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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Water Problems

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Our Daily Bread

Romans 13:1-7

There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. —Romans 13:1

Our church family was excited to see work begin on our new sanctuary. Each Sunday we eagerly looked at the big hole in the ground. But progress seemed slow.

It all came down to water. Too much in one place and not enough in another. An underground spring was one problem. Construction could not continue until inspectors were satisfied that water was being directed away from the site. At the same time, city officials said we didn’t have enough water coming into the building for a sprinkler system—so new lines for water had to be added. None of us wanted the project to be slowed down by these rulings, but we realized that if codes weren’t followed, we would face serious problems in the future.

Sometimes we grumble about government and other officials. But a proper respect for authority honors God. Paul, who had his own problems with those in charge, wrote, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1). And later, “Do what is good, and you will have praise from [the authorities]” (v.3).

As we let God’s Spirit teach us, we can have a healthy attitude toward government. It’s for our good, the testimony of our faith, and most of all for God’s honor. —Dave Branon

Thank You, Lord, for people who are willing to serve in

our local, state, and national governments. We pray that

they will seek righteousness and justice and that You

will help us to respect those You have placed over us.

Respect for authority brings glory to God.

 

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Learned Craft

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Ravi Z

Many people, including those within the church, are wrestling with the fundamental character and nature of God, with questions concerning his goodness and trustworthiness. So how do we who identify ourselves as Christians help others see the hope of the gospel and persevere in hope ourselves in a world where the biblical view of a loving and good God is constantly challenged?

I attempted to suppress my stunned disbelief with a question: “What do you mean?” I listened as a dear Christian friend of more than 25 years shared with me that she was considering moving in a direction that was a reversal of what she had long held true and what the Scriptures clearly proscribe. Over the days that followed I tried to refrain from continually pointing her to numerous Bible passages that would challenge her intentions—after all, she knew them well. Rather, I spoke about God’s compassion in our brokenness and the Holy Spirit’s transformative work in our lives, and encouraged her to talk with a counselor who could help unravel her deep and knotted burden. Sadly, a few months later, she chose to leave her church home and move in the direction she expressed.

“I’m happy,” she told me—and how does one counter that?1

I have had the privilege of working with Ravi Zacharias for over twenty years. If my experience with my friend and the emails and letters we receive are any reflection of the wider evangelical culture, there has been a noticeable shift in the questions raised by those who would identify themselves as Christians. Less than ten years ago, the predominant questions were, if you will, intramural ones: “What is your view of predestination?” “Which version of the Bible is most accurate?” “What is the unpardonable sin?”

More recently, however, many questions resemble ones we usually receive from skeptics or seekers at university engagements: “How can God be morally good if He ordered genocide in the Old Testament?” “Why should I believe in a God who sees my suffering and doesn’t answer my prayer?” As such, I would suggest that many people, including those within the church, are wrestling with the fundamental character and nature of God, with questions concerning his goodness and trustworthiness. 2

Think, for instance, of the confusion generated by Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. Yes, numerous pastors, scholars, and bloggers revealed its flawed exegesis and arguments. Yet the book created profound cognitive dissonance for some readers and accomplished its purpose: to stir an emotional response to a depiction of an angry God and unfair judge.

Even we who may seek to hold fast to what we cognitively affirm—that God is sovereign and good—sometimes struggle to make sense of our emotions when we encounter a difficult passage of Scripture or an experience such as betrayal or loss that challenges our view of an all-loving and powerful God. Indeed, consider bewildered Job under the scourge of suffering, or Joseph or John the Baptist languishing in prison, or faithful but barren Elizabeth and Zechariah, and countless others in the pages of Scripture who strained to discern God’s presence and purpose.

So how do we who identify ourselves as Christians help others see the hope of the gospel and persevere in hope ourselves in a world where the biblical view of a loving and good God is constantly challenged?

A Deeper Question

As we seek to address tough questions, Ravi Zacharias has observed that it is critical to understand there is often a deeper question behind the one being posed. Hence, we must listen carefully to hear and respond to the actual question raised. He recalls how a young couple came to him after a speaking engagement in a church and asked how God could allow suffering and evil. As he began to offer a reply, he noticed that the woman was holding a child with a severe physical deformity. He surmised that the couple’s theological inquiry masked a deeper existential struggle and so he set aside the standard arguments of theodicy to consider the pain and confusion they were experiencing.

This is not to suggest that many people do not wrestle with the philosophical arguments for the problem of evil or God’s existence, but rather, that we need to take time to listen to our questioners so that we might truly hear their concerns. Sometimes, as with my longtime friend, we might even ask, “What do you mean?” In apologetics, this approach uses the law of identity, which involves identifying unspoken assumptions and presuppositions. This law states that everything that exists has a specific nature; for example, “A = A” or “A sheep is a sheep” (and not a cow). Thus, if someone remarks, “Sure, I believe in Jesus,” we rely upon the law of identity when we ask the person to tell us more about who this Jesus is. Is this the Jesus portrayed in the New Testament or The DaVinci Code?

Or, we might follow up by asking the person to tell us what he or she means by “believe.” Does the individual’s understanding of belief amount to reasoned confidence or “blind” faith?3 A common misperception is that science involves facts and evidence, whereas religious belief is based on myth, feelings, or a wish-fulfillment for a benevolent God. And yet, science is unable to answer basic metaphysical questions such as “Why are we here?” or “Why is there something rather than nothing?” And atheism itself can be seen as a wish-fulfillment for no God and no absolute foundation for morality.

In such conversations, we may discover that “belief in Jesus” may be radically different from what the Bible presents. Thus, it is critical to listen carefully to those we seek to engage so that we might hear their underlying questions and unspoken assumptions. The art of listening and responding to questions is a learned craft honed with humility, patience, and careful study. As my colleague Alister McGrath writes, “Apologetics is not a set of techniques for winning people to Christ. It is not a set of argumentative templates designed to win debates. It is a willingness to work with God in helping people discover and turn to his glory.”4

Learning To See

Like those we encounter who struggle with questions, sometimes our own unsettled questions and unexamined assumptions can cloud our hope in God and our confidence in the gospel. When relationships fail, health deteriorates, or vocations are lost, our understanding of God can be tested to the core when we, as philosopher Esther Lightcap Meek suggests, “labor under the misimpression that we see what we see, that seeing is believing, that either I see it or I don’t.”5 The evidence for God’s existence and Christ’s uniqueness looks quite clear to me in light of the historical Scriptures, the pattern of the universe, and conflicting worldviews. But there are times when I have questioned God’s goodness because I perceived Him to be unresponsive and unmoved by my troubled heart. Studying the Scriptures didn’t lead me to this misperception; rather, my experience of loss did.

And when our view of God is misguided, doubt eclipses hope and we may be tempted to take the seemingly “happy road” rather than trust in his sovereign but unforeseen plan. Yes, God is consistent and faithful to his Word, but He is not predictable. If He were, there would be no place for grace or mercy.6 He sends rain to the just and unjust. He rewards a prostitute’s shrewd deceit with a secure place in the Promised Land, while barring his prophet Moses from it because of a rash act of rage.7

In such places of doubt and discouragement, we need the fellowship of other believers to help us see what we cannot see, to pray when we cannot pray, and to hope when we struggle to hope. As Meek contends,“Sometimes, apart from someone else’s insistence and guidance, we don’t even get it right about the thoughts in our own head. We need to be taught how to see.”8

I ran a trail half-marathon recently. I have competed at this distance and longer on roads but never on the trail, so the first couple of miles I was careful to note every root and rock as I tried to run fast. By the third mile, I felt at ease dodging obstacles and began to settle into a competitive pace. I turned a corner and descended a hill with a massive rock just below its crest, and Wham! Suddenly, I was sailing headlong and my splayed body hit the ground. I had seen the rock but somehow its presence didn’t prompt me to alter my stride. With ten miles left to the finish, my throbbing, bloody knee suddenly sharpened my focus for the rest of the race.

The evidence for God’s existence and Christ’s uniqueness looks quite clear to me in light of the historical Scriptures, the pattern of the universe, and conflicting worldviews. But there are times when I have questioned God’s goodness because I perceived Him to be unresponsive and unmoved by my troubled heart. Studying the Scriptures didn’t lead me to this misperception; rather, my experience of loss did.

Like listening, seeing is a learned craft. For example, experienced trail runners can fly down a hill with seeming ease, nimbly dodging small and large obstacles on their path. Their bodies have a heightened sense of proprioception (literally, “one’s own perception”), which is the ability to orient to an environment with limited visual clues. “The special balance that is so key to trail running is … proprioception,” writes elite endurance runner Adam Chase. “Proprioception comes through muscle, joint, tendon, and inner ear sensory nerve terminals that respond to and adjust posture and positioning through stimuli originating from within the body. When trail runners complain that they are bad at running down rocky or otherwise sketchy descents, it is usually a testament to the fact that they need to work on their proprioceptive abilities.”9 Trail running is an art that requires keen awareness and practice.

The prophet Daniel and the apostle Paul overcame obstacles in their pagan, foreign environments by a resolute focus on a sovereign God who alone “changes times and seasons” and “reveals deep and hidden things” (Daniel 2:21-22). Both were given the gift of vision, but they were “taught how to see” through persistent prayer, a community of friends, and a humble understanding that all wisdom and ability come from God. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,” wrote Paul, “in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19a).

A Gift to All

This hope to which God has called us is a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Like any living substance, hope must be nurtured and exercised for it to grow. Isaiah tells us that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Hope can expand even as we endure trials, for “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

Like the fine art of listening and seeing, I am discovering that persevering in hope is a learned craft. This is not to suggest it is something we must earn. No, hope is a gift to all who call upon God. Yet just as an Olympic sprinter gifted with speed must sharpen her skills consistently to succeed, so our hope matures when we “run in the path of [God’s] commands” and “feed on his faithfulness.”10 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis observes that we must be taught both to recognize and to exercise hope:

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilization as long as civilization is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more.

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all—except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.11

Ultimately, hope grows as we sit before the mirror of God’s Word, for it is the one true and trustworthy reflection of who God is and who we are becoming. Here we are exhorted and comforted, chastened and encouraged by the One who loves us and can speak into our lives like no other. Here we can bring our longings, fears, and questions before his throne of grace and let the light of Jesus’s presence shine into every dark and confusing place in our lives, “for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”12 This is the hope of the gospel. And God promises that all “who hope in him will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23).

Hope is a gift to all who call upon God. Yet just as an Olympic sprinter gifted with speed must sharpen her skills consistently to succeed, so our hope matures when we “run in the path of God’s commands” and “feed on his faithfulness.” “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

 

Danielle DuRant is director of research and writing at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, GA.

1 This question is intended merely to be rhetorical. There are several approaches one might use as a follow-up depending on the person’s struggle and faith commitment.

2 In his conversations with Christians wrestling with doubt, philosophy professor Gary Habermas has observed a similar trend. See his chapter “Evil, the Resurrection and the Example of Jesus” in God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain, eds. Chad V. Meister, Norman Geisler, and James K. Dew (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013), 163-174.

3 For a fuller discussion of reasonable belief and so-called blind faith, see chapters 3 and 4 of Alex McLellan’s A Jigsaw Guide to Making Sense of the World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012).

4 Alister E. McGrath, Mere Apologetics: How To Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2012), 41.

5 Esther Lightcap Meek, Longing To Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2003), 99.

6 I am indebted to Roslyn Harden Scott, Ph.D., for this insight.

7 Of course, a close reading of Joshua 2 and Numbers 20 reveals that Rahab’s act of deception (risking her life to harbor the spies) was precipitated by her faith in the God of the Israelites, whereas Moses’s display of anger grew out of his lack of trust in God. Hebrews 11:31 commends Rahab for her faith and James 2:25, for her works (faith in action).

8 Meek, 99, emphasis added.

9 Adam Chase, “On the Trail …Core Strength” (November 1, 2003), accessed on February 19, 2013 at http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-running-training/trail-core-strength.

10 See Psalm 119:32 and 37:3 (NASB).

11 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1960), 118-119, emphasis added.

12 1 John 3:20.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Cooked Evenly

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Alistair Begg

Ephraim is a cake not turned.  Hosea 7:8

A cake not turned is uncooked on one side; and so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace: Though there was partial obedience, there was too much rebellion left. My soul, I charge you to see whether this is true of you. Are you thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone to the very center of your being so that its divine operation is felt in all your powers, your actions, your words, and your thoughts? To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, should be your aim and prayer; and although sanctification might not be complete in you, still it must be at work in you. There must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another; otherwise you will also be a cake not turned.

A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire, and although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth that they overemphasize; others are charred to a cinder with a self-congratulatory pharisaic performance of those religious activities that suit their mood. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness, and the saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake that is burned on one side is dough on the other.

This is true of me, Lord Jesus; turn me! Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of Your love, and let it feel the sacred glow, and let my burnt side cool a little while I learn my own weakness and lack of heat when I am removed from Your heavenly flame. Let me not be a double-minded man, but one who is entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace. I know only too well that if I am left like a cake unturned, and am not on both sides the subject of Your grace, I will be consumed forever in everlasting burnings.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The plea of faith

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“Do as thou hast said.” 2 Samuel 7:25

Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

Unless we know what God has said, it will be folly to say, “do as thou hast said.” Perhaps there is no book more neglected in these days than the Bible. I do truly believe there are more mouldy Bibles in this world than there are of any sort of neglected books. We have stillborn books in abundance; we have innumerable books which never see any circulation, but we have no book that is so much bought, and then so speedily laid aside, and so little used, as the Bible. If we buy a newspaper, it is generally handed from one person to another, or we take care to peruse it pretty well; indeed some go so far as to read advertisements and all. If a person purchases a novel, it is well known how he will sit and read it all the way through, till the midnight candle is burnt out; the book must be finished in one day, because it is so admirable and interesting; but the Bible, of course, in the estimation of many, is not an interesting book; and the subjects it treats of are not of any very great importance. So most men think; they think it is a very good book to carry out on a Sunday, but never meant to be used as a book of pleasure, or a book to which one could turn with delight. Such is the opinion of many; but no opinion can be more apart from the truth; for what other book deals with truths half so important as those that concern the soul? What book can so well deserve my attention as that which is written by the greatest of all authors, God himself?

For meditation: This book will become a hindrance to your soul if you allow it to become a substitute for your daily Bible reading. The correct use of these daily readings is found in Acts 17:11.

Sermon no. 88

23 June (Preached 22 June 1856)

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John MacArthur – Fulfilling the Royal Law

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John MacArthur

“If . . . you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well” (James 2:8).

In Matthew 22:36 a lawyer asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest. Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (vv. 37-40). Love for God and one’s fellow man summarizes the intent of God’s law, and is the measure of true faith.

Jesus wasn’t calling for the shallow, emotional, self- oriented love that is so prevalent in our society, but for a sacrificial quality of love that places the needs of others on par with your own. That kind of love is utterly incompatible with partiality, which seeks only to further its own selfish goals.

Showing partiality breaks God’s law because it violates God’s attributes, misrepresents the Christian faith, ignores God’s choice of the poor, and condones the blasphemous behavior of the rich (James 2:1-7). But when you treat others impartially, you fulfill the royal law. “Royal” in James 2:8 translates a Greek word that speaks of sovereignty. The law was given by God, who is the supreme authority in the universe, so it is authoritative and binding. Love fulfills God’s law because if you love someone, you won’t sin against him.

Apparently not all of James’s readers were showing partiality, so he commended them, saying they were “doing well.” The Greek word translated “well” speaks of that which is excellent. They were doing an excellent thing because they were acting in a manner consistent with God’s impartial, loving nature. That’s God’s call to every believer: for “the one who says he abides in [Christ] ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). As you do, you fulfill God’s law and thereby prove that your faith and love are genuine.

Suggestions for Prayer:

God’s love is the only antidote for partiality, so pray each day that He will teach you how better to express His love to those around you.

For Further Study:

Read the following verses, noting the characteristics of godly love: John 3:16, Ephesians 5:25-29, Philippians 1:9- 11, and 1 John 5:1-3.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Be Afraid to Stop

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Joyce meyer

The thoughts and purposes of the [consistently] righteous are honest and reliable, but the counsels and designs of the wicked are treacherous. —Proverbs 12:5

Don’t be ashamed to back off if you get out in the middle of something and find that God is not in it. Just be secure enough to simply say, “I thought this was God, but it’s not, so I am not going to do it anymore.”

You can apologize to others if you caused them any trouble or confusion. But there is no shame in quickly admitting that you were wrong. It is more important not to perpetuate a mistake than it is to keep people from thinking you were wrong. Don’t be afraid to say, “I didn’t hear from God.” Honesty will keep your day going right, all day long.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Protected From Satan

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“But the Lord is faithful: He will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

As a lad I grew up in a rural community on a ranch five miles from the nearest town. I received the first seven years of my formal education in a one-room, country school. I was often the only student in my class and there were never more than three of us. It was not unusual for some big bully to pick on a student smaller than himself and fights would ensue.

I had been taught never to run from a fight because that was not the manly thing to do and so I sometimes found myself in such a situation. I was encouraged by a brother, several years older, who would stand by to insure that the fighting was fair and that I would not be taken advantage of. The Lord Jesus Christ is our elder brother. He stands by to help us, to make us strong and guard us from the attacks of Satan who is like the big bully.

Two thousand years ago Satan was defeated at the cross. He has no control over us except that which God allows and which we by our disobedience and unbelief enable Him to have. Why then, you ask, does the average Christian have such a tough time living the Christian life? It is because he does not understand that the battle has already been won! Victory is ours and nothing can touch us or harm us whether we are criticized, persecuted or even martyred for the sake of the kingdom, for we are not of this world. We are citizens of the heavenly kingdom. While here on this earth, Christ will envelop us and surround us with His supernatural peace and power, turning tragedy to triumph, heartache and sorrow to joy. This is our heritage if only we keep on trusting and obeying Him.

Bible Reading: II Thessalonians 3:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will remember that Jesus Christ is not only my Savior and Lord, but my older brother and that He will protect me against satanic attacks of every kind. The battle has already been won! Through His enabling supernatural resources, I will live a supernatural life for His glory today.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Saturated Hearts

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It might be a toss-up on a hot, summer day to know which would be better: cold water or good news from a far country. In today’s verse, Solomon gives them equal due.

Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25

Good news from a far country can come in many forms. During Jacob’s life, in a period of famine in his country, word came that there was plenty of food in Egypt. In times of weather-related disasters, kinfolk in other regions impatiently await reports of their family’s well-being. Today’s military serve on the other side of the world; their loved ones eagerly await a call to know of their safety.

Good news from afar can be as invigorating as water to a dehydrated man. And though Solomon may not have been thinking of it, there is no better news for the lost sinner than the salvation story…cold water for a thirsty soul. Heaven was far away but God sent His Son to bring you closer to Him.

In America today, some will reject Jesus and refuse to acknowledge the longing in their soul. They are thirsty but reject God’s gift of living water. Pray for them…that the Holy Spirit will overcome their objections and saturate their hearts with His love.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 107:1-9

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Times of Temptation

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Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 10:6-13

Scripture teaches that at times we’ll all be tempted to act in ways contrary to God’s commands. Our circumstances are not unique to us; others have faced similar situations. Yesterday, we learned an acrostic to help us resist enticement: we can put a “halt” to letting ourselves be too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. That is, we are wise to eat regularly, experience the peace God offers, stay in fellowship with others, and get enough rest.

But where does the urge to sin come from? Sources of temptation can be the world we live in, the Devil, or something within ourselves. The world wants us to join in on its sensual, selfish pursuits. Satan wants to turn us away from God. And our self-focused “flesh” nature wants us to be in control, not the Lord.

Does God ever tempt us? No, according to James 1:13. Our Father doesn’t want us to do evil; He will, however, test us to reveal to you and me our motives and attitudes. He also uses times of testing to mature us and transform us into Christ’s likeness. His work is always for our good.

Remember, it is not sinful to experience temptation. Feeling tempted is not the same as committing a sin. Jesus Himself was tempted by the Devil at a time of great weariness and physical need, after spending 40 days in the desert without food. Do not judge yourself harshly when you feel enticed toward ungodliness. Only when we act upon the enticement do we cross the line into sin.

The Lord knows exactly how to rescue every one of us from the temptations that we encounter. The question is, How good are you at responding to His direction?

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Hanging On Nothing

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Our Daily Bread

Job 26:5-14

He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. —Job 26:7

A world map published by the National Geographic Society has this notation: “Earth’s mass is 6.6 sextillion tons.” And what supports all that weight? Nothing. The planet we inhabit spins on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour as it hurtles through space in its orbit around the sun. But it’s easy for that to remain unnoticed in the midst of our daily concerns about health, relationships, and how to pay the bills.

The Old Testament character Job repeatedly considered God’s creation in his struggle to make sense of the numbing loss of his health, his wealth, and his children. “[God] stretches out the north over empty space,” Job said. “He hangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26:7). Job marveled at the clouds that did not break under the heavy water inside them (v.8) and the horizon “at the boundary of light and darkness” (v.10), but called them “the mere edges of His ways” (v.14).

Creation itself did not answer Job’s questions, but the heavens and the earth pointed him to God the Creator, who alone could respond with help and hope.

The Lord who upholds the universe by the “word of His power” (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:17) is in control of our everyday lives. Experiences that seem “empty places” are all undergirded by our heavenly Father’s power and love. —David McCasland

Dear Lord, we praise You for Your infinite power.

You created the world out of nothing and uphold

it by Your word. Help me to remember that You

are also in control of every part of my life.

When we reflect on the power of God’s creation, we see the power of His care for us.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – A Bigger Story

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Ravi Z

From Think Again Magazine –  May 30, 2013

The story is told of a man who was fishing.  Every time he caught a big fish, he threw it back into the water. Every little fish he caught went into his bag. Another big one, back into the water; a tiny little one, into his bag. Finally, a man who had been watching him and was very perplexed by his unorthodox manner of fishing asked, “Can you please explain to me why you are throwing the big ones away?” The fisherman did not hesitate: “Because I only have an eight-inch frying pan and anything bigger than eight inches does not fit my pan!”

We may chuckle at someone who throws away a fish too big for a pan or someone else who just explains away anything that doesn’t fit his or her own prejudiced opinions. Yet we see this repeatedly: the Naturalist that describes the “origins” of the universe as “unrepeatable” (Stephen Gould) or “almost a miracle” (Francis Crick) or “mathematically impossible” (Fredrick Hoyle) but will simply fight off any possibility of agency or cause or the supernatural. The question that always demands an answer and that each one of us must pause to ask ourselves is whether our paradigm of the world really matches reality. Does it fit? Is there explanatory power for the unshakable questions of life? Is it coherent? Is it rationally livable?

But there is a rub. We must recognize that every worldview can leave us with questions that we cannot exhaustively resolve this side of eternity. Every worldview has gaps. The question is, Does my paradigm fit reality and have enough reason behind it to explain how these gaps might actually be filled and remain consistent?

What do I mean by gaps? Let me borrow an illustration from Francis Schaeffer. Suppose you were to leave a room with two glasses on the table, Glass A and Glass B. Glass A has two ounces of water in it, and Glass B is empty. When you return at the end of the day, Glass B now has water in it and Glass A is empty. You could assume that someone took the water from Glass A and put it into Glass B. That, however, does not fully explain the situation, because you notice that Glass B now has four ounces of water in it, whereas Glass A had only two ounces in it when you left in the morning.

You are confronted with a problem that at best has only a partial explanation. Whether the water from Glass A was poured into Glass B is debatable. But what is beyond debate is that all of the water in Glass B could not have come from Glass A. The additional two ounces had to have come from elsewhere.

The Christian worldview presents a powerful and unique explanation of these other “two ounces.” Naturalism may be able to explain the two ounces in Glass B. It cannot explain the four ounces in it. The theistic framework is not only credible, but also far more adept than atheism or other worldviews in dealing with the real questions of life: questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. Whichever starting point we take—either the philosophical followed by the biblical or the biblical by itself, which for many is sufficient—the cogency and convincing power of the answers emerge very persuasively. The original “two ounces,” as well as the additional “two ounces,” are best explained in a Christian theistic framework. The arguments range from the simple to the intricate, depending on the question and its context.

I have said often that God has put enough into the world to make faith in Him a most reasonable thing. But He has left enough out to make it impossible to live by sheer reason or observation alone.

You will recall, for example, that the resurrection of Jesus caught even the disciples by surprise. They did not believe at first that Jesus had risen from the dead. Their understanding of reality was foundationally challenged. All of life and destiny would now have to be reinterpreted. They thought that perhaps Jesus’s resurrection was some fanciful story conjured up by hallucinating people. Their entire hope in him was politically based — that Jesus would somehow overthrow Rome. But a political victory would have only been a superficial solution, for Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind and to transform hearts and minds. I wonder whether multiple evidences that Jesus had risen from the dead would make any difference to modern-day atheists or would they be tossed away because of an “eight inch” measuring container?

You see, the problem with evidence is that it is very much limited to the moment and creates the demand for repeated intervention of some sort. I have seen this in my own life over and over. Today it may be a failing business that is in need of God’s intervention. Tomorrow I may want to be healed from cancer. The day after that, I may even want a loved one to be brought back from the dead. There is an insatiable hunger for the constancy of the miracle.

The gospel is true and beautiful and has enough of the miracle to ground it in sufficient reason. But it is also sometimes a hard road because of the intertwining of reason and faith.

When we come to those places in the road when we long for another “proof,” I pray that we might know that rising beyond reason (to be sure, not violating it) is the constancy of trust in God, and we might sense his presence, for that is really the greater miracle within us. Only through exercising that trust can the moment be accepted and understood as a small portion of a bigger story. For some of us, that individual story may entail a journey that may be long and arduous, but it will be accomplished one moment at a time, one day at a time, each moment and day undergirded by the strength of the indwelling presence of God. Even Peter realized that the delight of the Transfiguration had to be transcended by “the sure word of God.” He believed that word even on the road to martyrdom. This is the hope of gospel: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Warm Regards,

Ravi

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Christ the Builder

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It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor.  Zechariah 6:13

Christ Himself is the builder of His spiritual temple, and He has built it on the mountains of His unchangeable affection, His omnipotent grace, and His infallible truthfulness. But as it was in Solomon’s temple, so in this: The materials need to be prepared. There are the cedars of Lebanon, but they are not framed for the building; they are not cut down and shaped and made into those planks of cedar whose fragrant beauty will make glad the courts of the Lord’s house in paradise. There are also the rough stones still in the quarry, which must be hewn out and squared.

All this is Christ’s own work. Each individual believer is being prepared and polished and made ready for his place in the temple; but Christ’s own hand performs the preparation-work. Afflictions cannot sanctify, except when they are used by Him to fulfill His purpose. Our prayers and efforts cannot make us ready for heaven, apart from the hand of Jesus, who fashions our hearts correctly.

As in the building of Solomon’s temple, where “neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard”1 because it all arrived perfectly ready for the exact spot it was to occupy, so is it with the temple that Jesus builds; the preparation is all done on earth. When we reach heaven, there will be no sanctifying us there, no squaring us with affliction, no maturing us with suffering.

No, we must be made ready here–and all that Christ will do He will do now; and when He has done it, we will be ferried by a loving hand across the stream of death and brought to the heavenly Jerusalem, to live as eternal pillars in the temple of our Lord.

Beneath His eye and care,

The edifice shall rise,

Majestic, strong, and fair,

And shine above the skies.

1 – 1 Kings 6:7

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The majestic voice

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“The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.” Psalm 29:4

Suggested Further Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4

In some sense Jesus Christ may be called the voice of God, for you know he is called the Word of God frequently in Scripture; and I am sure this Word of God “is full of majesty.” The voice and the word are very much the same thing. God speaks: it is his Son. His Son is the Word; the Word is his Son, and the voice is his Son. Truly the voice, the Word of God, “is full of majesty.” Angels! Ye can tell what majesty sublime invested his blest person when he reigned at his Father’s right hand; ye can tell what were the brightnesses which he laid aside to become incarnate; ye can tell how sparkling was that crown, how mighty was that sceptre, how glorious were those robes bedecked with stars. Spirits! Ye who saw him when he stripped himself of all his glories, ye can tell what was his majesty. And oh! Ye glorified, ye who saw him ascend up on high, leading captivity captive—ye beloved songsters, who bow before him, and unceasingly sing his love! Ye can tell how full of majesty he is. High above all principalities and powers ye see him sit; angels are but servants at his feet; and the mightiest monarchs like creeping worms beneath his throne. High there, where God alone reigns, beyond the sight of angels or the gaze of immortal spirits—there he sits, not majestic merely, but full of majesty. Christian! Adore your Saviour; adore the Son of God; reverence him, and remember at all seasons and times, how little so ever you may be, your Saviour, with whom you are allied, the Word of God, is essentially full of majesty.

For meditation: The Lord Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth (John 1:14); in him the fulness of God dwells bodily (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). It should be a staggering thought that every Christian has received from his fullness (John 1:16; Ephesians 1:22,23).

Sermon no. 87

22 June (1856)

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Gift of God’s Favor

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And Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the state prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.

And the warden of the prison committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatsoever was done there, he was in charge of it. The prison warden paid no attention to anything that was in [Joseph’s] charge, for the Lord was with him and made whatever he did to prosper. —Genesis 39:20-23

Although Joseph was being punished unfairly because he was jailed for something he didn’t do, the Lord was still with him and took care of him. A person is really not in too bad of shape, even if he ends up in prison, if God gives him favor and places him in charge of everything that goes on there.

God wants to give you favor, just as He gave favor to Joseph, but in order to receive that favor, you must do what Joseph did and believe for it. Joseph maintained a good attitude in a bad situation. He had a “faith attitude,” and God gave him favor. When God’s favor is upon you, people like you for no particular reason, and they want to bless you.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Cleansing From Sin

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“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, KJV).

Henry was experiencing difficulty in communicating with God. “It seems as though He is far away from me,” he said, “and no matter what I do I am not able to make contact with Him.”

Henry was weighted down with problems and concerns that robbed him of his joy, his radiance and even his physical strength. He was a Christian and wanted to be a man of God but had become careless in his walk with Christ, and in the process had lost his first love.

If that condition describes you as well, it is quite likely that you have allowed sin to short-circuit your relationship with God. The mighty overflow of His power has been cut off, and you are no longer walking in the light as God is in the light. This is expressed in this great epistle of 1 John.

King David knew that experience because he had disobeyed God and, as recorded in Psalm 32, would not admit that he had sinned. As a result, his dishonesty made him miserable and filled his days with frustration.

If the light has gone out in your life and you are conscious of the same kind of experience to which King David refers, may I encourage you to take a sheet of paper, make a list of everything you know is wrong in your life, as the Holy Spirit directs you, and confess your sins to God.

As you make your list, claim the promise of 1 John 1:9. The word confess means “to agree with,” “to say along with.” Your are saying to God, “I acknowledge that what I am doing is wrong. I know Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for these sins. I repent.” To repent means genuinely to change your mind, which results in a change of action.

As a result of this change, you no longer do those things that grieve or quench the Spirit, and you desire to honor Him every moment of every day of your life through faith and obedience. Then, whenever sin enters your life, you engage in spiritual breathing.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 28:10-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Today I will make a list of everything the Holy Spirit calls to my mind that is short-circuiting His power in my life, and I will genuinely confess them before God.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – The Rule Book

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Almost ppt_seal01every new gadget or appliance comes with operating instructions. So long as the rules are followed, successful use is assured. The guidance is not always clear – consider a novice with an electronic notepad – and one might wish the author of those directions was there to interpret.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.  Psalm 119:30

How incredibly fortunate Christians are that God has placed within each one the Holy Spirit to interpret His rule book. Yet, as the first part of today’s verse reminds you, following the Lord’s intent for your life is a matter of choice. How many parents have admonished their children over and again that choices have consequences? In the everyday movements of life, you are faced with the need to decide. God has set out His plan for victorious living, and you must search the Scriptures to know His instructions.

Above all, today’s verse says, choose to faithfully follow Him. Mirror the instruction book’s author by being merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). Intercede on behalf of America’s leadership that they might learn from God’s holy Word and choose faithfulness for themselves – to the benefit of the whole nation.

Recommended Reading: I Thessalonians 5:12-22

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Greg Laurie – You Are Not Alone!

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Have you ever felt as though you were all alone and nobody cared? You might be surprised to know that the great apostle Paul felt this way too. In his final epistle, he wrote, “Everyone abandoned me” (2 Timothy 4:16 NLT). Know this: God has not abandoned you! He can compensate by His own loving presence for every earthly loss.

C.H. Spurgeon wrote, “If all else forsook him, Jesus was company enough. If all others despised him, the smile of Jesus was approval enough. If the good cause seemed to be in danger, in the presence of his Master, victory was sure. The Lord who had stood for him at the cross now stood for him in the prison. It was a dungeon, but the Lord was there; It was dark, but the glory of the Lord lit it up with Heaven’s own splendor.”

Listen: Better to be in a jail with the Lord than to be anywhere else without Him. Jesus is with us as well, in the good and bad times of life. God reminds us in His Word, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT).

When Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out the words “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Those were not delusional words. They were factual. Jesus, at this point, was most likely bearing the sins of the world. Here is the good news: Jesus was forsaken for a time that you might enjoy God’s presence forever.

Know this: Jesus will never forsake you. You have His Word on that. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Or from the Greek it would translate out more like, “I will never, no never, leave you nor forsake you.”

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Charles Stanley – Moments of Weakness

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2 Samuel 11:1-5

The Bible is filled with examples of men and women who sinned against the Lord in moments of weakness. These true stories—beginning with the account of Adam and Eve—are given to us for our instruction (1 Cor. 10:11). The Father wants us to learn from the mistakes of others.

Idleness allowed King David’s mind to contemplate adultery with Bathsheba. Weariness led Elijah to consider death preferable to life (1 Kings 19:4). Pride may have played a part in Eve’s listening to the serpent (Gen. 3:6), while lust may have prompted Solomon to desire many wives, including unbelievers (1 Kings 11:1-3). Add to these a sense of spiritual or emotional neediness and emptiness, and we have at least six situations that are fertile ground for temptation. In some biblical examples, enticement was resisted; in others, the individuals gave in. I’m certain every one of us can identify.

While there are many kinds of temptation, they follow a similar pattern. The eye looks, the mind desires, and the will acts. King David looked at Uriah’s wife, inquired about her, and then he acted. Another Israelite, Achan, who helped in the Jericho conquest, noticed all the material wealth, coveted it in his mind, and took what he wanted (Josh. 7:20-21).

No matter what’s creating vulnerability, each person is ultimately responsible

for his or her own actions. So in times of weakness, remember the word halt. Its letters can remind you not to let yourself become too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Most importantly, fix your attention on the Lord, draw strength from Him, and experience victory over temptation.

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Our Daily Bread — Greedy Birds

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2 Corinthians 9:6-15

God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance for every good work. —2 Corinthians 9:8

Every year when I put out the hummingbird feeder, the busy little birds start battling for position. Even though there are four places at the “table,” the birds fight for whatever place one of their neighbors is using. The source of food at each place is the same—a reservoir of syrup in the bottom of the feeder. Knowing that all the feeding stations are equal, I shake my head at their greediness.

But then I wonder, Why is it so much easier to see the greed of the birds than it is to see my own? I often want the place at “God’s table” that someone else has, even though I know all good things come from the same source—God—and that His supply will never run out. Since God can prepare a table for us even in the presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5), why be concerned that someone else might have the station in life that we want?

The Lord is able to give us “all sufficiency in all things” so that we will have “an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). When we recognize the importance of our work as ministers of the grace of God (1 Peter 4:10), we’ll stop fighting to take over someone else’s position and be grateful for the place God has given us to serve others on His behalf. —Julie Ackerman Link

Thank You for the privilege we have to serve You by

serving others, Lord. Help us to be content to fill

the place where You have put us, so that

You might be glorified through us.

Resentment comes from looking at others; contentment comes from looking at God.

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Ravi Zacharias Ministry – In Hamlet’s Shoes

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Shakespeare’s Hamlet is in a predicament most of us will never face. His uncle has killed his father and then married his mother to become the king. The main conflict of the play is found within Hamlet’s long monologues debating whether or not he should murder his uncle and avenge his father’s death. It’s not a life story most can fully identify with.

But for a group of prisoners at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, Hamlet, both the man and the play, hit disruptively home. Over the course of six months, a prison performing arts program gave a handful of criminals, who are living out the consequences of their violent crimes, the chance to delve into a story about a man pondering a violent crime and its consequences. The result was a startling encounter for both the players, most of whom were new to Shakespeare, and the instructors, who long thought they knew every angle to Shakespeare’s tale, but came to see how much they had missed.

One man, in order to play the character Laertes, found himself reckoning with the temptation to manipulate as a means of getting what you want, only to realize a kind of cowardice in such actions. In a moment of clarity through the life of another, he admits, “I can identify with that [struggle] and I can play that role very well—because I’ve been playing that role my whole life….To put a gun in somebody’s face—that’s an unfair advantage.  That’s a cowardly act. And that’s what criminals are; we’re cowards.” He then admits with striking transparency, “I am Laertes. I am.”(1)

I was at a writers’ conference once that reminded an audience of aspiring artists of faith that in moments of moral crisis we do not pause to ask what Jane Erye would do. And yet there are inarguably characters and stories that become of immense moral significance, pulling us into worlds that call for attention, compassion, and consideration. As evidenced at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, literature affords the unique and disarming possibility of placing oneself in another’s shoes, showing us sides of an individual we might otherwise miss, and depths of ourselves we might otherwise fail to consider. It is far harder to murder someone whose perspectives we have considered as imaginatively as our own. It is difficult to persist in self-deception when we find ourselves so jarringly laid out on the page. Such characters offer vessels of possibility beyond what is familiar, normal, and accepted—and often beyond what is even seen.

It is not accidental that Jesus used story as a vehicle to speak the truth in a way that was both disarming and inescapable.

“Simon, I have something to say to you,” Jesus said to a Pharisee who had invited him to dinner.

“Teacher,” he replied; “Speak.”

“A certain creditor had two debtors,” Jesus said; “one owed five hundred denarii,* and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”

43Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.”

Jesus* said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44Then turning towards the woman Simon had just flippantly dismissed as sinful and offensive, he said to Simon: “Do you see this woman?”

Simon had obviously seen her long before Jesus paused to tell him a story. With disgust, he had watched her enter his house, kneel at the feet of his guest, and proceed to weep so much that she could actually bathe his feet with her tears. Simon looked on as she dried his feet with her hair, kissing his feet incessantly, and anointing them with ointment. Seeing all of this clearly, he then questioned the sight of his guest. “If this man were a prophet,” Simon said to himself, “he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.”(2)

Like Hamlet to a hardened criminal, the simple story into which Simon willingly entered forced him to take another look at one he had hitherto willed not to see. We are not told what he saw the second time around, but his own words undoubtedly probed his hardened heart: The one who sees that she has had a great debt cancelled loves more. In a story of two debtors, Simon is invited to reconsider an easily-judged woman, his righteous self, and the one who forgives.

Jesus places us beside images of a kingdom that turns things around, stories that shock and offend us, metaphors that wake us to the presence of a surprising God, to the mindsets and pieties that block us from seeing this God, and to the abundance of divine grace that beckons us to look again and again.

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

(1) As heard on This American Life with Ira Glass, 218: Act V, October 12, 2007.

(2) See Luke 7:36-50.