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Journey of Dust – Ravi Zacharias Ministry

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I walked through the neatly laid stones, each row like another line in a massive book. My eyes strained to take in all of the information—name, age, rank, country—and perhaps also death itself, the fragility of life, the harsh reality of war. In that field of graves, a war memorial for men lost as prisoners of war, slaves laboring to construct the Burma-Siam railway, I felt as the psalmist: “laid low in the dust.” Or like Job sitting among the dust and ashes of a great tragedy. Then one stone stopped my wandering and said what I could not. On an epitaph in the middle of the cemetery was written: “There shall be in that great earth, a richer dust concealed.”(1)

It is helpful, I think, to be reminded that we are dust. It seems crucial to take this reminder with us as we move through life—through successes, disappointments, surprises, distractions, tragedy. For Christians, it is also a truth to help us the vast and terrible events of Holy Week. The season of Lent, the forty days in which the church prepares to encounter the events of Easter, thankfully begins with the ashes of Ash Wednesday. On this day, foreheads are marked with a bold and ashen cross of dust, recalling both our history and our future, invoking repentance, inciting stares. Marked with the Cross, we are Christ’s own: pilgrims on a journey that proclaims death and resurrection all at once. The journey through Lent into the light and darkness of Holy Week is for those made in dust who will return to dust, those willing to trace the breath that began all of life to the place where Christ breathed his last. It is a journey that expends everything within us.

There is a Latin word that was once used to denote the provisions necessary for a person going on a long journey—the clothes, food, and money the traveler would need along the way. Viaticum was a word often used by Roman magistrates. It was the payment or goods given to those who were sent into the provinces to exercise an office or perform a service. The viaticum was vital provision for an uncertain journey. Fittingly, the early church employed this image to speak of the Eucharist when it was administered to a dying person. The viaticum, the bread of one’s last Communion, was seen as sustenance for Christians on their way from this world into another. Sometime later, the word was used not only to describe a last Communion, but as the Sacrament of Communion for all people. It is as if to say: our communion with Christ within world is provision for the way home. The viaticum is God’s answer to Jacob’s vow, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.”(2) It is precisely what Christ offered when he said, “Take and eat. This is my body.” The journey from dust to dust and back to the Father’s house would be far too great without it.

The world of humanity is flattened by the realities of death and sorrow. From the invitation to consume Christ’s body and blood in the Last Supper to the desolation of that body on the Cross, we are undone by events that began before us and will continue long we are gone. We are, in the words of Isaiah or the sentiments of the psalmist, like grass that withers, flowers that blow away like dust. But so we are, in this great earth, a richer dust concealed. Walking in cemeteries we realize this; following Christ we can proclaim it. Walking through Lent as dust and ashes bids us to see our need for God’s unchanging provision. God offers us the Cross for the journey, the communion of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the life everlasting.

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

(1) This is a line from a poem of Rupert Brookes entitled “1914.”

(2) Genesis 28:20-22.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” / 1 John 3:1-2

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.” Consider who we were, and what we feel ourselves to be even now when corruption is powerful in us, and you will wonder at our adoption. Yet we are called “the sons of God.” What a high relationship is that of a son, and what privileges it brings! What care and tenderness the son expects from his father, and what love the father feels towards the son! But all that, and more than that, we now have through Christ. As for the temporary drawback of suffering with the elder brother, this we accept as an honour: “Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We are content to be unknown with him in his humiliation, for we are to be exalted with him. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” That is easy to read, but it is not so easy to feel. How is it with your heart this morning? Are you in the lowest depths of sorrow? Does corruption rise within your spirit, and grace seem like a poor spark trampled under foot? Does your faith almost fail you? Fear not, it is neither your graces nor feelings on which you are to live: you must live simply by faith on Christ. With all these things against us, now–in the very depths of our sorrow, wherever we may be–now, as much in the valley as on the mountain, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” “Ah, but,” you say, “see how I am arrayed! my graces are not bright; my righteousness does not shine with apparent glory.” But read the next: “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him.” The Holy Spirit shall purify our minds, and divine power shall refine our bodies; then shall we see him as he is.

 

 

Evening “There is therefore now no condemnation.” / Romans 8:1

Come, my soul, think thou of this. Believing in Jesus, thou art actually and effectually cleared from guilt; thou art led out of thy prison. Thou art no more in fetters as a bond-slave; thou art delivered now from the bondage of the law; thou art freed from sin, and canst walk at large as a freeman; thy Saviour’s blood has procured thy full discharge. Thou hast a right now to approach thy Father’s throne. No flames of vengeance are there to scare thee now; no fiery sword; justice cannot smite the innocent. Thy disabilities are taken away: thou wast once unable to see thy Father’s face: thou canst see it now. Thou couldst not speak with him: but now thou hast access with boldness. Once there was a fear of hell upon thee; but thou hast no fear of it now, for how can there be punishment for the guiltless? He who believeth is not condemned, and cannot be punished. And more than all, the privileges thou mightst have enjoyed, if thou hadst never sinned, are thine now that thou art justified. All the blessings which thou wouldst have had if thou hadst kept the law, and more, are thine, because Christ has kept it for thee. All the love and the acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to thee, because Christ was perfectly obedient on thy behalf, and hath imputed all his merits to thy account, that thou mightst be exceeding rich through him, who for thy sake became exceeding poor. Oh! how great the debt of love and gratitude thou owest to thy Saviour!

“A debtor to mercy alone,  Of covenant mercy I sing;

Nor fear with thy righteousness on,  My person and offerings to bring:

The terrors of law and of God,  With me can have nothing to do;

My Saviour’s obedience and blood  Hide all my transgressions from view.”

 

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The Joy of Anticipation – John MacArthur

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“I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it” (Phil. 1:6).

All who love Christ desire to be like Him in spiritual perfection and absolute holiness. We want to please Him in every respect. However, that noble pursuit is often met with frustration and discouragement as human frailties and sin block our pathway.

Paul’s cry in Romans 7 is ours as well: “That which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. . . . I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. . . . Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (vv. 15, 21, 24). His answer resonates with confidence and relief: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25).

Paul was convinced that God always completes the good work of salvation He begins in every new believer–a work that progressively conforms us to the image of His Son (2 Cor. 3:18). That might seem like a painfully slow process at times, but be assured He will complete it. All whom He justifies will be glorified (Rom. 8:29-30).

In the meantime, you have an active role to play in the process. Paul called it working out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). You must discipline yourself for holiness through prayer, Bible study, obedience, and accountability to other believers. All the resources you need are at your disposal as God Himself works in you to produce His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

Rejoice in knowing that you belong to God and that He is conforming you to the image of His Son. See every event of this day as part of that process. Yield to the Spirit’s prompting and take heart that God will accomplish His will.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Give thanks to God, who is able “to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” (Jude 24).

Express the desire to discipline yourself for godliness. Ask for wisdom in taking advantage of all the spiritual resources available to you as a believer.

For Further Study:  Read Hebrews 10:19-25.

What should be your attitude when approaching God?

What is your responsibility in light of God’s promises?

 

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God’s End Game – Greg Laurie

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And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us—Romans 5:3–5

Benjamin Disraeli, a former prime minister of Great Britain, once said, “Youth is a mistake, manhood a struggle, and old age a regret.”

There is no vacation from human suffering and tragedy. And a lot of people try to sort this out, understand it, and explain it. C. S. Lewis called it “the problem of pain.”

But there is a God who, despite the worst tragedy, can bring good out of bad. We acknowledge that life can be bad. We acknowledge that bad things can happen. We acknowledge that tragedies can come into the life a Christian. But we also acknowledge that God is sovereign, which means that He is in control. And we acknowledge that ultimately God can cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose (see Romans 8:28).

Yet some hold the view that because they are Christians, they won’t suffer. They may not state it outright, but they believe that bad things won’t happen to them. However, the reality is that we will face trouble, too. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

We may have a hard time putting the words “trials,” “problems,” and “God loves me” into one sentence, because they don’t seem to go together. But let’s take a look at God’s end game. Is it to make us happy in the temporal, or is it to make us holy in the eternal? Is it to keep us always earthbound, or is it, in reality, to prepare us for heaven? The latter is the answer. So God can allow tragedy. No tragedy is good. But God can bring good despite a tragedy.

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A Godly Touch – Max Lucado

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Oh the power of a godly touch.  Haven’t you known it? The doctor who treated you, the teacher who dried your tears? Was there a hand holding yours at a funeral? Another on your shoulder during a trial? Haven’t we known the power of a godly touch?

Can’t we offer the same? Many of you do.  Some of you have the master touch of the Physician himself.  You use your hands to pray over the sick. If you aren’t touching them personally, your hands are writing letters, making phone calls, baking pies. You’ve learned the power of a touch.

But others of us tend to forget. Our hearts are good; it’s just that our memories are bad. We forget how significant one touch can be. Aren’t we glad Jesus didn’t make the same mistake? Jesus touched the untouchables of the world.  Will you do the same?

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Where Courage Originates – Charles Stanley

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Joshua 1:8-9

The message of Joshua 1 was meant for all of God’s children. Scripture’s timeless principles for spiritual growth are as relevant to us as they were to the ancient Jewish people. The Lord’s command to remain steadfast and courageous is still in effect, as is His promise to abide with us in all circumstances. Moreover, it is still true that faith and courage develop in believers who meditate on God’s Word regularly.

Fear, the antithesis of courage, is born of disobedience to the Lord, unbelief in Him, and/or doubt about His will or His ways. The weight and binding power of fear can drag a person down like shackles on a prisoner. But Scripture contains truths, promises, and principles that break those chains.

Have you ever noticed how focusing your mind on the Word quiets your spirit? In that peaceful silence, faith dissolves fear. God’s revelations about Himself in the Bible—namely, that He is good, sovereign, and our loving Father—have a way of sharpening our perception about whatever we’re facing We can see the true nature of a matter and it is not bigger than our God. As a result, we cast off the staggering weight of our burdens and instead grow a deep-rooted confidence in the goodness and sovereignty of God. My friends, that is the definition of courage.

God’s admonition to Joshua—“Be strong and courageous!” (Josh. 1:9)—is meant for modern believers too. Like the Israelites, we battle strong enemies and face walls that must come down. Do not give in to fear, but break its hold through the powerful words of Scripture, and live in confidence.

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Our Daily Bread — The Best Life

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John 1:35-42

[Andrew] first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” —John 1:41

A few months ago, I had to travel to Florida and back on business. On my flight home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a seat with lots of leg room. It felt so good not to be scrunched into a small area. Plus, I had an empty seat beside me! The makings of a good nap.

Then I remembered those around me in their not-as-comfortable seats. I invited several others I knew to join me in a better spot but was surprised they all wanted to stay in their own seats for various reasons: They didn’t want to be inconvenienced with a move or felt fine where they were.

As believers in Christ, we have a much more significant invitation to extend: We’ve received a new life of faith in Jesus and want others to experience it too. Some will want to do so, and others won’t. In John 1:40 we read that Andrew had begun to follow Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and invite him to meet Jesus, the Messiah, too (v.41). Jesus offered them a wonderful new way of life of knowing Him and enjoying His promises: His forgiveness (Rom. 3:24), continual presence (Heb. 13:5), hope (Rom. 15:13), peace (John 14:27), and a forever future in His presence (1 Thess. 4:17).

Won’t you join in? Jesus gives the best life. —Anne Cetas

If we commit ourselves to Christ

And follow in His way,

He’ll give us life that satisfies

With purpose for each day. —Sper

 

If you want someone to know what Christ will do for him, let him see what Christ has done for you.

 

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Into the Wild – Ravi Zacharias Ministry

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Wilderness or wild-land is classified as a natural environment that has not been significantly modified by human activity. The word “wilderness” derives from the notion of “wildness”—in other words a wilderness is a wild area such as a remote forest, or desert, or even an ocean—that is barren, empty, or set aside to grow and to be wild.

These are places where human intervention is minimal and all exists in an untamed and wild state. The word “wilderness” likely derives from the Old or Middle English word wildeornes, which mean wild beasts.(1) This seems entirely appropriate given that most wilderness places are characterized by bewildering vastness, perilousness, or unchecked profusion that is not controllable by humans.

For most, wilderness spaces are both compelling and frightening places. Poets, sages, and visionaries often seek out wild spaces for solitude, creative insight, or desired asceticism. Others have found themselves in wild spaces not by choice, but as a result of circumstances beyond their control—life events, unexpected twists and turns, suffering, or desolation—removing them from all that is comfortable and known.

In the biblical narratives, the wilderness is a crucible of extremes; it is filled with grand visions and experiences of the Divine, and at the same time a frightening place of want and desperation. For the ancient people who would become the nation of Israel, the wilderness is a place of testing. After four hundred years of oppression and enslavement, God sent Moses to deliver the people and to lead them into the Promised Land. The children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be delivered from slavery through a series of dramatic plagues culminating in the destruction of the Egyptian army by the waters of the sea.

But their “promised land” would first come in the form of wilderness. “Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water…. and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”(2) Israel would spend the next forty years, the text tells us, wandering in that wilderness of lament and bitterness, wondering aloud in their complaint what indeed they had been delivered to. A great beginning stalls in the deserts of Sinai.

ike Israel before him, Jesus’s story as recorded in Mark’s gospel, begins with great drama. John the Baptist announces the Deliverer; Israel’s exile was over for the Messiah had come. The Deliverer is baptized by John and in front of the crowds declared “the beloved Son” of God. What a tremendous beginning for the earthly ministry of Israel’s hoped-for deliverer!

And then the narrative takes an unexpected turn. “The Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12-13). The original language indicates a forceful expulsion of Jesus into this land of wild beasts and adversarial attack. It is even more striking when one reads in the other gospels that Jesus is simply “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness.(3) Despite Matthew and Luke’s gentler version, the force is still the same—the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested and tormented. Why would the Spirit compel Jesus into such a wasteland?

Many commentators have suggested that Jesus was reenacting the great history of Israel in his own life and ministry. He understood his mission as Israel’s Messiah, their deliverer, just as Moses had been. Yet, like Israel (and Moses), Jesus would be tested and his test had to precede entry into the Promised Land. He is not ushered into greatness immediately with healings and miracles, or with fanfare, but by being “immediately cast out into the wilderness.” The pathway to promise was through the wilderness.

The human story is a story of wilderness wandering. If we haven’t already spent time there, we will. A day does not go by in which we either experience wilderness pain personally, or hear of those dwelling in wilderness spaces of suffering, disappointment, doubt, or struggle with temptation. For most, these are frightening journeys. For most, these are spaces to avoid and circumnavigate if possible. Yet, perhaps, like Jesus, these are places in which we are compelled to wander. The wilderness is a place of trial and testing, deprivation and doubt. In the wilderness of unmet needs, what do we do? Who will we turn to? In what, or in whom, will we place our trust?

When the Israelites faced their test in the wilderness they wanted to return to the enslavement of Egypt. At least, they fantasized, they had food and drink in that land. Jesus, on the other hand, took nothing with him into that desiccated place. He was hungry and enticed to turn stones into bread to meet his legitimate need. Yet in the face of hunger pangs and thirst, Jesus remembered that the source of his life was in the very word of God and his life would be sustained by “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Often, we ask God “why” we are compelled into the wilderness. We grumble and complain in our lament and try to escape the wild places to calmer, more civilized paths. Rather than gain insight, or find God in the midst of the wilderness, we seek the Promised Land as a return to Egypt. Yet for those who seek to follow Jesus, the journey will always take us through the wilderness. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. But perhaps, by the God of the wilderness, we can indeed be transformed by it.

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

(1) American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd Ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.

(2) Exodus 15:22; 16:2.

(3) cf. Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also

aboundeth by Christ.” / 2 Corinthians 1:5

There is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales–in this side he puts his people’s trials, and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is coming on, the Heavenly Captain is always closest to his crew. It is a blessed thing, that when we are most cast down, then it is that we are most lifted up by the consolations of the Spirit. One reason is, because trials make more room for consolation. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for consolation. God comes into our heart–he finds it full–he begins to break our comforts and to make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have, because he will be more fitted to receive it. Another reason why we are often most happy in our troubles, is this–then we have the closest dealings with God. When the barn is full, man can live without God: when the purse is bursting with gold, we try to do without so much prayer. But once take our gourds away, and we want our God; once cleanse the idols out of the house, then we are compelled to honour Jehovah. “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.” There is no cry so good as that which comes from the bottom of the mountains; no prayer half so hearty as that which comes up from the depths of the soul, through deep trials and afflictions. Hence they bring us to God, and we are happier; for nearness to God is happiness. Come, troubled believer, fret not over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies.

 

Evening  “He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” /

John 14:16

The Great Father revealed himself to believers of old before the coming of his Son, and was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the God Almighty. Then Jesus came, and the ever-blessed Son in his own proper person, was the delight of his people’s eyes. At the time of the Redeemer’s ascension, the Holy Spirit became the head of the present dispensation, and his power was gloriously manifested in and after Pentecost. He remains at this hour the present Immanuel–God with us, dwelling in and with his people, quickening, guiding, and ruling in their midst. Is his presence recognized as it ought to be? We cannot control his working; he is most sovereign in all his operations, but are we sufficiently anxious to obtain his help, or sufficiently watchful lest we provoke him to withdraw his aid? Without him we can do nothing, but by his almighty energy the most extraordinary results can be produced: everything depends upon his manifesting or concealing his power. Do we always look up to him both for our inner life and our outward service with the respectful dependence which is fitting? Do we not too often run before his call and act independently of his aid? Let us humble ourselves this evening for past neglects, and now entreat the heavenly dew to rest upon us, the sacred oil to anoint us, the celestial flame to burn within us. The Holy Ghost is no temporary gift, he abides with the saints. We have but to seek him aright, and he will be found of us. He is jealous, but he is pitiful; if he leaves in anger, he returns in mercy. Condescending and tender, he does not weary of us, but awaits to be gracious still.

Sin has been hammering my heart

Unto a hardness, void of love,

Let supplying grace to cross his art

Drop from above.

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The Joy of Participation – John MacArthur

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“In view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:5).

In recent years the Greek word koin[ma]onia has become familiar to many Christians as the New Testament word for fellowship. However, it is also translated “partnership” and “participation.” In Philippians 1:5, Paul uses it to emphasize the participation of the Philippians in common ministry goals.

 

Romans 12:13 gives one aspect of that partnership and participation: monetary contributions. That’s one aspect of fellowship that the Philippian church eagerly shared with Paul. As he says in Philippians 4:15-16, “At the first preaching of the gospel, after I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.” They were partners in his ministry because their financial support made it possible for him to preach the gospel more effectively.

The Philippians knew that Paul carried a tremendous burden in his heart for all the churches. In listing many of the trials he endured as an apostle, then added, “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). The Philippian church eased that burden somewhat by being committed to Paul, to his teaching, and to godly living. That brought great joy to him.

How about you? Do your leaders derive encouragement and joy from your participation in the gospel? Remember, you share in a sacred partnership with Christ and your fellow Christians in the advancement of the gospel, just as the Philippians shared a partnership with Paul. Rejoice in that privilege and make the most of it today.

Suggestions for Prayer:   Thank the Lord for the Christian fellowship you enjoy.

Ask for wisdom on how you might advance the gospel more effectively.

Always seek to ease the burden of your spiritual leaders by faithfully participating in the ministry of your church as God has gifted you.

 

For Further Study:  Read Ephesians 4:11-16.

What is the goal of Christian ministry?

What is the role of a pastor/teacher in achieving that goal?

What is your role (see also Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4- 11; 1 Pet. 4:10-11)?

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The Reality of Godly Living – Greg Laurie

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Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour —1 Peter 5:8

The Christian life is the greatest life there is. God takes a life that was empty and aimless and headed to a certain judgment, and He turns it around and transforms it. He removes all of our sin. That is more than enough right there, but then He puts the righteousness of Jesus Christ into our spiritual bank account. That is called justification. He removes the guilt that haunted us, fills the emptiness inside of us, and literally takes residence in our hearts. This all comes as a result of the gospel, believed and followed. That is the good news.

The bad news is there are some new problems that come along with all of that. You get rid of an old set of problems and inherit new ones. As the great Bible commentator Ray Stedman said, “A Christian is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble.”

Once you become a Christian, you have a very aggressive adversary that has set his crosshairs on you. That adversary is the devil, Satan, and he wants to undermine you. He wants to bring you down. The Bible warns that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). That word “persecuted” means to be hunted, to be harassed.

So we need to be aware of that and not be surprised when we discover that the Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground. I think a lot of people believe in a watered-down gospel, and thus they have a watered-down faith that, in reality, isn’t faith at all. They have heard so many sermonettes, they have turned into Christianettes.

If you live a godly life, the reality is that persecution will follow.

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A Basin of Water – Max Lucado

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I looked for a Bible translation that reads, “Jesus washed all the disciples’ feet except the feet of Judas.” I couldn’t find one.

A couple once told me about a storm they were weathering.  She learned of an act of infidelity that had occurred a decade ago.  And as you can imagine, she was deeply hurt. She could have left. Women have done so for lesser reasons. But on advice of a counselor, they went away for several days. On the fourth night of the trip, he found a card on his pillow. It said: “I’d rather do nothing with you than something without you.” Beneath that she’d written these words: I forgive you.  I love you.  Let’s move on.

Certain conflicts can be resolved only with a basin of water. Jesus made sure His disciples had no reason to doubt His love. Why don’t you do the same?

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A Time for Courage – Charles Stanley

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Joshua 1:5-7

Even before the Israelites set out to conquer the Promised Land, the Lord knew everything they would experience—including the unconventional victory at Jericho, the defeat at Ai, and the Gibeonites’ deception (Josh. 6–9). And so He gave a command and a promise to Joshua, His chosen leader of the people. God knows what lies ahead for today’s believers as well, and His words still apply to all who walk with Him.

• The Command: “Be strong and courageous!” (1:6, 7, 9). So many things in this life threaten to overshadow godly hearts and minds. Adversaries assail us in the workplace, our neighborhoods, and sometimes even in our homes. We often have occasion to wonder if we are making a good decision or following the wisest course. Like the Israelites, we face battles, enemies, and trials. And yet God tells us to have courage and strength as we confront what comes.

• The Promise: “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” (v. 5). The Lord’s command would be impossible to obey without His promise. We stand not on our own strength and resolve but on the unwavering power of God. The guarantee of His presence and guidance is ours to claim.

The writer of Psalm 118 trusted in God’s command and promise from Joshua 1. He penned, “The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (v. 6). No one can remove God’s love from us, take our salvation, or make us forfeit our right to faithfully abide with Him forever.

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Our Daily Bread — Numbered Days

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Psalm 90:7-17

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. —Psalm 90:12

In the aftermath of a devastating tornado, a man stood outside what was left of his home. Scattered somewhere among the rubble inside were his wife’s jewelry and his own valuable collectibles. But the man had no intention of going inside the unstable house to search for them. “It’s not worth dying for,” he said.

In times of crisis, our sense of what is truly important in life often comes into clearer focus.

In Psalm 90, “A Prayer of Moses,” this man of God looks at life from beginning to end. In light of the brevity of life (vv.4-6) and the realization of God’s righteous anger (vv.7-11), Moses makes a plea to God for understanding: “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should” (v.12 tlb).

Moses continues this psalm with an appeal to God’s love: “Have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy” (vv.13-14). He concludes with a prayer for the future: “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us” (v.17).

Our numbered days and the brevity of life call us to embrace God’s eternal love and, like Moses, to focus on the most important things. —David McCasland

What a God we have to worship!

What a Son we have to praise!

What a future lies before us—

Everlasting, love-filled days! —Maynard

 

Our numbered days point us to God’s eternal love.

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Hyperseeing from the Towers of Babel – Ravi Zacharias Ministry

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On the influence of media and technology, discussions abound. “Is Google making us stupid?” “Is Twitter bad for the soul?” “Is Facebook changing the way we relate?”(1) In fact, there seems a recent upsurge in articles questioning our faltering minds, morals, and communities (ironically reaching us through the very mediums that are blamed for it). Some note the shifting of thought patterns, attention spans that are beginning to prefer 140 characters or less, information gluttony, news addiction, and so on.

In fact, there is good reason, I think, to step away from the torrent surges of information and hyper-networking to think meaningfully about how it all might be changing us—for good and for ill. For with every new improvement and invention irrefutably comes gain and loss. And just as quickly as I can build a case against the gods of media-and-technology, I can also double check my footnotes on Google, find twenty additional perspectives on Twitter, and watch an interview with the author of one of the headlines mentioned above—all of which came from articles I read online in the first place. There are clearly advantages to having immediate access to such an incredibly rich store of information, inasmuch as this hyper-access to people, news, and facts assuredly has far-reaching effects on cognition, as well as the way we see, or don’t see, the world.

Speaking decades before the debates over Twitter or the wonders of Google, Malcolm Muggeridge seemed to foresee the possibilities of too much information. “Accumulating knowledge is a form of avarice and lends itself to another version of the Midas story,” he wrote. “Man is so avid for knowledge that everything he touches turns to facts; his faith becomes theology, his love becomes lechery, his wisdom becomes science.  Pursuing meaning, he ignores truth.”(2) In other words, Muggeridge saw that it was possible to see so many news clips that we are no longer seeing, to hear so many sound-bites that we are no longer hearing, to seek so many “exclusives” that we are no longer understanding.

Speaking centuries before Muggeridge, the prophet Isaiah and the rabbi Jesus described their audiences quite similarly. “This is why I speak to them in parables,” said Jesus, “because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand’” (cf. Matthew 13:13, Isaiah 6:9-10). Undoubtedly, we are living in a time that is complicated by towering opportunities of information and knowledge; news clips, sound bites, blogs, and editorials, all piled so high and wide that we can scarcely see around our fortresses of facts. But perhaps regardless of the era, humanity’s skill in building towers of Babel—built to see beyond ourselves yet ironically blocking our vision—is both timeless and unprecedented.(3) Learning to see in a way that “reaches the heavens,” or, as Einstein once said, “to think the thoughts of God,” is far more about seeing God than it is about seeing facts.

In the art and work of sculpture, there is a term used to describe an artist’s ability to look at an unformed rock and see it in its completed state. It has been said of the sculptor Henry Moore that he had the gift of “hyperseeing,” the gift of seeing the form and beauty latent in a mass of unshaped material.(4) Hyperseeing is a word used to describe a sculptor’s extraordinary gift of seeing in four dimensional space—that is, seeing all around the exterior but also seeing all points within, seeing in a rough piece of stone the astounding possibilities of art.

It strikes me that the exercise of hyperseeing, then, as it might apply to our towering mountains of rough and unmolded facts, is something to which God tirelessly calls us. Far from building towers of knowledge that make names for ourselves, or accumulating sound-bites until we are no longer hearing, hyperseeing (and hyperhearing) the world around us requires God’s vision and voice. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). Far better than a world of mere facts is a world made visible by the wisdom of God.

Perhaps we practice the exercise of hyperseeing as we learn to see the power of the resurrection, the glory of the transfiguration, the gift of the Lord’s Supper, or the wisdom of the parables in the daily facts and movements of our lives in God’s kingdom. To be sure, the resurrection of Jesus—the rising of dead flesh to life again—is no more jarring than every other promise we hold because of him, promises we can now see in part, while hyperseeing the extraordinary possibilities of all they will look like upon completion:

“Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

5Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:4-5).

Indeed, 5the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6the lame will leap like deer, the tongue of the speechless sing for joy; waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.(5) In a world hyper-filled with facts and knowledge, such are the sights and sounds of a kingdom the pure in heart (with or without the help of Google) shall see.

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

(1) cf. Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Atlantic, (July/August 2008), “Scientists Warn of Rapid-fire Media Dangers,” CNN Health, April 14, 2009, Peggy Orenstein, “Growing Up on Facebook,” The New York Times, March 10, 2009.

(2) From Firing Line, “Do We Need Religion or Religious Institutions” an interview with Malcolm Muggeridge, September 6, 1980, chapter 6.

(3) See Genesis 11.

(4) As cited by Jeremy Begbie in an interview with Ken Myers, Mars Hill Audio Review, vol. 94, Nov./Dec. 2008.

(5) See Isaiah 35:5-6 and Luke 7:22.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “And they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” / Acts 4:13

A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people. If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we should be pictures of Christ; yea, such striking likenesses of him, that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, “Well, it seems somewhat of a likeness;” but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, “He has been with Jesus; he has been taught of him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and every-day actions.” A Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. Never blush to own your religion; your profession will never disgrace you: take care you never disgrace that. Be like Jesus, very valiant for your God. Imitate him in your loving spirit; think kindly, speak kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.” Imitate Jesus in his holiness. Was he zealous for his Master? So be you; ever go about doing good. Let not time be wasted: it is too precious. Was he self-denying, never looking to his own interest? Be the same. Was he devout? Be you fervent in your prayers. Had he deference to his Father’s will? So submit yourselves to him. Was he patient? So learn to endure. And best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies, as he did; and let those sublime words of your Master, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your foe by your kindness to him. Good for evil, recollect, is godlike. Be godlike, then; and in all ways and by all means, so live that all may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.”

 

Evening  “Thou hast left thy first love.” / Revelation 2:4

Ever to be remembered is that best and brightest of hours, when first we saw the Lord, lost our burden, received the roll of promise, rejoiced in full salvation, and went on our way in peace. It was spring time in the soul; the winter was past; the mutterings of Sinai’s thunders were hushed; the flashings of its lightnings were no more perceived; God was beheld as reconciled; the law threatened no vengeance, justice demanded no punishment. Then the flowers appeared in our heart; hope, love, peace, and patience sprung from the sod; the hyacinth of repentance, the snowdrop of pure holiness, the crocus of golden faith, the daffodil of early love, all decked the garden of the soul. The time of the singing of birds was come, and we rejoiced with thanksgiving; we magnified the holy name of our forgiving God, and our resolve was, “Lord, I am thine, wholly thine; all I am, and all I have, I would devote to thee. Thou hast bought me with thy blood–let me spend myself and be spent in thy service. In life and in death let me be consecrated to thee.” How have we kept this resolve? Our espousal love burned with a holy flame of devoutedness to Jesus–is it the same now? Might not Jesus well say to us, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love”? Alas! it is but little we have done for our Master’s glory. Our winter has lasted all too long. We are as cold as ice when we should feel a summer’s glow and bloom with sacred flowers. We give to God pence when he deserveth pounds, nay, deserveth our heart’s blood to be coined in the service of his church and of his truth. But shall we continue thus? O Lord, after thou hast so richly blessed us, shall we be ungrateful and become indifferent to thy good cause and work? O quicken us that we may return to our first love, and do our first works! Send us a genial spring, O Sun of Righteousness.

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The Joy of Intercession – John MacArthur

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“Always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all” (Phil. 1:4).

There’s the story of a special nurse who knew the importance of intercessory prayer. Each day she used her hands as instruments of God’s love and mercy toward those in her care, so she found it natural to use her hand as a scheme of prayer. Each finger represented someone she wanted to pray for. Her thumb was nearest to her and reminded her to pray for those who were closest and dearest. The index finger was used for pointing, so it stood for her instructors. The third finger was the tallest and stood for those in leadership. The fourth finger was the weakest, representing those in distress and pain. The little finger, which was the smallest and least important, reminded the nurse to pray for her own needs.

Undoubtedly that nurse knew the joy of praying for others. Paul knew it too. Given the same circumstances, a lesser man would be consumed with his own well-being, but Paul modeled what he teaches in Philippians 2:4: “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Such an attitude is the heart of effective intercessory prayer.

Those who lack the joy of the Holy Spirit often harbor negative thoughts toward others, which debilitates compassion and hinders prayer. That’s tragic because intercessory prayer is a powerful tool in the hands of righteous people (James 5:16).

Analyze your own prayers. Are they generous with praise to God for His goodness to others? Do you pray for the needs of others? Practice doing so, and the joy of intercession will be yours.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Pray for specific people and specific needs.

Thank God for what you see Him doing in the lives of others.

For Further Study:  John 17 is Christ’s intercessory prayer for His disciples, including us (v. 20). After reading that chapter, complete the following statements:

Eternal life is . . .

Christ’s mission on earth was to . . .

The world’s reaction to Christ and His followers is . . .

The best way to convince the world that Christ was sent by the Father is to . . .

 

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Misplaced Priorities – Greg Laurie

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Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. —Philemon 1:23–24

Imagine what an honor it would have been to know you were mentioned in one of Paul’s epistles. In his letter to Philemon, the apostle wrote, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers” (Philemon 1:23–24).

I think it would be tempting to bring up that little detail in conversation: Hi, my name is Aristarchus. You may have heard of me from one of Paul’s epistles. . . .

One of the people Paul mentioned was Demas, whose name appeared not only in one epistle, but two. The bad news is the second mention was about his apostasy. Something had happened to Demas in the time between Paul’s letter to Philemon and his second letter to Timothy, because we read, “For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica . . .” (2 Timothy 4:10). In other words, Hey, remember Demas? Yeah . . . well, he is not with me anymore. The reason? Demas “loved this present world.”

That is why the Bible says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15–16).

There is nothing wrong with being blessed by God with things like a nice home or a good career. In fact, the Bible tells us that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). But if those things have become the most important to you—more important than God Himself—then that is a problem, my friend.

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Wash Each Other’s Feet – Max Lucado

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Jesus said to His disciples:  “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet” (John 13:14).  It means to kneel as Jesus knelt, touching the grimy parts of the people we’re stuck with; washing away their unkindnesses with kindness.  Or as Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

“But Max,” you’re saying, “I’ve done nothing wrong.  I’m not the one who cheated.  I’m not the one who lied. I’m not the guilty party here.” Perhaps you aren’t.  But neither was Jesus.  Don’t we all think we are right?  Hence we wash each other’s feet.  Relationships don’t survive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful!  Only one was worthy of having his feet washed.  The one worthy of being served, served others.

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The Guidance of the Holy Spirit By Dr. Charles Stanley

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How does the Holy Spirit guide us? How much does He control our actions? Does He still speak to believers, or was personal communication only for Biblical times?

God does not want us to be confused about this vital area. In talking to His disciples about the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13, emphasis added).

Let’s consider four key truths about the leadership of the Holy Spirit:

1. The Holy Spirit will guide us.

Jesus doesn’t promise that the Holy Spirit will control us. He says He will guide us.

Granted, there are times when I wish the Holy Spirit would control me. For instance, when I am tempted. Or when I become so task oriented that I become insensitive. Or when it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I need to study, but everything in me wants to grab my camera and head for the mountains. Life would be much easier if the Holy Spirit would take control of me.

But He is our guide, not our controller. We never lose our ability to choose to follow His leading. As a result, we are always responsible for our words and actions.

 

2. The Holy Spirit is a trustworthy guide.

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, helps believers discern between what is true and what is not; what is wise and what is foolish; what is best and what is simply OK. Each day is full of decisions. Most of our decisions concern issues not clearly spelled out in the Scriptures, for example, where to attend school, whether to hire a particular applicant, how much to budget for vacation, on and on it goes.

As you are inundated with the details of everyday living, the Holy Spirit will guide you. He will give you that extra on-the-spot sense of discernment you need to make both big and small decisions. As you develop a greater sensitivity to His guidance, you will worry much less about the decisions you make. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is a trustworthy guide.

 

3. The Holy Spirit is God’s mouthpiece to believers.

The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own. Like Christ, this member of the Trinity has willingly submitted to the authority of the Father. Everything He communicates to us is directly from the Father: “He will not speak on His own initiative” (John 16:13).

Our heavenly Father has chosen to communicate to His children through the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:12). He is God’s mouthpiece to believers. When the Father chooses to speak directly to you, it will be through the Holy Spirit.

When you think about it, this really makes perfect sense. After all, where does the Holy Spirit reside? In you! And in me! Therefore, He is the perfect candidate for communicating God’s will to Christians. Living inside us, He has direct access to our minds, emotions, and consciences.

 

4. The Holy Spirit speaks.

The question of whether God still speaks today is one that has spawned numerous books, articles, and lectures. It is not my purpose to present a tightly woven argument about why I believe He still speaks today. Suffice it to say, I do believe God, through the Holy Spirit, communicates directly with believers. No, I don’t write these revelations in the back of my Bible and call them inspired. Neither do I run around telling everybody what “God told me.”

My experience is that the Holy Spirit, at the prompting of the heavenly Father, still communicates with believers today. How does He do that? The Holy Spirit indwells me. He doesn’t need my ears. What He needs is a listening heart and a renewed mind.

The book of Acts records several occasions when the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul and Peter (11:12; 13:2; 16:6; 20:23). It can’t be denied that those men had a special gift and call on their lives. But the same Holy Spirit who indwelt those men indwells every believer. Just as they needed divine direction at critical times in their lives, we need it today.

In his letters to the Christians in Rome and Galatia, the Apostle Paul refers to believers as “led by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18). If we are going to be led by the Holy Spirit, we can only assume that He is willing (and able) to communicate with us.

How does God communicate with us today? The Lord speaks through the voice of His Spirit, who resides within us. We may have to seek His face for a season; other times, we can sense His direction immediately. No matter what, the Holy Spirit is a trustworthy guide.

 

Adapted from “The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life,” by Charles F. Stanley, 1992.