced before I get to heaven, those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; there is nothing wanting in my Lord–Christ has done it all. On the cross He said, “It is finished!” and if it be finished, then am I complete in Him and can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”2

You will not find on this side of heaven a holier people than those who receive into their hearts the doctrine of Christ’s righteousness. When the believer says, “I live on Christ alone; I rest on Him solely for salvation; and I believe that, however unworthy, I am still saved in Jesus,” then there rises up as a motive of gratitude this thought: “Shall I not live to Christ? Shall I not love Him and serve Him, seeing that I am saved by His merits?” “The love of Christ controls us,”3 “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”4 If saved by imputed righteousness, we shall greatly value imparted righteousness.

Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it. Seek help from God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith, that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne, that you may be more holy in your conversation while you live more closely with Christ.

1) 1 Corinthians 1:30   2) Philippians 3:9    3) 2 Corinthians 5:14    4) 2 Corinthians 5:15

Today’s Bible Reading

The family reading plan for January 31, 2015
* Genesis 32
* Mark 3

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

Discovering God’s Design

Discovering God’s Design – Stewards of Eternal Life

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1 John 2:24–25

It is important to address the theology tied to the phrase “eternal life” (1Jn 2:25; cf. 3:15; 5:11–13,20). In Scripture, eternal life has the connotation of future reward, to be sure, but it also has a present sense of the type of life that comes when we remain in Christ here and now. This Biblical concept should not be understood in exclusively physical or spiritual terms. Easton’s Bible Dictionary gives us this definition of eternal life:

[The expression “eternal life”] occurs frequently in the New Testament. It comprises the whole future of the redeemed (Lk 16:9), and is opposed to “eternal punishment” (Mt 25:46). It is the final reward and glory into which the children of God enter (1Ti 6:12); their Sabbath of rest (Heb 4:9). The newness of life which the believer derives from Christ (Ro 6:4) is the very essence of salvation, and hence the life of glory or the eternal life must also be theirs (Ro 6:8). It is the “gift of God … in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro 6:23). The life the faithful have here on earth (Jn 3:36; 5:24) is inseparably connected with the eternal life beyond, the endless life of the future, the happy future of the saints in heaven (Mt 19:16,29).

Eternal life and Christian stewardship are intimately connected in the administration of the new life in Christ we currently participate in. Evangelical theologian R. Scott Rodin explores the idea that eternal life is not only a future reality but a present reality of a life lived in Christ.

We live in a kingdom that is both “now” and “not yet.” This provisional nature provides us with the opportunity to live as children in God’s kingdom and thereby to announce the grace of God to all of the world. If we hear the “not yet” nature of the kingdom in Hebrews 2:8, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them,” we must also hear the very certain “now” reality of the kingdom in the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” It is this kingdom into which we are called to be stewards.

Rodin describes the life of a steward who lives in the awareness of the fullness of eternal life.

Imagine what life would be like if every day was seen as an incredible gift in a life that was guaranteed to last forever. Imagine what it would be like to be so certain about tomorrow that you could be free to invest every hour of today doing whatever was most pleasing to God. Imagine being so certain about who you were in the eyes of God that you could give yourself away in service to others with real joy. This is not only possible; it is our calling as stewards in the kingdom of the triune God who has freed us for just this kind of rich and abundant life.

Think About It

  • In what ways does eternal life have a component that is lived out in the present?
  • How does the perspective of eternity influence the way you live?
  • How do you steward eternal life?

Act on It

Spend some time imagining the scenarios described by Rodin. How does this exercise affect your perspectives on stewardship and eternity?

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – You Can Be Sure This Is God’s Will

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“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV).

“Always give thanks for everything?” my friend Jim remarked with impatience bordering on anger. “How can I give thanks to God when my wife is dying of cancer? I would be a fool, and besides I don’t feel thankful. My heart is breaking. I can’t stand to see her suffer any more.”

Jim was a Christian, but he had not yet learned how to appropriate the supernatural resources of God by faith. He had not heard that the Holy Spirit produces the supernatural, spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He did not know that the Holy Spirit was ready and eager to lift his load, fill his heart with peace and enable him to demonstrate a thankful attitude, even in times of heartache, sorrow and disappointment.

About the same time, I had a call from a beloved friend and fellow staff member, Bob. “I’m calling to ask for your prayers,” he said. “My wife has an inoperable brain tumor, but we are trusting the Lord for a miracle. We are both thanking God, for we know He makes no mistakes and we are ready for whatever happens.”

Bob and Alice were controlled by the Holy Spirit, responding as Spirit-filled persons are equipped to respond. Though God did not heal Alice’s ailing body, He performed a greater miracle by providing the supernatural resources which enabled Bob and Alice to praise and give thanks to God as a powerful testimony of His love and grace in their behalf.

Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:11-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Knowing that “all things work together for good to those who love God” – and that includes me – I determine through the enabling of the Holy Spirit to obey God today as an expression of faith by thanking Him in everything and for everything.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Keeping a Young Attitude

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Read | Psalm 103:1-5

We all want to live each day fully. To do that, we need to maintain a youthful attitude instead of letting ourselves grow old and useless to the kingdom. Here are some suggestions for staying young all our life.

First, we need to keep laughing. We are never more like children than when we are having fun with our friends. Yet in order to laugh, we at times must let go of emotional baggage. Some people have been hurt deeply, and their laughter is buried under old pains. But clutching past bitterness and feelings of rejection will age us quickly. Jesus Christ is willing to remove all that ugliness when we lay it down, which we do by forgiving ourselves and others—perhaps repeatedly. Every day is a fresh start and another chance for our indwelling God to help us smile and laugh.

Second, we should keep longing. That means we ought to keep chasing our dreams and working toward goals. When a person wakes up with something to accomplish or a friend to aid, he or she experiences more of the joy life has to offer. As soon as we settle for watching the world go by, we start to age.

Finally, and most importantly, we must keep leaning on the Lord. If we live with childlike trust, God will bless our life and use us to bring blessing upon others. He will give a sense of contentment so deep that no trial or spiritual attack can shake us.

As believers, we have the opportunity to take part in the Lord’s work every day of our life. If we give up before He wants us to stop, we cheat both God and ourselves.

Encouragement for Today

Encouragement for Today – Lysa Terkeurst

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Why Do I Have So Many Issues?

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 (NIV)

Have you ever looked at other people and thought to yourself, “How does everyone else have it all together? And why is it I seem to have so many issues?”

I understand. For most of my life, I’ve struggled with my weight and committing to a healthy lifestyle. My soul was rubbed raw from years of trying and failing.

I wanted something to instantly fix my issues.

I wanted to stop calling myself awful names I’d never let another person call me.

I wanted to be naturally thin like my sister.

I wanted to stop crying when I walked into my closet to get dressed in the morning.

So when I lost 25 pounds a few years ago and kept it off for the first time in my life, it was a huge victory.

But my real celebration hasn’t been over the smaller clothing size and reduced numbers on the scale. My real celebration is over the spiritual insights I gained while losing the weight and maintaining my healthy progress.

For me, this has been a spiritual journey — a significant spiritual journey with great physical benefits. I had been overweight physically and underweight spiritually and finally tying those two things together was life changing.

One of the richest lessons has been realizing the amount of mental and spiritual energy I wasted for years just wishing things would change. All the while, I was beating myself up for not having the discipline to make those changes.

If you have an issue with weight and food, you know what I mean. But no matter what issue you are currently dealing with, can I offer a bit of encouragement?

Jesus wants to help you with that issue. He really does. But you’ve got to stop beating yourself up about it and determine to follow His lead.

We like to identify our shortcomings, form them into a club, and beat the tar out of ourselves mentally. Over and over and over again. We label ourselves and soon lose our real identity to the beaten and bruised fragility we call “me.”

We compare, we assume, we assess, we measure and most times walk away shaking our head at how woefully short our “me” falls compared to everyone else. How dangerous it is to hold up the intimate knowledge of our imperfections against the outside packaging of others.

If there is one thing that living 40-plus years has taught me it’s this: All God’s girls have issues. Every single one of us.

But we can make the choice to identify our shortcomings and instead of using them against ourselves, hand them over to Jesus and let Him chisel our rough places.

The grace-filled way Jesus chisels is so vastly different than the way I mentally beat myself up.

My mental scripts are too often full of exaggerated lies that leave me feeling defeated. His chiseling is full of truth that sets me free.

Oh what a difference.

Jesus doesn’t compare.

Jesus doesn’t exaggerate.

Jesus doesn’t condemn. Our key verse, Romans 8:1, confirms this.

He simply says, “Hey, I love you. I love you just how you are. But, I love you too much to leave you stuck in this. So, let’s work on it together. You can do this.

There is something so powerful in really believing that with Jesus’ help you can do this. Say it with me, “I can.” I can is a powerful little twist for a girl feeling deprived and defeated.

I can helps me walk into the dinner party and find the conversation more appealing than the food table. I can helps me stay on the perimeter of the grocery store where the fresher, healthier selections abound and smile that I know this.

I can helps me look at the drive-thru menu and order a fruit tray without even giving a thought to the fried foods I used to snack on. I can reminds me to look online for a restaurant’s nutritional information before going out, ensuring wiser choices. I can reminds me no food will ever taste as sweet as victory does.

Having issues isn’t the absence of victory in our lives. It’s simply a call to action reminding us victory is right around the corner. Today is a great day to start believing you were made to walk in victory and to say to Jesus, “Yes, with Your truth as my guide, I can.”

Dear Lord, help me see myself the way You see me. Remove the lies that defeat me more often than I want to acknowledge. You have set me free. Help me live like I truly believe that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY: 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (NIV)

REFLECT AND RESPOND: When you read this part in the devotion, what went through your mind? “Hey, I love you. I love you just how you are. But, I love you too much to leave you stuck in this. So, let’s work on it together.”

Instead of using your shortcomings against yourself, take some time today to hand them over to Jesus and let Him begin to chisel your rough places.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – You Can Know the Spirit’s Fullness

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“Be filled…with the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him” (Ephesians 5:18).

An enthusiastic, attractive couple traveled from their home in Chicago to Arrowhead Springs to share with me an idea about which they were very excited.

“We heard one of your filmed lectures on ‘How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit.’ Our lives have been dramatically changed as a result of what you shared,” they said. “We have come all this way to encourage you to go on nationwide television and tell Christians how they can know the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit and experience His revolutionary impact in and through their lives.”

I am humbly grateful to God for the privilege of sharing these great truths concerning the Holy Spirit with tens of millions of people throughout the world, often with the same dramatic results experienced by this remarkable couple.

The disciples were with Jesus for more than three years. They heard Him teach as no man had ever taught. They saw Him perform miracles such as no man had ever performed – raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind and cleansing lepers. Though they were exposed to the most godly life ever lived on earth, during Jesus’ time of crisis, Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him and all the others deserted Him.

Jesus knew His disciples were fruitless, quarreling, ambitious, self-centered men, so – on the eve of His crucifixion – He told them, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I go, I will send Him to you…He will guide you into all the truth…He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you” (John 16:7,13,14 NAS).

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:5, 16-18, 22, 23, 25

Today’s Action Point: Today I will receive by faith the power of the Holy Spirit in order to live a supernatural life and be a supernatural witness. I will continue to study the scriptural reference and various books concerning the Holy Spirit, so that I will better understand His role in my life.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A New Year’s benediction

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“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10

Suggested Further Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Oh, beloved, when you hear of Christ, when you know that this grace comes through Christ, and the calling through Christ, and the glory through Christ, then you say, “Lord, I can believe it now, if it is through Christ.” It is not a hard thing to believe that Christ’s blood was sufficient to purchase every blessing for me. If I go to God’s treasury without Christ, I am afraid to ask for anything, but when Christ is with me I can then ask for everything. For sure I think he deserves it, though I do not. If I can claim his merits then I am not afraid to plead. Is perfection too great a boon for God to give to Christ? No. Is the keeping, the stability, the preservation of the blood-bought ones too great a reward for the terrible agonies and sufferings of the Saviour? No. Then we may with confidence plead, because everything comes through Christ. I would in concluding make this remark. I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us. Begin from this day, and may God help you. Never let a single day pass over your head without a visit to the garden of Gethsemane, and the cross of Calvary. And as for some of you who are not saved, and know not the Redeemer, I would to God that this very day you would come to Christ.

For meditation: The New Year may not always be as “Happy” as we would wish, but the Christian is blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3) and can look forward to a “Blessed New Year” throughout the problems that may come.

Sermon no. 292

1 January (1860)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur –The Measure of True Success

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“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1).

God is more interested in your faithfulness than He is in your accomplishments.

Our society is success oriented. We love success stories. We even have television programs that exalt the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But God’s standard for success is quite different. Unimpressed by our status or wealth, He looks instead for faithfulness to His will.

Paul understood that principle and diligently pursued his calling as an apostle—one of those unique men who were foundational to the church and recipients, teachers, and writers of the New Testament.

That was a high calling, yet judging from Paul’s lifestyle most people would hardly call him successful— having suffered imprisonments, beatings, death threats, shipwrecks, robberies, hatred from his theological enemies, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, and exposure to the elements (2 Cor. 11:23-27). But none of those things deterred him from obeying God’s will. His final testimony was, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). That’s true success! Although we’re not apostles, we’re to follow Paul’s example of faithfulness (1 Cor. 11:1). That’s possible because, like the Ephesian believers, we are “saints [holy ones] . . . who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). By God’s grace we’ve trusted in Christ as our Lord and Savior (Eph. 2:8-9) and received His righteousness (Phil. 3:9), Spirit (Eph. 3:16), and every spiritual resource necessary for faithful, victorious Christian living (Eph. 1:3).

What remains is to cultivate greater love for Christ and more consistent obedience to His Word. Those are the hallmarks of a true disciple and God’s measure of success. Make it your goal that your life today warrants the Lord’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful [servant]” (Matt. 25:21).

 

Suggestions for Prayer;

Praise God for His wonderful grace, by which He granted you salvation and all the spiritual resources you need.

Thank Him for His Word, where you learn the principles of godly living.

Ask Him for opportunities today to encourage the faithfulness of others.

 

For Further Study;

Read Ephesians 1:3-4; 2:10; Titus 2:11-12.

What is the goal of your salvation?

Are you living each day in light of that goal?

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Professor or Possessor of Faith

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Do you not know that the end will be bitter?   2 Samuel 2:26

Reader, if you are merely a professor and not a possessor of the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the following lines are a true sketch of your end.

You are a respectable attender at a place of worship; you go because others go, not because your heart is right with God. This is your beginning. I will suppose that for the next twenty or thirty years you will be spared to continue in this way, professing religion by an outward attendance upon the means of grace, but having no heart in the matter. Tread softly, for I must show you the deathbed of someone just like you. Let us gaze upon him gently. A clammy sweat is on his brow, and he wakes up crying, “O God, it is hard to die. Did you send for my pastor?” “Yes, he is coming.” The pastor comes. “Sir, I fear that I am dying!” “Have you any hope?” “I cannot say that I have. I fear to stand before my God. Oh, pray for me.” The prayer is offered for him with sincere earnestness, and the way of salvation is for the ten-thousandth time put before him, but before he has grasped the rope, I see him sink.

I may put my finger upon those cold eyelids, for they will never see anything here again. But where is the man, and where are the man’s true eyes? It is written, “In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes.”1 Why did he not lift up his eyes before? Because he was so accustomed to hearing the Gospel that his soul slept under it. If you should lift up your eyes in hell, how bitter will be your wailings. Let the Savior’s own words reveal the woe: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.”2 There is a frightful meaning in those words. May you never have to spell it out by the red light of God’s wrath!

1) Luke 16:23   2) Luke 16:24

The family reading plan for December 30, 2014 * Malachi 3 * John 20

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

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Caring for His Own Sheep

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The sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  John 10:4

What is it that provides the infallible evidence that you are a child of God? It is a foolish presumption to answer this by our own judgment; but God’s Word reveals it to us, and we may walk confidently when we have revelation as our guide. We are told concerning our Lord, “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”1 So if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing in the name of Jesus Christ.

If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name—that is, simply from my heart entrust myself to the crucified but now exalted Redeemer—I am a member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege of becoming a child of God. The Lord Jesus puts it in another way: “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to His own sheep, not to others. As soon as He appears, His own sheep perceive Him—they trust Him, they are prepared to follow Him. He knows them, and they know Him; there is a mutual knowledge—there is a constant connection between them. And so the evidence, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption, is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain about whether you are one of God’s children? Then do not let an hour pass until you have said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”2 Do not linger here, I warn you! If you must linger anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter—your health, if you wish, or the title deeds of your home. But about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destiny, I urge you to be in earnest. Make certain of this eternal issue.

1) John 1:12  2) Psalm 139:23

The family reading plan for December 22, 2014 * Zechariah 9 * John 12

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Plenteous redemption

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“With him is plenteous redemption.” Psalm 130:7

Suggested Further Reading: Galatians 4:1-7

This “plenteous redemption” is plenteous, because it is enough for all the distresses of the saints. Your wants are almost infinite; but this atonement is quite so. Your troubles are almost unutterable; but this atonement is quite unutterable. Your needs you can scarce tell; but this redemption I know you cannot tell. Believe, then, that it is “plenteous redemption.” O believing sinner, what a sweet comfort it is for you, that there is “plenteous redemption,” and that you have a lot in it. You will most certainly be brought safely home, by Jesus’ grace. Are you seeking Christ; or rather, do you know yourselves to be sinners? If you do, I have authority from God to say to every one who will confess his sins, that Christ has redeemed him. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Are you a sinner? I do not mean a sham sinner; there are lots of them about, but I have no gospel to preach to them just now. I do not mean one of those hypocritical sinners, who cry, “Yes, I am a sinner,”—who are sinners out of compliment, and do not mean it. I will preach another thing to you: I will preach against your self-righteousness another day; but I shall not preach anything to you just now about Christ, for he “came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” But are you a sinner, in the bona fide sense of the word? Do you know yourself to be a lost, ruined, undone, sinner? Then in God’s name I urge you to believe this—that Christ has died to save you.

For meditation: We spend money to buy presents for others; Christ came to spend His lifeblood to buy sinners back for God. Christmas means nothing without the Christ; Christmas means nothing without Easter (Mark 10:45).

Sermon no. 351

22 December (Undated Sermon)

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Heart Of Christmas

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1 Timothy 1:12-17

The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. —1 Timothy 1:14

Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol was released on December 19, 1843, and has never been out of print. It tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy, sour, stingy man who says, “Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas,’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding!” Yet, one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is radically changed into a generous and happy man. With great humor and insight, Dickens’ book captures the universal longing for inner peace.

As a young man, the apostle Paul opposed Jesus and His followers with a vengeful spirit. He “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). But one day he encountered the risen Christ, and his life became a different story (9:1-16).

In a letter to Timothy, his son in the faith, Paul described that life-changing event by saying, even though he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . . the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:13-14).

Jesus was born into our world and gave His life so that we can be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him. This is the heart of Christmas! —David McCasland

Then let us all with one accord

Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,

That hath made heaven and earth of naught,

And with His blood mankind hath bought. —English carol

A change in behavior begins with Jesus changing our heart.

Bible in a year: Jonah 1-4; Revelation 10

Insight

Though Paul’s words to Timothy in today’s reading are not one of the traditional biblical texts we read at Christmas, they definitely have application for this season. In verse 15 we read: “Christ Jesus came into the world.” This is a reference not only to Christ’s coming but also to His purpose for coming. Why was He born in human flesh? Paul answers that question by adding, “to save sinners.” Jesus’ coming was a mission of rescue for a race that desperately needed a Savior.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Love

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“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Suggested Further Reading: 1 John 3:14-18

We have known many Christians who have forgotten much of their love to Christ when they have risen in the world. “Ah!” said a woman, who desired to do much for Christ in poverty, and who had had a great sum left her, “I cannot do as much as I used to do.” “But how is that?” said one. Said she, “When I had a meagre purse I had an overflowing heart, and now I have an overflowing purse I have only a meagre heart.” It is a sad temptation for some men to get rich. They were content to go to the meeting-house and mix with the ignoble congregation, while they had but little; they have grown rich, there is a Turkey carpet in the drawing-room, they have arrangements now too splendid to permit them to invite the poor of the flock, as once they did, and Christ Jesus is not so fashionable as to allow them to introduce any religious topic when they meet with their new friends. Besides this, they say they are now obliged to pay this visit and that visit, and they must spend so much time upon attire, and in maintaining their station and respectability, they cannot find time to pray as they did. The house of God has to be neglected for the party, and Christ has less of their heart than ever he had. “Is this thy kindness to thy friend?” And hast thou risen so high that thou art ashamed of Christ? And art thou grown so rich, that Christ in his poverty is despised? Alas! Poor wealth! Alas! Base wealth! Alas! Vile wealth! It would be well for thee if it should be all swept away, if a descent to poverty should be a restoration to the ardency of thine affection.

For meditation: If success in the world goes to our hearts it can do others much good (1 Timothy 6:17-19); if it goes to our heads it can do us much harm (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Sermon no. 229

19 December (1858)

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Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (Today’s Date is 12 – 13 – 14)

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Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV)

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Seek Much Grace

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Give me children, or I shall die.  Genesis 30:1

The cry of Rachel for physical children should be more than matched by the believer’s longing for spiritual children. Our great object in living is to glorify God, and we mainly achieve this end by the winning of souls. We must see souls born unto God. If we do not win souls, we should mourn as the farmer who sees no harvest, as the fisherman who returns to his cottage with an empty net, or as the hunter who has roamed in vain over hill and dale. Ours should be Isaiah’s language uttered with many a sigh and groan—”who has believed what they heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”1 As ambassadors of peace we should not cease to weep bitterly until sinners weep for their sins. If we intensely desire to see others believing in the Lord Jesus, we must act in accordance with the principle and pattern of Scripture. We must depend entirely upon the Spirit of God. Do we not fail in many of our efforts because we practically, though not doctrinally, ignore the Holy Spirit? His place as God is on the throne, and in all our enterprises He must be the beginning, the middle, and the end; we are instruments in His hand and nothing more.

We must be most of all clear upon the great soul-saving doctrine of the Atonement. “He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”2 This truth that Christ died in the place of sinners gives rest to the conscience by showing how God can be just and the justifier of whoever believes. This is the great net of gospel fishermen; the fish are drawn or driven in the right direction by other truths, but this is the net itself.

We must declare the love of God in Christ Jesus. Always keep His abounding mercy connected to His unerring justice. Never exalt one attribute at the expense of another. Let boundless mercy be seen in calm consistency with stern justice and unlimited sovereignty.

Believer, are you longing to see spiritual offspring? Do not let the sun set on this day without imploring God to show Himself strong in this regard. Beseech Him, “Give me children, or I shall die.”

Editor’s note: This meditation replaces Spurgeon’s original devotional, on Isaiah 54:12 and was adapted from Charles Spurgeon’s Lectures to Students, page 375.

1) John 12:38   2) 2 Corinthians 5:21

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The family reading plan for December 13, 2014 * Haggai 2 * John 3

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

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Snug As A Bug In A Rug!

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Psalm 91:9-16

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. —Psalm 4:8

When I was a child, my family lived in a house my father built in the cedar breaks west of Duncanville, Texas. Our house had a small kitchen-dinette area, two bedrooms, and a great room with a large stone fireplace in which we burned 2-foot-long cedar logs. That fireplace was the center of warmth in our home.

There were five people in our family: my father and mother, my sister, my cousin, and me. Since we had only two bedrooms, I slept year-round on a porch with canvas screens that rolled down to the floor. Summers were delightful; winters were cold.

I remember dashing from the warmth of the living room onto the porch, tiptoeing across the frost-covered plank floor in my bare feet, leaping into bed and burrowing under a great mountain of blankets. Then, when hail, sleet, or snow lashed our house and the wind howled through the eaves like a pack of wolves, I snuggled down in sheltered rest. “Snug as a bug in a rug,” my mother used to say. I doubt that any child ever felt so warm and secure.

Now I know the greatest security of all: God Himself. I can “lie down in peace, and sleep” (Ps. 4:8), knowing that He is my shelter from the stinging storms of life. Enveloped in the warmth of His love, I’m snug as a bug in a rug. —David Roper

Leaning, leaning,

Safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning,

Leaning on the everlasting arms. —Hoffman

No one is more secure than those who are in God’s hands.

Bible in a year: Hosea 9-11; Revelation 3

Insight

Psalm 91 celebrates the safety and security of those who trust in God, who have made the Lord (the Most High) their refuge, fortress, and dwelling place (vv.2,9). The psalmist affirms that our God is powerful and faithful and therefore trustworthy (vv.1-8). He also testifies of God’s protection and deliverance in a dangerous and destructive world (vv.9-16). In the New Testament, Satan misquoted verses 11-12 to tempt Jesus to test God’s protection by jumping from the top of the temple (Matt. 4:6). In response, Jesus says that God’s promise is for those who love and obey Him (Ps. 91:14-15) and not for those who presume upon God’s grace (Matt. 4:7).

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – God’s Ways are Everlasting

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They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord.  Hosea 5:7

Believer, here is a sad truth! You are the beloved of the Lord, redeemed by blood, called by grace, preserved in Christ Jesus, accepted in the Beloved, on your way to heaven, and yet you “have dealt faithlessly” with God, your best friend; faithlessly with Jesus, to whom you belong; faithlessly with the Holy Spirit, by whom you have been born again to life eternal! How faithless you have been in the matter of vows and promises. Do you remember your love in the early days, that happy time, the springtime of your spiritual life? How closely you held to your Master then, saying, “He will never charge me with indifference; my feet will never grow slow in the way of His service; I will not allow my heart to wander after other loves; in Him is blessing I could ever enjoy. I give up everything for my Lord Jesus’ sake.” Has it been so? Sadly if conscience speaks, it will say, “He who promised so much has performed so little. Prayer has frequently been slurred—it has been short but not sweet, brief but not fervent.

Communion with Christ has been forgotten. Instead of a heavenly mind, there have been earthly preoccupations, foolish vanities, and evil thoughts. Instead of service, there has been disobedience, instead of fervency lukewarmness, instead of patience petulance, instead of faith self-reliance; and as a soldier of the cross there has been cowardice, disobedience, and desertion, to a very shameful degree.”

“They have dealt faithlessly.” Faithless to Jesus! What words shall be used in denouncing this? Words are cheap: Let our penitent thoughts condemn the sin that is so surely in us. Faithless to Your sacrifice, O Jesus! Forgive us, and let us not sin again! How shameful to be faithless to Him who never forgets us, but who to this day stands with our names engraven on His breastplate before the eternal throne.

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The family reading plan for December 12, 2014 * Haggai 1 * John 2

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

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Enter His Rest

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And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus.  —Ephesians 2:6

There are many places in the Bible where Jesus, after the Resurrection, is described as being seated. We might think standing would be more powerful. But being seated has special significance.

Under the Law, when a priest entered the Holy of Holies to make sacrifices for the people’s sins, he could not sit. He had to keep moving and working the entire time. If the bells on his robe stopped ringing, that meant that he had done something wrong and had fallen over dead.

That is why it is so awesome that Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down as our high priest. He entered the rest of God. As joint heirs with Christ, we can sit too. We no longer have to work and strive to atone for our sins. Choose to rest in His presence tonight.